Page 76 of Rock God

He looked surprised but then nodded.

“Yeah.”

I headed back toward the others but he called after me.

“Devyn?”

“Yeah?” I turned, looking over my shoulder at him.

“Thanks for trusting me with that story.”

I swallowed hard.

“You’re welcome.”

I hadn’t even told him half.

25

Kingston

The days leading up to the Thanksgiving gig were busy with rehearsals and a few interviews. Rolling Stone had been sniffing around but I’d told Dorian to tell them we didn’t have time in our schedule. I didn’t feel like we were ready for such a far-reaching story, and frankly, if we were doing Rolling Stone, I wanted to be on the cover. We’d only graced it once, during our first major tour, and that had been years ago. If they wanted to do a deep dive into the new line-up, they were going to put us on the cover. And I had enough power in the industry to play hardball with them. We could wait them out. It wasn’t like we needed to publicity; we got more than enough organically.

I’d asked Chains to find out everything he could about Larry, Lace and Venom, and that douchebag from Hi-Hat Records. An online search told me he still worked for them, and I wanted to know everything I could about him. Just in case I needed ammunition in my arsenal. My gut told me Larry was going to milk this opportunity to make a name for himself through Devyn’s connection with us, and it would most likely be at least a little problematic.

Not for me or the other guys, but almost definitely for Devyn.

I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt there was more to the story about her and Larry and her old band. I wished she would open up to me, but she played her cards close to the vest, and I was hoping to eventually get past the protective emotional shield she had up. Of course, now that we were sleeping together, it felt like I was bridging that distance.

Going forward, we would be together in some capacity almost every day.

Now that she didn’t work at the studio anymore, we’d be rehearsing or having band meetings daily. There was a lot to do to get ready for the Thanksgiving performance and then the European tour. Contracts to be signed, merchandise to be agreed upon and ordered, a new set list and stage choreography to finalize, and I was still toying with whether or not to add a piano to the mix. With Kirsten on tour with us, we were already going a bit lighter with our normally hard-edged music, and though we’d always stay true to our signature sound, we were evolving.

I hadn’t stopped thinking about that night when Devyn and I had been sitting at the piano at my condo, playing duets. We could do something like that live and I was positive fans would eat it up. It was just a matter of finding the right song that would highlight both of our talents.

A vocal duet would be interesting too.

Devyn said her voice was okay, but I’d heard her singing background vocals and she was better than she let on.

A duet like that on the next album could potentially bring in a whole new set of fans.

A ballad.

A love song.

A dark love song like “Symphony of the Broken.”

Fuck.

I hadn’t forgotten the melody or those lyrics we’d started working on and I wanted to ask her about playing it for the rest of the guys during a rehearsal. It was technically her song, so I didn’t want to make it seem like I was trying to force her to share it with us, but we could make that song a hit. I could feel it. Just like I’d felt the first time I’d seen Devyn play.

I wanted to find a way to show her she belonged, that this was going to work. I didn’t know if I was talking about the band or our personal relationship, but it had all started to blur in my head. I didn’t do long-term relationships, yet here I was thinking up scenarios that would create every opportunity for Devyn to want to stay with Onyx Knight. With me. Writing new songs. Sitting at the piano at my condo. Sleeping in my bed. Waking up together.

I hadn’t been with anyone else since we’d met, and she was all I thought about.

It was hard to gauge what was going on in her head in that regard, but I was almost positive she was as into me as I was her. All I had to do was convince her this could work while simultaneously convincing myself I was ready to make a commitment.

That was the hard part.

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