Fangs And Fame Read online

  “I should have said something sooner,” he began. “I just didn’t-” He sighed. “I wasn’t sure what it meant.”

  “Tell me,” I pleaded, stepping closer to him.

  “Do you remember when Stanislav sent us that blood-laced wine during the album launch party?” he asked. I nodded, recalling the five bottles of Vidic Vineyard’s finest. “The note he sent along with the package wasn’t entirely friendly,” he continued. “Mark warned me that it could be dangerous, owing a vampire in Stanislav’s position a favor, but it didn’t matter at the time. Let’s just say the threat was implied.”

  I fought to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach at the revelation. “What does he want?” I asked.

  Trey shook his head. “No idea. Apparently he’s not ready to tell us yet, but it’s hard to believe that seven vampires would show up at the arena tonight and he’s not behind it somehow.”

  “You said you saw two of them before?” Tytus asked Trey.

  Trey nodded. “Why?”

  “They obviously didn’t get the reaction they wanted out of you the first time around. That’s probably why they came out in full force tonight. To get noticed.”

  “It worked,” I said, suddenly feeling the need to reach out with my powers to the park area surrounding us. I didn’t sense another vampire nearby, but it was painfully obvious that I’d become complacent while being on the road with Trey. That was about to change.

  Chapter 24

  Aurora

  THE ABSENCE OF TIRES humming against the pavement was a little disorienting when I opened my eyes in the morning. I glanced around for a second before recognizing the hotel room Trey and I had checked into last night. Apparently I was getting used to life on the road, after all. I rolled over to find Trey lying next to me, still as death. I smiled at the bittersweet memory of waking up next to him in his human days. Back then, I’d have picked up on the sound of his breathing before opening my eyes, and watched in fascination as his chest would rise and fall with each involuntary breath. His hair still stood on end, that hadn’t changed. I reached up and tried to smooth it down with my fingers, giving up after the first failed attempt. I propped myself up on one elbow and studied what was left of the airbrush tattoo I’d sprayed on for him yesterday. His vampire metabolism had caused his body to absorb all but the slightest traces of it. I bent down, leaving a soft kiss on his chest. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth before his piercing blue eyes opened and found my own.

  “Hey beautiful,” he said. He moved his arm, inviting me to slide closer. I obliged by resting my head on his shoulder. “Sleep well?”

  “Not bad,” I answered. I felt more rested than I had expected to after our bizarre encounter with Tytus last night. The sun creeping through the slits in the curtain let me know that Trey wasn’t in my head, at least not literally, but that didn’t stop him from guessing my train of thought.

  “I really am sorry for not telling you about Stanislav’s note,” he said, a convincing amount of regret in his tone. “I know we have to stick together in this.”

  “You’re forgiven, grasshopper,” I said, knowing he’d hear my smile. “But, do you really think you can convince the guys that you need a bodyguard?” I asked.

  “After that little episode with my vampire stalker at the meet and greet the other day, they might not be opposed to the idea of letting someone else handle the crazies,” he said. “Especially if I can get Neon on board.”

  He had a good point. Tytus had spent the night in a room in this same hotel. Before parting last night, the three of us had agreed that he should stay close, but out of sight, until Trey could talk Jonas, Chase and O’Shea into letting him hire some muscle.

  Trey had a radio interview with the guys that he had to call in for, so he threw on some clothes and wandered down to Chase’s room to get that underway. I took a shower, enjoying the space. Our bus was luxurious, but a shower on a bus just can’t compare to one in a nice hotel. I took my time getting dressed and ready for the day and even put in a phone call to Antonio to confirm Tytus’s story. I was just getting off the phone with him when Trey returned.

  “How was the radio thingy?”

  “It went fine,” he said, grinning at my word choice. “I dispelled a few rumors.”

  “Do I even want to know?”

  “Mostly wedding stuff,” Trey said. “Apparently you can’t have an impromptu wedding without people wondering why. Imagine that.”

  “They think I’m pregnant,” I offered.

  “It won’t last,” he assured me. “Or they’ll have to start photoshopping a baby bump for you if they want to continue with it.” He grinned and eyeballed my middle section like the idea amused him. I smiled and rolled my eyes. “Besides,” he added. “Some teen starlet is bound to get a D.U.I. any day now and draw the attention away from us. Who was that on the phone?”

  “Antonio,” I said as put my phone in my pocket. “I wanted to see how he felt about Tytus’s story. It seems that he’s telling us the truth, as least as far as anyone can tell. Antonio said he’s had it pretty rough ever since Malena took off.”

  “That’s good, I guess,” Trey said. “I called an unofficial band meeting in the restaurant downstairs so we should probably head down. I thought we could do breakfast while I try to talk the guys into this whole Tytus thing. They’re usually more receptive on a full stomach.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” I replied.

  A short while later we were all seated around a big table in the hotel’s restaurant while Trey did his best to try and ease the guys into the idea of having someone like Tytus around. It was still early in the morning, especially in rock star world, and add to that the fact that the boys all acted like they were starving anytime food was around, and there was a definite lack of focus as Trey spoke.

  “Let me get this straight,” O’Shea said in between bites of crispy bacon. “You want us to hire security guards?”

  “Just one,” Trey clarified. “I found the perfect guy.”

  “I don’t know,” Chase added, flexing his bicep. “I’m fairly confident I double as security.” He grinned and I couldn’t help but smile at him.

  “You haven’t met this guy,” Trey continued.

  “Has anyone else started their Lego project yet?” Jonas asked, completely out of the blue.

  “Come on, man,” Trey said, sighing. “I’m trying to have a serious conversation here.”

  “Right,” Jonas said. “Sorry. Look, I get that things have been super crazy for you two lately, and you never know when your stalker might pop back in to try and whisk you away again,” he added, grinning at Trey.

  Trey played it up by holding his hands out in a show of ‘See, I told you,’ which I barely managed to keep a straight face about.

  “And you’re on board with this?” O’Shea asked Neon, who was digging into a stack of pancakes.

  “Sure,” Neon said. “You can never be too careful these days. What would it hurt?”

  “He’s a Florida boy, so he’ll fit right in,” Trey added. “Aurora’s known him for years, right honey?” he asked, looking to me for confirmation.

  “Yeah,” I said. When I couldn’t think of anything helpful to add, I stuffed a bite of muffin in my mouth and started nodding as I chewed.

  “I guess I’m cool with it,” O’Shea said with a shrug. “When do we get to meet him?”

  “Actually, he should be here any second,” Trey answered. Tytus, who was near enough to hear Trey’s cue, came through the door thirty seconds later, glancing around to find our table.

  “I hope I’m not late,” he said as he looked around at everyone.

  “Just in time,” Trey said, getting to his feet to shake Tytus’s hand. “Guys, meet Tytus,” he said. Then we both enjoyed the shock on all of their faces as they took in Tytus’s size. “Tytus,” Trey said, gesturing with his hand. “This is O’Shea, Jonas, and Chase.”

  “Good to meet you,” Tytus said, nodding at eac
h of them. He really was pulling off this professional polite thing somehow. I wouldn’t have thought it possible before now.

  “And this is Neon, our band manager,” Trey finished.

  Neon wiped his mouth with his napkin and got to his feet, approaching Tytus with a cool nonchalance only Neon can pull off. “Welcome onboard,” Neon said, offering his hand to the giant vampire to shake. The rest of the guys made a fairly quick recovery from their various states of shock and followed suit.

  “Trey really wasn’t kidding when he said you could get the job done,” O’Shea added as he shook Tytus’s hand.

  “I’ve worked as a bouncer at a club, and although this will be my first private security gig, I’m confident I won’t disappoint you.”

  “I don’t imagine you will,” O’Shea said. “Am I right?” he elbowed Chase, who had crossed his arms in an effort to add bulk to his biceps.

  “Yeah,” Chase muttered. “I’m sure you’ll manage.” I look like a shrimp next to this guy, Chase thought. Fantastic.

  It took me a second to realize that I shouldn’t have heard what Chase was thinking. It was daytime, and it was early, at that. I tried to wrap my head around the fact that I was hearing thoughts again when I shouldn’t be as Tytus joined us for the rest of breakfast. The giant vampire made a pretty compelling performance of scarfing down a big omelet in a skillet. He was better at playing human than I might have guessed, too. That would be one less thing to worry about. When we finished breakfast, the guys headed for their bus and Trey and I hung back to talk to Tytus in private.

  “It seems you’re in,” Trey told Tytus.

  Tytus tried not to look surprised. “You won’t regret this,” he said, glancing at me.

  “I would hope you’re not stupid enough to make me,” I responded dryly.

  “You’ll have to bunk on the crew bus,” Trey added. “They’re expecting you now. Do your best to act official.”

  “Not a problem, boss,” Tytus said.

  “Oh, and crew members are off limits,” Trey said. Tytus grinned and Trey added, “And I mean that in every possible way it could be taken.”

  Tytus gave a thumbs-up and said, “See you at the venue tonight.”

  “This is going to take some getting used to,” I told Trey once we were on our bus.

  “Yeah,” was all he said.

  “Tytus really won’t do anything stupid,” I assured him, sensing his trepidation. “He can’t afford to, and if we know anything about him, it’s that he’s insanely loyal. We’re on the receiving end of that now.”

  “You’re right,” he agreed. “Just seems weird. The number of fanged people in our posse is rapidly growing.”

  “Did you just say posse?” I said, biting back a laugh.

  He grinned and shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “Yeah. Okay, Kanye.”

  “Did you just make a pop culture reference?” Trey said, laughing.

  Then I laughed for real. “Maybe.”

  Chapter 25

  Trey

  I COULD FEEL IT in the air before I took the stage. The crowd was electric, like the kind of energy that makes the little hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. The guys from Crosstalk were feeling it, too.

  “You’re going to love this crowd tonight, man,” Evan said to me as the guys jogged off the stage after their set. I nodded in complete agreement. “I don’t know what you guys did here during the last tour, but you left them wanting more,” he added.

  I blinked, considering him. “We didn’t.... We didn’t play this city last tour. For the life of me, I can’t imagine why. Scheduling conflicts, probably....” My voice trailed off as I wracked my brain.

  “Huh.... I guess absence makes the heart grow fonder,” Evan said, squeezing my shoulder as he moved past me to head for their lounge.

  He was right though. The fans here were hungry for our songs. Even on a bad day, that kind of energy could pull me out of a funk in no time. On a night like this, where I just wanted to completely lose myself in the music, the fans made it easy. We were about halfway through our set and doing the acoustic songs when it happened. I was on my knees on the stage singing the first verse of “Mirage” to a girl in the front row.

  “I lie awake

  These sleepless nights can last forever.

  I try to take you in.

  “I can’t believe

  You’re in my arms- and here with me

  I pinch myself again.”

  She was biting her lip and grinning up at me. She reached out to me, and I had just taken her hand when suddenly her knees buckled, and she collapsed right in front of me. My heart clenched as her fingers slipped from mine. It all happened so fast, even for me, and I reacted by dropping my mic and jumping down from the stage. I hopped the barricade to keep her from getting trampled by the fans around her. I’m sure I moved a little faster than normal, but by the time everyone had realized what was going on, and the guys stopped playing the song, I’d already scooped her up into my arms. Tytus got to me pretty fast and moved the barricade out of the way, following behind me while the venue security kept the crowd in check. The giant vampire was already coming in handy. Maybe hiring him would be beneficial in more than one way, after all.

  “Do you want me to take her?” Tytus asked.

  “I’ve got her,” I said. I wasn’t sure why, but I couldn’t get myself to hand the girl over. Something like guilt had a hold of me, and all I could do about it was carry her backstage myself. Luckily, the room where the paramedics were doing first aid on anyone who had a bump or a scrap wasn’t far. I laid her down on a cot where a woman paramedic checked her vitals.

  “Get back out there. We’ve got her,” she assured me. I hesitated, not wanting to just leave her like that. The woman gave me a warm smile while she put a cool, wet rag on the girl’s forehead. “Probably dehydration, or low blood sugar. It’s usually one of the two. She’ll come around.”

  Just then the door opened again and Aurora came into the room. She read me instantly, as usual.

  “I’ll stay with her,” she said to me.

  The paramedic smiled at Aurora and nodded toward a folding chair nearby. “Make yourself at home.”

  “You’ll tell her I was here?” I said.

  “Honey,” the paramedic began. “The star of the show just carried her backstage. Everyone’s going to be telling her.” She had a point. “I’ll take good care of her.”

  I nodded. “Thanks.”

  Feeling somewhat better about the situation, I gave Aurora a quick kiss and headed back out, entering the stage from the side. O’Shea was giving his version of a lecture to the crowd on the importance of drinking water during a concert. He was leading the fans in a water chugging contest.

  “Come on,” he was saying into his mic, after having just downed a bottle of water. “If you don’t have to pee yet, you’re not doing it right.” He noticed me then, and with his back to the crowd mouthed the words, “She okay?”

  I nodded, picking up my mic from where I’d let it drop to the stage, and gave it an experimental tap. “This thing still work?” I said, hearing my voice come through the monitors loud and clear. “She’ll be fine,” I said into it, seeing the sea of heads nod in relief at my assurance. “Thanks for being patient while I took care of that,” I added. “We feel responsible for you guys when you come out to see us. Do me a favor and watch out for the people around you. We don’t want anyone getting hurt. Am I right?” I nodded while the crowd cheered in agreement.” I turned to make eye contact with Jonas, O’Shea and Chase in turn and then turned back to the crowd. “Well, the only thing better than getting to do “Mirage” is getting to do it twice.”

  The crowd responded with an enthusiastic roar as Chase counted off the song and we played it again. The rest of the set was smooth sailing, but I was anxious to see Aurora in the dressing room when we headed back to get ready for the encore.

  “She came to just after you left,” she said as soon as she saw me. “
She’s okay.”

  I smiled, feeling a little lighter. “Thanks,” I told her as I sat down in the makeup chair so she could zombify me.

  After the encore, I showered and got all the zombie make-up off my face before I met Aurora on the bus. She was just finishing up what seemed to be an intense conversation with Antonio when I climbed on board.

  “How’s Antonio?” I asked casually.

  “He’s good,” she answered. “I was just telling him it was a pretty intense show tonight,” she added.

  “You can say that again.”

  She sat down by me and pulled my hand onto her knee, entwining our fingers together. “I was watching from the other side of the stage when that girl went down,” she added as an after-thought.

  I sighed and squeezed her hand. “People pass out at concerts all the time,” I told her. “I’m just not usually making eye contact with them when it happens. The way the crowd was revved up tonight, I was afraid she was going to get trampled. I’d been singing to her on and off the whole show. She seemed to be enjoying it. I don’t know. Maybe I overdid it?”

  What I wasn’t saying, but Aurora was probably reading in me anyway, was that it had freaked me out when I saw how the girl’s eyes had glazed over right before she fell. It was exactly like the look people get in their eyes when you’ve drank from them, and they’re still in that vamp-induced haze. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to that. I wasn’t sure I wanted to. That was probably where the giant ball of guilt had come from. It had only just started to go away, but now that we were talking about the girl again, I could feel it rising up once more.

  “Yeah,” Aurora said slowly. “About that....”

  I turned to face her. “What about it?”

  She bit her bottom lip and said, “I think I’ve figured out what your moon-given talent is.”