“Bonjour,” Yvette said in a silky tone. “Miss us?”
Four
JONAS
“This way,” Dix said as the girls strode out on the stage. I cut a look at him. Ramsey stared after KC for a beat before he frowned at Dix. For his part, the bodyguard motioned to the back. “We’re going around again. Better to be where they exit the stage than over here and in the way.”
Yeah. He had a point. Still, I shot a look toward the stage as the three of them got the masses revved up again. I hadn’t realized how they handled the stage together. They traded off who took the lead both in vocals and in charming the crowd. I always thought of KC as the star—
Or maybe I’d just decided she had to be. When you thought about Torched, you thought about Kaitlin Crosse—her blue hair, her stunning blue eyes, and the tangle of tattoos decorating her arms. Yvette and Aubrey were both good-looking, I supposed. They seemed to get attention, yet I couldn’t take my eyes off KC. And I didn’t want to even try.
I scanned the backstage as we followed Dix around the stagehands and others who were hustling. It was a constant hive of motion back here. Made sense. Once we arrived at stage right where they would exit, Lachlan began to pace.
His agitation made me itch. Where Lachlan kept moving, his attention divided between the monitors that let us see the stage from the audience angle and looking out onto the stage itself, Ramsey was absolutely still. Arms folded, he stared at the stage with a nearly expressionless face. Anger thrummed through me.
Gibs.
Her manager.
Her mother.
Did anyone come through for her who wasn’t here to get something for themselves?
“You better not be here to talk to any of them,” Lachlan said abruptly, and I pivoted to face Teddy. Speaking of scum-sucking, pieces of shit. A red mark marred the underside of his right eye and part of his cheek. That was going to leave a bruise.
Good.
Lachlan was closer, but since he already got to belt the manager once, maybe he’d let me have the second go-round.
“What do you need?” Dix asked when Ramsey just fixed a cool, impersonal gaze on the guy. Yeah, Teddy ambushed KC. I didn’t give a damn what he wanted.
“They need to do press,” Teddy said, barely sparing us a look, though he was maintaining his distance. “As soon as they come offstage, we need them for the behind-the-scenes look and for the special that’s airing.”
I wanted to argue against that.
Lachlan clenched his fists.
Ramsey, however, sighed. “We’ll tell them when they come off. Except if they don’t want to, we’re not making them.”
Them.
Her.
It was the same thing. Those girls were a team. More, they were friends. I could wish I was worth that kind of loyalty.
“Agreed,” Dix said, then faced Teddy. “You won’t get them there if you’re the one who tells them.”
Of that, I had no doubt.
The man sighed. “She’ll figure out soon enough that it was business. Those few minutes out there were golden and will fuel online discourse and more for months.”
I snorted.
“You truly believe that?” Ramsey sounded disgusted. Probably hard not to sound annoyed and disgusted by that behavior. It was pretty reprehensible.
“I know that. My job isn’t to pat them on the head or look after their feelings. It’s to look after their bottom line and their contracts. That ten minutes on stage to open with her dad—the first time they’ve ever performed together? That’s a gold mine.”
“She’s never going to thank you for it,” Lachlan warned him, his knuckles turning white.
“She doesn’t have to,” Teddy said as he smoothed back his hair. “Press room, as soon as they are off stage. This isn’t negotiable. They know about the drive-by and we’ll need at least five minutes with all three of them and possibly another five or ten individually.”
“As I said,” Ramsey stated coolly, “we’ll let them know when they leave the stage.”
But if KC or any of them wanted to leave, then we were leaving. Somehow, I doubted she would leave, though. This event was too important. It was why she’d stayed out on that stage. Why she’d gone right back out there now. The transition as she shook off the sadness and defeat to strut out onto that stage had to be seen to be believed.
“Dix,” Teddy said, switching his attention.
“Yep,” the other man said without a look at Teddy. His expression was less friendly than Lachlan’s and he hadn’t even been there for the ambush. Then again, he wanted KC to himself and he really didn’t like us.
The feeling was wholly mutual.
“Yeah, you know—” KC’s voice drifted back as they took a beat after their last song. “We promised you something brand new tonight. It’s a new single, our first to be released since we took our break. Music is a passion. It gets into your blood, sets you on fire, and never lets you go. Sometimes, I think music is the best thing I’ve ever experienced, and others…I worry that it’s the cruelest of mistresses. I love music. I want to give it my everything and at times it takes everything from me. As much as we needed that break from touring, the music was still there.”
“She’s also got a way with words,” Aubrey teased. “If you haven’t noticed.” I caught KC flipping her off on stage and the roar of laughter and cheers from the crowd said they didn’t miss it either.
“Thank you,” KC said with a grin, then she stared right into the camera like she was looking at me. “Just so you all know, songs, like a lot of creative works, aren’t made in a vacuum. Even when I write the music, the girls listen to it and offer tweaks and suggestions. I do the same with theirs. It’s collaborative. We’re lucky. The last couple of years, I’ve gotten to work with someone who is—gifted. Let’s just say, his music? It gets you right in the heart and it doesn’t let go.
“The best part is he isn’t just a gifted songwriter, he’s my friend—”
“Our friend,” Aubrey agreed and KC shot her a dazzling smile.
Then they both looked at Yvette, who made a show of huffing a long sigh. “Fine, our friend.” Then she winked at the camera. “Don’t let this go to your head.”
I couldn’t help my own smile. They were playing with the audience, with each other—
“Jonas Dekkar was there when I was writing this next piece and he helped bring it to life. So, while this is our new single—it’s Jonas’ first to be recorded, so you should all keep an ear out. He’s gonna do amazing things.”
My heart stopped.
“Thank you, Jonas,” KC said. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
Then the music started as the crowd cheered and I forgot how to breathe. Ramsey clapped a hand on my shoulder and I cut a look up at him. All at once, KC’s voice rose above the music and jerked all of my attention back to the stage. I couldn’t take my eyes off them.
The interweaving of their vocals was the final piece to crown all the elements that had gone into the song. KC had written the music and the lyrics. Yes, I offered some advice, but this piece was all her.