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“That’s the part that makes this exciting.”
“It is exciting.”
He kept her on the line until Jordan came for him.
The guys hung out on the bus before they had to head backstage and prepare for the show. Except for Kelly. Kelly hadn’t made it back yet. Adam, who was apparently inspired by his woman leaving him, was having a great songwriting day. Owen couldn’t remember the last time the lyrics and music had flowed so easily for him. The entire band was riding Adam’s creative high. Owen was in a better mood now that he and Caitlyn had talked and she’d made her list of plans, so he joked around with his bandmates like old times. The camaraderie between them actually felt normal for a change.
About an hour before the show, Owen began to feel that something was wrong. The band was getting along better than it ever had and was currently goofing off backstage with some VIP guests, so that bit of anxiety was missing and couldn’t explain the dread he was feeling. Kelly still hadn’t arrived, and Owen started to think maybe something terrible had happened to him. They’d been friends so long that he sometimes thought they shared a psychic link. He called Kelly to put his mind at ease, and Kelly answered on the first ring.
“I’m stuck in traffic. Some accident has the entire highway closed. I hope I can get to the show in time.”
“You’re okay, though?” Owen asked.
“Of course. Other than being highly annoyed. Sorry to worry you.”
“Like I’d ever worry about you.” But he had been worried, because even though he was talking to Kelly, something still felt wrong. “I’ll let the guys know you might be late.”
“I refuse to be late, even if I have to hydroplane this rental car through the bayou.”
Owen laughed at the mental image and told Kelly he’d see him soon. He called Caitlyn next. She was fine and not even slightly annoyed that he’d called. He phoned his mom and asked how her day with Lindsey had gone—maybe something was wrong with the baby. But all was well on the home front too.
“Did Chad call you tonight?” Mom asked.
Chad! That was why he was feeling off. His brother called every couple of nights. It wasn’t unusual for him to miss calling; he was a busy soldier, after all. But that had to be why Owen felt off. “Maybe he called Josie.” Chad was less likely to miss calling his long-time girlfriend than his parents and younger brother.
“Nope. That’s why I asked if he called you. Josie asked if I’d heard from him.”
“I’m sure he’s fine,” Owen said, clutching the dog tags around his neck and sending a silent prayer to his brother’s protector. He almost let it slip to Mom that they’d be seeing Chad soon, but remembered in time that Chad had sworn him to secrecy. Chad wanted to surprise everyone by returning from his tour of duty unannounced.
“I’m sure he is too,” Mom said. “Don’t worry about Lindsey and the baby. I’ll take good care of them while you’re away.”
Owen bit his lip to hold back a laugh. Did his mother imagine he was sitting around ringing his hands over Lindsey? She’d be sorely disappointed by her son in that regard. Lindsey was out of sight, out of mind.
Owen texted several people on his contact list—including his grandmother—to assure himself that everyone was okay. Yet he still couldn’t shake the feeling that all was not right in the world. While Owen was saying goodbye to his “perfectly fine” cousin Pete, Kelly rushed behind the stage, joining the rest of the band just minutes before they were to go on.
“You made it,” Owen said, slapping him on the arm.
“Remind me never to drive from Galveston to New Orleans again.”
Owen glanced around. He’d suspected it when he’d talked to Kelly in the car, but the lack of a woman in tow confirmed his suspicions. “Dawn didn’t come back with you?”
Kelly shook his head. “We’re trying to sort out where we go next.”
Owen scratched his jaw. “Yeah, Caitlyn and I hit that point as well. Fortunately, we talked it out and are moving forward.”
Kelly offered him a weak smile. “That’s great.”
Owen frowned. He felt Kelly was feigning enthusiasm, but he threw off his concern to ask, “You ever get the feeling that something is wrong? Or that something bad is about to happen?”
“Sometimes,” Kelly said.
“I’ve been feeling like that for about an hour. I called a bunch of people, and everyone assures me they’re okay, but this feeling of dread won’t go away.”
“Where’s Adam?” Jacob unexpectedly interjected himself into Owen and Kelly’s conversation.
Owen glanced around, not seeing any sign of their lead guitarist, and shrugged. “No idea.”
Jacob turned his attention to the black guitar—Adam’s favorite—sitting in a stand next to the stage. “He left his guitar.”
“Maybe he had to go to the bathroom,” Kelly suggested, his grin wide. “Ever try to take a piss with a guitar strapped on?”
“Can’t say that I have,” Jacob said, his gaze trained on the double doors that led to the dressing room.
Maybe that was what was giving Owen unshakable anxiety. Maybe something had happened to Adam during the minutes Owen had been contacting almost every person he knew. As far as he knew, Adam hadn’t been using heroin again, but he had been working on his songwriting today, and in the past he’d abused drugs to get the edge he needed to write. Owen was grateful when Jacob sent a couple of roadies to search for the missing guitarist, praying they wouldn’t find him in some bathroom stall suffering another heroin overdose.
They waited in terse silence for signs of the guitarist. Gabe eventually came down from the stage where he’d been waiting behind his drum kit to start the show. “What’s the holdup?”
“Adam’s missing,” Jacob said.
“Missing?”
“Yeah, he was just here.”
And it was as if he’d vanished.
“Should we go look for him?” Owen asked Kelly.
“Let the road crew handle it. We wouldn’t want them to have to round us all up again when they find him.”
Except when the crew returned about ten minutes later, Adam wasn’t with them.
“He wasn’t in the bathroom or the dressing room,” one roadie said.
“Not on the bus either,” another told them. “I found his earpiece on the ground behind the bus. At least I think it’s his.”
The guy dropped the earpiece into Jacob’s outstretched hand. “Was his motorcycle still there?” Jacob asked.
“I didn’t see one.”
“Fuck!” Jacob yelled. “Did he say anything to any of you?”
When Jacob’s glare landed on Owen, Owen shook his head and glanced at Kelly, who shook his head as well.
“Fuck!” Jacob shouted again. “What in the hell is he thinking?”
The feeling of dread intensified in Owen, so strong that he rubbed at his chest. And Owen figured he knew what had caused it. “Maybe there’s an emergency.” It seemed the only logical reason why their lead guitarist would leave right before the show without telling anyone where he was going.
“Even if there is, he could have taken a few seconds to tell someone,” Jacob said.
That was true. Unless he was unconscious.
“Fuck!” Jacob yelled his favorite word again. “I’m going after him.”
“Do you know where he went?” Gabe asked.
Jacob checked his phone, and Owen realized he was tracking him with that creepy app he had installed to keep tabs on their recovering-addict guitarist.
“Fuck!” he yelled when apparently the app confirmed his fears. “He’s headed west.”
“What’s west?” Kelly asked.
“Texas. Madison. His fucking heroin dealer. How the hell should I know?”
“Calm down,” Owen said. Throwing a tantrum wouldn’t get them anywhere. “We’ll figure something out.”
“I’ll try calling him,” Kelly said in a calm voice. Owen was glad one of them was calm. Even Gabe
was pacing now. “Maybe he’ll answer.”
“What’s going on?” Sally said, announcing her arrival backstage. “Why aren’t you on stage?”
“Adam isn’t here,” Jacob said. “We can’t perform without our lead guitarist, can we?”
