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Though the time was probably inappropriate, Jade loved the sound of Ryker’s deep voice rumbling her name.
He continued, “Any special requests or issues run past me. Go nowhere alone. You are more vulnerable by yourself. Backstage bathroom? Hotel suite? We check first. Every time. Walking from the bus or limo to the hotel or the venue? Never alone. Understood?”
Mumbled assent came from around the room.
Ryker pointed to each of the men in line beside him. First to the tall man next to him, whose long brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail. “This is Drake.” Then to the man next to Drake with a shaved head. “Benny.” The third man had a buzz cut and a sharp jaw. “Roark.” The fourth man had buzz cut blond hair and an eagle tattoo on his forearm. “Diesel.” He gestured to all of them. “This is the VSS team. Don’t trust anyone you don’t see here.”
He continued, “We’ll be training your normal security to prevent these kinds of incidents moving forward and will also work with each venue’s teams to ensure your safety. You will get to know all of us very well until we resolve this.”
Jade asked, “What about tonight’s show? It’s sold out. We’re already here. Can we still play?”
Tawny answered. “No, absolutely not. We have to reschedule this show. There’s no time to safety-check everything at this venue before you go on. We’ve already sent out the press release. Tonight’s show is canceled.”
Exactly what Jade had feared. All those disappointed fans... Anger shot through her.
“Dammit!” Jade jumped to her feet and hurled her drum sticks across the room, narrowly missing Tawny. “First our roadie, and now our fans. Who does this stalker think he is? He can be pissed at me, but he can’t fuck with the band. It’s got to be someone on tour. Who else would know what hotels we’re staying at and what my room numbers are? Who else could have watched all that go down earlier with the lighting rig? And who else could’ve heard me fucking Twisty-Tongue last night in the dressing room? Definitely someone on tour.”
“Twisty-Tongue?” Ryker asked with a raised eyebrow.
Jade’s angry gaze turned on him.
“Really? That’s all you took from what I said? Un-fucking-believable, Mr. Head of Security.”
Shockingly, Ryker rolled his eyes at her.
She crossed her arms over her chest. She’d thrown her sticks too soon. If she had waited a minute, she could have hurled them at him and it would have been so much more satisfying.
He said, “No, that’s not all I took from your tantrum but that was the one tidbit I didn’t already know.” His eyes challenged hers.
He continued, “We are well aware the stalker is likely someone on tour. We’ve already started background checks on everyone. We checked out the phone number from the text message, but it was a prepaid burner phone with no identifying information. Until we find out more from the background checks, it’s wait-and-see. Which is why we need to keep you all safe in the meantime.”
His gaze flicked around the room, and he addressed everyone.
“For now, the plan is get back on the bus for the next leg of the tour. We’ll arrive at the next venue early and set up for the day. The most important thing is keeping everyone safe while my team finds the attacker.”
Jade wasn’t sure whether to be pissed off or impressed. Ryker had serious-attitude hidden under that professional demeanor. Now, if only she didn’t look forward to challenging him so much.
Chapter 2
Jade
Back on the tour bus, Jade settled onto the leather couch in the back lounge to play video games and stew about the show’s cancellation. She’d already shut all the curtains and closed the compartment door so she could be alone in the dark.
The record label provided a nice bus for Lovely Oblivion on this tour, which had both front and back lounges, a kitchenette, bunks, and bathroom. It was a nice setup with wall-mounted TVs in each lounge, that were hooked to the latest Xbox systems. Compartment doors separated the bunks from the lounges. Compared to their old bus, which the band purchased themselves with scraped-together funds, this was the holy grail.
To blow off steam, Jade immersed herself in the latest Grand Theft Auto, where she repeatedly stole and crashed cars just because she could.
The compartment door slid open, letting light into the lounge. Someone stepped in and closed the door behind them.
“I don’t want company. Go away,” she said without looking to see who it was, but she had a good guess.
“I need to ask you some questions,” Ryker’s deep voice rumbled, confirming her guess.
“Can it wait? I’m being destructive right now and I want to concentrate on that.”
“It can’t wait.” Ryker took the seat furthest from her on the couch. Inexplicably, a sense of warmth and comfort embraced her, even with Ryker sitting so far away.
Jade sighed and paused her game. She looked at his serious face in the light from the TV. “All right, but I need a ‘pretty please’ or I won’t say anything.”
