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Emma
Emma wiped the sweat from her brow. Her hair stuck to her neck under the hot spotlights. Her chest heaved as adrenaline coursed through her veins. The cheers from the crowd were deafening. Closing her eyes, she relished the high—every atom buzzing and alive. Moments of happiness were fleeting in her life. But the stage was one place Emma didn’t doubt she belonged. Here she was, Emma Sterling, rock goddess and lead singer of The Sirens.
She lifted the microphone to her lips as the last notes of the electric guitar ended. “Thank you, Nashville, and goodnight!”
Screams erupted and chants for a second encore echoed as she exited the stage, her bandmates at her heels. Yes! What a goddamn high.
“Here.” Callie, their band manager, handed her a bottle of water as she sunk onto the couch in the green room.
“Thanks.” Emma twisted the top before guzzling half the bottle.
“Taking care of you is my job.” Callie winked. “And I’d be more than happy to meet all your needs. Just say the word.”
Emma let her eyes wander over the gorgeous woman’s body. It wasn’t the first time Callie had offered. But Emma didn’t mix business and pleasure anymore. That was the deal they’d made as a group after Asher had stirred up trouble with the last manager by sleeping with him.
“Fuck, that was rough without Geo,” Asher said, sliding in next to her, beer in hand. His dark eyes clouded over as an invisible weight descended upon the room.
She reached out and took his palm in hers. His long fingers wrapped around hers and squeezed.
“Geo will be back. He’ll get through this. We have a lawyer working on an appeal.” She offered him what she hoped was a comforting smile.
“He turned the suit down,” Nicky said, blowing out a cloud of smoke before passing the blunt to Leo.
“Why would he do that?” Emma gasped.
“Because he thinks he deserves prison,” Ravi grumbled.
“It was an accident. He didn’t mean to—”
Leo held his hands up. “We know that. Tell it to Geo.”
Emma shook her head and swallowed the lump in her throat. Just when they’d hit it big, achieved the dreams they’d fought so hard for as a team, Geo had been ripped out of their lives—all for a drunken mistake.
They’d lost their second guitarist, their best friend, and brother. This can’t get any worse.
Missing Geo only added to the ache in her soul. She took another sip of water, trying to quell the nerves. The hollow pain increased as the high from performing wore off. No one cared about her dark family history on stage. Or her long string of ex-boyfriends and girlfriends, who never came close to filling the hole in the center of her heart. Reality slammed into her. Numbness sunk inside her bones like gravity. Wanting reared its ugly head once again. She was homesick for a place she’d never known, yearning for someone she’d never had.
Why wasn’t she happier? Even before Geo had been taken away, a grey had settled over her life. Shadows had followed her ever since she could remember. She’d thought for sure making her dreams come true would chase them away for good and thrust her into the light. But this was like climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and the view being just okay.
Maybe there is something wrong with me. Why couldn’t she feel anything unless it came with an adrenaline rush or endorphins?
Giggles filtered into the room as Callie let in the few VIPs and groupies.
“Oh my God! It’s her!” someone screamed.
Emma braced herself for the onslaught of questions and pictures.
“Em? Your phone’s been blowing up.” Callie handed it to her.
Emma glanced at the screen and her heart stuttered.
Link.
Why would he be calling her? Her belly flipped and tumbled with nerves. He never called her, much less spoke to her when they were in the same room—as rare as that was. He put up with her for her stepdad’s sake.
Her phone rang again.
