She brushes down the skirt of her blue business suit and then tucks her red hair behind her ear. “No, he doesn’t have that power. You guys signed a contract, and it wouldn’t be worth what it would cost to compensate you this close to the end. However,” I groan because I don’t like the sound of that, however. “Nate could make your life very difficult, Ember. Nate Rigby has a massive following. If he decided to spread lies about you, it wouldn’t be good.”
“You wouldn’t be able to fix it?” I know the answer to my question before Caren gives it to me.
“When a man like Nate puts out that he was wronged, people listen. That man has ruined careers bigger than yours before now.” I scrub my hands over my face in frustration. “Of course, I would do everything in my power to limit the damage. Just be aware that once thoughts and doubts are planted, it’s not easy to change them.”
Great, just fucking great!
“If Colin and the others lose everything because of you…”
“Don’t threaten me, Hannah!”
She gives me a hard stare and breathes deeply through her nose. “I’m not, I’m just saying that if Nate wants to, he could ruin us. Would sleeping with him be that bad?” My eyes widen in shock. I can’t believe she just said that! “He’s not too bad to look at. It probably wouldn’t even last more than twenty seconds. What’s a few seconds compared to the rest of your life?”
It’s so easy for Hannah to sit there and say all of that, she’s not the one who would have to have sex with that pig.
“My mother taught me that men like Nate don’t stop just because they got what they wanted. They merely have something to hold over you - a way to make you do, exactly what they want, when they want if you don’t want anyone to find out. If I slept with that pig, it wouldn’t be the end of it,”
“Ember is right,” Caren sighs. “Sadly, she is. Men like Nate secretly record the act and then use it against the girl. I’m pretty sure that’s how he’s gotten away with half of the things he’s done to women in the past. The man is a moron, but he’s smart when it comes to blackmailing someone.”
“I don’t care!” Hannah snaps angrily. “If Colin and the boys hadn’t brought you in, none of this would be happening! My God,” She bites down on her knuckles. “Colin has worked so hard for this, and now he could lose it all,” She shakes her head.
Hannah is upset, I get that, but I think she’s being a little dramatic.
I honestly don’t know what to do for the best right now. My nerves are all tingling and not in a good way. I don’t want to sleep with that man, but I don’t want him to dump a heap of trouble on the band either. We’re new to the industry, and we don’t have the connections Nate and his band have.
If I give Nate what he wants, he could trap me. If he did that, I’d be at his beck and call until God knows when.
What if he forced me to be his girl?
What if you have the Snakes off him?
That’s… Not a good idea. If I called any member of Snakes Henchmen MC, they’d rush over here and kill Nate without question.
God, what am I going to do?
“I’ll fix this.” I tell Hannah and Caren before walking away.
“What are you going to do?” Hannah stops me in my tracks. I turn to face Hannah as she gets out of her seat. “What on earth could you do to fix this, Ember?”
“I don’t know yet,” Hannah rolls her eyes while folding her arms around herself. “I just need to speak to someone. Whenever I’m lost or confused, this person sets me on the right track. I will fix this, Hannah. Colin, Marco, and the others won’t lose what they’ve built, I promise you.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” Hannah turns away from me, and I sigh.
“Whatever you’re thinking of doing, I strongly suggest you don’t,” I stare at Caren. “I’ve been doing this job a long time, and I’ve known many Nate Rigby’s. They always win in the end, Ember.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
Caren raises her eyebrow. “I’m here to give you the truth, not baby you, Ember. Be careful with Nate, and remember what I previously told you.”
Every situation is a photo opportunity for any random on the street. Photographs can be manipulated, just as video’s can. Never put yourself in a position that would have the public perceive you as anything other than the band we’re selling you as.
What you do in your own time is your choice. Just remember that each decision you make has a consequence. I’ll be around to fix whatever messes I can and get you out of as much trouble as possible.
However, never forget that not all things are fixable.
“Hey, superstar!” I laugh while closing my bedroom door. “It’s been a while. How’re you doing?”
“I’m doing good, Eagle. How are you?”
“You know me,” He laughs and leaves it there. My brother never changes, and I wouldn’t want him to because Eagle is perfect the way he is.
I’d love to chat with my brother for hours, but I need his help right now. If anyone can help me, it’s Eagle.
“The guys and I are taking part in a little quiz between the bands we’re touring with. We’re losing,” I laugh, hoping Eagle will buy my story. “So what I’m calling for is your help, basically to cheat. Please?”
“Figures,” He laughs. “Okay, what is it you need help with?”
“Well, we’ve been given a situation. We have to figure a way to get out of it without killing anyone.”
“Go on,”
“Okay. Ms. S. is blackmailing Mr. X. If he doesn’t sleep with her, she’ll tell everyone, including his wife, that he sexually assaulted her. Mr. X is scared because he knows, even if it’s not true, a scandal like that will ruin him. Mr. X also knows that if he gives in to the woman, it won’t end there. She’ll keep coming back for more because she would secretly record their encounter and now would have a way to control him. How do you stop Ms. S?”
“Hmm,” Eagle thinks about what I’ve said for a moment before answering. “Mr. X must play Ms. S at her own game.”
“How, exactly?” I ask, nervously while biting the pad of my thumb.
Eagle chuckles. He knows that he’s smarter than me and always has been. Eagle is more intelligent than most people, and he never misses a trick. “Mr. X should tell Ms. S that he’ll do what she wants. However, he should not go to a room of her choosing in case that’s where she hid the camera. Also, Mr. X should make sure he can see Ms. S’s cell phone at all times. Cover or hide the phone without Ms. S, noticing if possible. All the while, Mr. X should have his phone recording everything that is said and done at this time. He should trick Ms. S into confessing all that she had done to get Mr. X there and why.”
I swallow while trying not to miss anything my brother is telling me.
“Once Mr. X has the confession, he must tell Ms. S that the deal is off. He can’t do this to his wife. Once he’s a safe distance from Ms. S, Mr. X should edit the recording, putting Ms. S in a bad light. Then, he should make a dozen copies on separate devices, so that if Miss S does steal Mr. X’s cell phone after hearing the recording, Mr. X has backup.”
I absorb the information like a sponge and hope that I can retain it. I should be writing all of this down!
“Mr. X should then make sure that Ms. S knows that if she leaks any kind of story about him, or if anything should happen to him or his wife, every person they work with and the police will receive copies. If this happens, life as Ms. S knows it will be over.”
I realize my mouth is hanging open too wide. I slam it shut. “Wow,” Eagle laughs. “You just thought that up on the spot?”
“Yeah, I work with what I’ve got. Besides, it’s not hard when you’re me.”
“I think you may have won us the challenge!” This could work, I just have to plan it properly. “I love you, Mikey,”
“I love you, too, Member,” We both laugh loudly. It’s so good to laugh with my baby brother. “Now, go stick it to whoever i
s trying to fuck you over.”
“Eagle, I… I…” I swallow hard.
“I’m the smart one, remember? Nothing gets past me, Ember.” I nod my head even though Eagle can’t see me doing so. I should have known he’d work it out. “You might be out there making your mark on the world, but remember who you are, Ember. You are the daughter of Nova and Tank, big sister to Eagle. You’re a Snakes Henchmen girl, and you always will be.”
I end the call after saying goodbye and tap my phone against my lips. What I’m about to do is stupid, I know that. However, I have to do something to stop Nate. I won’t live like this, always wondering when and if Nate will push his lies about me out there. Caren is right, and it won’t matter what I say because no one will believe a nobody like me.
But I am someone, I am Ember Marshall, and I am my mother’s daughter! No man is going to get the better of me!
Chapter Fifteen
Marco
“You can’t go off like that here, Marco. Too many people have eyes on us.”
Colin knows only too well that I have a temper. Bob and Saint have witnessed it a fair few times in the past. I try to control it the best I can, and I think I’ve been doing pretty well of late.
Seeing that asshole and the way he had Ember pinned to the side of his tour bus, I’ll admit, I almost lost it. If it weren’t for Ember, I’d have broken Nate’s damn neck!
The man is obsessed with Ember. Every chance he gets, he’s pulling her to one side. Colin even caught Nate cornering Ember before we went on stage a couple of days ago. Of course, Colin flipped his lid and told Nate to stay the hell away. But it seems that it doesn’t matter who warns Nate, nor how many times, he won’t stop until he takes what he wants from Ember.
No matter what I have to do, I’ll get us through the last leg of this tour, and protect Ember from Nate. He can threaten what he likes, and he can even follow through with it, but he’s not getting his hands on Ember.
Scandals happen every day, yet tomorrow the attention will be elsewhere. I don’t give a damn what Nate does to me, but these guys in front of me don’t deserve anything but good things. They’ve worked so hard all these years to get to where they are right now. I can’t let Nate Rigby fuck this up for them.
No matter what you do, Marco, things will be fucked up for all of you.
“He was a lot calmer the second Ember touched his arm,” Bob smirks at me, but I don’t answer him. I’m too busy looking at the sun setting slowly behind him.
I didn’t go far after I left Ember at the bus. I walked for a couple of minutes before the guys caught up with me. Ember seemed to think that I was angry with her, and I couldn’t correct her because I was scared of what I’d say.
“I know this thing with Nate is getting to you, Marco. His obsession with Ember is bordering on crazy and pissing us all off. But we have to ignore him and get on with things.”
I narrow my eyes at Colin. “Ignore him? Am I supposed to ignore Nate when he corners Ember? Puts his hands on her? Blackmails her?” I yell. “I’m pretty sure you’d break his spine if he told Hannah she had to sleep with him, or he’d ruin us.”
Colin’s eyes widen, and I shake my head. Colin knows full well that he’d kill Nate if he messed with Hannah. Why is Ember any different? She’s a woman, my woman one day, if I have my way, and no one is going to get away with threatening her!
“Marco’s got a point,” Saint tells Colin. “Ember is one of us now, and we can’t let Nate keep doing the to her or us.”
“Ember can tell Nate no all she likes,” I run my hand through my hair and stare at Bob. “But everyone knows he always comes good on his threats.”
“He can do what he wants, but he’s not touching her!” I will honestly kill the man before I let him touch one hair on Ember’s head.
“We’re not suggesting that he does, Marco,” Colin raises his eyebrow at me, silently telling me that I should already know that. Deep down, I did know.
“We need to speak to Caren about how we go about things. Isn’t that why Mike McKinley sent her to us?”
Saint’s right, that is why the record company boss sent Caren to us. She’s a fixer, though I don’t have a clue what she can do about Nate. But I’ll try anything right now.
“We have six gigs left on this tour,” Colin points out the obvious. “I say we keep close to Ember at all times. That way, Nate won’t get the chance to be alone with her. I also think we should stay at hotels during each stop. Staying on the bus, with all these others around us, gives Nate too much opportunity to get Ember alone.”
As crazy as that sounds, Colin is right. With each tour bus comes roadies, and camera crews, filming all the damn time for some DVD about Canyons Reef. There are so many people around that no one would notice should Nate drag Ember onto his tour bus.
“Can we afford that right now?” Bob points out. “We may have signed a record deal, but the check’s not in the bank yet.”
“It won’t cost the rest of you anything. If you guys stay on the bus, I’ll take Ember to a hotel and make sure she’s safe.”
Each one of them raises an eyebrow. I know what they’re thinking, but they’re wrong.
“Do you think that’s a good idea?” Colin stares at me as if to say, Well, do you? “We all know how you feel about Ember, Marco. It’s written all over your face each time you look at her. You and Ember in a hotel alone is not a good idea. Hannah and I will take Ember. You stay on the bus with the others.”
I want to argue with Colin, but I know that he’s right. It would be better for him to take Ember. I’m falling for that girl, and I’m falling hard. If we were alone together, I’m not sure I could stop myself from telling her how I feel.
“What if Nate starts making trouble for us?”
“Then nothing we say or do will stop him, Saint.” I shrug. “To be honest, I don’t care what he does. People will talk for a few days, and we’ll do whatever it takes to fix what Nate Rigby believes he’s broken.”
“I guess that’s all we can do.” Bob rubs his hand over his tired face.
I’m not going to kid myself into thinking people won’t see us in a different light if Nate starts shooting his mouth off. But I do know that nothing is more important to me right now than Ember.
The boys and I talk for a while longer before heading back to the bus. My head is a little clearer, and I guess I just needed an hour with my best friends.
Hannah and Caren are sitting on the couch, and neither of them looks happy.
“Hannah? Everything okay?”
Hannah looks from Colin to Caren, who nods her head. “We were just talking about this Nate thing.”
“We’ll sort it,” I tell them.
Caren shakes her head. “That won’t be necessary.”
“And why’s that?” Saint narrows his eyes while folding his arms around his chest.
Hannah gets out of her seat and walks into Colin’s arms. Something is not right here.
“Where’s Ember?”
“In her room,” Caren coughs to clear her throat. “You don’t need to worry about Nate because Ember gave him what he wanted.”
It takes a moment for it to register what Caren said. Ember slept with Nate Rigby. I feel sick to my stomach because I know Ember did it for the band.
“She made a call to someone then left,” Hannah looks at me when she speaks. “She came back around twenty minutes later. Her clothes were torn, her hair a mess, and she had a bruised cheek.”
My blood is at boiling point. Colin looks at me and shakes his head, warning me not to do anything stupid. Easy for him to say!
I roll my neck and feel the pop. My palms are itching to kill Nate Rigby! What gave him the right to force Ember’s hand the way he did?
Fucking celebrities!
“We asked if she was okay,” Caren continues. “But Ember told us that she’d fixed everything, and Nate wouldn’t be bothering her or any of you again. It doesn’t take a genius to work out what Ember had done.
She took off to the shower and came out ten minutes later. She put her clothes in a trash bag and tossed them out. After that, Ember took to her room a few minutes before you guys walked through the door. I warned Ember not to go to Nate. I guess she thought it was the only way to make him back off you guys.” Caren shrugs.
No one says anything for a while, and Caren soon makes her excuses to leave. She has business with Matt before we leave.
I want to check on Ember, but I’m too angry to do so. I’m not angry with Ember; I’m angry that she has to stoop to such a low act for us.
* * *
I can’t sleep, so I’m sitting on the couch alone and writing angry lyrics. I also wish that I hadn’t walked away from Ember when I did. If I’d come on board and stayed with her, maybe Ember would have spoken to me about what she planned to do. Perhaps then I would have been able to talk her out of this madness.
I reach my arm over the side of the couch and grab my beer from the table. It’s my sixth beer inside of an hour, and it’s hitting me hard.
Alcohol will have that effect when you’ve not touched it in a while, Marco. But then, maybe it has something to do with the half bottle of whiskey you’ve already consumed.
Probably, but I don’t give a fuck right now.
“I guess you’re still angry with me.”
I look over at Ember while swigging my beer. I don’t answer her as I put my now empty beer bottle next to the other empties at my feet and grab another.
I twist the cap off the new bottle, but Ember snatches it out of my hand. “What the fuck?”
I watch as she takes the bottle over to the sink and pours out the contents. I can’t believe she just did that! Ember collects the empties and discards them in the trash before taking a seat beside me with a raised eyebrow. “Why on this earth are you drinking like this?”
“Helps me write lyrics,” I shrug.
Ember sighs. “Marco, you haven’t drunk like this in a while. Why now? Is it because of what happened earlier?”
Ember: Next Gen (Snakes Henchmen MC Book 12) Page 12
