Rock Chick Reckoning

by Kristen Ashley

  I gave his waist a squeeze right before the door opened again and everyone in the room jumped and turned toward it.

  Hector and Shirleen were walking in with Dixon Jones.

  Shitsofuckit.

  This is just your life, your career, your world, my brain said to me. No reason for you to be nervous.

  Why are you such a pain in the ass? I asked.

  It’s the job of every neurotic artist to have a brain that tortures them, my brain answered.

  Well, fuck off, I demanded

  Then to Dixon I said, “Hey.”

  I moved forward, my eyes going from Dixon to Hector who gave me a nod then to Shirleen who was watching me closely and back to Dixon. “Glad you could make it,” I finished.

  We shook hands.

  “Would you like to meet the band?” I asked.

  Shirleen shouldered close. “No time for that. Who knows what’s gonna happen? Could be snipers. Could be time bombs. We gotta get down to business.” She turned to Dixon. “Let’s go, times wastin’. What you got to say to my girl?”

  Dixon looked at Shirleen then me. From what he said it appeared he, too, didn’t want to waste any time. “Feel like headin’ to the studio?”

  I got that freaky thrill that was half terror, half elation, bit my lip and looked at Floyd. Then I looked at Hugo then Pong then Leo and finally Buzz.

  Then my eyes went back to Dixon and I said, “Yeah.”

  Dixon looked at Leo and Buzz. “You boys got enough new material to fill a CD?”

  “Sure,” Buzz said. “But we’re The Gypsies. We gotta do a couple covers.”

  “No covers. We do new shit,” Hugo put in.

  “Dude, we so have to lay down ‘Ghostriders’ at least. I’m thinkin’ ‘Sister Golden Hair’ too,” Pong decided.

  “Not ‘Sister Golden Hair’, ‘La Grange’, we kick ‘La Grange’ in the ass,” Leo demanded.

  “’La Grange’! We do covers, we ain’t recordin’ ‘La Grange’ before we record ‘Ain’t No Easy Way’,” Hugo snapped.

  Maybe I should have intervened but I didn’t. Dixon Jones had to know what he was getting himself into.

  He did.

  Pong, Buzz and Leo had all opened their mouths to speak but Dixon got there before them.

  “‘Ghostriders’,” he said decisively and his eyes cut to me. “And we’ll talk to Joel’s people, get permission for Stella to do ‘And So It Goes’.”

  “Righteous,” Ally breathed.

  “You bring papers?” Hector asked Dixon and he nodded.

  “In the car. I’ll give them to you but you get someone who knows what they’re doin’ to look at them.”

  For a second, I felt relief. It wasn’t unusual for hungry new artists to get fucked in the signing process but it didn’t seem that was Dixon’s gig.

  My relief disintegrated when I got a look at the scorching hot glare Hector was directing at Dixon. His glare said he wasn’t used to anyone taking him for a fool and he didn’t like it much.

  Dixon caught it too and took a small step back. He decided (wisely) to change the subject.

  “How soon can you get them into the studio?” he asked Hector.

  “What studio we talkin’ ‘bout?” Shirleen asked Dixon.

  “Our set up in LA,” Dixon answered. “Black Fat’ll pick up all expenses. They’ll have rooms at the Chateau Marmont while they’re workin’.”

  Effing hell but he wasn’t messing around.

  All expense paid trip to LA staying at the Chateau Effing Marmont?

  Jim Morrison stayed at the Chateau Marmont, dangled from a drain-pipe there, hurt his back.

  And Led Zeppelin rode their motorcycles through the effing lobby.

  My heart skipped a beat at the thought of Pong, Hugo and Leo at the Chateau Marmont. The only thing that made me feel better was that I heard somewhere the hotel was supposed to be earthquake proof which meant The Gypsies couldn’t destroy it.

  And if Zeppelin could ride their motorcycles through the lobby, the staff probably wouldn’t blink at the shenanigans of The Gypsies.

  “Kick fuckin’ ass!” Pong shouted, hands up in the air in a devil’s horns “rock on” gesture.

  Hector delivered the buzz kill. “Stella doesn’t step foot out of Denver until she’s safe.”

  “Dude, you guys could provide security for Springsteen and the entire fuckin’ E Street Band,” Leo whined. “You could get us to LA.”

  “You’re not goin’ anywhere until Stella’s safe,” Hector said in a tone that made Leo snap his mouth shut.

  “Agreed,” Dixon put in readily.

  Hector nodded to Dixon, turned and pointed to me. “Backstage fuckin’ passes.” Then he looked back to Dixon and said, “Let’s go to your car.”

  Then they were gone.

  Everyone stared at the door.

  “What just happened?” Chloe asked Lana quietly.

  “I’m not sure,” Lana replied.

  “Nothin’ much,” Daisy declared nonchalantly and then turned to Chloe and Lana and screeched. “Just that our girl and her band are about to get signed by a red-hot record label!” She threw her hands in the air and shouted, “Yee ha!”

  “Holy crap, now I really think I’m gonna cry. God damn it!” Indy yelled, back to fanning her face.

  “I’m already crying!” Roxie wailed and it was true.

  Lana smiled at me. “Oh sweetie, that’s great!”

  “It’s not great, it’s righteous!” Ally screamed.

  “Rock ‘n’ roll!” Ava shouted, hands up, doing her own devil’s horns.

  Everybody started jumping up and down, screaming, shouting and hugging.

  “Champagne, we need champagne!” Daisy squealed right before the door opened.

  Mace and Lee stood there.

  The room went still.

  Effing hell.

  Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you looked at it), I was standing next to Lana, my arm around her shoulders, hers was around my waist.

  The minute she saw Mace, her body went solid and her fingers dug in.

  Everyone was silent.

  Mace’s eyes were locked on his Mom.

  I held my breath.

  His gaze unlocked and sliced to Chloe.

  I heard Chloe suck in breath.

  Then his eyes cut to me.

  Oh dear.

  I gave Lana a squeeze.

  “Babe?” I called to Mace. “We got some special guests tonight otherwise known as Bogey One.”

  I saw his jaw grow tight and then I watched as his tongue traced his teeth behind closed lips.

  For your information, I did not take this as a good sign.

  I saw Vance and Luke behind Lee. Luke entered the room. Vance leaned in, grabbed the doorknob and shut the door, him behind it. Lee and Luke positioned themselves in front of it.

  My eyes moved back to Mace and he’d twisted his torso to watch this. Lee put his hands to his hips. Luke crossed his arms on his chest. Both men’s eyes were leveled on Mace.

  Well, one thing was certain, the Rock Chicks took their assignments seriously. They’d done everything I asked to the letter.

  Mace turned back toward me.

  “Kai? Sweetie?” Lana called in her soft voice.

  Mace closed his eyes but, even so, you could see the pain slash through his face at hearing his mother’s voice.

  “Maybe we should give them privacy,” Jules whispered.

  Mace’s eyes opened and cut to her, pain gone, fury in its place.

  Shit!

  “Don’t you fuckin’ move,” he growled.

  Jules went still and so did everyone else.

  “Mace,” Lee spoke low behind him.

  Mace looked over his shoulder at Lee. His voice was dangerous when he said, “You wanted a show? You’ll get a show.”

  Lana tried to take a step back but my arm went tight around her.

  “Mace look at me,” I demanded.

  He didn’t delay. H
is eyes cut to me and I thought I might melt under the heat of his glare.

  “You arrange this?” he clipped.

  “Yes,” I answered.

  “Why the fuck would you do that?”

  I looked toward Duke. He pressed his lips together and nodded his head.

  My gaze returned to Mace. “Because Caitlin would have wanted it.”

  The air in the room went so thick it was like we were breathing soup. Chunky soup, with bits of carrot and celery in it, enough to make you choke.

  It took everything I had but I ignored the chunky air.

  “You did what you had to do for her,” I said quickly. “Now I’m doing what she’d do if she was here. She wouldn’t want you tortured by those demons in your head. She’d want to chase them away. She’s not around to do that so I figure, since you said she’d like me with you then she’d give that job to me. I took it. I’m going to chase them away.”

  I let go of Lana and moved toward Mace. He stood frozen, scary frozen. Not like he was in shock, like he was holding his body still so he wouldn’t hurt someone.

  I didn’t let that faze me as I moved toward him until we were toe-to-toe.

  I tilted my head back to look at him and rested my hands lightly on his chest. I felt his heart beating hard and fast under my hand.

  This frightened me but I pushed on. “And don’t tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about. I know you didn’t want me to but I’ve seen the papers, Mace. I saw the photos of her. I saw the photo of her with you. She loved her brother. She’d want you to be happy. You need your family. Everyone in this room is your family. Everyone’s here because they care about you.” I hesitated, smiled and then said, “Well, except maybe Pong and Hugo. They’re here because there’s usually free beer in The Rose’s dressing room.”

  I was trying to be funny, cut the tension.

  It didn’t work.

  Mace stared at me. I stared back.

  Mace’s stare got scarier. So much scarier it scared me but I took it and stared back.

  There was movement at our side. Mace and my heads turned and Chloe was there.

  She lifted her hand as if she was going to touch Mace. His eyes moved to her hand and they narrowed so she dropped it.

  She took in a breath and held it, on the exhale she said, “She’s right, honey. Tiny would want that.”

  Mace’s body jerked when he heard his sister’s nickname but he didn’t say a word. He just stared at her.

  This isn’t going very well, my brain informed me.

  Shut up! I returned.

  Chloe lifted her hand and touched my arm. She put pressure there so I moved to the side. Now Lana was there, standing next to Mace, across from me. But my eyes were on Chloe. She had her hand in her jeans pocket and when she pulled it out, a chain was dangling from her fingers.

  I watched in stunned, frightened silence as Chloe pulled in a breath so deep her chest visibly expanded with it. She let the breath go and leaned into Mace. She got up on tiptoe, put her arms around his neck, the chain between her hands, a tiny ring dangling from it. She clasped the chain around Mace’s still frozen neck.

  Then Chloe settled back on her feet but lifted a hand to touch one finger to the ring that was now resting at his throat.

  “She loved that ring. Never took it off. I’ve been wanting to give it to you since…” She stopped and shook her head slowly then went on, “You gave her that, remember? On her fourteenth –”

  She didn’t finish. Mace’s arms shot out and he yanked her to his body so hard her head jerked back and she let out a small cry. His back arched as he buried his face in her neck.

  My throat closed and I felt the tears immediately fill my eyes and spill over.

  She hesitated, likely still recovering from all of a sudden being in his arms. Then Chloe wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tight.

  “Out, now,” I heard Lee say and there was movement all around us.

  Lana threw her arms around the two of them and I took a step back. The others were leaving and I was going too. This family needed space.

  I didn’t get a second step. Mace’s hand darted out and closed around my wrist. His head came up, his eyes locked on mine and pinned me to the spot.

  He didn’t have to say a word.

  I settled in.

  He let me go and turned to his mother.

  She slid into his arms as if she’d been there only yesterday.

  As Mace hugged his Mom, I looked to the door.

  Floyd was there.

  So was Lee.

  Floyd winked at me.

  So did Lee.

  Floyd went out first.

  Lee closed the door behind him.

  * * * * *

  “And it’s your turn girl to cry,” I sang into the mic.

  I started the “na-na’s” of Journey’s “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’”, the band kicked in the second set and the entire crowd shouted them back at us, hands up in the air, jacking out the beat. The crowd included Lana and Chloe who were front and center with the Rock Chicks.

  Lana, I noticed right off, was super comfortable up front at a rock gig. I’d watched as she sung out loud, knowing every song we played (except the three new songs of Buzz and Leo’s, of course). She danced and swayed and let’s just say that Mace’s Mom could move. She was sexy as all get out and I could tell she loved rock and roll.

  For Lana, an afternoon of Guitar Hero was definitely the way to go.

  On the other hand, it took Chloe awhile to get into it (her favorite music was probably Tchaikovsky too). Still, The Gypsies were on a tear, it didn’t take very long for her to feel the vibe and let it take her where she needed to go.

  The security detail was the same as the other gigs except Hank and Eddie weren’t there because they were dismantling Sidney Carter’s operation. In their place was Indy’s Dad, Tom and Hank, Lee and Ally’s Dad, Malcolm. Tom and Duke both were close to the stage guarding me and the Rock Chicks.

  I’d had just enough time after the reunion to tell Mace about Dixon Jones and the Chateau Marmont (and to let his smile of approval and his lip touch give me a happy shiver). Then Chloe and I let him alone with Lana.

  In order to give them privacy, instead of hanging backstage with the band as normal, I sat at the bar, drinking beer with the Rock Chicks and Chloe (who didn’t drink beer, she drank martinis, Chloe was one classy lady), talking to some of my fans with Duke plastered to my side until it was time to take the stage.

  I was smiling as I sang the “na-na’s”, my arm up in the air, moving back and forth. The crowd caught my rhythm and, as one, their arms moved with mine and they chanted the “na-na’s” with the band.

  My eyes slid through the crowd and I saw Luke at the doors, back to the stage, arms crossed on his chest, talking to one of the club’s bouncers.

  I kept singing and my eyes kept moving and I saw Mace, standing head and shoulders above the crowd, his eyes were scanning. I waited and, just as I knew it would, his gaze came to me. I didn’t know it but the minute his eyes hit me, my smile grew brighter. I also didn’t know that Lana and Chloe caught my smile and turned around to see what I was smiling at. Further, I didn’t know, when they saw it was Mace, Chloe burst into tears again and Lana hugged her.

  Mace’s eyes left me to scan the crowd again and my eyes kept moving, still singing the “na-na’s”, still living in my happy place, my lucky place. The place where my band was heading to LA to record an album. The place where I’d chased Mace’s demons away and gave him back his family. The place where I lived now. The place where Mace loved me.

  My eyes travelled the length of the bar and something shifted in that happy place. I couldn’t put my finger on it but something was wrong.

  Still chanting with the crowd, my hand in the air, my eyes went back up the bar.

  Then down it.

  Then back up.

  Then it dawned on me that Tex wasn’t sitting at the bar.

  And Tex never b
rought the tequila.

  Automatically, the band and I finished the “na-na’s” as my eyes flew through the crowd, searching for but not finding Tex.

  Then the band stopped playing and I said into the mic, “We’re gonna take a break, be back!”

  The crowd roared and I gave them a wave and a smile, keeping up appearances but, as fast as I could, I moved offstage.

  Duke was there with a beer and he shoved it in my hand.

  “Girl, normally you kick ass but tonight, I gotta tell you darlin’, you are the shit!” Duke said to me and normally I would be stunned, maybe even moved by his compliment. Duke didn’t hand out compliments very often.

  Instead I looked up at him and asked, “Where’s Tex?”

  Duke’s body went still then his head jerked around to scan the bar.

  My band had come down behind me and the Rock Chicks were rounding the stage but I didn’t look at them.

  I moved.

  I shoved though the crowd. People were trying to get my attention, to stop me, to talk to me. I heard their words as I moved, shoving through until I saw Mace coming my way.

  I stopped in front of him, put my hands on his chest and tilted my head back.

  He was looking down at me, smiling, face soft, voice low, “Babe –” he started.

  I cut him off, “Where’s Tex?”

  His head jerked then shot up. He, too, scanned the bar.

  My fingers curled into his t-shirt. “When I arrived, he met me at the backdoor. He went off to get me tequila. I haven’t seen him since. With everything that happened, I didn’t think –”

  I didn’t finish. Mace’s hand wrapped around mine and he started pushing through the crowd. By the time we got to the side of the stage, the Rock Chicks were looking pale and the Hot Bunch was in a huddle. Lee sliced an unhappy look at Mace and got on his phone.

  “Has anyone seen him?” Roxie asked.

  “When we arrived but I haven’t seen him since,” Jet answered.

  “Fuck,” Duke muttered.

  “What’s happening?” Lana asked, getting close to Mace and me.

  “One of our people is missing,” I told her and looked up at Mace. “We need to make an announcement. Stop the show,” I said.