Cross (Courting Chaos Book 1)

by Heather Young-Nichols

  “It’s fine. Probably looks worse than it feels.”

  “Really?”

  “No. It hurts like hell, but I want to know how it went with you guys.”

  Before I told her, I leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. When I pulled back, I said, “He’s leaving. Now, I assume. You won’t have to see him except maybe on the news.”

  “Really?” she asked with so much hope in her voice.

  “Really. And Lawson’s canceling our show. I don’t know what your dad’s going to do.”

  Indie looked away and shifted her weight as her teeth scraped across her bottom lip. “They’re not canceling,” she finally admitted.

  “Oh.”

  “They have friends who happen to be in town. Rolling Thunder. They agree to play tonight. Some fans will be disappointed.”

  “Lawson has a plan.” I stepped in closer to her. “But that means I have tonight off.”

  “You do,” she said back with a smile.

  “I think that means we can actually go out on a date.”

  Indie’s head fell back as she let out a full laugh. “We’ve gone out.”

  “Not properly. Both times we went out, I didn’t even get to kiss you goodnight.”

  “True.” She wet her bottom lip and tugged at the bottom of a lock of hair. “Give me an hour. I know it’s early, but we can go out, have fun, then come back.”

  “And have fun.” I wiggled my eyebrows at her.

  She giggled again. “Just go away so I can get ready. Casual tonight, right?”

  I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her out of the arena. Once we got to her bus, I let her go, then went back to my own. She’d said she needed an hour. I only needed about fifteen minutes, so I had forty-five to kill.

  Thirty-One

  Indie

  Staying in could’ve been just as much fun with Cross, maybe more, but I was falling for him hard and fast. Sleeping with him the other night had sped up that falling and a regular date was in order. He might not have had a plan, but I sure as hell did.

  I called Dean to ask for a car ten minutes before Cross was supposed to arrive. After five, there was a knock on the door. Totally predictable.

  “Couldn’t wait ten more minutes?” I asked, coming out of the bus. He’d changed into a dark pair of jeans and a white T-shirt that showed off some of those sexy tattoos. I almost swooned.

  “Nope.”

  Cross kissed me on the lips quickly, then took my hand in his and led us around toward the parking lot.

  “You can’t even see the bruise,” he said after I closed the bus door.

  “I’m pretty good with makeup. Though you’d probably see it a little in bright light. I just don’t want you to focus on it tonight.”

  Cross smiled over at me. “Where would you like to go?” he asked.

  “Oh, I already have a plan. You don’t need to worry about it.”

  I figured Dean would order us up an Uber or something like that but no. He stepped out from the driver’s side and smiled at me over the roof of the car. He’d be driving.

  “What’re you doing here?” I asked.

  “Your dad was right there when you called to ask me to get you a car. He insisted I drive you.”

  I turned to Cross. “Is that all right with you?” Not every guy would be fine with Dad’s security on a date.

  “I’m good with it.”

  I told Dean where I wanted to go and he got back in the driver’s seat while Cross and I climbed in the back.

  “Where are we going?” he asked.

  “You’ll see.”

  It only took about ten minutes to get where I wanted to go. I told Dean we’d be here about an hour and he should get something to eat, too. Then I took Cross by the hand and pulled him around the corner.

  His grin spread across his face as he looked down the street. “How did you even know about this?”

  “Google, duh.” Then I pulled him farther into the crowd.

  The streets were lined with so many food trucks with food from so many places.

  “Let’s eat,” I said, walking toward the taco truck, then stopping at the back of the line. “We have a concert to get to.”

  “What?” he asked with a confused smile.

  “A concert. There’s this band, Kissing Cinder, that’s in town and I got sweet tickets. Oh, they have a special opener, too. Rolling Thunder. Should be a great show.”

  Cross chuckled, then leaned down and kissed me. “We’re going to the show?”

  “Have you seen it?”

  “I saw Kissing Cinder three or four years ago.”

  “Well, new tour, new show. We’re going.”

  “Wait.” The girl in front of me turned around. “Did you say you’re going to see Kissing Cinder tonight?” I nodded. “Us too. I’m super bummed that Courting Chaos canceled, but I guess you can’t help food poisoning.”

  “Yeah, it’s a bummer, but I’ve seen Kissing Cinder literally hundreds of time. It’ll still be a good show.”

  “Oh, I know.”

  Then it was her turn, so she sprung back around to place an order.

  When it was our turn, I suggested Cross only get one since my plan was to eat our way from one truck to the next. Plus, we could always come back for more.

  A taco, one meat skewer, pulled pork sandwich that we shared, and an ice cream cone later, I felt like I’d never move again. Yet I kept walking. Cross and I did a lot of talking and laughing as we made our way from one end to another. He ate a lot more than me, but I’d accepted a bite of anything he got even when I didn’t think I could fit any more in my stomach.

  As we were wrapping up, I sent Dean a text to let him know we were almost done and we found him right where he’d dropped us off before.

  Cross and I made it to the arena a little late, so Rolling Thunder was already on stage by the time we got to our seats. I didn’t let it bother me. I danced through their set and through my dad’s. He laughed at my ridiculousness, but this was me being a fan. We shared kisses and he wrapped me in my arms during “This Isn’t Good-bye” because I’d told him how important this song was to me.

  Once they were off the stage, I led Cross toward the stage so we could slip back that way.

  “We don’t have our passes,” he said.

  “That’s OK. They know me. I’ll try to get you in.”

  His body shook as he laughed at me, but there wasn’t an issue getting them to open the gate for us so we could head for Dad’s dressing room.

  “Is anybody naked in here?” I yelled into the room with the door just open a crack. Cross watched me with an amused expression. “Hey, walking in on my naked father could scar me forever and ruin whatever other hopes you had for tonight.”

  That humor slid right off his face.

  “We’re mostly covered,” Dad responded.

  I pushed inside and took Cross with me.

  “That was a great show,” I said to them.

  “Did you watch from the audience?” Dad asked, but he was looking at Cross.

  “She insisted.”

  “Hey, that’s what people do on regular dates,” I said defensively.

  “Actually, I needed to talk to tonight anyway,” Dad said as he waved me over.

  The room cleared out, except for the three of us, which gave me a bad feeling. It could’ve been that the guys just needed to shower. But it could’ve been because they knew something bad was coming.

  “What’s up?” I sat on the couch across from Dad in the chair. Cross stood behind me, his hands gripping the couch.

  “Dean got a call today. The police want to talk to you tomorrow.”

  “For what?”

  “The investigation into Eric Drinkswine. They’ve been interviewing some people and it came up that you have a picture. They want it. So Rob is coming in in the morning.”

  “Who’s Rob?” Cross asked.

  I glanced over my shoulder at him and said, “Dad’s lawyer.” Then I t
urned back to Dad. “Why do I need a lawyer?”

  “You don’t. But I prefer him be there.”

  “We’re leaving in a few hours.”

  “You’re not. I arranged a room for you at a hotel. You’re staying tonight. Rob will meet you there, then you’ll do the interview. After you’re done, you catch a plane to meet us in Boston. You’ll be there by showtime tomorrow night.”

  Cross let out an almost inaudible sigh. I was sure my dad didn’t hear it, but I sure did.

  “I’ll go pack a bag then, I guess.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Cross said, then faced my dad. “I’ll get her settled in, then be back before we leave.”

  Dad nodded. “That’s a good idea.” He started to move away, then stopped. “Oh, Cross, I made a few calls and have some temporary fill-ins to offer you guys so you won’t have to cancel any more shows. Use them or don’t—up to you guys.”

  “Thank you,” Cross said, blinking rapidly.

  I gave Dad a quick hug, then left him to do whatever he needed to do.

  “Well, that certainly changes my plans for the rest of the night,” I said.

  “Yeah, you didn’t want to see your dad naked, but he cockblocked us anyway.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. We’d both been thinking it. No sense pretending we hadn’t been. Back in my bus, I grabbed my suitcase and packed it as quickly as I could. Next, I threw my laptop and camera into their cases and said I was ready to go. Dean drove us to the hotel but stayed in the car and let Cross help me in. There was no stop at reception because Dean had handed me my card earlier.

  “This is nice,” I said, looking around the room.

  “It is.” He slid his hands around my hips and locked them in front of me. He laid his chin on my shoulder. “I wish I could stay with you.”

  I turned in his arms. “Me, too. But sadly… ”

  I didn’t get to finish that sentence. Cross dove in, kissing and nipping at my lips with intense purpose. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on for the ride. His tongue felt like velvet against mine. He tilted my head back to deepen the kiss.

  Those kisses traveled everywhere. I felt them everywhere. Desire flooded me. Damn, I wished he didn’t have to leave.

  Finally, he pulled back. That was his doing. I had no intention of ending that kiss.

  “I’m falling for you, Indie,” he said quietly, his forehead against mine. “Probably have already fallen but am too scared to admit it.”

  “What?” I pulled back just enough that I’d be able to look him in the eye. I wanted to see him as he explained.

  “I don’t fall this fast,” he said and wet his bottom lip with his tongue. “I just want to be with you. I want you in my life.”

  I cupped his face and said, “I want that, too.”

  “You said something before about me being discreet with other women.” His warm, sweet breath hit my face. “I want to be clear: I don’t want to be with anyone else. Haven’t really wanted to I met you.”

  “Met me?” I whispered.

  “Yeah.” He nodded. “Even before we were anything.” He dropped another soft kiss on my lips. “I don’t do randoms very often and there wasn’t anyone else. I just want that to be clear since you know all the behind the scenes tour shit.”

  I pushed up and kissed him this time. Honestly, I hadn’t thought about that conversation since we’d had it. Apparently he had.

  “We’re an us, then,” I said once I pulled back.

  “We’re an us,” he agreed.

  Five more minutes of kissing had to happen before I could let him go, but in the end, I didn’t want the buses to leave without him. I’d stayed in hotels alone before and this was no different.

  My alarm went off too early in the morning. After showering, I made sure I had everything packed and hadn’t forgotten anything. I had a process for that, though; I hadn’t unpacked much last night when I’d arrived.

  There were also several text messages from Cross waiting on my phone. Sweet messages about how he didn’t want to leave me alone at the hotel last night and sometimes he hated having a schedule that required him to be somewhere at a certain time. The timestamps on the messages meant he’d sent texts throughout the night.

  Don’t you sleep? I sent him, then grabbed my purse. I had to be down in the lobby in just a few minutes.

  Not last night. Let me know when your plane gets in.

  I sent him a thumbs-up and stepped on the elevator.

  “Indie,” Rob said, standing right outside the elevator like a stalker. “Good to see you.”

  “You, too. So what’re we doing?”

  “Ah, yes. The hotel has allowed us to use a small conference room. You’ll answer their questions, then we’re done. If I say not to answer, then don’t. I’ll guide you through this.”

  I nodded and followed him through the door. Two men in suits were waiting there for us. Detectives Stone and Russel introduced themselves. We shook hands and I sat down.

  “This should be quick,” Detective Stone began. “Your name came up in our investigation and we have some questions.” He flipped open his notebook and dove in.

  They asked me about my interactions with Eric and if I’d ever seen him and Sasha together, which I hadn’t. They asked if I’d ever seen him with underage girls and I explained a lot of girls look young and yes, I’d seen that, but since I hadn’t asked for identification, I couldn’t say whether or not they had actually been underage. They knew he’d broken my camera and I went through each incident they asked about in detail.

  “Do you want to press charges for him breaking your camera?” he asked.

  “Not really,” I said back. I didn’t want any further interaction with Eric Drinkswine if I could help it.

  “I think that’s everything,” the detective said. “Unless you have anything you’d like to add.”

  “Well…” I shifted in my chair. “I’m a photography student, so I take a lot of pictures. Eric was always extremely worried I was taking pictures of him. I never was. Not intentionally anyway. But I found this in the background.”

  I pulled the photo in question out of my purse and slid it across the table toward them.

  “And when was this taken?”

  “I’m not sure. I had it on my laptop, but that was destroyed.”

  “No backups.”

  I shook my head.

  “All right, I think we’re done. Thank you for your time.”

  He shook my hand again and the two detectives left the room.

  “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Rob asked from beside me.

  “Not really.”

  “OK, there’s a flight in two hours that I’m having my assistant book you on right now. I’ll drop you off at the airport.”

  Seemed odd that it could be so easy, but I was still relieved it was over and I was on my way back to see Cross.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Cross

  Leaving Indie at that hotel alone was one of the last things I wanted to do. I returned to the bus before we pulled out with plenty of time, but I couldn’t sleep. I’d wake after an hour, unable to close my eyes again. It just felt wrong to leave town.

  Every time I woke up, I’d send Indie a text, not expecting a reply, hoping her night was more restful than mine.

  First time I heard from her, she asked if I sleep at all. I chuckled because usually I was out like a light, but for whatever reason that hadn’t been the case last night. Finally, after a few solid hours, I dragged my sorry ass out of bed, took a shower, and went for breakfast. What Indie didn’t know was that I’d stayed on her bus last night. The opportunity for each of us guys to have our own space was so rare that I couldn’t pass it up. Dixon stayed on his bus, Ransom on the one we usually shared, and me in her space, where her things were still around me.

  I did check to make sure Vince wasn’t going to be using it first since technically it was his bus. He said he was going to work on some music with Cody so he’d just
stay there.

  Right after breakfast, we all piled on to my normal bus for a band meeting. There were still things we needed to discuss.

  “Vince called some people to see if they’d fill in for Eric until we find a permanent replacement,” Lawson said.

  “Yeah, he told me last night,” I said.

  “It’s a good list and they’ve all already said they’d do it if we want them to.”

  “What about just calling people ourselves?” Ransom asked. “We know people too.”

  “We know people,” Dixon agreed. “But we don’t know people like Vince Cinderstone knows people.”

  All very, very true.

  Lawson nodded and said, “It’s a very impressive list of bass players. It’d be billed as Courting Chaos with special guest Jack Anderson. That kind of thing.”

  “Damn,” Dixon muttered.

  “Jack Anderson?” Ransom asked. “Seriously?”

  “As I said, an impressive list,” Lawson replied.

  “What’d you think?” I asked him.

  Lawson took a minute, like he was mulling over all the options when we all knew he’d already done that. “I think there are some benefits to using Vince’s guys while we search for the permanent solution, but having someone new each night presents its own problems.”

  “Yeah, not everyone’s gonna have the right feel,” Dixon said, which we were all thinking.

  “I say it’s a chance we take. We all wanted Drink gone. He’s gone,” I said. “Sure, we thought we’d have some lead time to get something set up, but we’re here and we aren’t fucking up this tour. That’s been the entire point.”

  Silence fell over the room, but I knew they’d all decide I was right. We’d worked too hard for this to turn back now. And if we let Drink take us down with him, then everything would be for nothing. I wasn’t ready for nothing.

  “I agree,” Ransom said. “But can we get going on a more permanent solution? We’re going to have to try some people out.”

  “I’ll set up some meetings,” Lawson said.

  A few hours later, we had a weird soundcheck with a guy we’d never played with before. Maybe a lot of people didn’t realize just how hard it was as a band to bring someone else into the fold. They needed the right sound, the right vibe. Jack Anderson could play, he was seriously one of the best, but he wasn’t one of us.