Unsteady Rhythm (House of Archer Book 2)

by Raine Thomas

  Lily waved at Bill as he tipped his ball cap and hurried off to address the call of another crew member. “Hi,” she replied to Mandy. “Thanks for doing this.”

  They exchanged hugs. They had known each other for a few years now. As the only two people currently in committed relationships with members of The Void, it gave them a sort of bond.

  Lily had always liked Mandy. She was matter-of-fact, as Lily was, and had a dry sense of humor. Her tall, willowy frame, exotic dark hair and eyes, and golden skin paired beautifully with Noelle’s curvier, more colorful feistiness.

  “It’s no problem,” Mandy said. “We should get right into it. I’ve been working for a few hours already. I can just give you a run-through of everything as I go—”

  “Enough gossiping with Archer’s chick,” barked Paul Stamkos, the stage manager, as he strode by. “Get your ass moving, Dierx.”

  Lily’s eyebrows drew together. The stage manager had made a sour first impression on her a couple of weeks ago and it wasn’t getting any better.

  “Just shrug it off,” Mandy said. “The guy’s an ass but he knows what he’s doing.”

  Lily decided to take her word for it. They stopped talking and got to work.

  It was all pretty fascinating. Lily learned that each venue provided some kind of house lighting and that the tour’s lighting producer was given those specs ahead of time so they knew what kind of supplementary lighting they’d need to unload at each tour stop. Most of the band’s lighting was easily portable ground lighting, but Mandy explained they sometimes had to hook up lighting within ceiling rigging, as was the case at that evening’s venue.

  As a lighting tech, she hauled and set up gear, worked on wiring, changed out color gels, and handled other related tasks. She informed Lily she was also learning some of the production tasks with an eye towards moving into a production role down the road.

  Lily took copious notes as they went along, unsure what she might include in her story. She had to take a brief break while they were in the control booth because her hand started to cramp. She set her pen down on one of the counters. It rolled onto the floor before she could grab it. Mandy bent over to pick it up. A ring box fell out of her pocket. Lily’s eyes went wide.

  Mandy was going to propose to Noelle!

  Mandy quickly stuffed the box back into her pocket and brought a finger to her lips. Lily smiled and hopped a little in her excitement as she mimed a lock over her lips. They were both aware of the microphone she was wearing. Lily imagined Mandy was just as relieved as she was that Spence hadn’t been allowed up into the booth with them due to the tight confines and hectic pace of the crew inside.

  Unable to resist her curious nature, Lily picked up her notebook and wrote, When?

  Mandy took the pen and wrote back, When the time is right. No cameras.

  Lily gave Mandy an empathetic smile and touched her arm to show she understood. That explained why Mandy was carrying the ring around. She was trying to find the right moment to propose.

  It was hard to get time alone with the filming going on, Lily knew all too well. While part of her wished the proposal would happen on camera for the sake of the show, she figured she’d want privacy if the roles were turned.

  Maybe Mandy would let her break the story. The proposal would be an amazing topper to the article.

  She had to push it from her mind. There were plenty of more tasks for them to get through.

  She followed Mandy around during The Void’s sound check, making notes as she went. She got to watch the concert from up in the booth. It was a different view than she was used to. She could see the entire stage as well as Sage’s sound setup on the venue floor in the middle of the crowd, an area known as the front of the house. She decided to film some of it from her vantage point to share on social media.

  At one point during The Void’s set, Mandy tugged on Lily’s sleeve and pointed down at the crowd. Lily saw that a section of the audience below the booth had their phones aimed up at her. She waved at them from the booth’s window and got an astonishing response. The cheering drew the attention of more people from the crowd, many of whom also aimed their cameras up at her.

  She still couldn’t believe that she was building her own fan base. The unexpected enthusiasm from the crowd brought to mind the conversation she’d had with Christopher earlier that day. She had hesitantly mentioned Dane’s idea about the style stipend. Christopher hadn’t even thought twice. He had said it was a great idea and immediately approved an amount that exceeded what she was going to earn for all of her work on the tour. He said to consider it a bonus because the band’s downloads had already increased since she started handling the social media tasks.

  If she hadn’t spent the entire night and day with Dane, she would have suspected that he had primed the manager. Now she had no choice but to go shopping with Aria. They had already made plans to do so the next day. Knowing she was even then being filmed by random strangers convinced her that the shopping was a necessary evil.

  Barney escorted her from the booth after the last song in The Void’s set. Her thoughts circled around the article as she debated whether or not to wait until after Mandy’s proposal to send it out to publishers. On the one hand, it would cinch the piece. On the other, she really needed the money the article would bring her, and the proposal might be days or months away.

  The raucous sound of crowd noise pulled her from the internal debate. It took her a moment to register the number of people lining both sides of the walkway from the base of the booth’s stairs to the tunnel leading to the green rooms.

  Metal barricades had been set up to keep the people back. A couple of the venue’s security team members stood in the walkway to ensure the more eager fans didn’t attempt to scale the barriers. Lily figured the crowd was waiting for the band.

  But that couldn’t be right, she thought. This wasn’t the passage leading backstage.

  “Lily!” they cried. “Lily, can I have your autograph?”

  “Can I get a photo, Lily?”

  She tried to mask her disbelief as the fans spotted her and started shouting, holding phones, Sharpies, and all manner of things over the barricades towards her. The noise escalated the longer she stood there next to Barney without moving. She forced herself to smile.

  The walkway looked endless. Anxiety had her rubbing a hand over her stomach. She saw Spence filming her from the far end of the walkway, capturing everything for the show.

  “I guess I’ll be signing a few autographs?” Lily said to Barney.

  She hadn’t meant for it to come out as much like a question as it did. She handed her notebook and pen to Barney.

  “That isn’t a good idea,” he said. “There isn’t enough security. The venue team didn’t plan for this.”

  “Neither did I,” she replied. “Just a few, okay? I can’t have people posting that I was too stuck-up to sign a couple of autographs.”

  His mouth thinned in disapproval before he nodded. He followed only a foot behind her as she did her best to make her smile look more genuine and approached the first fan.

  The next fifteen minutes were a blur of signing, taking photos, and shaking hands. The crowd wasn’t shy about getting right in her face, eager for her attention. Her head pounded from the strain of incessant smiling and worrying that someone might try to stab her in the eye with their pen because they thought she was going to break up The Void. It was a relief to discover that everyone seemed genuinely supportive of her and thrilled to meet her. She wasn’t sure that made this any easier.

  When they were about halfway down the path, Barney brought a hand to his earpiece and moved his head to talk into the mic at his cuff. Lily glanced at him as she signed another autograph. She secretly hoped his conversation was a reason to get her out of this. She didn’t know how the band did it night after night.

  In the next instant, someone hauled her off her feet.

  A man’s mouth pressed against hers.

  Knowing
it couldn’t be Dane, she tried to struggle. Her arms were pinned to her sides. A tongue ran along the seam of her tightly sealed lips, making her want to gag. It felt like the shocking assault lasted forever.

  Then she was abruptly released. She fell hard. Her left ankle twisted under her at an awkward angle that sent pain shooting up her calf. Her teeth clacked together as she hit the ground.

  Barney hauled the guy over the barrier and tossed him into the waiting hands of the security team. The crowd booed and hissed at the guy who had grabbed her as he was led off. Numerous hands extended to Lily over the barricades, accompanied by shouts from people saying they wanted to help her.

  Cameras flashed, making her blink and shake her head to clear her vision. She tried to push to her feet and nearly fell again when her ankle wouldn’t support her. Tears of pain sprang to her eyes. She forced them back, not about to embarrass herself in all of the photos and videos capturing this moment.

  Barney ultimately helped her to her feet. Her ankle was tender enough that she had to limp while he assisted her the rest of the way down the path into the tunnels.

  Well that was a hot mess, she grumbled to herself.

  “Wait here a moment,” Barney told her once they were far enough into the tunnels that the fans couldn’t see them.

  “Sure.” It wasn’t like she was going to run anywhere. Her ankle was starting to throb.

  Barney once again spoke into his security mic. Lily leaned against the closest wall and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, wishing she had mouthwash to rid her of the lingering taste from the unexpected kiss.

  How had that meet-n-greet taken such a disastrous turn so quickly? She clearly had a few more things to learn about celebrity life.

  A golf cart appeared a few minutes later. Even from a distance, Lily recognized the driver as Trey. Her anxiety eased when she saw Dane in the passenger seat. He hopped off the cart the instant it stopped and hurried over to her.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, reaching out and rubbing his hands along her upper arms as though testing for injury.

  “I’m fine. It was mostly my pride that suffered.”

  He frowned. “Let’s get you back to the green room.”

  She was all for that. When she tried to walk, however, her ankle had her drawing in a sharp breath and grabbing his arm to keep her balance.

  His frown deepened. He picked her up and carried her to the golf cart. She felt ridiculous.

  “I don’t think I’m cut out for this celebrity stuff,” she said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

  He didn’t respond to that. “Barney, contact someone in First Aid to bring something to treat Lily’s ankle.”

  He sat beside her in the two rear-facing seats of the golf cart. Trey headed to the green rooms. Lily watched Spence grow smaller in the distance, his camera focused on them.

  Dane carried her into her green room when they reached it. Aria and Sydney hadn’t returned yet. Before he could set her on the couch, she reached over and grabbed her purse from the coffee table in front of it.

  “Wait. I want to brush my teeth,” she said.

  She always carried a travel toothbrush and toothpaste with her, a byproduct of her years with braces. He didn’t argue, hauling her to the bathroom and turning off her mic when she asked him to.

  She felt better after brushing away the evidence of her aggressor and taking a couple of ibuprofen tablets for her headache. Dane was talking to Barney when she emerged from the bathroom. They ended their conversation and Barney stepped out of the room, leaving them alone.

  “Stop walking on that ankle,” Dane told her, moving forward and lifting her to carry her to the couch.

  She hated how unhappy he looked. “I really am okay,” she said as he set her down.

  “Well, I’m not,” he responded. “I’m absolutely not okay hearing that some guy was able to grab you, kiss you, and injure you in the span of seconds. My God, Lily...what if he had really wanted to hurt you?”

  A chill had the hair rising on her arms. She reached up to rub it away.

  “Okay,” she said after moistening her suddenly dry lips. “I admit that the meet-n-greet was more overwhelming than I anticipated. But it wasn’t planned. I promise I won’t be doing anything like that again.”

  Some of the concern eased from his expression. Their conversation ceased as Barney opened the door to a guy carrying a First Aid Kit. Dane wouldn’t leave her side as the guy examined her ankle, wrapped it in an ACE bandage, and applied ice to it.

  “It doesn’t look broken,” he said. “You’ll need to stay off of it as much as possible tonight to allow the swelling to go down. If it doesn’t feel better by the morning, you’ll want to get an X-ray. I have them bringing a wheelchair that you can use until you leave the venue.”

  Seeing Dane’s brooding reaction to that, Lily joked, “Hey, at least this will make good footage for the show.”

  She instantly knew that hadn’t been the way to go. His grip on her hand tightened and his shoulders tensed.

  Aria and Sydney arrived just as the First Aid attendant left, sparing Lily from trying to navigate Dane’s mood. Despite his reluctance, she sent him over to his green room to get changed.

  “What happened to your ankle?” Sydney asked when he walked out.

  Lily filled her friends in as they helped her get changed. They were both as concerned as Dane had been.

  “Lily, that kind of thing isn’t normal,” Aria said. “I hope you’ll be more careful. You’ve got some crazy fans out there.”

  Coming from Aria, a rising celebrity herself, the words made an impact. Maybe Dane wasn’t just being overprotective. Lily had to take this seriously or she could end up hurt...or worse.

  What had she gotten herself into?

  Chapter Sixteen

  The after-party was in full swing when Sydney and Aria arrived. It was being held in the venue’s largest event space. Sydney guessed there was close to two hundred people in the room...undeniably the largest after-party they’d attended so far.

  As usual, she and Aria headed right to the bar. Even though she didn’t drink, Sydney preferred to stand with a Diet Coke in her hand so she didn’t look completely out of place.

  The bar was located on the side of the room where The Void was sitting. The after-parties often involved all of the acts from the tour but the bands typically remained separated at the onset of each event to make it easier for their fans to find them. It was still early enough that the segregation was still in place.

  Sydney found that a relief. At least for now she could hang out with people she knew.

  There were already plenty of fans gathered around The Void. She guessed a number of them were waiting for Archer, who had stayed behind in the green room with Lily to finish a conversation they’d been having. Sydney watched Keith as she approached the table, happy to have a moment just to look at him.

  It always amazed her to see him interacting with fans. He was such a serious guy. Outside of when he called Lex, she didn’t think she had ever seen him smile. But when he posed in photos with fans, he smiled. Sure, it didn’t ever reach his eyes, but she doubted most people noticed.

  Would he ever smile for her and mean it?

  His eyes lifted and found hers. She smiled. She couldn’t help it. Something about his surly demeanor made her want to balance it with cheer.

  It may have been wishful thinking, but she was almost positive his eyes warmed a bit when he saw her.

  He soon returned his attention to the fans. She didn’t mind.

  “Will you watch my drink?” she asked Aria. “I’ll go get us something to eat before the buffet is all picked over.”

  “You’ve got a deal.”

  As Sydney made her way through the buffet line, she saw Archer wheel Lily into the room. She noticed Lily’s flushed cheeks and Archer’s slightly-more-tousled hair. Humor had her lips turning up as she realized their “conversation” had been quite a bit more than that.

 
A few feet into the ballroom, Archer paused in pushing the wheelchair to lean down to hear something Lily said. Whatever it was made him smile and place a kiss on the top of her head.

  The shared sense of intimacy between them provoked a sense of longing in Sydney. Not in a sexual way...in the way they were so in tune with each other. They were so obviously in love that she found it hard to believe anyone could think otherwise, even with the House of Archer people trying to throw Lily under the bus.

  A duo of loud squeals had Sydney’s eyes widening. She watched the smile fall from Archer’s face as two females rushed up to him and Lily. He shifted into a more defensive position as Trey and Barney advanced.

  Lily waved them all away. Sydney belatedly identified the females as Caroline and Bridgette. Both of Lily’s sisters were dressed in Void T-shirts and tight miniskirts with thigh-high boots. The attire didn’t suit either of them. Where Lily was slender and petite, her sisters were what could politely be termed “big-boned.” Both of them had brown hair they had recently attempted to dye red. Sydney suspected it was a failed attempt to make themselves look more like Lily. The color made them more closely resemble Ronald McDonald.

  A House of Archer camera operator followed the young women. It seemed as though he had been doing so for a while. Sydney gauged from Lily’s expression that she had arrived at a similar conclusion. Deciding she had better get back to The Void’s area so she could be there if Lily needed her, Sydney carried the plate of food back to the high cocktail table and stood next to Aria to eat and observe.

  Lily and Archer were quickly surrounded by fans. Caroline and Bridgette tried to get closer to Keith and Sage, who were sitting next to each other. Sydney and Aria made a few quiet guesses about what Lily’s sisters would do to embarrass her.

  Ultimately, though, they seemed to be behaving themselves. They posed with each of the band members for photos and spent time talking to them. Everyone treated them politely.

  Just when Sydney thought the event would pass with little drama, she saw a look come over Keith. It was like a steel wall slamming into place, removing all emotion from his face.