Cover Me (Rock Gods #3)

by Joanna Blake

  As soon as she got into her room though she noticed something.

  The light on her phone was blinking.

  She had a message.

  11

  Bruce took a big gulp of the bourbon the busty waitress had brought him. He stared around the club without seeing anything. Most of the cast and crew were gone now. Only Harry was sticking around to keep an eye on him.

  Harry looked worried.

  Bruce sneered and downed another mouthful. After seven years, getting buzzed felt amazing. Hell, he was more than buzzed.

  Bruce was drunk.

  Anything to numb out the empty feeling inside. She'd rejected him. More than that, she'd inflamed him beyond reason and then abruptly left him standing there alone, wanting her.

  He was still in a state of unrelenting lust, even after he'd been drinking steadily for hours. Ever since she ran off on him. The way she'd responded to him had lit his whole body on fire. And she had responded to him, no matter what she'd said.

  He thought about what Kat had said about groupies and grimaced. Then again, there had been something about the way she'd said it that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

  Wait a minute… yes. That was it. That was it exactly.

  She'd sounded jealous.

  A flash of hope went through him.

  "What room is she in?"

  "Who, Kat?"

  Bruce stared at his friend and manager steadily.

  "Look that doesn't sound like the best idea. It's the middle of the night. You should hit the hay man."

  "Harry, shut the hell up."

  Harry shook his head and pulled out his phone. He flicked through his lists and looked up at Bruce with his lips pinched together.

  "Room 301. But I still say this is a bad idea, man!"

  Bruce clapped him on the shoulder.

  "Thanks Harry."

  In minutes Bruce was in the elevator to her room. He stood outside her door, wondering if maybe Harry was right. He was drunk. He was belligerent. And she was probably sleeping like the angel that she was.

  To hell with it.

  He lifted his fist and knocked.

  Nothing. He knocked again and waited. No sound of feet. No exasperated voice coming from the other side of the door.

  Nothing.

  He went to the lobby and asked to speak to the manager.

  "I'm looking for one of my musicians. Kat Henley."

  "Miss Henley left a few hours ago."

  "What?"

  "She took her car and left. Let’s see... It was around 11 pm. She said we should pack her stuff and hold it for her. She didn't know when or if she'd be back."

  Bruce's fists clenched into balls as white hot fury shot through his body. He nodded his thanks stiffly and headed back to the elevator.

  She'd actually left. The gig, him, everything.

  She was gone.

  He picked up the phone in his new suite- the one he'd switched to be closer to her. He laughed harshly. What a joke. She was a bitch. Maybe she'd done him a favor by running off.

  That didn't do anything to fix the giant hole she'd left in his chest.

  "Harry. What is Kat's number. Did she ever give you her new cell?"

  "No man, I just have a landline."

  "Give it to me. Oh and she'll have to be replaced. Cut the duet- or give it to one of the other girls."

  "Which one?"

  "Either. Doesn't matter. Nothing matters."

  "Bruce man, you alright?"

  "No."

  He hung up and went to the mini bar. There was a mid sized bottle of bourbon in there. He pulled it out and started to swig directly from the bottle. Then he went back to the phone and dialed the number Harry had given him.

  The phone rang for a long time. He glanced at the clock. It was almost 5 am. Where the hell was she at 5 am???

  With another man most likely. She must have been stringing him along no doubt. All while she laughed at him behind his back. Bruce felt sick to his stomach just imagining what a fool he'd made of himself over her.

  Finally a voicemail picked up. It was an older woman. She sounded like Kat a bit. Her mother then. He took another swig of the bottle and waited for the beep.

  "Hi, this message is for Katrina. You are in breech of contract and your… your employment is terminated."

  He took a deep breath and cursed under his breath.

  "And you can keep the damn car. I don't want to look at it."

  He hung up, feeling a sudden sense of loss. That was it. He washed his hands of her. Tomorrow was a new day. Maybe he would take her advice and bang a few groupies.

  He doubted that would do anything to fill the gaping hole she'd left behind.

  **********

  Katrina stared at the woman who was filling out the paperwork for Tommy.

  "Insurance?"

  "None."

  "You realize that even with financial assistance, this is going to cost at least three thousand dollars. That's just for last night."

  Kat nodded. She could sell her new clothes. And her job paid well. As soon as Tommy was better she would go back to Vegas. They wouldn't do more than dock her a few days pay.

  "I can pay it. Just not in one lump sum. You accept installments, right?"

  The woman nodded and continued typing away at her computer.

  None of it mattered anyway. As long as Tommy was okay. He'd come down with a sudden infection. That happened all the time with leukemia. But this fever hadn't gone away with children's Tylenol. Finally in desperation her mother had taken Tommy to the emergency room.

  While Kat had been kissing Bruce in that courtyard, her kid had been fighting for his life.

  She swallowed and stared at her hands. She'd never felt so ashamed of herself. She clenched her hands into fists around her handbag.

  "That's it for now. Thank you Mrs. Henley."

  "It's Ms."

  "Oh, I see. Thank you Ms. Henley."

  Kat nodded and walked slowly back to the pediatric oncology unit. She slipped into Tommy's room and curled up in the big chair by his bed. He was sleeping soundly and she didn't want to wake him, no matter how badly she wanted to kiss his beautiful forehead.

  Her boy. The single thing she'd done right in her entire life.

  He had to be okay, he just had to.

  Kat was dozing when her mother came into Tommy's room around 6 am. She'd just gone home to shower and bring Tommy some of his favorite books. The kid didn't get to play much but he loved to read.

  "Hello sweetheart. Any change?"

  Kat shook her head tiredly.

  "He's holding steady. They said it might take up to a week of intravenous antibiotics but he should be able to beat this off."

  There was a worried look on her mothers face that didn't go away with the good news.

  "What is it, Mom?"

  Her mother shook her head and waved her off, sinking into the couch along the wall by the window.

  "Nothing."

  "Mom. Tell me."

  "There was a message for you. From Bruce."

  Kat lifted her head from her knees, knowing somehow that it was bad news.

  "I'm so sorry Kat. They fired you."

  Kat felt the floor drop out from under her. She'd left a note for Linda and Betsy. They alone knew about her kid and the situation as it stood. She'd told them when they asked her why she didn't want to date Bruce. Because obviously she was insane to turn down a gorgeous rock star who wanted her to be his girlfriend.

  And he had wanted that. More than just a roll in the hay. She could admit that to herself now.

  Now that it was too late.

  She was planning to call Harry in the morning to explain. Somehow though, they'd found out that she was gone already.

  She put her head in her hands. It was over.

  There had to be a way to get the money for Tommy's hospital stay.

  She'd figure it out, even if it meant stripping. She'd had plenty of offers to do that in the past. Mayb
e she could do it just long enough to pay the hospital bills and then find a quiet job somewhere. Out of the limelight.

  It didn't matter that she was giving up her dreams. It didn't matter that her stomach turned at the thought of taking off her clothes for strange men. It didn't even matter that her heart felt like it was breaking at the thought of not seeing Bruce again.

  All that mattered was Tommy.

  12

  Bruce woke up with a throbbing head. He rolled over and stared at the clock. It was 2 pm. He groaned. He'd drank himself stupid last night, staying up practically until dawn.

  Then he remembered why.

  Kat was gone. She’d left without a word. And then he'd fired her.

  He frowned. Why had she run away? It didn't really matter why though, did it? There was a show to do and you couldn't just leave. What she'd done was unprofessional. It had nothing to do with how angry and hurt he was.

  He forced himself to down a glass of mineral water before stepping into the shower. He brought another glass bottle of water in with him, sipping periodically as the hot water sluiced over his tired body.

  When he finally got out he felt a lot better. His body anyway. His mood was still foul.

  If there was one thing he knew how to do, it was take care of a hangover.

  He was getting dressed when the phone rang. He answered it quickly, almost hoping that it was her. Maybe she'd call to explain, or better yet, to beg for his forgiveness. His shoulders drooped when he realized it was Harry.

  "Hey Bruce. We need to run through the duet with Betsy. You want to do that now or just before the show?"

  "Now is fine. Just bring some aspirin."

  "You okay man? You sound rough."

  "I'll be fine."

  He wore dark sunglasses when he went into the theater, leaving them on during the rehearsal. Betsy was a fine singer and sounded great. His voice was the one that was lacking any passion. When they got to the end of the song however he turned to her and said roughly, "The kiss is out."

  "Yeah, I figured."

  She was staring at him shrewdly. So he hadn't been as circumspect as he thought. It didn't matter now.

  "Did you really fire her?"

  He stared at her face. She had a disapproving look that reminded him of his mother's face when he'd done something bad. He nodded sharply.

  "Seems harsh, considering the circumstances."

  "What circumstances? She left without telling anyone why. After one performance."

  Betsy snorted.

  "It's not her fault her kid has cancer. Girl has enough to worry about. And now I doubt she'll be able to get another gig. Not once word gets out."

  "What did you say?"

  He grabbed Betsy's shoulders.

  "Her kid. He's in the hospital. Something about the Leukemia coming back. She's scared shitless if you want to know the truth."

  Bruce closed his eyes. So that was why… oh God. That poor kid. Kat must be beside herself with worry.

  "You didn't know?"

  Betsy shook her head and made a tsking sound.

  "And here I thought you cared about the girl."

  He watched as Betsy walked off the stage. Harry came down from the booth.

  "We all good?"

  Bruce nodded.

  "Wait- no- Harry I need you to come up to my suite. We need to call my lawyer."

  He strode out of the theater, his hangover forgotten.

  Bruce thought about what she'd said about the kid's medicine. About needing this job. About how Tommy had been wearing a baseball cap over his shaved head.

  How could he have been so blind?

  He felt sick when he thought about his selfish behavior. He'd practically thrown himself at her. Hell, he had. He’d told himself he wanted to take care of her. But when she needed help he had let her down.

  He had to do something though. Something to help her kid. Never mind making it up to Kat. He wasn't sure if he could ever do that.

  Once the kid was okay though, he was sure going to try.

  **********

  Katrina was huddled over the help wanted ads in the newspaper. Her mother was back home, gathering clean clothes for Kat. She refused to leave Tommy, even to shower. The nurses had taken pity on her and rolled in a cot after the third day of watching Kat sleep in the chair.

  "Are you the mother?"

  Kat nodded and stepped forward. She was terrified that they had somehow figured out that she couldn't pay and were going to kick her out. Kick Tommy out...

  "Hello I'm Dr. Patrick from Children's Hospital. These are my associates, Doctors Lever and Joseph. Our speciality is childhood leukemia. We are here to take a look at this young man."

  Kat nodded dumbly and stepped away as the Doctors examined Tommy and looked over his chart. Then they huddled for a moment.

  "You are going to be fine Tommy. We just need to nip this in the bud. Okay?"

  Tommy nodded eagerly, smiling at Kat where she stood in the corner, feeling like she was holding up the wall. Finally the doctors stepped into the hallway, gesturing for Kat to follow them.

  "They are doing a good job of treating the infection here. In about seven days we will start him on a new round of chemo with mistletoe shots to mitigate the side effects. He should stay in our facilities during treatment. As soon as infection is gone they will transfer him to CHLA."

  Kat's mouth dropped open. That was one of the best pediatric hospitals in the world, let alone Los Angeles. It was also one the most expensive.

  "Wait- I'm sorry but we can't afford this. We don't have insurance."

  He glanced at her chart, frowning.

  "Yes you do."

  "I do?"

  "Really good insurance actually. It's private, a single family plan. You and your mother are covered as well. Plus a fifty thousand dollar retainer to our hospital to cover any extras."

  "But I didn't register for new insurance."

  "Well, somebody did."

  One by one the doctors shook her hand and left. Kat walked back into the room and slowly sank down into the chair by the window. Her head was spinning. How had this happened?

  But she knew how.

  Moments later huge bunch of balloons were brought into the room. And behind it a huge fruit basket. And behind that a huge bouquet of peach roses.

  She pulled out the card, knowing what it was going to say before she even opened it.

  Your job is waiting for you whenever you are ready to come back.

  No more funny business I swear.

  -Bruce

  Tears of relief sprang into her eyes. She closed them to keep Tommy from seeing her cry.

  Bruce had unfired her. And somehow he'd found out about Tommy. And he'd wanted to help.

  Betsy and Linda must have told Bruce the truth. And he’d done this extraordinarily generous, life saving thing. God knows why after how many times she’d pushed him away. But apparently, he still cared.

  A little bit anyway. Beyond that, she was afraid to think about.

  She didn't even care that he'd been so high handed, swooping in and taking care of her and Tommy like a couple of of lost puppies.

  It didn't matter right now.

  All that mattered was that everything was going to be okay.

  13

  Bruce sipped his iced tea as he slowly ate a nicoise salad at the restaurant overlooking the pool. He was feeling good again. It'd been two weeks since he fell off the wagon and made a mess of things. Two weeks of getting daily reports of Tommy's progress through his lawyer and Harry.

  Two weeks of worry.

  He'd done little except for his daily workout routine and the show five nights a week. It had given him a lot of time for regrets. And a lot of time to plan.

  His phone buzzed on the table beside him. It was a text from Harry.

  'She should be back later today.'

  Bruce smiled slightly. He didn't need to ask Harry who he was talking about. Harry knew how he felt about Kat, even if he hadn'
t told him quite how badly he'd bungled it.

  But he'd spent the past two weeks setting things to rights.

  He was also getting reports on Tommy and Kat from her mother, Janice. They had formed an alliance of sorts, after he'd apologized for leaving that repellant message on her answering machine. She'd just clucked her tongue and said that Kat had driven her to drink a few times herself.

  After that he had her full support for everything he did and everything he planned to do.

  Step one was to make Kat feel safe and comfortable.

  Step two was to make her realize what she was missing out on.

  Step three was to make her jealous.

  He grinned. Judging from her reaction to his fans on opening night, that shouldn't be too hard.

  Step four though, that was the part he was most looking forward too.

  Step four was to make her his.

  Bruce stood up and tossed a tip on the table. He had a few hours to kill before the show. Maybe he'd call Janice and check in. He liked talking to her. And he could go toy shopping for his nieces and nephews.

  And Tommy. From everything he'd heard from his lawyer, the kid was remarkably brave. Bruce smiled. Of course he was. Just like his mother.

  Bruce started whistling as he slid into the back of the hotel limo.

  "What's the best toy store in town?"

  "There's an FAO Schwartz on the strip."

  "Let's go there then."

  "You got it.

  **********

  "Hey."

  Kat felt like a schoolgirl as she approached Bruce backstage before the show. Apparently she was taking all her parts back, even the big duet. The girls had welcomed her warmly so she knew there were no hard feelings about that.

  He turned and smiled at her. But there was no heat in it this time.

  "Welcome back Kat."

  "Thanks. I wanted to- thank you for everything you did for Tommy. And me."

  He just smiled blandly.