Front & Center (Book 2 of the Back-Up Series)

by A. m Madden

  “Thanks, Kyle. It hasn’t been easy.”

  “Will you be finishing the tour?”

  “I don’t have a choice. I can’t break my contract. I would love to pack my bags right now and get the hell out of here.”

  “That really sucks. You are so talented. So is the band. You guys are all a great fit together.”

  I turn away and nod quietly. “Yeah, thanks.” As I start walking away from him, he says one last thing.

  “Leila, don’t worry. Everything will work out.”

  Turning back, I nod again and smile shyly. “Thanks, Kyle.”

  

  “We just want to ask you a few questions.”

  “Am I in trouble?”

  Oscar takes a seat across the table from Kyle. Jack, Hunter, Scott, Trey, Dylan, Will and I are all around the table. Oscar smiles at Kyle. “Why would you be in trouble?”

  “This looks serious.”

  “Kyle, we are just trying to figure out how some specific details have ended up online. We will be asking the same questions to all the roadies. Has anyone contacted you recently regarding the tour?”

  Kyle turns all shades of red. He looks from Oscar to Jack. “What do you mean?”

  “You know, gossip magazines or reporters? We believe someone on this tour is releasing information.”

  “Um…I…no. No one has contacted me.”

  “Have you heard anything or seen anything strange with the other guys?”

  “No.”

  “The Internet was buzzing today with details of Leila’s recording session in LA. Except for us, no one knew Leila was recording a song. We can’t understand how some of our fans got wind of it.”

  “Sorry, I really don’t know.”

  “There was also a post that claimed Jack kicked Leila out of the band during rehearsals.”

  Kyle shrugs. “Don’t know.”

  “Ok, thanks for your time. If someone contacts you who isn’t affiliated with the band, please let us know as soon as possible.”

  “Will do. Anything else?”

  “Nope. Thanks, Kyle.” Kyle gives a nervous glance around and exits the room. Once the door is shut, Oscar says, “I’m not convinced he is our guy. But he does know something. He may be covering for someone else. We still need to talk to Brian and Rich. Will, can you grab one of them and bring them in?”

  Will leaves the room to find one of the last two roadies to question. With Will gone, Jack turns to Oscar. “This is getting out of hand. They even knew what time she was at the studio. Oscar, I want you spending more time on the other bus.”

  Oscar nods. “I agree.”

  Will enters the room with Rich. Looking totally unfazed, he takes a seat and looks around. “What’s going on?”

  Oscar gives the same speech he gave Kyle. Rich responds with an arrogant, “So?”

  “Have you been contacted by anyone recently regarding the tour?”

  “Yeah. Some chick called me. She said she was from Rock MY World. Wanted to know how their breakup was affecting the tour.”

  “Why haven’t you said anything?”

  Rich shrugs, “Didn’t know I needed to. You said to let you know about crazy fans, not the media.”

  “True. Did you talk to the reporter from Rock MY World?”

  “Nope. I told her I didn’t know anything.” Rich leans back in his chair and folds his arms, watching Oscar with a look of total boredom.

  “Do you have her number?”

  He pulls out his phone, searching for a number. “Nope, I deleted it.”

  “Can you please let us know if she contacts you again?” Oscar asks, eyeing him suspiciously.

  “Sure, no problem.”

  “Thanks. Anything else you’d like to let us know?”

  Rich shakes his head slowly. “No.”

  “Ok. Please tell Brian we ran out of time and we’ll touch base with him after the show.”

  Rich leaves the room, leaving the door open when he does. Oscar turns to the guys, “Do you mind if I chat with Jack and Leila for a few minutes?”

  “No, the less we hear the better.” Hunter says, as he leaves the room. Trey and Scott start to follow. Trey stops and says, “Rich is hiding something.”

  “How do you know?” Jack asks.

  “He never looked at anyone but Oscar. Kyle’s reaction was normal.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  Trey nods and walks out the door. Dylan stands to close the door.

  “Well? That really got us nowhere.” Dylan says, as he sits again.

  “I disagree. They know we are suspicious. That will make them nervous. Screw ups occur when someone gets nervous.”

  “Now what?” Jack asks impatiently.

  “You’ll meet with Jessa in Vegas. I predict she’ll go the pity route and try to negotiate financial support. Take it all in and tell her you’ll get back to her once you speak to your attorney. Also, ask her if your name will be listed on the birth certificate as the father.”

  “Why would I ask that?”

  “Because if it is, and she falsified the test, she can be charged with a felony.”

  Oscar watches our reaction and then continues. “Basically, if it’s money she wants, she’d have to confirm you are the father. By doing that, she is digging her own grave if it’s not true.”

  “She is one piece of work.” Jack says. “What the hell is she trying to get out of me?”

  “My guess is you and money. Ace and I feel it may be necessary for you to wear a wire, just in case she pulls out her cards.” Oscar replies.

  “I don’t like this one bit.” Leila says out loud.

  “You need to trust us.”

  “I trust you completely. It’s her I don’t trust. What if Danny comes with her and tries to pull something?”

  “I’ll be there with Jack. Ace will warn us if Danny is joining her and we’ll be prepared.”

  “Danny must have something on her, this has his name written all over it.” Jack says, shaking his head. “Unbelievable…huh?”

  “Jack, people will go to great lengths for money.” Oscar admits.

  “Thank you for filling us in.”

  “Mr. Morrow has been a huge help. Thank Leila for calling him once this started.”

  Jack looks over and winks at me. “She knows how thankful I am. Let’s discuss the getting back together part. When?”

  Oscar chuckles. “Not yet. There is nothing to prevent her from accusing you of sexual assault. If that were to get out, it really would be lethal to your reputation. Even if it’s not true, there really isn’t proof otherwise and people will always speculate.”

  “Fuck.”

  “You really need to be patient. Leila was absolutely right in planning this.”

  “Ok. Patience.”

  “One more thing. When you meet with Jessa, tell her you would like your own paternity test done. Do not tell her why. Stay calm and do not get excited or angry at her response.”

  “I may need to take a Valium to keep from strangling her to death.”

  “Be careful who you repeat that to.” Oscar scolds.

  

  “Hi, Ace.”

  “Hey, sweetie. So, Jessa boarded a flight in LaGuardia alone and is on her way to Vegas. I haven’t seen Danny in days. She has been to his place, but he hasn’t surfaced or left his apartment. I already let Oscar know.”

  “Thanks for working so closely with him.”

  “No thanks needed. He’s a great guy and I’m glad he’s there protecting you.”

  “I’m glad you’re in Jersey protecting me.”

  “Me too. Bye, sweetie.”

  A smiling Jack busts into my dressing room and closes the door quickly behind him.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m visiting my girlfriend.” He comes to stand behind me, watching me through the vanity mirror. “Ooh, are you naked under here?” He asks as he uses his finger to open my robe a few inches.

  “Yes, and w
e don’t have time. We’re due on stage in fifteen minutes.”

  “Baby, have I not proven I work well under pressure? Lately we’ve never had enough time.”

  “How are you here? What if someone saw you?”

  “Will has the roadies scrambling with a ‘missing amp’ issue.”

  “Did you have something to do with this missing amp?”

  “Me? Of course not. I may have bribed Trey, though.”

  Laughing at his admission, I say, “What is Trey’s price? He seems un-bribable.”

  “You’d be surprised. He wants a solo tonight.”

  “Well, good for him. We are in his home state.”

  “Yep. He’s shrewd.” Jack pulls me into a standing position. “Enough talking.”

  He goes right to it, nibbling on my ear, then my neck.

  “Mmm…did you lock the door?”

  “Of course, woman.” Jack slowly kisses my lips. It’s the kind of kiss that drives me wild, and now that he knows that, he torments me with them every opportunity he gets.

  “So listening to your single got me all horny.”

  “Did you like it?”

  “Yeah, babe. It’s really good. I love it. The lyrics went right to my groin.”

  “What?”

  “They’re hot. When you sing about being in a constant state of torment, it does things to me.”

  “That could become a problem since we’re apart right now.”

  “Cold showers. They fucking suck ass.” He kisses my neck, as I giggle at his admission. “When does it debut?”

  “Malcolm said to give him a few days. He’s going to send it to some key radio stations.”

  He unties my sash, moving his hand around my waist to the small of my back. Pulling me into him, I can feel each of his hard muscles…every one.

  “Men from coast to coast will want you. But you are mine. Don’t ever forget that.”

  “And you’re mine.”

  “Completely.” He lifts and sits me on the edge of the vanity, moving to stand between my spread legs. He then pulls my already erect nipple in between his lips and swirls his tongue around its peak. One hand slowly skims my body and comes to rest on the inside of my thigh and the other gently kneads my other breast.

  “Lean back.”

  I do as he asks, resting my back against the mirror. He kisses me and then disappears between my legs. Taking an ankle in each hand, he hooks my legs over his shoulders and goes right to it. His warm lips immediately send sparks through my body, his wet tongue lights the match, but then a knock on the door douses the flames.

  “Oh my God. Jack!” I whisper loudly, in a panic.

  “Ssh…don’t worry. Don’t say anything.”

  Here we are, Jack on his knees with his face buried in between my thighs, and I’m spread as if getting a pap smear. After a few seconds, whoever knocked jiggles the doorknob, then moves on.

  Jack starts laughing, his body shaking while his face is still buried in my...

  “Jack!” I push him away. “Stop.”

  “I…Babe…” He can’t even complete a full intelligible sentence from laughing so hard. He straightens and slumps over me, pinning me with his weight.

  “I’m sorry, baby. That was so funny.”

  “It wasn’t that funny. And now I’m horny as hell.”

  “We still have a few minutes.”

  “No!” I push him away and point a finger. “Stay away from me.”

  I pull my robe closed and cross my arms, waiting for him to calm down.

  When he hunches over and continues laughing, I move into the bathroom to get dressed. He follows me in, still apologizing profusely.

  “If it makes you feel better…” He takes my hand and places it over his rock hard bulge.

  “Good. Serves you right.”

  “Can I hug you for luck?” Dimples appear, and my crotch reacts.

  “Fine.”

  He moves over to wrap his arms around me. “I really am sorry. I’ll make it up to you.”

  “Yes, you will, Mr. Lair. You know how I get before a show. You’ve wrecked my routine and frustrated me.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  An announcement with our five-minute warning comes over the PA system. “Out!”

  “Ok. I’ll see you on stage. Time to hate you.” He kisses my cheek and sneaks out. That man is going to be the death of me.

  It turns out my horniness helps with my pretense to hate Jack perfectly. Usually, when he makes snide comments about me to the audience, I remain quiet, pretending to stew. Today, I fight back. During our first duet, I decide not to share a mic with him and instead choose to roam the stage and openly flirt with Trey during his solo. Trey takes the opportunity to bust Jack and responds perfectly towards my advances.

  Jack begins his verse staring out into the crowd. He slowly turns his head to finally look at us. The look is heated and says, “You are so dead”.

  I respond with my own glare, challenging him to “Bring it on”.

  Towards the end of the song, I move to the center mic and purposefully keep distance between us. He leans in until his lips touch mine. He seductively snakes his hand into my hair, holding my head in place while sneering the lyrics to me. To the audience, it looks like we can’t stand each other.

  The rest of the show goes much the same way, our tensions causing our performance to look enraged. It’s the first show since I broke up with him that we’ve interacted at all. The audience loves it. After our encore, they begin chanting, “Leila and Jack”, over and over.

  “They sure want you two back together.” Hunter says, as we exit the stage. As usual, Will

  and the roadies are all at the stairs, waiting to pack up our equipment.

  Jack uses the opportunity and mumbles, “Not gonna happen.” He then disappears into his

  dressing room. He always turns me on when he acts this way. Once I’m tucked away in my own room, he texts me.

  coming in

  no. too risky.

  His response is to barge into the room.

  “Jack, you are going to get caught.”

  “They are breaking down the stage. No chance.” He stalks towards me like he’s about to eat me for lunch. “Trying to make me jealous?”

  “Did it work?”

  He places my hand right where it was before our show started. “What do you think?”

  “I’d say that is a yes. Have you been sporting this for the last two hours.”

  “Uh, yeah.”

  “I’ll help you take care of it if you’d like.”

  “That’s the plan.” He removes my jeans and panties, lifts me and places me in the same spot

  I was in when we were so rudely interrupted. He then drops his jeans to his ankles.

  I look down and smirk. “Commando?”

  “Just saving time.” He slips two fingers inside, while using his thumb to stroke me. “You’re so ready.” He removes his fingers and thrusts into me fast and hard.

  “Ah, fuck.” He says with his lips on my ear.

  He buries his face in my neck, muffling his grunts and groans. The ache he left me with earlier has intensified unbearably. I take hold of his ass cheeks to urge him to go deeper and faster still. He complies and with every lunge, he gets me closer.

  He slips his hand between us and a few strokes of his fingertips is all it takes.

  Jack groans and repeats a throaty, “Ah, fuuuck.” Once he stills, he pins me with his body weight, not moving a muscle.

  “You ok?”

  “Hmm. I’m good.” He murmurs into my neck. “You?”

  “Very good.”

  “Glad to hear it.” He says, but still doesn’t move.

  “You have to go.” When he remains slumped over me, I poke his chest. “Jack.”

  “Hmm?”

  “You have to go.”

  “Such a buzz kill.” He pulls out and looks down at my exposed crotch. He runs the pad of his thumb over me, causing my breath to hitch and my
hips to buck.

  “This sucks.”

  “What?”

  “Leaving you here, especially like this.”

  I grab his shirt and pull him towards me. “I know.” I kiss him deeply and he inches closer, until he is pressed against my entrance again, erect and ready to go. This was a bad idea. I’ve riled him up again.

  I push him away and shake my head. “No. No. No. You really have to go.”

  Taking matters into my own hand, I hop off the vanity, pull up his jeans, carefully zip and button him up, and shove him towards the door.

  On his way out, he turns and admits, “I forgive you.”

  “For what?”

  “For the cold shower I have to go take.”

  Chapter 15 - Jack

  I have so much swirling in my head that it’s causing a constant dull pounding in between my ears.

  Ace confirmed Jessa flew out of New York by herself. Unless Danny is arriving from a different location, she is coming alone. She is staying at some dump on the old strip. My guess is she can’t afford anything better.

  I can’t wait to find out why she called this little meeting. Being in the same room with her is going to be challenging. I already feel the impulse to strangle her, and she isn’t even here yet.

  Leila is not happy about this, and I can’t blame her. She worries Danny will appear to complicate things. Oscar assured her that he would be there, hiding in the background.

  Besides all the Jessa charades, I’ve had to juggle the secret hotel I booked for Leila and me, the surprise of having our siblings coming, and coordinate the other “thing”, all while doing our show and pretending to hate the love of my life.

  When did my life become such a fucking soap opera?

  I booked a suite at the Bellagio overlooking the fountains. Vegas is costing me a fortune, but I’d gladly pay ten times the price to be with her. As a ruse, Leila and I have our rooms booked in the same hotel that the band is staying in. We will check in and then sneak out to the Bellagio.

  Will gave the roadies the night off, since our first show isn’t until tomorrow. We all predict they will be like kids in a candy store and most likely disappear the entire time. Oscar will be following Leila and me, in case Jessa’s mole isn’t as excited about being in Vegas as we hope.