Although he was the same height as me, towering over my band mates, I didn’t ever let him intimidate me. If I told him what had happened, he would urge me to cancel the gig. And, that wasn’t going to happen.
“I’ll tell you later.”
His hand shot out, curling around my forearm as I went to move past him. Going still, I looked sideways at him. His dark hair had been cut, but tiny curls hugged his ears. The brown of his eyes shrunk as his pupils dilated. “You’re being careless. What’s got into you?”
Aries was an advocate for our mission. He had been the second Zodiac to find his love. However, he was still a tough warrior. Natalie, his woman, hadn’t made him any less sloppy. In fact, she had toughened him up. Especially since he lost his legs in an explosion.
“I just want to perform tonight, what’s wrong with that?”
His hand dropped away, his gaze moving past me as the others came back in, talking amongst themselves.
“Were they in danger?” Aries words were hushed.
Shaking my head, I took hold of the leather bracelet on my arm and tugged. When Aries’ fingers tapped my hand, I blinked and stopped unconsciously trying to get the thing off. Nick had control over us…and I didn’t like it. Just because my mission in life was to help my siblings find their true love, didn’t mean I was as excited about the prospect for myself.
“No.” I sighed. “They weren’t in danger. But…I may have ignored…”
My feet shuffled when Aries clicked his fingers in front of my face. He had a way of letting people know he was annoyed without having to say anything.
“Why won’t you get your head out of your arse and take this seriously?”
Frowning, I turned on him, full force. Staring him down, I leant forward. “I am taking this…” I pointed at my band. “…seriously.”
My thoughts snapped to my family as Aries crossed his arms over his chest, his biceps bulging in warning. He could threaten me all he liked. He may take the mission very seriously, but he had another passion too.
“I never question you, do I? You love helping people who have lost limbs to get fit again and being a fireman. Virgo is a nurse, she really enjoys her job. Pisces writes, bringing attention to her name. So, why is it any different for me? We all have lives away from the mission, Aries. Just let me live mine.”
Dismissing him before he could answer, I walked away. Picking up my guitar, I tuned it to make sure the chords were exactly how I liked them. Closing my eyes, I thought about what had happened in the last few months.
Cancer had found her man, after years of believing it was someone else. The stress-head she had become was almost unbearable. Our little trip abroad had been fun, but almost got us killed. Nick had no qualms when it came to us. He would do anything…absolutely anything…to complete his mission. He had never failed in any lifetime before, why would he fail now?
“Leo, you’ve got ten minutes,” the bar owner shouted as he appeared from the back of the venue.
Grinning, I threw him a thumbs up. I would put the last few hours out of my mind. Megan would not give the baby away. The woman with Nick was not my soulmate. And, Nick himself…I would deal with him tomorrow.
Chapter Two
The crowd started to clap, even though the song hadn’t ended. The buzz of the room made my skin heat. If I wasn’t careful, fire would escape out of my mouth when I sang the next line. The grin hadn’t left my face since the moment I had started to play.
“Thank you,” I said into the microphone as the last song came to a close.
My siblings were dotted among the crowd, making a lot of noise. Their shouts were distinguishable over the rest of the people that watched us. The pub was pumped with energy.
“Encore!” Virgo shouted, waving her drink in the air.
Her little frame made it impossible for her to see me over the crowd. She should have asked Scorpio or Aries to lift her up, being as they were the tallest, apart from me, of course.
A crescendo of voices followed her shout, ordering us to do another song. Leaning to the mic, I raised my eyebrows. “You want more of us?”
The cheer almost burst my ears. Looking at my band mates, I shrugged when they nodded. It seemed they were happy to continue. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as the people, mostly people we didn’t know, got excited to hear another song. Their shouts almost drowned out our instruments.
“I wrote this song about my family. Okay, okay,” I said when my siblings broke out in ‘aww’ sounds. “Although they’re a pain in my arse most of the time, they’re family. And, family is important.”
A man in a suit nudged his way to the front. Michael Keen. His dark hair was styled with gel, almost glued to his head. I grinned at him, happy to see that he had turned up. Hopefully, if nothing went wrong for the last song, we would have talks with him about getting signed to his label.
Clearing my mind, I opened my mouth. Being in the moment was the only way I could convey my lyrics. If my brain thought about anything other than the meaning behind the words, I would freeze up. Impressing the producer was important, yet, being authentic was crucial.
For once my brothers and sisters, all eleven of them, were quiet, which made the audience calm down too. I strummed the guitar, starting the slower song. Our music had a mixture of faster songs and ballads.
Everyone stared at me as I sang, the words slipping from my mouth so naturally, I could have said that I was born singing songs. My gaze clashed with my father’s as he joined the group at the back of the bar.
My song didn’t falter but my eyelids closed shut to block him out. He had abandoned us a while ago. The thought made me shake my head to get rid of it. He was back to help us now. We were grown up enough to get on with our mission. Our parents were no longer our parents, they were our guardians.
“Bravo!” Scorpio shouted in the silence that came after the song and just before the applause.
Looking over the crowd, I winked at my tall brother. He didn’t miss a beat as he winked back, the cheeky sod.
Michael Sheen smiled when I glanced at him. Saying goodbye to the audience, I gestured for him to join us on the small stage. He didn’t wait, jumping straight up and clasping my hand in his.
“Leo! It’s good to meet you, I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Grinning down at him, I introduced the smaller man to the rest of the band. They stood proud, which made me proud. We wouldn’t bow down to anyone, even if they were a huge record producer.
“I loved what I heard,” Michael said, pointing towards the dispersing crowd. “And, so did they.”
Taking a swig of water from a bottle, I laughed, tempted to pour the drink over my head. I had worked up a sweat in the performance.
“How much did you hear?” I asked.
My band mates glared at me, silently willing me to shut my mouth. I ignored them. I would only work with someone who was real. Someone who actually believed in us. If that meant I had to be arrogant to get my answers, I would.
“All of it.” He levelled his gaze on me, amusement dancing in his eyes.
He told the truth. He must have been watching from the back. Which was fine by me.
“I’m excited. I think we could work together. Come to my office tomorrow lunch time and we’ll talk.” Handing me his card, he shook our hands again before leaving the stage. Watching him go, I waited until he was out the pub.
“What do you think?” I asked my friends.
They nodded, the smirks on their face evidence that they were happy.
“Leo! What did he say?” Virgo bounded on the stage, grabbing hold of my arm.
My drummer thrust himself forward, getting between me and my sister. “He wants to see us tomorrow.”
Virgo took hold of his arm and squeezed. “That’s so good! Do you think you’ll get a record deal?”
I had only told a couple of my siblings that a producer would be at the gig. By now, all of them would know. There was no such thing as a secret in my family.
&
nbsp; “Virgo, leave the poor men alone, they need to pack up…don’t you, Leo?” My father interrupted us.
Looking down at where he stood on the floor, I shook my head. “She’s fine, we’ll work around her.”
Turning away from him, I started to pack up my guitar. My father wanted to talk about our earlier conversation. Why had I told him? If I had just kept my mouth shut, he wouldn’t even be at the gig.
“You did really well.” His voice cut through my thoughts. “I liked the one about family, it showed a lot about you.”
I rose from my crouch after snapping my case shut. Looking over at my brothers and sisters, who stood around chatting among themselves, I sighed.
“Tomorrow, Dad. Can we discuss this tomorrow?”
Running a hand over my light spiked hair to make sure it was still in place, I smiled at a pretty girl who leant against the bar, staring at me.
“Okay. Come and see me at lunchtime. Congratulations on tonight.”
Waving my father’s words away, I patted his back as I jumped off the stage and went over to the girl. My siblings wolf whistled as I went to open my mouth. Glaring over my shoulder, I paused when my gaze landed on a shadow in the corner of the room. A glint of silver caught my eye as an arm moved. Her eyes caught mine just as she ran out of the door. Amelia.
“Hi there.” The girl’s voice brought my attention back to the room.
Turning back to her, I muttered an apology and made my way over to Aries, who stood laughing with Natalie, Scorpio and Libra.
“Wow, I’ve never seen you bail before.” Libra flicked her long dark hair over her shoulder.
The corners of her eyes creased even more than usual when I stuttered a reply. Libra always wore a smile. She was the tallest of the girls with a long skinny body. Her Asian heritage was obvious in her smooth olive skin.
“Leo’s had a stressful evening, haven’t you?” Aries defended me, which was unlike him.
“Yeah, we all know what stress can do to a man. Not that it ever happens to me. Sorry about that, bro,” Scorpio butted in, punching my arm lightly.
Rolling my eyes, I smacked him back. “You are joking? I could take on this whole bar…if it wasn’t filled with you lot.”
“Incest is quite popular in some places.” Scorpio raised his eyebrows at me, daring me to come back to that.
“You should know,” I replied. “You must come from one of those places.”
Libra gasped at the same time as Natalie choked on her drink. Laughing, I slapped my brother on the back at the same time he glared at me.
“You two are terrible. I sometimes forget why I don’t hang out with you more, now I remember.” Libra linked her arm in Natalie’s and went off to talk to the others.
“Leo ran into Nick earlier,” Aries announced to Scorpio.
My water sign brother barely raised an eyebrow in question before he turned to stare at the pretty girl I had baled on.
“Seriously? You want my sloppy seconds?”
Scorpio put his hand on my arm, pointing at one of my tattoos. “See, there…your tattoo says, ‘Live and let live’…so, that’s what I’m doing. Plus, you didn’t get very far, did you?”
Aries grabbed Scorpio’s sleeve as he was about to walk away. “No, you don’t. We need to discuss more important things.”
The growl that rumbled in Scorpio’s chest made Aries let go. It was unlike the quiet man to react aggressively. In fact, he was often jokey, but mainly reserved. When he turned to look at us, he cleared his face of the scowl we had incited.
“Sorry,” he grumbled, frowning to himself.
“Is everything okay?” Aries always had to know what was going on.
Looking over to the door of the pub, I froze when my gaze landed on the face of Amelia. She stood on tip-toe, looking in the window. Why was she even there?
“Excuse me.” I moved before the others could stop me.
Striding across the small dance area, I yanked the door open and stepped outside. As predicted, Amelia had retreated as soon as she saw me coming. My gaze caught sight of her hair as it flew behind her when she disappeared around a side street. She was probably trying to lure me into a trap set by Nick.
“What are you doing out here?” Virgo asked, hauling one of the drums into the van for my friend.
“Helping you.” I took the drum from her and shoved it onto the back of the vehicle. She was only just staying upright with the heavy equipment.
Looking towards where Amelia had disappeared, I rubbed a hand over my face when her face appeared once more and she gestured for me to follow her. Did she think I was stupid?
Virgo filtered back inside, leaving me on the pavement alone. A couple of people stood nearer the other entrance, smoking. Could I resist the urge to tell the weird girl where to go?
“Leo!”
The girl’s shout made me grin.
Her impatience was evident when she came to stand in the road, stamping her foot. My twin flame soulmate would never be so sulky; it would bore me.
“What?” I shouted in reply.
She put her hands on her rounded hips, cocking one out to the side. The only temptation she held for me was to prove her wrong.
Sighing, I strode over, coming to a stand in front of her. “Tell Nick, I’m not interested.”
“Nick doesn’t know I’m here. I wanted to talk to you myself.”
Her small nose pointed up at the end. She didn’t look more than sixteen years old. A child.
“He’s brainwashed you,” I stated.
Her eyes traced the bulge of my arm muscles as I crossed them over my chest. It was a little chilly in the cool London night, but I didn’t care. My sleeveless shirt helped me move easier when I performed.
“He hasn’t. I…I’m not your twin flame, I know that. In fact, I’m in love with one of his men.”
It took everything in my willpower not to roll my eyes. Did I seriously have a teen crisis on my hands?
“So, why are you playing along with his scam?”
She cleared her throat, wringing her hands together in front of her. “Because I convinced him that I was your soulmate. This…” She lifted her arm, showing her bracelet. “…is real.”
Stepping forward, I paused when she froze. Her feet moved, ready for retreat.
“Let me look,” I said, gesturing to her arm.
Her gulp was audible in the dim light of the street. The road wasn’t busy, being that it was so late at night. The slam of the pub door behind us made me jump. Taking hold of her shoulder, I guided her into the side road. My siblings wouldn’t be so calm with her if they saw us.
“I need your help,” she blurted, letting me take her wrist to inspect the leather bracelet.
It was the same as ours. When I tried to tug it off, it wouldn’t budge. I swore under my breath as I let her go and stepped away.
“Why do you need my help?”
If she wasn’t anything to do with me, why didn’t she just leave me alone? And…
“If I can escape Nick by being with you, I can see my…love…and, maybe we can run away together.”
Really? Did this stranger really believe that I would drop my life to help her? Going out of my way for the people I cared about was something that came naturally to me. But, for others? I had more important things to worry about.
“I’m sorry you got caught up with Nick, I really am. However, I don’t know you. I have things going on right now that do not involve Nick. I can’t help you, I’m sorry.”
Turning away, I paused when my jeans grazed the thick leather bracelet on my wrist. Her sob echoed around the small street, making me look over my shoulder.
“I understand. Just know that whatever happens, I…” She pulled in a deep breath before she spun and ran down the street, jumping into an empty parked car and driving away.
“What are you doing out here?” Virgo asked before I could think.
My mind was distracted as we walked back to the van. The others hovered n
earby, ready to go home. The pub owner approached, congratulating us on our successful evening. The whirlwind of saying goodbye made me almost forget about Amelia, the lost girl.
“Leo?”
Aries stood to the side, ready to grill me about my earlier encounter. He had wiped the memory of my band members without blinking, yet, he would not stop going on at me until I explained.
“Walk with me,” I said, gesturing for him and Natalie to follow me.
His twin flame stopped him from moving forward. “I’m not sure you need me, shall I go back with the others?”
Taxis pulled up in front of the van, ready to take my family home. The building we lived in would eventually become a hotel. When we had all completed our mission of uniting with our twin flames, we would finally go our separate ways. Although I would miss my siblings, a part of me couldn’t wait for the freedom.
Aries whispered to Natalie. Her cheeks grew red, the colour filtering up her neck. Whatever he said wasn’t something I wanted to hear. She kissed his cheek before waving goodbye to me. I waved back, drumming up a smile for her.
“Let’s go,” Aries said when the others were safely in the cars.
“Race you.” I suddenly had the urge to run as fast as I could.
Our home was half an hour walk, but only a quick drive. The others would be home and settled way before we got back. My legs pumped into gear, sprinting down the dark streets of London. Aries cursed behind me, his shoes a hindrance. His fake legs held them well, but they were not designed for sports.
“Okay, that’ll do,” he shouted.
Slowing, I held my hands in the air. “Man, I can’t help it if you’re slow.”
Coming to a stop, I waited for him to catch up. He scowled at me, threatening to punch me in the arm.
“You know full well if I had my running shoes on, I would beat you in an instant.”
He was right. Aries had always been fitter than any of us. Being a firefighter made it impossible for him to be lazy. Even though he had gone to part time so he could help other disabled people, he still had to keep in amazing shape.
My gym pumped body wasn’t quite the same. He saved people from burning buildings. Something I could never aspire to emulate.
Leo Page 2
