Bullet Series Box Set Books 1-8

by Jade C. Jamison

  Time was, obviously, of the essence.

  Brad had lectured them the night before about “looking presentable.” He got a few grumbles, most of them from Ethan, Mr. Bad Attitude, but even he saw the importance of looking as normal and “respectable” as possible. They weren’t going to win Val’s parents over by being the epitome of dissention and rebellion, no matter what their actual heavy metal message might have been.

  Much as he hated the idea of it all, he’d promised Valerie and would do whatever it took. He pulled his hair back into a ponytail and was going to wear a t-shirt for the ride, but before they got to Val’s house, he was going to change into a white, long-sleeved button-down shirt. Jesus. When he saw himself in the mirror, he almost did look respectable. All he needed was a tie. He also got rid of all jewelry. From everything Val had told him (and from meeting her mother and brother earlier that summer, even though it was only for a few minutes), her family was ultra conservative, and looking buttoned down was a good thing. None of his tattoos were showing, although if anyone tried too hard, they could see some of them through the fabric. But his job here was not to appear to be someone he was not; instead, it was to show her parents respect and put their minds at ease.

  Ethan and Zane wore their typical attire—t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers—but they were low key. They didn’t look too far out, and neither had hair that was too long or lots of tattoos. They looked almost like college kids…which they had been up until a couple of months earlier. Nick dressed the same as the other guys, but he had short hair and he didn’t even have any tattoos peeking out from under his sleeves. He had one small one on his upper right arm that was only seen when he wore sleeveless shirts. Brad examined them before leaving and declared that they’d done a great job.

  It was a tense drive, only because Brad knew what was at stake. When they finally got to Winchester, Brad pulled into the parking lot of the first supermarket he spotted and took off his t-shirt, replacing it with the office-type shirt. “Why you gotta go and do that?” Ethan asked.

  “You know why.”

  “Yeah. Just seems unnecessary.”

  “I have lots more tattoos than you, man. I don’t want to be the problem.” Then he started walking to the front doors of the store.

  “Where you goin’?” Zane asked.

  “Trust me.” In minutes, he returned with a bouquet of flowers for Val’s mom and a few moments later, they were walking up the concrete to Val’s front door.

  She opened the door and damn if she didn’t look as cute as could be. She was wearing a light white cotton sleeveless dress, her hair pulled away from her face but hanging down her back. She grinned when she saw them and said, “Hey, guys! Follow me.”

  She led them through the living room and kitchen toward the back door, and Zane said, “Nice place.”

  “Thanks. I’ve lived here all my life.”

  They stepped out onto a patio. There was a picnic table there covered with an umbrella, and there was already a huge spread—iced tea and lemonade, baked beans, coleslaw, potato salad, corn on the cob, condiments, and paper plates and utensils. Brad could see her father barbecuing over at a grill farther away, and her little brother was sitting at the picnic table texting someone. Val’s mom, though, smiled warmly and walked to the other side of the table where they stood. “Welcome. We’re so glad to have you here.”

  Brad handed the bouquet of flowers to Val’s mother. “Mrs. Quinn, we wanted to thank you for inviting us over…and for letting us borrow the vocal skills of your talented daughter.”

  Her mother smiled, and he could again see the resemblance. She said, “Oh, you’re certainly welcome.”

  Val said, “Mom, Danny, you’ve already met Brad, but the rest of the guys are Ethan, Zane, and Nick.” She pointed at each of the guys as she said their names. Her mom smiled at them, and Danny looked up from his phone.

  Her mother said, “I’d better get these in water. Valerie, could you introduce them to your father?”

  Her dad had turned off the grill and was walking toward the picnic table, a platter full of steaks in his hand. When he made it over, he put the platter on the table and Val said, “Dad, these are the guys.” She introduced her father to each of them, and they shook hands as she introduced each one. Her mom came back out then and they sat down to eat. It was civil, with the food going around, a couple of dishes at a time, and everyone was either buttering corn, cutting into a steak, or taking a first bite when Val said, “Well, I guess I need to just tell you what we’re thinking.” Both her mother and father nodded. She continued, “We’ve had so much fun and done so well this summer as a band, that we feel like we were just getting started. So…we’ve talked about it, and we’d like to give it a hardcore try. Not just play on the weekends, you know, but really give it a solid effort. We think if we move to the Denver area, we can give it an honest shot.”

  Wow. Val wasn’t wasting any time, instead just going for the jugular. Well, he supposed, that was one way of doing it—get it over with and see what would happen. Her mother put her fork down and said, “You’re not planning to go back to college this fall?”

  Brad wanted to help, but now was not the time. He didn’t know her parents well enough to know what to say or how to say it. He’d help when the time was right. He just had to support Val in silence for the time being.

  The girl was prepared. She’d finally allowed her passion to take over, and she was ready to fight for what she wanted. “Mom, I’ve thought long and hard about this. I’m wasting your money. I have no idea what I want to do with my life, and so I don’t have any solid ideas about a major. I thought after a year of attending school, I’d know, but I’m no closer to a decision now than I was a year ago. And I want to do this. It might not be for a lifetime, but I want to do it now. It’s like those kids who travel around the world for a year or two before going to school. I went to school for a year, and now I’m going to try something different. I need to figure out who I am and what I want.”

  Val’s mother nodded her head. Her father, though, had been listening intently but not saying a word. He looked from Val to Ethan, then down the line, to Nick, Zane, and his eyes landed on Brad’s. If he’d been a young guy vying for Val’s affections, he would have been taking up a challenge. But that wasn’t it. This was a father who loved his daughter and cared for her well-being. His eyes gave nothing away. “Let me tell you my concern here. I want to know what your intentions with my daughter are.” He continued eyeing the rest of the band again, staring them down, challenging them all.

  Brad had prepared for this, though. All he knew about Val and what she’d said about her family had given him an idea of how he should handle the situation. Honesty—always the best policy. He respected her parents because he thought Val was a hell of a young woman. He made sure he looked and sounded calm when he answered. “Mr. Quinn, Valerie and I actually already had a conversation about that earlier this summer. And I’ll be honest with you, even though it probably won’t help my case at all. Valerie and I got a little friendly, but when we invited her to sing for the band, I told her that would be a line that we wouldn’t cross. Relationships and work don’t work, so there’s no way I’m going to ruin my band just because I find her attractive. I want to assure you, sir, that we respect your daughter and value her contribution, and we have and will continue to treat her as one of us.” He thought a little humor might lighten the conversation, so he threw in, “With one exception. We’ll use different bathrooms.”

  Her mother giggled, but her dad’s face didn’t even crack. He seemed to relax a little, though, so that was something. He had a stern look on his face when he said, “Just so we’re on the same page, there will be no hanky-panky, and one of you so much as touches my daughter without her consent, I will gladly go to prison for the rest of my life for murder.” Yeah…Brad had no intentions of pissing off her dad. He might have been a confident young man, but this guy was pretty intimidating. No wonder Val was still a virgin. Any po
tential suitors were likely still trying to coax their balls back out of hiding.

  Brad had no words. He’d already assured her father that he’d keep his hands off. He looked over at Val and could see she was getting ready to say something. When she did, her voice was quiet. “So you’re saying I can do this, dad?”

  Her dad said, “You’re an adult, Valerie. I can’t really tell you what to do anymore. All I can do is give you my advice. I know you’ve already made up your mind, but I need to tell you that I don’t think this is a good idea. Now is the time for you to work on getting a degree and figuring out what you want to do with your life. You said that much yourself. And I don’t know that traipsing around the state singing your loud metal music is going to help in that department.”

  She smiled. “So you’re saying I can go?”

  Her father smiled back at her, and that was the first time that day he seemed human. “Yes, Valerie, you can go. But know you always have a place to come home to.”

  The remainder of the meal was light-hearted and fun. Not only did her brother have lots of questions for the band and their plans, but even her mother and father relaxed and seemed to be happy for their daughter. Val promised to take care of withdrawing from school so there would be no more charges to her parents, and then the conversation moved to deciding what they would all do next—as a band.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  BRAD’S LIFE CHANGED completely in a matter of two short weeks. He gave his notice at work, because he was ready to start his new life—the one he’d been waiting for since graduation over a year ago. They weren’t going to make it, weren’t going to get anywhere in this little town out in the middle of nowhere. Yeah, he loved his mom, loved his dad, and some of the friends he’d leave behind. He’d miss his town too, but his future wasn’t here, and it certainly wasn’t going to be changing oil in cars for forty hours a week.

  His future was out there—and he was gonna grab it.

  His band was sounding professional, and that was partly due to all the playing together they’d done over the past three months. And he knew that you could sound fine in your garage, but put yourself under some pressure—under the lights and the scrutiny of a crowd. You’d learn to play well fast—or you’d give up. They’d survived in that crucible, and now it was time to take it up a notch.

  His boss offered to give him a couple of extra days off when Brad said he had things he needed to do. He texted Valerie and asked if she wanted to go with him to Denver to check for places to rent. She asked who else was coming. Just me. He hoped she didn’t ask more. He knew the guys wouldn’t give two shits about where they lived. He had to keep Val happy. The guys didn’t much want to go look either, but the three of them managed to pledge several hundred dollars for deposits.

  Brad had a lot of money he’d set aside too, but he’d try to keep it even and fair. They found a couple of dives and Valerie was thoroughly unimpressed, so he planned to come back the next week. The first time was probably good, because then Valerie would understand that places there were expensive. They couldn’t afford to be too choosy. He let her know how much money all the guys had, and he said he could pitch in more if he needed to. She had money too and was happy to pitch in.

  The second time, she settled for one of the places they’d looked at the week before. Really, it could have been much worse. It was a two-bedroom place, but if they went bigger, Brad was afraid they wouldn’t be able to afford monthly rent. Valerie agreed. Fortunately, the place was furnished, so they wouldn’t have to buy beds, a couch, or a kitchen table. They signed the lease and paid the deposit, with the agreement that the apartment would be available in a week. Brad sent a text to the guys letting them know they got a two-bedroom place, and they’d figure out a way to make it work. The good news, and Brad said as much to Val, was that he didn’t plan on them being there much—the place was central to most of the places where they’d be playing, and he hoped to keep them working so much that they would only sleep and eat at their apartment.

  They took care of utility deposits too, and that’s when Brad and Val had to rely exclusively on their own money.

  On the way back, they talked about all the things they thought they’d need. Val took notes on her phone. Brad thought of either sleeping bags or cots, since there were only two beds and a couch. Brad could see the worry etched in Val’s face and hoped he was able to alleviate it. When he dropped her off, he told her the next time he showed up would be with all the guys, and they’d be ready to begin their big adventure. She promised to be packed and ready to go.

  Brad and the guys actually moved their stuff up the day before, and Brad texted her, letting her know with four guys there, the place seemed smaller. Bring only necessities, Val, he texted her.

  The hardest thing he had to do was agree to let Ethan pick Val up when his friend asked to. That meant Ethan was showing interest in her again, and he’d likely break her heart…again. But Brad had to stop worrying about it. Val was a big girl and she seemed unable to let Ethan go for whatever reason. He couldn’t let it bother him anymore. He had to let it go. His band was most important…and maybe that meant he needed to let Val and Ethan do whatever it was they were gonna do—and he had to just step back and stay out of the way.

  That didn’t mean it felt good, though. When Ethan left late the next morning to pick her up, Brad decided he needed to stay busy—and get the ball rolling. He had a list of things they needed as a group of people living on their own for the first time—stupid things like waste baskets, towels, sheets, a broom and dustpan, a vacuum, cleaning supplies. And food and dishes. They’d need to eat. God. He was tearing through his money, even when he was doing a lot of shopping at thrift stores. It wasn’t going to last much longer.

  He kept reminding himself they had three gigs that week alone, and now that the music was his sole focus, he could make sure they worked even harder, got more exposure. But they picked up everything they needed and got things put away before Ethan and Val arrived. At that point, Brad pulled out his laptop and reviewed the gigs coming up for the next several months. It was concerning. As much as he hated it, he was going to have to get a job here. There was no way they’d make it on gigs alone, and there was no fuckin’ way he was going to give up now. They hadn’t had a chance to even try.

  He was sitting at the kitchen table, and Nick and Zane were in the living room talking when Ethan and Val arrived. Both had their arms full and set her things just inside the door. “One more trip—Bradley, you want to help?” Brad nodded. Ethan looked at Val. “We got this.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah.”

  Brad followed him out into the hall. No, it hadn’t escaped his notice that Val was flushed when she came in, and it wasn’t just because the ride had been hot—the day had been mostly cloudy and cool. Ethan, on the other hand, was as smooth as usual. God, he wanted to ask. He did. But part of him didn’t want to know. At first, he thought maybe that’s why Ethan asked him to help; instead, it was just that Brad was right there.

  They got to the truck, and Ethan handed Brad a box and he grabbed the other. Brad wanted to tell him he could have gotten it all by himself, but he didn’t want to be a dick. “How was the trip?”

  Ethan shrugged, leading the way back to the apartment. “Fine. Traffic was thick here and there, but no big deal. Drove through a little rain.”

  God, Brad ached to ask about Val, but he was going to keep his mouth shut.

  When they got back to the apartment, he expected to see Val talking with Zane and Nick, but instead she was looking around the apartment, a disheartened look on her face. Oh, shit. She was already regretting the move, and she hadn’t been there five minutes. What the fuck had Ethan said to her on the drive?

  “First things first—we need to put Val’s stuff in the small bedroom.” Brad grabbed one of the suitcases along with the box he was already carrying and placed them in the corner of the bedroom. Ethan and Val were right behind him with the rest of her
things. As they walked back out of the room, he felt compelled to put his arm around her shoulders to comfort her—but he wasn’t going to. No…he could sense that something huge had happened between her and Ethan that day, and he wasn’t going to interfere, as much as his protective side wanted to hold her close.

  Once in the kitchen, Brad said, “We need to get our living arrangements sorted out.” He started walking to the living room, because Nick and Zane were already there. There was only a couch and a chair, though, so he grabbed a couple of chairs from the kitchen.

  He saw Val’s sad visage again as he walked back to the living room, and he couldn’t ignore it anymore.

  “What’s wrong, Val?”

  She sighed. “I know we checked out this place before, and it was all we could afford, but am I the only one who thinks it’s depressing here?”

  He smiled. Yeah, he’d read her right—partially. He still wanted to know what had happened with her and Ethan, but he was just gonna have to wonder. He wasn’t going to ask. Back to the matter at hand—yes, the place was small and it was dingy, but it was the nicest they could afford and he hoped they would make the best of it. “Yeah…it’s not the greatest. But it’ll be what we make it, right? Besides, we don’t want to spend much time here anyway. We want to be out playing gigs all the time. Am I right?”

  She smiled back and nodded. “Yeah, I know. I’ll get over it.”

  Brad addressed the group at that point. “I don’t know how much practice we’ll be able to get in, guys, at least plugged in. We’ll have to check with our neighbors…”

  “We don’t have to crank it.”

  “It just gonna be harder to write new stuff, but we’ll manage. The big bedroom’s on the corner of the building, so if we’re gonna plug in and practice, I think that’s where we need to.” Everyone nodded in agreement. “Now…living arrangements. I really think Val should have the little bedroom, the one with the twin bed.” He felt the need to say it explicitly, even though he’d already put all her belongings in there.