Diego looked at his watch. “The transport will be here in thirty minutes to take us to the Stadium so anything you still have to do you had better get done now.”
Grumbles greeted him as everyone filed out of the suite. The usual shit they gave him every day. He held on to Jade’s hand and kept her back. “We’re going to be discreet where the hotel’s security cameras can see us baby so don’t get pissed if I don’t take your hand or something, okay?”
Her grin lit up her face as she looked up at him.
“Okay babe.”
She winked at him as she walked out the door and his heart felt as if it swelled to about twice its size in his chest.
The stage was pitch dark and out there in the stadium the rumble of the fans talking, shouting and laughing as they waited for the band could be heard. The stadium went silent as Jade hit the bass drum then filled with sound as she started playing. Lights flashed to the beat of the bass drum and in the flashing lights the rest of the band came on stage and the stadium erupted. Trace ran on with his signature scream and the stage was instantly flooded with light. And then they were off, playing their first number, from there the night went flawlessly. They laughed and played and the guys flirted with the fans crowded against the barriers with hands outstretched. Givens, the shit, was constantly pointing out hot girls to Jimmy and the two laughed their heads off when one of the girls Givens was pointing at ripped her top up and flashed the band. Trace started a tit flashing war when he said he wanted to see the best pair in the stadium. Jade laughed until she collapsed on top of her snare when a really big lady forced her way to the front and flashed the guys a pair of the biggest, saggiest tits she had ever seen! The guys were beside themselves with laughter as they called the camera over to capture the moment. Trace ran into the wings and asked for a fan package to be brought out for her and with security all around him he jumped from the stage and handed it to the lady, getting a hug and a smacking kiss for his efforts. With hands reaching for him he made his way back on stage with a huge grin.
“Mama you’re fuckin’ amazing!” He laughed as he got back on stage. “This next one is just for you!”
With that they were back into it and the chanting of the crowd spurred them on. Trace strutted and screamed and sang the shit out of it. The fans sang right along and took them higher and higher, spurring them on to give them more and more.
At the end of the night they had given them two encores and ran off stage laughing like loons dripping with sweat but not giving a shit. They were on a high of epic proportions, it had been their best night on the tour yet.
It was good that they had such a good night because back at the hotel they would be faced with Molly Rutherford and her camera. Blowing off steam before she sat down and outed herself was just what Jay had needed.
They were still feeling the high as they mingled with those with backstage passes and the few VIP’s that Diego had allowed them to invite. Jay was laughing and joking with a fan when she saw someone that stopped her in her tracks with shock. The beautiful man stood smiling at her, his bright blue eyes laughing as he opened his arms to her. With a scream of joy she was running, jumping into his arms hugging him hard and kissing his cheeks as he laughed down at her. Her father’s youngest brother was one of the members of her small circle of loved ones but because of his schedule she didn’t get to see him as often as she would have liked. Rick Gaines was the lead singer for a very high profile rock band and was usually heavily disguised when he visited, but not tonight. Tonight he was there as Rick Gaines dressed in his signature battered and faded blue jeans, tight white t-shirt, black boots and black leather jacket. His hair was a little longer than the last time she saw him, it touched his shoulders and was still as gorgeously curly as always but the dark close cut beard covering his jaw was new. He was genuine rock royalty and the shocked whispers around them froze her for a second and then she thought, fuck it, this is my family! It was going to be out tomorrow anyway.
“Why didn’t you let me know you were here? When did you get here? Where are you staying? How long are you staying?” The questions tumbled out of her mouth one after the other.
“Slowly princess, slowly.” Rick grinned down at her and smoothed her hair away from her forehead. “I got in just before the show started and Luis arranged backstage passes for me. Damn Princess you guys kicked ass tonight. I sent brother Mikey a video of you playing saying ‘I told you so’, he sent back ‘fuck off!’ Heh! Fuckin’ asshole.” Then he roared with laughter at getting the better of his staid older brother.
Diego suddenly appearing beside them with murder in his eyes jolted Jay back to where they were and at the eyes centred on them.
“What the hell baby?” Diego growled as Rick gave him a grin and drew her into his side.
Jay punched him in the side half heartedly. “Diego let me introduce you to the biggest troublemaker that has ever crossed your path.”
Diego interrupted before she could continue. “I know who he fuckin’ is, what interests me more is why the hell he’s hanging all over my woman.”
Rick roared with laughter again and Jay smacked his side hard this time. “If you let me finish the introductions you’ll know. Rick Gaines meet Diego Delgado.” Standing on her tip toes she whispered in Diego’s ear. “He’s my uncle.”
Diego reared back and stared at Rick. “He doesn’t look old enough to be.”
Rick grinned. “Dad was a bit of a dog. My mother was his third wife and she was about a third of his age as well which is why my eldest brother is old enough to be my father. Mikey blames my bad influence for the way his little princess turned out but the fucker is so uptight he brought it on himself.” He shrugged as if he was totally innocent of any wrongdoing.
“Rick! Let’s not do this here we have too many interested ears pointed our way.” Jay hissed then drew him to where the band stood watching.
“Guys I’d like to introduce you to Rick Gaines. Rick this is Trace Hanover, RJ de Nobrega, Joe Givens and Jimmy Sanders.”
Jade stood smiling as Rick shook hands with the guys but before they could start chatting Diego, Tag, Tank and Hanson started herding them towards the exit bringing Rick and his bodyguard along with them. They made their way out shaking hands and signing autographs and finally they were all squashed into the Hummer limo that seemed to appear as if by magic at each venue they played at.
“Okay Jay spill it. How the hell do you know Rick Gaines well enough to jump all over him.” Jimmy queried.
Jade turned to Rick and asked without asking by raising an eyebrow, his nod was all the answer she needed. Jade took a breath to explain. “Remember I told you guys about my Uncle Patrick who sat me down behind my first drum kit? Well, this is him, this is my father’s youngest brother Patrick Galloway or the name everyone knows him by, Rick Gaines.”
“Holy shit!” Trace growled and sat staring at them with narrowed eyes. “There’s some family resemblance but only if you are looking for it.”
“Jade is lucky, she looks like her darling mother and not like her fucker of an old man, except for the eyes, that she gets from the old fucker.” Rick ducked as she aimed a fist his way. “Princess it’s true, he is a fuckin’ old man and you do look like your mum. She was one hell of a woman, a pity we lost her so early in our lives.” Turning to the guys he ignored her heavy frown.
“Jade’s mother Maureen took me in when I was three and raised me right along with her own children. She was more of a mother to me than my own who was more interested in parties and pool boys than raising a kid. We lost Maureen when Jade was seven and I was fifteen.” Rick made a gesture with his hands that indicated he was done explaining as he turned to Jade. “Now that everyone knows how we’re connected how about telling me what the fuck’s going on with the shit on the social media? It took all my fuckin’ powers of persuasion to stop your old man from calling up an attack team to come and sort this shit out.”
Jade wasn’t given a chance to answer, Diego got there before her.
“We’re close to catching the guy who’s putting the shit out there on social media and we will be taking him down hard. Jay is doing an interview tonight to explain why she has kept her real identity a secret all these years. We’ve decided on Molly Rutherford to do the interview because we trust that she won’t go tabloid all over Jade’s ass.” Diego growled, still not settled about seeing Jade leap into another man’s arms, even though it turned out the man was family.
Rick Gaines nodded as Diego spoke his brows drawn into a deep frown. “Is this interview going out live or is it being recorded?”
“Not live, no.” Jade murmured.
“Okay Princess, I get it. Are we going to tell them you’re Jade Delgado or are we going with the whole Galloway thing as well?”
“I think I should just do the whole damn thing. Once they start digging they will find out about Dad anyway so I might as well throw him under the bus right along with the rest of us.” Jade gave an evil grin. “You know how he detests publicity and our lifestyles so having the tabloid press hounding him and his mistress of the month is going to be so sweet.”
Rick roared with laughter. “That’s evil Princess but oh such sweet payback.”
Jimmy and Givens gave each other a look and Jade knew something unholy was going to come out of one of their mouths.
“So your Dad has a new mistress every month? That is what you meant right?” Jimmy asked innocently.
Jade didn’t say anything just looked at him waiting for him to continue.
“That makes twelve women per year giving him the business, regularly. Your Dad is a man amongst men. I want to be him when I grow up.” Jimmy grinned.
“My Dad is a lonely man hiding behind a lot of too young women who use him for his money. He’s only fifty five for heaven’s sake. He should find a woman who would love him for who he is and not for his damned money.” Jade shook her head. “I would never want you to be that lonely Jimmy, believe me it truly sucks.”
“Your Dad found the love of his life very young Princess and when he lost her he lost a very important part of himself. You and your brothers are all that matters to him at the end of the day. The women are arm candy, nothing more.” Rick rubbed a hand along her thigh comfortingly.
“That’s bullshit Rick. If you can love only once then explain to me why I have Diego. I too found the love of my life young and lost him and then years later I found it again in Diego so don’t tell me he can’t love again, he can, he just doesn’t want to risk it.”
Rick looked torn between agreeing with her and defending his brother. “Ah Princess my brother is a complicated man.”
“Let’s not talk about this because it just pisses me off that my father runs around with women younger than what I am.” Jade growled.
Trace immediately started talking about the great time they’d had on stage changing the conversation completely.
“I nearly died of laughter when that big lady shoved all those young girls out of her away and flashed her tits at us. She was so cool man!”
The laughter changed the atmosphere in the vehicle and Jade relaxed as she laughed with the guys, reliving the moment those tits made their appearance on the big screen for all to see. She knew that she had overreacted and said more about her family than she should have, her only defence being that she hated her father’s lifestyle as much as he hated hers.
The after party was already in full swing when they walked in and were swamped by the invited reporters and fans. Jade smiled, joked and laughed along with the guys who never left her side. None of them drank anything other than the bottles of water that Tag had handed out to them. They were getting paranoid! Rick didn’t attend the after party, as he would have been mobbed, but was sneaked up to Luis’s suite where he waited for them to join him. After what seemed like an interminable hour Luis indicated that it was time to leave and they quickly slipped out of the party. Diego stopped them before they got to the lift to have a quiet word.
“No one mentions any names in the lift as we don’t know who might be listening. Tank escorted our guests up twenty minutes ago so everything should be ready for us when we get there. Papa ordered food to be laid on so this is a band dinner as far as anyone outside of this group is concerned.”
Jade was nervous as they rode up in the lift, everyone was very quiet until Diego broke the silence.
“What kind of food are you feeding us Dad? I hope there’s some steak, I really feel like some meat.”
Giv and Jimmy sniggered. “We agree we always feel like some meat man.” They both wiggled their eyebrows at Diego. Who along with the other guys cackled like bloody hyenas.
“You guys are idiots.” Jade said as she shook her head at them.
Their antics took Jade’s mind off what was awaiting her.
In Luis’s suite the furniture had been moved around to create a big enough space for Molly’s crew which consisted of a cameraman, a lighting technician and a sound technician. They had pulled one of the large couches to one side with a coffee table in front of it and a big easy chair for Molly set up to the side of the couch. The camera was set up so that it enabled the cameraman a view of the entire couch as well as the chair. A TV had been set up to enable the band to watch from the couch.
Luis did the introductions and Jade just wanted to get the whole thing over with. And then they were all on the couch and Molly started her introduction.
CHAPTER TEN
RJ and Trace made sure that they had Jay bracketed between them with Giv and Jimmy on either side. It would send a visual confirmation that the band supported Jay one hundred percent. Luis stood to one side, ready to step in if it was needed.
The introduction went smoothly. Molly talked to the band about how the tour was going. She asked questions about how they all felt about Jay being behind the drums. Then she asked about Richie and how his recovery was progressing and when the fans could expect him back. Throughout pictures of the band flashed on the TV screen in front of them.
Trace knew that Luis had briefed Molly but hadn’t told her exactly why the band needed a secret and exclusive interview with her. He felt sure that Molly thought they were going to announce Richie’s retirement from the band and Jay’s instatement as his replacement. She was in for a huge surprise. As they had discussed he led the band through all the usual questions and then it was time.
“But Molly everything we’ve just talked about is not why we requested this interview with you. We as a band and that includes Richie, have nothing but the greatest respect for Jay who stepped in and saved our tour. Unfortunately there are those individuals out there who like nothing better than to blacken the name of anyone who dares to excel at what they do. That unfortunately is what is happening to Jay at this moment.”
RJ continued as Trace paused. “Ever since joining Storm Front Jay has had to fight a tough battle with the blatant lies that were being published in the tabloid press. Instead of getting better it has only gotten worse. Someone has been posting increasingly more virulent and threatening things in the social media. I know you know what I’m talking about. The whispers have been running rampant through the media but so far it has only been the gutter press who have published any of the rubbish.”
Givens jumped right in.
“That’s why we have decided that it has gone far enough and called you. Jay wants to stop this nonsense before it goes any further and we all agree with her, she has our full support.”
Jimmy laughed. “She’s also very hot so that works for us as well.”
The band laughed and Jade leant over with a grin to smack his leg.
Molly cleared her throat and they all settled down and faced her. She was sickened by the reason she suspected Rick Gaines had to attend this interview. Swallowing her anger she started the interview that she had so carefully prepared for and had been excited about until she saw him walk into the suite. The man she had secretly been lusting after for years was by his sudden appearance definitely connected to th
is mess. But she had a job to do and she would do it come what may.
“So Jay, there are allegations being made that you are sleeping your way to the top of your profession, that your drumming is mediocre, that you have bribed your way into studios to get recording credits, that you are a closet lesbian, and that you aborted a child you expected with one of your many lovers because it interfered with your lifestyle. There is another allegation that you have been seen, and photographed, with several prominent businessmen who, it is being alleged, are for want of a better name your sugar daddies. The most prominent of which is Michael Galloway who is known to have a penchant for younger women. Then there is the fact that Rick Gaines came out here to be by your side while this story breaks. Was he the one who fathered your baby?”
On the screen there now flashed the supposed evidence from the doctor and hospital and photographs of Jay with various older men. The photos had obviously been taken at society gatherings she had been at. The most prominent was one of her Dad with his arms around her smiling down at her as she straightened his tie. The other photos were of her jumping into Rick’s arms when she saw him backstage, one in particular that showed the love in his face and eyes as he brushed her hair off her face while she smiled up at him.
Jade sat frozen but Diego wasn’t, he was livid, he had just been made aware that they had been set up.
“What the fuck!” He stormed on camera and Givens and Jimmy quickly shifted to make space for him next to Jade. Diego sat down, put an arm around Jade and pulled her into his side. “Where did you get that information from?” Just out of sight of the camera Luis and Rick paced angrily. Rick was furiously texting.
“I received an e-mail and a package about two hours before the concert with a list of dates and times, photographs, a doctor’s report, the hospital’s report and four witness reports of misconduct. I would like your response to the allegations Jay.”
Trace was the one who answered. “You will get your fuckin’ response! Jesus what kind of people are you? Fuckin’ vultures!”
Hard Rock Unrehearsed Page 10
