by Frank, Ella
“Remember, you wanna talk album, tour, band dynamic. Then you can address the Rolling Stone feature and the Viper/Halo relationship, but”—Levi looked at me and Viper—“if it goes somewhere you’re not comfortable with, deflect. Tonight’s about selling the album, selling tickets, selling you guys as a band.”
“Got it,” I said, and the others nodded in agreement just as the stage manager peered inside.
“We’re ready for you,” she said.
There was a quick downing of drinks as we all got to our feet, and as we headed toward the door, Levi gave each of us a thorough inspection.
“Jagger, impeccable… Slade, zip up. Killian, looking good.” Levi stopped to brush lint off the arm of Killian’s jacket. “Ah, Viper, maybe bring the smirk down fifty percent. We already know your cock is huge. Halo, let me look at you.” Levi’s eyes were assessing, impersonal in a business sort of way. He straightened the collar of my shirt and tucked the flaps under the jacket before nodding. “Make sure to smile. When you smile, the whole world will fall in love.”
“I fuckin’ heard that,” Viper said, where he waited for me in the doorway.
Levi’s mouth quirked up. “Good luck out there.”
As I joined the others, I took in a deep breath, and as I let it out, Viper curled his fingers around mine. He didn’t seem to care in the slightest about the people milling around backstage, fitting us with mics, brushing last-minute powder on our faces. I squeezed his hand back and grinned when he looked my way, and he cursed.
“Fuckin’ Levi was right. Smile and everyone falls in love.”
“Pretty sure I only care about one person falling in love with me.”
“Pretty sure?”
I laughed and rolled my eyes, and Viper squeezed my hand back. He smelled so good, and somehow looked even better. Something about him wearing all black played into his bad-boy image and made him look dark and dangerous. And seriously fucking sexy.
Much like the Rolling Stone shoot, we’d decided to play up the Fallen Angel aspect by putting me in an all-white fitted suit, my shirt open to mid-chest, while the others wore black in various textures and styles. Jagger, of course, was dressed to the nines in his best suit. Viper wore his leather jacket, Slade kept it simple with a black T-shirt and ripped jeans, and Killian wore a vest over a plain tee.
Not a shabby-lookin’ band, if I said so myself.
Once we had our mics on, Viper gave my hand one final squeeze, and then we waited for our cue. I could feel the excitement radiating from each of the guys, and I wondered if this was what it would feel like when we were in the wings waiting to go on stage for our tour. Not for the first or fiftieth time, I marveled over where this year had taken me. Only a few months ago I’d been playing at a dive bar in the two o’clock spot, me and a couple of customers there for the one-dollar beer and free peanuts. And now? I was about to be on millions of television screens across the country.
I reached under my sleeve and pinched myself hard. Yep. Still here. Still real. And so was the host’s voice coming off the stage as he introduced us.
“My next guests have taken the music world by storm, their chart-topping singles ‘Invitation’ and ‘Dark Angel’ selling a record-setting number of copies and kicking off their new album, Corruption, which drops today. Ladies and gentlemen, Fallen Angel.”
As the curtain opened, the lights were blinding and cheers filled my ears. Smile. Don’t forget to smile. I tried for an easy grin as I waved at the crowd and followed the others over to where Jaime Jones stood. After shaking his hand, I turned and waved again before settling onto the couch in the front, since Slade and Jagger had already commandeered the two in the back, the bastards. Viper, of course, took the seat beside me on the end, with Killian sitting closest to Jaime.
“Well, well, well,” Jaime said, setting off another round of screaming from some of the more vocal fans in the crowd. “I think this is the loudest audience we’ve ever had—”
More shouts and applause cut off his words, and I laughed. Compared to the crowd that greeted us for Carly Wilde’s show, this group was deafening—and that was pretty fucking cool.
“All right, we know you’re excited, knock it off,” Jaime teased, and when the cheers died down enough, he said, “So I hear your album dropped today—” He barely got the words out before they started up again, and Jaime dropped his head on the desk. As he stood up, he laughed and waved his hands. “Do you guys want an interview or what?”
The response was wild, and I glanced at Viper to see that smug look on his face, the one I loved. He wasn’t surprised at all by the reaction we were getting, but I was blown the hell away.
“Fine, we’ll have to talk like this,” Jaime said, yelling over the noise. “Welcome to the madhouse. I mean show.”
“I dig it,” Jagger said, shooting a wink to the crowd, which didn’t help cut the screams at all.
Jaime held up a copy of the Corruption album. “So, I got an early copy of this, and I’m not gonna lie, I’ve been playing it everywhere. My office, my car, my nightly bubble baths.” As laughter replaced the cheers, Jaime looked up. “What? You’ll be doing it too. Now, I gotta know, with songs like ‘On My Knees’ and ‘Take Me Now,’ am I right to assume you guys are really, really horny?”
My eyes popped wide as the audience went crazy, and I didn’t dare look at Viper this time.
“We’ve got a blusher,” Jaime said, looking in my direction. “You’ve gotta sing these songs, Halo. How you planning on singing that ‘Hard’ song with all these eyes on you? I heard those lyrics. You guys are dirty bastards. I love it.”
“I, uh…” God, I could feel the heat in my face, but hey, at least I was smiling. Wasn’t that what Levi said to keep doing? “I guess I’ll just picture everyone naked.” To the audience, I joked, “You don’t mind that, right?”
Wolf whistles sounded around the room, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see Viper grinning.
Jaime pretended to wipe his face with his tie. “Is it hot in here? Anyone else sweating? I mean, look at this guy.”
My fellow band members all turned toward me, exaggerated stares in my direction before they broke up laughing.
“He only looks like an angel,” Killian said. “He’s been properly corrupted since joining the band.”
“Uh huh,” Jaime said, and then reached behind him to pull out the Rolling Stone magazine. “This looks like some serious corruption right here. Viper, what do you have to say about this?”
Viper’s smirk grew. “You’re welcome.”
Hooting and hollering was all I could hear as the audience got an eyeful of a very naked Viper and me on the cover that Jaime lifted up. I sure as hell hoped the makeup they’d put on me earlier helped cover all the heat rushing to my face.
Jaime flipped through the magazine, showing everyone the band photos. “Look, I’m not playing for the other team, but you might be the hottest band on the planet.”
“Thank you,” Jagger said, shooting another wink to the crowd.
“So, we’ve gotta address the elephant in the room, because I know everyone’s dying to know.” When Jaime looked at me and Viper, I knew exactly where he was going with this. “What the hell is going on with you two?”
Seventeen
Viper
WHEN JAIME FINALLY asked the question we’d all known was coming, and the crowd let loose with another round of deafening cheers, any fears that the angel and I wouldn’t be well received as a couple was quickly squashed. Add in the fact that Jaime was once again holding up the Rolling Stone cover to make sure everyone got a good look at how damn amazing we looked together in the flesh, and yeah, the studio audience nearly lost their fucking minds.
Halo shifted on the couch beside me, and when he glanced in my direction, I automatically reached out and put a hand on his thigh. As I met his wide-eyed stare head-on, I squeezed the firm muscle beneath my palm, letting him know I was right here, and then let my eyes shift past him to Killian,
and then Jaime.
“You’re the one holding the magazine,” I said, and then chuckled. “What do you think’s going on?” Jaime’s eyes dropped back to the magazine, and I added, “I don’t just let anyone touch my…guitar the way Angel does.”
Halo snorted as Jaime looked at us and said, “Angel? Hang on a minute. Have I been saying your name wrong, Halo? Is that what we’re supposed to call you?”
“No,” I interrupted, and leaned in to press a kiss to Halo’s cheek, then I faced the audience and said, “That’s what I call him.”
The crowd went fucking nuts at that, and Halo shook his head, bringing his hands up to cover his face.
“Okay, okay,” Jaime said. “Shh, shh. Behave yourselves, everyone. You’re embarrassing Halo. I told you we have a blusher.”
I moved my hand off Halo’s thigh to drape it behind him on the couch, where I squeezed his shoulder, and when he lowered his hands and looked at me, I winked.
Halo grinned, and I waggled my brows at him. “I’m gonna kill you,” he said, but his sparkling eyes told me otherwise.
“See,” I told Jaime. “If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is.”
As the audience laughed, Jaime leaned over his desk and pointed between the two of us. “And that’s what this is, then? Love? How did this even happen?” He propped his elbows on the desk and placed his chin in his hands. “Come on, tell me. I won’t tell anyone other than my friends sitting here tonight and the couple million friends I have watching at home.”
Killian smirked, and both Jagger and Slade gave a mock groan, as Halo looked my way and shrugged.
“You started this,” Halo said, and I nodded.
“Yep, that’s exactly how it happened,” I said. “I saw him. I wanted him—I mean, come on,” I said, looking out to the all of a sudden silent crowd. “You can see why—and I decided I was going to have him.”
Jaime let out a booming laugh. “Just like that?”
“Just like—”
“Not just like that,” Halo said, and rolled his eyes as he turned to Jaime. “It was more than just we saw each other and bam, ripping clothes off.”
I slowly shook my head at the crowd and mouthed, No, it wasn’t, and when they all started laughing, Halo turned in my direction, and I shrugged, playing the innocent. Halo was not buying that for a second. But when he put his hand on my thigh, I knew he’d relaxed into this. We’d already decided in advance we would play this by ear and be honest with how we felt. But if at any time the other wanted to stop, we’d say Miami, and know whatever else was left to say needed to remain ours.
“We were working together a lot,” Halo said, turning to the audience. “Writing music and lyrics, and that brings you close…”
“But,” Jaime interrupted, “I am right in assuming that you two became much closer than the rest of the band?”
Halo looked to me, and as his eyes roved over my face, lips, and then down to my chest. “Yes. Much, much closer.” I all but fucking groaned.
Whistles and catcalls filled the studio again, so loud that I barely heard Slade laughing as Jagger reached forward to shove me in the arm.
I shot the two of them the finger, and as the crowd died down, Jaime said, “So this is pretty serious, then, Halo? Viper says love—what do you say?”
Halo ran his tongue along his lower lip as his eyes found mine again. “That as long as I’ve known him, Viper’s never been wrong.”
A chorus of awws rang out around the room, but for the moment it was like everything faded from view. All I could see was Halo and the way he was looking at me, and before I knew what I was doing, I leaned forward, took his face between my hands, and pressed a kiss full of love and desire to his perfect lips.
How in the hell I’d ended up with someone as amazing as him, I’d never know, but I’d be damned if the whole world didn’t know whom he belonged to by the end of this interview.
“All right, all right,” Jagger said over the crowd. “Get a room, you two.”
Halo pulled away from me and laughed at Jagger, who smirked in our direction. When we all settled back into the couch and looked at Jaime, he said, “Sorry, I forgot I was hosting a show. I was busy getting caught up in the love-fest.”
Killian scoffed. “Yeah, took us a while to wrap our heads around Viper being so sappy too.”
“Sappy?” Jaime said. “I don’t know, man. Like I said, I’ve been listening to Corruption on repeat, and if these lyrics are indicative of Halo and Viper’s love story, then I have a feeling the rest of us are going to be very jealous for a long time.”
Killian nodded as the audience began to applaud. “Halo and Viper were the driving force behind the lyrics on this album for sure. The emotions, passion, and—”
“Frustration,” I growled, and Killian chuckled, looking around Halo at me.
“That too. It’s what makes Corruption such a powerful album. There’s heart and soul in it. Raw feelings you can’t make up but have to experience, and it isn’t only about the developing relationship with these two. ‘Rise Up’ and ‘Better Than Yesterday’ are songs pulled from the worst moment of our professional lives, where we thought our dream had died. And it’s pivotal moments like that that make this album so strong.”
“Well, I can’t disagree with that,” Jaime said. “Corruption is the most anticipated album to drop this month, year—hell, maybe ever. I haven’t seen such buzz about an album in a long time. You guys must be stoked.”
Jagger nodded. “It’s been unreal. The response to this album has been crazy insane, and that’s before it’s even hit stores.”
“So I assume that means a tour?” Jaime said, and Slade nodded, looking out at the crowd.
“A kickass stadium tour.”
“Trust us,” Killian said to the crowd. “We had a meeting about it this week, and it’s better than anything we’ve ever seen, and we’ve been around the block a few times now.”
“It’s on a scale of its own,” I said, just as someone called out from the audience, “We love you, Viper!”
Jaime looked in the direction the shout had come from and wagged his finger. “Didn’t you hear? He’s off the market now.”
“Thanks for that,” Halo said.
Jaime winked at him. “I got your back, man.” Then he pointed at the crowd. “Okay, get out your phones, because you lucky, lucky people are the first to hear that tickets for the Fallen Angel Corruption Tour will go on sale next Saturday. That’s right, and not only that, everyone here tonight is going to receive a copy of the new album, which comes with a special code to be first in line to get your greedy hands on what is bound to be the hottest ticket of the year.”
As the crowd let out a roar of excitement and the show cut to commercial, Jaime stood from behind his desk and came around to us. He thanked each of us for being there and shook our hands, and then he directed us over to where our instruments had been set up.
We each took position, Slade behind his drums, Jagger at his keyboards, and Killian and I flanking Halo, who was front and center, and as the lights went down and Jaime called out, “Here’s Fallen Angel with ‘Dark Angel,’” the five of us launched into the song.
Eighteen
Halo
TWO MONTHS FLEW by in the blink of an eye. We’d been working nonstop in tour rehearsals, and there was always something to do once we’d finished for the day: fittings, recording special segments that would be posted on the screens behind us onstage, doing radio interviews. We’d even managed to squeeze in time to shoot the “Dark Angel” music video, having used Brian’s sneaky footage of our rehearsal for the “Invitation” video that came out a few months earlier.
I never imagined all the work that went on behind the scenes, though I’d been in the music business for years and had seen what my mom went through to get ready for a show. Going on a stadium tour with four other guys and countless crew members? It was a whole different ball game, one that left me exhausted after sixteen-hour days and wondering
how the hell I was gonna make it through a months-long tour. Maybe by then adrenaline would kick in and all these gym workouts would pay off.
But for tonight, all thoughts of work and the tour were pushed aside. Because tonight, Viper was taking me out on a proper date, something we hadn’t had much time for lately. Not that I was complaining—I saw him all day, every day, and still spent almost every night in his bed. It wasn’t like we weren’t able to steal away a few private moments here and there, but I was looking forward to an evening of just the two of us.
I tugged the cuffs of my suit jacket down and looked myself over in the mirror. I didn’t know where we were going, only that Viper had suggested I wear something nice, which I took to mean a suit. I supposed “nice” could’ve meant no clothes at all, but since we were going out in public, I nixed that idea.
My phone chimed, Viper’s text that he’d arrived lighting up the screen. I did one last once-over, making sure I looked okay, and then grabbed my phone and my wallet, shoving them both in my pocket as I headed down the stairs of my apartment building. I didn’t stay here much anymore, and while most of the reason was because I hated sleeping without Viper beside me, another reason was because of what I knew would be waiting outside when I opened my building’s front door.
“Halo, how’s the tour coming?” one of the paparazzi stationed on the sidewalk said, as camera flashes lit up the dark night.
“Good, thanks,” I said, making my way to the SUV idling by the curb, but I stopped when I saw a few fans clustered on the outskirts, Sharpies and photos in hand. I walked over and smiled as they jumped up and down. I quickly signed their items—the Rolling Stone cover and the Corruption CD insert. “Will we see you on tour?”
“Yes!” one of them squealed. “We’ve already gotten our tickets for the show at MetLife.”
