“Do it!”I shouted.
“Still on board!”Xander folded his arms over his guitar strap.
Jesse nodded.“I’m in.Burn that fucking bridge to the ground.”
The crowd roared their approval.They didn’t have a clue what we were talking about, but they were clearly here for the drama.
“Right.”Chase turned back to the audience.“Alien Attraction stole that song from a friend of ours.Our drum tech Alice Rose wrote ‘Lost Boys’ and her band Tattered Monarchs have been playing it all over Vegas the past few months.And you don’t fuck with our friends.Ever.”
Cheers echoed through the arena.
“So we’re going to pause our show for a second and ask our friends, the Tattered Monarchs, to come take the stage and sing for you.”
The audience clapped but didn’t sound as enthused as they had just a minute ago.
“Ah, you’re all going to be fans in a few minutes.I guarantee it.”Chase laughed.“Alice, Lark, and Bailey to the stage please.Alice, Lark, and Bailey to the stage.”
Lark, who’d been standing in the wings waiting to sing the duet part of our next song stepped out onto the stage then paused, lifted a finger, and ran backstage.
“Come on, ladies.We have all these wonderful people waiting to hear your song,” Chase continued to work the crowd.
In seconds, Lark was back, dragging a clearly resistant Alice in her wake.
“We’ve got two!”Chase crowed.“Harper was supposed to grab Bailey from the merch desk.Harper?Do you have our girl?”He craned his neck toward the backstage wing where someone held up a finger.
“She’ll be here in a minute.While we wait for Bailey, let me introduce you all to the first two members of Tattered Monarchs.Lark here is our backup singer.She sings with me on ‘Can’t Tell Her’.She’s the best alto I’ve ever heard, and it’ll be impossible to replace her when she leaves us.But it’s almost a certainty since their band is so good.Lark Johnson, everyone!”
“Thanks for that awesome intro, Chase,” Lark said into her mic over the applause.
“It’s all true.”Chase grinned at her.“And standing next to her is the second most phenomenal drummer I’ve ever heard—she gives our own Noah a run for his money.I heard she even turned down a spot at Juilliard to start her own band way back when.She founded Alien Attraction but was ousted after a few male egos got bruised by her amazing talent.Alice Rose, everyone!”
The crowd cheered for her.Alice lifted a hand and waved, but unlike Lark, she didn’t take a mic to say something.
Bailey ran onstage, blonde hair flying behind her, and Chase went into a spiel about her, but I couldn’t pay attention—Alice was walking toward me.
Her eyes were on me and a slight smile curved her lips.
Thump, thump,thump.My heartbeat pulsed in my ears, and the urge to use the drugs in my pocket eased.I had Alice here right in front of me.Smiling.Making eye contact with me.Maybe everything was going to be all right after all.
I smiled back at her.“I…”
Didn’t know what to say.
“Noah!Get up!”Chase barked over the sound system.
I jolted.
“Let the girls play.”
I jumped up from my seat and shook my head.Of course.Right.She wasn’t here for me.She was here to play her music.
I backed up and stood on the edge of the stage with Xander and Jesse.
“She might need those sticks, don’t you think?”Jesse said in my ear.
I shook my head.We had plenty of backups stashed all around my kit.Alice would know exactly where to look.
“All right, ladies.Do your thing.”Chase handed his mic off and joined us on the side of the stage.
