Page 28 of A Way Out (Rock Star #2)

Chapter Twenty-Six

M aria had already made her choice. Oz could tell by the look in her eye. The question.

Is my mother telling the truth?

He wasn’t surprised, although he was definitely disappointed.

And pissed.

And, damn it, sad.

For a hot minute, he’d believed she wasn’t like all the other wealthy women who had passed through his life. Sure did suck that money defined people’s personalities like that.

His palm slapped the glass storm door, shoving it open so he could get the hell out of this oppressive-as-hell house.

A fine mist drifted from the sky, not a full-on rain but still damp and cold and annoying. It was probably par for the course in this state. Oz really had no idea; he’d never been here before.

He doubted he’d ever come back.

No, that wasn’t true. He’d be back. For concerts. Because Demigoddess Revival was well on the way to being just as big, just as popular as Panic Station. He’d bet money they’d be touring before the end of the year.

If he had any money to bet.

Which was the problem, wasn’t it? Although Maria’s mother had twisted everything into the worst possible light, what she’d said about him, his life, was all true.

His sister had been abused by her husband. She hadn’t left him, despite resources available to assist her. And the psychopath had ultimately killed her.

His nieces and nephew probably were damaged from what they’d experienced, and he did not have the financial means to get them the help they undoubtedly needed.

His cousin Carina had been an addict, had stolen prescription drugs from his mother, among a handful of other family members.

He was a tattooed and pierced guy trying to be a rock ’n roll star. He hadn’t bought a new tattoo or gotten a piercing since well before he took custody of the kids, but if he thought too hard about it, he had a lot of money invested in his body, and he couldn’t return any of it for a refund.

And yes, his mother was about to lose the house if he didn’t come up with some serious greenbacks, quick.

That was why he’d been so afraid to venture out with the band. Walking away from a regular paycheck, even if none of them had been enough to truly make ends meet, was scarier than sticking with status quo and hoping a miracle would happen.

He'd convinced himself that Demigoddess Revival was that miracle. Actually, he’d let Maria convince him. He’d believed in her.

When it came down to it, she hadn’t reciprocated. She didn’t believe in him.

Flipping up his collar and stuffing his hands into his pockets, he hunched his shoulders and strode through the cool, damp mist to his car, which totally stuck out like a sore thumb in this ritzy neighborhood.

Hell, he’d parked at the curb instead of pulling into the driveway.

He was that intimidated by his surroundings.

What the fuck was he going to do? The lawyer he’d hired to help get the kids’ surnames changed had been super flexible and understanding, but after months and months of being unable to make a dent in the giant bill he owed, Oz had convinced his mom to take out a second mortgage on her house.

He’d paid off the lawyer, but now he couldn’t pay the house note.

Oz aimed his car back toward the little downtown area. He figured he needed to get out of Roma before he could find a hotel cheap enough for him to afford even a single night. Truthfully, he couldn’t afford it, but he needed to grab a few zzz’s before heading back home.

His phone vibrated. He ignored it. Might be Maria. He had nothing to say to her. Yeah, he’d said he’d tell her everything, lay it all on the line, but that had been bravado and he already knew it was fruitless.

She wasn’t going to come find him. She was already ensconcing herself back into her perfect life in that glass house up on the hill. Wouldn’t surprise him in the least if her lawyer was able to make the divorce go away like it never even happened in the first place. Money could do shit like that.

The kicker was, Oz didn’t think Maria’s ex-husband was behind this mess. He’d appeared as shell-shocked as Maria when Elaine Hearsy had rattled off Oz’s list of supposed sins.

One of these days, when it wasn’t so damn raw, he’d have to let Holly know that her stories about life before she ran away to college didn’t do her scary ass mother justice.

Sucked that Maria wasn’t as brave as her sister. Holly had left at eighteen and hadn’t looked back. Maria had tried at thirty-two, and it had lasted for what? A week and a half.

Shit, had it only been ten days? Christ, it felt like he’d known her so much longer than that. They’d clicked, better than he’d clicked with anyone, ever.

It was all fake .

He had to keep telling himself that. All she’d wanted was a little strange, to get a taste of the other side. She’d had her experience, now she was ready to lock herself in her goddamn gilded tower.

He rubbed at his chest. Most of the suckage came from the fact that he’d managed to get his heart broken in a crazy short period of time.

He’d thought Maria was different.

Wrong.

And now he had to tell his bandmates. They’d have to pick up the publicity slack, which would be a giant pain in the ass.

Maria had been so good at it. Oz was a decent marketer, but he couldn’t hold a candle to Maria’s skills.

Holly and Sam were talking about hiring her to do publicity for Panic Station, too.

Telling Holly that he and her sister were no longer a thing was going to be awkward as hell. Luckily, Holly and Sam were on their honeymoon, so that conversation could be put off for a minute. Maybe he’d just not say anything; let Maria be the bearer of the news.

Their relationship with Panic Station, the close friendship most of the bandmates had developed, was admittedly helping grow Demigoddess Revival’s fanbase.

Would this affect the relationship between the two bands?

Travis would have a heyday if it did. This was exactly what he’d feared since he found out Parker and Lacey were sleeping together. He’d warned Oz. And Oz hadn’t listened.

But if Holly decided to diss Oz because her sister now hated him, well, there probably wouldn’t be a joint tour in the near future like they’d already started talking about.

His phone vibrated again. This time, he tugged it out of his pocket, hoping against hope…

It wasn’t Maria.

“Finally,” Lacey said when he answered. “What the heck have you been doing that you’ve been ignoring my calls? Never mind, don’t answer that. Are you sitting down?”

“I’m in my car.”

“Well, pull over. Trust me, you do not want to be driving when I tell you this news.”

Jesus, what the hell? Oz obligingly pulled into a parking space in front of a coffee shop called Coffee-A-Roma. A memory of something Maria had told him hit him.

“ My mother provided the capital for my sister’s best friend and her mother to start their own business. A coffee shop in the small town where we grew up. The place makes money hand over fist. My mother’s investment was paying dividends within a year .”

Oz stared at the sign for so long, he jumped in his seat when Lacey’s voice burst through his phone. “Are you still there?”

“Yeah,” he said, killing the engine and hopping out of the car. “I’m here.”

He hurried through what had turned into a steady rain and pushed through the glass door into a pretty typical coffee shop, with two and four top tables scattered everywhere and a long counter where customers could watch while the barista created fancy concoctions.

A glass display case next to the counter encouraged patrons to add a pastry to their order.

It smelled great in here. He hadn’t yet eaten today, and it was nearly noon. He almost never patronized places like this because that six or seven bucks he’d spend on a single drink could buy him an entire canister of Maxwell House, which would last for a month.

But damn, he could really go for something warm and caffeinated. And a scone. His mother made scones sometimes, and they were fucking awesome. Especially with coffee.

He dropped into the nearest chair. Roughly two-thirds of the tables were occupied, but there was no one in line at the moment, and the barista was busy restocking the pastry display.

“I’m listening,” he said. “What’s up?” Hey, look at that; he sounded almost cheerful. He was a good actor.

Lacey didn’t mince words. “I just took a call from a record label. A big one.”

A record label? Like, a company willing to take them on and allow them to create music…and cover all the costs? Plus pay them a salary on top of it all? “How big?”

“Silver Lining Entertainment big.”

Holy shit. Silver Lining Entertainment was fucking huge.

They had more best-selling bands on their payroll than any other label in the world.

They were Panic Station’s label. Sam had put in a good word for Demigoddess Revival months ago, but the rep from the label had wanted to play the wait-and-see game.

Oz hadn’t been surprised. Silver Lining only produced hits, and no one had a clue at the time if Demigoddess Revival would be a hit.

“You’re fucking kidding me,” he said.

“Nope. They want a meeting, tomorrow, at their headquarters here in LA.”

In LA. And Oz was in Washington. Nineteen hours away.

“You’re in, right?” Lacey asked, a hint of worry coating her words.

“Hell yes. I just have to get there. What time is the meeting?”

“What do you mean, you need to get here? You aren’t in LA?”

The only person he’d told where he was headed was his mother. Without confidence in the outcome, he hadn’t wanted to pull anyone else into his plans.

“Uh, I’m in Washington.” He cringed, even though she couldn’t see it.

“Like Washington state? Like all the way up the West Coast? Like, twenty hours away from here?”

“Actually, it was closer to nineteen hours, but yes.”

“What the hell are you—wait. That’s where Maria is from.”

“Yeah.” He dragged his hand through his damp hair and stared at the menu written in colorful chalk on a board behind the counter. Looked like he was going to have to splurge on a fancy coffee after all.

He was going to need the caffeine.

Maybe he could just walk up to the counter and ask for whatever had the most caffeine. Because he had no clue what all that shit scribbled up there meant.

“I didn’t realize you two were planning to go to Washington during this little break. That’s a lot of traveling. Did she need to take Riley to visit her dad? That would make sense. Cool that you went along. Y’all are really getting close. I approve, for the record.”

Oz glanced up at the ceiling. He ought to tell Lacey what was really going on, except he probably needed to get on the road, and this was not a short story.

Especially because he hadn’t told any of his bandmates the full story of his life outside the band.

None of them knew about his debt. Nor about his cousin Carina.

And while they knew his sister had died, they didn’t know how.

“What time is the meeting?” he asked instead of coming up with a reply that would appease her and not result in a two-hour conversation.

“Ten o’clock tomorrow morning.”

Shit. He needed to get on the road. He needed to factor in a few hours’ sleep at a rest area, because even with all the coffee in the world at his disposal, he doubted he’d be able to do another nineteen-hour drive straight through this quickly after the first one.

“All right, I’ll see you there.” He disconnected the call if only to avoid any more questions. And then he headed to the counter.

The barista was pretty, in a warm, small-town way. Dark hair, bright blue eyes, a big, welcoming smile.

“Hi,” she said. “You’re one of Holly’s friends.”

“Er…” Was that a weird greeting, or was it just him?

“I’m Regina,” she said, thrusting her arm over the counter for a shake.

“Holly and I have been friends forever. I follow her and her band on Insta, and I’ve seen your picture quite a bit the last few days.

Noticed you’ve been cozying up to Maria.

Which is interesting. In fact, it’s interesting that Maria is even hanging out with Holly.

Has she finally broken free of their mother’s clutches? ”

Oz snorted. He couldn’t help it. “I thought so, but it turns out I was wrong.”

Regina’s face fell. “That sucks. Elaine is a piece of work. She really messed those girls up. I’m so glad Holly escaped, but I sure wish Maria and Ava would too.”

“Me too,” he admitted. He didn’t know Ava, but if she was more like Maria than Holly, then Oz agreed with Regina. That sucked.

“What can I get you?” Regina asked, all business now.

Oz looked up at the menu again. “I honestly don’t know. I don’t usually come to these kinds of places.”

“You mean overpriced coffee shops?”

“Yeah. Sorry. It’s just, um, my band isn’t quite as popular as Holly’s. Yet. Hopefully, this time next year I can come back and order something with confidence.” And the money to spare.

Regina chuckled. “I got you. I just need to know your general tastes and I’ll whip something up. Flavored creamer? Sugar? Strong coffee or mild?”

“Strong as you can make it and enough sweetener to disguise the bitterness. I have a long drive ahead of me.”

Regina stabbed her thumb at her chest. “ My coffee isn’t bitter. But I can handle this order. Coming right up.”

She turned away to prepare his drink, and Oz tugged his wallet out of his pocket to check to see if he had enough cash for food, too. Probably he should wait and find a diner somewhere, where he could purchase more food for his limited dollars.

When Regina returned, she placed his drink—the largest size she offered—and a bag that smelled both savory and sweet on the counter, pushing both items toward him.

“On me,” she said before he could tell her he didn’t want the food. “Tell Holly I said hi, okay?”

“Wow. Uh, thanks. I really appreciate it.”

Regina’s smile was bright as the sun. “It’s my pleasure.”

Oz hightailed it out of there, devouring the bagel sandwich before he even touched the coffee. She’d also included a cranberry and orange scone. God bless the woman.

He sat in his car, sipping coffee and texting Holly.

You have cool friends. Just met Regina. She said hi. She also makes the best coffee I’ve ever had .

And then he mentally plotted out the long-ass drive he was about to make.

And tried really fucking hard not to think about Maria.