Page 22 of Edge of Heaven (Crimson Edge #2)

Mick

Now that I’m no longer on the prowl for female companionship, I’m a lot more focused on the music. And since we have today off—and a band meeting to boot—I decide to play “Touch Me” for the guys.

“I like it,” Jonny says, nodding and humming along. “This is good stuff.”

“You write this for the new album or something else?” Sam asks.

I shrug. “I wrote it because the words and melody wouldn’t leave me alone.”

“We should run it past Sasha,” Angus says thoughtfully. “See if releasing another single could give us a boost. Make it available as a bonus track on the album or something.”

“Whatever you guys think.” I pause. “I’d like to try it out live, get a feel for the audience reaction. The problem is that these last shows have been…rough.”

Everyone nods.

The last couple of weeks of the tour have been disappointing.

The crowds have been lackluster at best, and we even got booed in Oklahoma City, so there’s been talk about leaving the tour in the next month.

I’ve wanted to get the hell away from them from day one, but at the same time, that would mean leaving Taryn, which I don’t want.

“Sasha’s calling.” Angus has a laptop with the biggest screen so he usually takes the video calls, and he turns the monitor so we can all see her.

“Hey, guys, ready to get going?” She’s all business sometimes.

“How’s it going, Sasha?” Jonny calls out. “You’re looking particularly mommy-ish today.”

Her hair is in a ponytail, and she’s probably forgotten about the burp cloth on her shoulder.

She lifts her middle finger in response, yanking the cloth from her shoulder and tossing it aside. “I have three under four. Talk to me when you have a house full of kids.”

We all laugh.

“Okay, so there’s a lot to talk about. Number one—Mick.”

I arch my brows in surprise. “What’s up, boss?”

“I heard from a men’s clothing line called Barely Rockin’.

It’s comfortable clothes that look edgy and modern.

They saw some comps from your Rock Vibe shoot and want you to do a test shoot with them.

They’re offering a decent contract for a year if things work out.

I told them that anything you sign has to have conditions built in for the tour, and they’re okay with that.

So when we’re done with the group conversation, you and I need to talk privately. ”

“Oh, yeah. Thanks.” That came out of nowhere.

“You gonna leave us for your modeling career?” Tate teases me.

“No, but I’m never going to turn down money. If they think my ugly mug is good for their products, I’m in.”

Everyone nods in agreement because money is something they understand.

“Speaking of money.” She thumbs through some papers. “I have numbers for you. Deposits will be disbursed June fifteenth.” She tells us how much we made and while it’s a little less than I’d hoped, it’s still a lot of money. Ninety thousand dollars will go a long way in my life.

It’ll also allow me to help Taryn, if she’ll let me.

I respect the fact that she’s proud and wants to do this on her own without being beholden to yet another man—it makes sense—but there won’t be any strings attached if she takes money from me.

I just have to find a way to convince her of that.

“Speaking of money,” Sasha continues. “Rock Vibe has reached out. They want to license ‘Rough Around the Edges’ as part of their next marketing campaign. They’re going to do commercials, print, and social media—they don’t have details yet—but they want to work with us.

The money isn’t as much as it should be for something like this, but it puts you guys fully in the black and allows us a cushion to talk about what’s next. ”

“What’s next?” Jonny asks.

“Whether or not we continue on the Karnal Death tour.”

Everyone is quiet.

We knew this was coming because things haven’t been great, but she’s been struggling to find another band for us to open for that will be a good fit. Both bands we’ve worked with in the past are on hiatus, so it’s been tough to find us a slot on an existing tour.

“We knew it was a gamble to tour with them, but we didn’t anticipate the success of your album. Now we have to pivot and to be honest, there’s no one touring that has an opening.”

“Club tour?” Angus asks.

She nods. “I think it’s a step backward, but we don’t have much choice.

I’ve run some preliminary numbers, and if we use the money Rock Vibe is offering to get you started, and we can book through the summer, Nobody’s Fool is going to do a three-month European stint starting in September, and they’re happy to have you. ”

It seems like we all let out a collective sigh of relief.

We toured with Nobody’s Fool last fall, until their lead singer, Lexi, had to go on maternity leave. She gave birth at the end of December, and, based on Sasha’s announcement, she’s not even taking a year off.

“Yes,” Sasha says, chuckling, “Lexi is chomping at the bit to get back out there. She’s going to bring the baby and a nanny, and it’s just for three months. It’s a trial run to see how it feels to tour with an infant. If it doesn’t work out, they’ll take more time off.”

“So when would we break off on our own?” I ask quietly.

“The first date that’s penciled in, assuming I can fill the calendar through the beginning of September, is June eighth.”

“That’s more than a month,” Angus says. “Have you told Karnal Death yet?”

She shakes her head. “No. And we’re not going to until we know for sure we can pull off an entire summer tour of club dates. It will mean playing almost every night if we’re going to make a profit, and that will be hard on Jonny’s voice.”

“I’m good,” he says firmly. “I’ll do whatever I have to so my voice stays healthy.”

“We’re ready,” Angus adds. “Whatever we need to do, because this has become a toxic environment. The crowds in the Midwest were happy to see us but since we came west it’s been different.”

“They’re from Texas,” Sasha says, nodding, “so it makes sense that this is where their diehard fans are. Plus, I think they’re jealous. They’ve been talking a little shit behind the scenes. They think we don’t know but I have eyes and ears everywhere.”

“They’re talking shit?” Tate asks, his eyes narrowing. “What the fuck?”

“Yes, but we’ve made enough money for you to be debt-free and getting nice paychecks next month. So shut your mouth and suck it up.” She pauses. “I know they’re not great to work with but they’ve been good for our bottom line. You’ve only got a few weeks left, so play nice. I mean it.”

“Easier said than done,” I mutter.

“We have a lot of good things happening, a platinum album, a potential deal with a clothing line, and even though we’re giving him shit about it—Mick’s face in clothing ads can only help us.

Adding your music to the mix? That could be huge, mainstream exposure.

So keep your heads down, play the music, and let me work my magic behind the scenes.

Three weeks, tops, and you’re out of there.

But that’s when we get our cut of the merch, so don’t fuck it up.

That’s going to be tens of thousands of dollars in addition to the numbers we already talked about. ”

Essentially, a lot of money for us.

We talk for another couple of minutes and then disconnect, with Sasha promising to call me in an hour.

Everyone is quiet for a while before Tate finally looks at me. “What does this mean for you and Taryn?”

I stare, unsure where he’s going with this. “What are you talking about?”

“Come on, man. We’d have to be blind not to see the way you look at her—and the way she looks at you when she thinks no one is watching. We want you to be happy, but you know Callum is going to blow his top if he figures it out.”

I huff out a breath. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“We do,” Angus says. “Come on, Ryleigh has been running around at every venue looking for places where the two of you can be alone without being seen together. You need to talk to us, man. You can do what you want but this is important. Your private life is your business, but in this case, there’s a lot of money at stake.

If Callum wants to screw us out of the merch money because he’s pissed you’re fucking his girlfriend?—”

“It’s not like that, dammit!” I growl, scowling at them.

“Taryn and I want to be together but… there’s something she has to take care of first. Until then, she can’t leave him.

She’s taking care of a family member with cancer, okay?

” I hate divulging information she made me promise to keep to myself but the band isn’t going to let this go unless I give them at least part of the story.

“But why is that a secret?” Tate asks in confusion.

I give him a dark look. “Would you want to tell the world that you’re fucking some guy so he’ll pay for cancer treatment you can’t afford and essentially admit to everyone you know that you feel like a prostitute?”

He grimaces. “Jesus. Is that what’s happening?”

“She swore me to secrecy, and I just fucked that up, so I’m asking you guys to respect her privacy.

And mine. I’m only telling you so you understand that this isn’t some stupid relationship game we’re playing.

I love her. She’s going through something serious and humiliating.

She’s trying to come out of this with some semblance of her pride intact. Can I trust you guys to respect that?”

“Absolutely,” Jonny says. “I mean, I had no idea…”

“Yeah, we’re cool.” Tate nods.

“Of course.” Sam leans forward. “And if there’s anything we can do…”

“If she needs resources,” Angus adds, “I might be able to help.”

“I’ll let you guys know. Just give me a week or two to figure out how we’re going forward.”

I’m already considering asking Sasha for an advance. I’ll even pay interest if that’s what it takes. And if she won’t do it, I’ll go to Angus.

Taryn has to be okay with it, though.

I don’t want her to feel like she’s trading one overbearing man for another.

I hate everything about her situation, but I understand that she needs to take her power back. Her mental health depends on it. So as much as it pains me, I’m going to support her as best I can without overstepping the boundaries she set.

As long as I have a backup plan.

Just in case.

Because if Callum hurts her again, all bets are off.