Page 159 of Hard Rock Tease

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ijumped back, heart pounding loudly in my ears. I half expected the girl to shoot me then and there. She had a loose grip on the gun, but her finger was on the trigger.

“Who are you?” I tried to sound calm and demanding, but all I managed was a faint whisper. My body broke out in a cold sweat.

“The question is, who are you? Who the fuck do you think you are?”

“I—” I stopped, not knowing what she was asking, why she was asking it.

“You must have somehow tricked your way into this job.” She looked me up and down, sneering. “There’s no way someone like you is good enough for Feral Silence.”

“I don’t know what you think I do here, but I just post things on the internet.” I managed to keep my voice from shaking, but the rest of my body quivered.

“Oh, is that all? You don’t get to follow the band around and hear all their private conversations? You don’t get to take pictures of them behind the scenes? You don’t get to be with them twenty-four-seven?” Her voice rose in pitch with each word. “Who did you fuck to get this job?”

The words were familiar. I’d received a message just like that before. I thought it had been a jealous fan, or perhaps somebody who had applied for the internship as well and lost out to me.

It turned out I was right.

“I applied for the internship, just like everyone else.”

“You’re not anyone else. You’re Audio Ailey, isn’t that right?” She glared at me. “Why would they choose someone like you? You’re not smart, you’re not witty. You’re just a stupid fangirl,” she growled under her breath.

“I’m sorry,” I said, trying to put sincerity behind my words, trying to calm her down. “I’m sure you were just as qualified.”

“I am!” she cried. “I’ve got just as many followers as you! Why didn’t they choose me?”

I stayed silent, not wanting to enrage her even further.

“And then,” she continued, snarling “not only do you get to follow the band around like a pet, you go and start fucking Jayce.” The girl’s hand trembled in anger, the gun shaking along with it. I tensed up, afraid she would accidentally twitch her finger and fire. I hoped to god Jayce or Neil showed up before she lost control and shot me. I would have to stall her. I just had to keep her talking.

“You must have tricked him somehow,” she said, nodding her head to herself. “Jayce would never fall for a stupid whore like you. If he had the chance, he would never choose someone like you over someone like me.”

How had she known? How had she found out? This girl must have been following our every move. How had I not seen her lurking around before?

“There’s nothing between me and Jayce.”

“I heard you talking to their manager. You wanted to meet Jayce in the tour bus tonight.”

“I-I just wanted to talk to him about work stuff.”

The girl scoffed. “Don’t lie to me. I know exactly why you want to speak with him.” The more she spoke, the angrier she got and the harder she gripped her gun. If she lost the slightest bit of control, her finger would twitch on the trigger and I’d be dead.

I had an idea, but I had no idea if it would work. “Jayce and I are just friends. In fact, I could introduce you. I’m sure Jayce would like to meet one of his fans. Would you like that? I could introduce you to the whole band.”

She took a sharp gasp of breath and her attention wandered off for a moment, eyes going hazy, no doubt imagining her wildest dreams coming true. Then her face hardened.

“I don’t need any help from you. Once you’re out of the way, I know they’ll pick me to replace you. I’m just as good as you. Better, even.”

“You can’t just kill me. Do you think they’ll hire a murderer?”

“No one will find out.”

“And how you do think you’ll get away with this?”

The girl seemed confused, as if she hadn’t thought that part of her plan through. I doubted someone so insane had planned anything beyond a confrontation.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said, dismissing my concerns. “Once you’re out of the way, Jayce will see how much better I am than you.”