Page 36 of Rock Giant

Yet another figure stumbled in from the back, this one in llama pyjamas and blinking sleepily.“What’s all the noise, guys?It’s like two hours until rise and shine time.Oh, hi, Graham.”He gave the suit a nod, then attempted to open a cupboard, prompting three of the guys to duck their heads.Having retrieved a packet of custard creams, he set about laying waste to them.Jodi’s stomach rumbled.She’d been promised breakfast.If she’d realised it’d involve meeting forty-three people; she’d have given it a hard pass.

Mrs Ash leaned into the biscuit-crunching new arrival, and hand over her mouth whispered, “Rock Giant got hitched while tripping his bollocks off last night.Thought you were taking care of him.”

Graham either didn’t hear her or pretended he didn’t hear her.

Ronnie’s sleepy eyes widened.“Um…well, yeah, I was… I did… we got parted.”He squinted at Jodi, evidently realising she was an unknown, then at her and Rock Giant’s clasped hands.“Wait, did you say hitched?Like married, hitched?”

“Who’s hitched?”Graham turned his head in a two-seventy-degree arc to laser each of them with his glare.“Yeah, I know about you,” he said on reaching Ash, before bouncing his gaze back to Spook, who shook his head, and then Xane and Luthor.The former of whom rolled his eyes, while the latter pressed his knuckles to his mouth, which barely contained his mirth.He didn’t even give Rock Giant a glance.

“Obviously not you,” he said to Ronnie.“Given that like usual you’re the one running their mouth.Pfft, you’re not my problem, anyway.”

“I did,” Paul confessed.

“He got handfasted, last night,” Spook elaborated.“Plighted his troth to this lovely lady here.”That drew all the attention back to her, right when she’d been contemplating a swift exit down the steps.

“And you are?”Graham asked.

Rock Giant stepped between her and their manager.“My lucky bride, that’s who.She’s not your concern.You’re in charge of band management, not our private lives.Being hitched doesn’t affect my ability to play bass.Therefore, not your problem.”

Their manager grunted, then pulled out an enormous handkerchief and blew his nose into it.“Allergies.”He stuffed the soiled cloth into a pocket.“Do I at least get an introduction.”

“Sure.”Scary how lit up it made him to show her off.“Jodi, this is our manager, Graham Callahan.Graham, this is my wife, Jodi.”

“Congratulations, Julie, was it?I suppose I’m going to have to look into getting you lot a bigger bus.”

“We’re fine, Graham.”Xane stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder.“There’s still an excess of bunks.There’s only nine… ten of us when we’re all here, and not all the ladies want to ride along with us all the time.Now, why don’t you tell us why you’re here, then Ronnie can get back to his beauty sleep.”

“Oh, no, I don’t need to sleep anymore.I want to hear about everything.”

Curiously, she wasn’t the only one who groaned in response.

“Yeah, right, it’s nothing major, just been asked to ask you all to keep a look out.Seems your new support act has mislaid someone,” Graham said.

“Someone,” Xane echoed.“One of the band?You promised us some decent support who weren’t going to cause havoc.That’s not a good sign if they’ve lost a member.”

“Singer’s fiancée.Not one of the band.”

Xane’s gaze flicked to her then back to Graham.

“Probably just got sick of the bugger or got wasted and is sleeping it off under a bush.”

Jodi’s cheeks burned.She’d have protested the description of herself, if it didn’t ring a little too true.She had spent the night under a bush sleeping off the aftereffects of doing something dumb, and now on top of that, Nash was worried enough to have organised a manhunt for her.He must have checked her tent and realised she wasn’t there.Hopefully, he’d at least fed the cats.

“Description?”Spook asked.

“Female…”

That was apparently it.She was missing, and the best description out there of her was female.Great going, Nash.Graham gave a semi-apologetic shrug, which caused his shoulders to collide with various storage cupboards.

“I’m not expecting you to produce her.If it were a bit back, then I’d have come straight here, and no doubt laid my hands right on her.”He stared pointedly at Xane, provoking the prince of darkness into sucking on his eyeteeth.

“You say that like I shagged anything that moved.”

“Pretty much did,” Troll-guy muttered, before squeezing his way back into the driver’s bay.

“Shut it,” Xane snarled at his back.“Ash was just as bad.”

Ash refuted this with a shake of his head.“I only slummed with half the population, you were there a hundred per cent, and before you argue, I’m sure Spook will be happy to confirm exact numbers.”