Finding Emotion (The Last Shot Tavern Series)

Chapter 29

Damon hadn’t thought he would really sleep. He woke feeling disoriented but happy. The room was still bright. Skylar had fallen asleep quickly, and he had been trying to convince himself to release her long enough to turn out all the lights when sleep claimed him as well.

He studied Skylar’s face, but there was no restlessness there that would have woken him. The worry that had started to grip him eased. Nothing they’d done together seemed to have caused a nightmare to find her.

He dropped a quick kiss to her forehead before slipping out of bed. He still wore his dress pants and planned to keep them on. As much as he loved Skylar’s grabby hands, he didn’t want her to use them before he told her he loved her again.

She’d literally turned on every light. He moved through the room, switching each one off. Only the light filtering in from the living room remained. He padded to the door when the ding of the elevator reached him. Fear raced through him. Who the hell would come to the suite in the middle of the night?

The fear shifted into frustration as he recognized Jimmy. His manager had always had a certain type of walk, like he owned the place, no matter where they were. Damon had been impressed by it since Jimmy’s personality was the opposite, insecure just like Damon’s was. Jimmy compensated with dapper outfits and a sense of humor, often at Damon’s expense.

Damon was only realizing now how often it had bothered him over the years.

“Something couldn’t wait until morning?” he asked, keeping his voice low as he moved into the living room, pulling Skylar’s bedroom door closed behind him.

Jimmy jumped, his hand moving to his chest. “Jesus, Dame!” He let out a laugh that was a little too loud and lifted the bottle in his other hand. “Thought you could use a drink after getting dumped. Unless…” His eyes moved to the closed bedroom door. “Shit, man, you took her up on the last pity fuck? I thought you’d have more class than that.”

Damon folded his arms as he sat on the arm of the couch. “Caught the video finally? That was hours ago.”

“Avoided my phone for a while.” Jimmy shrugged. “I mean, all that shit today, and her acting like I can’t joke around with you.”

“Were you really joking?” Damon asked.

“God, you’ve always been so sensitive. You’d think you’d get over that after all you accomplished.” But the man he’d thought was his friend didn’t smile at him or move over to pat him on the back or appear happy for him at all. No, he scowled down at the bottle in his hand, a bitterness there that Damon was finally able to see. “It just proves how little you fit this lifestyle.”

Damon’s arms felt a little numb. “Must have been hard for you. Backing a dweeb like me all this time.”

“Hey, you’re the one that said it.” Jimmy’s head lifted. “I still can’t understand why all the fans love you.”

“It’s good to have fans.” Damon studied his manager closer, a question Malcolm had raised lurking in the back of his mind. “I mean, except for the stalker. You know how that makes me panic.”

“Yeah, though it’s hard to rag you about today’s gift. It was over the top.” Jimmy’s hand tightened on the neck of the bottle he held.

“It was.” Damon took a breath. “So, how long did it take you to pull together all those images?”

Jimmy froze. “Shit, man. What are you saying?”

“That’s been the hard thing, you know? The investigators kept telling me the person doing it had to be close. I refused to hear it, though. I mean, you’re the only one with that kind of access, Jimmy. And we’ve been together since the beginning, fighting for my success.”

“Success.” Jimmy growled the word. “You’ve gotten so stuck up. Ever since that damn song hit number one.”

“It was after that that it started,” Damon remembered. “About a year ago.”

“You were so happy with that first fucking gift. It was a gag, but catered to that ego of yours, being so linked to your song.” Jimmy shook his head. “God, how I laughed about it. I mean, shit, a song that showcased what a geek you’ve always been, and that’s what pushed you to number one?”

Damon remembered how against the song Jimmy had been. Not just the song, but the video. He wore old clothes and his glasses, comfortable for the first time in a long time as he sang about being the odd man out and how not everyone was made to get the girl. In the video, he’d had all sorts of genetic props and a science lab. The first gift had been a set of test tubes, so carefully wrapped, and he’d thought it was sweet that his music had touched someone.

“It was the apples that almost gave me away. I couldn’t resist trying to get caught. Only instead, you were so upset over the possibility of a stalker being in your room that you panicked like an idiot. As if anyone would stalk you.” Jimmy lifted the bottle, taking a drink from it. “I did you a favor, really. Making you feel bigger than you were.”

Damon stared at the person he hadn’t known at all. “I still don’t understand why.” He watched Jimmy’s face twist.

“Fucking Damon Lynch, the last person who should have made it in the music business, rocking the charts. I’ve got so much more talent than you, but I’m stuck here, trying to make you look good.”

“You never mentioned wanting to be on the other side of things.” Damon shook his head. “Why didn’t you try? I would have supported you, Jimmy.”

“Oh, but I did! That bitch of an ex of yours said she could see me replacing you in the band after I played for her. Damn it, I even fucked her first. But along comes Damon Lynch, the sweetheart that makes all women’s panties wet. She called you pathetic but still fucked you. We used to laugh about you, but then that damn bassist came out of nowhere, and it was me she was laughing at.”

“You and Karyn?” Damon hadn’t known, but he wasn’t really surprised. The level of detail in the way she had degraded him made a lot more sense now. “If you were done with me all the way back then, why bother coming with me when I left the band?”

“Because you had something, Dame. I didn’t want to see it, but I did. Even fucking Skylar sees it.” He laughed and threw the bottle at Damon.

The bottle skimmed his head with an explosion of pain before smashing on the wall behind him. Liquid and glass sprayed over him as he reached for his head. Then Jimmy was on him, and they crashed to the floor together. Jimmy punched him in the same spot that the bottle hit him, and Damon’s vision became blurry.

“That was fucked up. You knew I was into her!” Spittle flew from Jimmy’s mouth as he grabbed Damon’s hair, dragging his face closer. “You always gave me the girls. Fucking pansy, scared of sucking at sex. But you even cockblocked the three-way, saying some shit like you love her.” He let Damon’s head flop back, punching him in the stomach next. “Look at you. What would someone like Skylar ever see in you?”

“A whole hell of a lot,” a new voice, up and to Jimmy’s left, said. Skylar brought one of the lamps down hard on Jimmy’s head.

Jimmy fell to the side, but he wasn’t out for the count. He shook his head, as though to clear it. “What the hell, Skylar!” Jimmy cried.

Damon blinked, trying to bring Skylar into focus as he sat up. She wore his undershirt and nothing else, the material barely covering her thighs. The white color made her skin look even more pale, fragile. But the way she held the lamp made it clear she was willing to bash Jimmy again.

“You’re everything I ever wanted. And you chose fucking him!” Jimmy screamed.

“Oh, fuck off!” Skylar lifted the lamp higher. Jimmy lunged for her, ducking under her swing before pinning her to the couch.

Damon went for him. His arm wrapped around Jimmy’s neck and pulled. They fell backward, Jimmy’s head hitting the corner edge of the coffee table with a sickening thump. He went limp where he landed on top of Damon.

“Oh, shit,” Damon gasped and shifted out from underneath. The world spun around him, and he tried to focus.

Skylar slid off the couch to the ground, checking Jimmy’s pulse. “He’s not dead. Hell, he’s not even bleeding much. Don’t worry, I already called for help.” She moved past Jimmy, crouching beside Damon. “Hey, try to focus. How many fingers am I holding up?”

Damon closed his eyes as his stomach lurched. “Stop with the tough questions.”

She pulled his head against her chest, her hands soothing the uninjured back of his head with small, circular strokes. “I’m not as good at this as you are. You might have a concussion.” Just past them, Jimmy moaned in pain. “See, you didn’t kill him.” Skylar sighed. “Want me to fix that?”

He pictured the way Jimmy had pinned her to the couch. “Are you okay?”

Skylar’s hands paused. “Fuck, you’re so sweet. I should be asking you that. How can you worry about me right now?” She began massaging him again.

He relaxed into her. “Because I love you,” he mumbled.

“Yeah, yeah. That’s the concussion talking.” Behind them, the elevator dinged. “Oh, good, the calvary’s arrived. Over here!”

Damon opened his eyes, finding Jimmy’s on him. Jimmy looked away as the suite filled with people in uniform.