Chapter 20
Cruz
What else could possibly go wrong?
In a way it felt like that idiot that had told us about the generators was deliberately sabotaging the whole event.
I didn’t want to believe it was true, but he seemed to be throwing roadblocks in our path every step of the way.
The others called him Vulture, and I felt like I knew why because he always seemed to be circling doom.
It was like he was just waiting for everything to fail.
I already hated the guy.
“I don’t understand what’s wrong this time,” Lily said, frustrated.
Having my suspicions about Vulture, I’d started keeping a very close eye on him, and I’d seen some possible shady shit.
“What is it?” I asked her.
“The lights aren’t working. We got the generator up and running. They were all on for a moment and now they won’t stay on.”
“Sonofabitch,” I cursed. “I’ll fix it.”
I stomped over to where I’d just seen Vulture hovering just a moment ago. He’d been messing with one of the bulbs. Sure enough, I got there, twisted it and the lights popped right on.
There had been little issues going on like this all day and I was certain I knew exactly why.
Scanning the area, I found him too close to one of the guitars.
My wolf roared in my head. He was trying to sabotage Daisy’s concert.
Once I honed in on him, I began stalking my prey.
Knox walked on stage and picked up the guitar closest to Vulture. I saw a flash of anger in the man’s eyes and I was pretty certain I wasn’t imagining it.
He stomped off stage and over to the media booth.
“Oh hell no,” I muttered.
I followed him, standing close enough to make him uncomfortable. Daisy and her band were taking the stage for a sound check and she didn’t need anything else to go wrong, and neither did Lily, who was on her very last nerve and ready to snap.
Vulture looked at me. His forehead creased in irritation.
“Do you mind?”
“Yeah, I do,” I said.
I was happy to see his frustration, and I didn’t move an inch, but he did, taking a step closer to the console.
At first, he seemed perfectly normal and if I were human, I’d be second guessing my suspicions. But I wasn’t human and the anxiety wafting off him was potent. His heartbeat increased as he took another step. I knew without a doubt he was up to something.
When his phone buzzed with an incoming text, he nearly tripped over his own two feet in surprise. He was that wound up.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t see the screen when he checked it. But something about it changed his attitude. It somehow made him less anxious and more confident.
He reached out and turned two knobs on the board before I could stop him.
Daisy screamed and ripped out her in-ears.
“What the hell?” Cash yelled.
I could hear the screeching noise coming from their headsets from here.
He’d done that.
Vulture reached for a cable at the back of the board and I grabbed his wrist.
“Don’t you dare,” I warned him.
His eyes widened and I could feel him shake in fear. Not just that though, I could smell it too.
My wolf roared his approval in my head.
“You’re done here,” I told him.
He gulped but then straightened. Giving me a smirk and a lot of attitude, he said, “If you want this concert to happen then you have to let me do my job.”
“You mean if I do not wish for this concert to happen, I should let you do your job, because all day I’ve been following you around cleaning up your shit. Why are you trying to sabotage this concert?”
My voice raised just enough to draw the attention of others.
One of the roadies jogged over with a confused look on his face. “Vulture? What are you doing back here?”
“Setting up the console,” he said smoothly.
“That’s Jackie’s job. You never do that.”
“Shut the hell up, Beats. I was just helping out.”
The guy he’d referred to as Beats stepped up and looked things over. “Shit, what the hell did you do? No wonder she screamed. You’re going to blow all their eardrums with this setting. Get the hell away from my panel while I clean up your mess.”
Meanwhile Jackie, or at least I was pretty sure it was Jackie, came back and growled when he heard what happened. I knew he wasn’t a shifter. I could smell pure human on him, which would have made his reaction funny if it wasn’t for my irritation over the situation.
“He was trying to pull this cable right here,” I said, showing him the one.
“Don’t touch my console or my cables, Vulture,” he warned.
Vulture blanched and immediately retreated.
I followed, letting Jackie and Beats get things sorted properly.
“Get the hell away from me, man,” he said when he saw I was following him.
He was trying to retreat to the clubhouse. When we got close enough, I grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him into the wall.
“Why are you trying to sabotage this concert?”
“I’m not. You’re crazy. Help!” he yelled, trying to draw attention to us.
When Ridge and Travis walked over to see what was wrong, Vulture actually smirked at me like he’d just gotten the upper hand.
“What’s going on here?” Ridge asked.
He was tall and broad, very intimidating to others.
Vulture cowered, but I knew it was all an act.
“This maniac shoved me into the wall and now he’s trying to hurt me. Help! He’s insane.”
Ridge looked at me, to Vulture, and then back to me. He crossed his arms over his chest, which always made him seem somehow even larger.
“What’s really going on, boss?” Ridge asked me.
It took a lot not to laugh out loud at the look on the creep’s face.
The scent of fear was now coming off him in waves.
“He’s been screwing around with the set all day, like he’s purposefully trying to ruin this concert. I was merely asking him why.”
“You were what?” Ridge asked, body tensing as he turned his attention back to Vulture.
Vulture flinched.
“Okay, okay, okay. Ronnie paid me to do it. I swear. It wasn’t my idea. He said he’d pay me triple my daily wage if I ensured this concert didn’t happen.”
“Ronnie?” Travis asked.
“Daisy’s manager,” I explained. “Does he know where she’s at?”
“Yeah, of course. I sent him the location coordinates the moment we got here. He’s in the area and coming to get her tonight.”
I growled, he jumped, but then a sly grin slowly moved over his face.
“Oh, you thought she was actually into you? You thought you could keep her here? Buddy, that’s Daisy freaking Brooks. She’s much bigger than you. Sorry to disappoint, but her playtime is over and it’s time for her to get back to work.”
I couldn’t help myself. I hauled back and punched him in the face.
“Get this Vulture out of here,” I told them.
Ridge and Travis happily escorted him from the premises, and we had no further issues with concert setup. But I had a bigger concern now—Ronnie knew where to find my mate.
I couldn’t worry Daisy about it though, instead, I decided to take matters into my own hands.
The first thing I did was call Thomas.
“Hey, sounds like it’s been a bit of a nightmare over there. I should be heading your way soon.”
“I have taken care of the most pressing issues. Some asshole was here sabotaging setup. Ridge and Travis are taking care of him. But there’s a bigger problem.”
“Tell me.”
“Ronnie, Daisy’s shit-face manager, sent him here, and now he knows exactly where to find her and is likely on his way here right now.”
“Human? That shouldn’t be too hard to find.”
“Wolf,” I corrected. “Virginia Pack, just like her.”
“Well, hell. That changes things. Can Daisy give us a description to work with?”
“She could if I told her, but I don’t really want to distract her or the band. They’re already frustrated enough from all the issues he caused.”
“Is there anyone there who could recognize him?”
“No one that’s not working at the moment to make this thing happen. Wait, Gage may be able to help. I’m not sure. He is from Virginia Pack too. It might be a long shot, but he might be our best chance at finding him.”
“Finding who?” Will asked me.
I scowled and shook my head.
“I’ll call Gage and see if he can help,” Thomas said.
“All I know is his name is Ronnie and he’s Daisy’s manager.”
“From the sounds of it, soon to be ex-manager, I hope.”
“He will be if I have anything to say about it.”
I hung up with Thomas and noticed Will still lurking around, listening in.
“What do you need Will?”
He shrugged. “I just want to help.”
“For now, just staying out of the way will help a ton. Otherwise, unless you know what Daisy’s manager looks like and can provide me with a photograph, there’s not much I need.”
His face lit up. “I can do that.”
“You can?”
“Sure. My brother Ben and some guys from Westin Force arrived about an hour ago. Thomas has them providing security for the concert. Kyle and Kelsey are here and everything. I’m sure Westin Force can easily get you the info you need.”
“You’re right. Damn, kid. Why didn’t I think about that?”
In truth, I’d forgotten they were even coming. In the chaos of the day’s events, it had been the furthest thing from my mind.
Now, as I looked around the area, I spotted a few of them I recognized.
Tarron was at the sound booth assisting with sound check.
Silas Granger, head of Bravo team, stood to the left of the stage, looking seriously out of place as he scanned the area. No doubt he was looking for anything or anyone suspicious.
And Will was already running over to Ben where the rest of Bravo stood. I could see the kid animatedly telling them what I’d just shared with him.
I started heading in the direction, but he met me halfway, waving his phone in the air.
“I got it. Just like you wanted.”
He looked like a proud puppy just waiting to be praised as he thrust the phone in my hand.
I looked down to find a man with dark, slicked back hair and steel-gray eyes staring back at me. There wasn’t anything particular that stood out about him, yet I knew I would recognize him anywhere.
“That’s him. Daisy’s manager. Took Ben about two minutes to find it. He’s pretty awesome like that.”