Chapter 10
10
brONSON
M y blood boils already.
Help?
Did this prick really waltz into our rehearsal and ask for our help?
Knox steps toward the front of the stage. “Why the fuck would you think we’d help you?” he asks.
Good. Nice to know we’re on the same page here.
Logan nods once. “I understand that we?—”
“No,” Knox says over him, his voice echoing. “You clearly don’t understand a damn thing, or else you’d know that you have no right to be here.”
Jonah and I step forward, flanking Knox on either side.
Logan sighs, but he does so with a calm smile. “Knox?—”
“You filmed my girlfriend,” Knox says. “You blew up a tire on our bus, nearly killing all of us.”
“That wasn’t me.”
“You bugged us.”
Logan doesn’t blink. “I didn’t do that, either.”
“But you knew about it,” Jonah says.
“Yes,” Logan answers.
Knox scoffs, already done with this. “Piss off, Shock.”
To my surprise, Logan bows his head. “As you wish,” he says, stepping back with Tesla and Goldie. “But I truly think we can help each other. Somebody has to stop Paul Monroe.”
With that, The Electrics turn around and makes their way down the aisle toward the exit.
We all look at each other, Logan’s final words cutting deep enough to trigger second thoughts in some of our eyes. Sure, it was the verbal equivalent of click-bait, but we’re all human.
And we all fucking hate Paul Monroe.
Urged by Harmony’s big and curious gaze, Knox releases a sigh and says, “Shock.”
The three of them pause at the doors and turn back around.
“What’s your beef with Monroe?” Knox asks.
“Well,” Logan says, lingering in place, “he’s an asshole.”
“No shit. What else?”
Logan cracks a smile and begins walking toward us again, with Tesla and Goldie close behind. “Two months ago, we were called into a meeting with the head of our record label back home in New York.”
“Sugar Sound?” Chrissy asks.
He nods.
“So what?” Knox asks, annoyed.
Logan shoots him a look, but only seems merely amused by his impatience. “We thought it was just a formality,” he continues. “Our tour was about to begin, so we figured we had plans to finalize and documents to sign. In and out and off we’d go. But when we got there, Paul Monroe was there, too.”
I shift forward and sit down on the edge of the stage, the start of this story intriguing enough to get comfortable for. Logan keeps an eye on me as I move. Then he and the girls do the same, sitting down in the front row seats side-by-side.
“We all sat down,” Logan says as he sits, “greeted one another, and then Monroe told us all about you.”
“Me?” Knox asks.
“Criminal Records,” he says. “Harmony, too. Your history together. Your upcoming tour. Your fake romance. All of it.”
“Okay,” Jonah says. “So, why was Monroe leaking information about us to you?”
“To sabotage you,” Logan says. “Why else?”
“Why would he want to sabotage the most popular band on his label?” Addison asks.
“Because Paul Monroe, the head of Midnite Music, recently accepted a job as the chief executive officer of Sugar Sound.”
We all glance at each other, our brows furrowed in confusion.
“Monroe is the new CEO of Sugar Sound?” Chrissy asks.
“Yes.”
“That’s bullshit,” Knox says. “We’d know that by now.”
“The deal was done behind closed doors,” Logan says. “It hasn’t been announced, nor leaked, because as part of Monroe’s cushy new contract, he has to burn your house down on his way out.”
We all silently regard each other with disbelief, though nothing he’s said so far seems outside the realm of possibility.
“That’s where we came in,” Logan continues in our silence, briefly running a hand through his dark blond hair. “They told us to do everything we could to taint your tour with bad press. They wanted it to look real. A natural fall from grace while we dominated the charts instead.”
“And you agreed to it,” Knox says through his teeth.
Logan nods, still calm. “If we didn’t, they’d pull our contract. They’d cancel our tour. And everything I’ve worked for — everything we’ve worked for,” he says, gesturing to Goldie and Tesla and their solemn faces. “It would have all been for nothing. I couldn’t let that happen to my girls, Knox. I doubt you’d have made a different choice.”
Knox doesn’t reply, but the stiff hold in his jawline speaks for him.
Before Logan can say more, Katrina steps forward from her keyboard and he pauses, his focus pulled toward her. “Why come to us now?” she asks.
“Monroe’s getting desperate,” he answers after a moment. “He’s not thrilled that you survived the VRL fallout in Seattle, nor that you’re all still standing after the BNB Fest. Time is running out, so he’s willing to get his hands dirty. Starting tonight in Chicago.”
“He’s here?” Harmony asks, clearly not thrilled by the possibility of running into her prick of a stepfather.
“He’s here,” Logan confirms. “He’s having dinner with your manager as we speak.”
Everyone goes silent. I scan everyone’s faces, each of them wide-eyed with surprise.
Except Chrissy.
She notices me and looks down.
“Now, that’s bullshit,” Knox says. “Jordan would have told us about that.”
“I’m not going to sit here and argue with you about something that you’ll easily verify the moment we leave,” Logan says, sitting back. “I’m simply here to urge you to get your house in order so we can move past this and get back to more important things.”
“Why do you care?” Knox asks.
“Yeah,” Jonah adds. “Dethroning us is what you want, isn’t it?”
“It is,” Logan says.
“Then why help us at all?”
“Don’t get this twisted,” Logan says. “I don’t like you. I think your sound is lacking, your brand is stale, and your sense of style is offensive.”
Knox snorts at that.
“But when I take you down…” Logan locks eyes with Knox. “It’s going to be fair. Not through corporate sabotage bullshit.”
“Through the Battle of the Bands,” Addison says, nodding slowly.
“Through music, yes. Yours versus ours. That’s what really matters. It’s like I told you back in Portland, Knox. I don’t care about anything else.”
Knox doesn’t reply, but his expression briefly shows a hint of respect.
“Come Halloween night,” Logan says, “we’ll finish this in the proper way. Until then, I say we work together to tell these suits to go fuck themselves.”
I crack a smile. Little fucker’s actually speaking my language now.
A quick glance at Knox and Jonah shows the same rebellious determination in their eyes. Hell, even Katrina looks like she’s about to smack somebody.
“So, what happens now?” Knox asks. “You stop being such a dick?”
“Now, we keep doing what we’re doing,” Logan says. “You continue your tour. We’ll continue ours. We’ll bump into each other on the road now and then, have our little spats, and keep Monroe happy until an opportunity presents itself. If it were me, I’d start with your manager and whatever he’s whispering into her ear right now.”
My stomach twists.
Jordan…
What are you doing?
Knox clears his throat. “We’ll think about it,” he says noncommittally.
“Well, be careful not to strain a few brain cells while you do,” Logan quips, his smirk wide as he and the girls stand up. “Good evening to you all. We’ll see you on the road.”
We stay silent and watch as The Electrics walk out the exit without looking back.
“Chrissy,” I say before anyone else can break the silence. She looks up at me on the stage, her eyes sick with worry. “Where’s Jordan?”