Chapter 7 #2
“Obviously.” I hurried my steps, just wanting out, and slammed right into the glass door like a bug hitting a windshield. I stumbled back and rubbed my head. “Shit.”
“A Virtue who curses.” He chuckled. “Nice outfit.”
“Shut up.” I grabbed the handle and yanked it open. I had to get out of there. I wasn’t supposed to talk to either of them, let alone the guy who hit on me at the parade who was now confirmed as one half of Cheese and Crackers. I muttered to myself, “Stupid snack food.”
“What’d you say?”
“Nothing.” I ran across the balcony and leapt off the side, letting my wings catch the wind.
What the hell was I thinking? That was awkward as fuck, and I just stood there dumbstruck that he would actually be in his own home.
I smacked my forehead, then flinched at the pain.
Damn it, Chanel. I hated being so off center because of a stupid boy.
A crazy hot vampire boy. Most vampires were hot, this was no surprise, so what was it about this one that made my brain scramble at the sight of suspenders?
I pumped my wings harder, needing to get back to Regan and finish the show before people knew I was missing.
I landed by the back entrance and tried to yank the exit door open, but it was locked up tight.
I let my pink magic flow over the door and water floated up between the door and the frame.
With a single flick of my wrist, my power surged, and the door exploded inwards like I’d hit it with a giant wave.
It flew from the hinges and smacked into the opposite wall.
I strode through, my anger taking over the panic I felt at being faced with Kaso.
Regan was wrapping up her song as I stepped onto the side-stage and a crew member handed me a mic.
Just as the song turned into another, I stepped out and the spotlight nearly blinded me.
I rubbed at my forehead where I’d smacked into the glass door and flinched.
Regan’s eyes widened when she saw me, and I knew she was silently asking me if I was okay.
I gave her a nod and fell back into step with choreography I’d drilled into my mind.
All the while, all I could think about was Kaso and his stupid shirt rolled up to his stupid elbows. And those damned suspenders.
The rest of the concert went by in a blur, and I knew I was only halfway there in my mind.
Regan moved to my side and wrapped her arm around my shoulder as we sauntered off stage together.
The moment we were backstage, we were swarmed with stagehands giving us waters and lighting the way to our dressing room with flashlights.
I didn’t say anything the whole time we walked, but I could feel her eyes boring into the back of my skull.
When we got into the dressing room, she closed the door behind us, shutting everyone else out. “What happened to you?”
“Dude, I ran into a glass door. Like, whap.” I smacked my hands together. “Bug on a windshield style.”
She gave me a sideways look. “You did what?”
“And it was so embarrassing. I was all let me just break in here and take a peek around.” I made a sound of disgust in the back of my throat. “And he was all let me just stand here in my hot suspenders making that smirk . . . You know that stupid smirk.”
“A smirk?” She squinted at me like she was trying to follow my ranting. “And suspenders, what?”
“I’m telling you they did not make suspenders just to hold men’s pants up. They made them to drive women crazy. It’s like a sex thing, I know it.”
She held her hand up. “Hold up. So you went to the location Louie gave you?”
“Yep.”
“And who was there? Cheese or crackers?”
“The cheese one.” I shook my head. “His name is Kaso, by the way, like queso.”
“And the other one is crackers?” Her eyebrows furrowed.
“Yep. And his real name is Andreas. Like the San Andreas fault. Hence the crack.” I rolled my eyes.
“This is ridiculous.” She shook her head. “So, you ran into this Kaso and you did nothing?”
“Didn’t you hear me? Oh, I did something.” I sighed and pointed to the spot on my head that was still aching. “I ran right into a fucking glass wall.”
She nodded. “Yeah, that’s embarrassing.”
“And now you’re all caught up with me.” I threw my arms up. “I’ve never panicked like that before.”
“Stupid suspenders,” she added for me.
“That’s right.”
She jumped to her feet. “So let’s go get them now. We know where they are. Boom. Grab em’. Done.”
“Not a bad idea. Except I think now that they know we know where they live, they’re probably already gone.”
She sat back down in her chair. “You’re probably right. Guys like that don’t stick around to get caught after something like that happens.”
I shook my head and sighed. “I’m sorry, I thought it would be fine.”
“Psh, don’t be sorry. This is what we do. It’s not gonna be perfect.” She paused and her eyes darted to the ceiling as though she was thinking. “Except maybe just don’t look at the suspenders next time.”
“Noted, but now that we have their names, there’s nothing stopping us from finding them.” It made me feel better knowing we were hot on their heels.
A quick knock came from the door and our manager, Cody, hurried into the room. He slammed the door behind him and took a deep breath. “Man, it’s madness out there.”
“Hi, Cody,” we said in unison.
Cody was an older mortal with dark hair and even darker eyes.
He was on the shorter side and looked as inconspicuous as any average guy in his white T-shirt and jeans.
He had been our manager from the beginning.
He was smart, never asked too many questions, and always did the right thing.
As far as managers went, he was the guy who always had our backs. “How we doing?”
“We’re good.” I pressed my lips together. If I counted letting a hot mobster get away as good.
He ran the back of his hand over his sweaty forehead and shoved strands of his dark hair back from his face. “It was a good last concert in New York before we head out tonight.”
Regan’s eyebrows shot up. “Tonight? I thought we had until tomorrow?”
Cody shook his head and wandered over to a plate of fruit that sat on the dresser. He stood over it, studying the contents. “Nope, we need to hop on a red-eye and head to LA to get ready for tomorrow night. Then you’re there for three nights before you head down to Mexico, then Argentina, then—”
“We get it.” I stopped him before he rattled off more places that I would only forget. “And how long until we’re back in the city?”
I loved being on tour and interacting with the fans, and I knew we had to do some hunting in all those places. Our schedule wasn’t by mistake. It was by design . . . Zuriel’s design. Somehow, he got Cody to get us to wherever we were needed.
He shrugged. “Only two weeks this time. But it’s a packed two weeks. You guys sure you’re up to it?”
“Absolutely,” Regan answered for both of us.
“Great. I’ll give you a chance to get changed, but then we have to be wheels-up in twenty.” He gave us both warm smiles as he walked out of the dressing room. “Really great show tonight.”
I gave Regan a sour look. “You were saying?”
“Okay, so maybe we have to just wait a week or two?” She tried to make her voice sound positive, even though I knew she was as annoyed as I was. “The ass kicking will have to wait for the snacks.”
“Snacks?”
“Yeah, Cheese and Crackers . . . the snacks.”
I groaned. “He really was a freaking snack.”
“You know what? You and your libido need to just lock it up.” She clapped her hands together. “Close it up.”
I chuckled. “You didn’t see him.”
“I don’t need to. He’s a bad dude. We don't like them.” She paused and chuckled. “Well, most of the time.”
I grabbed a comb off the table and chucked it at her playfully. “We’ll see when you start walking into glass doors because of a guy.”
“Pshhh, not gonna happen.” When my face fell, she caught my eye. “Don’t worry. We’ll get them.”
She was right. We had a job to do, and no amount of rolled-up sleeves or hot suspenders would stop us from doing what we’d done since the very beginning. “Yeah, we will.”