Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Though they were always under pressure, it hit a new level. Over the next week, he and Roy had no time for anything but the occasional suggestive glance, and DJ was pretty sure his balls were turning blue.
The show had been high octane and crazy, the fans more amped up than DJ had ever seen. The latest album had gone platinum, and there was the crazed boyfriend thing. DJ shoving the girl and stepping away from his fans to keep them out of the line of fire had gone viral.
News agencies were clamoring for interviews, and the band was kept busy as they agreed with Moss on a schedule to deal with it. DJ refused any promotional focus on the shooting, and told Moss to keep attention directed toward the platinum album and teasing the upcoming one.
The increase in sales would help fund the work they were doing on the next album, because they wanted to bring in some studio musicians and big-name guests. The performance video taking shape in DJ’s head also wouldn’t be cheap, especially the pyrotechnic effects he had in mind.
Because of the stress levels, he, Steve and Pete took turns making sure Tal was crashing in one of their suites at night, rather than going off to his own room.
Tonight it was DJ’s turn. Tal hadn’t wanted to leave the wild aftershow party when DJ knew it was time to go, but his drummer assured him he’d be back by dawn.
DJ knew that wasn’t likely, but he hoped Tal would show up in time to catch some decent shut eye. Or maybe he’d nap wherever he was after the two curvaceous women who’d been hanging on his muscled arms worked him over.
DJ told Warren’s man on his hotel door to let Tal in when he came, even if he arrived with company. Then he dropped into his own bed.
He was vaguely aware of Tal returning while it was still dark. His gut automatically eased in his half-sleep state, though he registered giggling. Tal had brought both girls back with him. Or maybe they were new ones.
His door squeaked open a crack. “Yo, DJ,” Tal whispered. “Want some pussy? I brought a spare.”
DJ rolled over. It was a little after three in the morning. He could barely see Tal with the light from the living room shadowing him, but he shook his head. “No man. All yours.”
“Got it. I’ll take care of business.” The door closed and the giggling became happy squeals. Thankfully they quieted down, probably because they’d gone into the bedroom on the other side of the suite.
Tal was home. So that was good. Or so DJ thought. In hindsight, he’d kick himself for not taking a closer look at what kind of shape Tal was in.
The sound of breaking glass and a high-pitched shriek brought DJ bolting out of bed and stumbling toward the door before he was fully awake. He damn near ran into it, too disoriented to turn the knob and open it first.
By the time he was in the living room, Roy was coming through the hotel entry door, telling DJ it had been at least two hours, overlapping the change in security shift. DJ was closer to Tal’s bedroom and went in first, which he knew would piss Roy off, but he did it anyway.
A naked girl crouched in the corner, her hands over her head.
Tal stood over her with a broken bottle of booze.
More glass than could have come from that was scattered around her.
The cracked sheet rock explained it, brown liquid running down the paint.
He’d thrown the first bottle and broken the bottom out of the second while still holding onto it. Like a weapon.
“Tal, wake up,” DJ bellowed. His bandmate froze and turned his way, his expression unseeing. The girl scrambled to another corner, putting space between them and giving DJ time to issue a direction to his bodyguard. “Get her. I’ve got him.”
“You’re the job—”
“Fucking get her,” DJ snarled. “You think this isn’t something I’ve handled before? She’s most at risk. Get her into the living room.”
DJ knew Roy didn’t disagree with his assessment, because he wouldn’t have had a chance of prevailing otherwise. But he did give DJ a flashing steel, zero tolerance of disobedience look that would fuel his fantasies later.
“Stay away from him and that bottle until I get her secured,” Roy ordered. Then he held out a hand to the girl. She had a shallow cut on her cheek, probably from the spray of broken glass. If Tal had actually cracked it across her face, it would have been far worse.
Fortunately, she’d proven she didn’t go deer-in-the-headlights when frightened. She scuttled to Roy. He took her out the door.
“Tal.” DJ attempted a casual tone. “You’re buck ass naked.”
Tal’s gaze was glassy, disoriented. “Spiders,” he rasped. “Fucking spiders, man. Crawling all over the walls.”
“No, they’re not. But if they were, they’d be drinking all that expensive Kentucky bourbon you threw on them.”
In the time it would have taken him to thrust the girl into a chair, Roy had returned to the bedroom doorway. Hopefully she hadn’t fled the room and into the arms of the paparazzi clustered outside the hotel.
With a glance at Roy to be sure he wasn’t going to stand in his way, DJ took a step toward Tal. Roy’s expression said he thought DJ was too damn close to that broken bottle, but for now he was letting it be DJ’s rodeo.
Tal shuddered. “Fucking spiders, man.”
“Yeah. Can you put down the bottle, man? I’m worried you’re going to cut yourself.”
Tal looked surprised to see it in his hands. He swayed, laughed. “I’m immortal, man. I’m a rockstar.”
He brought the bottle down, ramming the edges onto his upper thigh.
“Fucking hell.” DJ leaped for him. By the time Tal dropped to the mattress, half cradled in DJ’s arms, Roy had grabbed a towel out of the bathroom to toss to his outstretched hand.
Blood welled around the two-pronged cut.
Not gushing, thank God. He hadn’t hit a major artery.
Roy secured the bottle and made it disappear.
“Ah man. That was a good trip, but the destination always sucks.” Tal tipped his head back and gazed at DJ with a suddenly weary face. “Why’s the trip always better than wherever it ends? Hey, that’s a good line. Write that down. That’s some good shit.”
Tal pulled his leg away from DJ and turned away. “Gimme back my sheets. You always hog them. Remember the first time we were in Atlanta?”
“Yeah, I do.” DJ moved with him, taking the peroxide Roy gave him to treat the wound. Though Tal grumbled, his eyes were already closed, and he allowed it. DJ taped the cuts with a gauze pad from the first aid kit Roy had produced from somewhere.
When he was done, he pulled the sheet and blankets over Tal. He’d sunk his head into the pillow like it was a bowling ball. “Drink some of this, brother.” DJ got a bottle of water to his lips and made him swallow about half of it before Tal pushed him away.
“Sick. Plain water. You’re sick, dude. Go away.”
DJ stood. Aware of Roy’s gaze on him, but really not up to dealing with anything it meant, he picked up the bloody towel and went into the bathroom, dropping it into the tub.
With another glance at Tal to make sure he was comfortable, he carried the first aid kit with him to the living room. Roy followed without comment.
Fortunately, the girl was still there. And it wasn’t her first adventure with musicians on a bad trip.
Now that she was out of harm’s way, she was pretty cool.
The cut on her face was superficial. Having DJ tend to it himself, then offer her a handful of free concert tickets and DJ’s shirt to keep, which Roy had grabbed off a chair and given to her to put on, was more than worth the hassle.
“I’d never do anything to hurt the band, DJ,” she swore to him. “We really, really love you guys.”
A beep from the door lock, and DJ saw G slide into the room.
Both Warren and G were staying in the hotel, and DJ guessed Roy had called G to help handle the girl.
G retrieved her clothes from Tal’s room, reporting he was completely out.
After the girl wriggled back into the micro skirt, thin bra and tank in front of them, she offered to blow both men if they wanted.
She also told G she was decent at eating pussy.
Her initial glance toward Roy said she was being polite, offering even though he wasn’t a band member. A second glance made her a little more enthusiastic about the idea. DJ didn’t blame her.
DJ kindly declined on their behalf, since Roy’s tight jaw and G’s sardonic smile didn’t bode well for their responses.
DJ chatted the girl up, letting her put together a sandwich from the room service cart and take some chocolate-covered strawberries with her.
Then he gave G a nod, and she escorted her out.
The control he’d held onto until she departed snapped.
It also took his common sense with it, because DJ pinned Roy with a don’t-fuck-with-me-right-now look.
“Yeah, I know. You’re not paid to protect a self-destructive asshole.
You could have stepped out and let me deal with it.
Except I’m the client. It’s a rock and a hard place. Poor you.”
Roy’s eyes narrowed. “Are you done?”
He needed to wash the blood and peroxide smell off his hands. DJ moved into his own bathroom to do that. He had no desire to return to Tal’s and see the several empty baggies and alcohol bottles, or inhale the smell of things that couldn’t be ignored.
He braced his hands on the bathroom counter and looked into the mirror. Roy stood in the doorway.
“Tal isn’t going to hurt me.”
“You’re smarter than that. When he’s on that junk, if he thought either of you was the spider, he’d have bashed your heads in or hurt you worse with the bottle.
If you tell him you’ll cut him loose if he doesn’t get help, and you fucking mean it, he’ll do it to hold onto you.
If he doesn’t, you can’t save someone who doesn’t want to be saved. ”
“You ought to make that your company slogan. You’d double your customers overnight.” DJ turned to face him. “I’ve told you how I feel about this.”