31. Epilogue
A fter a rough start, Winter’s Wrath’s second tour with XVI Hours had been a success. In the large office on the top floor of one of the tallest skyscrapers in Detroit, Brave read over the reviews Reese had selected for him to look at. He’d come straight from a fancy dinner with Shiori’s grandparents, so he was dressed in a nice designer suit, which got a brow raise from Reese when she first saw him.
Thankfully, she hadn’t commented, but he was still uncomfortable as fuck and ready to get this meeting over with. He knew they hadn’t sat down together to discuss future plans for the band, or upcoming tours in while, but those meetings were usually held at the recording studio with the entire band.
Why the change?
A soft knock at the door brought Reese to her feet. She gave Brave a tight smile. “I wanted to start things off with something pleasant. You’ve been doing very well, Brave. I’m impressed. But we need to discuss the issues the band’s been facing.” She looked over at the door, calling out, “come in, Oakley.”
The door opened and the young tour manager for XVI Hours came in. Wearing his usual outfit of a slim fitted waistcoat—this one black velvet—over a mauve shirt, with grey slacks, Oakley had this polished, but slightly eccentric thing going for him. Brave hadn’t seen him since the tour ended two weeks ago. The man still looked a bit worn out, like he’d been working a lot, but less sleep-deprived.
Standing, Brave reached out to shake Oakley’s hand and gave him a one-armed hug. “It’s good to see you. Vanessa keeping you busy?”
Oakley nodded distractedly, his expression grim. “Yeah, but… There’s something we need to discuss, Brave. You’ll want to sit down for this.”
That did not sound promising. Brave returned to his seat, turning it as Oakley took the other one in front of Reese’s desk.
“As you know, I’ve continued searching for that forum because as long as it’s out there, there’s a risk to both bands. We already know whoever’s running it has an agenda and is very good at tracking all of you.” Oakley sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I found it.”
“That’s good, right?”
“Let him finish, Brave.” Reese’s tone was hard and her jaw tensed when he glanced over at her. “I’m sorry to have cut your break short with this meeting and that I couldn’t tell you more over the phone, but I figured you’d want all the details before you decide whether or not to discuss this with the rest of the band.”
A sick feeling twisted in Brave’s guts as he nodded, giving Oakley his full attention, hands growing sweaty as he fisted them on his thighs. Everything had been going so well, he’d almost forgotten about that fucking forum.
Seemed like that had been a mistake.
“The man running the forum has gotten better at blocking access, and detecting any unusual activity, so I wasn’t able to get as many details as I was last time before he shut me out. He didn’t bother moving the forum this time. Instead he sent a virus to my laptop and all the names, phone numbers, pictures of everyone I’m close to started popping up. It was a warning.” Oakley swallowed hard and looked over at his aunt, continuing when Reese gave him an encouraging nod. “The people who were stalking the women didn’t start off with the intention of going as far as they did. They’d been enjoying the explicit material the man had been sharing for months. Which includes videos and pictures of you, Malakai, Tate…”
This was something Oakley hadn’t shared before. Brave didn’t really care if he had some raunchy sex tapes out there. He was less pleased about Malakai having any, his man would be furious.
Tate though…if he didn’t know already, they had to keep this from him. There was only one person who would’ve filmed Tate and that fucker was dead. The damage he’d done to the drummer already had lasting implications, Balthazar had referred Tate to a phycologist once they returned to Detroit, deciding his counselling wouldn’t be enough.
It had been a good start though. Tate was doing so much better.
But facing more consequences from his time with Ray would ruin all his progress.
“Is that why you didn’t want the rest of the band here?” Brave braced his hands on his knees, grateful that Oakley had given him a moment to absorb all the information. “If the guy who runs the forum is still a threat, we’ll keep security tight when we go to the studio and interviews. We should have Skull and Balthazar here to work out the details.”
“We will, but that’s not why I wanted to talk to you, Brave.”
“Then what is it?” Brave pushed out of his chair, too fucking agitated to sit still any longer. He paced along the length of the office, tugging the leather tie from his hair and letting the long part on top loose. “That bastard wants to mess with the bands and we can’t let him. It’s that fucking simple. He doesn’t get that kind of power.”
Oakley stood, blocking Brave’s path and putting his hand on his shoulder. “That’s the thing, Brave. He’s not after the bands. He’s targeting specific people. I found a new thread where he’s stirring up hatred against Dariel. We’re going to need him to keep an eye out because this could get ugly fast. But there’s a specific reason Beats09 is doing this.”
Inhaling slowly, Brave nodded. He hadn’t wanted to face it, hadn’t wanted to believe so many people he cared about had been hurt because of him, but he couldn’t do anything to protect them until he did.
“He’s after me.”
“Yes.” Oakley squeezed Brave’s shoulder. “The one reoccurring theme in all the threads isn’t just that these people love the band. Many are obsessed with you. The confession from the stalkers revealed that they thought the women were a bad choice for the bands and would destroy your career. They thought scaring them away would help you.”
“And what about Alder? Or Tate? You said you thought everything that’s happened was connected to that forum. To Beats09.”
“Yes. But he’s not trying to help you, Brave. His obsession is different. He’s careful about how much he reveals in the forum, but he goads a lot of the most dangerous people. When the stalkers weren’t getting the results they wanted from the notes and disturbing ‘gifts’ they were leaving, they asked him for ideas and he joked about how it would be ‘a shame’ if something happened to Shiori.” Oakley’s expression hardened. “Her name hadn’t been mentioned, the stalkers knew getting to Annette was easier. But he wanted their focus on your girlfriend.”
He needed to get home. Talk to Shiori’s grandparents. They had the money to get her personal bodyguards who would be with her wherever she went. Whenever he couldn’t be with her—which he planned to be a lot .
Unless…would that put her more at risk?
Fuck, we need to find that guy.
“What about Dariel? Why in the world would he be a target?”
Oakley’s brow furrowed. “From what I gather Beats09 is riling up the fans who don’t like how your sound has changed, but he posted a few interviews you did about finding Dariel. You joked about how the rest of the band wasn’t sure about him, and he wasn’t sure about you, but you had to have him. There’s a lot of speculation in the music community about how close you two are.”
“We’re friends. That’s it.” Brave let out a bitter laugh and shook his head. “But I guess that’s all it takes, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Oakley sighed. “I’m not telling you this to make you angry and I don’t want you to distance yourself from everyone. But you need to keep your guard up. I have no idea what his next move will be, but I won’t stop until I expose that son-of-a-bitch. That much I can promise you.”
“No.”
Blinking at him, Oakley drew back. “What?”
“You said he hacked into your computer and has personal details of your loved ones. Oakley, I’m not letting you put yourself and your family at risk. If you haven’t been able to find out who he is by this point, I don’t think you ever will.” Brave held Oakley’s gaze until the other man’s shoulders bowed, hating the defeated look in his eyes, but knowing this was the only way he could get the tour manager to let this go. “Thank you for telling me. Do what you can for XVI Hours. If you don’t think touring with us again is safe, I understand.”
“They won’t.”
“Then make them.” Brave turned to Reese. “If there’s nothing else, I’m taking off. That fucker isn’t ruining my vacation with Malakai and Shiori. But keep in touch if anything else comes up.”
Reese stood and slammed her fist on her desk. “Damn it, Brave, did you hear a single word Oakley said? The man who is after you will not stop. He’s eventually going to stop playing games and come after you directly.”
The frustration and fear in Reese’s voice pissed Brave off even more. Not at her, but at the asshole working so hard to destroy everything good in his life. If all the damage he’d done already hadn’t been enough to satisfy him, Reese was probably right. But that could work in their favor.
To get to Brave, the man would have to come out of hiding. Face him head-on.
“Then let him.”
***
The End