Chapter Seventeen
LUNAR
Techie escorted me and helped bring my belongings to Danger’s hotel. And now, as we walk toward Danger’s room, a calmness washes over me. Despite my expectations to feel panic about leaving the clubhouse, my only home for years, I’m surprisingly relaxed.
I needed this, and I know Techie can sense that.
“You look happy,” he says as we reach Danger’s door.
Glancing up at one of my only biker friends at the clubhouse, I genuinely smile at him. “I think I am.”
He nods and knocks twice. I straighten up, taking a deep breath as Danger opens the door.
Light spills from behind him, framing him in a halo-like glow, foreshadowing that he is my destiny, my guiding light.
This is precisely where I’m meant to be.
My heart races as he steps forward, his striking features coming into clear view.
A smile spreads across my face, mirroring the devotion in his eyes.
He reaches out and gently takes my hand in his.
I gasp slightly as his fingers touch mine when a spark slams straight into my chest. His eyes lock with mine, his brow furrowing as if he felt it too and is trying to figure out what it means.
A slow smile crosses his face as he slowly turns to Techie.
“Thanks for bringing her over.” Danger’s voice is deep, husky.
He is affected. “And thank you for helping Lunar leave the club. It means a lot.” He reaches over, taking my luggage from Techie’s hands.
Techie nods and wraps his arm around my waist. “It’s gonna be quieter without her there, but man, you gotta promise to take care of her,” he demands, and I roll my eyes, letting out a small laugh.
Danger glances back at me, our eyes meeting again. “I will,” he replies, and I can’t help but bite down on my bottom lip, holding back my smile. He turns back to Techie. “Thanks for everything, man. We couldn’t have started this journey without you.”
Techie shrugs. “My pleasure. I’m gonna keep working with Luke from the back seat and keep shit happening promotion-wise.”
I lean in, kissing Techie on the cheek. “Thank you… for everything.”
He kisses my forehead. “Have a good time. You’re free to be whoever you want now. So go, live your life, Annalise,” Techie says, letting go of me. He gives Danger a curt nod, something passing between them, then turns, walking down the hall.
“Finally, you gained the courage to leave.” Danger gestures for me to walk inside.
“It was hard and not without its problems, but I couldn’t have done it without you,” I say honestly, stopping in the middle of the bedroom and spinning around.
He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me to him.
One hand slides up to my face, and he gently runs a hand over the mark Mad Dog left.
“I can gather what happened. But if one of those assholes touches you again, I will not be held responsible for my actions…” His chest heaves with obvious anger, but he shakes his head and then weakly smiles.
“Shower?” he asks, changing the subject, a level of understanding in his tone.
I respect him more for leaving it be.
Honestly, I don’t know how I am so fucking lucky.
So I take his hand and lead him toward the bathroom.
One Week Later
We fly to Melbourne this morning to start preparations for Recoil’s first official Australian tour.
The guys have a press conference this afternoon, but their concerts don’t start for a while, as they’ve been rehearsing with the opening band for a few weeks, and no one knows who they are yet.
Luke has organized everything.
They’re an up-and-coming sensation, apparently, and Luke said that because Recoil is new in this country, they have to take who they can get. They can’t afford to be picky. So Luke and Recoil didn’t go through the normal selection process.
We touch down at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport and file off the plane. Heading through the arrival lounge, a small, and I mean small—about seven teenage girls—descend upon Recoil.
I drop Danger’s hand and let him do his thing with the other guys. Danger and Ryan chuckle when they shake their heads at the girls.
“This is nothing like we had in the past,” Ryan murmurs before they race off and start signing autographs and taking photographs with their incredibly limited adoring fans. I stand back, watching in slight awe of how Danger works the crowd.
They love him.
Adore him.
He has a way with people.
Of making them feel special.
Somehow, even though there’s only a small number of fans, he knows Recoil is going to be huge. There’s an arrogance about him, but that doesn’t take away from the persona he exudes. In fact, I think it’s part of the appeal.
Everyone loves the bad boys, right?
I’m sure this little ensemble of fans is nothing compared to what awaits him.
As I stand back, I see it—the sold-out stadiums and mass of screaming fans.
Danger was born for this, and I am so glad I’m part of it and here to witness his rise.
Luke steps up to me and tilts his head in observation. “How does this all make you feel, Lunar?”
“This? This is great. I love how the teenagers adore him. It’s great they appreciate Recoil’s music.”
Luke narrows his eyes. “What if the girls were in their twenties and throwing themselves at him?”
My eyebrows scrunch together, and I turn to face him. “But… they’re not?”
“No, but this is only the tip of the iceberg, Lunar. Once their fan base grows, the fans get older, and they become more like groupies. The vibe changes. How will you handle that?”
I turn my head from side to side, cracking my neck, and exhale. “Well, that’s all part of it, isn’t it? But in the end, I know he’s going back to the hotel room with me.”
A smile spreads across Luke’s face, and he grips my shoulder. “Good girl. Just remember this conversation.” He walks off, grabs Danger, and raises his hand, stopping another photograph.
“Sorry, ladies, but I need to get these guys moving. We have concerts to prepare for.”
They all groan in disappointment, but Danger chuckles. “Will we be seeing you at the concerts?” They all cheer. “I’ll keep an eye out for y’all!”
They scream, jumping around in excitement while Luke tries to drag Danger away.
I smirk when Nate glances over at me, a slight frown crossing over his face.
He glances from me to the screaming girls who are fawning all over Danger.
Nate knows that the attention on Danger is equal parts thrilling and terrifying for me, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to show it to anyone.
Especially not Nate.
He dodges the girls and smiles wide when he approaches. I’m not sure what his game is right now as Danger watches on, but he is slightly distracted by Luke talking to him.
Nate steps up beside me, an air of arrogance about him. “It’s cool when fans greet us, hey?”
I shrug. “I wouldn’t say this was a massive reception, Nate.”
“True. We’ve had much bigger in the past. And as the tour starts, our popularity will grow even more. Just know that I’m here if it gets hectic and Danger isn’t around, but you need someone to lean on. I’m a good listener.”
Furrowing my brows, I angle my head slightly. “Um… okay, thanks?” I say more like a question than a statement.
He smiles, dipping his chin before returning to Ryan, who gestures for me to follow them.
The band struts through Melbourne Airport without the little fangirls following.
And as I walk behind them, Nate’s words replay, and I can’t help but think, fuck him.
Maybe he was offering an olive branch, but somehow, I doubt it.
If he thinks he can intimidate me, he’d better think again.
***
We arrive at the hotel in Melbourne, and Luke tells us the opening band for the tour is also staying here, and that we’re going to meet them before the press conference starts.
The guys are excited about who they will be jamming with on tour, but Luke isn’t giving any information about the other band.
“Can you at least tell us the band’s name, Luke?” Danger asks while we walk to the conference room.
He smirks and takes a deep breath. “Luminous.”
Danger curls his lip and furrows his brows. “Luminous? That’s a strange name for a bunch of rock and roll guys?”
Luke swallows hard and nods before he opens the door to the conference room, and we step in. The room is small, and standing inside are mainly women, along with a couple of people dressed like camera operators, runners, or reporters.
Five women, wearing an interesting choice of clothing and lightning painted on their faces, are the obvious strangeness in the room. Instantly, I gaze over at Luke, who stares at me. I pull my lips in by my teeth and try to hide my laugh.
The guys are not going to like this.
“Okay, so where is this band? I see their groupies are here, but if they can’t be here on time, we need to set some ground rules before the tour kicks off,” Danger calls out.
The shortest of the women, with her long, flowing, straight blonde hair and tiny frame, steps forward.
She doesn’t even reach his shoulders, she’s so small, but what she lacks in height, she makes up for in sass.
The glare in her eyes as she stares Danger down causes him to furrow his brows and take a slight step backward. The scene makes me giggle softly.
She shoves her finger into his chest, pointing it hard.
“First of all, we’ve been here for over fifteen minutes waiting for you to arrive.
So you’re the late ones. And… we’re not the groupies, you cocky, arrogant son of a bitch.
We’re Luminous.” Her hands fly up when she says the last word, and she waggles her fingers around like she’s a fairy or something.
Danger slowly shakes his head.
Ryan smirks. “Fuck yes!”
“Fuck no… a bitch band?” Danger snaps, glaring at Luke, and he shrugs.
“We are not a damn bitch band. We’re rockers, and I’ll have you know we rock harder than any rock you can rock… you cock.” The blonde girl struggles with her comeback while the other girls all fist-pump the air and praise her for her not-so-witty comeback.
“Seriously, Luke? You think the fans will take our shows as a legitimate rock and roll extravaganza with Luminous and… what’s your name?” He looks at the blonde.
“Effervescent.” Her hands do the spirit finger thing again, and my hand shifts to my mouth to cover my laugh.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me? Luke!” Danger groans, glaring at Luke while Effervescent and her girls smile and sway from side to side like they might very well be high.
“Okay, so yes, the opening band is a girl group. But they’re not a pop band. They’re a rock group, Danger, and they’re good, real fucking good,” Luke defends.
Effervescent nods with a satisfied smile.
“Good? They’re good?” His words are spoken with incredulity. “She looks like a fucking pixie, Luke. And don’t get me started on the freaking lightning on their faces. What are they? In the seventies? Are they Kiss wannabes?”
“Hey, we’re right here, like in your presence.
I can read your aura, and it’s very dark right now.
It’s not pleasing to my senses.” Effervescent waves her hands in front of Danger’s face while closing her eyes like she’s trying to feel his energy or something.
He scoffs, standing back from her, and walks over to me.
She continues waving her hands through the air as if Danger is still in front of her.
“I sense you’re no longer in front of me,” she calls out.
The guys all laugh when she opens her eyes and smiles. “Wow! I’m getting this aura reading down pat.”
“Good work, Effa,” one of the other girls encourages her.
“Yes, good work reading his absence,” another affirms.
I look at Danger, who shakes his head and grunts.
Luke approaches the girls. “Hi, ladies,” he greets, enveloping them in his arms. He introduces the group to Recoil, “Meet Casey, Andrea, Alana, and Kristy, and of course, you have met Effa.” They all fawn over him briefly before wandering off in another direction, before we can say anything, seemingly having the attention span of a gnat.
Luke shrugs. “You said get who I could get, so I did. I’ve been working with them as well as you guys, and trust me, they have the talent. They may seem, well, odd, but their music is sound, Danger.”
“Odd? Odd, Luke? She’s talking about auras and waving her fingers through the air like a goddamn idiot from a children’s movie.
She’s crazy or high. And, no offense, we don’t particularly want drugs on tour.
I know that’s not very rock and roll, but drugs aren’t our style.
And those girls are definitely smoking the wacky weed. ”
“Okay, I’ll tell them, no drugs. But this is happening, Danger.
Like it or not, those girls will pull in a bigger crowd.
Trust me, I know what I’m doing. Not only will you have the girls who will throw themselves at you, but you’ll have the girls who are all about women’s empowerment.
And if you’re seen as encouraging female equality, it will only be a good thing for Recoil, Danger.
Accept it and embrace it because these girls are going on tour with you around Australia.
And they’re doing the conference with you right now. ”
“Luke, I’m all for gender equality and shit, you know that. But fucking hell, hippies? Really?”
I grab his hand and turn him to face me. “Danger, this is a good thing. The publicity the girls will bring in can only be favorable. Having an all-boys and all-girls band together on tour will bring a lot of hype. Just take a breath and think of the band,” I tell him.
He puffs out air through his mouth and runs his fingers through his slicked-back hair. “Fuck!”