Punishing Me (Shaft on Tour #6) (18 page)

“Hey,
uh,” he stutters, looking like he may piss his pants.

Good.

“So,
Aaron?” Body checking him, I cage him in between me and the wall. “You wanna
tell me when, on my goddamn watch, have you ever even laid a fuckin’ hand on my
woman?” I ask, grabbing his cell and tossing it to Hunter.

“Sup,
motherfucker,” Hunter says into the mouthpiece. “Aaron’s gotta call ya back.
Mhm, he’s about to get a Mack size ass whoopin’.” Ending the call, he throws
the phone to the ground without a second thought.

Grabbing
a hand full of blue and white flannel, my other fist connects with Aaron’s jaw.
He groans, trying to fight back, but I throw him into the opposite wall. His
body crumples to the ground like a ragdoll, and I laugh. “Look, Hunter, this bitch
couldn’t even last eight seconds with me; but, apparently, he walked right onto
the bus and started fuckin’ my girl.”

Ball Sack Beat Down

Ireland

“Almost
time to head up to the stage!” Aiden shouts, pounding out a beat on the table
in front of him. “Schedule is not being broken again. Move your asses, people.”

“Oh,
I’m beyond ready to get out there.” Bouncing on the heels of my brand new black
Converses with kick ass silver lightning bolts, I shake out my arms, working
out the kinks in preparation to command the stage.

Seeing
as how we won Scrabble, the girls and I made sure to exercise our shopping
skills the moment we spotted the shoe store around the corner from the hotel. “Sold
out arena, the energy out there is amazing, and nothing that has gone wrong has
kept us down. We got this!”

“Where
the hell is Hunter and Mack?” Cam says, looking at her watch. “I swear, one
more thing goes wrong today and I’m not going to be responsible for the
hormonal explosion that comes out of me.”

To
say Camaron has been a little keyed up since we left the house is an
understatement. She is overly emotional, easily distracted, and so jumpy we
have secretly switched her to decaf coffee. Aiden senses something is up, just
as we all do, but with all the stress on her shoulders of the tour right now, I
think he is trying to figure out how to help her without causing her to totally
meltdown.

“Secret
mission,” Chase says with a knowing smile. Grabbing the door, she flings it open.
“They’re probably on their—”

A
crash has everyone on their feet and barreling for the doorway. “Clueless
motherfucker,” Dominick roars.

Shoving
my way past Chase and Aiden, I freeze when I see Dominick wailing on a bleeding
Aaron while Hunter stands there grinning like he scored front row seats to the
MMA fight of the year. “Careful you don’t kill him,” Hunter says, leaning back
on the wall and crossing his arms over his chest. “Still need the lyin’ bastard
to drive the bus, don’t we?”

Bending
down, Dominick hauls Aaron up by his throat and pins him to the wall. “Right,”
he agrees, punching him in the stomach so hard Aaron makes a little gargling
sound as all the air leaves his body. “Though, I’ll tell ya, he’s gonna wish
I’d killed him.”

“What
the hell is this?” I shout, about ready to throw a few punches myself. “Let him
go!”

“Oh,”
Hunter says, with a huge smile. Pushing off the wall, he starts for me.
Dominick freezes mid-punch, dropping Aaron to the floor. “Hey, Aaron, look!
It’s the cute little bassist that can’t get enough of you,” he says, wrapping
an arm around my shoulders when he reaches me. “What was it you were sayin’?
Somethin’ about strippin’ bark off a tree?”

“The
fuck?” I ask, shoving him off me. “I know you’re not talkin’ about me.”

“Oh,
yeah,” Hunter says, jumping around like he’s riding some invisible horse. “Just
heard him on the phone sayin’ he’s hopin’ to take you for another eight second
ride later.”

Making
my way over to where Aaron lies slumped over in the floor, I wait for him to
say something. Anything. To defend himself, at least, because that’s nothing
like the man I have gotten to know over the last few days. “Aaron?” I ask,
holding out my hands, offering to help him to his feet. “Are you okay?”

Taking
my hands, he manages to get to his feet. His eyes rake slowly up my body,
stopping on the tight black tank top with silver lightning bolt that matches my
new sneakers. His gaze lingers on my breasts a little too long before finally
meeting my eyes. The hairs rise on the back of my neck, warning bells going off
in my head like storm sirens. I take in his beaten face. His jaw is swollen,
darkening with a big bruise already to match the black eye it looks like he
will be sporting.

“Fine,
Darlin’,” he says, wrapping his arms around me, pulling me into a hug. “Don’t
you worry yourself about me.” His hand slides down my back, stopping just at
the top of my ass.

A
growl tears out of Dominick, “Hope you can ride one handed,” he roars from
behind me. “I’m gonna rip it off and feed it to you.”

“You
know, I was thinkin’ more along the lines of a ball sack beat down, Mack,” I
say, my hands sliding up to Aaron’s shoulders. Bringing my knee up, I slam it
into his balls as hard as I can before yanking his head and sending his nose
into it as well. There’s a loud crunch, blood spraying all over my pants leg,
shoes, and the floor. Crossing my arms, I smile down at the man who led us all
to believe he was a sweet country boy now attempting to fumble away from me as
blood oozes through his fingers while he whimpers in pain. “Your eight second
ride,
Darlin’
,” I say, resisting the urge to kick him before he can get
to his feet again. “Isn’t even worth the cost of my Brazilian wax.”

Looking
up, I meet Dominick’s stormy blue eyes, his nostrils flaring with each breath
he takes. Pressing up on my toes, I grip his forearm and kiss his cheek softly.

His
eyes widen, shock registering all over his face. “What’s that for?”

Chase
and Cam make these little sniffly ‘aw’ sounds that make it all too clear they
are on the verge of tears. Aiden and Gray chuckle, while Hunter does some
ridiculous hip thrusting that must be part rain dance, a little touch down
hustle, mixed with some taboo mating ritual shimmy.

 “Because
that was possibly the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me,” I say,
releasing my hold on his forearm. “Now,” I breathe, turning back to the Cam,
Chase, and the guys. “Philly is waiting to be Shafted.”

The
lights shine out into the screaming sea of people, all hyped up on the
adrenaline of the moment as the opening act finishes up their set. I missed
this. The intended calm of days, home in Nashville, did nothing to relax me.
This is what I need. The rush. Music pumping through the speakers while
thousands of people sing along and chant our names.

“Before
we go out there and give Philly a good hard ride,” Hunter says, holding up a
bottle of amber liquid. “I call Shaft tradition.” Turning, he reveals a corner
table filled with shot glasses for everyone. Ripping the cap off, starts
pouring. “No one is exempt. We all toast, we all drink.”

My
eyes go to Camaron and Chase, knowing that this is a problem. Both of them
stand slack jawed and wide eyed, unable to speak. Shit. This is bad. Hunter is
wrong about one thing. One of us won’t be doing their shot tonight, or any drinking
whatsoever for a long time. “Shouldn’t we wait to do this until after the
show?” I ask, hoping to buy some time to come up with a better plan.

Hunter
shakes his head. Grabbing glasses, he begins handing them out. “Please,” he
huffs, shoving one at me. “The tradition has always been everyone. Bottoms up,
bitches. Give it a slap and tickle before you tongue that hole.”

“Seriously?”
Aiden asks, shaking his head. “Do you hear the shit that comes out of your
mouth?”

“Great
shit, isn’t it?” he asks, handing out the last of the shots. “Now,” he says,
holding his up high. “Tonight, there are people missing from stage left who
cast a great shadow. We aren’t whole without them here with us, though they are
here in spirit. Tonight, we rock the shit outta Philly for them!”

My
head spins, as I stare at Camaron and Chase, wondering what the hell we are
supposed to do now.

“Wait!”
Dominick shouts, stepping in the middle of all of us, and blocking my view of
the girls. Reaching in his pocket, he holds up a pregnancy test and my stomach
drops into my toes. “No one drinks until someone claims this.”

Well,
fuck me on a sinking ship. This is not how the secret is supposed to come out.
After the double lines showed up, the three of us girls, with some help from an
emergency bathroom conference call with Daisy, had come up with a plan. A sure
fire way for her to deal with the jitters of what is to come before letting the
cat out of the bag to her man so they can tell everyone else the news.

Instead,
it looks like that evil little cat is coming out of its bag now, whether we
like it or not.

“I’m
sorry, Mack,” Gray says, with a laugh. “You’re great, but I just don’t like
you, like you. You know what I mean?”

Aiden
laughs, “Congratulations, Bro. I’m sure your asshole will swell with pride.”

“It’s
not mine,” Dominick says, shaking it at them.

“Dude,
watch where you shake that fuckin’ thing!” Hunter shouts, stepping back. “Someone
peed on that! That’s a bodily fluid limit I will not cross.”

“One
of the girls dropped this the other night at the diner,” Dominick says,
narrowing his eyes at the guys. “Shaft tradition is going to be exempt one baby
momma while the rest of the bottle goes to poppa.”

The
guys look between the three of us. Mixed emotions on all their faces as they
scrutinize each one of us possible baby bakers. Men. Always trying to figure
shit out on their own, when it’s just easier to ask the questions everyone
wants to know the answers to.

“Oh
for fuck’s sake!” I shout, rolling my eyes. “Say it already, or I will.”

“It’s
mine.”

“Tiger
Lily?” Hunter asks, the color draining from his face. “You’re pregnant?”

Eight
sets of eyes all land on Chase. Her eyes filling with tears as she wraps her
hands around her middle. “I’ve been carrying that thing around in my bag, even
after the doctor confirmed it the day after Kara was born. Doesn’t seem real
that there is this tiny life growing away inside me. This piece of both of us.”
Her eyes go to Hunter, tears streaming down her face. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell
you, Baby. I was so shocked, then with everything going on, I just couldn’t
find the words.”

“Are
you fucking kidding me right now?” Hunter shouts, downing his shot and throwing
the empty glass to the table. Yanking the glass from her hand, he repeats the
process. “Fuck me. Holy shit. Just fucking fuck me.” Shaking his head, he heads
out on stage just as Rose and her band, Fried Society, finish their set and disappear
through the curtains on the other side.

Hunter
paces in front of the microphone stand, yanking his hands through his hair as
if trying to pull the strands from his head. Chase sits on one of the stools,
sobbing into her hands while Camaron tries to console her, only to end up crying
right along with her.

“Hello
you fabulous motherfuckers of Philly!” Hunter screams into the mic, yanking it
from the stand. He takes a deep breath and shakes his head. “I’ve had a fuckin’
night. Let me tell you, some crazy fucked up shit.”

Aiden
presses a kiss to Cam’s cheek, his fingers lingering over her jaw. She smiles
sadly, but neither of them say anything before he turns and runs out to climb
behind his kit. I down my shot, honestly wanting another, but toss the glass to
the table instead. Grayson and I grab our guitars from their stands, and follow
suit, but Chase stays put. Instead of taking my usual spot closer to Hunter, I
keep my distance. It is for his safety. After his horrible outburst, and the
way he just stormed off, I want to rip his head off and shove it up his ass.

“Have
you ever had a moment where the rug was yanked out from under you?” Hunter
asks, stepping closer to the edge of the stage. “You know what I mean, Philly?
One of those times when your heart stops and you can’t breathe.” The crowd
screams, women in the front rows, all throwing up their hands, hoping he will
pay attention to them. “Well, the woman who owns me, heart, cock, and soul, has
blown me away. When I think she can’t surprise me, or make me fuckin’ love her
any more than I already do, she goes and does something like tell me she’s havin’
my baby.”

The
crowd explodes into screams and cheers of celebration. Hunter smiles, his
entire face beaming with happiness and excitement. Looking over toward stage
left, he arches his brow. “What the fuck are you sittin’ there cryin’ about?
Get your ass out here, woman, and kiss your baby daddy!”

Pushing
off the stool, Chase makes her way out. Aiden slams on the pedal of his bass
drum, keeping in time with every step she makes across the stage. I come in on
bass guitar, strumming in time with him while Gray makes his Fender speak a
language all its own. Tucking the mic in the back pocket of his jeans, Hunter
charges for Chase, unable to wait. Swooping her up into a hug, he takes her
mouth with his in a scorching celebratory kiss.

My
eyes drift offstage, landing on Camaron as she says something to the guys. Mike
nods before following her down the ramp.

With
one secret now out of the bag, next thing is to figure out what’s eating Cam.