Fractured Beat (Meltdown Book 1) (19 page)

On the ride over to the bus Hank mentioned us hooking up with an Army buddy of his who owned a bar in Charlotte. I remembered him asking a few months back for VIP tickets. He said his buddy was willing to close down his bar to all but a few of his close friends and our entire entourage if Meltdown would agree to sing a few songs. We all agreed that it sounded like fun. We then discussed what happened with Chelle and made a unanimous decision to pull her from the VIP list for the remainder of the tour. Luke thought it was harsh, but only because he wanted to keep boning her. I made a mental note to speak to Glenn about it. I wasn’t sure how much he knew about Mallory but the last thing we needed was him sharing any of our business with his sister-in-law.

While we were unloading the SUV Blane pulled up next to us in a candy apple red Porsche. When I saw Mallory sitting beside him I fought back a growl of anger. I’d stopped by her room to see if she wanted a ride to the bus and when she didn’t answer I’d assumed she’d left with security, not with Blane.
What was the deal with those two?
As I watched him exit the car and walk around to open Mallory’s door I decided I’d had just about enough. There was no doubt about it, the joke was on me. I was the one with the supposed drug problem. I was the one having to give up my life for the next five months to good behavior and fake drug counseling. Mallory Scott was hired for me, not for Blane’s entertainment. It looked as if Blane needed some clarification on the matter and I was just the man to give it to him.

Blane placed his hand on the small of Mallory’s back as he led her over to the bus and I tried not to lose my cool. I knew it shouldn’t bother me this much, but the truth was it did. It bothered the hell out of me. From the second she’d walked through the door with her cropped pants and ugly bun I’d noticed every move Mallory Scott made. Blane leaned down and said something in her ear and I saw red. The desire to pummel his pansy ass to a bloody, red pulp climbed to an overwhelming urge.

Not able to stand it any longer, I shouted, “Blane!” His head shot up and he cast a questioning look my way. I waved him over. He scowled and I returned it with a death stare. When he realized I meant business he let out a huff and muttered something under his breath. Mallory watched from the bus doors as he made his way over to me.

“Is there a problem?” he asked in his holier than thou tone. I was one second away from showing him just how big of a problem there was.

“New development,” I announced, once he reached me. “Mallory is no longer your puppet. She will ride with the band, eat with the band and hang out with the band at all times from here on out.”

“That’s ridiculous,” he chuffed.

“You hired her to rehabilitate me, did you not? You insisted I had to have more therapy for my big, bad drug addiction, did you not? You forced this on me even though you and your father both knew it was bullshit. Did. You. Not? Yet, every time I see you, you are so far up her ass it isn’t even funny. No more. Do I make myself clear?”

“That’s ludicrous!” he hissed.

“No, what’s ridiculous and ludicrous and all the other words you choose to use for fucking stupid, is this head game you and your father are playing. If you think I don’t know you’re the one who tipped the guys to search my room for drugs that night, think again.”

Shock appeared on his face. “W-w-what are you talking about?” he sputtered. “If Chaz hadn’t mentioned your marijuana stash, I would never have even thought to search your room.”

“What did you say?” I quietly asked. Surely I’d misunderstood him. It was one thing to throw me under the bus, but my boys? Fuck that. “Let me tell you what I think. I think my little trip to rehab was a set up. I haven’t figured out why yet, but I will. If I find out that either you or your father had anything to do with it, I swear I will take you down. Do I make myself clear?”

“Grant, I swear I had nothing to do with any of this,” he stammered. His look of panic gave me great satisfaction.

“Are you willing to say the same about your father?” His silence told me everything I needed to know. Even the man’s son couldn’t vouch for him. “One more thing, if you hear whispers about Mallory being my girlfriend, just roll with it. If she gets any, and I’m talking one sentence of negative press, I’m blaming you.” Without another word, I started for the bus.

“For the record, I’m sorry for everything. I never wanted things to be this way,” he called out.

In three strides I was back in his face. “If you’re truly sorry then do something right for a change and figure out who the hell drugged me that night. Oh, and while you’re at it, find out who stole Mallory’s phone and sent those pictures to your dad, because you and I both know it wasn’t her. In the meantime, get the name of Hank’s friend’s bar in Charlotte and make sure no one catches wind that we’re partying there tonight, including your fucking father.” With a nod of my head I walked away and left him standing there.

“Grant!” he called after me.

Ignoring him I got on the bus and plopped down on the bench next to Nash. I stared at Mallory who was busy leafing through some papers and wondered if she was feeling the same thing I was. After this morning I found it hard to believe she wasn’t.

“What was that about?” Nash asked.

“That was me taking back control.” I glanced over at Chaz as the bus pulled out of the parking lot and thought about what Blane had said. Someone was lying. Before last night I would bet my life it was Blane but now I wasn’t so sure.

Chaz looked up from his video game and caught me staring at him. “What?” he asked with a scowl on his face.

“Blane said you were the reason he thought to search my room that night. He said you told him I had a stash of marijuana just sitting in my hotel room.”

A look of shock appeared on his face, or was it fear? Whatever it was I wasn’t sure I trusted it. “What? No! Did he tell you that? If so, that’s whacked. We all were there that night and we all followed Blane to your hotel room. Trust me, none of us knew what we were going to find, just ask them,” he nodded at Luke and Nash.

Luke nodded his head in agreement. “You have to admit, Blane has been acting strange lately.”

A bottle of ice cold water dangled in front of my face for a second before landing on the table in front of me. I looked up at Mallory’s smiling face. “You look like you could use this,” she said, and then wedged her cute little ass between Luke and me. I gave her a nod of thanks before I opened the water and drank half of it down. Then I confessed what Blane told me about losing the label to Kirkland. For the longest time no one said a word.

“So Kirkland now owns the label?” Luke finally asked.

I nodded my head, yes.

“I don’t like Kirkland,” he responded.

“None of us do,” Nash interjected.

“How much will it take to buy us out of our contract?” Luke asked.

“More than we have,” Chaz answered.

Luke frowned. “How much longer do we have left?”

“Two more years.” I told him. Luke scowled and Nash let out a hiss of anger. I decided it was time to tell them the rest of the story. After explaining about the pictures on Mallory’s phone, which she kindly provided for the group, I told them what I suspected. “I think Kirkland is behind all of this. When he took over the label from Blane he thought that all he had to do was save Blane from getting his arms and legs chopped off and run a music company. How hard could it be? There was just one problem, Blane didn’t control us. We controlled Blane, which in turn meant we controlled Happenstance. When you think about it, it makes sense. We brought in the bands on the label, not Blane. We all know Kirkland is more of a dictator than a team player. The easiest solution would have been to either sell or dissolve the label, but once he discovered how much money we were bringing in he knew he’d be a fool to walk away. However, he needed to gain back control and his only ally happened to be his degenerate son. What do you do when you suddenly become the owner of an extremely lucrative label with a headlining band that not only hates your fucking guts, but is running your show?”

“You find a way to regain control,” Mallory answered.

“You discredit them” Luke said.

“And then you ride in and save the day,” Nash added.

“Exactly.”

“You really think Kirkland drugged you?” Chaz asked.

“Think about it, Kirkland drugs me, and while I’m on stage losing my shit, he plants incriminating evidence in my hotel room. Once I’m down for the count his son, who just so conveniently has the three of you with him, leads you straight to the evidence. Boom!” I slammed my fist on the table and everyone jumped. “Immediate fracture in the band. Grant Hardy isn’t looking so good anymore, is he? Kirkland wants control back. If he makes Grant look bad he makes himself look better, especially if he’s the one who swoops in and saves the day.”

“So he splits us up and sends you to rehab,” Nash filled in.

“And not just any rehab, either. He sent you to the rehab where he holds a seat on the board and can control what happens,” Luke said, in a conspiratorial voice.

“All to gain leverage over you,” Mallory added.

“It makes sense,” Chaz agreed.

Luke let out a long dramatic sigh. “Well, whether he did or didn’t drug you is irrelevant because he’s now got us where he wants us.”

“Not necessarily. If we find proof that Kirkland drugged me and sent me to rehab under false pretenses then we have our way out.”

“Fuck Kirkland. We should put our money together and buy out the label,” Nash suggested. “Think about it, between the four of us we could take Happenstance all the way to the top. The other bands already defer to us. We’ve said it ourselves a million times, there’s nothing more trustworthy than a musical label run by musicians.”

“I was going to suggest shopping for another label but I think you might be on to something.” I turned to Luke and Chaz and asked, “What do you guys think?”

“I think we better get our asses to work and prove Kirkland was the one to set you up,” Luke said with a big smile on his face. Chaz didn’t look as convinced as the others but eventually we’d get him on board.

“I might be able to help you,” Mallory said. I knew several ways she could help me, preferably by using her lips and tongue.

“Oh yeah? How’s that?” I asked.

“First we need proof that you have an allergy to Oxycodone. I tried unsuccessfully to get your records from the rehab facility. Something isn’t right there. They’re stonewalling me every step of the way, which makes me think you are definitely onto something. Other than a few notes from a therapist, there was virtually no evidence suggesting an addiction of any kind.”

“Did you call them?”
Please say no.

“I put in a call asking for the missing pieces of your file, which would hopefully include your medical records and proof that you were telling the truth about your allergy to Oxy. Yolanda, who seems to love you by the way, couldn’t find your file. Later that day I received a call back from your therapist, Nancy. She was less than forthcoming.”

This was bad, as in really bad. The last person I wanted Mallory talking to was Nancy. Fuck, why couldn’t I keep my dick in my pants for once? “Uh, what did Nancy say?”

“She said she had to talk to Dr. Whitfield and would call me back, which we all know won’t happen.”

Letting out a sigh of relief I told her I’d call my mom and get her on the records today.

“That would be great.” She turned to the guys and asked, “Do any of you happen to know where that bottle of Oxy is?” They all three shook their heads.

“I bet Blane knows,” Luke interjected.

Before anyone else could get their hands on it, Hank confiscated the evidence the night of the incident. As far as I knew Hank and I were the only two that knew this. Mallory looked disappointed and I asked her why she wanted it.

“I’m pretty sure I can trace the pills back to the doctor who wrote the script.”

“I’m not sure that’s possible,” Luke told her.

“I’m pretty sure it is,” she responded.

Not wanting to get Hank in trouble, I said, “I’ll check into it for you.”

“That would be perfect,” she smiled.
No, you’re perfect
, I thought, and she was. Mallory Scott was absolutely perfect. Once we settled on a plan of action, Mallory turned to the guys and asked, “Now, who wants to have another sing off?” Everyone laughed and, like that, the tension was diffused.

For the next hour or so we talked shop. Then we took a break and had lunch. I tried to focus on the task at hand and not the woman sitting next to me or how badly my cock ached when she was near, but she smelled like honey and every time she spoke, all I could think about were how soft her lips tasted and how perfect her hand felt in mine. The more I was around her the more I genuinely liked her as a person. She was funny and sweet but she had spunk and backbone. Mallory Scott was quickly becoming a distraction I didn’t need but wanted. God, how I wanted her.

By the time we hit Charlotte I was in a world of hurt. Hank and Marcel came to pick us up and I waited until Mallory was safely inside Marcel’s truck before walking over and climbing in behind Hank. Nash climbed in beside me and away we went. I know it was a dick thing to do but it was either I drop trou and lay waste to my desperately hard cock right then and there or get away from the cause of my dilemma. Given the situation, I felt the latter was the best choice. The entire way to the hotel Hank blathered on about his friends and our after show plans. To be honest, I only listened to about a fourth of what he said.

As we pulled in front of the hotel, Hank held up his hand for us to wait. “Incoming,” he announced into his mic. After a few seconds, he turned to us and said, “Sean’s ready and waiting inside the door with your room keys. The lobby is clear for the moment.” Nash and I jumped out of the car and rushed through the doors. “Sorry boys, no suites available but the entire sixteenth floor is at your disposal,” Sean announced. I held out my hand. “Room 1607,” he said, as he slapped the key in my hand. I thanked him and bolted toward a waiting Sampson and the elevator. On my way up to my room, I texted Sean and told him to make sure to put Mallory in the adjoining room next to mine.