Snared (Jaded Regret #1) (8 page)

Bex’s mouth dropped open. I usually only called her or Natalie on their shit.

Tanner grinned. “Ahhh, now I get it.”

“Get what?”

Tanner looked over at Bex. “Do you hear what I hear?”

She shrugged, evidently trying to downplay whatever was happening with me right now.

He was fucking pissing me off. My head started to spin, my thoughts rapidly taking over. Natalie appeared next to me. “Beau,” she whispered. “Let it the hell go. Why do you care what he does?” Lines formed in her forehead as she watched me with pain etched in her expression. Like it or not, Natalie had a thing for Tanner, and his escapades hurt her. Me bringing it up didn’t help her at all.

“You want her, don’t you?” Tanner continued. “I’ll be damned. I’ve never seen you want a girl, despite how much some of them have thrown themselves at you.”

“Shut
up
, Tanner,” Natalie spat.

“You do, don’t you? Do you want that sweet piece of ass? Her friend was a
freak
, man. I usually have a rule against going back for more, but I’d do that hottie again in a nanosecond.”

He was pushing my buttons, and he knew it. The problem was, he didn’t understand the repercussions to the buttons he pushed. I stood, and the chair I’d been sitting sitting in fell back and hit the ground. The second Bex saw me, she also stood and got in my face.

“Sit the hell down,” she said, her voice soft so only I could hear. Natalie appeared on the other side of her. “Do not let him do this to you. Why is what he’s saying getting to you now?”

Bex’s eyes left mine for just long enough to read something in Natalie’s face. When she turned her eyes back to me, softness covered her features. “I love you, Beau. Breathe.”

Silence overtook the room as Johnny and Tanner watched the two girls try to talk me down.

“Let’s get out of here and get this the fuck over with.” I ignored the entire situation and they followed behind me, all of us silent until we reached our destination.

April

I WATCHED BEAU
from across the room. He was . . . smiling. His straight white teeth gleamed against the dark stubble of his beard. I’d only seen small glimpses of his smile over the past two days. He stood between his sister and Bex, and whatever they said to him made him appear euphoric.

I wanted to make him smile like that. The hundreds of people who’d come to the meet and greet were in different stages of stalking Jaded Regret. Some of them had been loud and wild, screaming and exuberant to meet the famous rockers. The band had handled it in stride, their security only having to be somewhat forceful with one girl who’d hung all over Johnny, despite his wife standing right next to him. Bex had been unusually calm. I’d expected her to punch the woman, but she’d only smirked as the woman screamed about wanting his babies. I guess she had nothing to worry about since Johnny hardly stopped touching her every time they were next to each other.

Some fans seemed too intimidated to go right up to them, content with just watching them from afar and taking in the greatness of their presence. I pretended to be one of them, but it was only so I could study Beau. I had no idea what made the man tick. He wasn’t like anyone I’d ever met before. I noticed he hadn’t strayed far from his sister and Bex during the entire time. When Bex and Johnny had gotten up and made a short speech to the crowd, he’d stayed next to them without saying a word. I’d watched several girls approach him, their clothing minimal and their bravery at an all time high. He’d shaken hands with a few of them, signed posters, shirts, and CD covers, but nothing more. Even the ones who’d draped themselves on him to take selfies or pictures taken by friends didn’t change his demeanor. If anything, he appeared to be uncomfortable with all the attention.

Camryn stayed close to Tanner, nursing a drink as she batted her eyelashes at him. Bella and her husband, Jeremy, were whispering next to me. Bella thought I was certifiable at this point. Maybe I was. I watched Beau’s fingers tap out an invisible beat on the cup he held. I wondered if he always had a song playing in his head.

“Talk to him,” Bella said in my ear. “What’s the worst that can happen? He’s leaving tomorrow.”

She was right. What was the worst that could happen? I straightened my back and walked across the room to the band. When Natalie saw me, a smile instantly lit her face. We’d hit it off quite well, and I liked her. The roadies had finished with the set in the corner of the room. I knew Jaded Regret was about to play a brand new song they’d never played before for our meet and greet fans. I couldn’t wait to hear it.

“Great turn out,” Natalie said. “They’ll get ready to play soon.”

I nodded. “Sounds good. The fans have been rather tame compared to what I thought they would be.”

“I’m used to way crazier. Sometimes these women can be . . . interesting.” Her gaze met Beau’s, and that’s when I noticed his attention move past her, straight to me. Natalie saw it, too, because she turned back to me with a smile on her face.

“He’s had a rough day.” I wanted to figure out what she meant by that, but I couldn’t tear my eyes from Beau’s. The dark pools of brown lost me in their depths, even from a few feet away. He was so serious, but I had a feeling Beau Anderson had many layers protecting him, making him who he was today. And I wanted nothing more than to peel them back one by one.

“He seems sad,” I said, shocking myself that I said it out loud. I felt like I could trust Natalie, like we’d known each other longer than two days.

Natalie sighed next to me. “He’s . . . complicated.” One of the roadies called her name. “Excuse me. I’ll be right back.” She walked away, leaving me standing alone, still staring straight at Beau. My feet began to move before I could stop them, and in seconds, I found myself standing right in front of him.

“That was a great show.” I thought I needed to say something. He gave me that little smirk, the almost smile I’d come to like—a lot—in the last two days. “Thanks again for the drumsticks. You didn’t have to do that.”

He shrugged, and my stomach dropped in disappointment. He wasn’t going to talk to me. “It was no biggie.” He spoke so quiet I almost missed it. His gravelly voice sent tingles up and down my spine, making goose bumps break out on my arms and legs. I rubbed my arms absently, hoping and praying he’d continue to talk.

“This is totally not your scene, is it?” I indicated the loud fans around us.

He smirked again. “You could say that.” His fingers tapped on his cup again, and I wanted to ask him what song he heard in his head and if he could play it for me.

“Have you always been a drummer?”

He glanced away for just a second, but before I could be disappointed, his eyes met mine again. “Yes. Always.”

“Beau, time to play.” Bex appeared next to us. I almost groaned in frustration. “Ready to hear our new song, April?”

Ready? Yes. In about two hours after I finally get through to this man, absolutely. “Always ready for a new Jaded Regret song.”

“Beau and I wrote this one,” Bex said, bumping Beau playfully. He grabbed her and wrapped his arm around her neck, using his fist to give her a noogie . When she punched him in the gut, he let her go, feigning pain. She smoothed out her hair and narrowed her eyes at him. I grinned, loving the visual of them this way.

They linked arms and Johnny and Tanner followed the two of them to the makeshift stage area.

“Hey, guys,” Bex’s sultry voice came over the speakers. Everyone stopped and turned, some letting out excited squeals. “Thanks for coming to see us tonight. We wouldn’t be anywhere without our fans. Tonight we’re performing a brand new song for you. What do you think about that? It’s never been played for anyone.”

The screams turned deafening at Bex’s announcement. Johnny let out a quick riff and Beau did a buh-dun-dun on the drums. “This song was written by my brother from another mother, Beau, and myself. It’s called ‘You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore
.
’ We’ve all been hurt one way or another in life, am I right?” More screaming ensued. “This song is to all of you. Don’t let anyone keep hurting you.”

Bex began to sing, accompanied by the men who made up Jaded Regret. Her words made chills break out on my body again, but it was Beau who had caught my attention. His eyes were closed as he played, his face changing expression as the words were belted from Bex’s lips. The lyrics hit me straight in the heart; lines about the pain of being betrayed, being hurt over and over again and coming back for more. When she hit the chorus, her voice raised in defiance as she screamed, “
You can’t hurt me anymore because I’m dead inside
,” I fought against my tears. It wasn’t until the end of the song when she changed the reprise that I felt like I could breathe again. “
You can’t hurt me anymore because I won’t let you have that control, that part of who I am is over. You can’t hurt me anymore . . .”

The crowd went absolute apeshit when Beau ended the powerful song with a new drum solo. Bex, Johnny, and Tanner riled up the crowd as he pounded the drums, shaking his head back and forth as he went to town. I knew nothing about playing, but from what I knew of my favorite artists, this man could play a set of drums.

When he finished, he stood and came out from behind the drum kit. He chucked his drumsticks into the crowd. A mid-twenties girl in the audience grabbed them and screamed, holding them to her body like she’d just been given a million dollars.
I know the feeling.
I smiled as she swooned and screamed out, “I have a piece of Beau Anderson, everyone! I love you, Beau!”

He ducked his head, and I saw a hint of that little smile. Bex, Johnny, and Tanner waved to the crowd and did a quick bow, handing their equipment back to the roadies so they could break down the set.

“Thank you, everyone. It was a great night. Be sure to check out Jaded Regret’s new tour when the dates are posted next week!” Bex shouted, eliciting another round of screaming.

The band’s security ushered them from the room, and I hurried to follow them, knowing the guys I’d hired would take care of the rest. I had to talk to Beau.

“Let’s keep in touch,” Natalie said. “Give me your number and I’ll text you mine.”

I smiled, taking out my phone and rattling off my number. Once she texted me back, I entered her information. “I’m sad you guys are leaving already.”

“I know. It’s been a hectic few days, though, and right now we only make short trips with Bex’s family. We will head out on tour in a few months, though. I believe one of our stops is Orlando. I’ll get you backstage passes, and you can hang with us.”

My stomach flip-flopped. I
had
to attend that concert, if for no other reason than to see Beau do what he did best again. “That’s amazing, Natalie. Thank you. What will Bex do with her kids during the tour?” I glanced across the deck and found Johnny holding a sleeping infant boy while Bex sat with a little girl, blowing bubbles into the night sky. Beau sat next to Bex, making the little girl laugh by trying to grab her bubbles. Tanner was flirting with Camryn. Shocking.

“We’ll have two buses this time when we go out, plus the truck our roadies drive with a trailer to haul our equipment. Last time, before Bex was a mom of two, we all crammed on one bus. It was quite cozy. This time, she and her family will have their own to try and keep things as normal as possible for the kids. Well, as normal as they can be with rock stars as parents. She has a full-time nanny who will travel with them, but Bex will only use her when necessary. She hates the thought of anyone else raising her kids. Their bus is being customized right now. It’s epic, too. A two bedroom that’s better than my house.”

My eyes slid back over to Bex. “They look good on her.”

Natalie followed my gaze. “They do. They’re the best things to have happened to all of us. Watch Beau. I never see him like that, only when he’s with her kids. They make him young again, carefree.”

We watched him for a moment in silence. The little girl giggled, throwing herself into his lap. He wrapped his big arms around her slight frame, rubbing his beard on her neck. She squealed and screamed, her laughter making me all warm and fuzzy inside.