The Rockers' Babies (The Rocker... Series) (28 page)

seat. He gave me a smile and I waved at the older man as we passed him. Everyone who worked here knew

who I was and not to keep me away from Drake for any reason. Not only would they have to face a pissed

off Drake but a pissed off
me
, and really the latter was a much scarier sight.

When I entered the building where
America’s Rocker
was filmed I carefully made my way to the set

where I figured Drake would be with Axton and Cole. I could hear one of the contestants rehearsing the

song he was going to be preforming tomorrow night and realized it was the one Drake had had his eye on

to win. Kurtis Quinn had a voice that made people stop and take notice, but he was still a little rough

around the edges. Drake had given him some pointers during the competition that the man had adopted.

Opening the side door to the set I found Drake and the other two judges sitting at their table watching

the rocker going through his set. Having seen all of this more than a few times I wasn’t in awe by the

behind-the-scenes stuff, not that I had really been to begin with. I wasn’t easily impressed with the rock-n-roll lifestyle. I was in love with Drake the man, not the rock star.

While Drake and the other two men watched the performer, several other people were moving around

on the sidelines. I saw the producer, a big-bellied man who had disliked me from the very first time he had met me. I still didn’t know his name and didn’t care enough to learn it, the dislike was definitely not one sided. Beside him stood his executive assistant and unconsciously my hands fisted at my sides.

Bethany was hot in a smart chick kind of way. She wore her hair in a simple ponytail more often than

not and she had big brown eyes behind her dark-rimmed glasses. She was slender with curves in all the

right places that she showcased in tight jeans and tops that always revealed just how much of a woman she

really was. Seriously, those fake tits were about to pop out of that little top she had on today.

Of course her eyes were burning into the back of my husband’s head. Any time that skank was in the

same room with Drake she couldn’t take her eyes off of him. It had always irritated me, but in the last few months it had started bothering me more and more until I nearly couldn’t stand it. It made me irrationally

jealous and messed with my head… Could Drake ever want this chick?

While I was busy measuring up the woman who had been trying to seduce my husband, Kurtis’s song

ended and Axton’s voice forced my attention away from Bethany. I waited five more minutes while Drake

and Cole gave their two cents before stepping out of the shadows and approaching the table where the three

rockers sat.

“I thought you were here.” Drake stood and pulled me in for a kiss that never failed to steal my breath. I

smiled against his lips as his hand went immediately to my stomach, caressing the flesh through my top as if he were touching our child. “My dick got hard as soon as you walked in,” he whispered against my ear.

My nipples instantly hardened and I snuggled against him. “I wish you didn’t have a meeting tonight. I

was really looking forward to our date night.”

“I’ll make it up to you,” he promised, kissing me again. Damn, now my panties were wet and my knees

were starting to tremble. I wanted nothing more than to pull him into the closest bathroom and spread my

legs for him. “You look beautiful. What have you been doing?”

“Dallas and I had lunch.” I lifted my hand to push his hair back from his face. I loved his hair. Long

hair on most men didn’t look right at all, but on Drake it only enhanced his sex appeal. Blue-gray eyes

darkened. He loved it when I ran my fingers through his hair. “I couldn’t go home until I saw you, though.”

“Hey there, darlin’.” I reluctantly forced my gaze from Drake to find Cole walking toward us. I couldn’t

help but roll my eyes at the sight of him: skinny jeans with holes everywhere and a Steel Entrapment T-shirt tight across his chest. His hair was longer than normal for a man his age but it looked good on him. Years

of drug use and too much booze had kept him lean, but had taken its toll on his face, causing wrinkles at

his eyes and mouth, but he still looked good. “How’s that baby treating you?” His hands went to my

stomach as soon as he was within touching range.

Normally I tore the head off of anyone who touched my stomach other than Drake. Touching a

woman’s pregnant belly was something extremely intimate to me. With Cole, it was different. It melted my

heart more than a little to have my father so lovingly touch his grandchild growing inside of me. “She’s

been kicking up a storm today. I hoped some Greek would calm her down, but it just got her dancing even

more.”

“She just wanted to see her grandpa, that’s all.” Cole hugged me then stepped back, grinning like the

proud grandfather he was. “It’s good to see you. How’re your sisters? Lucy okay?”

“They’re dealing. Lucy is still having nightmares, though. Jesse and Layla are talking about getting her a

counselor, but Lucy has refused to go so far.” Drake stepped closer behind me and even though I was

standing there talking to my father, my entire body seemed to catch fire. It wasn’t pregnancy hormones that were doing it to me, either. I was always in this condition whenever Drake was that close to me.

“Poor kid. Stupid bastard needs to be shot for doing that to her. Have the cops caught him? Or are they

even trying?”

Now that was a hard question to answer. Emmie had only given us the bare details on what had

happened to Grady after Jesse and Nik had gotten Lucy back the night of the kidnapping. Jesse had left the

man bloody and barely breathing but Seller, the head of the security team that Emmie worked with was

supposed to pick Grady up and turn him over to the police later that night. That hadn’t happened because

Seller was sure that Jesse and Nik would have gotten into some serious trouble with the condition that

Grady had been left in. Seller had taken the bastard to Canada and gotten him patched up before turning

him over to his parole officer two days later for violating the conditions of his parole. As far as I knew, Grady was back in prison serving out the rest of his original sentence. And the two million that Grady had

asked for the ransom? Back in Jesse’s bank account. Seller had handed the money over to Emmie—minus

his fee.

“He’s in San Quintin,” Drake told Cole. “He violated parole and has to finish out his original sentence.

He’s got at least ten more years.”

“Did I hear you say you had lunch with Dallas?”

I turned my head to find Axton had joined us. Anger on my friend’s behalf filled me and I had to take a

deep breath to calm down before I punched him in the throat. “What’s it to you?”

He didn’t even blink at my bitchy tone. “I need to talk to her. She hasn’t been answering my texts or

phone calls. And every time I stop by the apartment Natalie and Linc say she’s at work.”

“She works a lot.”

Axton sighed. “Lana, I don’t know what she’s told you, but I didn’t leave the wedding to go chasing

after Gabriella. At least not in the way she thinks.”

I raised a brow at him. “The fact that you left her there and went to Gabriella’s is all she needed to

know.” Drake’s hand tightened on my waist, reminding me that this wasn’t any of my business. I grimaced,

because I couldn’t get in the middle without picking sides, which would leave Drake in a tricky position. He loved me too much to not show Dallas the loyalty I would demand, but Axton was as much a part of his

family as his band brothers were.

Axton’s shoulders seemed to slump for a second, but then he straightened and that cocky ‘I’m a rock

god, nothing else matters’ smile crossed his face. I had realized long ago that this was his mask to keep his real feelings locked inside. “Maybe she knows where Liam is, then. Dev said she left the reception with him

and no one has seen him since. Marissa said he’s in rehab somewhere, but she won’t tell anyone where he is. We need to find him, Lana.”

The band didn’t know where Liam was? That was odd, but that wasn’t my business either. “I’m sure

Emmie knows where he is. Have you asked her?”

“She won’t tell me shit. Look, just ask your friend to call me the next time you talk to her. It’s

important.” He thrust his hands into his jean pockets. “And tell her… I miss her.”

My mouth opened to blast him but Drake turned me around before a word could escape and kissed me

until I couldn’t even remember my name. All I could hear, taste, feel was Drake. Damn, he knew how to

shut me up. Not that I was going to complain.

Chapter 25

Drake

Angel’s taste was still lingering on my lips even as I walked into the producer’s office that evening for

the meeting his assistant said we had to attend. That was the only thought on my mind as I closed the door

behind me. I wasn’t happy that I had to cancel plans with Angel to stay over tonight, and I had let the

woman know as soon as she had relayed the message from her boss.

For the next thirty minutes I sat with my father-in-law and friend listening to the monotone voice of the

man who was supposedly our boss. Our contracts were all up at the end of this season and I was still

undecided if I was going to sign another one. In the beginning this gig had been just an excuse to be in New York and closer to my angel. Then I had started to kind of like finding talented rockers and giving them a

chance to make it in the rock world. I still enjoyed that part of the job, but I knew Angel was having trouble with some aspects of the whole thing.

Like the woman sitting in a chair beside me, her hands typing away on her iPad but her gaze was

drilling into the side of my face. I still couldn’t remember her name most of the time, but knew it started with a B. Since Angel had convinced me that the chick was after me, I had started feeling more than a little creeped out by the way she looked at me. I felt like a pussy thinking that. A woman scaring me? Shane

would have a field day with that joke.

“I’m going to need your answer by next week.” The producer—damn, what was his name again?

Greg… George? Angel usually helped me with that shit. “I’ll have our lawyers meet with your people to

negotiate your contract terms and any pay increases you suggest. This season’s ratings have been just as

high if not higher than the first season and we want all three of you back for next season.”

Cole shook his head. “I won’t be back next year.” His answer didn’t surprise me. Cole was not happy

with the producer. They had been arguing most of the season over everything from the taste of the coffee to how much camera time he was getting during the shows. Cole was fed up with the show and how the

higher-ups kept dramatizing every little thing that went on during judge panels and behind the scenes to get the higher ratings. The show was starting to become a fucking soap opera.

“If this is about more money…”

“Money?” Cole grunted. “I got plenty of that. This is about you and your so called creative minds

making the entire rock world look ridiculous. You have maybe one truly talented contestant competing this

go round up there with a bunch of ignorant wanna-be rockers. You dress them in Goth and punk and play

it off like they are the world’s next rock gods, while down-playing the real talent all because he’s not what you would call ‘ratings friendly’.”

“Kurtis Quinn is not the only talent we have this season,” the producer argued and Axton and I both

grunted because there wasn’t any truth to that statement. The fat man narrowed his eyes. “He wouldn’t last

five minutes in the rock world.”

“What the fuck would you know about the rock world?” Axton snapped. “Cole’s right, this thing has

turned into a soap opera. I’m not sure I’m coming back next year either unless you make some changes

around here. And if Quinn doesn’t win, I’m going to ask him to open for OtherWorld on tour in a few

months.”

“What about you, Stevenson?”

I shrugged. “I don’t have an answer for you about next year, but I’m with these two about the way the

show is going. I’m fed up with seeing all the drama on the cover of trash magazines. My wife isn’t happy

with the way things are turning out here either and if she isn’t happy, I’m not happy.” I stood, more than

ready to go home and not caring in the least if the meeting was over or not. “I’m out. See you fuckers

tomorrow.”

“Night man,” Axton called after me.

“Later, boy.” I chuckled at Cole calling me boy and kept walking.

By the time I got home the house was quiet. There was a pizza box on the island in the kitchen when I

walked in. Opening the lid I saw that Angel was having a crazy craving day. The smell was enough to turn my stomach: anchovies with pineapple, and ranch instead of tomato sauce? It wasn’t the nastiest craving

she’d had so far but it was up there.

Upstairs I found the bathroom light still on with the door slightly ajar. It cast a soft glow over our king size bed, giving my angel a surreal quality that took my breath away. Her hair was spread over my pillow

and looked as if it was still damp from her shower. She was wrapped around her body pillow that she had

sprayed with my cologne the day she got it because it helped her sleep better smelling me all around her.

The sheet had slipped down to her hips showing me that she must have been waiting up for me because she

was gloriously naked.

My dick had gone hard as soon as I had opened the door. Grinning, I rushed through my shower and

hurried back to the sleeping angel in my bed. As I climbed in behind her she sighed my name and pressed