Page 43 of Syncopation
“Noted.” So neutral. So cool. Zavier shifted his attention away from Ray and spoke. “There are companies that handle thoseVIP experiences, but I don’t know how well your label would react to bringing in someone from the outside.”
Yourlabel? “You work for them, too.”
“No.” Zavier’s voicewasa touch hoarser than normal. “I’m a session musician.” He rose and walked to the back of the bus, vanishing behind the privacy curtain they left to separate that quiet space.
Fuck. Guilt rose and wrapped its handsaround Ray’s throat from the inside. “He’s still mad at me.”
“Well,” Dom said, his voice soft, “you were kind of an ass to him.”
Yeah, he had been, but he didn’t need Zavier chiding him, especially in front of shitty reporters. “This is why I should have gone to bed.” He rose and climbed into his bunk. He’d change and piss once everyone else had turned in.
Texas next. Then New Mexico,Arizona, Utah, California, and Washington. He could do this. They could survive.
Except every inch of Ray hurt, and everything he did or said was wrong. The only right thing was the music.
He had to focus on that. There wasn’t anything left he hadn’t ruined.
