Page 128 of Reverb
Chapter Twenty-Five
David didn’t need to walk venues anymore—the security team he’d put together for Twisted Wishes did all of that work. He was a manager now, basically. Sure, he could chase after problems and add muscle if needed. It hadn’t been.
But every concert, he still did a circuit of the entire place. The backstage area. The dressing and greenrooms. Loading dock. Helped free his mind. Relax him. Plus, it kept his team sharp when they saw him on the prowl.
Security hadn’t been an issue at all this tour. Mish’s stalker was behind bars, and no new obsessive fan had taken his place, thank god. In fact, aside from stage jumpers and some line crashers, they hadn’t had any issues.
If anything, much of his time this tour—aside from coordinating and managing the security team—had been occupied with hunting down Danny, the bass player Mish’s mother had dated all those years ago. Wasn’t an easy task, given they had very little intel on the man, scraped out of Mish’s memories. She’d even dug back into some personal items and found a single, slightly blurry photo withDanny M. and a phone number scrawled on the back.
Mish had shaken her head when she’d handed it over. “I wish I remembered his last name. I think it was something Italian, but that’s not really helpful.”
David had kissed her cheek. “It’s more than I had before. The phone number might help.”
He was still chasing down those leads and turning over all the information in his head. Walking helped that, too. He headed out into the venue, a modern concert hall built specifically for rock shows. Much smaller than the arenas they’d played during the summer—but these shows were a little different. Longer sets. More intimate venues.
David strode down the aisles until a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks. “Mr. Altet!”
He turned on his heels. “Ms. Heydel.” He greeted her with a grin. She was as familiar in some ways as his walks through the venues. “And how are you this fine day?”
She snorted. “You’re full of charm, David. Wish you were full of an interview, though.” Always hopeful, always that sharp edge. He’d gotten used to it.
They were friendly adversaries now—or maybe strange friends. He hadn’t figured that out yet. “You know I don’t give interviews.”
“But as Mish’s fiancé...”
Oh man, she really was digging. “I wasn’t aware Mish and I were engaged.” They’d joked about getting hitched sometime after Adrian and Dom finally married, but that was it. Both he and Mish were just happy to be dating at this point.
Heydel waved a hand. “Well, will you be? Fans want to know!”
He sighed. “Vick...”
“Okay,Iwant to know.”
“No comment, Ms. Heydel.” He said it with a smile.
“Can’t fault me for trying, David. It’s the whole bodyguard-whirlwind-romance thing. You took a knife for her, and now you two are inseparable.”
He held up his hands.
“Okay, okay. Give me something, though? You guys are the hot story now.”
He didn’t have anything to give. Both he and Mish preferred their personal lives to stay out of the spotlight.
“Let me talk to Marcella and Mish.” It was a bone without much meat, but maybe they could come up with some exclusive something or other. Photoshoot. A tiny Q and A.
“You’re an okay guy, David,” Heydel said.
He couldn’t help laughing. “I’ll be sure to put that on my résumé.” He gave her a wave and continued on his route.
Marriage? Maybe. Maybe not. Really depended on what Mish wanted. David had everything he needed right now. Mish. Twisted Wishes. The loner hooked up with a partner he didn’t deserve and a family that accepted him for who he was. Never thought it could happen to him.
He was so very grateful it had.
Mish had never been this nervous on stage before, even back in her early days. Hell, she’d been less of a wreck her first night stripping. Then again, that had only been her body exposed on the stage. This—this was a piece of her soul.
She covered her nervousness and how hard her heart thumped in her chest by spinning away from the screaming, cheering audience after they finished their first encore, and went for a drink from the water bottle she kept on the base of Zavier’s drum kit stand.
She met his gaze before she grabbed the bottle and he spun a stick in his hand.Breathe, he mouthed through the space between them.
