JACK: Las Vegas Bad Boys(61)

“Good luck, baby,” Tess says, slapping my ass as she walks away.

We made a good call, not dealing with the police today. We needed to be together, with our family and friends, and just enjoy this calm before the motherfucking storm.

Kirby is waiting for me backstage, and I knew this conversation was coming.

“Hey, man.” I give him a fist bump, and then notice Kendrick from KMG behind him. “Good of you guys to be here, but I’m about to go on.”

“No, we know,” Kirby says. “Kendrick just wanted to wish you luck.”

Kendrick steps forward to speak. “The crowd is pumped, son, and we’re excited to sit down tomorrow and go over the contract. A hundred mill is no fucking joke.” He squeezes my shoulder. “You make us proud.”

I give Kirby a sidelong glance, my eyebrows raised. “We talked about my stipulations. Did you inform Kendrick?”

Kirby gives me a grin. “We sure did. I’m telling you, Jack, KMG is behind you 110%.”

“We are,” Kendrick says. “You want to produce an acoustic album, do it. We’re behind you, with whatever vision you have. You’re a worldwide sensation for a reason. We’re not losing you over something as small as what sort of music you want to play.”

I step back, shocked. Never did I think Kirby was taking me seriously, taking my music seriously.

“I had no idea you’d actually consider that.”

Kendrick shrugs. “I’m in the business of making people happy. I’m not letting a star like you walk away. It’s not like you’re some up-and-coming celebrity. You know how many views your sex tape got on YouTube the last two weeks?”

“No fucking clue,” I tell him, my jaw tensing at the mention of it. “I don’t look at that shit.”

“Okay, well, it was enough to make everyone in our marketing department flip out.”

“That’s awesome, but it was costly for my fiancée. So I don’t find it particularly newsworthy.”

“Your fiancée?” Kirby shakes his head. “You and Ashley got back together? This is amazing.”

The stage manager signals for me and a crewmember starts fitting me for a mic and headset.

I scowl. “Not Ashley. Listen, I’ve got to go. I’m marrying Tess. And if you’re serious about these new contract stipulations, I need to consult with her.”

“The waitress?” Kirby laughs in disbelief. “Okay, I’ll get Lola to spin this into something gold.”

“It’s not a fucking joke, Kirby. And we aren’t spinning anything.”

Kendrick points behind me, I turn and see the stage manager waving me onstage. “I think you are spinning something—and, son, that crowd is ready.”

I step away, my head totally fucked, which is not where I wanted to be going into tonight’s show. I thought this was the end of my dealings with KMG. I didn’t want to be their puppet, and I wanted to keep Tess from the limelight—but what if I could have both? Make my music and do it with my fucking integrity intact?

I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and step on stage. Raising my head to the crowd, I hear a thunderous cheer rise. The lights flash; I drop a beat, and raise my hands in the motherfucking air.





TESS


The parents are drinking champagne and laughing—dancing awkwardly, but loving it. Claire’s mom is talking with JoJo’s dad, and I smile, wondering if there are still love connections to be made in this group.

“Was he nervous?” Emmy asks. “About KMG being here?”

“No,” I tell her, leaning in. “I honestly don’t think that he’s going through with the deal.”

“Really?” Emmy’s eyes bug out. “That’s kind of insane, Tess. It’s like, a whole other league of money.”

“I just don’t want to live a life with that sort of attention, Emmy. I don’t think Jack does either.”

Emmy doesn’t understand my revulsion to the spotlight, and she can’t. I don’t want anyone to find out the truth of what happened between the man I called father my entire life and the woman I thought was my mom. The gun. The shots. The person I wanted to kill and the one who let herself take the fall.

I swallow, turning toward the stage. The opener has left and Jack’s gear is being set up. It might take a while, and I pour a glass of champagne as I wait.

A few minutes pass. Everyone is talking.

And then I see her: Ashley Fast.

Walking straight for me.

Seriously?

Sauntering to our table, past the roped off VIP area, basically, and because she is the VIP of this entire place, no one pushes back on her. Besides, she has an entourage of, like, six people, and the entire group comes off as very intimidating.