“Did he take Frank or Benny with him?”
Levi doesn’t answer immediately, and I realize he’s scared too. Sure, he’s stressed and probably worried about work-related repercussions, but below that, he’s afraid. “No,” he finally says. “He didn’t take either of them. As far as we can tell, he’s alone.”
“Let me try,” I say, pulling out my phone. I press Dalton’s number on my Contacts list, and put the phone to my ear. Straight to voicemail. Frowning, I send a text.
Where are you?
I stare at my phone, expecting to hear from him any second. Daltrey never makes me wait. But he doesn’t text back.
After a few minutes, Levi sighs. “Let me know if you hear from him, okay? Everyone is pretty pissed. We had a full schedule today.”
I shake my head. “I don’t understand. What could he have to take care of that he wouldn’t want us to know about?”
Levi shakes his head. “All I can say is he better be back before the show. I might be able to hold off one or two, but I don’t think I’ll be able to stop all of his brothers from killing him.”
I try to stay busy, hoping it will keep the anxiousness at bay, but I’m fighting a losing battle. What could Daltrey possibly be doing? It’s not like him to take off without a word, and it’s definitely not like him to shirk his responsibilities to the band. It took him weeks to build up the resolve needed to get yesterday off from work. Why would he follow that with a vanishing act?
A cold feeling of dread begins to wind its way through my stomach. What if there’s a good reason for him taking off? What if it has something to do with me? Could he be freaking out about what happened between us?
I’ll be back as soon as I can. Those were his last words to me this morning. What the hell could have happened between then and now to change his mind?
***
The girls and I finish up with our prep work about an hour after Levi drops his bombshell. I still haven’t heard a word from Daltrey.
I’m relieved when Levi returns as we’re leaving the venue. But my hopes that he might have news are dashed as soon as he gets close enough to see his face.
“Hey,” he says, his hands in his pockets. “You guys finished?”
“Yup,” Karen says, rolling her shoulders. “We’re going to be short on styles twenty-three and seventeen in the next few days.”
He takes out his phone and enters the information. “Thanks, I’ll talk to Dan about the orders.”
“What are you doing?” Paige asks, peering at his face. I can tell that she reads the same thing from his expression: he’s stressed out.
“I was just going to start inventory on some equipment,” he says. “You guys want to help?”
“Sure,” Karen says. “All of this physical work has done amazing things for my arms. I haven’t had to work out in weeks. This shit is better than a Jillian Michaels DVD.”
Levi leads us to the equipment trailer. Once he has the girls started on counting various cords and wires, I grab his arm and pull him a few feet away. “Still nothing?”
“Nothing. Everyone is freaking out. They had their second session with that Rolling Stone interviewer today. They had to tell him that Dalt was sick, and they would make sure to set up a time for a one-on-one interview later in the week, but the guy was not happy about it.”
“I just don’t get it,” I say. “Did something happen at the meeting? Was he fighting with Cash or something?” I once again remember him promising that he would be back. “Did he, uh, say anything about us?”
Levi looks at me sharply. “Like what?”
I shrug, totally uncomfortable. “We spent the day together yesterday. I just wondered if maybe I did something to upset him.” I think of freaking out all over his beautiful Empire State Building surprise and of all the things I confessed last night. My stomach clenches in embarrassment. What if he decided in the cold light of day that I was too broken to deal with?
“Did he seem upset to you?” Levi asks, his eyes boring into mine.
“No,” I say quickly. I’m not about to tell him about spending the night with Daltrey.
He looks as if he wants to ask something more, but Mr. Ransome approaches us from the other end of the parking lot.
“Daisy,” Daltrey’s dad says, his voice brisk, “I’m glad I found you. Do you have a minute?”
I look at Levi helplessly then nod and follow Mr. Ransome over to the band bus. He and I have never been particularly close, even in all the years I spent hanging around his house. He tolerated me for the most part, I think, because he knew how much Daltrey relied on me. Beyond that, though, I was pretty sure he considered me someone who was just in the way. Since I rejoined the boys on the tour, he’s barely spoken two words to me. Then again, he always seems to be rushed, so maybe it’s not personal.