The Rocker That Savors Me(2)

“Get your lazy ass up. Emmie girl ran off. We got ta go look for her.” He turned away before he had even finished speaking.

I waited until he was down the hall before I moved. I reached for her hand and pulled her out from under my bed. Her big green eyes were frightened. “Momma’s looking for me,” she whispered. “She’s going to be so mad.”

“It’s okay, Em. It’s going to be okay,” I promised with a smile that I hoped would reassure her. “I’m going to go out and help. You go out the window, okay?” She nodded. “Then sneak back in your room while everyone is distracted. I’ll send Nik or Drake over to pretend to find you sleeping.”

She swallowed hard. “She’s going to beat me again.” She whispered.

Dread filled my stomach because I knew that was what was more than likely to happen, but I wasn’t going to let it! “No. I got some money.” I had been saving to get a new snare drum for a few months now, but this was more important. “I’ll give it to her. She can get her some coke or whatever. She won’t care.”

“Jesse…” Tears glazed her green eyes, and I wanted nothing more than to just lay there and hold my little Emmie. “Thank you.”

The next hour passed quickly. I found Drake and Shane already outside in sweats with flashlights. The brothers looked half asleep but there was worry in their eyes. They knew better than anyone what could happen to a pretty little girl out by herself. I gave them meaningful looks and relief seemed to wash over them.

Nik was pacing, looking more like a concerned parent than Emmie’s mother who was stumbling around instead of actually walking. I had grabbed my hidden stash of money before leaving my room, and while everyone was moving into groups to search for Emmie, I pulled her aside. She didn’t even question me when I handed her the money. She was use to one of us sneaking her some cash to distract her from Emmie. It was all I had, but I knew that it would keep Emmie off her mind for a day or two at least. By then she wouldn’t even remember this night.

“Drake, you come with me,” I told him. “Shane you and Nik go search on the east side of the trailer park.”

Nik didn’t even question me. He just headed off to get it done. Shane gave me a nod to let me know he would tell Nik what was going on. Drake followed me around the west side of the trailer park, and we pretended to search for Emmie for an hour. I told Drake about Emmie’s lip and his face turned stormy. I knew that he wanted a drink… He was nineteen and already had a problem. I worried about him, but I think I would have worried more if he didn’t have the booze to self-medicate.

Dawn was just breaking when Drake walked into Emmie’s trailer and came out with her. She had cleaned up her face, and I was sure that she had even added a little of her mother’s makeup to hide the growing bruise on her face. Everyone went back to their trailers, but we sat on the front steps of Emmie’s. Her mother was already gone; she had taken off as soon as Drake had appeared with Emmie who had been ‘fast asleep’ in bed the whole time.

“We can’t keep doing this.” Shane muttered, running his fingers through his hair. “Next time who knows what will happen.”

We just sat there, knowing that what Shane said was true…





Chapter 1


Jesse

I woke with a start. My dreams so real that I knew they had been a memory. Heart pounding, I sat up in my bed and ran a hand over my rough scalp. I hadn’t shaved in a day or so and it showed.

It took a few minutes but I finally got my breathing under control. I had to keep telling myself that Emmie was okay. She was just down the hall, sleeping cuddled up to Nik. She was safe. Her mother was dead now. No one could hurt my Emmie. I hadn’t ever told anyone, but after Demon’s Wings had taken off and we had started touring, I had had panic attacks every night. I had lived in a constant state of fear, wondering if Emmie was alright back there in that trailer park with her mother. Thankfully, she had a cell phone, and I could call her every day—sometimes a dozen times a day—to make sure she was really okay.

Muttering a curse, I tossed back my covers and headed for my connecting bathroom. It was barely dawn but I knew I wouldn’t be going back to sleep. Instead I showered, didn’t bother shaving the scruff from my face or head, and went downstairs to fix a pot of coffee that could wake the dead.

After plugging in the coffeemaker I searched the fridge for something to eat. It was pretty bare. The six bedroom Malibu beach house that Emmie had picked out from the many that the real estate agent had shown her was practically brand new. We had moved in just a few days ago, and mostly we had been living on takeout. The furniture wouldn’t even arrive until later today.