Manaconda(14)

Wyatt finally stepped back. He glanced over at Indie, then back to Kenny. He squinted down at Kenny. “Did you just call Hunter’s dick sensational?”

And just like that the tension dispersed and I tipped my head back with a roaring laugh. Wyatt joined me. Hell, even Patrick cracked a smile. Kenny twisted my shirt tighter, and a few chest hairs were casualties.

Ow, man.

I covered her hand and she seemed to finally notice how tight she was hanging on.

She pulled her hand free and spun on her heel. “How do you deal with this?” She aimed the question at Indie.

Indie shrugged. “I usually let them bloody each other’s lips.”

Wyatt threw his arm around my shoulders. “Dude. Getting to first base with the new girl? That’s an all-time record even for you.” He looked over his shoulder. When Kenny was out of earshot, he jammed his hulk-sized fist into my side. “Babe.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, she’s hot.” I grinned. “Mad hot, truly.” I peeked for myself because damn, the woman was stealthy. “Cameras sucked.”

“Wait till you see the pictures, man.” He unearthed his phone and unlocked it. “I saved a few.”

“You’re all heart.”

Wyatt shrugged. “I found one or two that I can make into a poster.”

“Fucker,” I muttered.

I scanned through the pictures. Some were blurry, some were a little too crystal-clear, and still others were far more compromising than anyone would like. All of them were damning.

Dex came up and slapped my back. “You do realize who you were snogging?”

I moved away from him. “It was supposed to be private.”

“When you stick your tongue down Prince Harry’s publicity savior, people are going to notice.”

Wyatt crossed his arms. “The British Harry or One Direction?”

Dex grinned, his white teeth as blinding as the flashbulbs I’d just waded through. “Is there a difference?” He waggled his eyebrows. “Actually both in this case.”

I winced. “It’s just a magazine cover.”

“Just a cover?” Dex’s British accent went so thick and full of bass that even Indie turned to look at us. “Look, boy. I don’t think you are really grasping what this has done for your sales. People are actually buying the album, not just pirating it or listening to it on Spotify. Buying. The demand on the website for concert dates is in the thousands.”

I lifted my chin and shrugged him off. “First of all, don’t call me ‘boy’. I’m not some fresh-faced tween that is going to fall at your feet.”

“Well, then act like it.” He calmly slipped his hand in his jacket pocket, drawing out his phone. “Your job is to sell you, your wares, and the Ripper Records product. It’s not to hide in the back pretending you’re a chef, it’s not to make social media think you’re anything less than available. Kissing the smokin’ hot redhead—that’s good. Getting caught was inspired.”

“Fuck off. I didn’t do that on purpose.” I wanted to glance over Dex’s shoulder to find Kenny, to see what she was going to say, but I couldn’t let this dick think he had the upper hand.

“But you make sure that every girl in that fucking crowd has wet panties for you and the band.” He turned to Keys. “You make every girl want to be you, or in your shoes.” His gaze shot to Wyatt and Owen. “Every guy should be jealous that you can fuck anyone in the crowd tonight, male or female.”

“Enough.” Indie’s voice sliced the air. “You don’t talk to my guys like that.”

Dex’s attention drifted to his phone. He held up a finger to her.

I was going to break it off and feed it to him. Maybe knock out a tooth or three.

“Excuse me, Mr. Munroe—” Indie broke off.

He put his phone to his ear and walked away. Indie’s bluebell eyes held murder. I’d been on the other end of that gaze. The dude was fucked.

Bats and Zach came down the side stairs from the second level. “What’d we miss?”

“Manaconda made the papers again,” Keys chirped.

“Dammit.” I swiped my hand over my face.

“What? Like I’m lying?”

Bats grinned. His tightly trimmed beard emphasized his sharp jaw, giving him a distinctly sinister edge. On purpose, of course, because Bats was short for Batshit Crazy.

The only person I didn’t see was Kenny.





6





Kennedy





I escaped into the theater. Long queues of people were set up for the meet and greet, the new album was being piped in, and people were singing along. The murmur of excitement was heady.