“Your tears nearly brought me to my knees,” I confessed. “But that’s nothing new, is it? Your tears have always driven me crazy. That won’t ever change. I miss you already and I haven’t even stepped on the fucking plane yet. I won’t be sane again until I see you, Kassa. I love you—more than anything or anyone. I know the band is going to go places, because hey, I’m just that good.”

She snorted out a small laugh, just as I knew she would at my arrogance.

“But I don’t want this without you,” I said. “I don’t want to have to be away from you. And, if I didn’t have the others counting on me, I would have turned Harris Cutter down until I knew you could come with me.”

“No, Gray. You can’t do that,” she said, trying to chide me, but it was still my turn to talk.

“But the guys are depending on me, and I know that a chance like this probably won’t come around again. So I’ll find a way to manage without you until I see you again. But it’s going to be hard, Kas. You are my best friend. Not Kale or Sin or anyone else. Just you. And, without you, all that shit that tries to haunt me at night? It’s going to try to destroy me.”

“No, it won’t. You’re stronger than you know.” Her voice was quiet and soothing, almost like a caress over my brow.

“Not without you, Kassa. You’re my strength.”

My flight number was called, and I clenched my hand around the phone.

“I have to go, little caterpillar. I’ll call you when we land though. Okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” she murmured. “I love you, Gray.”

“Love you more.”

FIVE

Gray

Alicia had already gotten us an apartment: a three-bedroom in the same building as Harris Cutter. As congratulations for having gotten the contract with him and First Bass, she was paying our rent. Not that I needed her to pay for a place for me to stay. My father had died of a heart attack in prison the same year I had graduated high school. With his death, I had inherited everything.

The house, the money, his business. It was all worth over two million dollars.

I hadn’t touched the money or anything else that came with it though. I didn’t want anything from him. Alicia had been investing it for me though, and so far, she had nearly doubled the inheritance I had been left.

The apartment was huge, with three bedrooms—enough for when Alicia and Kassa came to visit. But I couldn’t wait for Kassa to be living in it full time. It came fully furnished, and the fridge was even stocked when we got there, thanks to Harris Cutter’s stepmother, Natalie.

After some food and a shower, Jace and I got ready to head to the club. Harris was going to show us around, let us get a feel for the place. Sin, Cash, and Kale would be arriving that weekend, but we wouldn’t start until the following Thursday.

First Bass was just starting to take off, but it was the hottest club in Los Angeles, something that was blatantly clear when we arrived just after nine that night. There was a line at least two blocks long to get in. Our taxi pulled up right at the entrance, where two men in suits stood at the front of the roped-off line.

The outside of the club was basically nondescript other than the sign proclaiming that it was First Bass in an edgy kind of script. It had white lighting and a bass guitar underneath the words. I stepped out behind Jace, who was already speaking to one of the bouncers. The man said something into his headset, and after a few seconds, he nodded for us to go on in.

Inside, the music was kick ass, not that fucking techno shit that gave me a headache and sounded like the same damn song over and over again. It was rock at its finest, old school and loud as fuck. I was in heaven and I hadn’t even walked two feet into the club yet.

There was a long corridor that led to the bottom floor, but in an alcove practically hidden in the dim lighting stood perhaps the biggest man I had ever set eyes on. I enjoyed my time at the gym, so I figured that this guy with the dark skin and massive shoulders could bench-press me and all four of my bandmates without breaking a sweat. He stepped into our path as we neared the alcove, a professional look on his face.

“Mr. Knight? Mr. St. Charles?”

We both nodded.

The big man extended his arm toward the hidden staircase. “Mr. Cutter is upstairs with a few other of his personal VIP guests. He asks that you join him at your convenience.”

“Uh, thanks…” Jace trailed off, waiting for the guy to give us his name.

“Tiny,” he provided without so much as a flicker of his lashes or a smile.

I had to clench my jaw to keep from laughing. That name was perfect for this man. I couldn’t wait to tell the guys about this dude.

Jace cleared his throat. “Thanks, Tiny.”

I followed Jace up the stairs, where the music wasn’t as loud and the lighting gave the place a kind of anonymity. We stopped not far from the top of the stairs and took the VIP floor in. Despite the lighting, I recognized at least a half-dozen celebrities on the first glance: a list actors and athletes who were worth millions in just endorsements alone. When I noticed a hot brunette watching me, it took a minute to realize where I knew her from.

Tags: Terri Anne Browning Tainted Knights Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net