Page 32 of Grip Me Tight
Michael lifts a shoulder. “Not sure. We know Serge was injured, but he’s fine apparently. We don’t know much else. Police were here, though.”
I raise my eyebrows, remembering meeting Serge Toussant at our place once or twice. The man is huge but a big teddy bear. I’m glad he’s okay.
There’s a commotion at the door and I turn to see Noah and Tanner shoulder their way inside the production room.
Noah spots me. “You fine?”
I give him a thumb’s up. “Yep. I was on the side of the stage and we all had to stay there. Laird’s talking to the police.”
Noah looks behind him at Tanner. “The police?”
Tanner raises an eyebrow and rakes his hair back from his face. His dark hair is damp, and his shirt is clinging to his chest. My mouth goes dry, but I need to focus on this first major incident. I clear my throat, dragging my attention away from the rock star sucking all the air out of the room. “I don’t know anything more than that. I’ve got a call with PR in…” I glance at my phone, “fifteen minutes and I need to work out some stuff.”
“Can you call Mom and let her know you’re okay?” Noah asks, grabbing a water bottle out of a cooler next to one of the tables.
“No, I can’t actually. I’m working.”
“She’s going to be worried if she sees anything about it.”
I catch Michael side-eyeing me. Gritting my teeth, I count backwards from five very slowly. “You could call her,” I say.
“I just finished a show.”
“And what, you’re going to shower and head to bed?” My lips twist as I glare at my brother. “She’ll be just as worried about you, if she sees anything about it, and that’s a big ‘if’ given how late it is right now.”
“I’ll call.”
Noah and I both turn to Tanner and even Michael spins on his chair in disbelief. Tanner’s gaze meets mine. “You’ve got your work cut out for you. I don’t think you can put Ajax in a cute outfit to gloss this over.”
My shoulders stiffen, but he’s not wrong. Boosting the popularity of an already adorable Bearded Dragon is way different than figuring out what to do with tonight’s mess. The door opens behind Tanner and Emil steps inside.
“Oh, good you’re here,” I say, waving him over.
“Glad to see you missed me,” Emil says.
Tanner narrows his eyes as Emil shoulders past him, laptop in hand. “Should we do this here or did you want to head back to the hotel?” He asks, handing me his laptop and swinging a chair around so he can straddle it.
“Vera from the agency is going to call in a few minutes, so let’s debrief here and then we can head back to the hotel. It’s probably going to be a long night.” I roll my shoulders and open a few programs on my tablet. “Michael, can you send me the frames that show that couple heading back out of the crowd? Right around when Ajax tosses his guitar.”
Behind me, I hear Noah talking to Tanner. “Let’s find Laird. I want to know if Jax is really okay. That was a monster dive from the stage,” Noah says.
“You go ahead. I’m good here.”
I glance back to see Noah clap a hand on Tanner’s shoulder on his way out. “Are you sure, man? If everything’s good, we’re probably going to head out to a club.”
“I want to check in with Jax, so you guys go ahead. Serge will be busy, but make sure you take a detail. I don’t know what’s up with Chicago, but this stop has had some crazy shit happen.” Tanner says.
“Sure, Dad. Keep the lights on for me.” Noah grins, blowing a kiss at Tanner.
“Yeah, yeah. Save it for Lexxie-Long-Legs.”
“She is smokin’, isn’t she? But she was tracking you on stage earlier, old man. Maybe she wants to call you daddy.”
Gag. Lexxie of the aforementioned long legs must be the pink-haired guitarist. If Noah noticed her interest in Tanner, then maybe it wasn’t all in my imagination earlier. Straight-laced Tanner with his stern daddy vibe would look amazing with the free spirited guitarist. I take a deep breath and turn my attention back to the tablet. I am here to work, not get worked up over who might get the benefit of Tanner’s talented tongue next.
Emil nudges my leg with his. “Hey New Girl, let me know when you’re ready to leave, we can head back to the hotel together.”
“She’s driving with me.”
