Hard Rock Unrehearsed (9 page)

Jade gave him a quick kiss. “Of course I’ll meet with them.  They saved us from that asshole posting more shit and causing more problems.  If the day wasn’t so full of shit we have to do I would have invited them to spend the day with me.”

“And talking about the shit you have to do baby, you need to shower and get ready for the radio spot you guys have in about an hour’s time.  We’ll make time to meet with the band before you go on stage tonight and sort the rest of this shit out.  Tonight after the gig you are mine, with no fuckin’ interruptions.”

With that Diego pulled her up with him and stood her in front of him.  Jade ran a hand over his cheek and into his hair, pulling his head down to her and kissing him softly on the lips.

“Okay babe.  You go do what you have to do and I’ll get ready.”

Jade watched him as he walked to the door smiling as he turned in the open door and winked at her before he pulled it shut behind him.  She grinned and danced around the room like a mad thing.

Diego Delgado loved her!

CHAPTER NINE

Luis was pacing up and down in front of the silently watching band, Diego and Tag as he tried to order his thoughts.  On the one hand he was overjoyed on the other he was seething with anger.  Damned Marcella Vincent!  Why could she not take a hint and fade out of the Delgado family’s lives?  She had caused enough heartache to last a damned lifetime.  Taking a deep breath he stopped pacing sat down and looked over at what he now considered to be his kids.  So much talent and potential in one room.  They had three hours before they had to be at the stadium so he had better get to it.

“First things first.  The label is very happy with the way the tour is going.  They wanted to add more dates to the last week but I shut them down on that one.  I could however not get them to cut the appearances you have scheduled while preparing for the European leg of the tour.  They are insisting on the four appearances on the talk shows, sorry guys.  They want Richie out there showing that he’s completely recovered and ready to play.”

“Did you talk to Richie about it?”  Trace sounded torn between anger and concern as he spoke.

“Yeah, I had a meeting with Richie and Jen, who have patched up their differences and are back together.  Which is great news for Richie.  He’s in therapy and is doing really well, he looks good.  He’s picked up some weight and is relaxed.  He says he’s taking it one day at a time and that he still has days that he has to fight the need to drug but he’s getting better all the time.”

“Shit that’s good news!”  Givens gave RJ a high five with a wide grin.

“Yes it is, so we’ll leave him to recover fully and put no pressure on him at all.  The ban on calling and talking to him has been lifted so he’s waiting to hear from you lot.  I got the label to agree to back off him as some of those damned suits have no idea how to talk to people.  Then the other thing they want from you, they want the band to put together a tour album.  They want a live album of the best nights of the tour, both here and in Europe.  We’ve been planning something along the same lines so it’s not a deal breaker at this time except Jay has to give her okay.”

“I’m okay with it if it’s what the band wants.”  Jay nodded at Trace as he grinned at her.

“That’s great, thanks Jay.”  RJ grinned as she pulled a face at him.

Luis smiled at them as he relaxed back in his chair.  “That’s all from me but Diego has a few things he wants to talk to you about.”

He waved Diego forward but he stayed where he was, leant over the side of his chair and dragged Jade’s closer to him making her squeak in outrage.  Male sniggers filled the room as she frowned at Diego.

“I’d like you all to be the first to know that Jay and I are together now.  We sorted our shit and I’m sure you’ll be glad all the stomping and snarling is over.  She’s promised to be good.”  Diego and the guys laughed as she gasped in outrage and tried to hit him.

“You’re an ass Delgado.”

“Baby you love it so don’t pretend you don’t.” He smirked as she huffed but said nothing.

“We all knew there was something going on with the two of you, great to see you got your heads out of your asses.”  Trace smirked

Diego just shook his head with a small smile.

“That was the good news now onto the fucked up news.”

“Diego language!”  Luis snapped.

Diego shrugged and grinned at his father before taking Jade’s hand in his, sliding his fingers through hers and putting their clasped hands on his thigh.

“Okay, the not so good news.”  He raised an eyebrow to his dad.  “You all know we’ve been trying to find the bastard who’s been flooding the internet with all the shit about Jay.  This morning we had a breakthrough.  Two of Jay’s fans hacked the asshole’s site and brought us a huge lot of info on him.  A friend and colleague of mine and his team have been busy all day unravelling his shit.  This guy has been stalking Jay for years and he has something big planned which we’re going to stop.  As far as we can make out this guy isn’t working alone, someone is helping him and unfortunately someone here, we don’t know who, is passing our schedules on to him.   So as of today there won’t be any schedules issued.  The only ones who’ll know where we’re going to be and when we’re going to be there will be the people in this room.  It’s going to cause some shit but we’ll be able to handle it.  Any questions?”

“If this fucker has been stalking Jay for years why hasn’t he been caught before now?”  RJ frowned at Diego.

“By law we can't do anything if he isn’t a threat to her safety.  He’s been very careful not to cross that line, until now.  Now the other totally crap news.  It concerns Marcella Vincent and her crew of sluts.”  Jade’s hand jerked in his and he squeezed it reassuringly.

“I found out this morning that she has posted that I am marrying her the day after the tour finishes all over social media.  It’s a load of crap.  She’s never been more than a, sorry Dad, easy fuck.  Now she’s nothing, less than nothing.  She’s hurt my woman for the last time and she’s going down right along with her crew and the bastard stalking Jay.”  Diego leant over and kissed Jay softly.

“You’re whipped D-man!”  Jimmy crowed and everyone laughed as Diego just grinned at him and said nothing.

“Baby do you want to say something tonight or wait?”  Diego watched Jay intently as he asked then smiled as she squeezed his hand and looked around at the guys.  God his woman was amazing.

“I have something to tell you guys and I hope you won’t be pissed at me.”  She took a deep breath then huffed it out before she continued.

“Firstly I want you all to understand that it was necessary to keep what I’m going to tell you a secret at the time it happened but I’m done with living with it hanging over me any longer.”  Her eyes flew around the guys watching her with confused frowns.

“My real name is Jade Moira Galloway.  My father is Michael Francis Galloway, I’m sure you all know who he is.”  She didn’t give anyone a chance to say anything but carried right on speaking.  “I started playing music with my Mum when I was only a little girl but it was my Uncle Patrick who introduced me to the drums, to my father’s eternal disgust.  When I was nineteen I met a man who pursued me relentlessly until I agreed to a date.  I married him about eighteen months later.  We weren’t married long when he was killed in a car accident.  His name was Val Delgado.”  Jay paused as shocked gasps filled the room.

“After he died I was broken for a long time until Tag lost his temper and forced me to start playing again.  As a family we decided to continue hiding my identity and that was how Jay Gallado came to be.  Papa Luis became my manager and I became a session musician, playing for who ever needed me.  I’ve played with many musicians over the years but it wasn’t until I played with Cat and Sweet Sacrifice that I realised I missed playing live.  I missed the energy, the high, the feeling of absolute bliss when you get it right and the fans roar their appreciation.  That’s why I agreed to come to the audition and take a step outside my self-imposed cage.”  Jay rubbed her free hand over their clasped hands as she looked at Diego.

“Diego and I discussed my options and we decided that you guys deserved to know the truth before some asshole splatters it all over the tabloids.  The band is going through enough shit right now and I really don’t want to add to it.”  She sagged back in her chair and looked around at the shocked faces.

“So you’re saying you’re actually Jade Delgado and Luis is your father-in-law as well as your manager and you’re dating your brother-in-law.  Man you sure do like to keep it in the family.”  Jimmy said with a shit eating grin.

“Jimmy!”  Trace growled.  “Stop being an ass for one minute in your life.”

Jimmy shrugged while still grinning.  The others seemed stunned by what they had just heard and just sat there staring at her then RJ moved forward in his chair.

“So if this asshole that’s been stalking her gets hold of this information he can spin it anyway he wants which means that she has to get it out there before he does.  Am I right in thinking that?”  RJ addressed his question to Luis.

“Yeah, you’re right.”  Luis said softly.

RJ looked around at the rest of the band.  “What do you guys think?”

“What will the label do if this hits?”  Givens wanted to know.

“Fuck the label.”  Trace snarled.  “They get enough out of us so they can just deal.  If everyone is in agreement I think we should call Molly Rutherford and give her the story.  She’s been around us the longest and she never used any of the bad shit about Richie in her program, she kept it clean.  That way Jay would still have some control over the way the story is presented to the public.”

Luis nodded slowly as he weighed their options.  “That would actually be the best way to do it.  Trace is right, Molly has been good to the band and her reporting has always been well balanced.  I will handle the label so don’t any of you worry about that.”

“So when would we do it?”  Jade asked softly.

“Baby we need to move on this before this bastard beats us to it.  Molly is on the list of reporters getting face time with the band tonight but I don’t want to pull her aside with other reporters watching.  You could maybe call her and arrange the interview for after the show Dad.”  Diego knew Jade was afraid and nervous and his thumb stroked over the back of her hand soothingly.

Jay looked around the room and swallowed nervously.  “Could you all be there when I talk to her please?  She’s going to want the band’s reaction anyway.”

“No problem sweet thing, we’ll all be there with you.  You’re a part of Storm Front and we stick together, always.”  Trace said in his growly voice.

“Yeah sweet thing, you’re ours now.”  Jimmy teased with a naughty grin.

“You’re such an ass Jimmy.  We’ll be there Jay we’ve got your back.”  Givens reached across and gave her a fist pump.

“So while we’re all here I’ve got something I want to discuss.”  RJ said as he slanted a look over at Jade.  “We all had great fun in the pub last night but it was more than fun, it was fuckin’ amazing.  I want to do one of Jay’s songs, not tonight but soon.  We can slot it into the playlist easily enough.  What do you guys think?  It’s an opportunity to get the fans’ reaction first hand.”

“Hell yeah!  It could be like a test run before we do the album I’ve got planned.  I want to do more than just one song though.”  Trace grinned at all of them.  “I’ve spent my time today scoring what we have so far and I have to tell you guys it’s going to fuckin’ blow everyone away.”

“We can decide on what we’re going to play later.  I just want to know that we’re all in agreement.” RJ said.

“Yeah!  We’re with you all the way.”  Givens said and Jimmy nodded as he spoke.

“Great!  We’re all in agreement then.”

RJ smirked as Jade snorted a laugh and shook her head but she let their unilateral decision go as Diego lifted her hand and kissed it.

“You’re whipped D-man, totally whipped.”  Jimmy teased with a laugh.

“I have no problem with it Jimmy my man.  My woman is a steaming hot rock star with the sexiest voice I’ve ever heard, so yeah man, I’m happy with where I am.”  Diego smiled at Jade before looking around the room at each of them.  “We appreciate your acceptance guys.”

Luis took over the meeting by clearing his throat.  “We have tonight’s gig and then two travelling days to Seattle, we’ll use those two days to iron out your playlist.  I’ll call Molly and set up the meeting here in my suite.  I’ll let everyone know the time once it’s been set.  We’re almost done with this leg of the tour and I want to thank all of you for making it easy despite the scare with Richie.  Let’s get out there and give the fans what they have paid for, a damned great show.”

Diego looked at his watch.  “The transport will be here in thirty minutes to take us to the Stadium so anything you still have to do you had better get done now.”

Grumbles greeted him as everyone filed out of the suite.  The usual shit they gave him every day.  He held on to Jade’s hand and kept her back.  “We’re going to be discreet where the hotel’s security cameras can see us baby so don’t get pissed if I don’t take your hand or something, okay?”

Her grin lit up her face as she looked up at him.

“Okay babe.”

She winked at him as she walked out the door and his heart felt as if it swelled to about twice its size in his chest.

The stage was pitch dark and out there in the stadium the rumble of the fans talking, shouting and laughing as they waited for the band could be heard.  The stadium went silent as Jade hit the bass drum then filled with sound as she started playing.  Lights flashed to the beat of the bass drum and in the flashing lights the rest of the band came on stage and the stadium erupted.  Trace ran on with his signature scream and the stage was instantly flooded with light.  And then they were off, playing their first number, from there the night went flawlessly.  They laughed and played and the guys flirted with the fans crowded against the barriers with hands outstretched.  Givens, the shit, was constantly pointing out hot girls to Jimmy and the two laughed their heads off when one of the girls Givens was pointing at ripped her top up and flashed the band.  Trace started a tit flashing war when he said he wanted to see the best pair in the stadium.  Jade laughed until she collapsed on top of her snare when a really big lady forced her way to the front and flashed the guys a pair of the biggest, saggiest tits she had ever seen!  The guys were beside themselves with laughter as they called the camera over to capture the moment.  Trace ran into the wings and asked for a fan package to be brought out for her and with security all around him he jumped from the stage and handed it to the lady, getting a hug and a smacking kiss for his efforts.   With hands reaching for him he made his way back on stage with a huge grin.