Insider (Exodus End #1) (41 page)

“Are you sure you want me to include the story about Pyre trying to strangle you?”

“Yeah. And be sure to say the reason he did it was because he lost the Exodus End Guitarist for a Year Contest.
To a girl
.”

“What a turd.” Toni pursed her lips to refrain from calling him more derogatory names.

“I’m done thinking about him for today. Next question,” Reagan prompted.

Toni glanced toward her legal pad of Susan-prepared questions and shook her head. “So,” she asked, “what’s the most difficult thing about being on the road with a bunch of guys?”

“Lack of bathroom space,” she said without hesitation.

“Yeah, that does suck,” Toni agreed with a nod.

“These guys have been so great about accepting me into their fold, so I really don’t have anything to complain about. And this whole three days on the road followed by two nights in a cushy hotel is fabulous. I was on tour with Sinners for a few weeks, and those guys never take a day off while they’re on tour. I don’t know how they stay sane.”

“You talk about Sinners a lot,” Toni noted.

“You know, you should write a book about them when you’re finished with Exodus End.”

“I’ve thought about it,” Toni admitted. But first she had to prove to herself and the rest of the world that she could do right by Exodus End.

The bus shuddered as it came to a stop.

“I think it’s time to eat,” Reagan said. “We didn’t get very far in your interview.”

Toni laughed and shook her head in disgrace. “Don’t worry about it. Not getting far in my interviews is officially a trend at this point.”

“Well then, let’s go.” Reagan sprang to her feet and tugged Toni off the sectional. “I need to wash the taste of Logan’s dick-by-proxy out of my mouth.”

Could she really taste that? How mortifying.

Toni grabbed her recorder from the table and tucked it into the pocket of her sweater. She never knew when someone was going to say something important.

Twenty-Two

Logan sidled up to Butch and waited to be noticed.

“What’s up?” Butch said, not even looking up from the page attached to his clipboard.

“I have a few things I need at the hotel tonight.”

Butch could get them anything they wanted. At any time. He’d never let them down yet. One time Steve had tested the bounds of Butch’s abilities by requesting a gold-plated toilet seat in his hotel room in Beijing. It had been installed before they arrived.

“Girls?” Butch asked. It was Logan’s typical request.

“I have a girl,” Logan reminded him.

Butch glanced toward the back of the bus where Toni was finishing up her turkey sandwich.
Without
jalapeños, Logan’s dick happily reminded him.

“Yeah, but I figured you wanted more than one.”

“If it’s that particular one, one is enough.”

Butch grinned to himself, looking way too self-satisfied for Logan’s taste.

“I need sex toys,” Logan blurted.

Butch didn’t bat an eyelash. “Okay. What kind?”

“All kinds. All sizes. For both men and women.”

“Got it,” Butch said.

“Isn’t weed legal for recreational use in Montana?”

Butch’s mustache twitched. “Nope.”

“Damn. Can you get me some anyway?”

“Logan,” Butch began his long-winded rehearsed speech about rock star vices.

“Fine,” Logan said. “But when we get to Colorado this weekend . . .” He didn’t want to get busted for illegal drugs and suffer the fury of Sam Baily’s wrath, but if it was legal? Sign him up for some of that shit.

Butch nodded in defeat. He had a long standing rule about refusing to obtain illegal substances for anyone while they were on tour, but he couldn’t use that as an excuse in this case. “Just don’t bring it on the bus. We don’t want to cross state lines with it.”

Logan patted him on the back. “Thata boy.”

“Anything else?”

Logan sneaked a glance at Toni, and his heart fluttered at the sight of her. “What do women like? As gifts, I mean.”

“Besides sex toys and weed?”

Logan laughed and whacked Butch on the back again. “Yeah, besides sex toys and weed.”

Butch ticked off items on his thick fingers. “Flowers, candy, jewelry, lingerie.”

“Okay, get her some of that stuff. What else?”

“It would probably mean more to her if you picked out something specific to her.”

Logan pursed his lips and twisted them to one side, trying to think of something special. He snapped his fingers when he remembered something uniquely Toni. “Socks,” he said, pointing at Butch to emphasize his own brilliance.

Butch’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Logan. “Socks?”

“Yeah, get her a bunch of socks.”

“Okaaay,” Butch drawled. “And I thought I’d never be asked for anything weirder than a gold-plated toilet seat.”

“Do you think Toni would like one of those?” Logan teased. “Her ass
is
precious to me.”

“Nah,” Butch said, shaking his head. “I’m sure she’d think it odd.” He lowered his voice and said under his breath, “Not as odd as socks.”

“And I’ll need a supply of all my usual junk food.”

“You don’t even have to ask. It’s already in your room.”

“And I have an unusual craving for strawberry shortcake.”

“That is unusual,” Butch said, grinning to himself as he jotted a note on his schedule. “Got it.”

Logan was going to write Butch into his will.

“Are you still going white-water rafting tomorrow?” Butch asked.

Logan scowled. He’d completely forgotten he’d scheduled a day trip with a couple of buddies he’d met while rafting the Mad Mile a few years before. Every time he came through Montana, the three of them headed down the Gallatin River. But not this time. He’d much rather spend all day in bed, though he planned to get little rest. “I’m going to have to cancel.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Butch said, his grin broadening.

“Thanks for having my back, man,” Logan said as he slugged him affectionately.

“Any time.”

Butch pulled out his cellphone to work his usual magic, and Logan headed to the back of the bus to join the others. There were no available seats, so he stood behind Toni and stroked her hair. He didn’t understand his inexplicable need to touch her at all times. It was as baffling to him as it apparently was to the three men gawking at him from around the semicircular booth. The only guy on the bus who seemed to understand his fixation was Trey Mills. Trey offered him a curt nod and knowing smile before wrapping an arm around Reagan’s shoulders and tugging her closer to him in the booth. She giggled when Trey whispered in her ear. They both turned their heads to look to the back of the bus where the door to the lounge stood ajar. Before Logan could blink, the lovers had risen from the table, sprinted through the open door, and slid it shut with a definitive bang.

“And there he goes again,” Dare said with resigned sigh.

“At least you aren’t competing with Ethan today,” Steve said. His gaze darted to Toni. “I mean, those two guys are great friends, you know?”

“Inseparable,” Dare agreed.

“I know about their polyamorous relationship,” Toni said, munching on a plain potato chip. “Reagan told me. So you don’t have to worry about guarding what you say. Why isn’t Ethan here with them?”

“I’m sure he wanted to be, but he’s with the rest of the security team securing the hotel before we arrive,” Max said.

“Are you guys really in that much danger?” Toni asked, pausing with her sandwich halfway to her mouth.

“There have been incidents,” Max said, drawing his brows together.

“There are a lot of crazies out in the world,” Logan said. “And for some reason, we attract them.”

Toni reached into her pocket and pulled out her recording device. She set it on the table in plain sight. A red light blinked steadily on its top. Logan wondered how long the thing had been recording.

“What kind of incidents?” Toni asked, her gaze on Max.

“He’s usually bothered by beautiful women,” Steve said. “I’m the one that crazy dudes want to pick fights with for no reason.”

“Can’t blame a guy for wanting to smack the smug off your face,” Logan said.

“I’m not smug.”

“So you’ve been in a lot of fights?” Toni asked.

“A few,” Steve said vaguely, his gaze trained on the ceiling as he took a draw off his beer.

A few? The guy had been in more fights than Mike Tyson. And he rarely instigated them. Dudes really did pick fights with him for no reason.

Getting no further details from Steve, Toni turned her attention back to Max. “I assume women do some pretty desperate stunts to get you to take them to your bed.”

“They try,” Logan said.

“Max is very discriminating when it comes to bed partners,” Dare said, nudging Max, who was seated beside him, with his elbow.

“I believe in quality over quantity,” Max said, looking amused as he scratched his nose with the back of his hand.

“Unlike Logan,” Steve claimed. “He’ll fuck anyone.”

So that was why guys picked fights with Steve.

“Including me,” Toni said. Logan couldn’t see her face and couldn’t tell by her voice if she was upset or not. “Boy, he
must
have low standards.”

“I didn’t mean it that way,” Steve said, reaching across the table to squeeze Toni’s hand.

He was really asking for an ass-beating now. No one touched Toni but Logan.

“Get your hands off of her,” Logan growled.

“Or you’ll do what?” Steve asked.

“Introduce your face to the bottom of my shoe.”

Dare sighed and shook his head. “We get it, Logan. She’s yours. You don’t have to lift your leg and piss on her.”

Max chuckled. “I’m actually enjoying this. How often do we get to tease Logan about his feelings for a woman?”

That’s it, I’m going to have to kick all their asses. The queue for ass-whippings starts here.

Toni lifted a hand to cover his. He hadn’t realized he was squeezing her shoulder so tightly until her gentle touch brought attention to it. He immediately loosened his hold and tried to smooth out any damage.

“He doesn’t have feelings for me,” Toni said. “We’re justfriends.”

She was so very wrong about that, but he was still too much of a chicken shit to correct her. Why were jumping out of airplanes and doing back flips on his dirt bike and playing concerts in front of a hundred thousand people easier than telling this sweet woman that he was over the moon for her? It made no fucking sense to him, but it was a fact. Sharing how he felt terrified him to the bone.

“Of course he doesn’t,” Steve said, laughing hysterically.

Several hours later, they left the tour bus parked in the lot behind the arena and a limousine shuttled the band members and their weekend luggage to the hotel—because limousines were far less noticeable than tour buses. Right. Logan convinced Toni to leave her cameras and recording devices locked under the bus, but she insisted on bringing her laptop in case she had time to make progress on her book. Logan, however, was determined that she wouldn’t have a second to spare on work. Tonight and tomorrow were all about play.

“It doesn’t feel right to make someone else do my laundry,” Toni said on the elevator after Logan had collected his room keys from Butch.

She’d wanted to bring her dirty clothes so she could head off to a laundry and wash them. She wouldn’t have time for that nonsense either.

“It’s not a big deal. We pay someone to come clean up after us on every off day. It’s their job. You wouldn’t want to deny them their job, would you?”

“I suppose not, but I should at least pay them out of my own pocket.”

Logan chuckled. Then he brushed her hair behind her ear with one hand. “I don’t think they’ll notice a few extra socks in the mix. Unless they drive themselves batty wondering why the mates to those socks have vanished.”

“I hope they don’t discard them. My sister would be so upset.”

“Your sister?”

She pushed her glasses up her nose with the back of her wrist. “It wouldn’t interest you.”

“When are you going to figure out that everything about you interests me?”

Her slight smile and the blush on her smooth cheeks made him want to kiss her.

“Birdie had a very hard time learning how to dress herself,” Toni said. “One morning she came into my room before the sun had risen, so proud of herself for having picked out her clothes and put them on without help. Her striped shirt was on backwards and her floral print leggings were wrong side out and she had on two different socks.”

The look of love on Toni’s face as she talked about her younger sister made Logan’s heart swell. He wondered if anyone would ever wear that expression while thinking of him.

“I was tired and not ready to get out of bed yet, so I told her she’d done a good job but her socks didn’t match. I was hoping she’d let me sleep a while longer, to be honest. So off she went to find matching socks. But then she couldn’t find the mates, and she was so upset. I helped her search and we eventually found them in my sock drawer. I put them on as a joke and it made her so happy that we were both mismatched, but matching, that it became a regular thing. Every time we go to a store we buy several pairs of socks and divvy them between us. That way we’re always mismatched but matching. It makes Birdie giddy.”