Rogue (Bad Blooded Rebel Series)
Read Rogue (Bad Blooded Rebel Series) Online
Authors: Mellie George
Rogue
Bad Blooded
Rebel Series #2
By Mellie George
Text
copyright ©2013 Mellie George
All
Rights Reserved
Edited
by Dawn Bourgeois
Cover
Photo Courtesy of CanStockPhoto.com
Cover
Design ©2013 Mellie George
This
book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and
incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a
fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual
events is purely coincidental.
No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
prior permission of the author.
Support
your favorite authors by saying no to piracy! It is really not a victimless
crime. Do your part to end the theft of many author’s hard work!
The
Author acknowledges referencing the following people, places, music, bands,
sports teams, movies, and all that noise: Oprah, Christina Perri, Twilight, Pizza
King, Dr. Phil, and Call Of Duty.
This one is
again dedicated to my loyal readers…thank you for embracing Ryder and Everleigh
and loving the beginning of their story!
To Dawn, Sam,
Leanne, Tiffanie, and Fiona…you sure know how to make a girl feel loved. Xoxo!
Table
of Contents
Ryder
“What do you mean, they aren’t here?” I
shouted furiously. “We literally sped all the way from Indiana to fucking get
here on time, and those douche bags aren’t even here?” I walked across the recording
studio and angrily kicked a chair. “This is bullshit!” Stanley and Rick Isaacs,
two brothers that owed our label Bulldoze Records, had called our manager Steve
Roberts and demanded that me and my band mates Kris Engle, Beau Cavanaugh, and
Jude Miller come back to our studio in Cincinnati. They were demanding we
record the five remaining songs for our upcoming album. We still had a few
months before the label actually needed the record to be finished but Stanley
and Rick were just being dicks. This wasn’t about the music…this was about Everleigh.
Two days ago, I had taken a chance and
drove two hours from my hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio to find Everleigh Stone, a
beautiful brown eyed bombshell I’d met backstage at the last stop on our tour.
She had captivated me in a way no girl ever had and after three months of
thinking of her day and night, I drove two hours to Muncie, Indiana where she
lived to find her. She was less than thrilled to see me at first but after hanging
out in my hotel room for a few hours (which unfortunately was nothing more
sexual than just kissing), I was finally able to break down some of the walls
she’d put up and she’d thankfully given me a chance.
Of course, with fame comes paparazzi and
cameras. Within a few hours of being in Muncie the press started to swoop in
and suddenly my relationship with Everleigh had been a hot topic in the music
industry. Because of this the band was now getting more attention than it had
in the last three months since our tour ended, so Stanley and Rick saw the
publicity as an opportunity. They decided to bust our asses and make us put out
the album earlier than we wanted to. It didn’t matter if the record was
complete shit. They wanted to “strike while the iron was hot” and pad their
pockets in the process. Dicks.
After dragging us back here I was more
than a little pissed that the fuckers weren’t at the studio like they said they
would be. This was bullshit. I shouldn’t have left Everleigh…she needed me. Her
father, Max, was dying of cancer and I felt like I had abandoned her when she
needed me the most. My own father had succumbed to cancer when I was twenty
years old and after seeing how sick Max was I knew his time was short.
“Calm down, dude,” Jude said, placing a
warm hand on my shoulder. “Even if they don’t get here we’ll get this hammered
out in no time. We’ll get it done.”
“Listen, if need be, you can just record
your vocals and we’ll do the rest,” Kris said sincerely. “If Everleigh calls
you, you need to go.”
I ran my hands through my hair and
pulled at it impatiently. I needed to be with her and not just because Max was
dying. Everleigh had trusted me enough to let me get a little peek at her soft
sexy body and now that I’d gotten a taste of everything she had to offer I was
dying for more. I didn’t want to rush her but my dick was getting hard just at
the memory of feeling her slick folds around my fingers, her inner walls
clenching as she came. Damn it…why the fuck did I come back here?
“Are you going to be able to make it
through this, man?” Jude asked, sitting down on a stool and plucking a few
strings on his bass guitar. “I mean, we were all there when Alan passed away
and then again when Rose died. You were a wreck.”
“Well, of course I was. They were my parents,
you dick,” I snapped. “Besides, this isn’t about me, Jude. It’s about
Everleigh.”
“Sorry,” Jude said after Kris shot him a
glare from behind his drum kit. “We’re just worried about you, bro. We don’t
want to see you fall off the deep end again by reliving their deaths when
Everleigh’s old man passes away.”
I knew he was being sincere and that he
cared about me like a brother but I had to admit his concern was irritating me
at the moment. All I could think about was getting this recording finished and
getting back to my girl. “I’ll be fine, okay? I just want to get this shit over
with. Fuck Stanley and Rick. We’re doing this shit without them. Where the hell
is Beau?” I asked.
“I think he stepped out to take a call,”
Kris said. “He’ll be back in a second. Just chill, dude.”
At that moment, the door to the
recording booth opened and in walked Steve. “Hey boys,” he said. “Glad you all
made it.” Steve Roberts was a slightly pudgy middle aged man that still tried
to look younger than he was by wearing a leather jacket and spiking up his salt
and pepper colored hair. He was a nice guy but had put up with a lot of shit
from us over the years.
“Well, it’s about God damned time one of
you assholes shows up!” I snapped at him. “Where the hell are Dumb and Dumber?”
“They just messaged me and said they had
to fly to New York tonight,” Steve said, a worried expression on his face.
“What?” I screamed, kicking over a stool.
“You mean to tell me those cock suckers forced us to come back here and they didn’t
even bother to fucking show up?”
Kris stood up from behind his drum kit
and walked over to me, his hands raised. “Ryder, calm down man. It isn’t
Steve’s fault. He’s under their thumb as much as we are.”
“I don’t give a fuck! This could have
waited and you know it, Steve! Why can’t you for once stand up for us and get
shit done?”
Steve looked hurt for a split second
before he got angry. “Look here, you little punk, I have been standing up for
you for more than ten years and trust me, it hasn’t been easy. I’ve put up with
your drinking, partying, and your endless string of whores night after night
and I never complained once. I go without sleeping, eating, and seeing my
family to help you all because it’s my job and I love you boys. Don’t you dare
stand there and say I don’t defend you to the death, Ryder, because believe me
when I say, I do,” he snapped.
I took ten deep breaths to try and calm
myself down. I sighed. “Look, I’m sorry man, all right? I’m just anxious. We
shouldn’t have been dragged back here right now because of-”
“Because of Everleigh. I know,” he said,
the corner of his mouth lifting into a smile. “I’ve seen the pictures on TV.
She’s pretty cute.”
“She’s fucking beautiful,” I corrected.
“Tell me about her. What’s so special
about her that made the ultimate bachelor like you take a second look?” Steve
asked.
I smiled my first genuine smile since
leaving Indiana a few hours ago. “She’s just…I can’t describe it. She’s so
beautiful it hurts to look at her and she doesn’t even know it. She’s honest,
sincere, a hard worker, and she loves her Dad.”
“Have you met him yet?” Steve asked,
grinning.
My smile quickly turned down into a
frown. “Actually I have. Max is a really great guy.”
“Okay…then why do you look bummed out?”
he asked.
“Her dad has cancer,” Kris said softly.
“It’s not looking good.”
Steve’s eyes darted from Kris’s to mine
in an instant. “Oh, Ryder, I’m sorry. How did you handle seeing him?”
I rolled my eyes. “Why does everyone
think I can’t handle this? My dad’s gone and nothing is going to change that.”
“We know, but we also know how bad you
slid off the rails when he died. You were even worse when your mom passed on
too. You fucked anything that moved and nearly drank yourself to death. We are
just worried that watching her dad die will send you into a tailspin again,”
Jude said, and for the first time in a while he looked genuinely worried about
me.
“Are you really going to sit there and
judge
me
for sleeping with too many women, Jude? Really?” I growled, and
he huffed. “Look, you guys, I’m fine. I’m not some punk ass kid anymore, so
don’t think I will break down when Max passes away. I’ve been through this and
I know what to expect. However, Everleigh hasn’t and she’s going to need
someone there who lo…uh, cares about her,” I said, catching myself before I
said I loved her. I know that Kris, Steve, and Jude all picked up on my slip by
the way they looked at each other but thankfully they had enough sense to keep
it to themselves.
Before anyone else could say anything,
Beau came walking into the recording booth, his face full of concern. My heart
jumped. “Beau? What’s up man?” Kris asked.
“I just got off the phone with Danni,”
he said, looking straight at me.
“Just spit it out, man,” I said and my
palms were starting to sweat.
He blew out a breath and said, “It’s
Everleigh’s dad. I guess the nurse found him bleeding from his mouth and nose
and they don’t think he’s gonna hang on much longer.”
Panic shot through me. “Fuck! I’m
leaving. Now,” I said, looking around for my jacket and the keys to my
Escalade.
“Ryder, you can’t drive back to Indiana
alone like this. I’ll go with you,” Beau said.
“We’ll all go. Fuck those two
shitheads,” Jude chimed in. “We can have a couple of guys load our shit up and
bring it to Indiana and we can record there.”
“That sounds like a plan. I’ll take care
of everything guys. You all go,” Steve said, clapping me hard on the back.
“Why didn’t Everleigh call me?” I asked
Beau, my head snapping back and forth in search of my jacket.
“Well, she’s a little preoccupied right
now, Ryder,” he said.
“I understand that but Danni could have
at least called my phone and let me know what was going on.” He looked like
there was something he didn’t want to tell me and I was starting to panic.
“Beau, what is it? Did he already die?” I asked, a lump forming in my throat.
He shook his head. “No not yet. It’s
just…aw, fuck. Everleigh told her not to tell you.”
“She did what?” I asked, feeling as if
I’d punched in the gut. “How could she not want me there?”
“I don’t know man. She’s a pretty
selfless girl, Ryder. Maybe she just wanted to grieve alone, or maybe she
didn’t want to burden you with her problems when you have problems of your
own.”
“Well, my problems don’t mean shit right
now. Putting out a rushed album to please a couple of rich pricks doesn’t
concern me at all when Everleigh is going through something like this. Where
the fuck are my keys?” I shouted, looking around the room frantically.
“Calm down, man. Here,” Jude said,
tossing me my jacket. “Keys are in your pocket.”
“All right, I’m leaving,” I said,
sliding into my jacket and heading for the door.
“Wait, Ryder. Let one of us ride with
you,” Beau said. “You shouldn’t drive alone on an icy highway when you’re
panicked like this.”
“I’ll go,” Kris offered. “The rest of
you guys can go in the SUV with John.”
Everyone nodded. “Whatever. Let’s go,” I
yelled, and Kris followed behind me as I opened the door and heard Steve call
out a goodbye.