“Are you sure you want to do this?” Klement asked for the tenth time. “Your arm has got to be killing you.”
“I am not going to puss out.”
Actually, her arm just felt weird. Numbness alternating with burning cold pulsed beneath the bandage. Kat flexed her fingers, grateful that they all moved the way she wanted. She’d promised to meet with the medics on the side stage after the set and then talk with the police after the concert. Suddenly, she realized she still hadn’t taken her Xanax. Now that the medics were probably going to give her something for her wound, she couldn’t. Kat took a deep breath and focused on the soothing blue of Klement’s eyes. Oh well. She’d just have to do this without a pill.
Klem ran a hand through his hair, face etched with worry. “Okay, but if it gets too bad, let me know between songs and we’ll cut the set short.”
Cliff surveyed her with awed eyes. “Damn, you’re tough.” His lips and cheeks were red and raw from the duct tape.
“The audience is waiting,” she said flatly. “Listen.”
From the stage they could hear the crowd chanting their name, clapping with each syllable. “Bleeding Vengeance. Bleeding Vengeance!”
Klement took her hand. “Well, let’s give them what they want.”
The crowd roared as they took the stage. Kat felt the reverberations beneath her feet. For a moment her heart stopped at the sight of what looked like millions of faces, though it was only thousands. Only, she scoffed inwardly.
Kinley’s advice anchored her. Just pretend we’re playing at a bar with our old band. Calm infused her. But she didn’t want to play with her old band. She wanted to play with Klement, Rod, and even Cliff. And they were all there. She just needed to conjure the bar part.
As Cliff approached the microphone, she knew it would be impossible to pretend she was in a tavern. But a dream, on the other hand… That could work.
“Thank you for waiting so long!” Cliff roared in his best stage voice. “We were held up by a madman. I was tied up!” He held his wrists together, miming captivity.
The masses gaped and clapped.
“Our new guitarist was shot!”
The crowd looked to her, and she displayed her bandage. They erupted in cheers. Kat bit back a laugh. Cliff was turning their harrowing experience into entertainment to make up for their tardiness. It was actually quite brilliant. Everyone was going to hear about the incident anyway. The press was all over the place. She’d even seen Marianne nosing around.
“But our bassist brought the guy down with the wrath of a vengeful demon!”
Klement gave Cliff a dark look before playing an ominous riff.
Cliff maintained a tense silence before pointing at Rod. “Our drummer brought salvation!”
Rod rattled off an impossibly fast drumbeat.
“And now we come for Vengeance!” Cliff leaned over, grinning maniacally at the audience as they shrieked in ecstasy. “Bleeding Vengeance!”
Klement started the bass riff for “Bring Out Your Dead.”
Right on her mark, Kat’s fingers raced across the fret board in that beloved shredding riff that she’d played since she’d fallen in love with this band. The crowd went insane, cheering and moshing like her most spectacular daydreams.
I’m doing it, an awestruck voice spoke in her head as she played the last chord and tossed guitar picks to a cheering audience. Not only that, but it’s fun!
Cliff launched into a brief eulogy for Lefty before they played his memorial song. Kat didn’t have to fake mournful despair as she played the solos she’d painstakingly composed. Solos that she hoped did him justice. Lighters sparked below in the pit and on the rolling hills before them like a thousand stars. Kat didn’t think she’d ever seen anything so beautiful.
At the end of the song, the applause was deafening. Well, Kat saw a few glares directed at her and was booed by what sounded like two people in the audience. She decided that they could go fuck themselves.
The rest of the show passed in a blur as she lost herself in the music. The noise of the crowd, the stage lights and smoke, the evocative thrum of Klement’s bass, it all put her into a euphoric trance. It was only for the last two songs that her arm started to hurt. The cold had vanished and turned to a blazing burn again. But that pain was nothing compared to the intense high she had from the show.
She made it through the encore, though her fingers started to tremble. That kinda made a cool effect on her riffs at least.
As the notes of the final song bled away, the band all joined hands and took their bow.
The applause felt like an earthquake. Kat’s knees suddenly turned watery, and her arm shrieked in pain. She must have swayed or something, because Klement looked down at her arm and frowned. The bandage was red and soaked with blood.
With slight nods between Klem, Cliff and Rod, they all left the stage. The medic scolded Kat as she removed the bandage and gave Kat a shot, along with two pills. Afterward, Kat barely understood a word the woman said. Her wound got disinfected and stitched up. Kat could see the stage, and she watched Viciӧus play their set. Kinley looked so badass that she wished the medic would hurry up with her arm so she could clap and cheer.
By the time she met with the police, Kat was so loopy from the pain meds that she forgot her fear of them. By the time they concluded their questions, she couldn’t even remember what she’d said. Whatever it was, they seemed satisfied.
There was no sign of Richard. Hopefully he was locked up in the back of a police car or already in a jail cell.
After the cops left, the band went to the backstage area and met countless eager fans. The guys signed t-shirts, posters, breasts—except for Klement—and even a few guitars. To Kat’s surprise, over half of the fans asked for her autograph as well.
“Did you really get shot before you came onstage?” a teenage boy asked.
When she confirmed, he declared her to be badass and hardcore. She tried not to laugh. Maybe it was the drugs that made it sound so funny.
Their crowd trickled away and flocked to Viciӧus, who was coming backstage. Kinley ignored the fans and hurried over with a huge grin.
“You played a whole set after getting shot? Way to outdo me, Kat.”
“I didn’t—”
Kinley’s arms enfolded her so tight she couldn’t breathe. “If anything happened to you…” She broke off with a sob, pulled away and wiped her eyes. “We’ll talk after the backstage stuff.”
“I wanted to tell you earlier, you were bloody fantastic,” Roderick cut in.
Cliff nodded. “Damn straight. You played like you belonged there.”
Klement bent down and kissed her cheek before surveying the others. “Should I have the record company send a contract?”
“Hell yeah,” Rod and Cliff said in unison.
Kat’s breath whooshed out of her body. A contract meant they wanted her to join the band permanently.
Before she could process that amazing news, she heard gasps behind her. Dante Deity approached. Kat had a sudden hazy memory of him in the electrical room, making sure Richard couldn’t reach the gun. That couldn’t have been him. Could it?
“It’s sure been an exciting evening, hasn’t it?” he said, smiling at her.
She nodded, losing her voice.
“We haven’t been introduced yet.” He extended a hand. “I’m Dante Deity.”
“I know.” She shook her head. “I mean, I’m Katana James.”
His sharp black eyebrow rose even as his blue eyes glittered with amusement. His hand was warm and firm in her grasp. Curly black hair framed a classically handsome face as his lips curved in a devastating smile.
Klement put a hand on her shoulder as he spoke to Dante. “She’s our new guitarist.”
“Yes, I heard. You’re very talented—and incredibly tough, to play your first big show with a bullet hole in your arm.”
“It was only a flesh wound,” Kat said weakly, this time unable to muster a British accent. She leaned back against Klement’s chest.
Dante laughed and patted her on the shoulder before looking up at Klement. “So, now that Bleeding Vengeance is back in action, would you like to take part in a charity concert with me? It’s going to be called Metalfeed and will raise money for the homeless.”
“Sounds awesome. We definitely owe you for stepping in for us after Lefty died. Put us down as a tentative yes. I’ll still need to check with our tour manager,” Klement said. “I’ll call you as soon as I know for certain.”
Kat blinked. He had Deity’s number? This new world she’d entered was so surreal, but she was happy to be in it.
After Deity left to do the closing show, Klement grinned down at Kat. “You think I’m a workaholic? Just wait till you get to know that guy.”
Kat laughed. “I’ve heard. Kinley got to interview him last year. I was so jealous.”
“Well, he was definitely impressed with you,” Cliff said.
Rod nodded. “It pays to get on his good side. The man’s a legend.”
Kat turned and wrapped her arms around Klement’s waist. “I’m more impressed with this one.” She rubbed her cheek against his chest. “I don’t think this night can get any better.”
Actually, she knew she’d likely have a delayed panic attack after the incident with Richard, but even that was all right because she knew Klement would be there to bring her out of it.
As if to concur, Klem’s reply rumbled against her ear. “Let’s go back to the hotel and I’ll prove otherwise.”
And he did.