But I was in a completely different place now. Mentally, artistically, and spiritually. Only, the world didn’t know that yet. This tour was my chance to show them who I’d become over the past three years. To show them the real me.
For this tour we’d scaled back the stage production, big time. Partially because I was now working with a smaller label and a greatly reduced budget, but also by design. I wanted this tour to be more intimate and personal. Less of the three-ring circus we used to take on the road, and more like bands back in the 90’s would tour. For the first time, I didn’t have dancers or my usual arsenal of backup singers. The entire show would be carried by me and the five bandmembers on stage. Four if I couldn’t find a guitarist.
My thumb began to cramp as it hovered over Harmony’s name.
“You don’t need her. You can do this,” I said, defiantly sliding my phone into my pocket, before immediately digging it back out and calling my sister.
“What have you done?” Harmony answered.
“Oh, I didn’t expect you to pick up so quickly, I…” I stammered, caught off guard.
“Spill it.”
“I really didn’t want to call you, NiNi,” my voice began to quiver. “I know you’re not my tour manager anymore and this isn’t your problem and I want to respect your boundaries, and—”
“Hey,” Harmony stopped me. “Slow down. It’s okay. What’s wrong?”
“Are you sure, because if you want me to fuck off, I can figure this out on my own.”
“It may not be my job to help you as a singer, but I can still help you as a sister, right?”
I started sobbing. Like, super ugly sobbing. Gasping for air, snot shooting out of my nose, sobbing. I told her all about firing Gill and not being able to find his replacement, my worries about my new security team, and then eventually about every problem I’d had so far putting this tour together. I was so busy being excited over the tour, I guess I hadn’t realized how much stress I’d been holding in.
“Wow,” Harmony replied once I’d finished my mega dump.
“So, as you can see. I’m doing a real whiz-bang job without you,” I said.
“Yes, you are,” she replied enthusiastically.
“What? I was being sarcastic.”
“I’m not,” she said. “I have never been more amazed by you. The amount of work and dedication you’ve put into this tour? Are you kidding me? I’ve never seen you so focused or passionate. Sure, you’ve hit a bunch of roadblocks, so did I, but you’ve overcome every single one of them.”
“Except this one,” I said. “I was lucky to find Gill, and now he’s gone, and I’m screwed.”
“He’s gone because you did the right thing. You protected that girl from a dangerous creep. You put the safety of a stranger before your own needs, and I couldn’t possibly be prouder of you.”
“Thanks sis,” I sniffled.
“Any time. Besides, I just won a hundred bucks in the ‘how long will it take for Melody to call Harmony’ pool.”
“Shut up,” I said. “That’s not a real thing.”
“I put twenty dollars on one to five days. If you’d waited one more day Lyric would’ve taken the pot.”
“You guys are horrible,” I said, unable to fight back a giggle.
“Jaxon was the only one that had you making it through the entire tour without calling.”
“Thank your sweet husband from me. I’ll bring him an official crew jacket at the end of the tour.”
“Gonna need a guitar player for that tour, aren’t you?” Harmony asked.
“Got any ideas?”
“I just might,” she replied.
* * *
Train
I walked into the club house and stalled. “What the fuck is that supposed to be?”
Katie Jameson turned from the giant, unstable looking stack of donuts and scowled. “That is a donut tower in the shape of a cake.
I squinted.
“Does it not look like a donut tower in the shape of a cake?” she asked, unable to hide the panic in her voice.
“Do you think it looks like a cake?”
She glanced at it, then me and scowled. “Goddammit.”
“Why are you trying to do this, sweetheart?” I teased. “Your specialty is the human body, not baked goods.”
Katie was the twin sister of my closest friend, Flea. He was my club brother and we’d patched in together, so that basically made her my sister. Flea and I were often put together on runs, and club assignments, particularly if they called for both brains and brawn.
I was the brawn.
Katie threw her hands in the air. “Razor’s never had a birthday cake and his favorite thing in the world is a glazed donut from the Donut Hole, so I thought I could incorporate the two.” She scowled at the leaning tower of pastry. “YouTube makes everything look so fucking easy.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Why are you making such a fuss over that puppy?”
“He is a puppy,” she retorted. “But he’s a sweet puppy and he deserves a nice birthday. Don’t read into it.”
Razor was twenty-five and had been a patch for about four years or so. Pretty much all of the club women had taken him into their hearts and mothered the fuck out of him.
“You think about asking Cameron for help?”
Cameron was one of our president’s brothers. He ran a construction company (with their other siblings) when he wasn’t working as a chef.
She sighed. “I’ve already called him. I was just hoping I could figure it out without him.”
I crossed my arms and cocked my head. “Well, I’m thinkin’ your hope is for naught.”
“Suck it,” she retorted, and I laughed.
“Sorry, babe. Just sayin’ it like it is.”
“Save it for someone else.”
“You seen Hatch?”
“He’s in his office I think,” she said distractedly, trying to straighten the leaning tower of donuts.
I left her to her chore and headed down the hall to my president’s office, knocking on the closed door.
“Come in,” Hatch called, and I stepped inside finding him with his feet up on the desk, smiling at Harmony Quinn.
Harmony was married to Jaxon Quinn, the biological brother of two of my club brothers, Ace and Knight. Jax was FBI, but he was good people, and although he was a by-the-book lawman, he knew when to keep his distance from club business which kept us in his good graces.
“Train!” she exclaimed, jumping to her feet, and rushing to hug me.
“Hey, sweetheart, where’s your man?”
“It’s Quinn brother manly-man time,” she said.
I gave her a chin lift. The Quinn brothers made it a point to get together once a month for games, beers, 80’s action movies. It was strictly no chicks allowed, so the wives usually hung out over at Ace’s place.
I glanced at Hatch. “You texted you needed me, but I can come back if you two are busy.”
“The text was on my behalf, actually,” Harmony said.
I cocked my head. “You coulda just called me direct, sweetheart.”