“Oh?” He arched his nutmeg eyebrows. “Maybe we should let the crowd decide who plays.”
Jane cocked her head and tapped her boot softly on the stage floor, relishing what was to come. “First of all, the show’s over. But even if it weren’t, I think those cops over by the door might begin to lose patience. Unless I miss my guess, they’re waiting for you.”
* * *
“What the hell were you thinking, Chan?”
The hammer in Chandler’s brain pounded harder with each of Ryan’s harsh words. Damn, his head hurt. And the fucking sun was so bright! Had Ryan parked his car in the next county?
“Taking that bouncer down was just stupid. And giving that fine young thing on stage such a hard time. Look, I know you’d had a rough day, but was it worth getting arrested?”
Fine young thing? Hell, Jane Rock was beautiful, with a smokin’ hot body that she showed off in her tight leather rocker outfits. Those long slender legs, those mesmerizing dark eyes, the onyx cascades of hair…and when she turned to face her drummer, her back had been bare and incredibly sexy. If only the strappy leather top had left her front bare too… He’d had a raging hard-on all last night watching her strut across that stage. Her voice was something else too—a natural alto with just a bit of rasp. Very sexy, even if she did use it to belt out discordant noise.
His groin tightened. But even thoughts of Miss Jane Rock’s attributes couldn’t dull the hammer. No, a jackhammer this time.
Ryan was still talking unusually loud and ridiculously fast, or so it seemed. Chandler had no idea what his friend was saying. Surely his brain would implode at any moment. “Christ, Ryan, I’ll pay you back the bail money. Just shut the fuck up, okay?”
“I didn’t have to pay any bail, moron, didn’t they tell you?”
“Didn’t they tell me what?” The last several hours had been a blur. Sharing a toilet with ten miscreants while nursing a drumming headache had never been on Chandler’s “to do” list.
“The bouncer dropped the charges.”
Chandler whipped his head around. Damn, that was a mistake. The pounding increased. “He did?”
“Yeah, they should have told you.”
“Hell, they might have. God, what is wrong with me?” He rubbed his temples.
“What’s wrong with you is you drank too much. Just be thankful Jane Rock took pity on you when I told her your sob story and talked the bouncer into dropping the charges.”
Chandler’s neck tensed. “You told her?”
Ryan grinned. “Calm down. You know I wouldn’t do that. I made something up. Said you’d been dumped by your girlfriend.”
Chandler’s muscles relaxed…a little. Humiliating, yes, but much better than the truth. The bouncer had dropped the charges. He should be thankful. Still, the thought of looking pathetic to Jane Rock rankled him, though he wasn’t sure why. Who did she think she was, anyway, intervening on his behalf? He could damn well take care of himself.
He turned to Ryan. “Thanks, man. I owe you one for having my back last night.”
“Well, I tried. I failed to keep you out of trouble, though.”
“You couldn’t have stopped me and we both know it. I was primed for trouble, and I think I found it.”
“What do you mean?”
“A black-haired rocker named Jane. She won’t get away with this.”
“Get away with what? Getting your charges dropped?” Ryan shook his head. “You’re something else, Chan. You ought to be thanking her.” Ryan opened the door to his car and sat down in the driver’s seat.
Chandler took his place in the passenger’s seat.
“In fact”—Ryan started the engine—“you can thank her this morning. I’m taking you to her place.”
Chandler jumped in his seat and hit his head against the vinyl ceiling of the car. There went the jackhammer again. “You’re what?”
“Did I stutter? I’m taking you to her place.”
“Why in hell would you do that?”