Echoes of the Heart, Casey, L.A. [reader novel .txt] 📗

Chris before we even came home. “That town is just for us. We’re safe there.”

“Until crazy Sinners travel to Southwold and kidnap you all.”

May shrunk low in his seat because that was an actual fear of his, which amused me greatly.

“He’s joking, May.”

My friend nodded, but didn’t look like he really believed me.

“We’re about to pull into the building’s underground car park,” Hayes said to Chris. “We’ll call you after the interview.”

“Just announce the new album and tour, making it exciting . . . and don’t say shit you can’t take back.”

With that, Chris hung up. I pocketed my phone, cracked my neck again and cleared my throat.

“Why do I feel like he was directing that last part at me?”

“He was,” my friends said in unison, then chuckled.

I looked at May, held my fist out. He bumped his against mine.

“We have to be cute,” I told him. “You know our Ray shippers eat our bromance up. And you, Angel,” I said. “The Rangel shippers die when we interact with each other. Be nice to me, princess.”

“Suck my cock, asshole.”

“Hell, if you did that,” May clapped me on the shoulder. “You might kill the Rangel shippers altogether.”

We all burst into laughter as Hayes parked the car and we climbed out. I straightened out my clothes, so did the others, then we headed to the entrance. There was a brown-haired woman waiting for us who looked like she was relieved to see us walk towards her. She put her phone to her ear and into it she said, “They just arrived, be up in five.”

She ushered us into the building, into an elevator then up to one of the top floors in the building. As soon as we got out of the elevator, there was a guy pointing a camera at us. Podcasts were pre-recorded but they went live sometimes too; this interview was live. They put them on platforms like YouTube where a broader viewership could hear, and see, interviews. I winked at the camera when he turned to me.

“Fannies quiver everywhere with a single wink from Risk Keller,” May mumbled behind me, but I heard him and laughed. We followed Katie, the woman who greeted us in the car park, down a few hallways then into a room full of people who cheered when the four of us walked inside.

“Blood Oath is in the building!”

Rock Stop was a huge podcast with twenty million monthly listeners around the world, this meant they had a big operation with different staff members. There were normally two hosts per episode and that was the case today. I had never met the man, Brian, who stood up to greet us, but the last interview we had done with them over a year ago had the same woman, Toni Marlow. I fucked her in an empty room not long after that podcast ended, she was cool and she knew her shit when it came to rock. It was sweeter that nothing came of us having sex, no nasty episode on Rock Stop where she dragged me through the mud like Chris thought she would.

She stood up to hug each member, but I was the only who got a kiss on the cheek when I bent down.

“How are you, gorgeous?”

“I’m good.” She smiled and returned to her seat.

The four of us got in position in front of a microphone and put headphones on.

“Morning, everyone,” I said into the mic. “Sorry we’re late. London traffic, ay?”

“Tell me about it, Risk,” Toni said. “How are you all? It’s great to see you guys again.”

We exchanged pleasantries then the interview started naturally.

“Back in the motherland, lads,” Brian grinned. “How does it feel to be home?”

“Amazing,” May answered. “We love the States, but home is where the heart is and that’s in England. Isn’t that right, lads?”

“Yeah,” Hayes and I echoed.

“No,” Angel answered, his tone flat. “Not for me. Stop excluding me, May. Our band is so fragile, this could be the tipping point if you don’t make me feel loved like these two. I’ll have a mental breakdown unless I’m treated exactly the same on camera just so everyone can see you three actually love me.”

Angel, unblinkingly, stared into the camera as he spoke then rolled his eyes up to the heavens and said, “I’m being extremely sarcastic before any of you dumb fuckers think I’m serious.”

Hayes and I snorted, May laughed and so did the hosts.

“I take it you read some of the more . . . interesting headlines about the band as of late, Angel?”

“Pretty hard not to when they’re linked everywhere on social media,” Angel answered Toni. “But it’s all garbage. We read some of these headlines and we honestly just laugh. We rip into each other constantly but trust me when I say these guys are my brothers. Just because I’m Mexican doesn’t mean they treat me differently, it’s all love between us even when we’re mad at each other. These articles are made just for clicks and likes for companies to gain revenue, that’s it.”

“Like most articles,” Brian nodded. “Hard to tell what’s real and fake these days.”

“What’s real,” I said, “is our three sold-out gigs at Wembley Stadium on the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth.”

The crew around us cheered, making me grin.

“Wembley packed with over one hundred thousand Sinners per night?” May shuddered. “I can’t fucking wait.”

“You’ve had a mini tour over the last year,” Toni said. “A dozen dates in the States and now the three dates in Wembley . . . how come you guys didn’t decide to visit other cities while in the U.K.? Was it all down to your stint in rehab, Risk?”

The woman was smooth the way she slid a heavy topic into a casual conversation.

“Yes,” I answered. “The tour was always going to be small, but Wembley being the only dates we scheduled was down to my stint in rehab.”

“I can see your coin hanging around your neck from here,” Brian said. “What’s the number say? Five?”

“Six,” I corrected. “I’m six months sober.”

I received congratulations