Page 10 (1/2)

"I think he’s already got a corner on the assle ar"

Jessica tried not to smile Failed at that, too

"You said he was in the band Sinners, right?" Aggie asked

"Yeah, so?"

"So they’re opening for Exodus End tonight at Mandalay Bay"

"How do you know that?"

Aggie shrugged "I saw a flyer tacked up soinally better "Now I can tell him where he can stuff his money Better yet, I can show him where he can stuff his uy ith theht little ass… and the hard bod… and that face… and those…" Aggie’s hands clenched and she shuddered in undisguised delight

Blond? Jessica’s brow furrowed "Do you ie s to reveal a perfect set of teeth "Tell hiht bouncers before I could treat him to my special brand of pain"

Jessica chuckled "Soft spot for hi soie winked "Maybe"

"I’ll try to reo kick Sed’s ass" Her hands clenched into fists Sedric Lionheart would regret getting her fired Oh yes, he would

Chapter 8

Sed took a long draw froazed down at the picture in the paliven it to hio He reain She fkin’ hated his guts So as he sitting in the dark, staring at her picture, and drinking by hiain? Tradition, he supposed

He set her picture beside his beer can and opened the journal he used to write songs He couldn’t concentrate well enough to write actual lyrics, but words kept popping into his head He pictured them, but mostly he felt them He scraords on separate lines with blank spaces between so he could add phrases later

Eyes of jade A heart betrayed

Anguish Languish

Pain Insane

Heart of stone Alone

Alone

He took a ragged breath

Alone

The song would coh He closed the journal, stuck it back in its hiding place under the bench seat cushion and picked up Jessica’s picture, fingering its worn edges

The bedroom door at the back of the tour bus opened, and then the bathroom door slid shut Sed tossed the picture on the table and took another sip of his beer A few entle hand touched his shoulder

"Are you out here by yourself again?" Myrna asked

Sed glanced up at her "I couldn’t sleep"

"Can I sit?"

When he shrugged, she slid into the bench across the table from hiht," he said