What the hel do I do now?”

“He was going to let you in?” Jet asked softly, her eyes on me were intense and they scared me a little bit.

I nodded.

“And you didn’t let him?” Roxie went on.

I tore my eyes away from Jet’s scary-intense ones and nodded again at Roxie.

“Sugar, why’d you do a fool thing like that?” Daisy demanded to know, hands back to hips.

“I don’t know! People are shooting at me. Mace is effing with my head. Linnie’s dead. I’m on the front page of the paper. A journalist I don’t even know because I stil haven’t seen a paper is going to fol ow this f**ked up shit between Mace and me. And a scout from a very good label told me he’s been coming to my shows. I’m not thinking straight,” I replied.

“Oh, speakin’ of that scout, he’s comin’ to the gig this afternoon,” Shirleen put in, I felt my heart seize as my eyes cut to her.

“What?” I asked.

“Yeah. He’s into you. Way into you. We’re talking deal,” Daisy informed me.

Deal?

Daisy and Shirleen were talking deal?

With my band?

They couldn’t talk deal.

Only I could talk deal.

Effing hel .

My eyes moved to Daisy and my breath moved to Idaho.

“What?” I repeated a word that I beginning to hate.

“Deal,” Shirleen took over. “Hector knows someone who knows someone who knows what he’s talkin’ about in the music business. Hector talked to him and he’s got the lingo.

This Dixon Jones guy thinks Hector’s the shit, because, wel , he is the shit. You shoulda seen him. It was like he did it for a living.”

I opened my mouth then closed it then opened it again and said, “I met Hector a few days ago.”

“Wel , Dixon Jones thinks we’re your managers with Hector being Top Dog,” Daisy explained.

My brain thought about the idea that an A&R man from Black Fat Records would think The Blue Moon Gypsies needed three managers with two of them being Shirleen and Daisy and swiftly rejected that idea as seriously unpalatable and spit it right back out.

“Hector’s a private detective,” I said stupidly, going for denial.

“We know that and you know that but Dixon Jones thinks he’s a shit-hot music biz type. We’re lookin’ at studio time,” Shirleen replied.

Oh.

My.

God.

“Studio,” I whispered.

“Yeah, recordin’ studio,” Shirleen told me, like I didn’t know.

“That is f**kin’ phat! ” Annette shouted.

I turned to Al y. “Do you think, if I walk outside, someone wil shoot me?”

“It’s a possibility,” Al y told me.

“Then that’s my next move,” I replied and stood up.

“You can’t get shot! Dixon is meeting with you and the band after your gig at The Little Bear,” Daisy screeched.

It was then my brain thought about the idea of any scout It was then my brain thought about the idea of any scout having a meeting with my band, who were likely to do something immensely stupid and it regurgitated that thought too. Fast.

“He’s not meeting the band,” I said.

“He is and you are too,” Shirleen returned.

“Okay, you think maybe I can have a moment to process al that is f**ked up with my life before it gets f**ked up even more?” I snapped at Shirleen.

“Ain’t no time to process, girl. This is life. Rol with the changes,” Shirleen retorted.

“Don’t quote REO Speedwagon at me!” I yel ed.

“This page is done, sugar, you got to turn the page,” Daisy got close.

“Okay, now you’re quoting Bob Seger,” I clipped. “And you’re not al owed to do that either.”

Daisy turned confused eyes to Indy. “I thought I was stil quoting REO.”

“Maybe we should stop talking in Rock Speak and help Stel a to deal with this issue with Mace,” Jet cut in.

“Ain’t no time for that, we got a gig to get to,” Shirleen said, as if she’d been going to gigs with me for years rather than a few days. “And anyway, Vance and Matt are waitin’

outside and Vance ain’t gonna be happy if we hang out forever. He was doin’ Jules a favor, bringing us over here, he said he’s got shit to do.”

“No, Shirleen, real y, we should deal with –” Jet pushed but I interrupted her.

I did this by shouting, so loudly I didn’t hear the door opening and Mace coming in. “Oh shit! The gig! The opening and Mace coming in. “Oh shit! The gig! The equipment’s stil at the Pal adium, Mace has to set up the security detail, effing hel !”

“It’s covered,” Mace’s deep voice announced, I jumped in surprise and everyone turned their eyes to him.

He unhooked the leash from Juno’s col ar and Juno moved to me slowly, giving head butts and sniffs to Rock Chicks as she passed.

I looked at Mace and knew with a glance he was stil pissed.

“What’s covered?” I asked cautiously.

His eyes came to mine. “Everything. Shirleen’s got Roam and Sniff helpin’ the band move the equipment.

Luke’s in charge of the security detail and he’s already arranged it with The Little Bear. You’re good,” he told me, I took a moment to wonder who the ef Roam and Sniff were then he finished. “Now, I’m takin’ a shower.” Shirleen got a huge grin on her face at the idea of Mace taking a shower. The rest of The Rock Chicks shuffled uncomfortably because they knew they shouldn’t be there but in a one room apartment, there was nowhere else to be.

I moved toward Mace as he came at me to get to the bathroom.

I put out my hand, caught his forearm and said, “Mace, we need to talk.”

He stopped, looked at my hand then at me, face hard, voice low and vibrating with anger. “Done talkin’, babe.” Sharp, hard gut kick.

Effing hel .

My hand dropped, he kept moving, entered the My hand dropped, he kept moving, entered the bathroom and shut the door behind him.

I stared at the door.

The Rock Chicks stared at the door.

We heard the shower go on.

“Oowee,” Shirleen whispered reverently.

“Time to go,” Jules announced.