Page 118 of Dirty Like Seth
“Yup,” he said. “But addicts candisappoint.”
My stomach roiled. It was the morning sickness, theall-daymorning sickness, I told myself, as I tried to ignore the warning in hiswords.
“I know there was more to it than you think I know,” I pressed, and that seemed to get his full attention. He set his drink down and settled his dark eyes on me. “When Seth was kicked out of the band, you and Brody were all, ‘Let us handle it.’ I was young and naive and in over my head with all of it. Sudden fame, the media, touring. I could barely keep my head on straight, so I trusted you all to take care of it. And maybe I shouldn’thave.”
“Meaningwhat?”
“Meaning you all screwed him from the start. The contracts were unfair, and you all know it. We all got a slice of the pie exceptSeth.”
It was true. And I knew Jude was heavily involved in thosedecisions.
Brody had always been Dirty’s manager, but when it came to protecting the band, Brody didn’t make a move without consulting with Jude. And Seth had always been treated like something of a securitybreech.
“Seth came into the band last,” Jude said slowly, “and you all agreed he was a hired hand. You knew what was in the contracts when you signedthem.”
“Yes,but—”
“Seth was in trouble from the start and the guys could see it. Brody saw it. He was looking out for the band, protecting Dirty—that was you, Jesse, Zane and Dylan. Seth wasn’t a foundingmember.”
“Right, and when he was kicked out, I agreed to that, too. Brody issued our official statement that Seth was terminated for his ‘drug issues.’ But Zane was deep in a bottle at the time and no one once said a word about kicking him out. Seth got dumped, and Zane got rehab. Why is that? And don’t give me this ‘founding member’bullshit.”
Jude said nothing, so I pressedon.
“Band business, right? You guys didn’t want to explain it to me then, why would you now?” I shook my head in disbelief when he still refused to give me anything. “You know I can get my lawyers on this? Digging around? I can find out whatever it is you don’t want me—or Seth—toknow.”
“Seth knows,” Jude said, as he leveled me with his dark gaze. “Seth knows exactly why he was kicked out of the band. And I’ll tell you once, Elle, it has as much to do with MC business as band business, which means we’re not having thisconversation.”
MC business; I knew what thatmeant.
Motorcycle clubbusiness.
As in… the motorcycle club Jude belongedto?
“The Kings?” I was surprised by this revelation, but I didn’t back down. “Yes, we are most definitely having this conversation,Jude.”
Jude just chuckled again. “Sweetheart,” he said. “You know I can’t talk about MC business with anyone outside the MC, and you are not in the MC. You wanna patch in, you can go ahead and give it a try, but without a dick, you are gonna have one hell of a hardtime.”
“I can go to Piper if you won’t talk to me,” Isaid.
The semi-smile dropped from his face. “You want to threaten me with my own brother, go over my head and talk to the vice president of the West Coast Motherfuckin’ Kings, darlin’, you go right ahead and try, see how thatlands.”
I could see it in his eyes; he wasn’t about to let me try. But he was calling my bluff. He knew I’d never doit.
I knew Piper, and Piper had always been nice enough to me, but to be totally honest, Jude’s big brother was fucking scary. I would not want to piss that guyoff.
“Then give me something, Jude. Please.” I wasn’t above begging him on this, and maybe he could seethat.
Maybe he could see how much Icared.
Though he looked unmoved, he finally offered, “I’ll give you this. Seth Brothers is one of the goodones.”
“Then why don’t you tellthemthat? Go to bat for him with theband?”
“Because I can’t. And it’s not my story to tell,anyway.”
Story? What fuckingstory?
“I don’t need specifics, Jude.” Now I was pleading for real. “I just need to know why it’s all such a fuckingsecret.”
