Page 27 of Just Wait

I wasn’t paying attention, and I rock on my heels to keep from barreling over him.

I nod, but my body refuses the lie, and my head shakes. “Can you help me find someone who can get me onto the bus? I need to get my bags and my purse.”

“Uh, yeah, definitely.” Malcolm nods, his brown hair falling around his face as he studies me carefully. “Let me find Benji. He can make that happen.”

Chapter Seven

Riser

That chick is having a bad night.

Malcolm is bouncing off the walls, overcompensating for something that isn’t even his fault.

The last thing that woman needs is to be disappointed…

Mal gets bored easily.

It’s a ticking time bomb, but there’s not much any of us can do to stop it. He’s stubborn, meaning he’s going to do what he wants to do.

Kincaid will eventually try to talk some sense into him, but that’ll only make it worse. The more you push with Mal, the more he pushes back.

Tennyson and Parish came into the greenroom a few minutes ago, saw something was going down, and disappeared to somewhere else to get high.

I almost followed them, but someone needs to make sure Malcolm doesn’t cause any trouble. We’re supposed to be at our meet and greet, but the fans will have to wait.

Hopefully Ten and Parish make their way over shortly. Hell, none of us have even handed off our stage outfits to wardrobe.

Lumen sits on the couch in our greenroom with her cheek resting against her palm.

She’s been quiet since Mal left to find Benji.

Honestly, she was quiet when she found her boyfriend fucking that groupie.

I’d give her a two out of ten on the freak-out scale. It was mild, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she went full level-ten explosion once she finally comes to terms with what went down.

“Benji said we can go over now.” Malcolm closes the door behind him as he comes back into the room.

“Thank God.” Lumen’s head whips up, and she nods. “I need to get that done while he’s still busy.”

“You have an interview with that hometown reporter,” I remind Mal. “It was supposed to be before the meet and greet.”

The poor guy went to the same high school as Malcolm, and he got a job with some hometown paper that’s barely hanging on.

Mal agreed to meet with the guy, and he flew all the way out here on his own dime.

Mal shrugs. “I’ll make it up to him with a bunch of merch.”

“Wait.” Lumen’s head swivels as she looks between us. “You’re supposed to be meeting fans and doing interviews. I can go by myself. I’ll be fine, as long as he isn’t there.”

“I’ll go with you,” I offer before I can stop myself. “No one cares if the drummer misses the party.”

It’s embarrassing but true.

“Good plan.” Malcolm points at me with his hands that are clasped together and nods. “I’ll cover for you.” He crosses the room, stopping in front of Lumen. “Riser will go with you, and if Theo shows up, he’ll keep him away while you get your stuff.”

The way she stares up at him is a problem. She’s looking at him like she trusts what he has to say, but they’re essentially strangers.

Yeah, he’s been stalking her for a while.