Page 45 of Not the Punk

Dark of the sun change to the moon

dragon scales shield me from doom

I jotted down tablature to capture the music, knowing I’d convert it to standard notation later. I hummed a bar, thinking I could pull out a killer riff in that spot. This one was going to be dark and heavy but fast, with a subtle bluesy twist.

Hearts on fire

Burn the liar

Witches and stakes

My heart breaks

“Hey, Joe. I hate to break this up, but I just got a text from Jinx.” Don walked over and put his hand on my shoulder. “There’s some kind of news about your ex-douche.”

“What kind of news?”

“It doesn’t say, but there’s going to be a meeting tomorrow morning, first thing.”

News about Trent. A meeting. A million scenarios ran through my head, all of them bad.

Breathe in…hold…

“Hey, hey. Joe. It’s alright.” Don put his arms around me.

Kay ran over to join in. “We’ve got your back no matter what.”

“And two guards outside the door,” Don added.

With them wrapping around me, it was easier to breathe…I let it out.

The door opened, and Saxon came in with bags—dinner. “Hey. What’s going on? Is everything alright?”

“We don’t know, but there’s going to be a meeting in the morning.” Don took some of the bags and put them on the table where we’d been playing.

Kay stashed the cards. “It’s about his ex-douche.”

“Ah…I’m sure it’ll be fine, Joe. Come eat and don’t stress over it.”

He was right. There wasn’t anything I could do until morning. Don gave me the time of the meeting, but I frowned since Daddy Colten wouldn’t be here by then.

The meeting was held in one of the ballrooms downstairs. Don said something about a press conference being in that room later in the day, but for now, it was set up with all the tables pushed together so we could eat breakfast while we talked. Everyone was there, including Jinx, Marci, David McKean, the head of the Roadies, and the new head of security, whose name I didn’t know. In fact, even Miami had called in so he could be updated too. Of course, Don and Kay and the rest of the band were also there, along with Saxon and the guys from Soul Shred.

When everyone was settled with food and coffee in front of them, Jinx started. “We had an update yesterday on your ex.” He pointed his fork at me. “That’s the main reason we’re here. But I also wanted to spend this time with all of you. It’s been a long-ass tour, and it’s nearly over.”

Everyone made noises, hooting and cheering, but I was quiet, waiting.

“I’m really proud of you all. This tour couldn’t have gone better.”

“With one exception,” the head of security answered.

I leaned toward Kay and whispered, “What was that dude’s name again?”

“Lowell Brantly. He’s over the security team.”

“Right.” That was a hard name, but I needed to pay attention to Jinx, so I filed it away for later.

“We did have a few incidents with this Trent guy. But I’m happy to say that he’s been arrested for arson, possibly attempted murder, and a few other charges. The FBI thinks stalking charges will stick this time too.”