Frank remained mute. My hand still held on to his, but all the signals were mixed. The silence swelled. Even Brooklyn stayed quiet. Behind the door, in the lounge, people screamed and music played.
I felt the uncertainty and the ache. It swirled around us like a cloud of dust above a dirt road that had just been touched by a set of tires.
Tense seconds ticked by as Dante wiped his left cheek with the back of his palm. “It’s good that you’re getting yourself sorted out. The bottle is a bitch. Once she has her claws in you, she’s never going to let go.” The words were slowly dying on his lips. “I know it. I’ve been trying to shake her off for almost two decades. Now I can’t even play a chord I wrote. A lost fucking cause.”
His helplessness crept through the air between the three of us.
I didn’t have the right to speak. This was their fight. Instead, I squeezed Frank’s hand. A reminder that today, he’d been given the benefit of the doubt and now it was his turn to give.
He cleared his throat and stared at Dante. “You want to try? It’s an acoustic set.”
“I thought you’d flaked out on us again!” Isabella shouted as guards ushered us into the dressing room. “We’re ten minutes behind.” She stared at Dante with frazzled eyes.
“¿Cómo estas, mija?” Dante jerked his chin and gave everyone in the room a once-over.
Andy and Kit looked mildly shocked. Story kept blinking.
“Thank God!” Maria cried out.
“You up for doing a Hall Affinity cover, Izzy?” Frank wrestled off his jacket.
“I thought we weren’t doing any covers?” Her gaze flicked over to Dante. “Didn’t you just quit the band, dude?”
“I did.” He nodded.
“So is this like a mini-reunion?” Andy perked up.
“I guess you could say that.” Frank grinned.
“We don’t have time for this, guys!” Brooklyn flung her hands in the air and pointed at him. “You need to follow me.” She turned to Dante. “I don’t know what to do with you, so talk to Cassy.”
My brain went into high gear. I pulled out my phone and shot out a quick group text to Ashton and Levi. Livestream. This was an unexpected turn of events. Six hours ago, I had no idea Frank would be here tonight to perform with Isabella. Now Dante was here too and the three of them were going to improvise.
I took a spot at the side of the stage, trying to stay out of the way and let the crew get everyone ready. Levi seemed to enjoy the spotlight. He stretched his neck and rehearsed his speech. Frank stood next to the small opening between the curtains and peeked at the audience. The entire theater, quiet and at a standstill, was waiting.
I heard a swarm of whispers when the lights finally dimmed. Isabella spun her chair to face me and I gave her a thumbs-up.
She patted her knees and grinned. “Heard that break-a-leg saying?”
I bit back my smile.
“They better make me into a fucking meme after we hit Billboard’s top hundred.”
Levi squeezed his way onto the stage and marched over to the microphone. Noise rolled through the crowd.
“You’re good for him,” Dante’s voice said near my ear.
I turned my head to look at him. Up close, he appeared worn out. “Are you okay?” I asked, studying the faint traces of damage that lined his face.
“I’m good.”
“Are you getting help?”
He nodded.
“You’ll tell me if you need anything, right?” I didn’t know why I said that, but I needed to make sure I let it out into the universe. In a sick way, I was worried about him.
“You can’t keep trying to save everyone, darlin’,” he said with a smile. “Just save the ones who matter.” His gaze jumped over to Frank.
Thunderous applause wiped out the questions that swelled in my head. Isabella and the band took the stage next. When she reached the microphone, the auditorium went still. It was the strangest kind of silence. The calm that usually came before the storm, and the name of that storm was Frankie Blade. At least to those who’d gathered here tonight for an evening of music. To me, he was Frank Wallace. The man I loved.
The rumble of clapping hands and whistles swallowed me and my thoughts entirely when he finally walked out on stage. Story ran through a chord, and I recognized one of the original songs.
“I think you’ve probably noticed we had a little change of plans tonight,” Frank said, adjusting the microphone.
The audience laughed.
“We wanted to surprise everyone,” he continued. “Guess what? I’ve got a friend of mine hiding backstage right now. He plays a guitar, so we thought…”
I couldn’t make out the rest of the words. The noise inside the auditorium was hell on earth as Dante strode across the stage, waving at the crowd and smiling. A guitar was placed over his neck. Watching the three of them together was something out of this world. In a way, they were all beaten and broken by whatever life had thrown at them, but the music they made
