“I’m so proud of you,” I told him. “You know that, right? So bloody proud.”
“Really?”
“Really.” I reached around and smacked his bum. “Go get ’em, rock star.”
Risk’s smile was bigger than I had ever seen before. He took my face in his hands, pressed his lips to mine once more before he backed away. “This is for you, Cherry. Every single song . . . for you.”
Then he was gone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
RISK
“Let’s go, baby!” May whooped. “First Blood Oath gig.”
I looked at my friend as we ducked below the stage and huddled towards our stage lifts that would carry us up onto the stage when the gig began. The roar of the Sinners out in the stadium was already off the charts. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
“First gig?” I repeated when he didn’t finish his sentence. “This is our millionth gig.”
“This is our first gig,” May stressed. “When you and Frankie broke up, you didn’t perform on stage or record in the studio unless you had drink or drugs in your system. This is the first Blood Oath gig because you’ll be really present for it. This is first real one, main man.”
My chest tightened and a fucking lump formed in my throat.
“Why’d you have to go and say nice shit like that?”
Angel poked his head over my shoulder.
“Are you crying? Please, tell me you’re crying, puta.”
I shoved him out of my space, clearing my throat as he and the others laughed happily. The four of us were hunkered down because we were way too tall to stand up under the stage without whacking our heads. We were sort of huddled together and it gave me the chance to look at each of my friends, each of my brothers, and smile.
“I wouldn’t want to do this fast-lane life with any men other than you three arseholes,” I grinned. “We’re Blood Oath.”
“We’re Blood Oath,” they echoed as we bumped our fists together.
“Can you believe we do this shit for a living?” Hayes quizzed, his voice filled with wonder. “We’re about to go and perform in front of one hundred thousand Sinners in Wembley. Those are people who love our sound, love Risk’s lyrics, love us, and want to see us live. I still can’t believe it.”
“Me either, bro,” May agreed. “This crazy shit is what our dreams are made of.”
I grinned. “Amen.”
“This feels different to you three as well, right?” Angel questioned, glancing at each of us. “Like this isn’t just a standard show because our lives have changed so much since the last one? Hayes is gonna be a daddy, Risk has his muse back, I’ve got me a steady girl back home and May . . . May is still STD free, so that’s something.”
We cracked up with laughter.
“It is different,” I affirmed. “This is how every one of our gigs should feel. I love being on stage with you guys but having a clear mind makes me feel like I’m experiencing all of this for the first time. I’ll see the faces of our Sinners as they sing our songs back to us. They won’t just be a blur of nothingness anymore.”
Hayes clamped his hand on my shoulder. “This is the first gig of many for us.”
I nodded. “The first of many.”
“Let’s get it!” May whooped. “I’m so fucking ready.”
My boy looked as excited as I felt.
“I’m buzzing, man.” I couldn’t hold still. “Frankie is here, she’s gonna hear me sing her songs. I’ve wanted this for so many years, just to see her face as she hears me . . . hears what I have to say to her.”
It was incredibly important to me that I see her when I’m singing the songs she inspired. I had never been able to sing them directly to her before, and I wanted to see her face, her eyes as she heard me. I knew she would hear my love for her when I sang . . . I knew she would. She’d hear me. She had always been the only person able to hear me when everyone else just listened.
“She’s not going anywhere,” May assured me. “Trust me.”
May’s words struck a chord within me and suddenly, I felt like I was about to burst.
“I’m telling her tonight.”
“Telling her what?”
“That I love her,” I answered. “That I can’t be without her. That I hadn’t felt alive until the moment she came back into my life.”
“It’s about fucking time.” Angel punched my deltoid. “I was going to tell her for you if you didn’t.”
I laughed as a voice behind us shouted, “On your marks, guys. Good luck!”
I felt a surge of adrenaline rush through my body as me and the guys bumped fists once more and moved onto our marks on our separate lifts. We all settled our in-ears into our ears and shook our arms out.
“May’s mic is live for introduction. Show time in ten, nine, eight . . .”
The voice of Edward, our sound engineer, filled my ears, and I knew that the others got the same message. When he reached one, May’s voice filled the stadium.
“Looonnndddddooonnnnn, Blood Oath is calling.”
The stage lit up as we were lifted into view. The screams, holy shit, they were loud. Right next to our marks were our guitars, Angel had to hustle to jump behind his drum set, but like a well-oiled machine, we were strapped with our instruments and ready to go in a matter of seconds.
Without warning, I strummed my guitar and grinned when the riff sounded. It sounded like a lover’s slow caress to my ears. Once the first one echoed, another one from the rhythm guitar followed its cue, then the beat of drums, then then bass line . . . then my voice.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
FRANKIE
The world could have ended around me
