Strung Tight (The Road To Rocktoberfest #1) - Ann Lister Page 0,60
totes down to the loading dock didn’t typically get them this jacked up, but today they were nearly bouncing on the heels of their feet.
Just before noon, Skully radioed up to the rehearsal room and asked all the band members to join him down by the loading docks. I had no idea what to expect, but the smiles on all their faces when we got down there told me that whatever was going on was a good thing.
Dallas appeared beside me, and I threw my arm around his shoulders without thinking too much of it and leaned in close to his ear. “Any idea what this is all about?” I asked him.
“Yep, and no amount of torture will get me to spill the details, so don’t bother trying,” Dallas replied with a huge grin curling his lips
Skully pushed two fingers into his mouth and made a loud, shrill whistle that halted all the conversation going on around us.
“Everyone! Please follow me outside,” Skully announced, and we dutifully followed.
We gathered in a group in the parking lot with everyone trying to guess what was happening. Then we heard the low rumble of what sounded like a tractor-trailer blowing its horn, and we all looked toward the street. The sun glinted off a long, sleek tour bus that looked like it had just rolled off the lot of a dealership, and my mouth gaped open. The bus was enormous with a shiny black finish on the top half and a gun-metal gray color along the bottom. It had large tinted windows and chrome wheels and bumpers that made this bus look so kick-ass I immediately started jumping up and down like a kid. Then I hauled Dallas in for a hug.
“Please tell me, is this beast for us?” I asked Dallas.
“It is,” Dallas said and laughed as the bus rolled to a stop right beside us.
We heard the hiss of the air brakes engage, and then the door burst open, and Dagger came down the stairs like a gorgeous knight dismounting his black stallion. We all fist pumped the air and cheered at the sight of him, and I grabbed on to my head in complete shock. We were still hollering when Dagger walked over to us and passed out keys to the bus door, then dropped a key into the palm of our head security guard, Reno.
“Is this our transportation to the event?” I asked Dagger while my band members stormed into the bus to check it out.
“All forty-five feet is yours,” Dagger boasted. “She’s not brand new, but I got a great deal on her.”
“You bought this for us?” I asked incredulously. “I assumed it was a rental.”
“I’m always looking for tax deductions, so this works,” Dagger explained. “The deduction will keep my accountant happy. Plus, after this concert, there’ll be other events on the horizon for you guys, and you’ll be needing the right tour bus to get you there. When you’re not using it, we can keep it parked here in the parking lot.”
“This is too much, Dagger,” I said in a soft tone. “We’ll never make enough money to pay you back for this and all the equipment inside. It’s a lot, and I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but you’re freaking me out a bit with your generosity.”
Dagger draped an arm around my neck. “I’m not asking or expecting you to pay me back for anything,” he explained in a lowered voice. “I see this as an investment in a new business venture. Stop worrying so much. I wouldn’t be doing any of this if I didn’t believe in Chaos. Now go check out your new tour bus.”
I held his gaze for a moment before I nodded. This guy had become so much more than a mentor to us, and I had no words to properly explain my feelings in that moment. Dagger might have started out as our coach, but he’d become my friend and a fatherly figure—a role I’d never tell him he’d taken on in my life. He’d scoff and then remind me he wasn’t old enough to be my father when he was. I’d keep that fact to myself, but I did wish my own father could have been more accepting of my music and me. I had no doubts neither of my parents would be happy to learn their son was bisexual. They’d probably insist it was LA that turned me gay or some bullshit.