lurked in all the dark and scary places and wanted to keep my roommate safe from it all. On my way to meet Judson at Bash, I stopped into a chain drugstore and picked up some silicone earplugs. Once in the car, I opened the package and tried one on. They were a clear white color and fit nicely in my ears. After turning up the volume on the radio to ear-bleeding levels, I shoved another earplug in and smiled in satisfaction that they had worked so nicely to protect my sensitive hearing.
Damn vampire problems.
I took out the earplugs and threw them in my clutch for use later on when Innubis was playing.
I arrived at the club early to talk to my sexy human before he had to be onstage. I parked around the back and saw his bike parked there, too. I made my way in through the back door, as Judson had texted me the code earlier, and found myself in the backstage-type area of the place. I quickly found him tuning his guitar. He was humming along with the chords he played. I stood for several seconds watching him until he must have sensed my presence and looked up.
Grinning, he said, “Hey, beautiful.”
I walked over and sat in his lap after he put the guitar down. “Hey, yourself. How was your day?”
“Awesome. I got Kirk to send me all the, uh, animal attacks from recently, so I can’t wait to go through them. I also did a lot of research myself, found a few interesting things.” He smiled proudly.
“Is that so?” I asked, grinning back at him. Then I looked around. “Where is everyone else?”
He lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know, probably running late. Or already drunk. I’m always the first one here. Early.”
“Nerdy rocker, I like it!” I teased.
He chuckled. “Something like that.”
“So, I have a question, is this your only job? Or do you do something during the day? I mean, does this even pay?” I asked, because I’d been wondering. His file hadn’t said anything about a day job.
“Yes, the club pays me five hundred a week. Whether we play one night or seven, it’s all the same.” He patted my butt to indicate I stand. “And we pick up other gigs on slow weeks at other clubs.”
“Good to know, just glad I wasn’t gonna have to support your bum ass,” I replied with a wink.
He laughed and grabbed his guitar from the floor and began removing the strap to replace it with a different one. “Nah, if I didn’t have this gig, I’d go work somewhere. I’m pretty good at fixing cars. Plus, I love money.”
“Me too,” I said with a laugh.
He finished hooking on the strap and then slung the guitar around his neck and shoulder. After pulling a pick from his pocket, he began to strum again. “What about you? How much does murder pay?”
I couldn’t tell if he was being a dick or teasing so I said, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He stopped strumming and cocked his head to the side. “I didn’t think I minced my words. I mean, how much do you get paid for bounty-hunting?”
“Five grand a subject. And sorry I thought you were being a jerk for a second.”
Judson whistled between his teeth. “Five big ones. Damn, I thought I’d be worth more than that.”
I laughed and said, “Sometimes I get more if the job was hard. But yours was supposed to be easy.”
He arched an eyebrow and then looked down at his guitar, tuning it once more. “Is that so?”
“Turns out, it was the hardest job I’ve ever had.” I began pacing the floor in my red stilettos. The dim lights from the ceiling reflected dully on my black leather pants. “So much so, that I’m thinking of giving it up altogether.”
He looked up and kind of froze. But before he could speak, the back door burst open and three men walked in, laughing loudly. One carried a guitar himself, and the other, drumsticks.
“Judson!” the drummer said, coming over to awkwardly hug him.
They all reeked of alcohol and weed, and I had to resist the urge to cover my sensitive nose.
“Get off me, man! Are you drunk?” Judson asked, backing up.
He laughed. “No, just baked, man!”
“Seriously, Amos?”
“Oh, get off it. You know I play better when I’m a little loaded,” Amos replied, laughing.
I could tell Judson was getting pissed off. “Come on. We have to be onstage in like twenty minutes.” He looked at the