bands want me?” Jax preened.
“They wouldn’t if they really knew you,” I fired back with a grin. He drove us all insane, but we usually ended up busting a gut over his antics eventually.
“Go,” Evie said, pushing on my chest.
I wrapped my hands around hers and tugged her back into my body. My lips landed on hers before she could utter another word, and the way she melted into me immediately said she wouldn’t have protested anyway.
“Jesus, MB. I think I need a cigarette,” Jax said, and Evie laughed against my lips.
“I’m going to kill him,” I muttered.
“Wait until after the show. I haven’t seen you guys live in ages,” she said, her shoulders shaking again.
I took a step back, glaring at Jax. “All right, Ellie, let’s do this.”
“Fuck off with that,” he said, and it was my turn to grin.
“Thanks for the good luck kiss, babe,” I said, pressing one last kiss to Evie’s lips before we parted.
“Kick ass out there,” she said, before she headed back out to the bar.
“You two are adorable,” Jax said sweetly, and I rolled my eyes.
“You’re a pain in the ass,” I muttered.
“Yes, but he’s our pain in the ass,” Cassie said, coming toward us.
“You missed it, Cassiopeia. MB was making out with his new lady in front of everyone.” Jax tutted, shaking his head. “So inappropriate, this one.”
“And I’m sure you weren’t embarrassing her at all,” Cassie said to Jax.
“Of course not. My virgin eyes have been scandalized,” he retorted.
“If you’re done, how about we do a show?” Bash said, coming out of the backstage room we’d been given for the night.
“Yeah, let’s get out there,” Jax said, bouncing on his feet. “MB was holding us up.”
“I can punch him, right? I mean, not in his throat. He has to sing and all,” I said.
“Yeah, aim for something else. Shoulder. Stomach. Arm. He doesn’t need any of that on stage,” Bash said with a laugh.
“All right, kids, get your asses out there,” Josh said, coming out of the room with Charlie.
She was eyeing him while she twirled her sticks. I couldn’t read her expression.
“Let’s go,” she said, pushing past him and causing Josh to take on a funny look.
What the fuck was that about?
“Group hug,” Jax said, and we all huddled up. “Now, let’s go out there and give the best damn show we’ve got in us.”
“Okay, Dad,” Bash said, with a laugh, before heading out to the stage.
Charlie climbed behind her kit, Jax grabbed the mic stand, and Bash and I set up our spots on either side of the man.
The room was loud, and adrenaline ran through me as our fans screamed our names. I scanned the crowd, looking for Evie. The lights weren’t as blinding as they were at the massive arenas where we usually performed, but it still wasn’t easy to find people in a crowd. I looked at the bar, and there she was, holding up a beer bottle as she met my gaze.
I grinned and nodded my head toward her.
“Hello, Steelwolf fans,” Jax yelled into the mic. “How you doing tonight?”
He was met with more screams and I shook my head at his antics. He excelled at riling up the crowd.
Guess we’d keep him a little longer.
We launched into our first song, and I matched up with Charlie, setting the underlying pace. We started with “Monsters,” like we always did. It was our first hit, and I loved playing it. The fans were going crazy and Jax was grinning like a maniac as he stalked across the stage. He always gave me an eye wiggle or a wink when he got to the chorus, before he turned back to the fans.
He had all these crazy superstitions that I never understood, but if it got him in the zone, I went along with it.
Then we launched into “Far Away,” with its heavy drumbeat. Jamie had always rocked this song, and Charlie was holding her own. She’d put her own little spin on our songs, and we welcomed the small ad-libs. We didn’t want her to be a carbon copy of Jamie, and I think she appreciated that we asked for her input. In just over a year she’d become an integral part of the band and that’s what we needed to continue our success.
“Charlie fucking rocks, doesn’t she?” Jax yelled after the song ended, and the crowd roared their approval.
I turned and grinned at her as she twirled her sticks; a beaming smile split her face.
“You know,