Beat to Their Heart Read online

  Sitting down on a stool he listened to them talk about the next step to get rid of Marty. He was happy to see Mickey and Hunter were serious about this as well.

  “So, Joey, you really like this girl, huh?”

  “Yeah, she’s different,” he confessed.

  “So was Nikki,” Hunter jabbed.

  “We don’t talk about that Hunter and you know that. So leave the past there. I am seriously trying not to be an ass here.”

  “Okay, Joey. Just watch it, we don’t need the press getting wind you're screwing the hospital staff.”

  “Fuck you, Hunter. I haven’t slept with her, and she’s not like that. She didn’t even want to go out with me.”

  “She’s got a kid too. You just need to be careful that’s all he’s saying, Joey.” Mickey tried to smooth the tension out. But he did have a point. As much as he wanted Skylar, could he honestly say it wasn't just a fascination that would end when he slept with her, or would it be more. God, he was all sorts of messed up in the head.

  “I got it.”

  They spent the rest of the time trying to figure out what to do about Marty, but it seemed they were well within their rights, though Marty might try to fight them. Joey had called their lawyer and started the paperwork going, but the bigger issue was who was going to represent them.

  “You know Scarlett Quimby is available now. She dropped the boy band after they started causing trouble and ended up in a nasty battle with another band. She’s tough, but she knows her shit.” And there was Mickey, always coming up with a plan.

  “Do you think she could take on Chasing Tail? Isn’t she normally doing pop music? That’s not our thing, man.”

  “She did, but she has a good ear, she approached me while on tour asking if we were happy. She originally started with rock, but took up the pop bands because the other band she had split because of creative differences. So what do you think?”

  Joey thought about it, and it seemed like Hunter was waiting for him to answer as well. “I say let’s do it. She might be the wakeup call we need.” And just like that, Chasing Tail was going to have a new start.

  *****

  Skylar made it home just a few minutes before she normally did and was greeted at the door with Trudy and a large cup of coffee. She loved this woman. Her elderly neighbor didn’t have any children of her own, but she always took on odd jobs to keep her busy, but Milo seemed to connect with her better than a younger sitter. Plus she worked around Sky’s work schedule.

  “Morning, dear. How was work?”

  “Oh you know work, nothing too crazy. Toothaches and so on,” she joked.

  “Really? That’s too bad, I did hear on the news that one of those band guys you listen to went to the hospital. They mentioned yours, but I’m sure with their money and fame they have doctors on call. It’s a shame though, such talent and youth wasted on drugs. Someone should smack the stupid out of that boy. Anyway, I’m off, dear. I will see you tonight. Milo drew you another picture, it’s on the fridge.” Trudy gave her a pat on the cheek before heading out the door.

  She had about thirty minutes before Milo was supposed to wake up. Walking into her bathroom she removed her scrubs while she waited for the hot water to warm. Climbing in when it got to the temp she wanted, she allowed the hot water to soothe her sore muscles. Quickly washing her hair and body, she allowed herself to think about Joey. She hadn’t seen him in eight months, yet he still had the same effect on her as he did back then. Then he kissed her. As much as she wanted him to take her, she was at work, but it didn’t stop the ache between her legs from surfacing. Letting her hand drift down her body, she let her mind wander imagining it was Joey doing it. Pulling her nipples until they distended she moaned softly, trying not to wake Milo early. Making the journey south, she went over the small swell of her stomach that was the result of Milo to her pussy. Imagining it was Joey on his knees kissing her with his mouth. She started to rub her clit as if it was his tongue flicking it back and forth. It wasn’t enough for her. Pushing two fingers in, she moved in and out while hitting her clit. She could see him going down on her worshiping her pussy with his wicked mouth until she came. His grey eyes looking up at her. And just like that she came calling his name in a silent prayer. Calming her breathing, she quickly rinsed off, removing the reminder of her orgasm, before grabbing a towel.

  Now dried and dressed, she was ready to get Milo to school before she went to sleep. Picking up her phone she had hoped that maybe Joey would call or text her, but it was just a dream. What would a rock star see in an ER nurse with a kid? Heading down the hall she opened Milo’s door and did what she did best, being Skylar.

  Chapter Seven

  After getting some sleep in one of Mickey’s spare rooms, he started to feel better. Grabbing his phone he saw it was only two o’clock. He had hoped Sky would have called him, or texted to let him know she got home okay. Rubbing his hand over his face he scowled until he found her number and sent a text asking if she got home okay. He knew she couldn’t answer because she would be sleeping, so he sent another one to say how much she helped him out this morning and would make it up to her.

  A growl from his stomach let him know it had been a while since he ate. Heading down to the kitchen he found Hunter with two boxes of pizza.

  “Hey, bro, right on time. I got two meat lovers.”

  “Awesome, I was just coming to find something to eat.” Pulling a slice out from the box he started to eat. After having two more slices and a can of soda he sat down next to Hunter eating the last one slower. “Have you called the hospital yet about Booker?”

  “Yeah, they said he is starting to wake up, but going in and out. So he is out of the woods, but they are going to keep him another night until he is alert and they are also running several tests to check if any permanent damage was done. But the kicker is they are doing a psych evaluation on him. So we might want to look at getting a manager sooner than later. Mickey has already talked to Scarlett and then he will meet us at the lawyer’s office about four.” Well it seemed Mickey and Hunter had been busy while he slept the day away.

  “Good to know. Okay, well I’m gonna head home and shower and change first. Can you give me a lift? I left my SUV at the hospital.”

  “Sure, I’ll drop you off then head home to clean up too, then come get you and Mickey. No need to take so many cars.”

  Mickey had joined them shortly after and between the three of them the two large pizzas were gone. He really wanted a beer, but right now with crazy business shit he couldn’t afford to go at this buzzed. When it was time to leave he climbed into the passenger seat of Hunter's BMW convertible before he raced down the road. Pulling his cell out of his pocket, he looked to see if he missed any calls, or texts. He had several texts from Marty asking why he was needed at the lawyer’s office. He just deleted those. No need to cause drama before he had to. But nothing from Sky.

  “Checking on your girl?”

  “Yeah I wanted to make sure she got home okay.”

  “You really are into her, aren’t you?”

  “I think I am. Shit, it’s been so long since I thought of someone other than myself, or finding someone who can scratch an itch.”

  “Well I won’t lie and say I’m not nervous, but with all the shit that happened to you, man, you deserve to be happy after what happened to Nikki, even if it might be short lived. But be careful, she doesn’t just have a kid, but one that is special. They take a little more care than playing mommy’s friend, if you know what I mean. She seems nice.” This was the most Hunter had said about anyone. He knew about Nikki, and at the mention of her name, there was still an ache that would never go away. Looking out the window he sure hoped he knew what he was doing.

  *****

  Sky woke up to the sound of her alarm going off. God what she wouldn’t give for just another ten minutes of sleep. She didn’t mind the night shift, but she had Milo to worry about, and she could only sleep while he was at school. Slipping out o
f bed, she pulled on some sweatpants and t-shirt before grabbing her phone off the charger. At the door she put on her flip-flops and grabbed her keys before heading downstairs and to the bus stop. While waiting for the bus to arrive she checked her voicemails. One from Casey asking if she was actually dating Joey Hart. Blah, she knew that was going to happen. But she had two missed text messaged. Both were from Joey. One asked if she got home okay, and the other thanking her and promising to make it up. She wondered what he meant by that. She had a few minutes before the bus showed up so she sent a reply that she got back okay, and he didn’t need to make it up to her.

  It seemed right after she sent it she got a reply asking what time she worked tonight. The small banter went back and forth with small questions about favorite foods, and flowers. What she liked to read and listen to and so on. She made sure to ask questions about him as well, so that way it wasn’t a one-sided conversation. She couldn’t help the smile on her face. He was flirting with her via text messaging, that even included a winking smiley face. Looking up from her phone she saw Milo’s bus pull up. Milo came running up to her his arms wide open.

  “Mommy, Mommy.” She loved this part so much. It didn’t matter if he had seen her that morning, he acted like he hadn’t seen her for days. Hugging her sweet boy she felt so good. Everything she did in life was for him, and she would do anything to keep him this happy. Grabbing his hand, they walked up to the apartment talking about what happened at school. Apparently today one kid decided that it was okay to put glue in another kid’s hair, but when the girl tried to get it out, she ended up cutting off part of her hair. God, she could only image what that must have been like. Setting him down to color yet another picture of a Transformer, she set a snack of yogurt and juice down.

  Looking in the fridge she started to figure out dinner. Pulling out her iPod she started to listen to some music. Lost in the sound, Milo came and tugged her shirt.

  “Mommy, I want to listen too.” She smiled at her son wondering if this would be a good idea. But his bright eyes told her he wouldn’t let up.

  “Okay, buddy.” She grabbed the small music cube she had for when she wanted to clean without headphones in. Plugging in her iPod, she hit play. It happened to be a song by Joey’s band. The beat made her start to dance.

  “Dance, Mommy, dance with me. Come on, Mommy.” Milo grabbed her hand, giggling, and together they danced in the kitchen to some good old rock-n-roll.

  *****

  Looking around the room he waited to see what would happen next. He was positive no blood would be shed, but that was about it. Marty looked pissed as hell, claiming they couldn’t fire him, that he had their contract. But the thing he didn’t expect is it only took three of the four members to fire him. Then he did the whole yelling and screaming thing about how he was going to sue and they would never be anything more than a one hit wonder without him. The whole time he just sat there. He didn’t give a shit about them. He was just as bad as the men he grew up with in the streets. Acting like they cared when they wanted something in return, but when shit hit the fan, it was always your fault. Their lawyer had security take him out of the building before all three signed Scarlett as their new manager. They still needed Booker's signature, but after what Marty did to him, he didn’t think it would be an issue.

  “So, gentlemen, this is going to be good for all of us. I have big plans for the band. But we need some new material. I want to do a tour, but not long like Marty did. Those things just kill an artist and it doesn’t sell like it should. So you have about a month before I want you in the studio laying down some tracks.” Joey was starting to see she would be good for them.

  “Booker is going to be an issue though.” That was an unexpected statement.

  “He stays.” Joey wasn’t going to budge on that.

  “Oh God no, I didn’t mean he’s leaving the band, I mean he is going to be a problem with the writing because he needs to detox. I have already talked to a few facilities and we can get him in. If he doesn’t do it willingly, I will need your help. Yes, the hard rock image is good to put out, but not to live it. I need you all to be in your best shape. So play a part of a hardass, but this is a business, gentlemen.”

  “He’ll go, even if we tie his ass up and drag him there ourselves.” Mickey looked at her and then the rest of them. He had to agree, it seemed that Scarlett had her head on straight and would make them into something great.

  “Works for me. You know this is going to be all over the press within a matter of hours, and if it hits the major social networks, which I’m sure it is already there. Twitter is blowing up. Be prepared for backlash and I don’t trust Marty. He will cause trouble for you all. Make sure you keep your skeletons in the closet, but if they come out, be prepared to deal with them. I don’t need you all breaking down or getting drunk over it. We don’t need any more negative publicity.”

  The meeting went on for another hour as Scarlett, Mickey, and Hunter outlined a new way to promote the band, and what type of music was hitting large right now. He was excited she stayed away from anything pop, or teenybopper as he called it. By the time they all left the office it was decided they'd go out to dinner. He wasn’t all that hungry, but agreed upon it since it was to celebrate the new deal they all just signed. It was a good feeling, but he really didn’t want to be around all the people staring at him. It was unnerving. He was used to being in the back behind the drums, not in center stage taking pictures with fans. After signing various things they sat down to eat. The place was nice, but he would have been fine with just a burger and fries, but a steak sounded good. As they ate their meal he kept checking his phone. He sent a few texts to Sky asking when she started her shift and if she was having a good day. Her short responses made him think she must have been busy with her son. A child like that demanded a lot of attention.

  That simple thought made him wonder if maybe this was a bad idea. He liked kids, always wanted some, but a child with special needs was in a whole different ballpark. But even as he thought about it, it didn’t make him want Skylar any less. Maybe he just needed to sleep with her and get her out of his system. Food came and left without an issue between any of them. Hunter and Mickey wanted to see Booker, and he did too. He didn’t want to tell the guys he was going to sneak down to see Sky. Well if he could with her working. He thought of a plan that might help get him to see her without looking like a stalker.

  *****

  An hour later he and ten large pizzas in his hand used the front entrance and was happy to see no reporters were hanging about at this time. The story had already broke about new management for Chasing Tail. Shockingly, Mickey thought it was a nice idea to provide dinner for the ER staff that helped Booker. The three of them walked to the front desk where a woman with short black hair looked up at him.

  “Hi, ma’am’. I’m Joey Hart, this is Mickey and Hunter. We wanted to bring the staff some dinner tonight since they took such good care of our brother last night. Do you think we can set this down somewhere?” The woman looked up at him with big blinking eyes before nodding, hitting a button making a set of doors open to the back of the ER. She provided instructions to go to the back nurse’s station and they could tell him what to do.

  As they walked he was happy to see the ER wasn't that crazy, but then again, he didn’t know what it would look like if it was. A few nurses stood there and whispers were heard. Mickey walked in front of him telling the staff about the pizzas. They directed them to the break room and he did his best to see if he could see Sky.

  He decided to take a chance. “Do you know if Skylar is in yet?” He saw Mickey roll his eyes, and Hunter chuckle. So they did know his plan.

  “Oh, Sky, she is with a patient. I can see if she is free. Do you want to wait here for her?”

  “If that’s okay?”

  “Sure, give me a minute.” The woman left and Mickey and Hunter used that time to go check on Booker before wishing him good luck.

  “Joey, what are yo
u doing here?” Sky was standing at the door wearing some pink scrubs. She looked so cute in them. His instincts took over and he stalked her, his need driven by something deeper. Her big brown eyes went wide. “Joey, I’m at work.” She backed away from him until she was against a wall.

  “I missed you and wanted to see you. Damn, woman, you get sexier every minute.”

  “Joey, please,” she whispered.

  “Please what, baby?” Keeping his eyes on her, she licked her lip as if trying to say something. “I need you, Sky. I need you so damn bad I ache.” He pushed his growing erection into her. Her gasp was all it took and he claimed her mouth, feeding his desire for her. She was his, he wasn’t taking no for an answer, and it was time for him to make her realize it. Here and now.

  Chapter Eight

  Sky didn’t know what to say or do. Her body was on fire, that is what Joey did to her. He made her forget anything and everyone around her. So many people today told her he wasn’t good for her, he was all about the sex and drugs. He had money, and fame, why would he be interested in her. Hell, she even asked herself the same question, but then, he walked in and looked at her. The simple look of his eyes as they pinned her steady in place made her panties wet and her body ache for him. But here she was kissing him, hard in the break room while she was working. His strong arms lifted her up allowing her to lift her legs and wrap around his firm body. God, he was huge. The remembrance of the first night she met him still lingered, but he seemed to have put on more muscle. Holding him around his neck she gave herself into the kiss, shamelessly rubbing herself on the bulge in his jeans, trying to gain some sort of friction to set her off.

  “Sky, what you do to me, the way you woke me up and make me feel. I don’t know if it’s real, or if I just need to fuck you out of my system, but I can’t stop thinking about you. You’re under my skin.” He licked her neck biting just hard enough to have a hint of pain, but not break the skin. She had never been so turned on in her life. Every sexual partner she had been with was sweet sex in the bed with the lights off. This, what they were starting, was purely dirty and wrong, and she craved it. Every ounce of it called to her.