Love Damaged: Rock-N-Roll Heiress Book 2 Read online

  He wanted to say more but didn’t. Instead, he shrugged off my security guards and raised his hands defensively. “Fine. I’ll go, but know this, Mia. There are scorpions in your backyard. Be careful where you step.”

  His eerie response caused Axel and Justin to push Wesley toward the main entrance. As they did, I thought about what he’d said. I had a feeling he was referring to Izzy. Was this his way of telling me she was involved?

  As I proceeded behind them and made my way back to the bar, I still didn’t acknowledge Ayden. My attention had been drawn to the opposite side of the bar, near the doors Wesley was being ushered through. It’s where I found Doug Moore, a longtime acquaintance that came to see Breaking Silence’s first concert.

  By the time I reached him, he was smiling. “Cleaning up the place?”

  “Damn straight. I wish I could have done this sooner.”

  “There’s no time like the present,” Doug grinned. “So, are you ready for the meeting?”

  “I am.” It was a lie. I wasn’t ready for what was about to happen, but I told myself I had to go through with my decision. It would be best for everyone involved. I would keep my promises as well as my sanity. I’d already lost my heart.

  I kept my gait normal as we made our way to the corner where Ayden and his bandmates were sitting. All were gawking in my direction, but I noticed them shifting their gaze to Doug when we finally reached them.

  “Hi everyone. I’m sorry to keep you waiting. I had to take care of something that couldn’t wait.”

  “What’s this meeting about?” Ayden asked as he studied Doug. “And who is this?”

  “This is Doug Moore. You met him the night of your first concert.”

  “I thought you looked familiar.” Ayden’s voice didn’t have the same irritable tone it did, but I could tell he was uncomfortable. “What brings you back to Music Haven?”

  “Your band.” Doug gave them a genuine smile as he glanced at all four.

  “What about our band?” Ayden peered at me after he asked the question. It was the moment I’d dreaded the most.

  “Doug is one—if not the best—entertainment managers in the world. He’s taken on a good portion of the bands that have come through Music Haven and turned them into rock legends. Now, he’ll be working with Breaking Silence.”

  Confusion covered each and every one of their faces. Andi’s mouth gaped as she whispered something to Bentley. Jason and Ryan spoke to each other. Ayden glared at me.

  “Guys, let’s just say that I’m a huge fan,” Doug assured them. “When Mia called me with the offer, I couldn’t refuse. I tried to get her to relinquish her management rights after I saw your performance. I’m glad she finally agreed. All I need is for you guys to sign the contract and strap on a seatbelt because you’re about to skyrocket to the top of the charts.”

  “I’m not signing anything.”

  Ayden’s comeback didn’t surprise me. I was expecting it. I’d hoped it would go down differently, but there were too many emotions involved, which is why I was doing this. I couldn’t manage them anymore. Working with Ayden after what happened would be impossible. Denying it didn’t make it any less true.

  “Doug can do so much for your band. He has the time, the skills, and the connections to give you guys what you want.”

  “There’s only one person who can give me what I want, and that’s you, Mia.”

  My face stung. I glimpsed at Ayden long enough to see the pain in his eyes. Then I looked away. “This isn’t up for debate. I’m stepping down as the manager of Breaking Silence. Doug will be managing you, and you’d be wise to accept his offer while it’s available. You won’t find a better manager.”

  Ayden wanted to say more, but I refused to listen. I shook Doug’s hand, told him to text if he needed anything, then I strolled toward the main doors. There was no point in staying to hear Doug’s plans for them. He and I already had this discussion. I’d kept my promise to the guys to help them find success. They were on their way. Doug would get them to the top.

  Just as I stepped outside and drew in a breath of air, I heard someone calling my name. When I spotted Andi rushing toward me, I waited. She would follow me anyway.

  “What’s up, Andi?”

  “Are you serious?”

  I gritted my teeth as the tension in my shoulders increased. I had a feeling she would do this once I broke the news to Breaking Silence about their new manager. Still, I had to be sure it was the reason she’d followed me out of the building.

  “You’ll have to be more specific.”

  “Okay, how is this for specific. Why are you bringing Doug Moore into the fold? The guys don’t want another manager. They want you.”

  “This is what’s best for them, Andi.”

  “You mean it’s what’s best for you.”

  Rubbing my face, I did my best to remain calm and not allow my emotions to rule me. “You’re right. It is what’s best for me. It’s time I started taking care of myself. What happened with Ayden crushed me. I can’t move past it right now.”

  “I get that you’re hurt, but you’re never going to get past this if you don’t talk to him. You two have things to say to each other, and those things need to be said now, not later—or worse—never.”

  “Andi, please don’t badger me about this. It was a hard decision to make. I didn’t do it lightly.”

  When I walked toward the condo, she joined me. “Does D have something to do with this? Are you guys getting back together?”

  “No. All he did was listen to me. I never told him I was dating Ayden. He didn’t find out until they spoke the other night.”

  “Then why did you call him when things went to hell?”

  I stopped in front of the water fountain. “D and I agreed to be friends again in Tucson. You know this. He is here because of friendship, nothing more.

  “Yeah,” Andi scoffed. “Keep telling yourself that. D cares about you way too much to just be a friend.”

  Maybe she was right. I knew D cared about me, but I made it clear that we were just friends. He promised he was good with that.

  “I’m not getting into another relationship right now. I’m surrounding myself with people who care about me, people who trust me with no questions asked. Ayden doesn’t fit that description. I love you, Andi, but I don’t want to argue about this anymore.”

  “Fine. I’ll let it go for now, but this conversation isn’t over, Mia.”

  Perhaps it wasn’t, but my relationship with Ayden was.

  Chapter 4

  ~Ayden~

  Seven days. It’s how long it had been since Mia returned to Music Haven and how long she’d gone without speaking to me. I thought I’d at least see her in the hallway of the condo and maybe get a glance in my direction.

  Nope. She’d kept her distance as much as possible. I’d seen her the most in the last two days than I had all week, but still, no acknowledgment. I’d fucked up bad this time. She wasn’t ready to forgive me, and I wasn’t sure she ever would.

  I looked in her direction again. She was still standing on the main floor, behind a table that was sitting just a few yards from the stage. Holding a clipboard, she wrote on a few papers, going back and forth between them as she spoke with different department heads and staff. Andi was close by, typing on her laptop as she talked to the same people once Mia was finished with them.

  Music resonated around the arena as someone began a practice set. I didn’t know whom until I glanced at the stage. One glimpse answered my question. Decker Dawson. He was an older performer, one who’d been around since I was a kid. I’d had the chance to meet him since being here, and he’d taken an interest in the music the guys and I created. In fact, he’d come to the studio once while we were recording our album to collaborate on a song.

  According to Doug, the song would be the third release from our album.

  I cringed at the thought of our new manager. He was a cool guy and smart as hell. I understood why Mia chose him.
Still, she’d also decided to quit working for us, and I knew it was all because of me.

  “Hey, Ayden.” Darius joined me at the bar as he slid onto one of the stools, beer in hand. “How’s it going?”

  “The same. In fact, I was thinking about heading back to my suite.”

  “How come?”

  I shook my head. “There’s no reason for me to be here.”

  “Bentley is heading this way for a beer. I figured he was coming to meet you.”

  “Maybe he is, but I’m not the best company to keep at the moment.” When I lowered my feet to the floor and stood, Darius motioned me to wait.

  “Hang on a second. I was hoping the three of us could hang out for a little while.”

  Lowering myself back to my stool, I didn’t say anything when he yelled for Max to bring a couple of beers. It didn’t take long for Max to carry them to us. He opened both before setting one in front of me and the other in front of Darius. Once he left to wait on another customer, I caught Darius studying me.

  “She’s a hard habit to break, isn’t she?”

  “Beg your pardon?” I knew what he meant, but I still didn’t want to discuss it.

  “I’ve been in your shoes, man. I know what it feels like to lose Mia. After we split up, I did everything I could to win her back, but she made it clear that it was over. Even after I invited her to Tucson, I’d hoped that maybe enough time had passed that she’d give me another shot.”

  “So you’re the one who invited her to the concert where she discovered us?”

  He nodded. “A couple years after we broke up, I received an anonymous tip that Wesley and Izzy had set me up, so I hired a private investigator to do some digging. It took him a few years to find enough proof to prove my assumption.” As he grew quiet, he played with his beer bottle and stared into the distance. “It was the information he collected that led me to you. After I found out that you were with Izzy when she slept with me, I felt horrible. Then I found out you were a musician. I wanted to right the wrongs I’d committed against you.”

  “So you didn’t just happen to stop by that bar where the guys and I were performing the night we met. You went there looking for me.” I paused when I saw him nodding. “You invited us on tour out of guilt?”

  “Not exactly. I mean, yeah, it was my original reason, but when I heard you guys, I liked your music. Everything I did to help you after that point is because of your talent, not my guilt.”

  I couldn’t deny that his admission annoyed me, but at the same time, I appreciated his honesty. He didn’t know I was with Izzy when they slept together, but he still tried making up for his mistake. I respected that, and I hadn’t forgotten that if it weren’t for him, the guys and I wouldn’t have a contract or an album, much less a song on the top one hundred charts.

  “I appreciate what you’ve done. We’re finally getting out there with our music. I just wish I hadn’t fucked things up with Mia. Guess I should be glad she didn’t take everything back and kick us out.”

  Darius scoffed as he shook his head. “Mia would never do something like that, well, unless your name is Wesley.” We shared a laugh at our enemy’s expense. “I’ve never known Mia to kick any band out of Music Haven. You have nothing to worry about anyway. She’s still in love with you.”

  My face prickled as if needles were poking me repeatedly. “Beg your pardon?”

  “I just spent the last two weeks with her. Even though she never told me your name, she talked about you constantly. At first, it was about the fight and the breakup. Then it was other things—little things—that made her fall in love with you.”

  “Then why won’t she talk to me? Hell, why is she stepping down as my band’s manager? I’ll tell you why. She doesn’t want to be near me. I hurt her worse than you did.”

  He shook his head. “You’re wrong. I betrayed her. I fucked up any chance I had. You believed someone’s lies. There’s still a chance for you two. Just give her time to calm down.”

  Even if he were right, there was still the incident with Izzy. She swore that we slept together the night Mia left. I know it didn’t happen, but if she told Mia, I had no doubts that she would believe the lie.

  The only chance I had of salvaging my innocence was to tell Mia myself. That meant I had to talk to her today. It couldn’t wait.

  “I appreciate you sharing this information with me. I hope you’re right about her giving me another chance.”

  “It’s not easy admitting this, that’s for sure. Mia is always going to be in my heart. If I thought for one minute that she wanted me back, it would be impossible to refuse.” Darius must have noticed the disbelief on my face because he shook his head again. “Don’t worry, Ayden. She doesn’t want me. She wants you.”

  For whatever reason, I didn’t believe him. Mia turned to Darius after she left Music Haven. During her two-week absence, she stayed with him, confided in him, and allowed him to comfort her. Now she was back, re-energized and ready to take out the trash cluttering her life.

  Was I the next item to be disposed of?

  * * *

  ~Mia~

  If I made it through this day without breaking down, it would be a miracle. Ayden wasn’t showing any signs of giving up on our relationship. I wish he’d had the same determination when Wesley started spreading his lies. We wouldn’t be in this position. He wouldn’t be begging for my forgiveness, and I wouldn’t be fighting every instinct in my body to walk away from him forever.

  Andi was still insisting that I talk to him. I wasn’t sure if it was her idea, Bentley’s, or Ayden’s. Whatever the reason, she’d found a way to bring up the conversation every time we were together. Thankfully, she hadn’t mentioned anything within the last thirty minutes. We didn’t have time today. Now that we had most of the information we needed from the department heads, we could run the reports we needed for my accountant.

  I wanted to do this in my office. It was Andi who suggested we come inside the arena. She said we’d have more space to deal with everyone. Even though she was right, I knew there was more to her suggestion. She knew Ayden would eventually show up.

  Maybe it was a plan they’d concocted. Once I saw him enter the bar earlier, I hadn’t missed the way he scanned the arena or the way he hesitated when he found me. Something tugged at me, urging me to go to him, but I stood my ground. I was still hurting. This wasn’t something I could just brush away and forget. He’d lost his trust in me. Now I’d done the same.

  “I think that’s everyone, right?”

  Andi was facing the laptop when I glanced at her. “Yeah, that should be everyone. It went faster than I thought it would.”

  She met my gaze and smirked. “Which is why I suggested we do it here instead of your office.”

  And because Ayden is here.

  Shaking the thought from my mind, I nodded at her then observed the papers on the clipboard. My pen swooshed across it as I made a few more notes. It was the only thing I could do to avoid an in-depth conversation with Andi.

  She hadn’t backed down on her attempts to get me to reconsider managing Breaking Silence or to talk to Ayden. It was only a matter of time before she began her diatribe today.

  As I listened to Decker Dawson play the piano intro of one of his songs, the slower melody soothed me. It wasn’t my favorite song by him, but one I enjoyed. Still, listening to the lyrics, I wasn’t sure it was the best song to distract me from my thoughts.

  The story behind it differed from what I was going through, but it was close enough. The lyrics spoke of a tortured soul, one who’d fallen in love, one who’d been tainted by jealousy.

  A man loves a woman. He thinks the woman loves someone else and is torn on how he feels. He wants her to choose between them.

  Yeah, I could definitely relate to the song.

  “I need to get started on the reports.” Andi closed the laptop and stood from the table where she’d been sitting. “They should be finished by this evening. When are you—?”
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br />   Glancing up from the clipboard, I gazed at Andi’s face to see why she’d stopped mid-sentence. She wasn’t looking at me but something behind us. Just as I turned around, I came face to face with Ayden.

  My body tingled from head to toe as the bold notes of his cologne filtered into my nose. His scent drove me crazy. I loved it, and at the same time, I despised myself for finding joy in something that involved him.

  He didn’t say anything. His eyes trailed over my body then lowered to the ground. For a moment, I thought he’d changed his mind and would walk away, but he didn’t.

  “Is there something I can help you with, Ayden?”

  “Yeah.” He met my gaze. “I need to talk to you, Mia.”

  “Okay. I’m listening.”

  When he glanced past me to Andi, I noticed her back away. She didn’t get far before she ran into Bentley, who’d just walked up. I didn’t miss the confusion on his face when he glanced at his friend. Did he not know what Ayden was up to?

  Refocusing on him, I waited for him to say whatever it was he’d come to tell me. Hopefully, it was something about the band and not our previous relationship. I couldn’t talk about the past. Being around him made me weak because of the truth I kept denying. I still loved him.

  “You have my attention, Ayden. What do you need to discuss with me?”

  He inched closer. “I want to talk about us.”

  And there it was, the one topic that was off limits. I could not have this conversation with him.

  “Ayden, there is no us.”

  “Bullshit,” he grumbled as his face darkened. “I know you’re angry with me. You have every right to be after the way I treated you. But please hear me out.”

  “It’s not going to change anything.”

  He smirked. “I don’t believe that. It’s a lie you’re telling yourself. I’ve told myself that same lie.”