Betrayed and robbed blind.

Emphasis on blind. How had he not seen it? He felt sick to his stomach. Here he was, screwing around with Cheri, with his head so up into her that he’d lost track of what was going on in his band.

Mac, Connor, and Quinn shot him worried glances as Cheri sat in front of the computer and went through the band account and accessed the online bookkeeping program. Her face was pale and tight with concentration as she stared at the information on the screen before her.

“Is this the band’s main account with twelve dollars in it?” asked Rory, his tone sharp with rising panic.

“Yes,” she said.

“Fuck,” said Dev softly.

“Gina came to me to tell me her last paycheck never made it into the bank. I went to the account to transfer her the money, and it was all gone.”

“What the hell,” said Dev. “Where is Richard?”

“Bus two,” said Rory. “The crew just finished load-out and headed out on the town, but he and Saldano said they had to go over some things.”

Rory raised his fingers to air quote “go over some things” like he doubted they were actually working, but that was the least of any of their concerns right now.

Dev walked out into the night air to the crew bus and pounded on the double doors.

“Hey,” he shouted, “if you two are done in there, we have an emergency.”

“What’s up?” asked Richard as he opened the door.

“Come to our bus. A shit-storm has hit.”

“What?” said Gina. She grunted and Dev assumed she was pulling on clothes. When she poked her head out above Richard’s her hair was mussed.

“You come too,” said Dev gruffly. “We’ve got to figure the best way to handle this mess.”

Dev turned and walked away, his fury rising as he strode back to the bus.

Gina’s heels clattered as they hit the bus stairs.

“What mess?” Gina said.

Reality hit and Dev’s world fell away. Everything he and his friends worked for was gone, stolen by a fucker he should have had his eye on. No. He was too worried about his dick instead of taking care of business. What was going to happen now? Dev was worldly enough to know that recovery of the money was unlikely, even if they managed to find the little prick. He was probably en route to a casino or halfway to Mexico by now, spending like it was his last day on earth.

And if Dev had anything to say about it, it would be.

Grimly, he strode onto the bus to see a very worried Cheri staring at her laptop.

The guys crowded around her, but the look in her eyes said everything.

Richard and Gina entered the bus. They sat and glanced around in silence until Dev spoke.

“What did you find?” he asked Cheri.

“All the money in the band’s account was transferred to an account at five this morning. From what I could find, it’s an account in the Bahamas, which makes resolving this difficult. Their privacy laws are very strict and they don’t cooperate well with U. S. Banking investigations.”

“What about the other accounts? How much of our money is gone?” asked Rory.

“I don’t have an exact figure. Bill’s books…” She shook her head. “Let’s just say they wouldn’t stand up to an audit, not even mine, and I’m not a forensic accountant.”

Cheri ran her hand through her hair.

“I’m not sure how much he took, total. But not everything. There seems to be a delay in the last couple payments from Cyclone Productions. There are some ranting emails from Bill to the promotion company, but they appeared to have ignored him. Still, from what I can see of other emails, Bill was not paying our creditors either. So I have no idea if we’re in the red, or the black. It’s going to be awhile before I can straighten it out. Once these payments clear, we’ll have about fifty thousand in there to cover some expenses at least.”

Dev took out his phone, put it on speaker and dialed their contact with the promotion company. Despite the time, the guy sounded cheery, like he was wide-awake.

“Dev! How’s it going?”

“I’m here with the band and Richard Hawkins, Gina Saldano, and Cheri Galveston. Our band manager is no longer with us. We are trying to straighten out the books. I understand you’ve withheld some payments?”

“Yes.”

Everyone in the bus sighed with relief.

“And the reason is?”

“Let’s just say I smelled a rat, and I didn’t want my hottest band to get burned. I was going to talk to you about it once I poked around a little more because I didn’t want to distract you while you were on tour without something concrete.”

“You smelled right. Bill was, indeed, a rate. We appreciate you trying to look out for us. Later today I will send you new bank information and we hope the money will be transferred immediately.”

“I understand. You’ll get an email with the transfer information but it will take a few days to clear.”

“We’ll figure things out until then.”

“Good. You guys good to go for tonight?”

“Yes. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“After you’ve had a break and dealt with all this, we should talk. I definitely want to talk to you about another tour. Longer, bigger, something flashy.”

“We’ll be in touch.” Dev clicked off the call and looked around the table. It was great that he wanted to do more business with them, but he couldn’t even find the heart to celebrate until they figured out what the fuck they were going to do to get their money back.

“Okay, what do we do about Bill?”

“It’s never good,” said Gina, “to publicize that your band manager ran off with your money.”

Richard nodded his agreement. “It makes you look like suckers.”

“Well, we can’t just let him get away with it,” snapped Connor.

“I have contacts in the white collar crime division of the FBI,” said Richard. “I’ll get in touch and see if they can get someone to open a case. Unfortunately, scummy managers are a given in this business.”

“Now you tell us,” muttered Rory.

Richard shrugged. “As I found out, there’s no way to know until it happens. I’ve had a few opportunities to make a few friends and learn some things. If he committed his crimes while crossing state lines then it’s a Federal matter. If I can get them to move on it fast they’ll put his name on the no-fly list. Hopefully, he hasn’t left the country yet. Cheri, can you get me a list of dates when money was deposited and withdrawn?”

“Yes. I’ll see what I can do.”

“It’s a good thing,” said Richard, “that you’re making good money on record sales. But I suggest that you get out a new album as quickly as possible. You don’t know yet how many of your creditors Bill burned and you may have to take out a loan to cover those expenses.”

“Can a band get a loan?” said Connor.

“I have a house,” said Rory. “If need be, I’ll take out a home equity loan.”

God no. That house was the one asset Rory had. Dev wouldn’t allow him to put it at risk for the band.

“I’m not going to let you do that,” said Dev. “We’ll figure it out.”

“I’m just saying, it’s there if we need it,” said Rory.

“Look,” said Richard. “I’m only putting possibilities out there. We won’t know what we need to do until we get a good audit of the books.”

“We will do everything we can to keep the band solid,” said Mac. “That being said, we have an immediate need--a new band manager.”

The guys nodded their heads.

“Any ideas?” said Dev.

Each one of them turned to look at Richard. He stood back, mouth agape.

“I-I uh, that’s not what I do, guys. It’s…”

“It’s a great idea,” said Gina. “You can stop whoring your talents and settle down with one band. They’ll make an honest man out of you. You’ve got lots of all-around experience and there’s no one they trust more. Right now, that’s key. More than anything else.”

“Are you guys sure?” asked Richard.

Dev looked around and saw the same thing on his band-mates’ faces as he felt in his gut.

“Yup. But take a little time to think it over. We want it to be right for all involved.”

“Don’t take too long to decide, though,” said Gina with a grin. “Or I’ll apply for the job myself.”

Richard rolled his eyes.

“To protect you from Saldano we’ll say that I’m the acting band manager.”

“Everyone solid with Richard being acting band manager?” asked Dev.

Each one of the band members of Sub-Zero held up their hand. Gina put her hand up too.

“Well, that’s settled at least,” said Rory. “Anything else?”

“No. Let’s get finished with this tour, and assess our finances, then decide where we go from here.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Richard. “I’ll call the FBI. We won’t know much until Cheri finishes her examination of the books, anyway.”

“I’m going out for a while to get some air,” said Connor.

Mack and Quinn muttered their agreement and all three of them thundered out of the bus.

Dev and Rory stood quietly, still stunned and furious as Cheri worked on the laptop. Finally, she looked up.

“Don’t wait around,” said Cheri. “This is going to take hours.”

“That’s okay, girl,” said Gina. “I’ll keep the coffee coming. Come on, Richard, let’s find an all-night diner and get the girl some food and drink. She’s going to need it.”

Richard grumbled something but they took off.

“And we’ll get out of your hair too,” said Rory. He pulled out his phone. “Thank God for Uber. Come on, bro. We’ve got an hour or so before closing time.”

Dev didn’t want to leave Cheri. It seemed unfair to leave her alone with this mess on her hands.

“Is there anything I can do?”

She waved him away. “I just need time to go through these numbers. Don’t worry, Dev. This is my thing. I’ve got this.”

“I know it. I appreciate it more than you know.”

Cheri gave him a smile and then her blue eyes flashed at him reminding him of the look on her face when they were in that dressing room. A lightning bolt of electricity shot straight to his cock. Damn. He was messed up. The worst day of his life and all he could think about was Cheri bending over that chair.

“Come on,” said Rory, pulling at Dev’s arm. “Let’s give her space.”

Reluctantly, he followed his friend and Cheri gave him a distracted wave goodbye. He would do no good there and probably would only make her nervous.

It was a little dive, like so many of the bars they came to know in their career. Dev didn’t even remember what town he was in, which gave him a weird, disconnected feeling.

Rory and Dev settled at the bar and sucked down shots, rapid-fire, to dampen their anger. But even the whiskey that burned Dev’s throat didn’t quench the desire that made him impossibly hard when he had a stray thought about Cheri.

From the look of utter concentration on her face as she worked at the computer, to how gorgeous her ass was as she bent over that chair.

It was killing him. Almost as much as it was killing him that literally everything was fucked now. He’d trusted the wrong asshole. And now, his best friend was sitting next to him, and all Dev could think of was having sex with his sister. If that didn’t make him a total shit, he didn’t know what did.

He had to tell Rory about him and Cheri, but tonight, after they found out about Bill’s betrayal, the last thing Rory needed to hear about was Dev’s. It was almost worse.

Who was he kidding? It was way worse. Rory was like a brother to him, for fuck’s sake.

Rory put down as much whiskey as Dev and beer along with it before he slowed down enough to speak. They both stared at whatever game played across the screen as the bar patrons cheered or groaned at different plays. The crack of a rack of billiard balls breaking snapped through the air.

“Want to play a game?” said Rory.

“Naw,” said Dev, staring at his empty shot glass. He felt a buzz but also felt utterly horrible for his failures.

“Another drink?”

“There aren’t enough drinks in the world,” said Dev.

“Yeah,” said Rory, tapping the bar to get the bartender’s attention. He pointed to his beer and put out two fingers. A minute later, he was rewarded with two brews.

“You going to drink two beers?”

Rory shook his head.

“Straight whiskey is just bad.” He pushed one toward Dev. “Switch to beer maybe.”

“I drink alone, with nobody else,” said Dev.

Rory groaned. “You’re not going to go George Thorogood on me. I hate that.”

“Hey, he was a prophet of our age.”

“Is there anything eighties you don’t like?”

“I’m a child of the eighties,” Dev said, unapologetically.

“Fuck that. You were born in the late eighties. You’re a child of the nineties.”

“I ain’t claiming that, bro. The nineties were lame.”

“Ren and Stimpy, man.”

“Fuck that, Ror, Transformers ruled.”

“Still, George got us in more trouble than anyone else.”

“How do you figure?”

“Remember that high school dance we were hired to play in our school?”

“Dimly.”

“You sang One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer.”

“Oh yeah, I did. As I remember, I nailed it.” It was a good memory, but hardly eased the hole in his heart.

“We got detention for a week.”

Yeah. They did.

“I can’t help it if the man didn’t see the redeeming social nature of art.”

“We didn’t do it for art. We did it so we could pay for the senior class trip.”

He’d forgotten that part too. They’d worked all summer before their senior year to earn money for the trip to Washington, D.C, but they were still short. All of their parents were barely getting by and had no money to contribute.

“They almost didn’t let us go.”

“I didn’t go,” said Dev.

“Yeah. You took the blame so the rest of us could.” Rory’s voice dropped. “We missed you.”

Dev took a sip of his beer. “Naw. You guys had a great time.”

“Not as good as if you were with us. Look,” said Rory. He put his hand on Dev’s arm. “What I’m trying to tell you is that things are rough now, but you’ve always had our backs. None of us think this is your fault.”

“I wouldn’t blame you if you did.”

“What? So you could pitch a fit and go solo on us? Leave us behind? Fuck that. You aren’t going anywhere.”

“So, what? I’m your meal ticket?” Dev said, the ice in his gut thawing just a little.

“Damn straight, Lachlan.”

“Fuck you.” He said it with a grin and his buddy laughed.

“One bourbon, one scotch, one beer,” sang Rory.

“Oh, good lord.”

“Come on. Belt it out. We’ll pretend we’re in an English pub.”

“But we aren’t. Look around. This crowd isn’t in the mood to listen to you sing.”

Rory looked over his shoulder to the crowd gracing the local bar. Dressed in tees, flannels and baseball caps they didn’t look like the type to take up a sing-along.

“Are you dissing my skills?” Rory asked, feigning hurt.

“If you sang half as well as you play drums, I’d be backup guitar.”

“What? Wait? What kind of compliment was that?”

“Seriously, you’d be amazing. But you aren’t.”

Dev motioned to the bartender for refills.

“You’re probably right, but know what, or rather, who, is amazing?”

“Who?”

“My sister. Cheri. She’s salt of the earth, man. Back there doing that shit job. She’s the best.”

“That she is.” Dev downed his new shot as the ice returned, full force.

“I’ve been a shitty brother to her.”

“What? You’re crazy.”

Rory shook his head. “She keeps telling me to lighten up, that she’s never gonna get a guy of her own if I don’t stop acting like I’d kill him if he touched her.”

“You’re only trying to protect her.” Dev said the words, but his gut twisted at the thought of another man’s hands on her.

“No. She’s right. Cheri deserves an amazing guy, and she won’t get that with me hovering over her like the angel of death.”

“Angel of death? Sounds like a song title.”

Rory scoffed. “I’m serious, Dev. She deserves someone to show her a good time, but also treat her like a queen, you know?”

Now Dev felt even more awful for holding back on his best friend.

“Maybe she’s not as sheltered as you think,” said Dev.

“What do you mean by that?”

Dev took another shot of liquid courage, which, up until now, was failing him.

“Aren’t you buzzed yet?” said Rory.

Apparently not enough, Dev thought.

His throat went dry and he drank the last of the beer Rory bought him.

Rory gave him an expectant look but Dev’s phone buzzed then. Cheri had sent him a message.

Shoot me a text when you get back.

What’s up?

I just wanted to say I’m sorry.

Dev stared at his screen, puzzled. For what?

The lessons. Keeping you busy when you could have been focused on the band.

Dev typed back quickly. Not your fault.

He waited and, soon, another message popped up.

If I didn’t distract you, you would have been all up into what Bill was doing.

NOT your fault, he typed again. I’ll talk to you later.

OK.

“Everything okay?” said Rory.

“Fuck, no. But nothing is worse than before, at any rate. That was Cheri. She’s still working on it.”

Rory nodded and turned his back to him, while Dev’s heart sank even further. He failed his band and his best friend. What did it mean when he couldn’t even take care of business? Or be honest with his friend?

What kind of man did that make him?

He couldn’t silence the little voice inside his head that responded.

One that doesn’t deserve a woman like Cheri.