Metal Urge by E.D. Wilbourn Read Free Book Online Page B

to blame, and that was bloody nonsense.  There was no question that he would have to consider breaking it off with her---she wanted far more than he was willing, or able, to give.  His phone call to Deanna ate at Nigel's guts, making him angry and even more resentful.  He was in a nasty mood as he walked back to the flat wondering why this was happening now.  All he wanted was a girl he could have a bit of fun with and plenty of casual sex with no strings attached.  To make matters worse, Thom was being a real bastard to him as well.  He had no idea what that was about.  If Thom continued to treat him like rubbish, he would find out what the wanker’s problem was, and it would be up to Thom whether it went down the easy way or the hard way.  Either way, his old mate had better not allow his pissy attitude to interfere with the band’s upcoming recording sessions because he would have no problem setting Thom straight.  No bloody problem at all.
     
    Chapter 8
     
    There was a slight chill in the air but Alistair didn’t mind.  He leaned against the rusted metal fence post in front of their shoddy little flat, and took a long, satisfying drag off of his cigarette.  He watched the smoke rings dissolve around his face before finishing off the cigarette and tossing the smoldering butt to the ground.  He had worked well into the wee hours of the morning, plucking out the final notes of a melody he had composed on the spur of the moment.  He was tired, and his eyes felt sore but nothing could dampen his excitement at the prospect of meeting the infamous Wild Bill Dennison, and getting started on Metal Urge’s first record.  He hoped it would be the first of many; all brilliant and successful, earning the band platinum records and tons of dosh.  This day had been a long time coming.  Metal Urge had paid more than their fair share of dues, and Alistair was confident that this was the beginning of a long and prosperous career.  He knew his mates were just as excited and anxious to get on with it as he was, but there seemed to be a lot of tension between Thom and Nigel.  They’d all been restless and full of nervous energy since Trevor Hampton’s party but the rift between those two seemed personal; he feared it might interfere with the band’s performance.  If they failed to sort it out, he would step in and see that it got sorted---quickly and tidily.  Metal Urge had struggled too long and too hard to risk failure over some petty disagreement.
    The front door swung open and Brad joined Alistair at the gate.  Alistair offered Brad a cigarette, and they smoked in companionable silence, each man lost in his own thoughts about the coming days.
    “Trevor has arrived,” Brad said a few minutes later when a black, American sedan parked at the curb in front of their flat.
    A white van rolled up behind the car and cut its rumbling engine.  Two burly men got out of the van and one of them strolled up to the sedan, opened the door, and ushered Trevor Hampton out of the back seat like he was a visiting dignitary arriving for his meeting with the Queen.
    Alistair and Brad looked at each other with eyebrows raised, chuckling at the arrogance of the man.
    “What a pompous git,” Alistair said under his breath.
    “Yeah,” Brad agreed.  “But that git is gonna make us rich.”
    “He’d better,” Alistair said before going inside to let the others know their “humble” manager had arrived at last.
    Jayson looked up from the floor where he was crouching next to a large round case that he was trying to wrestle his snare drum into without much success.  “Trevor brought food, yeah?” Jayson asked anxiously.  “He promised he would bring food.”  He whistled as his snare drum finally dropped neatly into its case.
    Thom rubbed a soft cloth over his raven-black Flying V guitar before shutting the guitar case and flipping the clasps closed.  “Down boy,” he said to Jayson who was once again staring nervously