Insider (Exodus End #1)(123)
Author: Olivia Cunning

Headlines read “Exodus End’s Newest Member Prefers Taking Members in Twos” and “Worth Dying For? Maximillian Richardson Knocked-up His Lead Guitarist’s Fiancée Resulting in Her Tragic Suicide” and “Exodus End’s Bassist Hates His Own Brother! Find Out Why Inside.” Before she could read the other headlines, Reagan tore the paper in half and tossed it on the floor.

“What do you have to say for yourself?”

Toni swallowed the bile burning up her throat. How had those stories even been released?

“Those are terrible, awful, but I didn’t . . . I wouldn’t.” The knot in her throat strangled her words.

Her journal. Shit! Apparently someone had found it and used it for personal gain.

“Don’t you dare fucking lie about it,” Reagan yelled. “Don’t you fucking lie.”

“I would never—”

Toni’s eyes filled with tears and she shook her head. How could they think she’d do such a thing? She’d been stupid, yes, writing those things in her journal and then misplacing it, but she would never hurt anyone she cared about.

“Get your shit off the bus,” Steve said, “and get the fuck out of here. We never want to see you again.”

“Butch,” Max said.

It was all he needed to say. Butch marched forward, grabbed Toni by the arm, and forced her out of the room. Toni yanked at her arm, but it did no good. Not only did Butch have five times her strength, but he’d obviously escorted unsavory individuals out of buildings in the past.

“Butch, you have to listen to me,” she pleaded. “I didn’t sell any information to the tabloids. I swear.”

“You could at least have the decency to admit you’re a traitor.”

Traitor? This couldn’t be happening.

“Logan will vouch for me. Go get Logan.”

“What he says doesn’t matter. The majority has spoken, and the band wants you off the bus and out of their lives.”

As she collected her belongings, Toni dawdled on the bus in the hope that Logan would show up in time so at the very least she could tell him the truth. He would believe her. He had to believe her. Humiliation filled her with an aching heat as Butch watched her pack her stuff to make sure she didn’t take anything that didn’t belong to her. So not only did he believe she’d betrayed the band and released insider information, but he also thought she was capable of stealing.

“The crew is wearing some of my cameras,” she said. “I’ll go collect them.”

“You’re not going back into the arena,” Butch said. “We’ll mail them to you.”

Mail them? Jeez, did he think she would wrap herself around Logan’s leg and refuse to release him? Yeah, she’d totally do that.

By the time she’d collected everything, some of her hurt had been replaced with indignation.

“I didn’t release any of the band’s secrets. What kind of people don’t even let a person defend herself before passing judgment?” she growled at Butch as he nudged her toward the exit.

“People who’ve been screwed over by conniving reporters a million times in the past,” Butch said. “Get a move on.”

“I need to talk to Logan first.”

“He’ll call you if he wants to talk to you,” Butch said. “If I were you, I wouldn’t sit by the phone.”

“Butch,” she said, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice, knowing it was no use. “You know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt those guys. I care about them too much. I did write those things in my journal, but—”

“You might as well shut up. I’m done listening to you.”

He escorted/carried her off the bus and then pushed her toward the barrier in the parking lot that kept undesirables away from the musicians. She dug her heels into the asphalt. How was she supposed to see Logan and explain to him that she hadn’t betrayed him or his friends if she was forced outside the barrier?

“Don’t make me carry you,” Butch said. “Retain a little of your dignity.”

She’d trade dignity for the chance to tell the truth any day.

“What can I do to convince you that I’m innocent?”

He looked down at her, took her in from head to toe, and crossed his arms. “Not a damned thing.”

In the end, she refused to give up and Butch had to carry her across the lot. One of the roadies followed with her luggage and tossed it none too gently over the barrier fence. Butch set her struggling body down on the opposite side of the metal bars and spoke to one of the security guards, making sure she could hear him.

“Keep a close eye on her and do not let her near the buses. If she puts a toe on this side of that barrier, you call me to deal with her, and I’ll call the police to have her arrested.”

Arrested? For what? She hadn’t done anything.

Why wouldn’t Butch believe her? Why wouldn’t anyone listen?

“Please let me talk to Logan,” she pleaded. “The world won’t end if I lose this job, but if I lose him—” Her voice cracked and all the tension and anxiety, the hurt and humiliation, the fear and devastation streaked down her cheeks in a torrent of tears. She didn’t even care that everyone was staring at her complete meltdown.

“Keep an eye on her,” Butch said to the guard again, and then he whirled around and strode back toward the arena.

She tried to climb over the barrier, but the guard proved worthy of his title.

“Come on, lady, be smart about this. Do you want to go to jail?”

She honestly didn’t care if she went to jail, but if she ended up behind bars, she wouldn’t get to talk to Logan. She called his phone and left a short message. She knew he didn’t have his phone on him since she’d found it between the sofa cushions when she’d been packing her belongings, but she couldn’t just stand there idly and not try to contact him. He was probably still onstage having the time of his life, wondering where she’d gone. Or maybe his band had already informed him that she’d supposedly done exactly what she’d promised she’d never do. She prayed he’d give her a chance to explain and not simply take their word for what had happened.

And what had happened? Someone had obviously gotten hold of her journal, but who? Had a hotel maid taken it from her bag? Had she dropped it and a stranger picked it up? Had Susan stolen it during her presentation?

“Susan,” Toni said, her eyes narrowing. Her editor had wanted dirt on the band members. And boy, had she gotten it. Feeling defeated, Toni rubbed her forehead to try to ease the pounding in her skull. “How could I have been so stupid?”