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he’d removed the collar.
    ‘So, Dani – if you’re not here to shag me, what are you here for?’
    Dani opened her mouth to begin, but Xane cut her off.
    ‘And don’t mention the lift again. You were hanging out backstage with a stolen pass around your neck. So you were there for a reason. Were you after one of the other guys?’
    ‘No.’
    Xane eyed her cautiously. ‘Journalist? If you’re a journalist, I’m going to kick your butt out of here.’ He slammed his empty glass down on the table, making Dani jump.
    ‘I’m not a journalist.’ She shrank back against the sofa. Would anyone admit to being, after that threat? ‘I was backstage because of my friend Ginny. She really wanted to meet you guys. She got us into your dressing room, but I wanted to watch the gig, so I left her there and … and then I walked into you.’
    ‘I see.’ Xane dispensed with his glass in favour of swigging straight from the bottle. ‘So, you left your mate in my dressing room. Isn’t she going to wonder where you’ve gone?’
    ‘Um … probably not. I mean, no. We arranged to meet back at our hotel.’
    ‘But you’re not at your hotel.’
    Yes, she had actually noticed that.
    ‘I doubt she is either. If she’s met one of your band mates, then she’ll probably be a while, right?’
    Xane gave a half-hearted little shrug. ‘Is she hot?’
    ‘Um, I guess so.’ Dani got out her phone, thinking maybe she ought to call Ginny anyway, just in case she had arrived at the hotel and was wondering where she’d got to.
    ‘Don’t,’ Xane advised. ‘Ash’ll be shagging her.’
    ‘He might not be.’
    Xane shook his head. ‘No, really, he will be. She’s wearing a short skirt, right? She’s in our dressing room, and she’s not like you. He’s probably had her forwards, backwards and is working on upside down by now.’
    She couldn’t help laughing at the notion. ‘Does he have a set routine, then, for giving girls … what they want?’
    ‘How would I know? I’m a bloke.’
    Good point.
    ‘Could I have a cup of tea, please?’
    He shook his head. ‘No teabags.’
    ‘Oh! OK!’
    ‘Nip out and get some, if you like.’
    ‘Are you asking me to leave?’
    ‘Didn’t say that, did I? Stay if you want. I figure, at least if you’re here I won’t be found dead tomorrow face down in a pool of my own vomit.’
    ‘Oh!’ Dani shuffled forward to the edge of her seat in alarm. Was that likely? Given the way he was knocking back vodka as though it were spring water, maybe it was, and perhaps a supply run wasn’t such a bad idea. He was going to need a boat-load of painkillers in the morning. ‘Shouldn’t you slow down?’
    ‘I told you my aim was to get wankered.’
    Why did he need to?
    ‘I know, but if you continue to gulp spirits like that you’re going to hurt your throat. Think of your tour dates. You’re going to disappoint a lot of people if you can’t sing.’
    ‘I disappoint a lot of people even when I do.’ A dark shadow swept across his face. Even through the make-up she recognised the tightening around his eyes. The set of his mouth turned particularly sour.
    ‘Did something happen?’ she asked. ‘I mean on stage. ’Cause the gig ended early, didn’t it?’
    There was no way Black Halo had been on stage more than twenty minutes. What was that – four songs, maybe? Also, she knew enough about bands to realise they hung out together post show, talked to the fans, that sort of stuff. Xane had whisked her out of the building as fast as possible. He hadn’t even gone back to the dressing room. But it was the conversation with Ash on the way out that was the real giveaway.
    ‘Yeah, it ended early.’
    She waited patiently a moment for Xane to elaborate, but he had his mouth glued around the bottle top again.
    ‘Want to talk about it? Did someone muck things up? Fry your sound boards, or something?’
    Xane spluttered vodka over his lap and the nearby furnishings. ‘You think I’m swilling this