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he burned out his bodies
reserves on another dropset, he realized he knew very little about
this woman they had so readily invited into their lives. That was
going to have to change.

    ***

    Lenny showered and
dressed quickly, opting to skip pajamas and wear her jeans and grey
V-neck tee to bed. It would save time in the morning. Sleeping
fully clothed wasn’t anything new for her anyway; it was
practically a way of life living at higher elevations. She combed her
long, wet hair and twisted it into her standard braid. Just as she
was finishing brushing her teeth, she heard a knock at her hotel room
door.
    She crossed the room
and looked through the peep hole. It was Carl, pacing in the
hallway. She grimaced and unlocked the door to let him in. As he
entered, she could smell cigarette smoke mixed with his aftershave.
    “ Hey,”
she greeted casually, “what’s up?”
    Carl strode across
the room without saying anything. It was obvious from his behavior
that he was looking for something. He scowled at Lenny, surveying
her appearance and that of the yet to be used bed. The persistent
frown on his face relaxed somewhat.
    “ What’s
going on, Carl?” Lenny tried again, but she already knew the
answer.
    “ I
wanted to check to see if you were alright,” he lied.
    “ No,
you wanted to see if I was alone .”
Lenny corrected and the corner of her mouth pulled up into a
half-smile as she shook her head. She crossed her arms and leaned
against the closed door.
    Carl gave up the
act, “Well, yeah.”
    “ I
understand this whole scenario is new for you, but you’re just
gonna have to trust me.”
    “ I
trust you,” he took a breath; “it’s those other
hooligans I have a hard time with.”
    “ Carl,
I appreciate the over protective father routine, but I can really
take care of myself.” She gently tugged on his arm and led him
to the door. “Get some sleep, big day tomorrow.” She
opened the door and he walked into the hallway. He turned to say
something else and she interrupted, “Goodnight, Carl,”
then closed the door.
    ***
    Carl stood in the
dimly lit, empty hallway for a moment and then started to the
elevators. He trusted Lenny, even more so now that she had basically
just thrown him out. She was a strong young woman, no nonsense,
focused. And she wasn’t going to let anyone push her around.
He pressed the button and waited. With a “ding!” the door
opened. Exhaling a relieved sigh, Carl entered the lift and leaned
against the wall. This tour might be successful yet. The boys
appeared to be more centered than ever, and with Lenny on the inside,
Carl felt like he could relax a little.
    When they had come
to him months ago, asking for him to return as their tour manager, he
had flat out refused. However, he'd known most of them since they
were tots and their persistence wore him down. They made a lot of
promises. No drinking, no girls, no drugs. And they refused to do
the tour without him, so the label had offered him an obscene amount
of money.
    It had seemed that
their hiatus had given the band the time and space they needed to
figure out how to be musicians again. They were dedicated to the
creative process and claimed to have no interest in their
previous...temptations. Carl only halfway believed them. He wasn't
a complete idiot, they were terrific liars, that's why he needed an
inside man, so to speak.
    Carl had agreed to
their request and then he started his own search. He needed someone
who the band would trust. Someone seemingly innocent and innocuous.
Someone they would invite along if they were getting ready to trash
the entire eighth floor of a swanky hotel. But this someone would
have to have loyalties to Carl, at least enough so he could try to
stop whatever destruction the band had in its sights. Because when
it came down to it, Carl loved these guys like brothers. Okay, maybe
more like cousins. He wanted to see them succeed, not crash and
burn.
    He was about to give
up hope when Lenny had