Torn Read Free Page B

in the end adding an outrageous, unexpected solo.
    Which was not good. Unexpected things, that is. Not with Karston at the bass. He’d been doing better since his “Face” screw-up, but now lost it completely, hitting the wrong notes, off tempo. Hesounded like an elephant with bad gas farting into a mike. Cody caught the mistakes just as he was going down on his knees in a dramatic stage move. Devin watched as Cody, in the middle of finishing his lick, tried twisting his head to give Karston another nasty look.
    It wasn’t pretty. The usually graceful frontman went off-balance, catching his bare shoulder on a jagged metal clip on the corner of his amp. Blood, looking black in the blue light, flowed freely down his long arm, spotting his shirt. It was a moment that could’ve spelled disaster. But it didn’t.
    The pain didn’t stop or surprise Cody. It set him on fire. He went on with his solo for another eight bars, then finished as the crowd cheered wildly, not one of them caring about or remembering Karston’s mistakes. They were all too busy watching Cody finally proving to himself and the world that he was the real thing.
    Allen Bates beamed at them, his large hands again slapping together, this time loud enough to be heard over the crowd.
    â€œTorn!” Bates screamed again. The band headed for the storage area behind the stage that passed for a dressing room. Devin knew—they all knew—from Bates’s face they’d be invited back.They’d done it. Now all they needed were enough songs to fill a twenty-minute set.
    Once the door was closed, Cheryl flew into Devin’s arms. Borrowing her enthusiasm, he swung her around, feeling the heat of her body against his.
    â€œYes, yes, yes!” she screamed. “It’s like I’m dreaming and I don’t want to wake up!”
    She kissed him hard, finally giving him the buzz he’d craved from the crowd. He’d have to be dead not to react to her. Devin had never thought he’d have a chance with a girl as beautiful as Cheryl, and now they’d been seeing each other for three months. At first he used to get jealous when he saw how other guys looked at her, even Cody, but tonight he figured she was all his.
    He stopped kissing her long enough to say, “Tomorrow!”
    His parents had gone away for the weekend, and after Torn came over for some recording, he and Cheryl had a big night planned. Usually when they wanted to be alone, they had to head to an abandoned housing development near his home and park. Even the roomy seats of his Dad’s SUV could be awkward in that situation, but tomorrow they’d have a whole big, empty house, at least from nine, when rehearsal ended, untilCheryl’s midnight curfew.
    Cody strutted into the center of the room like a prize bull, ignoring them. He stretched his Les Paul high over his head and made a sound that could only rightly be described as a roar. Ben, also known as One Word Ben, since he seldom spoke, applauded. Even Karston grinned sheepishly.
    â€œWe are so damn cool!” Cody cried.
    â€œNot that it’s going to our head or anything,” Devin said, still holding Cheryl aloft. She was so light, he felt like he could carry her forever.
    Cody laughed. “Whatever. I am so damn cool! The rest of you suck!”
    Everyone took it as a joke, until Cody glanced over at Karston and the gleam in his eyes shifted from glazed megalomania to something more predatory. Cody snarled and moved as if he were going to attack. Karston visibly shriveled.
    Tensing, Devin reluctantly let Cheryl slide off his body, in case he had to pry Cody away from the smaller, thinner teen. Cody could be brilliant and exciting, but so could lightning. The singer had a penchant for explosive, demanding, infantile, and downright psychotic behavior. Devin looked around for another shiny object to distract him, to break the tension, when he noticed the blood