With Vengeance Read Free Page B

studio is one
thing, but onstage? I mean, we can’t have a chick guitarist. We’d
be a laughingstock.”
    Klement crossed his arms. “You’ve heard her
shred. She has Lefty’s riffs nailed to the point where she sounds
just like him. Are you telling me you’d rather have a substandard
guitarist just to appease the more sexist faction of our fan
base?”
    The singer frowned. “I think more than just a
faction would be pissed.”
    “They’re going to be pissed no matter who we
tour with, because it won’t be Lefty. I want to at least replace
him with someone good,” Klement countered. “Besides, I think most
fans aren’t as shallow as you’re making them out to be. Rage of
Angels has been outselling us since they debuted, and they’re three
chicks and a gay guy.” Klement envied the latter, in fact. The kid
was an incredible bass player.
    Shaking his head, he ticked off his list.
“There’s also Otep, Halestorm, Warlock, and many others. White
Zombie had a female bassist until Rob Zombie went solo. And don’t
forget that when Kat’s friend Kinley stepped in for Viciӧus she
upped their sales by twenty percent, despite all the shit-talking
on Rocktalk’s site.”
    “Okay, I get your point.” Cliff ran a hand
through his hair. “So you think she’ll do good for us?”
    “Maybe. If she can handle herself on a big
stage. She’s only played small shows in clubs, but you’ve all seen
the videos of her performing.” God she was so vibrant, so alive,
so—
    Roderick interrupted that dangerous line of
thought. “Yes, she’s a talent, in more ways than one, but only on
the vids. In here she resembled a bloody wax statue.”
    “That’s because those songs are new to her,”
Klement argued. “Not to mention the fact that this is her first
time in a studio. She was too busy concentrating on playing the
songs right, not on having fun with ’em, which is what we need from
her at the moment. Then we can see if she loosens up enough to give
a good show.” He prayed that she could. He didn’t want to audition
another guitarist. He wanted Kat.
    The intensity of his desire gave him
pause.
    Because she’s talented, he reiterated
to himself.
    Cliff waggled his eyebrows. “Ten bucks says
she gives me a good show tonight.”
    Roderick offered his hand to shake. “I’ll
take that bet.”
    “C’mon, Rod.” Cliff laughed. “You know they
always go for the singer. Quinn got a piece of her friend. Now it’s
my turn.”
    The drummer frowned. “Hey, now, some of the
ladies pick me first. They love my accent. You can’t compete with
that, Yank.”
    Klement rolled his eyes at both of them.
“I’ll see you guys at my place. When you get there, just come in. I
got a tech support call.”
    Cliff shook his head in bemusement. “I don’t
know why you still bother with that shit. It’s not like you need
the money. What are you worth now, twenty-six million?”
    “I’ve been working with some of these clients
for years,” Klement answered over his shoulder, already heading out
the door. “It doesn’t feel right to ditch them. Besides, we
probably won’t be famous forever. Eventually we’ll go out of
style—or, if we’re lucky, just get too old. I like having something
to fall back on.” Okay, his client base had been pared down to his
sisters and one other lonely website, so it wasn’t exactly making
him money anymore, and he really didn’t need any more money, but
whatever.
    The door closed on Cliff’s response.
    Klement crossed the parking lot to his ’58
Suburban, fighting off annoyance. He knew Cliff would probably win
his bet and seduce Katana. He’d seen the way she’d looked at the
singer, and he hated the sinking feeling he’d gotten when he saw
it. He wasn’t supposed to care. The last thing he needed was to get
involved with their new recording guitarist. Hell, at thirty-five
he was probably too old for her, too, and with all of his issues he
wasn’t suited for a relationship.
    At least