Jimmy Ryan was spinning crazily around the stage and Laura couldn’t take her eyes off him. His long, dark hair whipped around his head like a flag, sending sweat flying through the smoke filled air.

Around her, the girls were screaming his name and Laura tried to join in, but her voice was gone. She settled for shoving her way through the crowd to get a few inches closer to the stage.

Marcus Jane, the lead guitar player, strutted over in his skin tight, white leather pants and treated the crowd to a solo that sent tingles down Laura’s spine. Like everyone else in the packed arena, she flicked her lighter on and held it above her head as she swayed along to the haunting melody.

This was the third Riot Rocket concert that she’d attended in the past month alone, and Laura knew that Marcus’ guitar solo signaled the end of the show. Her eyes flew to Jimmy, who was leaning back on his knees, his bare torso gleaming in the spotlight as he played air guitar. She flattened her lips, angry at herself for taking her attention away, even for a moment, from Jimmy, the man that she was really here to see.

Their next show was in Denver. She couldn’t go. She couldn’t afford the airfare or hotel room, and besides, she’d already used up all of her vacation days.

When the show finally wrapped up, and Jimmy left the stage for the final time, Laura sadly filed out of the stadium. A few guys tried to pick her up, but she just rolled her eyes and kept walking to her rental car. All that was left was her lonely hotel room and eventually falling asleep to dreams of Jimmy.

The line out of the arena parking lot was astoundingly long. Laura sat in it for ten minutes before finally deciding to pull over and wait until it cleared. She picked up her cell phone and punched in her sister, Terri’s, number.

“Hey. How was the concert?”

“Excellent, as always. I’m just waiting for the parking lot to clear. You know I hate waiting in lines.”

“I don’t see what you get out of it, honestly. It’s not like you’re going to meet the band, anyway.”

Laura rolled her eyes. Terri was twelve years older than her, and a mom of two. Her life consisted of laundry and picking up toys. What could she possibly know about?

“It’s better live.” Laura glanced around, gratified to see that the lot was thinning out. She yawned, feeling the jetlag and late hour starting to kick in.

“Where did you say you were?” Terri asked her.

“Arizona.”

“And when are you coming home?”

“I have a flight out of here in the morning. I’ll swing by on my way home and see the kiddos.”

“I take it you’re heading back to the hotel now?”

“Yup,” Laura put the car in drive and started for the exit but suddenly decided to drive around the arena. Why the hell not, she decided, with a shrug of her shoulder; the parking lot was almost empty, and she’d always wanted to see if she could find out where the performers came out afterwards, “Listen, Terri, I’m exhausted. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” She didn’t wait for a response, just hung up and threw her phone on the passenger seat as she drove around the building.

The enormous lot was empty as Laura drove towards a tunnel that led beneath the arena. She half expected a security guard to jump in front of her as she turned down into the tunnel, but no one did. There was an empty guard building at the bottom, but the gates were up.

“Just go for it,” Laura whispered to herself, “When are you going to get the chance to do this again?”

There was a tour bus waiting at the back. It had to be Riot Rocket’s, she thought, as her heart started thumping with excitement. She pulled into a slot and hopped out of the car, scurrying over towards the bus. It was big and shiny, and, as she approached it, seemingly empty.

Laura slowed her steps as she noted that bus’s interior was lit up brightly, but there wasn’t a driver at the wheel, or anyone else inside, that she could tell. Maybe the band just hadn’t come out yet. She paused at the stairs that led onto the bus. If she waited, surely the band would come out of the arena and she would get to meet them.

She looked up the stairs. The bed where Jimmy slept was right there, up those stairs. She could see the same things he saw, and touch the same things that he touched, if she were brave enough. She looked around again, saw nothing, and started up the stairs.

The bus was much bigger inside than it even seemed on the outside. Laura moved quickly through the living space, the kitchen, and into the area that housed the sleeping bunks. She was just about to figure out which one was Jimmy’s when she heard voices outside.

“Shit.” she panicked, trying to figure out if she should brazenly stay out in the open, or if she should dive beneath one of the bottom bunks.

“Move!” a loud, male voice penetrated her indecisive brain fog and she frowned. What was going on out there? She took a few steps into the kitchen, intending to peek through the blinds, but a man in a blue uniform suddenly stomped up the stairs and got behind the wheel.

“Now the rest of you get the hell up there,” the voice said, forcefully, “Hurry the fuck up, Ben.”

Laura gasped as she watched Benji Watts, Riot Rocket’s drummer, stumble up the stairs, quickly followed by Jimmy, a guy that she didn’t recognize, and a man wielding a gun.

She could only stand in the bus aisle, like a deer caught in the headlights, as the men started walking towards her.

The men’s eyes locked on her.

“Who the hell is this?” the gunman asked, as he shoved Benji towards one of the couches, “One of your groupies?”

Laura shook her head, numbly, as Jimmy collapsed into a leather club chair, and the other guy suddenly stopped walking and turned to confront the gunman, “She’s not,” he said, “Let her leave, Simon. She has nothing to do with this.”

“You know, technically, you don’t have anything to do with this, either, Carson, so sit the fuck down or I’ll shoot you like I shot Marcus and Len.”

A stunned cry escaped Laura’s lips at hearing Simon’s admission.

“Sit down, Carson,” Simon waved the gun and Carson slid down into the banquette seat near Laura, “You, pretty girl, what’s your name?”

“Me?” Laura stuttered, as she looked at Jimmy worriedly. He’d obviously just watched his lead guitarist and bass player killed in front of him, and he was in a state of shock. That’s why he looked so pale, so trembly, so weak.

Simon moved down the aisle and yanked her towards him, “You know, I was supposed to have girls like you hanging around me, begging me to …”

“Simon, that’s enough,” Carson made to stand up, but quickly dropped back down onto the banquette seat when Simon spun the gun in his direction, “Let her leave. She has nothing to do with us. We don’t know her.”

“You don’t know her, but I intend to, right after we sort out all our hard feelings, right Jimmy?”

Laura looked at Jimmy, who was staring at the floor. What was wrong with him? Why wasn’t he trying to save her?

Simon squeezed her arm, hard, and she tried to draw away from him, but he shoved her towards Carson, “Keep an eye on her for me, will you,” he drawled, “I’ve got to attend to some business with my old bandmates, if you don’t mind.”

Laura settled into the banquette as Carson slid behind the small table, making room for her. She was quickly realizing just how precarious her situation was becoming. She surreptitiously reached for her phone, but then remembered that she’d left it in the rental car.

“Driver,” Simon bellowed, “Get this big piece of shit on the road,” he turned and looked at Benji and Jimmy, “Guess what, guys, we’re going home. You remember, right? My garage? Or maybe you both forgot all about where Riot Rocket began, now that you guys are all famous and shit. Just like you guys forgot all about me, huh?”

“We didn’t forget about you, Simon,” Benji spoke up, “We didn’t. You were going through some shit back then. Remember?”

“Yeah, I was,” Simon’s face registered his anger, but also his hurt, “And that’s exactly why I needed you guys not to ditch me.”

“You were a drunk, dude.” Jimmy finally spoke up.

Laura stared hard at him, hoping that he would look at her, but he didn’t.

“I started this band!” Simon spat, as he lunged for Jimmy, who reared back in fright, batting at the air ineffectually, “I started Riot Rocket and you guys shit on me and left me with nothing! I should fucking kill you now!”

Carson fought to get his body out from behind the table, as the bus lurched. They were moving now, and Laura just wanted to get off the damn bus, but she didn’t know what to do. She looked back at Jimmy, desperately wanting to lock eyes with him, but he was staring back down at the floor.

“You need to calm down, Simon,” Carson finally managed to slide to the edge of the banquette, but he knew better than to stand up, “We can work something out, but only if you calm down.”

“Work something out?” Simon turned on him, “What are you going to do, huh, asshole? You’re just an errand boy …”

“I’m the tour manager, actually.” Carson said.

“Who gives a fuck,” Simon glanced over his shoulder, his eyes meeting Laura’s like he was expecting her to agree with him. Her eyes skittered away, uncomfortably, “Besides, I don’t want anything but what’s fair.”

“Okay, that’s understandable. You want money? I’m sure that we could come to an agreement on a figure, right Jimmy? Benji?”

“Sure. We’ll have management cut you a check, man,” Benji nodded, eagerly, “Any number you want. Just say the word.”

“I don’t want your damn money, asshole,” Simon yelled, as he took a few steps towards Benji, “It was you, wasn’t it?” he confronted the drummer, “You were the fucking one that brought Marcus around all the fucking time back then …”

“No, man, he was just a friend, that’s all,” Benji looked distraught as Simon stood over him with the gun raised, “I – I didn’t have any plans to replace you.”

Laura was chewing the inside of her mouth raw as she watched the distraught drummer look pleadingly in Jimmy’s direction.

“Jimmy, tell him. Tell him how the record company made us put Marcus in. It wasn’t our fault. I’m telling you, it wasn’t our fault.”

“Get up,” Simon reached down and clenched Benji’s thin arm, “You’re coming with me.”

“No, no, no, no,” Benji tried to resist, but Simon had fury running through his veins, “Please don’t, man. Please don’t do this.”

Simon got Benji on his feet and he shoved him towards the back of the bus.

Laura tried to shrink inside of herself as she watched Benji and Simon disappear. She heard a door close behind them.

“Do you have a phone?” Carson suddenly asked her.

“No. Don’t you?”

Carson shook his head, “No, he took them all back at the venue. Fuck.”

“Did he really shoot Marcus and Len?”

“Yeah,” Carson rubbed his hands over his face, “Yeah, he did. I don’t know what the fuck to do,” he suddenly turned to Jimmy, “Jimmy, we need to jump him when he comes out. We can take him by surprise, get the gun away from him.”

Jimmy raised his face and stared blankly at him.

“There’s two of us to his one. I’ll take him down, and you grab the gun.”

Jimmy shook his head, defeatedly.

“I’ll do it.” Laura said.

When the gunshot came, it was so loud, so close, that Laura felt her heart jump in shock.

The door opened so quickly that Carson couldn’t react in time as Simon marched back into the main area of the bus.

“Where’s Benji?” Carson demanded.

“Benji? He got what was coming to him,” Simon sat down in the seat that Benji had once sat in, “I told you that I only wanted what was fair.”

“You son of a bitch.” Carson stood up, but Simon raised the gun in his direction and he sat back down.

Carson turned his gaze on Jimmy, “Are you ready to tell me what really happened now?”

Jimmy fidgeted uncomfortably, and Laura felt sorry for him. He had to be absolutely terrified. That was probably why he was acting so subdued. She felt certain that if the time came, and Simon was about to hurt her, he would leap in to defend her.

“Jimmy, tell me the fucking truth. It’s the least you can …”

Suddenly, the bus slammed to a screeching halt, lurching them wildly. The bus driver opened the door and stood up, but as he tried to run down the stairs, Simon shot him and he collapsed, tumbling down the stairs and out the open door as Laura started hyperventilating.

“You’re fucking crazy!” Carson rushed him and they fought for control of the gun.

“Help him!” Laura screeched at Jimmy, “What’s wrong with you? Help him!”

The gun fired, and Carson’s body jolted and fell silent on top of Simon. Simon shoved him off onto the floor of the bus. The center of Carson’s shirt was blossoming with blood.

Time seemed to stop as Laura stared at Carson’s body. A trickle of blood was sliding down his chin. She held back a sob and looked over at Jimmy; he was the only thing standing between her and certain death.

Simon kicked Carson’s body, “Good. I never liked him anyway. You didn’t like him either, did you, Jimmy?”

“Nah, man, he was a fucking busybody. Always up in my face telling me to do this, do that. Fuck him.”

Laura’s eyes widened in shock.

“Why’d you even hire him then?” Simon asked, as he shoved the gun in his waistband and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He reached over and pulled a book of matches off the table in front of Jimmy.

“Wasn’t me, man. It was the record company.”

Simon lit his cigarette, as his face seemed to redden, “See, there’s that fucking record company excuse again …”

Jimmy sat up quickly, “No, dude, that’s not an excuse. It’s just the facts. The record company hired him. Hired all the crew. We didn’t have any say …”

“The hell you didn’t!” Simon growled, “You’re the goddamn star of the show, man. You can do anything you fucking want.”

Jimmy’s eye’s narrowed thoughtfully, “I guess I could. I mean, I could start another band even, with different people …”

“That’s right, you could,” Simon blew out a puff of smoke, “And this time, you wouldn’t have Benji telling you what to do.”

Jimmy was nodding vigorously, “True that, dude. Honestly, I’m glad to be rid of him.”

Laura was reeling. Surely Jimmy must be trying to gain Simon’s trust in order to gain the upper hand. That had to be it.

“You should have picked me, Jimmy. I formed Riot Rocket. I should have been on that fucking stage. It SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME!” he shouted.

Both Jimmy and Laura reared back from his angry burst.

“Dude, it still can be,” Jimmy rushed to soothe him, “We can reform. Start fresh. Bands do it all the time.”

“I missed out,” Simon was shaking his head, “I had to sit there and watch you guys take what was mine. Man, you guys had it all, didn’t you? Flying all around the goddamn world, living in goddamn mansions, having beautiful women throw themselves at you,” he scowled at Jimmy, “And all I wanted was just a little taste. Just a little fucking taste of the crazy life.”

“You can still have it,” Jimmy slid to the edge of his seat, “Look where we are, man. There’s a beautiful girl right there, free for the taking. She wants it dude, that’s why she came on the bus.”

Laura felt her entire body start to shake as both of the men looked at her. Her heart was breaking as she realized that the man she had adored was offering her up to a cold-blooded killer just to save himself.

Simon stubbed his cigarette out on the marble tabletop. He stood up and moved towards her, “He right?” he asked her, “You want to get laid by a rock star, babe?”

Laura was about to fight him, but then she caught sight of the gun that he’d tucked into the back of his jeans. She forced herself to smile, gratefully, up at him, as she allowed him to ease her out of the booth.

“We’re going to have one hell of a time,” Simon pulled her up against her body, as he grabbed her butt and squeezed, “You coming, Jimmy?”

Laura slid her hand down until she found the gun. She pulled it out of Simon’s waistband, shoved him away, and fired, all in one movement.

Simon dropped to the floor with a thud.

Laura threw the gun down. She stepped over Simon and Carson’s bodies and started walking towards the door of the bus. She stopped in front of Jimmy, “You disgust me.” she hissed.

The bus driver’s body was half in, half out, of the stairwell. Laura jumped over him. The bus was stopped on a deserted stretch of two lane highway out in the middle of nowhere. Cactus, like eerie sentinels, rose up in the dark sky.

Eventually, headlights appeared far off.

Laura watched them move slowly towards her. She stood on the side of the road, waiting for them to draw close, and then she stepped out in front of them and waved her arms until they stopped.