"Besides," Jake adds, "merch is where the money's at."

"Merch?"

"Merchandise," Drax explains. "T-shirts, hats, do-rags, panties--"

"Panties?!" I can't stop myself from laughing, despite the dour mood on the bus. It's the first time in an hour that Drax smiles, even if it's only a little. I count it as a win.

"Sure. Gotta have merch for the ladies. "

"Da shluttier da better," smirks Jake. Maybe he hasn't sobered up as much as I thought.

"Anyway," Drax continues, casting a dark look at his bandmate, "the fee the promoter was paying us was nothing compared to what we would have earned on the merch. Besides, a gig like this is all about exposure. The other three bands are much bigger than us, and we really could have gained some traction if their fans got to know us."

"Oh." I scan the contract and, for the first time, notice how low the fee is. It seems pretty paltry, even to a newbie like me. "I just don't understand why they canceled at the last minute like this."

"Marvin," Drax seethes. "It was Marvin. Had to be. It's bad enough that he dropped us but now he's fucking with us. I swear to God, if I ever see that smarmy, two-faced son of a bitch again..."

He lets the threat hang in the air while we process what he's said. He's right. It was their old manager, Marvin Harmony. I knew there was a reason I didn't like that guy.

As we sit in silence, my brain spins. I need to do something. I need to prove myself to the band. I know they don't expect much from me, but that doesn't mean I can't surprise them. Truth be told, if I can do anything with this mess, I'll surprise myself, but I've got to try. If I'm going to be a failure as a band manager, too, I should fail after at least trying to succeed.

"Shit, we might as well turn this bitch around and head back to San Fran," Drax grouses and gets up to tell the driver to turn around.

"Drax, wait!"

He stops and all eyes are on me yet again. But this time I'm excited. I have a purpose in life, a mission. I'm not sure what's going to happen, or what I'm even going to do, but I do know that we have to go to Vegas for my not-yet-formed plan to work. I know it in my gut.

"Give me one day in Vegas to fix this," I say, glancing at each one. I land on Drax and don't break eye contact. Only this time, it's me holding his gaze. If I can get him onboard, the others will follow his lead. "It may not work out, but you guys brought me with you as your manager. Let me earn my keep. Or at least let me try."

Drax's gaze drills into me, asking without words if I'm sure. I answer the same way: Hell, yeah. Satisfied, he nods.

"Why the fuck not?"

The others look at each other, then shrug. Their support is underwhelming but I'll take what I can get.

It's three in the morning, and the day has taken its toll on everyone. Jake slumps back into the couch and Frank hops into one of the bunks. Savory continues to stare out the window but I can see him fading fast.

Drax takes my hand and tries to pull me up. "Let's go." I know what that animal growl means, but I shake my head and smile up at him.

"Sorry, sexy. I've got work to do."

"Good morning, sunshines!"

The boys were asleep when I left earlier, but they're up and chugging their first cups of coffee by the time I get back to the bus. We're in a crowded RV park right off Highway 582 in Vegas, surrounded by blue-hairs in motorhomes and fifth wheels. Our rig stands out like a sore thumb thanks to the band's name plastered on each side in three-foot tall letters with blood spatters surrounding it. But, hey, whaddaya know -- Roadkill's money is just as good as Grandpa Joe's in the next space over.

"No loud music," warned the clerk when I checked us in, eyeballing the bus's admittedly gross graphics.

"Scout's honor," I said, smiling as reassuringly as possible. She didn't look convinced but gave us our space assignment -- after taking the $20 bribe I slipped her.

"Where'd you run off to?" Drax asks, looking me up and down with hungry eyes. My nipples tingle at the look and I cross my arms to hide the evidence.

"I had an errand to run."

His eyes narrow in the sexiest way. "So early?"

I smile even though my bones ache with weariness, and plop down in front of the laptop, setting a big paper bag next to me. "While you boys were getting your beauty sleep, I was working my ass off."

"Lauren, where the hell are we?" Savory asks, rubbing the sleep -- and the kohl -- from his eyes. "And what's in the bag?"

"Maple bars."

Jake snatches up the bag and passes it around.

 I sigh and scroll through my email. "Well, we obviously weren't going to be welcome to park behind the venue, so I found alternate lodging. Dammit!"

"What?"

"Oh, nothing." It's not nothing but I don't want to worry them. Not yet.

One of the many things I worked on last night was booking another gig or two, and the email I just read is the first of what I expect to be a flood of rejections. Who books shows the night of? What was I thinking that I could pull this off? I don't have any connections in the industry in general, much less in Vegas. Any elation I had a few minutes ago has been whisked away.

"So where were you?" Drax asks again.

Okay, so not all of it was whisked away. I still feel a little like Wonder Woman and can't wait to tell them what I've been up to.

"Oh, nowhere special. I was just off getting donuts...and collecting the rest of your fee." I whip out the check and slap it on the table with a flourish.

"What the hell?"

"How?"

"Fuck yeah!"

They're all talking at once and I giggle at the praise they're heaping on me. It's nice to not only do something right but to be appreciated for it. My old boss Harry couldn't wrap his tiny little brain around that concept. Which is, of course, why I'm here. I probably should thank him.

As if.

"Hey, I'm your manager," I say when they finally let me talk. "Isn't that my job?"

I let them beg for a bit before launching into my tale.

"After you guys turned in, I started working. My first order of business as your new manager was to get the money you were owed. So as soon as we got parked, I took a cab over to Rancid Productions and had a little chat with the owner, Mr. Stanway."

"Prick," grumbles Frank. For a guy who just got paid for not working, he looks mighty irritated. And who the heck is he texting?

"You have no idea. But he came to understand that the very core of our civilization rests on the concept of people being true to their word. He also came to understand that he would pay a lawyer about a jillion times more to fight a lawsuit than what he owed you."

"You, Lola, are a rockstar." Drax lunges across the table and lays a big smackaroo on my lips, holding my face in his hands. His kiss is just as electrifying as ever, even after going 24 hours with no sleep. I quiver at the way he looks at me. Thank goodness I'm sitting down or I might have crumpled into a giant, jiggly heap.

"Heh hem."

That brings us out of our own little world. Drax sits back, adjusting himself along the way. I still can't quite believe I have such an effect on him, but I'm loving every minute of it. Pepper was right. If it ends today -- and it probably will, after my next bit of news -- I'll have the memories forever.