Jamie Begley - Tainted

R.J. managed to right himself before turning back to face an intimidating, furious Kaden. “I mean it, Kaden. Do the tour and they’re yours. I’ll hand them over and you’ll never see me again,” R.J. promised.

Kaden picked up R.J.’s empty cup and threw it against the kitchen wall. Taking a deep breath, he then released it, while getting himself back under control, before he killed R.J. with his bare hands.

“I have no choice it seems, R.J.; if you don’t give me the tapes,I’ll—”

“You do the concert, and they’re yours.” R.J. didn’t look away.

Kaden had no choice other than to believe him.

“When’s the first concert?” Kaden wanted those tapes back. If he had to tour the next year to get them back, then he would do it. Raking his hand through his long hair, he waited for R.J. to answer his question.

“In three weeks. I booked them pretty heavily.”

“You always did,” Kaden said sarcastically. “Get out, R.J.; you’ve accomplished what you wanted.”

“Kaden, if I had a choice, I would have left you alone. I let you leave without trying to stop you, didn’t I? I can’t let everyone down; there are too many people who are depending on me. I’m sorry.” R.J. went to the door and opened it. Kaden watched his former manager go out the door, closing it behind him.

He had sworn when he had walked away that he would never sing again. For five years, he had kept that promise, and now he was going to have to return. Kaden already knew what was ahead of him; months of no sleep, no personal space and miles and miles of road. Once, a tour of this magnitude would have been worth celebrating; now, it was only a reminder of how fucked up he had been.

Cleaning up the mess he had made, Kaden went into the back bedroom, which was empty except for the bed and dresser. Going to the closet, he packed his bag with what few items he possessed. He then sat down on the bed, staring at the picture he had taped to the wall by his bed. Reaching out, he carefully removed the worn picture, and then held it in his hand as he stared at it for several moments, before placing it in his bag. Afterward, he got up, took a quick shower, and then went to bed. Lying naked on the bed, he listened to the quiet night, feeling his body finally relax for the first time since R.J. had left.

Tomorrow, he would close the cabin then catch a plane to Dallas. For five years, he had dodged the fame of his career; now, he was going to have to face the publicity of his return and the circumstances that had caused his departure. They would all be waiting and watching for him to resume his wild lifestyle.

The women, drugs and money had all been the rewards of the career that he had used and exploited. This time around, none of it held any appeal. Instead, he would save Mouth2Mouth from financial disaster and get the tapes that had been held over his head for five years. The man who had left was not the one returning this time; this man had nothing left to lose.

“Did you get the pictures I sent?” Grace asked.

“Not yet, my mail hasn’t caught up with me,” Kaden answered as he made four small lines of coke with his platinum card.

“Oh.” Disappointment filled his sister’s voice. “That’s okay; I have more of them trick or treating. They looked so cute.I dressed them up as—”

Kaden laid the phone down, doing two lines before picking his cell phone back up.

“—Adam made himself sick eating too much candy, of course.”

Kaden could tell this was going to go on for a while. “Grace, R.J. is calling on another line, I have to go. Tell Mom, I said hi.”

“But don’t you want to talk to her?”

“Next time; I have to go.” Kaden disconnected the call, already bending over to do the remaining two lines of white powder.

Kaden’s fingers moved over the guitar as the conversation played in his mind, bringing the end to the concert that had filled the arena to capacity. With a wave, he exited the stage as each of the band members followed his cue.

“Kaden, that was great! I thought you would have trouble learning all the new material, but you didn’t miss a fucking note.” D-mon slapped him on the back as they waited in the VIP room for their car to be brought to the back exit. They had a two-day layover in San Antonio before they would leave for their next gig, so they were staying at a hotel tonight.

R.J. stuck his head in the door. “The car is here.”

Four security guards were waiting outside the door as they exited the arena. The huge crowd waiting outside screamed their names when they saw the band.

“Kaden!” a young blonde girl that barely looked legal, pulled her top down, exposing her breasts. He kept on walking.

Ax tried to make his way to the woman, but R.J. held him back. “I already have entertainment for you back at the hotel. Get in the car, Ax.”

“You’re taking all the fun out of getting laid.” Kaden heard Ax complain as he slid into the car next to him.

“I’m trying to save you another DNA test for child support,” R.J. snapped, closing the door.

Kaden ignored the conversation as the car pulled out into the heavy traffic, leaving the arena. The drive back to the hotel took fifteen minutes in the car with the others hyped up from the show.

“It’s good to have you back.”

Kaden looked across the seat at Sin. “You’re still the master with the drums, Sin.”

Sin stared back at him with a reserved smile. He could be the most laid back of the band members or the wildest, depending on the mood he was in and what he was doing. Alcohol made him everyone’s best buddy; drugs made him a mean son of a bitch, wanting to fight everyone he came into contact with. Kaden thought both sides of him were an asshole, and he had the least to do with him, compared to the other band members.

The car drove to the back entrance of the hotel, coming to a stop.

“Thanks,Alec.” Kaden stepped out of the limo when Alec—the head of security who Kaden had hired, rejecting the firm that R.J. usually went with—opened the door. It had caused an argument between them, but R.J. had conceded when he saw that Kaden wasn’t going to back down.

“It’s clear. The press thinks you’re across at the Prestige. It’ll take them a couple of hours to figure out where you’re at,” Alec told him, closing the car door after the others had exited.

Kaden and the rest of the group followed Alec through the empty kitchen and into the private elevator that the staff used. The elevator stopped at the top floor and everyone got off, going to the lone door.

Alec caught Kaden’s arm before he could move forward. “R.J. had several women escorted here before the show started. Rick Redman brought them then took off. Said he would be back in the morning.”

Kaden’s lips tightened. He had met Rick several years ago when he had first started out. He was known for providing call girls for those well known in the entertainment industry. He had acquaintances who had used his service repeatedly, saving themselves the hassle of the tabloid exposé’s, or—like Ax—the numerous paternity claims from their one-night stands.

He had never been tempted by any of Rick’s girls, preferring to pick women from the followers that trailed after the band.

“When did R.J. become involved with Redman?”

“This is the first tour that R.J. has used his services.” Alec’s disgusted voice left no doubt of his opinion of Redman. “He paid thirty-thousand out six months ago to keep Jesse’s wife from finding out about a weekend in the Caribbean with a nineteen-year-old.”

“I’m surprised R.J. paid to keep it quiet; he used to love the publicity.” Kaden was already able to hear the noise of the party from the outside of the hotel room. “I don’t care how many whores he hires, as long as they stay away from me,” Kaden said, going in the hotel room.

The sight that met his eyes was one he had seen many times. At least five women were seated around the room with Sin and D-mon already pouring out drinks. Ax was already talking to a pretty brunette.

His condition of no drugs had aroused arguments from the three group members, but his threat to walk had been taken seriously. Kaden didn’t doubt his ability to withstand the temptation of the drugs he had once enjoyed; he just didn’t want another reminder of how fucked up he had been.

“Which room is mine?” Kaden asked R.J., who had a woman already sitting on his lap.

He pointed toward the hallway to the left. “I had your bag put in the last one down the hall so you wouldn’t be disturbed by the noise.”

A delicate arm slid around his neck as a lush blonde leaned against him, plastering her tits against his chest.

“I can keep you company, Daddy.” One of her arms glided from his neck downwards, grasping his hip as she pushed her pussy against his dick. Kaden’s dick didn’t move behind his zipper. Her dark blue eyes were glazed and her thickened voice was incentive enough to take both of her hands into his, moving away from her touch.

“No, thanks; I’ll pass.” Even when he had reached the pinnacle of his career, he hadn’t paid for pussy.

Kaden walked down the hallway of the suite, ignoring Ax and D-mon’s yells to return. Opening the closed door, he went into the darkened room without bothering to turn on the light since the bathroom light had been left on, illuminating half of the room. He went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Getting undressed, he turned the shower on then stepped inside, letting the hot water relax his tired muscles. He let the warm spray run over his body before grabbing the soap and washing the sweat from the hot lights of the concert away, as well as the smell of the whore’s musky perfume.