Chapter 20

Allegra was just crawling out of bed the next morning when her phone rang.  Seeing a picture of Batman’s Joker pop up on the screen, she laughed.  “Good morning David.  What are you doing up at...”  She checked the bedside clock.  “Eight fifteen?” 

“Morning my dahling.  Couldn’t sleep so I thought I’d see if you wanted your computer lesson before I go to the venue.”

“Whatever works with your schedule is fine with me.  I’m going to hop in the shower and get dressed.  Give me twenty minutes?”

“I’ll bring the coffee.”

It was more like twenty-five minutes later when the knock sounded at the door.  “Who is it?” she called, wrapping an elastic band around her hair.

“Googly moogly!”  the answer came back.

Laughing, she crossed over to unlock the door and let David in.  “You’re late.”

Holding up two Starbuck’s cups, he said, “Maybe, but you’re going to forgive me in about two seconds.  You haven’t had coffee until you’ve had it from the original Starbuck’s, baby.”

She was skeptical.  Coffee was coffee – or so she thought until that first sip.  “Oh my God, you’re a saint among men,” she moaned as the warm flow of caffeine invaded her bloodstream.  Motioning for him to follow her, she curled into the corner of the couch, hands firmly wrapped around her cup.

“Not sure about the whole Jewish saint thing, but I’ll go with it.” David put his laptop case on the floor and settled down next to her.

“What?  You’re Jewish?”  That packed as big a jolt as the coffee.

David laughed and said, “The curly hair wasn’t a dead giveaway, huh?  The blonde color probably threw you off.  How about the fact that my birth name is David Bryan Rashbaum?  Make it any more obvious for you?”

“It definitely helps,” she admitted with a wry grin.

“And that’s what I’m here to do.  Help.  Are you ready to learn about the Internet?”

Allegra nodded gamely.  “Once you tell me what it is, I’m sure I’ll be ecstatic.”

Grinning delightedly, he told her, “Legs, I want you to know that if it weren’t for Lexi, I could so fall in love with you.”

“Yeah, yeah.  You just like having a dumb woman to flaunt your smarts to,” she teased.

He was surprisingly serious.  “That’s the thing, I think.  You’re not a dumb woman.  You’re an incredibly intelligent woman.  You’ve proven it with your insight and amazing electronics aptitude.  But it’s like you don’t know what there is to know.  Does that make any sense?”

Regret filled her.  She hated keeping secrets.  Especially from this man who had become such a dear friend.  For the first time, she felt compelled to willingly share her background.  Should she tell him and unleash another needless protector?  The more time she spent with him, the more questions he was bound to have. 

Nodding slowly, she said, “It… does.”

David slowly sipped his coffee, waiting to see if she would finish the thought that was hanging in the air.

Allegra leaned toward the coffee table and set her cup down.  Edging toward him, she gently placed her hand on his forearm, and sought out his eyes. 

“Dave, please understand how much you’ve come to mean to me.  I feel like I’ve found a special friend in you, and I am so very thankful for that.”  He put his hand on hers and squeezed gently, reluctant to interrupt.

Wait a minute!  He just said he was Jewish.  That puts this in a whole new light.  My deep, dark ‘secret’ may rank right up there with my astrological sign as far as he’s concerned. 

Impulsively, she gave him a crooked grin, and asked,  “So do you want to hear something funny?”

“Um.  Sure.  You know me, I’m always up for a laugh.”  He was confused at her abrupt change in mood.

“And can you promise you won’t tell anyone else?”  She poked him lightly in the chest.

“Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye!”  At her chastising look, he asked, “What?  Do you want me to friggin’ pinky swear?”

Laughing, she reached across and hooked her little finger around his.  “Yes.  Pinky swear!”

He tightened his finger around hers, sighed dramatically, and launched into a limerick. “There once was a woman named Legs.  Been a difficult girl to peg.  Makes me do something nuts. So that she’ll spill her guts.  Jesus do I have to fuckin’ beg?”

“Oh my GOD, did you just pull that out of thin air?  You… are…  Well, I don’t know what you are, but I love you!”   Laughter bubbled up inside, and before she could contain it, she collapsed on his chest, shoulders shaking. 

“That’s what they all say, baby.  That’s what they all say.”  His tone may have been blasé but the Joker was pleased with himself, seeing her sit up and wipe the tears of mirth from her cheeks.

“Okay, now what I have to say isn’t even remotely funny in comparison,” she conceded, sniffing slightly.  “And I know I took it to the extreme, but please don’t repeat what I’m about to say.”

Eyes rolling, he reminded her, “I DID the pinky swear!”

Apprehension set in, and Allegra looked toward the window to avoid his gaze.    “I think you know me well enough now that this isn’t going to affect our relationship.”    She pulled at a hangnail.  “The silliest thing really…  You know Jon has a cousin Frannie?”

“Yeah.  The nun.”

“Religious sister, actually, but yes.”  She locked her eyes to his.  “That’s me.”

His face registered no surprise, but she could see the wheels turn as he started to put the pieces together.  “That answers a few questions in my mind.”

Smiling, she agreed, “I’m sure it does.  Dave, you are the only person I’ve offered to share this with.  That’s because I don’t feel like you’re going to judge me based on a stereotype.  I think I’ll still just be Legs to you.”  When he didn’t respond immediately, she prodded, “Tell me I’m right.”

“Pfft!  Of course you’re right.”  He pulled her in close to his side.  “The whole Catholicism thing obviously doesn’t have the same impact on me as it does the others.  Not to be disrespectful toward anyone’s beliefs or anything,” he qualified, tugging on her ponytail.  “So no one else knows?”

“Tico accidentally found out yesterday.”  Allegra briefly relayed the story of how that came to be, along with the same facts she’d told Tico about her situation. 

“He’s the only one outside the family who knows, and I’d prefer it to stay that way.  Remember what I said last night about getting to know you as people?  Well, I want the same courtesy.  It’s my life to share when, and with whom, I see fit.”

“I couldn’t agree more, Legs, and I love that you’ve seen fit to share with me.  Thank you.”  He grinned as something occurred to him.  “This makes you my little ‘sister’ now, right?” 

She just groaned at the pun.

Checking his watch, he said, “I’m not sure if we have enough time left to do your internet lesson justice, because mein fuhrer will drop a load if I’m late.  I’ll just leave my laptop here and get together with you later.   What are your plans for the day?”

“I texted Matt last night and he said he would be at the venue this morning.  I get to see what the wonderful world of fan club operations is all about.”

“I’m headed that way now.  Wanna ride with me?”

“I’d love to.  I hate being stranded by the damn vans.”

He stood and gestured toward the door.  “Let’s rock and roll then, babe.” 

♪   ♥   ♫   ♥   ♪   ♥   ♫

Jon was in a foul mood.  Nothing was moving along to his satisfaction, and he wasn’t being subtle about his displeasure.  It didn’t matter that they had four days until the show, he wanted it perfect before then.  The label was throwing them a kickoff party Thursday night, and he expected to be able to tell them everything was ahead of schedule.

After spending the last hour listening to his boss jump down everyone’s throats for the tiniest of mistakes, Mike Rew preferred to stay away from him unless it was absolutely unavoidable.  So when this latest nightmare got dropped in his lap, he decided to pass it on to another Bongiovi – Tony.   

Most people said that the brothers didn’t really resemble one another, but after explaining the problem to him, Mike thought they could be twins.  Tony’s temper flared hot and instant, and he began to turn the air around him blue, angry both at the situation and the fact that he didn’t dare resolve it without Jon. 

And it couldn’t wait, because there was no way he could sit on this one.  It had to be dealt with now, or there would be hell to pay later.  Squaring his shoulders, Tony went in search of his brother. 

Of all fucking days…

He found him arguing with Richie over a minor revision that the guitarist wanted to make.  “No, you dumb fuck, it will NOT work that way!  Stick with the way we’ve been rehearsing it.  We’re doing it that way for a reason.”

Jon’s expression was fierce and only a brave or desperate soul would’ve dared to approach him.  Tony took a deep breath and dove in.  “Jon?”

His brother impatiently threw one finger in the air, gesturing to wait a minute.  “Haven’t we had this conversation twice this morning already, Sambora?  What the hell do you not understand?”

“This can’t wait.”

He spun on Tony impatiently.  “What is SO motherfuckin’ important that you cannot wait ONE motherfuckin’ minute?” 

“We have a problem.”

Jon threw his hands impatiently in the air.  “This whole morning has been one goddamn fuckin’ problem after another.  What makes this any different?”

He weighed his words carefully, wanting to relay the importance of the situation without having to tell the whole story. “I’ve got some footage you need to see.  It’s cued up in the video control room.  And, um, you should probably bring Richie with you.”

 “This had better not be some petty bullshit problem that you could take care of yourself,” he warned and then tapped Richie in the back of the head.  “You heard him dipshit, let’s go.”

Once they reached their destination, Tony turned to face his brother.  “Hotel security brought this to our staff this morning.  They routinely review their security footage for any irregularities, and this morning they stumbled across something that caught their attention.  The video is pretty clear, but there’s no sound.” He nodded to the other man.  “That’s why I suggested you bring Richie.”

Richie had lost a fair portion of his hearing over the years, and had to look directly at someone speaking to ensure that he heard everything being said.  As a result, he’d gotten pretty good at reading lips.

“So why the fuck am I supposed to care?”  Jon was still unclear.

“The footage involves one of our crew members – and Allegra.”

Jon’s mouth drew into a tight line, and his stomach clenched.  “What the hell are you waiting for?  Play the goddamn thing!”

It took no more than three minutes for the men to watch the playback, during which time Jon’s muscles drew as tight as a bow.  He didn’t know the man in the elevator with Allegra, but he was wearing a Circle crew jacket and his movements were predatory.  By itself, the footage itself wasn’t enough to incriminate the crew member for anything other than being a creep.  But what had he said?

Jon looked at his best friend, whose jaw was tense with anger.  “Rich?  What the fuck did he say, man?”

“You’re gonna be pissed, Bro.” 

“I’m already pissed!  Tell me what he said.”  His voice was as cold and hard as steel.

Richie took a deep breath before he relayed, “I couldn’t make out all of it, but I got that he doesn’t have any hard feelings over what happened between them.  That he now realizes she wants to pretend she’s not a tramp and that he thinks it’s a turn on.  And that last thing, when he’s got his hand in her hair?  I think he asked her if she likes it a little rough.”

Tony’s face blanched white while Jon’s went red.

“I saw her say something after that.  Do you know what it was?” Jon demanded.

“I picked up ‘stupid little pervert’.  She also told him to stay away from her or he would regret it.”

Jon whirled to face Tony.  “When was this recorded?”

“They said yesterday evening, about seven.”

“Has anyone seen her this morning?”  He asked, walking back out into the hallway to find his other band members.

“Tico!  Lemma!”  They poked their heads out of one of the dressing rooms.   “Have you seen Allegra this morning?”

David nodded and said, “Yeah, she rode over with me.  She was supposed to be hooking up with Matt this morning.  Why, what’s up?”

Jon turned to Richie.  “Call Matt, tell him to get his ass over here with Allegra.”  Directing his attention back to Tony, he demanded, “Who is that little shit?”

“Name’s Felix Oswego.  This is his first time on the road with us.”

“And it’ll goddamn well be his last – with us or anyone else.  Fire his ass and make sure the piece of fuck knows why. But not until after I talk to Allegra.  Swear to God, if I catch him anywhere near this organization or my family members again I’ll have him arrested.”