Another fan stepped in front of me, forcing me to turn back to the job at hand. With a tight smile I greeted the little girl in front of me. Little described her well. She couldn’t have been more than sixteen and she was nothing but bones. With long strawberry-blonde hair and bright blue eyes she was cute and in those eyes I saw pure excitement. For the first time that night my smile became genuine. Oddly this little girl reminded me of a young Emmie when she had first come to live with the Demons. Nothing could have opened my heart to her more. “Hey, darlin’. I’m Axton. What’s your name?”

“I’m Kenzie,” she got out in a breathless voice, pink filling her cheeks. “I’ve been listening to you guys since I was five years old.”

“Your parents let you listen to us that young? That rocks, sweetheart.” I glanced behind her but didn’t see any parental figures. “You all alone tonight, darlin’?” It was after midnight and most of the people that still remained were in varying degrees of drunkenness. I didn’t feel right about her being alone.

Kenzie shrugged. “I snuck out to come tonight. No way was I gonna miss getting to see OtherWorld live.”

My grin didn’t dim, but my concern escalated. “Aren’t you a little rebel.” I winked then looked over at Dallas and Marissa. Dallas was still watching me closely and I waved her over.

Still nibbling on a slice of pineapple, Dallas walked past the line of now glaring chicks with a sass that I couldn’t help but grin at. That walk alone told every one of the girls in line that she was mine and she knew it. “What’s up, babe?” Her gaze went to Kenzie and she smiled. “Hi, sweetness.”

“Oh my gosh! You’re Dallas Bradshaw. You were in the OtherWorld video a few years back. You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my life.” Kenzie was gushing over Dallas more than she had been me and I fucking loved it. “Can I have your autograph, too?”

“Um, sure?” Dallas glanced back at me. “Ax?”

“This is Kenzie, the gorgeous rebel who snuck out to see us tonight. I thought you two could hang out until we were done here and maybe we would grab something to eat before giving her a ride home?”

Something I rarely saw flashed across Dallas’s face. It was there only a moment, but it gave me all kinds of hope for us and our future. “That sounds great,” Dallas said with a beaming smile. She leaned forward and pressed a hard kiss to my lips. “I was bored as hell and Kenzie seems awesome.”

“Hey, other people would like to meet the band too,” someone called from the back of the line. “Move it along, ho.”

Dallas’s eyes widened as she stepped back from me. “Dallas,” I said, trying to stop her, but she was already turning around.

“Shut it, cunt bags. We’ll move as fast as we please.” Turning back to me she gave me another kiss and urged Kenzie toward the next table where Wroth was still signing Bouncy Boob’s impressive chest. I breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment I was sure that Dallas had been going to call the chick out and start throwing punches. Which would have been seriously hot, but would have put a serious damper on my night if I had to spend it bailing her out of jail instead of cuddling in our bed back at the hotel.

The line slowly died down and by two o’clock we were finished. I stretched, trying to work some of the tension out of my muscles. Out of everything else that went on during a tour, to me the meet and greets like this were the most exhausting.

As the last fan was led out by security, I headed toward Dallas who was sitting with Kenzie and Marissa by the buffet. Kenzie had a pile of food on a plate which I had seen Natalie get for her an hour ago. Either she hadn’t eaten much or she was on her second plate. I lifted Dallas up, sat in her chair and secured her on my lap. “What have you lovely ladies been doing all night?”

Dallas buried her head in my neck, but instead of kissing me she whispered against my ear, “She’s sweet.”

“Kenzie has been telling us about herself,” Marissa said with a smile.

A blush filled Kenzie’s cheeks but she didn’t comment as she stuffed another carrot into her mouth. I reached for one off her plate and took a bite out of it. After chewing a few seconds I turned my head and spit it out. “Christ, that is not real food. I’m starving. Who wants to get some nice fat-filled grease-coated food?”

Dallas was the first to raise her hand. “Me. Me. Me. Please, babe. I’m starving.”

I stood and grabbed ahold of Dallas’s hand, needing to constantly touch her to feel centered. I took the plate from Kenzie and offered her my free hand. After only a small hesitation she accepted it and stood. My gaze went to Marissa. “You wanna come with? Wroth said he had to make sure his Fenders were stored safely. Knowing him and his love for his guitars, he might be a little while.”

She laughed as she got to her feet. “No thanks. I was going to head back to the hotel and order some room service. I have a craving for pancakes and sausage.”

“It was nice to meet you, Marissa,” Kenzie said, shaking her hand. Her manners surprised me. Seriously, I didn’t know kids still had manners like that anymore. Sure Mia and Lucy had them, but that was because Emmie and Layla beat them into their heads on a daily basis.

Marissa hugged her tight. “I hope we get to see each other again, Kenzie.”

We stepped into a taxi out in front of the huge convention center. I let both the girls get in before I finally took my place by the window with Dallas tucked against me. After finding out what they wanted to eat, I told the driver to take us to the closest all night mom and pop. Ten minutes later we stepped into a small restaurant that reminded me a lot of Denny’s. A gruff-looking man with a grease-stained apron led us to a booth in the back and took our drink orders.

“How’s your sweat tea?” Dallas asked immediately, making me grin.

“Diabetic coma inducing,” the man said with a roll of his eyes.

Dallas clapped her hands together in glee. “I’ll take a glass and keep ‘em coming.”

There was another roll of his eyes before he turned to Kenzie. “What will it be, kid?”

“Chocolate milk, please.”

“Make that two,” I told him with a wink at Kenzie who rewarded me with a beaming smile. I hadn’t had chocolate milk in forever and the idea was suddenly very appealing.

With a sigh, as if we were inconveniencing him, the greasy man went to get our drinks. Dallas laughed as she turned in the booth so that she was leaning her back against my side before opening her menu. “I want a double cheeseburger with onion rings and lots of barbeque sauce. And lots of fries. What are you having, Kenzie?”