"Are you sure about this. Old man?" Rose asked her father, still not believing what he was telling her to do.

"Kiz, have I ever steered you wrong?" He did have a point. Even though she had only known her father for a short time, Rose learned she could trust Abe and his judgement.

"Fine. Text me the address again. They are expecting me, right?".

The response was silence. "Abe!"

"Yes, I'm phoning them as soon as we hang up." With that Rose hung up and got on her motorcycle.

When she was arrived at the location Abe texted her, she was surprised to find it was a house in the suburbs. Fucking suburbia! The garage was open and since it was about to rain, Rose considered it an open invitation to park her bike inside. It seemed the garage was a makeshift rehearsal studio. There were guitars and amplifiers, drums and a keyboard. There was even a raggedy couch in the far corner. Rose tried to park her bike far away from any equipment.

Inside the house, Dimitri was just finishing up a phone call he got from the band manager. Abe had informed him that a new guitar player was found for the band and left no room for argument. If the band didn't get their shit together and fast their contract was out the window.

"Besides, Belikov," Abe said, "I have a feeling you're really gonna like this guitar player".

"I liked our old guitar player," Dimitri said, on the verge of tears, "and he can not be replace, certainly not by some random dude the label sent over". Dimitri was doing his best not to cry. He was angrier than he had ever been at the thought that Ivan could just be replaced so callously.

"Dimitri, I am sorry for your loss, son," though Abe's sympathy was genuine, Dimitri practically scoffed, "but we need to move forward. You've got a few gigs that start in two weeks and then you start recording. You should feel lucky I was able to convince this particular person to come out of retirement in order to play with the band".

"Jeez, how old is this guy?" Dimitri asked exasperated.

"I didn't say old, I said retired. In any event, said guitar player should be arriving at any moment. Do yourself a favor and show some respect". And with that he hung up.

Rose dismounted her bike and took the guitar case off her back. She saw two guys entering the garage from the house in a heated argument. They hadn't noticed her yet, but she noticed them - both guys were really hot. The were both tall and fairly built. Both were pale with messy hair but one had black hair and piercing blue eyes while the other had light brown hair and emerald green eyes. Despite the fact that she still had her helmet on she could hear them very clearly.

The black haired guy said "You should leave before Dimitri sees you and kills you". Who's Dimitri?, Rose wondered.

"Come on, we both know Big Bad Belikov is really a teddy bear with a big heart. He'll be happy to see me". The green eyed guy smirked and the black hair guy scoffed.

"After what you did, and everything that happened with Ivan, he's not in a forgiving mood."

That's when they noticed Rose. She still had her helmet on with the visor down. She wore a black leather jacket, black loose fitting jeans and combat boots.

"Dude! Who the fuck are you and what the fuck are you doing in here?!" The black hair guyed yelled.

"You'll have to forgive my friend, little biker, he's very territorial and not very social. That said, who are you?"

Rose took off her helmet flicking her long brown hair back. "I'm Rose Hathaway".

She was definitely not what they expected. "Definitely not a dude! I'm Adrian", he introduced himself, taking note of how beautiful this girl was, "and this is Christian".

Rose continued. "Abe Mazur sent me. He said you need a guitar player."

At that moment, Dimitri walked into the garage. "Listen sweetheart, you can tell Mazur he's an asshole." He didn't miss a beat when he turned on Adrian next. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"I came to pay my respects." Adrian replied.

"Yeah? Where the fuck were you yesterday?" Dimitri was angry.

Christian and Rose had stayed silent through the exchange between Adrian and Dimitri.

"I was on a bender in Mexico. I flew back home as soon as I heard, but I'd already missed the funeral." Dimitri scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"You're not the only one who lost him!" Adrian was the first to raise his voice. "You're not the only one who cares!"

"You bastard!" Dimitri retorted. "You dumped us for a half assed solo career, never called once! You disappeared from our lives and the only one who defended you was Ivan! And now you want what?! To be part of our happy family again?!" The more he went on the louder and angrier he got. "We can morn just fine without you. We don't need anyone else, certainly not you." Dimitri was in Adrian's face now, jabbing his finger in Adrian's Chest.

Rose wondered if she should intervene, but decided that if Christian, their apparent mutual friend, wasn't going to she had not business doing so.

"If you don't need anyone, what's she doing here?!" Adrian pointed a Rose accusingly.

"She's not here by my choice." Dimitri voice dripped with bitterness. "Mazur from the label says she's here from now on."

Rose was slowly piecing together what was going on. Abe had sent her to replace their dead guitar player, probably one of their best friends, who apparently past away very recently. The funeral was yesterday, for fucks sake, Rose thought.

"Look, Dimitri," Adrian softened. "I didn't come here to fight. Don't they say in times of tragedy family's gotta stick together? I wasn't here for a long time, and I'm sorry I missed the funeral, but I'm here now". He took a deep breath. Then smiled and added "And I come baring gifts". He pulled a bottle of Russian Vodka out of a paper bag he had been holding. That caused Dimitri to smile slightly.

"Come on, guys," Dimitri said, "Tonight we drink to Ivan". Adrian and Dimitri hugged, truly and affectionally, hugged. He'd already lost Ivan, he wasn't prepared to loose Adrian as well, certainly not over such trivial matters, like ego. He was especially forgiving because he knew that's what Ivan would have wanted.

"But first I need to deal with this", he pointed at Rose. Rose stood her ground despite Dimitri's hateful gaze.

Rose was never shy nor was she one to back down. She walked towards Dimitri and reached her hand out. "Hi, I'm Rose Hathaway". She didn't realize just how tall Dimitri was till she came up to him, he had a good foot on her. She also didn't realize just how gorgeous he was. He was stop in the middle of the street and get hit by traffic hot. As hot as she thought he was from afar, she was almost drooling when she saw him up close. She'd never let that on though.

Dimitri took her in and despite knowing she'd always be a bitter reminder that Ivan was gone, she took his breath away. His fingers where itching to caress her hair and see if it felt as silky soft as it looked. He'd never tell her that though.

As Dimitri and Rose were silently checking each other out they were also sizing each other up. Make no mistake, if asked to describe one another in one word the word they'd both use would be fuckable. That did not take away from them currently seeing each other as the enemy.

Dimitri held Rose's gaze as he shook her hand. They both instantly felt a jolt they just brushed off as static electricity.

Rose Hathaway? Why does that sound familiar? Adrian asked himself.

"So little biker," Adrian stared at "Where are you from?"

"New York."

Rose Hathaway from New York. Now Adrian was positive he heard that name before.

"As I was saying, Abe sent me. I'm your new guitar player". Rose said with a nonchalance that just riled Dimitri to his very core.

"My best friend, who I grew up with, like brothers, literally just died and you think you can walk in here and replace him?! He is not fucking replaceable!" Dimitri was now fuming, breathing heavy, nostrils flaring. Rose imagined him with red rimmed eyes. She had the urge to cringe. But she was Rose Hathaway and Rose Hathaway cringes from no man.

"Look, I'm sorry for your loss, really I am, but you need a guitar player and I'm it. So save your bitching and moaning for another time. We have work to do". Rose said a little more coldly than she intended to.

"You don't even know what loss is, Sweetheart". Two things happened as soon as those words left Dimitri's lips. The first was that Rose lost control and slapped Dimitri across the face. Hard. The slap echoed through the garage as Dimitri's cheek turned a bright red. The look he was giving Rose would have made a lesser woman cry. The second thing that happened was that Adrian realized how he knew Rose.

"Holy shit!", Adrian exclaimed. "You're Rose Hathaway?! The Rose Hathaway?! Holy shit! I said that already!" Adrain was so giddy at meeting Rose that he was rambling. "Rose fucking Hathaway! I thought you were retired!"

"Hey dickhead," ever the poet, Chris stopped Adrian's verbal diarrhea, "care to fill the rest of us in?"

"You guys can't tell me you've never heard of Rock'n'Roll's Angel of Death?!" Adrian started to tell the tale of the great Rose Hathaway. "This girl was in a that New York band, they were up and coming, but what made them semi-famous was their lead guitar player who's talent was exceeded only by her beauty. Some went as far as saying she was sex-on-legs meets Jimmy Paige." Rose never interrupted as everyone else in the room seemed to be engulfed in Adrian's story. "Anyway, a couple of years ago the band had a gig just outside the city. Unfortunately they never made it, there was massive car collision, a pile up really, both cars with all the band members were mangled beyond recognition. Everyone died, except Rose Hathaway". Adrian stared at Rose as he concluded his gripping tale. She stood there with her arms crossed listening to yet another version of how she cheated death. "She walked away without a scratch on her. No one knows how, with the seat she was in, she should have been first to go, but instead she walks away unscathed. She's the miracle guitar player. They say she's part angel, how else did she survive. She's been kissed by shadows." Adrian said ominously.

They were all dumbfounded.

The first one to break the silence was Christian who said, "Whoa. Is that true?"

"I'm no angel". Rose answered in defiance.

"Cut the shit Rose," Dimitri demanded, his red cheek fading only slightly. "Are you the sole surviver of the car crash that killed everyone you loved?" Out of all the people who had ever been told that tale in one form or another, Dmitri was the first to actually grasp that behind the myth of Rose Hathaway's miraculous survival, was a young woman who'd lost everyone she held dear to her heart in the blink of an eye.

Rose and Dimitri locked eyes as he asked this question. She felt as if he were staring into her soul. Trying to break the spell he had her in, Rose simply answered, "Yes".

"I remember hearing about that", Christian chirped in. "Didn't you used to be called a goddess with a guitar".

"Yes. But Adrian neglected to mention that me being part angel was an opinion held only by some, while the majority believed that I was part demon. Trust me, if you knew who my father is, you'd believe that latter."

"So where have you been that past couple of years?" Adrian's honest curiosity was refreshing. There was no accusation in his tone.

"Here, in LA. spending quality time with dear old dad." Rose answered.

"That brings back the question of why are you back from retirement or whatever." Rose did't like Dimitri's tone. That may have been caused by the slap from earlier. His cheek was still red.

"Abe. He seems to think that I need this. He convinced that this band needs me. And he's very persuasive".

"Alright, well that's good enough for me." Adrian was practically beaming at the thought of spending time with the Rose Hathaway.

"Adrian, you're not even in the band". Christian pointed out. "You're say doesn't count anymore".

"Oh, yeah. Forgot about that." Adrian murmured to himself and shrugged. "Whatever, sort it out later. Right now, we have a bottle of Vodka and a friend to commemorate. So who else is invited to our impromptu memorial for our dearly departed?"

"I'll call Tasha and Lissa", Christian said as he headed inside.

"His sister and girlfriend," Adrian explained. "You're welcome to join us, little biker."

"No, she's not," Dimitri interjected, "but she's staying anyway. She's just stubborn enough to stay where she's not welcome". He spoke about her like she wasn't there even though he was staring right at her. "Aren't you, sweetheart?"

"Stop calling me that. I am not sweet and I can assure you I have no heart". Rose stared coldly at Dmitri.

Adrian headed inside. Rose was about to follow when she was pulled back from behind. Dimitri had grabbed her upper arms and pulled her back against his chest as she gasped. He hadn't expect the effect her closeness would have on him. That was the reason his accent suddenly became pronounced as he said "Don't think I won't get you back for that slap". Dimitri voice was husky as he whispered in Rose's ear, his lips just barely grazing her earlobe, the warmth of his breath on her neck caused her to shudder in a way she thought she wasn't capable of anymore. "This isn't over", he said as he released her. They walked inside to the living room as though nothing happened.