Face the Music (A Brothers of Rock - GONE BY AUTUMN - Novel) (22 page)

“Answer me,” Asher yelled.

Victor stopped and looked back. “Simple. You go near Jocelyn again and I pull out of the tour. My company is out. You lose all your help. You lose Willow Son. You lose everything. The biggest tour of your career is dead. Stay away from Jocelyn and I’ll keep my company involved.”

Asher opened his mouth to scream something…
You can’t do that! That’s illegal! You’re a piece of shit!

But nothing came out.

Victor left the room.

Asher let out a sigh and felt pain in his hand.

He already lost his ability to play guitar. Now he was going to lose the woman he loved?

(19)

Sam didn’t say more than two words to Asher when he left the hospital. The exact words were
‘You okay?’
when Asher got into the car and bumped his hand on the door. Asher yelled, cursed, face turned red, but he nodded and sucked back the pain. The pain in his hand was bad but it was nothing like the pain in his chest. A grown damn man, a rockstar in the eyes of millions, and here he sat feeling like some punished teenager torn between the future and some summer love fling.

And that’s not what Jocelyn was or ever would be. It was all or nothing with her. Yet Asher feared how to make the world realize that other than waking up each day and loving her.

Sam spent the drive from the hospital on his phone. Talking, texting, emailing, and keeping quiet.

It was just last night Asher made it clear to Sam what Victor had told him. But Sam already knew what was happening. Victor wasted no time in flexing his own muscle, squeezing both Gone by Autumn and Willow Son over the upcoming tour. For the first time since breaking big Asher almost hated the job. Hated the idea of going on tour like some product. When he thought of banners lining the stage with products on them, companies throwing money at the bands and the tour to make their product seem better, it made him miss the small stages, the acoustic guitars, and the loyal twenty fans that were in the bars cheering them on when they first started.

When the car stopped at the loft, the press was everywhere.

“Damnit,” Sam growled. He opened the door and started shouting orders.

Asher slid to the edge of the seat and got out. He had a sling over his shoulder, keeping his hand in position. The only good that had come from the day so far was that the doctors told him he wouldn’t need any extra surgeries. That his hand should heal just fine and there was a good chance he be playing guitar again in no time. But there was always a lingering chance that the muscles, tendons, whatever the hell else up made up his hand would never fully heal and he would never play guitar again.

As Asher stood there, the press went wild. Taking pictures. Shouting questions. A few of them already dubbing this as
the curse of Gone by Autumn.
Articles written about the band being doomed the second they were dropped by Fallen Tuesday off the tour.

Maybe that made sense but it wasn’t the truth.

Asher put his head down and walked through the mass of questions. They bounced off him as though he were in full armor.

Once inside the hallway, Asher couldn’t stand it any longer. He reached for Sam and stopped him.

“Man, put that phone down for a second. Talk to me.”

“What?” Sam asked. “The band is inside waiting for you. That’s when we talk.”

“You won’t look at me. You won’t talk to me. You’re acting like I did something wrong.”

Sam looked away. “Let’s just get inside.”

Asher gave up and followed Sam. When he opened the door, the band was all there, including JT. He was on the small stage with his guitar, playing electric with nothing turned on.

Ryan, Tanner, Gabe, and Blake all standing there.

“Well, he’s alive,” Ryan said.

“And walking,” Tanner said.

“Wearing a sling,” Gabe said.

“Looking as miserable as ever,” Blake said.

“Hello to you too,” Asher said.

Sam shut the door.

Asher felt like he was on the opposite end of the world from his own band right now. And it felt horrible. Gut wrenching. What made it worse was that JT fit the damn band. He looked good on stage. He looked good on stage. He played guitar like a beast.

“I feel like this is some kind of intervention,” Asher said. “And I’ve done nothing fucking wrong.”

“Nobody said you did,” Ryan said.

“You know the position I’m in?” Asher asked.

Blake walked to the table and jumped up on it, sitting there. “What do you want us to say about this mess?”

“I didn’t look for trouble,” Asher said. “But I always stumble into it. This time, it was worth it. I’d do it all again if it meant Jocelyn not getting hurt ever again.”

“That’s pretty amazing to say,” Gabe said. “All things considered and who you are.”

“I guess there’s a decision to be made,” Sam said. “Right now. By the band.”

“How?” Asher asked. “I’m going to run with my heart. My heart has always been rock n’ roll. The music. The band. The life. Now it’s pulling a double duty. I love her, guys. I can’t believe the whirlwind of it all, but I love her.”

Tanner ran a hand along his chin. “You guys remember the first time we were approached by a record company? After that show in Boston?”

“Yeah,” Ryan said.

“I remember,” Asher said. “That guy in the suit with the ring on his pinky. Told us he could have us in a studio in two days. But we had to change our image. Wear wigs until our hair grew out.”

“Turn us into an old school hair metal thing,” Blake said.

“Yeah,” Tanner said. “And we were thinking about it. But it was you, Asher, who reminded us that we don’t bend or break who we are. That we were going to chase the dream our way.”

“Yeah,” Asher said. “That worked out. You’d definitely look like a chick with long hair, Tanner.”

Everyone laughed.

“So what’s the call?” Sam asked.

“I don’t have one,” Asher said.

“Well, we do,” Ryan said. He started to smile.

So did the rest of the band.

“What’s so funny?” Asher asked.

“We called Victor already,” Blake said.

“Oh?”

“We decided that perhaps he wasn’t best for the band,” Sam said. “So we’re… going it alone.”

“What?” Asher asked.

“In other words,” Gabe said, “We told him to go fuck himself.”

Asher laughed. “No way.”

“Nobody is going to put us in a corner,” Ryan said.

“So I’m taking charge of it,” Sam said. “Sorry I’m so busy right now, Asher. But I’m on the line with forty different venues to get dates. Oh, and Willow Son is on board still. They’ve ditched Victor too.”

Asher shook his head. “I can’t believe this.”

“It’s what we do,” Blake said. “Together as brothers, on stage as rockstars, right?”

Asher let out a breath. He looked over his shoulder. “I need to get out of here then. I need to find Jocelyn and…”

“That’s all taken care of,” Ryan said.

Asher turned his head and it was like an angel appearing before his eyes. Jocelyn had been in the other room the entire time.

As Asher walked toward Jocelyn, he couldn’t help but smile. They quickly embraced in a hug and Asher never felt so at home in his entire life.

“Not too much time here,” Sam said. “We have business.”

“Stop referring to this as business,” Asher said. “This is music…”

“No you, Asher,” Sam said. “Jocelyn. We have to talk merchandise for the tour.”

Asher looked down at Jocelyn.

“Holy shit,” he whispered. “You’re really doing it.”

“Because of you.”

“I love you…”

“I love you too, rockstar.”

*

The kiss was just another reason why this was right and perfect. The way Asher tasted and the way he took care of her, with just his lips was enough to make Jocelyn bet her entire life on him. She knew there would come a day when he father would realize how much Asher really did save her life, but until then, he’d figure out his own mess.

Right now, she had her own business to run. Her first client was the band, Gone by Autumn. All her new designs that had been repeatedly refused by Chad were now going to be her launch line, with the backing and help of Jane. She was thrilled to hear Jocelyn was finally going out on her own, the way it should have been. Plus it helped that Jane was a big Gone by Autumn fan and couldn’t wait to meet and work with the band.

“How’s your hand?” Jocelyn asked after the kiss broke.

“It’ll heal,” Asher said. “But I wasn’t so sure about my heart.”

“Your heart?”

“Thought I lost you. Or was going to lose you.”

“That’s not going to happen, Asher.”

“I’m so sorry all this exploded around you. Around us.”

“Asher, you almost got killed because of me. For me. I get to spend the rest of my life making that back up to you.”

“And I get to spend the rest of my life making sure nobody else ever hurts you.”

“Well, that’s no completely true.”

“Why not?”

“You have stages to rock on,” Jocelyn said with a grin. “You have fans to entertain. You have songs to write. You have a world to tour. You have Gone by Autumn… you have family.”

“And love,” Asher said. “Don’t forget that.”

“Love,” Jocelyn whispered. “Yeah, we’ve got that.”

Asher kissed her and it was as good as their first hot and wild kiss. And something told Jocelyn that every kiss they shared for the rest of their lives would be hot and wild.

~*~

Blake wiped his face with a towel and then put it around his neck. The fans were still screaming like crazy. His hands were on fire, the muscles in his arms felt like they had been torn out of him and twisted up and put back in, but he still wanted more of it. He looked back to the side of the stage and saw the crew already started to tear things apart.

The tour was wild. The tour was awesome. The fans were everything and then some. Each night it seemed they got louder and more into the shows. Each night there were more and more signs in the crowd, too, begging for songs, begging for something crazy from the band. Someone wanted Blake’s shirt, so he took it off halfway through the show, balled it up, and threw it to the lucky fan.

Blake couldn’t imagine what someone would want with an old sweaty t-shirt of his, but if that’s what the fans wanted, then they’d get it. Everything was for the fans. They kept Gone by Autumn playing and on the road.

The band went backstage and Blake hung back. He didn’t mean to spy on Maya, but he couldn’t help himself anymore. All those years of being close but never too close had built up in him like a wall. And now he stood and watched her facing some guy. Not just
some guy
but a guy named Hunter. Who seemed pretty okay. They had been dating for a while now and each time Blake had to endure seeing him, it crushed him. He refused to believe it was jealousy though. It was just protection. For Maya. That’s what Blake did. He protected her. So now he just had to keep a close eye on things so when Hunter hurt her, he could be there to scoop her up and heal her heart.

“Pretty cool, right?” Maya asked with those big beautiful eyes and big smile.

Hunter touched her cheek. “The show? Yeah, it’s okay. You know I’m not a music guy…”

Blake curled his lip. Not a music guy? Who says that? Who lives like that? What a freaking loser.

“But I like being here with you,” Hunter said. “I, uh, kind of had things planned out differently than being backstage at some show…”

Some show? This is my show, man. This is Gone by Autumn…

“What?” Maya asked.

Blake’s nostrils flared. Was this guy going to dump Maya right now? Part of Blake felt excited. If he did this now then Blake would have time on the road with Maya to… figure things out. Time was wasting. It was cruising by at its own speed. And he couldn’t wait forever to tell Maya how he felt about her.

“I wanted to be alone with you at a better place,” Hunter said. “But I guess here will have to do. I… I love you, Maya.”

Maya gasped. “I… you…”

“Don’t you love me back?” Hunter asked. “I just confessed to you…”

“Yes,” Maya said. “I love you, Hunter. Yes.”

Blake took a step back and felt like he had been punched in the stomach. He turned around and saw one of the security guards standing there.

“Hey,” Blake said. “Find that chick I threw the shirt too. See if she wants to come backstage.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Blake walked to the stage steps and sat down. His heart was broken. But he wasn’t going to be alone. He’d find his own love. Even if it lasted one night.

He heard a giggle and looked up to see Maya and Hunter rush by. Holding hands.

Blake touched his chest and groaned. It hurt. Bad.

He had been the one in love longer than anyone else in the band… and now he was all alone and in pain.

Blake promised himself one thing though. This tour would be unforgettable. If the world wanted a wild rockstar, then that’s what they’d get. Because without Maya, there was nothing worth holding back for.

The 
Brothers
 
of Rock
 novels featuring rock band, 
Gone by Autumn
 –

The Gone by Autumn series comes to a wild end with drummer Blake and his deep and long awaited confession
…
he
’
s in love with Maya. From the day they met, long before the fortunes of fame and long before Blake was a rockstar, he had eyes for Maya.

Years may have taken them apart, but Maya always remained close to the band. Now she
’
s in a relationship of her own and Blake finds himself spiraling out of control. Can he let Maya go? Or will he risk everything
–
including the band
–
to get her love in return?

Gone by Autumn:

Ryan (singer)

Tanner (guitar)