Heart of Stone (Rock Star Fairy Tales #1)

Chapter 14

C h apte r 14

Driver Chooses the Music

T wenty minutes later, Timothy was still arguing with Ash.

“No,” the drummer repeated, “I am not leaving you here to ride to Akkoy with Margot.” He pointed to himself. “Bodyguard, remember?”

“We will be fine,” Ash insisted. “Go get Nik and head into Genc. He’ll need you tonight.” He gave his friend a meaningful look, clearly trying to guilt him by mentioning Nik. “You know how he gets.”

Margot watched them, standing outside yet another unspoken conversation about her cousin. Whatever Nik’s secret was, both Ash and Timothy were in on it, the three of them working together to keep it safe.

“And after that, what? I watch you get arrested for smuggling a criminal across the border?” Timothy asked, glancing again at Tobin.

“Hey!” Tobin exclaimed. “I’m not a c riminal!”

“We are not smuggling anyone across the border,” Ash repeated. He gave his half-brother a stern look. “Tobin will find his own way into Genc. In the meantime—”

“In the meantime, the two of you will teach Margot how to protect herself—as much as she can,” Timothy summarized. He slumped, hands finding the pockets of his jacket and settling there as he considered his options.

“It’s only a day,” Ash insisted. “There is very littl e danger.”

“No, no danger at all being away from your guard with your estranged bitter half-brother while you try to upend the very foundation of our society.” Timothy let out the long-suffering sound of the badgered best friend and studied Ash’s face. “You will not move on this, will you?”

“Nope,” Ash replied, shaking his head, then poked his friend in the side. “You know I won’t.”

“Fine,” Timothy finally agreed. “But I hate it.” He glanced at Margot. “No offense, Margot. I want you to be happy. But this is d angerous.”

“I know,” she said, feeling awkward and burdensome as they planned how they would help her. “Thank you for doing this. For letting him do this.”

Timothy turned away, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. “I know I’m going to regret this.” He glanced back one more time to pierce Tobin with his glare. “And you! He is your brother—”

“Half—”

“ Brother ,” Timothy emphasized. “And brothers watch each other’s backs. I’m trusting you to keep him safe.”

There was a long awkward silence, then Tobin nodded, wilting under Timothy’s expectant look. “I will,” he said finally.

“Good.” Timothy studied all three of them. “I want to give you all a long list of warnings, but I know you’re just going to ignore me, so I won’t bother.” He saluted them, heading off to the Party Bus. “See you all in Akkoy in two days!” he shouted over his shoulder. “Don’t die bef ore then!”

Ash gave him a two fingered salute from the forehead, but Timothy didn’t turn around to see it. They watched him w alk away.

“So…” Margot began awkwardly. “How does t his work?”

“I think we should begin with flying,” Tobin said. Margot glanced up at the clear blue sky, excited and nervous at the prospect of actually using her n ew wings.

“Of course you’d say that,” Ash complained. “Just can’t wait to get her out of her shirt again.” Margot felt her cheeks flush as she recalled her ruined dress and bare back, then grew hotter as she thought of Tobin’s hands on her body, under her dress.

“This has nothing to do with her shirt,” Tobin defended. “Though I wouldn’t mind at all,” he added with a wink, seeming to read her mind. “But I did come prepared.” He shrugged off the backpack he wore and began rummaging inside, eventually pulling out a black swath of clothing he held out to Margot. She accepted it, then took a moment turning it this way and that to figure out how it worked. “Oh!” she said when she finally got the angle right. It was a long-sleeved shirt but cut very low in the back to leave room for her wings. She glanced around the back lot. “Are we just doing t his here?”

“No,” Ash said, reaching for the door to her bus. “We’ll go to Kerva Point Park. It should be easy enough to find an out of the way place to practice.”

Margot glanced at the woods beyond the lot. Kerva Point Park was about half an hour away, into the mountains. It was a good place to practice her new gifts without being seen. Afterward, they could continue through the park over the mountains and to the border crossing into Genc. They hadn’t come this far north on their last tour and part of Margot was excited to see the mountains up close. Her lust for travel and new experiences was one of the main reasons she agreed to join Stone Dragons on tour—well, that and Ash. But now she got to enjoy looking at both.

A nd Tobin.

“Okay,” she agreed, stepping past Ash to enter her bus. For a moment, she wondered if she had left too many things lying around, nervous what Ash would think of her bus after not seeing it for so long. Luckily, Margot didn’t have many belongings, and she was neat with the ones she did have—mostly a result of living in a small space but also because of her nature. Even living at Maddie’s, she hadn’t acquired a lot of stuff, content with a few books and her laptop. Hell, her kitchen only contained two mugs, two plates, two bowls, a small pan, and one pot. Margot wasn’t set up to entertain. Her space was free of clutter. Satisfied that Ash wasn’t going to walk in to see her panties anywhere, she stepped aside, moving out of the way so he could enter behind her. She turned around just in time to see Ash step inside, and Tobin move closer to the doorwa y outside.

Ash spun immediately, still standing on the step. “You can get yourself there,” he told Tobin, taking another step inside. He reached past his brother’s head for the door. “Good flying practice for you. See you in a bit.” He slammed the bus door in Tobi n’s face.

Margot let out a breath. “Seriously?” Shaking her head, she reached down to grab a bottle of water from the fridge, then did a slightly awkward dance to get around where Ash stood to sit in the driver’s seat. He flattened himself against the door as she passed, arms up at his shoulders, but she still brushed against him, very aware of his presence in her space. Putting him behind her, she settled herself into the driver’s seat, trying to ignore the excitement she felt at having Ash in her home.

Ash slid her few shirts and dresses aside, revealing the passenger seat, then spun it around easily to face the window. Margot sometimes forgot that he had rebuilt the bus with her—he knew how everythi ng worked.

“Driver chooses the music,” she said, buckling in and reaching for the radio.

“Passenger shuts his piehole,” Ash replied automatically, the old rule bringing them both back to early days when the band was still practicing in Maddie’s old barn and they fought over the radio in her old truck when they drove into town. He buckled his seatbelt and held his hands out. “I would never presume to touch your radio , Margot.”

“Uh huh,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him as she selected her “Sing Along Driving Music” playlist. The first notes of a guitar riff echoed through her speakers, followed by a slow drumbeat. She put the bus into drive, bobbing her head in time with the music as she pulled slowly out of the venue backlot, heading into the nearby mountains.

Ash sang along, his haunting voice soothing h er nerves.