Heart of Stone (Rock Star Fairy Tales #1)

Chapter 53

C h apte r 53

An Unfortunate Encounter

Afternoon, Tuesday, March 3 rd at Thessaly Stadium in Va da, Bacoli

T he Bacolian leg of the tour was wilder than the previous shows, the Das Leprechauns fans adding a level of crazy that Margot struggled to contain. The hordes of screaming music lovers camped along the entrance to the venues—bodies pressing up against the RV and bus windows as they arrived—made Margot uncomfortable. They’d had some energetic crowds back in Arillo at the start of the tour, but these Southerners were someth ing else.

Margot hoped security was able to keep everyone in line. She had enough to deal with as it was. Alby, the lead singer of the Leprechauns, had decided her little stunt with the microphone meant she actually wanted him, and he spent his time making crude comments and “accidentally” rubbing against her. Margot endured his attention in silence, gritting her teeth and soldiering on. She knew she could make it stop with a word to Ash or Tobin, but she didn’t want to get them involved in band problems.

Besides, she could handle Alby. That was, until their final show in Bacoli. Security had disappeared to handle a group of fans who had pushed down a fence into the back lot. Alby got her alone, behind the stage. Margot had been listening to the updates on her headset, and she didn’t see him approach, so when he pushed her into the corner, swiping the headset off her head, she was startled and allowed herself to be shoved behind the speakers. His hand moved fast, flicking the switch to turn off her headset and m icrophone.

“Finally alone,” Alby said, smiling in a way that she assumed he thought was charming.

“Alby,” she sighed, “I have work to do.” She tried to reach for her headset on the ground, but he moved again, his body blocking the way. “Stop fucking around, Alby,” she gritted, fumbling for the pack at her waist and dragging the headset back by the cord instead.

Alby stepped on the cord and grabbed her face. “Look at me,” he demanded.

Margot’s lips pursed, pushed together by Alby’s fingers. She narrowed her eye s at him.

“You never fucking look at me, Margot,” Alby sneered. “You think you’re too good for me?” His other hand reached out as if to grab her breast, but Margot caught it in mid-air, pressing it back to h is chest.

“Alby,” she said, words distorted as he gripped her harder, “let me go.” She felt the power go out of her, and Alby’s hand fell away from her face. His expression flickered, rage and confusion, as he watched his hand lower without his consent.

“Bitch,” he mumbled.

“Bitch?” Margot echoed, pressing her hand harder against his chest. “You want to see a bitch?” She felt the rage grow in her, not just at Alby and his casual misogyny, but at everything that had happened the last few weeks. She leaned in to speak softly, her words barely audible. “Let me tell you this. Everyone here is too good for you.” She watched the rage on his face shift to fear—and joy filled her. “You are scum, and you will not look at me ever again,” she ordered him. “You don’t deserve to look a t anyone!”

“I don’t deserve anyone,” he mumbled, nodding, a tiny bit of drool gathering in the corner of his mouth. “Scum.” His hands reached up to cover his eyes, fingers pressing deep into th e eyelids.

“You may be a halfway decent singer, but your band would be better off without you. You only drag everyone down,” she continued, part of her relishing the sadness and fear emanating from him.

“Better off without me,” Alby muttered.

Margot stood there, soaking in the joy of the moment, of Alby finally subdued and subservient. She was wondering what else she could tell him when a voice caught her a ttention.

“Margot, what are y ou doing?”

She glanced up, only half aware, the dazed smile still on her face. Ash stared wide-eyed at her. He seemed to understand immediately, and he reached out, pulling her hand from Alby’s chest. The singer slid to the ground, knees pulling up as he rocked in a fetal position. “Scum,” he mumbled. “Not worthy. Do n’t look.”

Margot blinked, slowly returning to herself. “Ash,” she breathed. “What—?” Alby moved, and his foot caught the cord of her headset, jerking her hips toward him. She looked down and saw a broken mumbling man instead of the cocky lead singer she h ad known.

“What did I do?” she asked, but she knew.

I pushed him. I told him terrible things. I b roke him.

Margot wanted to deny the thrill of pleasure that burst through her at the idea, and then she was too busy throwing up. She was aware of movement beside her, low voices, and then a hand was pulling her loose hair away from her face and another was rubbing her back. Someone handed her a bottle of water, and she drank it eagerly, allowing herself to be led away. When she looked around again, Tobin and Ash stood next to her. Behind them, Nik and Tim heaved Alby to his feet and led him away from her.

“I—” she stutt ered. “I—”

“It’s okay, darling,” To bin said.

Ash gave him a surprised look. His expression said it was most definitely not okay. Or maybe he didn’t like that Tobin had called her darling. Margot’s disjointed thoughts couldn’t connect any ideas.

“We talked about this, Margot,” Tobin continued speaking to her in a gentle voice, and again Ash gave him another shocked look, gaze flicking between them. “Humans can’t withstand that power. It brea ks them.”

“I didn’t mean—” Margot tried, realizing that her face was wet. She reached up to touch her cheek, half expecting to find blood on her fingers, but it was just tears. She didn’t finish the sentence because she knew it was a lie. She did mean it. At the thought, she began to sob in earnest, chest hitching as she tried to catch her breath. Ash leaned down and pulled her into his arms, the warmth and comfort making everything f ade away.

“Shhh,” he whispered in her ear. “Just breathe, Margot. Breathe.” He tapped a slow rhythm against her back, guiding her to slower breaths. After a few long moments, she could feel her lungs expanding, body somewhat returning to her control. “That’s it, baby, just breathe. In and out. You can do that. G ood girl.”

Closing her eyes, she surrendered to the calm of his voice. Ash just called me baby. The thought was disconnected from anything else, an observation in the void, and Margot surrendered to the emptiness. Time passed, but she wasn’t in it, only vaguely aware of a hissed discussion about the show and how it must go on. She grew aware when the warm circle of Ash’s arms disappeared, replaced by the strength of Tobin’s.

“I’ve got her,” Tobin was saying. “You deal with the rest.”

“I can keep her calm,” As h argued.

“So can I,” Tobin insisted. “This is your world. You know how t o fix it.”

There was a pause, and Ash mumbled agreement. He leaned down, breath warm against her forehead, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Keep her safe,” he told hi s brother.

“Always,” Tobin replied.

His hand moved, marking symbols in the air, and then they were moving in a pur ple haze.