Fulcrum (Dark Tide Book 4)

by Max Henry

  “Thanks.” She takes the device from him and laughs. “Oh, my God. This is embarrassing.”

  “Eh, I don’t know.” Emery snatches the phone from her hand, flicking down to the highlighted comments before passing it back. “The ladies think it’s hot.”

  “Well, they can back the fuck off.” She kills the screen and passes Kris’s phone back. “Because this guy is all mine.” Her hopeful gaze finds mine. “Right?”

  “You betchya.” I steal a kiss to close the deal.

  I come close to biting her fucking lip when Rey smacks me around the back of the head. “Stop teasing those of us who’ve left our ladies at home, asshole.” He looks at the other two. “Right?”

  Emery nods. Kris looks guilty as hell. Sneaky dog.

  “Besides.” Rey steals her away from me again, ushering them both to the sofa. He drops down, pulling Jeanie with him. “I need to talk to my future sister-in-law about something.”

  I cringe at the nickname, quickly reading her reaction. She seems calm. Interesting. Uncomfortable, perhaps, at being squashed against Rey from chest to thigh, but unshaken.

  “So, I was thinking while you were out picking up this slice of heaven,” Rey starts. “Maybe we have something else she can do until she finds another journo spot.”

  Emery spins behind me as though he’s already heard all this. I wouldn’t put it past the three of them to discuss it while I was gone.

  “Like what?” I lean my ass against a clear section of the tech’s desk and fold my arms.

  “I cleared it with these monkeys first, but I did a bit of thinking and talking with Tabby last week. Mostly fucking,” he says, squeezing Jeanie. “You’ve got all that to look forward to, I bet.”

  Her cheeks go a deep shade of pink, eyes downcast.

  “Okay.” Rey slides his arm free to give her space to breathe. “I didn’t see that one. Nothing’s new then, I take it.”

  “Are you going to get to the point, or are you going to keep talking about our sex life?” I snap.

  Jeanie snorts a little laugh behind her hand; elbow braced on the arm of the sofa.

  Rey smiles at her reaction and stage whispers behind one hand, “I like her.”

  “Get to the point,” Kris mutters.

  “Just having some fun. Fuck.” Rey slumps against the seat. “I thought Jeanie could try her hand at a biography.”

  Her head snaps up, eyes wide when she looks to me for guidance.

  “You want to tell your story?”

  Kris pushes off the wall again and lowers his hood. “We can all have a say, but it would be Rey’s story primarily.”

  “I have got enough shit to fill a book,” Emery adds. “So, we figured either make it about Rey or make it about the band. Whatever works.”

  Jeanie shifts to the front of the seat. “Are you guys serious?”

  Rey slaps a hand to his heart. “Completely.” He shifts his focus to me. ”What do you say, bro? Are you in?”

  FIFTY

  Jeanie

  “Autoportrait” – Demob Happy

  “We’d have to run it past Rick, and I can guarantee he’d need Wallace’s sign-off on it.” Toby frowns, lips twisted while he seems to think the idea over.

  “Why would they have a problem with it?” Kris shrugs.

  I still can’t get over how breathtaking he is when he’s not hidden away beneath a hood or his long black hair. Solemn eyes hold mine before he looks to Toby again.

  “They’d have an issue with who writes it.” I catch the apology in his statement, but it wasn’t anything I hadn’t already wondered when Rey dropped the idea.

  Why would they let the journalist who tried to ruin them remedy that by giving her their insider secrets?

  “Have none of you jackasses heard of a pseudonym?” Rey groans. The sofa shakes behind me when he collapses against it. “You could write it under another name, couldn’t you?”

  I wilt from the intensity of Rey’s gaze. He’s every inch as magnetic off stage as he is under the heat of the lights. His personality is larger than life, and that face—there’s a reason Dark Tide has a dedicated female following. Although, as pretty as these boys are, I have eyes for one.

  I meet Toby’s curious gaze and draw a deep breath. “I could.”

  “But it would mean that any accolades aren’t associated with you,” he points out.

  I love him for thinking of my wishes first, especially after all the shit we’ve been through. “It’s okay.” I nod. “Getting to write it would be reward enough for me.” I hum all over from the anticipation, and we’ve barely got the idea off the ground.

  “So, it’s settled?” Rey claps his hands together. “Jeanie writes our story. Toby gets laid. And we can finish this album without any more distractions.”

  “Nice, bro.” Toby’s shoulders drop.

  “Are you okay with this?” I ask Emery. He hasn’t said much, spinning on that chair like his mind is a million miles away.

  He lifts his chin and grins. “I’m all good, baby. You do your thing.” I feel like I cheated on Toby with the tremors that smile gave me.

  The testosterone in this room is seriously overpowering. I need at least ten square feet per person to handle the whole band together all at once.

  “You want to join me?” Kris lifts a packet of smokes for Emery to see.

  The bassist leaps off his seat. “As though you need to ask.”

  Daylight spills into the room briefly when they step outside, the silence between the remaining three of us a little ominous.

  “Why didn’t you agree to a story when Jeanie first got hold of you?” Rey asks Toby the second the door seals closed.

  “Because there was nothing that I could say that wouldn’t affect more than just me.” Toby takes Emery’s vacated seat. His long legs hang off the high stool, boots hooked in the bottom rail.

  “Everything is always about us,” Rey replies. “It’s time you allowed us a longer leash and took the time out for yourself.” The playful snark has left his tone. I’ve never heard the frontman speak so solemnly.

  It’s a whole new side to Dark Tide’s dynamic duo. One I’m incredibly grateful to witness.

  “It’s my job to protect you.” Toby’s explanation is thick with emotion. “And that’s what I did by saying no. I protected you.”

  I wish I could say something, anything useful. But this isn’t my conversation. So, I sit to the side and watch these brothers lay it out on the metaphorical table between them. It’s a beautiful thing to bear witness to. Special.

  “I don’t need protection.” Rey leans forward, elbows on his knees. “I need you to be there when I need you. I need you to promise that whatever else happens, we’re brothers first. But I don’t need your protection. I’m not incapable of looking after myself.”

  “Sometimes, you are.”

  The truth of that renders me breathless.

  Rey sighs. “And again, that’s when I need your support, but what I don’t need is for you to do it all for me. Push me in the right direction, give me advice, but don’t take the decision out of my hands or even remove the question from me altogether.”

  I daren’t move. My gaze darts between the two of them while they serve off like a goddamn tennis match.

  “If that’s what you want.” Toby studies his little brother with a stern brow, unmoving from his position with arms folded.

  “It is.” Rey rises to his feet. “You’ve got someone else who needs your attention now.” He flashes me a quick smile before returning his hard stare to Toby. “Look after the woman, because fuck knows you’re hard work to put up with; I’m not sure you’d get a second chance.”

  Toby slowly smiles, revealing the middle finger of one hand. Rey chuckles, striding out the door to join Kris and Emery.

  I bask in the silence, allowing the overload of information to soak in. Dark Tide wants me to pen their biography. Rey trusts me to tell his story—possibly one of the most critical backstories in modern-da
y rock and roll. And above all else, I get the story from Toby I wanted at the start.

  But it feels more right now. As though it’ll be better fleshed out and more meaningful. I realize that through it all, Toby never actually said what he thought of the idea.

  “How do you feel about this?” I lift my gaze to the guy to find him already watching me.

  “Come here.” He drops his arms and widens his legs.

  I move across the room and lean into him, hands against his chest. “I want to know you’d be okay with me doing this.”

  He sighs, and my heart aches. “I’m just pissed off I didn’t think of it first.”

  I can breathe again. “You had me worried.” I swipe at his shoulder.

  He captures my wrist and then places a soft kiss on my pulse point. “Are you up for it?”

  “Are you kidding?” I bop on the spot. “I can’t wait to start.”

  “There’ll be diva tantrums from Rey. And half of what Emery says will need to be fact-checked since he’s done most of this gig drunk or wasted so far.” He shrugs one shoulder. “But neither of those will be as hard as getting Kris to open up. Although I think he likes you.”

  “How can you tell?” The guy barely said a thing.

  “Because he showed you his face.” Toby loops his arms around my waist, linking his hands behind me.

  “No biggie. He does that on stage all the time.”

  “Trust me. In a private room, it’s a huge deal the first time he meets you.”

  “Stop it.” I pinch his chin. “You’ll make me cry again, and I’ve only just managed to cover my earlier spell.” I gesture to my makeup that I do not want to be streaked across my face.

  “You’ll do great at it,” he affirms. “And I think it’ll be good for them, even if they don’t realize it yet.”

  “How? By getting the stories off their chest?”

  Toby shakes his head, gaze penetrating mine. “Because you’ll be able to remind them who they are without the music, just like you did for me.”

  “And who are you, Toby Thomas?” I graze my fingertip down his cheekbone.

  His focus drops to my mouth. “A guy who found what he was missing.” I taste his conviction before he pulls away. “Someone to love.”

  POSTFACE

  Thank you for reading Toby and Jeanie’s story!

  I hope you enjoyed their enemies to lovers tale as much as I enjoyed writing it.

  If I could ask one wee favour now that you’re done?

  Please take just a couple of minutes to leave a review. It doesn’t have to be long: one or two sentences with a star rating is perfect.

  Reviews not only help your favourite books be seen amongst the millions in the store, but it helps other readers decide if they’d like to experience the same magic.

  Thank you.

  Until next time, happy reading!

  ALSO BY MAX

  STANDALONE

  Malaise

  Tough Love

  Echoes in the Storm

  Black Whole Heart

  ARCADIA HIGH ANARCHISTS (Mature YA)

  High Horse

  Good Girls

  Bad Boys

  Rich Riot

  Loyal Love

  Done Deal

  DARK TIDE (Rock Star) SERIES

  Down Beat

  Amplifier

  Bottleneck

  Fulcrum

  TWISTED HEARTS (Age Gap) DUET

  Desire

  Regret

  Trust

  BUTCHER BOYS (Suspense) SERIES

  Devil You Know

  Devil on Your Back

  Devil May Care

  Devil in the Detail

  Devil Smoke

  FALLEN ACES MC SERIES

  Unrequited

  Unbreakable

  Tormented

  Existential

  Misguided

  YET TO RELEASE

  Redundant

  RED HOT READ

  One More Night

  Playing with the Boss

  Lady Killer

  Physical Therapy

  THE MUSIC

  Listen to the tunes that inspired the book here: http://spoti.fi/3srLMKI

  “Anger Rising” – Jerry Cantrell

  “Autoportrait” – Demob Happy

  “Be My Fire” – The Blue Stones

  “Bomb Through the Breeze” – Hannah Wicklund

  “City on the Water” – The Stone Foxes

  “Creature” – BONES UK

  “Daisy” – Goodbye June

  “Dark Nights” – Dorothy

  “DEVIL” – Shinedown

  “Do Not Disturb” –Halestorm

  “Down to the Bottom” – Dorothy

  “Do Your Worst” – Rival Sons

  “Fight Milk” – Only Shadows

  “Fuck A Bomb” – Hey Steve

  “Hesitations” – Fangclub

  “Hold That Thought” – Local H

  “Hometown” – Cleopatrick

  “House of Cards” – The Parlor Mob

  “I Barely Know Her” – Black Coffee

  “I Created A Monster” – Hello Operator

  “Just Started” – The Iron Eye

  “Let the Band Play” – Badflower

  “Level” – Black Pistol Fire

  “Lift the Curse” – Redlight King

  “Lost Cause” – Black Pistol Fire

  “MEAT” – MassMatiks

  “Money Comes, Money Goes” – Oddnote

  “Muthafucka” – Beware of Darkness

  “No Sale” – Middle Class Rut

  “Nothing Personal” – Night Riots

  “On to the Next” – Tyler Bryant & the Shakedown

  “On Your Own” – No Fit State

  “Outta My Mind” – Des Rocs, The Cobra

  “Rock Me” – Great White

  “Save Me Some Sunshine” – Rafferty

  “Say Something” – Eskimo Joe

  “Secrets in the Sunset” – Goodbye June

  “Shame Shame” – Foo Fighters

  “Sinners Grin” – Ivy

  “Soap” – Badflower

  “Stone Cold Classic” – George Barnett

  “Suffocate” – Cold

  “Swing Carousel” – Zola

  “Take It” – Teacup Monster

  “Talk Like Thunder” – VANT

  “Teach Me to Fight” – YONAKA

  “Told Ya So” – The Matchstick Skeletons

  “Willow Tree” – Twin Wild

  “Wish” – Nine Inch Nails

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Born and raised in Canterbury, New Zealand, Max now resides with her family in beautiful and sunny Queensland, Australia.

  Life with two young children can be hectic at times and, although she may not write as often as she would like, Max wouldn’t change a thing.

  An avid lover of stories from a young age, she enjoys nothing more than to get lost in the pages while the characters dictate what direction she takes. Her favourite genre to write is young/new adult and the events in her stories may or may not be related to real life experiences (only she will ever know for sure).

  In her down time, Max can be found at her local gym brainstorming through a session with the weights. If not, she’s probably out drooling over one of many classic cars on show that she wishes she owned.

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