by Grace James
Table of Contents
SONS OF SINNERS PART 2
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FIGHT THE SPARK
Sons of Sinners Part 1
Grace James
© 2016 Grace James.
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental. Some real locations or well-known buildings have been used to enhance the (fictitious) story-line but, where that is the case, the events that take place and the characters that inhabit said locales are purely fictitious. All opinions expressed in this novel are the opinions of the (entirely fictitious) characters and are not to be confused with the opinions of the (entirely real) author.
Contact:
[email protected],
Cover by Addendum Designs.
CONTENTS:
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
1
There are millions of songs written about love.
In fact, I think most songs are written about love – and a big portion of those songs are about lost love.
So it shouldn’t really come as a big shock when someone you love breaks your heart. I mean, the warnings are all there. It’s right in front of us, clear as day.
Love doesn’t always last.
Sometimes it flares brilliantly for only a short time before it crumbles to ashes.
The thing is, when you find the love of your life, that feeling never really dies. You can fight it, force it into hibernation, tell yourself that it’s corrupted beyond repair…
But despite all that, it’s still there.
2
I can pinpoint the exact time and place that my whole world changed.
It was late summer in Las Vegas, deep in the city where the heat lingers even after the sun has set, where the desert winds are broken by the towering mountains of concrete and glass.
It wasn’t on the Strip, surrounded by blinding lights and tourists.
No. It was in a dark club on a dimly lit street in real Las Vegas, the Las Vegas that’s probably just like every other city in the world…
My friend Hayley and I had just finished working the late, late shift at Realm Records, a music store that sold everything from vinyl to CDs to band merchandise. You name it, we sold it. We were fighting Death by Musical Download to the bitter end, and staying open until midnight was a part of that. Jerry, our boss, figured that we could cash in on the fact that people were careless with money when they were drunk – so we stayed open until the bar down the street closed, at which point we opened our doors and blasted music out into the night.
I wasn’t sure where we stood morally, but it did work a treat.
Anyway, that meant that by the time Hayley and I left work and started to walk the few blocks to an all-ages rock club called The Pit, it must have been around twelve-thirty.
On our way over to the club, Hayley talked non-stop about a guy that she went to high school with whom she had recently ‘reconnected’ with. By that I mean that they used to be ‘friends’ and now they were ‘friends-with-benefits’ – her words, not mine.
I tried not to zone out. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy that she was happy, but there were only so many times I could hear about how amazing Derren was at playing guitar, or how good his band were, or how sweet he was, or how gorgeous she thought his hair was… “So I told him that there’s no way he should cut his hair, I mean, can you imagine Derren with short hair?”
“No, I really can’t,” I replied.
I was humoring her. I had never actually met the guy, despite the fact that I already felt like I knew him intimately. Maybe a little too intimately. Hayley tended to over-share.
“Exactly!” she exclaimed, tossing her long auburn hair ove
r her shoulder and gesticulating wildly into the sky. I couldn’t help laughing at her. Hayley was like a ball of constant energy. If she had a power outlet, I figured that she could probably light up the whole Las Vegas Strip singlehandedly.
“Anyway,” she said a moment later. “I hope you don’t mind, but I invited him to the club tonight.”
I smiled. “So I finally get to meet the man behind the legend?!”
She laughed. “Yeah, and he’s bringing one of his friends, a guy from the band who was in our grade at school. Is that okay?”
“Is this a double date?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at her in suspicion.
“No! Well, not really.”
I raised my eyebrows incredulously. I knew when I was being set up.
“Okay, it is,” she admitted. “But I promise you won’t be disappointed. Connor’s hot, and a little wild, you’ll like him.”
“You think I’ll like him because he’s ‘wild’?!”
“And hot, don’t forget hot. Anyway, I know you like wild, I saw you checking out that biker guy last week.”
“I was not checking him out!”
I felt my face flush with embarrassment – I had been checking him out. He had come into Realm Records to buy some headphones and I’d gone all silly over his tattooed biceps. Not that I’d ever admit that out loud.
But Hayley could read me like a book.
“You totally were!” she teased. “And so what if you were? You have to let the beaver out of the bag eventually.”
I groaned and put my hands over my face. “Please stop talking.”
“So is it okay? For the guys to come?”
“Yes. But if you mention ‘beaver’ even one time –”
She burst out laughing. “Can I say cu–”
“No!” I cut her off sharply, but I couldn’t help laughing too.
3
Inside the club, everything was black – the floors, the tables, the chairs – apart from the neon signs that flashed above the bar that lined the back wall. Strobe lights flashed continuously and heavy rock music blasted through the place, reverberating through my chest.
As we walked through the crowd, Hayley adjusted her dress and tossed her hair again, gaining several appreciative glances as we passed by a group of guys. Her emerald green dress was skin tight, short and low cut all at the same time, but she could pull it off. She was a perfectly proportioned hourglass with curves like you wouldn’t believe.
Walking next to her, I felt gangly and even more flat chested than normal. I glanced down at my outfit, which was boring as hell when you compared it to Hayley’s. I was wearing a pale pink boat collar dress, fitted on top and flared at the hip. It complemented my long, blond hair and grey eyes but it didn’t exactly scream sex…not that I wanted my outfit to roll over and beg for it, but still, it would be nice to hold my own against Hayley a little bit.
“Let’s get a drink,” Hayley shouted into my ear to be heard over the pounding Disturbed song that was playing. We made our way towards the bar, but before we got there a skinny guy with dark, shoulder length hair and kohl rimmed eyes appeared beside Hayley. He slipped his arm around her waist, spun her around, and crashed his lips into hers, making out with her right there in the middle of the club.
When she didn’t immediately punch him in the face, I figured he must be Derren.
“They’ll probably be doing that for a while,” a low, male voice said in my ear. I must have jumped about a foot – as I did, I felt my shoulder connect with something solid and I heard a grunted curse in my ear.
Turning around, I saw a guy – a really hot guy – clutching his jaw and scrunching his eyes up in pain.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” I cried.
“S’okay,” he said, shaking his head. “My fault.”
“Are you okay?” Without thinking, I put my hand over the back of his – the one that was still clutching his jaw.
His eyes opened in mild surprise at my touch and, as they met mine, something zinged through me.
He had the most amazing green eyes I’d ever seen.
Olive green irises with flecks of jade in them, soulful and soft and completely unexpected.
The rest of him was all hard lines and angles. He was tall, six one or two, broad and athletic-looking. He had a strong, almost square jaw and high, sharp cheekbones. His close cropped, golden-brown hair was thick and luxurious looking. His lips were sculpted, sensuous and full.
Basically, he looked like one of those models you see in a magazine selling aftershave or something – their faces are always a little too perfect to be true.
His fashion sense didn’t scream ‘model’ though, he looked more like an indie rock star – he was wearing a dark navy Henley with the buttons undone and a beaten up brown leather jacket over the top. There were a couple of rosary-style necklaces hanging around his neck, nestled in the deep V of the open Henley.
I realized that I was just staring at him, and felt a flush start to creep up my neck. I pulled my hand away from his quickly.
“So, you met Connor!” Hayley and Derren had untangled themselves and she was grinning at me smugly. “He’s hot, right?” She flicked her eyes towards Connor. “Totally your type.”
My flush became a full-blown blush.
“Connor, this is Amy,” Hayley continued.
“Nice to meet you, Amy.”
He said it slow, like he was tasting my name. Like it was something to be savored.
No one had ever said my name like that before.
4
Derren and Connor got some beers from the bar and the four of us sat in a booth together, Hayley and Derren on one side, Connor and I on the other. When he’d slid along the seat next to me and casually handed me a beer, I’d had to bite my tongue to stop a silly grin from spreading across my face.
“Connor, you should tell Amy about the band.” Hayley prompted.
Connor shot her a sardonic look and took a sip of his beer. “Thanks for the tip, Hayls,” he said.
“You’re welcome.” She grinned, either misreading his sarcasm or choosing to ignore it. She grabbed Derren’s hand. “Come on, we’re dancing, I love this song!” She tugged him out of the booth and away on to the heaving dance floor, where they started to undulate – that really is the only word I can think of to describe their wacked out dancing.
Connor turned to me and his lips curved into a slight smile. “She’s subtle, isn’t she?”
“As a brick.”
“So, guess what – I’m in a band.”
I opened my eyes wide in mock surprise. “You are?”
“Damn straight.”
“What do you play?”
“Drums.”
“So, you’re going to be a famous rock star someday?” I teased gently.
He looked back at me, dead serious. “Hell yes,” he said. His tone was full of pure confidence, like there was no other option.
I was a little surprised, and I guess it showed on my face.
“Did I sound convincing?” he asked, grinning. That grin changed his whole face, making him look mischievous and a little roguish.
“Um, yeah – why?”
“My cousin Blake, he’s our singer, he’s always saying If WE don’t believe in us, no one else will! Sell it like ya mean it!” He put on a deep Rocky Balboa type voice when he imitated his cousin.
I laughed. “He’s from New York?”
He looked confused. “What? No. Why?”
“Your impersonation, it sounded a little like Sylvester Stallone.”
“It did?” He shrugged. “I guess he is kind of a meathead.”
“Your band’s called Sons of Sinners, right?” I asked, sure that was the name Hayley had mentioned.
“Yeah, you ever seen us play?”
“No. What kind of music do you play?”
He leant closer to me, raising his eyebrows questioningly, that roguish grin tugging at his lips again. “Can’t you guess?”
I grinned.
“I think so.” Derren’s appearance screamed hard-rock or heavy metal. Connor looked more mainstream, but there was definitely a slightly alternative edge to him. “Rock?” I ventured.
He nodded and took a drink of his beer. “You got us figured.”
“What kind of rock? What bands would you compare yourself to?” I was curious to see what he would say.
“We’ve got our own sound,” he said, almost dismissively, as he leant a little bit closer to me. His eyes narrowed slightly, smoldering a little, as they caught mine. “I guess you’ll have to decide for yourself, when you come see us play.”
My stomach fluttered in response to the almost-invitation.
Just then Hayley and Derren flopped back down in the booth, both a little sweaty from dancing.
“Not to piss you off, man, but you know who is here,” Derren said to Connor.
I saw Connor tense beside me as he looked across the table at his friend. He grumbled a curse before taking a long swig of his beer, draining the bottle dry. Then, abruptly, he turned back to me. “Want to get out of here?”
I stared at him in surprise. “Uh…what? Right now?”
“To late, Con,” Hayley said, sighing. “She’s seen you.”
Out of nowhere, Connor took my hand in his. The dry warmth of his fingers on mine made my skin tingle. “What do you say, Amy?” He looked right into my eyes, pinning me with his gaze. “Escape with me?”
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