Beyond The Music (The Rock Gods Book 7)
Read Beyond The Music (The Rock Gods Book 7) Online
Authors: Ann Lister
Beyond the Music
The Rock Gods – Book 7
By Ann Lister
BEYOND THE MUSIC
Copyright © 2016 by Ann Lister. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author and or publisher, and where permitted by law. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Ebooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared or given away, as it is an infringement on the copyright of this book. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, actual events or locations or other public venues is entirely coincidental.
This book is a product of the SleighFarm Publishing Group.
Cover Art:
Kellie Dennis at Book Cover by Design / www.bookcoverbydesign.co.uk
Interior Formatting and Editing:
Brenda Wright at Formatting Done Wright and Missy Borucki
Technical Advisers:
Allison Quinn, LMT, Brenda Cothern, and Antonio Zerpa
Acknowledgments
Beyond The Music is Book 7 in The Rock Gods series. This will be the final story in this series, but it is also the launch of a new spin-off series titled: Guarding the Gods. The stories in this next series will be about the men who work for the bands Black Ice and Ivory Tower, whether they are part of the bands security team, the stage crew, or managers of the equipment, this series is about them finding their HEA. Guarding the Gods will also have many appearances from the men in The Rock Gods series. If you enjoyed the stories about the guys in Black Ice and Ivory tower,
then I hope you'll give Guarding the Gods a try, too!
~ ~ ~
I'd like to thank the following people who help make the process of releasing the books easier for me on a daily basis. Valerie Degeorge, the amount of work you do to get my books noticed is huge and I love you for it! I also need to thank the dynamic duo of Joanne Swinney and Isa Jones, Jackie Tonella, Rozy Munoz, Brenda Wright, Jen Robbins, Melissa Mcentyre, Jennifer Reilley, Crystal Marie, Manda Slaymaker, Leslie Boyer, Tammy Middleton, Lisa Cullinan, Oor Janie, Kizzy Williams, Cathy Lechien, Dani Maas, Marivett Villafane, Robyn Bruscino, Jen Gerschick, Sana Solin, Paul Wright, Brenda Cothern, Angie Brace-Jimmo, Michele Houston, Marcia Miller-Rogers, Frank Sledd, and so many more! I'm nervous I'm forgetting someone, but please know it was not intentional!
~ ~ ~
A very special thank you to my lovely beta readers and lots of love goes to the rock gods and goddess on my fan page. An extra BIG thank you goes to Rebecca Thein who was my sounding board for this story, a beta reader, and a preliminary editor, but most of all for being a very special friend. Your hard work on this project is greatly appreciated!
I also want to thank Antonio Zerpa for his willingness to answer all my crazy questions,
over and over without complaint. Love you my friend!
~ ~ ~
I also have an enormous appreciation for the bloggers who support me. With every new book released the list of blogs grows, as does the list of readers who have found my stories, read them, and then recommended to their friends. To the bloggers and readers in my life, you have my heart and gratitude.
Thank you for all that you do.
~ ~ ~
Special, special love goes to Sandrine Gasq-Dion.
You are a great friend, author, and my partner in crime. I cherish our daily chats and no one will ever know where we've buried the bodies! Pinky swear.
~ ~ ~
Love goes to Bob, Ashley, Will, Rachel, Max, and my extended family for all their support.
You make me work harder and dig deeper to create these stories.
I hope I make you as proud of me as I am of you.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to everyone who has played a part in the process behind me writing these stories. You all have a piece of my heart and I couldn't do this without you.
Table of Contents
Beyond the Music
Chapter One
Los Angeles, after Cooper and Jayson’s Las Vegas wedding . . .
Lincoln Stallworth left his overnight bag on the kitchen table of his Los Angeles home. He grabbed a beer from the refrigerator, and walked outside to stand by the edge of his property to take in the view of the city spread out below him. It was just about twilight—Lincoln’s favorite time of the day. The sun was fading to a red-orange glow on the horizon and the city lights below were just starting to flicker on inside the buildings. Along with the stars beginning to appear in the sky above his head, this show never disappointed. He loved the almost florescent blue hue to the sky just before it turned indigo black. It was these moments of transition he loved most, when it wasn’t quite night, but it was no longer day. It offered him a tranquil sense of limbo similar to holding one’s breath while waiting for the other shoe to drop, which was a lot like Lincoln felt about his life right now.
He was in a holding pattern and definitely waiting for that other shoe to drop. Sometimes he wished that shoe would be a steel-toed boot and it would drop right on his fucking head. Maybe that would change something in his life. The endless “not knowing” was doing him in. Something had to give, but he didn’t have the balls to tip the balance to make that happen. The fear of knowing the truth was just as intense as remaining in the dark and fear had a way of pulling one down to the dark place where Lincoln found himself.
Lincoln took a gulp of his beer and closed his eyes. The light breeze against his face was soothing, but not enough to ease the ache he had inside his chest. He pushed the long hair from his forehead and inhaled the thick Los Angeles air heavy with smog. The silent vow he made to try and fix things seemed to float away from him and into the valley below. After all, what would it change?
He was coming down from the rush of seeing Cooper Rand, the drummer for Ivory Tower, and Jayson Keller get married in Vegas. The event was done with typical Cooper flare, complete with the ceremony taking place on the High Roller Ferris Wheel and the Flying Elvis’s parachuting into the wedding reception to serenade the happy couple during their first dance. Their wedding was by far the best Lincoln had ever attended—even surpassing Dagger and Ryan’s backyard ceremony—so it made little sense that he’d be standing here feeling empty after coming home from something that spectacular. But he was. He felt broken. The energy it took him to mask how fucked up he really was from everyone around him was exhausting. He also couldn’t help but wonder how much longer he could keep up the
façade
of being okay, and how good of a job was he really doing anyway?
Lincoln removed his cell phone from his back pant pocket and sent Spumoni another text message asking for his ETA. At Cooper’s wedding reception, Spumoni had offered to keep Lincoln supplied with primo weed and, even though it had been less than twenty-four hours since Spumoni had put it out there, Lincoln was taking him up on the offer. Smoking dope was one of few ways Lincoln was finding some measure of relief from whatever the fuck was ailing him and having Spumoni running late on his very first drop was not sitting well with Lincoln.
“Be there in fifteen,”
Spumoni’s latest reply to Lincoln read.
Lincoln typed back a quick reminder for Spumoni to use the security code he’d verbally given to him over the phone when they’d spoken earlier and let himself in. Spumoni having a long history working with Ivory Tower was certainly a bonus to know he’d already been vetted. If Alex and Wheland could trust Spumoni, Lincoln was more than happy to do the same.
He checked the time on his phone again and swore, more at himself than at Spumoni’s tardiness. He hated how dependent he was becoming on things like pot just to be comfortable in his own skin. What came after the weed and booze weren’t enough? Would he be tempted to switch to pain pills or something more potent?
Nope. He couldn’t allow himself to go down that path. He was lucky to have gotten out when he did before all that shit became a serious problem for him, unlike so many others he knew who had succumbed. He knew his days of ignoring this
issue
were numbered and sooner rather than later, he would have to face whatever was going on inside of him.
Lincoln spun around on his heels and caught the toe of his boot on one of the wide chaise lounge chairs positioned on the patio around his in-ground pool. His shitty balance did the rest for him and he toppled before he could even attempt to save himself from the fall. His forehead clipped the corner of the chair armrest right before he crashed down onto his side against the decorative patio stones.
The first thing Lincoln realized was his hip was throbbing with pain. The second was the sensation of something warm running down the side of his forehead. He touched his fingers to his head and felt all the blood that oozed from the fresh, inch long cut that had opened up on his scalp.