Sinners On Tour 03 Hot Ticket (34 page)

Aggie stood on the side of the bus that now faced skyward and looked at the debris littering the road. The back of the bus had not plummeted over the edge of the cliff as she had first suspected. It was yards away at the entrance of the tunnel buried under an avalanche of enormous logs. The semitrailer that had been carrying the timber was on its side against a rocky embankment. The truck that they’d swerved to avoid sat untouched near the end of the tunnel. Its owner was yelling into a cell phone—hopefully calling for help. Jessica was sitting in the middle of the road, clutching her head in both hands and screaming Sed’s name. Aggie was too stunned to tell her Sed was okay. Her brain and body operated in slow motion. She watched Brian pull Myrna from the wreckage. Trey wriggled out next. Aggie waited for the one person unaccounted for, her heart thudding as if it were stuck in a time warp.

“Eric?” Brian called into the wreckage.

No answer.

“Eric!” Trey yelled.

Still no answer.

Sed scrambled over the side of the bus and ran toward Jessica. He drew her into his arms, and they clung to each other, oblivious to the chaos. A hand settled on the small of Aggie’s back. She turned to look at Jace. He had little bleeding cuts all over his face from being pelted with broken glass, and grime blackened his skin, but she could honestly say he’d never looked better.

“They’re all okay then?” he asked breathlessly.

“Eric,” she whispered.

His face fell. He climbed down the undercarriage of the bus and helped her to the pavement. Aggie’s ankle protested when she put weight on it, but she ignored it. They ran and limped, hand-in-hand toward the back of the bus. “Where’s Eric?” Jace asked a bewildered Trey.

“I think he’s still inside.”

“Did you see him in there?” Jace asked Trey, trying to crawl between two logs that were arranged like a giant game of pick-up sticks around what was left of the bus. “Did you see Eric?”

“How are we alive?” Trey murmured, his green eyes distant and glazed over. “How are we alive? We should all be dead.”

“Eric!” Jace called, pushing a log with his shoulder. It refused to budge. “Eric!”

“Li-little man?” Eric’s barely detectable voice came from deep inside the bus.

“He’s alive,” Jace said breathlessly.

He thrust an arm into the open space between two logs. “Grab my hand, Eric. We’ll get you out.”

Inside the bus, Eric gasped in agony. “Can’t move. My leg is trapped.”

Jace squirmed to extend his reach. “Try, Eric. Grab my hand.”

“I guess I don’t have to wonder when the new album’s curse is going to get me anymore.” Eric chuckled.

Count on Eric to make a joke at the least appropriate time. Aggie couldn’t help but grin and roll her eyes.

“I need a few more inches, and I can get in there,” Jace said as he attempted to squeeze between the logs.

“Wait for the emergency crew,” Brian suggested.

“We’re miles and miles away from emergency services,” Jace said. “It will take too long for them to get here.”

Aggie knew Jace wouldn’t be able to stand there and wait while Eric was trapped. She squatted next to Jace to see if there was a way to help.

“Sed,” Jace called over his shoulder. “Do you think you can move this log?”

Sed kissed Jessica’s cheeks and released her. When he moved away, she made a sound like a wounded animal. “It’s okay,” he promised. “I’ll be right back.” He approached the bus. “Where are you, Eric? I don’t want to crush you with one of these logs.”

Eric laughed. “I’m in the fucking bathroom. My foot is stuck behind the toilet. I can’t get it loose.”

“But you’re okay?”

“I think so. I-I smell gas though.”

“The bathroom always smells like that,” Sed said.

Eric laughed. “True.”

Sed grabbed the log blocking Jace’s entry and growled with exertion, his muscles bulging as he lifted it several inches. Jace scrambled into the wreckage, trapping himself voluntarily to help a friend. Aggie’s chest swelled with pride. “You’re so brave, baby,” she said, tears streaming down her cheeks. “So selfless. I love you so much.”

Sed released the log, and it settled back in place.

She could see a bit of Jace’s white T-shirt in the interior darkness, but nothing else. “Be careful.”

Aggie heard debris scatter as Jace picked his way through the bus to the bathroom.

“It’s a good thing you’re so little, man,” Eric said. “No one else could have squeezed in here and saved me. Ow, fuck, dude, my leg doesn’t bend that way.”

“It does now,” Jace said. “Why are you wet?”

“Uh, toilet water. Hello.”

“I hope the last person to use it remembered to flush.”

“Thanks for adding to my list of concerns, little man.”

Jace chuckled.

After several minutes of grunting, Eric cried, “I’m free!”

“Now, how do we get out of here?” Jace asked.

“No idea.”

“How did you guys get out?” Sed asked Jessica, who was clinging to his waist. He touched her hair.

“U-under the dining table,” Jessica managed to say.

“Try under the dining table,” Sed yelled.

After a moment, Jace and Eric found the route out. “Thanks, tripod,” Eric said, holding his weight off his left leg, while hugging Jace so hard his feet lifted off the ground.

“Tripod?” Jace asked.

“As hung as you are, you practically have three legs.”

Jace laughed and patted Eric on the back enthusiastically. “I don’t care if you call me little man. I’m okay with it.”

“Don’t lie. I know you hate it. I’m calling you tripod from now on.”

Beneath the grime and sweat, Jace blushed. He glanced at Aggie out of the corner of his eye. His brilliant smile made her heart sing.

“I’m glad everyone is accounted for,” Brian said, his arms around Myrna, who was impossibly calm in her half-naked state. “I think I shit my pants. What a ride!”

“We are the luckiest motherfuckers on the planet,” Sed said, and wrapped his arms around Jace and Eric, squishing Jessica between them. Brian drew Myrna and Trey into the circle against Eric’s back.

“You don’t think I’m stupid for hanging seven horseshoes on the wall now, do you?” Eric said.

“We still think you’re stupid, Eric,” Brian said.

“But we’re glad you aren’t dead,” Trey added.

Someone’s arm snaked around Aggie’s waist, and she soon found herself trapped in the middle of a group hug. These guys. Family. No other word described them. She was glad to be part of what they shared. And doubly glad that Jace had them in his life.

Jace suddenly jerked away from the group. “Where’s Dave?”

Jace turned his gaze toward the front of the bus. Smoke billowed, thick and black, from the broken window that he, Aggie, and Sed had escaped through not fifteen minutes ago. Flames licked the opening. He was running in that direction before his mind could grasp the severity of the situation.

Jace headed to the front of the bus and peered through the windshield. Dave’s unconscious form was suspended from the driver’s seat by a seat belt. The interior behind the driver’s compartment glowed an ominous orange.
Fire.
Jace’s heart froze. The person he saw in peril was not Dave. He saw his father surrounded by the flames.

“Father!”

Jace pounded on the window, trying to rouse him. “Wake up!” He fisted both hands, and using his one-hit-knockout punch, struck the glass. It broke. A hole burst through the middle of a spiderweb patterned crack. He hit it again, widening the hole. Jace grabbed his father by his pale yellow polo shirt. “Father! Don’t die. Don’t be dead. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. It was an accident. I…”

Someone broke out more glass from the windshield. Hands struggled to release the seat belt. The heat of the flames brought Jace back to the moment. Dave, not his father, came free from the seat. Jace took a stuttering breath and followed Sed, who was carrying Dave from the burning wreckage. A safe distance away, Sed laid Dave’s limp body on the pavement. There was something unnatural about the angle of Dave’s neck.

Eric listened to his chest. “He’s not breathing.” He started CPR while everyone looked on anxiously.

Jace shook so hard his legs gave out. He dropped to his knees on the asphalt. Aggie appeared before him. His demon in black. No, his angel. His salvation.

Her fingers stroked his hair so tenderly it made his heart swell. He didn’t understand it. What had he ever done to deserve this wonderful woman? He wrapped both arms around her waist, buried his face against her belly, and sobbed.

“I’ve got you, baby,” she whispered.

The pain inside was unbearable—worse than anything in his experience. He couldn’t breathe. “It hurts,” he gasped. “God, it hurts. Mercy,” he begged her, rubbing his face against her belly. “Mercy, Aggie. Mercy.”

“Let it go now.” Aggie’s fingers tightened in his hair. “Just… let go, Jace.”

Let
it
go?

Yeah. Let go.

Oblivious to anything but the pain searing his soul, Jace cried. He released fifteen years of torment in a flood of tears and snot and sweat and blood at the feet of the woman he knew he could not live without.

Aggie tried to picture everything Jace was showing her, but it just looked like a huge, empty basement to her.

“You can build at least two soundproof rooms for your dungeon down here,” he said. “And a sewing room. A storage room. Whatever else you want. It’s yours to do with as you please.”

“Are you sure, Jace? It will be incredibly expensive to have everything done.”

“You know it’s really for me, don’t you?” He kissed her lips and tugged her against his chest. “Besides, my lady needs her slaves.”

“I don’t know a man who would pay to have the basement in his brand new house converted into a dungeon for his girlfriend.” She hadn’t expected this when he’d asked her to move to LA and live with him. She figured she was going to have to redefine herself and give up most of the things she loved so she could make a new life with him. She’d been willing to try, but Jace didn’t want her to change. He loved her for who she was and supported her in whatever she wanted to do. He never ceased to surprise her. And she’d never stop loving him for it.

Jace lifted her left hand and slid something onto her ring finger. “But he’d do it for his wife, wouldn’t he?”

Aggie’s eyes widened as she stared at the sparkling marquise-cut diamond on her finger. “Um…”

“Are you actually going to make me ask you?” he murmured into her ear. She could feel the heat of his blush against her cheek.

She forced her eyes to his before they returned to the ring. Whoa. It was gorgeous. And huge. And sparkly. And… and… Jace had given… Did this mean… Was he asking her to…
Really?
Her thoughts scattered like dandelion seed. “Um…”

“Okay, I’ll ask you properly, but do I have to do it on my knees? You’ve got men begging on their knees all the time. It seems stupid to propose that way.”

“Um…”

When he started to kneel, she caught him around the neck, crushed his face into her chest, and squealed. “Oh my God.” Aggie had always imagined herself being cool, calm, and collected
if
someone got up the nerve to propose marriage to her. She’d also prepared a speech on how to refuse the little worm audacious enough to ask. As with her every interaction with Jace Seymour, things didn’t go as planned. “Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes!” she cried, tears flying. She kissed every inch of his face as he laughed at her enthusiasm.

He caught her mouth with his and kissed her tenderly until her toes curled, and she clung to him in need.

“Let’s go upstairs,” she said huskily. “Break in that new bed of yours.”

“You mean that new bed of
ours
.”

“Yeah.” She couldn’t stop smiling. Lord, the man made her happy.

The doorbell rang. Jace’s cat, Brownie, sat at the top of the basement stairs and meowed down at them.

“We have a guest,” Jace said.

“One of the guys?” she asked, eager to see any of them. She missed not being on tour with them, but they’d cut the Canadian leg of the tour short until they could get a new bus. And find a replacement for their live audio engineer.

“Eric’s supposed to stop by so we can visit Dave later. He’s being moved home from the hospital today. Do you want to come with us?”

“Of course.”

Doctors had told Dave that he’d be paralyzed for life, but apparently, the guy didn’t think much of their opinions. Six weeks into his recovery, he wasn’t walking
yet
, but a man with that much determination would not be kept down for long. “So that must be Eric then.”

The doorbell rang again. “You know Eric never bothers to ring the doorbell,” Jace said. “I think it’s probably someone else.” He released a nervous laugh and ran a hand over his bleached-blond spikes.

Someone
else?

Jace led Aggie to the front door, pressing kisses to the knuckles of her left hand. It made her acutely aware of the ring he’d put on her finger. “You are not allowed to hate me for this,” he said.

“I could never hate you.”

He opened the door.

On the front step, beneath the sweeping portico, stood Aggie’s mother.

“You told her where we
live
?” Aggie screeched. She’d purposely not told her mother her new address, hoping that would deter her from moving in with her. Mom had not been pleased when Aggie had put her house in Vegas on the market.

Mom scowled and reached into her purse for a cigarette.

“No smoking in the house,” Jace said. “Come in.”

Mom took a deep breath and removed her hand from her purse. “I can’t stay long.”

Aggie rolled her eyes. She’d heard that before.

Jace offered Mom a sad little smile. “Could you stay here for a minute?” he asked Mom. “I need to speak to Aggie alone.”

He took Aggie by both arms and led her into the living room off the foyer. Aggie’s eyes landed on the beaten-up piano in the corner. It had belonged to Jace’s mother. Using what little Jace knew about its whereabouts, Aggie had searched for weeks and finally found it stored in the basement of the school Jace’s father had donated it to years ago. Aggie would never forget the look on Jace’s face the first time he’d played it for her. Contentment. Acceptance. Love.

Jace pressed Aggie onto their new leather sofa and sat on the marble-topped coffee table in front of her. Both stylish pieces clashed horribly with the battered piano, but Jace had wanted the instrument close. He played it every evening he was home. His silly cat always batted his feet as he worked the pedals.

“I know you’re mad at her,” he said.

“Mad? No. She makes me crazy. She’s intrusive.”

“She has something important to tell you. Listen to what she has to say.” He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “For me.”

“For
you
?”

“I wish I’d had the chance to make amends with my parents before they went. It would have saved me years of gut-wrenching agony. You have to take this opportunity to set things straight. Not for her. And not really for me. For you.”

Aggie cupped his cheek, knowing how hard it had been for him to let go of his past and forgive himself. He wanted to save her that life-crippling regret. She’d never figure out what she’d done to deserve this wonderful, caring, understanding, selfless, brave, loving man, but she’d be forever grateful that she’d found him. That he was hers. Aggie nodded, unable to refuse his simple request. “Okay. I’ll hear her out, but if she claims the spare bedroom, I’m tossing her out on her fanny.”

He squeezed her knee. “Do you want me to stay while you talk to her?”

She hesitated and then nodded. The man gave her strength, and she was pretty sure she would need it to stand up to her mother and tell her no. Jace stood, kissed her gently, and went to retrieve the woman from the foyer. Aggie was surprised she wasn’t puffing on a cigarette when she entered the room. Jace directed Mom to the deep blue, semicircular chair, and then sat beside Aggie on the sofa. He took her hand in his, offering nothing but infallible support.

“Is Maynard listening in?” Mom asked, nodding at Jace.

“His name is Jace.”

“I know what his name is.”

“He will soon be my husband,” Aggie said. Saying it for the first time made her heart flutter with happiness. “Anything you have to say, you can say in front of him.”

“Oh,” Mom gasped quietly. Her eyes sought the ring on Aggie’s finger. “Marriage?
Really?
Well, congratulations… I guess.”

Aggie rolled her eyes. Was it possible for her to say anything that
didn’t
make Aggie want to slap her?

“Thank you,” Jace said, blushing crimson under his beard stubble. Aggie’s heart did that warm, melty, fluttery thing it did every time she looked at him. She grinned, and he lowered his lashes over his chocolate brown eyes.

“Gary is waiting for me at the hotel. I can’t stay long.”

Aggie gaped at her. “Gary? Loser Gary?”

“He’s not a loser. We got married a few weeks ago. He’s taking me on a honeymoon. To Hawaii.”

“You got married?” Aggie sputtered. “How come this is the first I’ve heard of it?”

“I didn’t think you’d approve,” she said quietly.

“Congratulations,” Jace said and squeezed Aggie’s knee.
Hard.

She glanced at him in question, and when she met his eyes, he gave her mother a pointed look.

Aggie sighed. “Congratulations, Mom. I hope you have a long and healthy relationship with Loser. He was one of my most well-behaved slaves.”

Jace choked.

Mom lifted her gaze to Aggie’s. Aggie was surprised to see tears on Mom’s clumpy lashes. “I know I don’t make good decisions.” Mom sighed, looking defeated. “I do love you, Aggie. You must know that. I’m sorry I wasn’t a better mother.”

Aggie stared at her. At least she was admitting she hadn’t been a good mother. Never the mother Aggie had wanted or needed. It was a start. Aggie took a deep breath and clung to Jace’s hand. “Apology accepted.”

Mom took a shuddering breath. “All things considered, you’re doing okay, kid.” She glanced from Aggie to Jace and back again, a slight smile on her thin lips. “You have a great guy at your side who loves you. You know who you are and what you want out of life. That’s more than anyone can say about me.”

Mom climbed to her feet and kissed Jace on the forehead. “Thanks for looking after my baby girl. Welcome to the family, Jace.” She kissed Aggie’s forehead next. “We okay?”

Aggie nodded. Yes, the woman drove her insane, but she loved the crazy broad. What could she do? “We’re okay.”

“I don’t know when I’ll be in touch. When we get back from Hawaii, Gary wants to buy an RV and see the country. I’ll try to make it to your wedding.” Her blue eyes darted from Aggie to Jace apprehensively. “I’m invited, aren’t I?”

“Of course,” Jace said.

Mom hesitated, looking as if she’d been struck by lightning. “Wait a minute. You two aren’t planning on having kids, are you?”

“Someday,” Jace said without hesitation.

Aggie’s heart stuttered over a beat.
Kids?
She glanced at him. Again with the warm, melting, fluttery heart thing. A baby Jace to shower with affection. What could possibly be more wonderful than that? “Yeah, someday,” Aggie agreed.

Mom’s nose crinkled. “Hold off on that for a couple decades, if you would, please. I am in no way ready to be a grandmother. I’m a newlywed.”

Aggie rolled her eyes. “You know, not everything is about you, Mom.”

The front door opened. “You guys home?” Eric called from the foyer.

“We’re in the living room,” Jace yelled.

“I’m going now,” Mom said. “Gary is waiting, and I have the only key to his cock cage.” She twirled a key ring on the end of one finger.

Aggie’s eyes widened. “Too much information, Mom!”

Mom chuckled and kissed Aggie on the top of the head, before taking her chin in one bony hand and staring her hard in the eyes. “I love you, baby girl.”

“I love you too, Mom.”

Mom cuffed her cheek with one knuckle and smiled warmly before turning to go. She passed Eric as she left the room.

“Yo, Aggie’s mom,” Eric said, and saluted her with two fingers.

Mom looked at his strange haircut and pursed her lips together. “Yo, freak.”

Aggie heard the door close behind Mom a moment later. Aggie figured the next time she saw the woman, she’d be in trouble again. She hoped she was wrong, but some things never changed. They just had to be accepted.

“I don’t think she likes me much,” Eric said as he entered the room. “You two ready to go see Dave?”

“Yeah, we’ll follow you over on the Harley.” Jace stood.

“You guys go,” Aggie said. “I’m going to stay here.”

“Are you okay?” Jace asked. “She begged me to tell you about her getting married, but I thought it was something she should tell you herself. That’s why I asked her to stop by. Are you upset?”

“Not really. I’m glad you had her come over. I just need a little time to adjust to the idea that I used to kick butt plugs up my stepfather’s ass.”

Jace bit his lip and stroked her hair behind her ear. “If you need me to stay home—”

“What’s this?” Eric said, lifting a drumstick off a pair of hangers on the wall. He inspected it closely.

Jace’s eyes widened, and he strode across the room to snatch his treasured drumstick out of Eric’s hand. “It’s nothing.”

“Why do you have an old nicked-up drumstick hanging on your wall?” Eric asked. “Do you play drums too, tripod?”

“No, I don’t play drums. It’s something I caught at a live show.” Jace carefully set the drumstick back on the pegs he’d installed to display his most prized possession.

“Did your favorite drummer throw it to you or something?”

Jace smiled. “Yeah, something like that.”

Aggie could not resist the opportunity to meddle. “That’s
your
drumstick, Eric.”

Eric glanced at Jace, who was doing his best impression of a cranberry again. “Mine? Why did you steal one of my drumsticks?”

“I didn’t
steal
it. You threw it at the end of a show, and I caught it.”

Eric’s dark brows drew together. “How did you manage to catch a drumstick while on stage?”

“No, dumb ass. It happened ten years ago. I was in the audience.”

“Oh.” Eric grinned. “So does this mean what I think it means?”

“What do you think it means?” Jace asked.

“That
I’m
your favorite drummer.” Eric picked up the drumstick again and twirled it in his right hand.

Jace rolled his eyes. “Uh, no. You’re a dipshit.” Jace grabbed the drumstick in mid-twirl and placed it back on the wall.

“You don’t keep a dipshit’s drumstick for ten years and then hang it on your wall like it’s a Grammy award or a platinum record.”

Jace bit his lip.

“Tell him the story, Jace,” Aggie prodded.

After a bit of hesitation, Jace told him. About seeing Sinners for the first time. How he didn’t think Jon was good enough. How he caught the drumstick and knew he was destined to be a part of the band. How he’d become a bassist to join Sinners. Eric’s smile widened with each revelation.

“So
I’m
responsible for inspiring the creation of the best bassist on the planet,” Eric said. “Is that what you’re telling me?”