Page 10 of Hard Rock Deceit

"Everyone desiressomething."

"Not me." I shrugged helplessly and cast my eyes down. "I think maybe that part of me isbroken."

I didn't know why I was telling him this. I'd never told a single person anything of the sort. Maybe I just needed to warn him I had no idea how to do what hewanted.

"Broken?"

That husky voice was barely a whisper. He took my hand, turning my palm face up. He pressed the pad of his middle fingeragainstmine.

Slowly, he ran that finger down, along my palm and toward my wrist. My whole body shivered at the slow drag of skin against skin. I inhaledsharply.

He kept his finger on my inner wrist. My pulse point pounded wildly against hisfingertips.

The sound of boisterous laughing outside the bus startled me. August let go out ofmyhand.

"I knew I didn't choose the wrong person,"hesaid.

My head swam. Every nerve ending in my body tingled in the aftermath of thattouch.

August wanted me to use my passion. Until I'd met him, I'd never felt anything close to what I'djustfelt.

My handstrembled.

I wasn't sure if it was from excitementorfear.

ChapterThree

Although I liked their music,I'd never seen Darkest Days perform live. I preferred listening to music by myself, without the press of a sweaty, screaming audience. August told me to follow him backstage, where I could watch the concert away fromrabidfans.

He handed me a lanyard with a VIP pass hanging from the clip. I put it around my neck along with my DSLR camera. My hands shook as I took itfromhim.

The moment we entered the concert hall August's tone turned brisk, his stride lengthening. It was as if a switch had been flipped. He acted like nothing had happenedbetweenus.

"You're going to want to take photos from every angle, and that includes the pit. But we don't expect you to officially start work until tomorrow. Tonight you should experience the concert through the eyes of a fan, not through a camera lens. Hopefully it will spark someideas."

The backstage area was even busier than the tour bus parking lot had been. I stuck next to August, following close behind him, like a duckling following its mother. Even with my VIP pass, I was afraid I'd get lost or kicked out by the hulking bodyguards placed at everyentrance.

I certainly didn't look like I belonged backstage at a rock concert, with my leggings and over-sized shirt. Aside from the event staff in their all-black outfits, the rest could have been rock stars themselves. Leather, mesh, and wildly colored hair were the predominantstyles.

"Is everyone back here in a band?" I askedAugust.

"We've got an opening act." August pointed to a corner where a group of guys with guitars in their hands stood waiting. "But some of them are fans with VIP passes or friends andfamily."

I took a quick glance around, but no else seemed to be dressed as casually as me. I tugged at the sleeve of my shirt, rubbing attheseam.

August gave me aninquisitivelook.

"Are you feeling out ofplace?"

"Just a bit," I admitted. "Concerts aren't really mything."

"And what is your thing?" he askedcuriously.

"Sneaking into abandoned buildings to take photos. Roaming the city streets for interesting scenes to shoot. Sitting in front of my computer for hours editing and cleaning up the images. Not… this." I gestured with my arm, indicating the frenetic energy permeating theconcerthall.

"Sneaking into buildings? I didn't take you for a law-breakingdelinquent."

"Sometimes you have to bend the rules for the sakeofart."