Page 8 of Hard Rock Deceit

Allfive.

I'd been so distracted by August, by the effect he had on me, that I'd almost forgotten about the rest oftheband.

I was working with Darkest Days. Hit rock band, winners of multiple industry awards, reputed to have changed the face of modern rock music itself. Each of them was distinctly talented in his own right, near geniuses when it came tomusic.

They were also just a bunch of twenty something guys. I envisioned piles of used, smelly socks and a dirty, messybathroom.

"I have to sleep on a bus with a bunchofboys?"

August looked amused as my nose scrunched up indistaste.

"No. Most of the time the band stays in hotels. I want the guys to be in top shape when we perform. Sleeping on a tour bus night after night is hard onthebody."

I took it all in. Expensive accommodations, traveling with celebrities, an ungodly sum of money for a fewmonthswork.

I turned to August. "What's thecatch?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Catch?"

"This is too good to be true. There must be something terrible I'm missing. Have you run off every other photographer in the industry? Am I the only one stupid enough to say yes? Are the rest of the guysassholes?"

The hesitation in his expression was worrying. A commotion from outside the tour bus interrupted August before he couldanswer.

"Assholes?" A voice said from outsidethebus.

"Only some of us," said a second, oddly similar,voice.

Two heads peeked into the bus, brown hair sticking up in soft tufts. These were the twin guitarists, Ian and Damon Drake. I looked between them. Their faces were uncannily identical. One of them wore a black band shirt with the wordsDangerous Noiseon it. The other wore a graphic tee with the wordsRock Stars Have More Funin a bold font across thechest.

"You bringing a girl on tour?" Graphic Tee asked with a raisedeyebrow.

"You said no girls allowed," Band T-shirt accused. "If you're bringing her, I'mbringingHope."

"No way," the first replied. He tugged his brother into a headlock. "I've finally rescued you from her clutches. We're going to have a proper tour with raging bus parties and hoards of hot groupies. That means nogirlfriends."

"I'm not going to bang other girls while my girlfriend sits at home waiting for me." The other squirmed out of his brother's grip. "I'm not acheatingdick."

"I'll have to have enough fun for the two of us, then." His twinlookedsmug.

"This is Cassie Blake, our tour photographer. We'll be sharing our tour bus with her. Cassie, this is Ian," August gestured to Band T-shirt, "And this is Damon." He nodded toGraphicTee.

"I know," I said. “I mean, I know you’re TheTwins.”

A slow grin crossedDamon'sface.

"You know us already, huh? Youafan?"

He sidled up next to me and tweaked at a strand ofmyhair.

"If you are, you won't be by the end of this tour." Ian laughed and slapped his brother's hand away. "Close proximity tends to ruin the heroworship."

"Who said anything about hero worship?" I said. "You guys are just in the mediaeverywhere."

"And what exactly do trash mags say about us, anyway?" Damon asked, green eyessparkling.

"Notorious partiers. Cocky playboys. Think you're god's gift towomen."

Ian looked chagrinned but his twinlaughed.