Page 123 of Rock Giant

“Jesus Christ, he’s going to pass out.”

And all of a sudden, it’d turned from a spat into a rumble.

CHAPTER 34

Paul “Rock Giant” Reed

Paul roused to the sensation of the air slapping his cheeks, and a thumping bass competing with the percussive force of the wind.He was folded into the passenger seat of the Danger Car.Ash occupied the driver’s seat.Around them lay nothing but empty roads and snow-capped mountain peaks.“Where are we?”

“Heading north towards Stryn, where I’ve a room booked for tonight.”

Stryn.It wasn’t a place he’d heard of, and definitely wasn’t on the band’s itinerary, even as a stopover point.They were booked into an Airbnb in Flåm for tonight, then a lodge in Dombås.

“It’s on the banks of Nordfjorden, on the edge of the Briksdalsbreen glacier.”

That was a polite way of Ash telling him he’d booked a room for him and his missus to enjoy a bit of sightseeing getaway away from the rest of them for a night or two, which Paul had now cocked up.He therefore tactfully held his tongue rather than doing any grumbling about the prospect of sharing a bed.

At least his head didn’t have an axe embedded in it any more.

“On a scale of one to ten, how pissed off at me is Ginny?”

Ash gave him a fleeting glance.“This was her call.She’s concerned about you, mate.We all are.Figured some time away from the bus might help.”

Time away from anyone he might recently have punched is what he meant, and maybe time away from Jodi and the Ghost Boys, too.That hurt, but maybe it was a good thing.It wasn’t like he needed to see her and Nash being all couple-y.And he could definitely live without Nash flaunting his win in Paul’s face.He just wished he understood what she saw in him.Her loyalty to the guy didn’t make sense.If it’d been Lee she was engaged to, then he’d get it.Hell, even Jez.Balin maybe, at a push, but Nash?He didn’t love her, and deep down she had to know that, right?

Paul chewed over that fact for a mile or two more as the scenery rolled on past.Green upon green.Fields and forest.Norway was fucking breathtaking.He just wasn’t in the right frame of mind to appreciate it.Still, being here did mean he could avoid the inevitable face to face with reality that kept trying to squeeze its way onto his agenda.

No thankee, he did not need another major downer fucking up his equilibrium.

Know what else he didn’t need occupying space in his skull?The possibility that last night’s shit might have prompted bollockbrain to slide a gold band onto Jodi’s finger alongside the ugly engagement rock.

Did Norway have quickie marriages?

A quick google confirmed not.All praise the Goddess.They required paperwork with a processing time of four to six weeks, so even if butt trumpet had applied the moment they crossed the border, he still wouldn’t have the necessary document to get them as far as I dos.

“You owe both Xane and Ronnie apologies.”

Did he, now?

“You remember what happened, right?”

More or less.Some of the details were a little fuzzy, like who had put him out and how.

“Spook,” Ash informed him after he’d stewed for a bit longer.“You clocked Alle, albeit by mistake, and earned yourself a knuckle sandwich.”

“Fuck, I never meant—”

“He knows.So does she.There are no ill feelings there.”

“Didn’t realise Spook had such a mighty right hook.”Now that he thought about it, he did have a sore spot on his temple that was surface level, and not down to the knots in his grey matter.

“Yeah, well, Spook’s nothing if not full of surprises.”

“I figured Cave Troll, or maybe a Xane and Luthor combo.”

“Not sure throwing punches is really Luthor.He’s way too laidback.”And thus, perfectly countered their vocalist’s more highly strung nature.“Cave Troll scooped you up and moved your gargantuan bod into this here vessel.”

That’d explain the other bruises he could feel.Troels wasn’t exactly known for gentleness.