Jax (Broken Strings #1) by Cherry Shephard Read Free Book Online Page B

sunglasses on, he walked through the hotel lobby and outside into the light.
    The bus was still parked in the same spot, though about twenty young women started screeching as soon as he walked out of the hotel.
    Fucking fans , he thought savagely.
     
    Jax loved his fans… most of the time. But right now there was only one person he wanted to see.
    Craning his neck, he looked over the heads of the women that surrounded him, but he couldn’t see her anywhere.
    Smiling a polite apology to his disappointed fans, he pressed his way through them and walked over to the bus where Kane stood leaning against it, an amused grin on his face.
    “Did we have fun last night?” he asked casually.
    “Shut up,” Jax snapped. “Where is she?”
    Kane’s grin widened even more, exposing his white teeth. “You must have really made an impression on her,” he chuckled. “She left in a cab about five minutes ago.”
    Jax felt the breath leave his body as though he’d been sucker punched in the gut.
    “She…what?” he asked, not ready to believe it.
    “Cheer up,” Kane said, slapping him on the back as he pushed away from the side of the bus. “It’s probably for the best. Come on dude, we have to go.”
    Kane waved gallantly to the screaming women that still surrounded them, before boarding the bus.
    Jax paused on the steps, searching the crowd around the hotel. There was still no sign of Amaranth.
    With a loud sigh of defeat he boarded the bus and watched the doors close behind him.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    “Dude, forget about her, she’s gone!” Kane said in frustration.
    They’d been on the road for the past hour, and Jax had spent the entire time staring out the window, watching for Amaranth.
    “I just don’t understand it,” he said in a quiet voice.
    “Jax,” Tessa said quietly as she sat down beside him. “I’m sorry, but you have to snap out of this. Amaranth’s gone, and it’s probably for the best.”
    Jax turned his head toward her with a small smile. “You’re starting to sound just like Kane.”
    “Well good,” Tessa replied with a smile. “Maybe now you’ll listen.”
    “Tessa’s right,” Tobey said from the other side of the bus as he looked up from his paperwork.
    Jax looked at Tobey curiously, since when did he start agreeing with Tess?
    “Okay guys listen up,” Tobey continued, standing up with a handful of papers. “Tonight we’re playing Phoenix and-”
    “What? Phoenix, why?” Kane cried tiredly. “That’s hours out of our way!”
    “A gig is a gig,” Tobey said with a warning look. “Now, Tessa we’re not going to have you in the middle of the stage this…..”
     
    Jax let his mind wander as Tobey and Tessa talked business. It wasn’t as though he wasn’t interested, he just had too much going on his mind at that moment to focus on what they were saying.
    Quietly excusing himself, he squeezed past Tessa and went into his room and lay on the bed.
    ***
    Hours later he was woken by Kane. They’d arrived in Phoenix.
    Quickly showering and dressing, he stepped off the bus. The time was four pm, and the sun had just begun to sink in the sky, making the wind that blew a little chilly.
     
    Walking over to a large door at the side of the entertainment center, he pulled it open and stepped inside, squinting his eyes at the sudden darkness.
    Where the fuck are the lights? He thought.
    A sound to the right of him caught his attention, and he turned and began walking along an empty corridor.
    “Kane?” he called, straining his ears for any sound. “Tessa!”
    Where the hell was everyone?
    He reached the end of the corridor and rounded the corner, only to find another corridor. The center was like a fucking maze.
     
    He heard a sound once more, a distinct thud of something dropping heavily to the ground.
    “Hello?” he called, walking down that corridor. He sped up as he heard footsteps walking quickly away from him.
    Jax broke into a jog as he heard a