Rock Revenge (Rock Revenge Trilogy 1)

“What? No.” Simon scanned the room, then eased back to make sure this Ian freak was still singing. “Nicky, get the fuck out of the bathroom,” he called loudly. “In my room, now.”

Simon rushed back into his room, leaving the connecting door ajar.

A moment later, Nick came into his room, tugging a T-shirt over his head. “Jesus, dude. Do you need to walk around half naked? If that towel gets any lower, we’re all going to get a show. Not interested. At all.”

Simon was beyond frustrated and a moment away from sheer brain implosion. He clamped his hand along the back of Nick’s neck and pushed him in front of the television. “Look.”

“What? Some kid singing?” Nick shrugged off Simon’s hand and jammed his fingers into the pockets of his jeans. “So what? They’re a dime a dozen on TV these days. Who the fuck cares?”

The guy’s range rocked Simon back on his heels as this Ian kid hit a note Simon couldn’t have found even when he’d been at his peak. “Fuck.”

“Damn,” Nick muttered.

Simon shook his head. “Don’t.”

Nick shoved him. “You’re the one who brought me in here to see this dude. What the fuck do you want me to say?”

“Just wait.”

But instead of the song ending, the guy leaned into the mic and swung his guitar around his back and blended the chorus of Tom Petty’s “All or Nothin’” into the end of the song. He nailed every goddamn note and brought the audience to their feet.

Low goddamn blow using Petty. Since he’d passed away, only the brave or the stupid covered his songs. Evidently, this guy was both.

The banner popped back on the screen as the singer smiled brilliantly right into the camera. The audience went wild.

Nick frowned at the television. “I’m not reading that right, am I?”

“Fuck yeah, you are.”

“How?”

“I don’t fucking know.” Simon paced the length of the room as the host came out and tried to calm down the crowd.

“Wow. That was…just wow. I gotta ask you, especially after hearing your voice. That last name of yours—you’re not…”

“Simon Kagan’s my brother, yeah.” Ian tucked his long hair behind his ear with a rueful smile.

“He’s fucking British,” Nick spat out.

“How come we’ve never heard of you before?”

Ian shrugged. “Eh, you know how it goes. Brothers, right?” Dimples dented his cheeks before he raked his hair back with both hands. “I’m not my brother though. We just share a few genes. And I got a couple extra octaves and an accent.”

“Fucking smirk.”

Lila came into the room. “What’s going on in here?”

Nick slung his arm around her neck and nodded to the television. “Looks like Simon has a doppelgänger who’s looking to get a leg up using the Kagan name.” He gave Li a lopsided smile. “You’d think he’d pick a better guy to impersonate, but what do I know? Or…Simon’s got a brother.”

Lila dragged Nick closer to the television. “Wow.”

Simon raked back his hair and the gesture was identical enough that Lila’s eyes widened. “Fuck.” Simon fisted his hands and dropped them to his sides. “How? What the hell?”

Lila rubbed a careless hand down Nick’s stomach before she pulled out her phone. “Let me make a few calls.”

Nick brushed his mouth over her temple before letting her go. “Good idea.” He crossed his arms and faced Simon. “If anyone can find answers, it’s Li.”

“Let’s hope at any rate.” Lila sighed. “I have to call Zoe too, see if she’ll do the Blue Rhino gig for the Zeps.”