The Trouble with Rock Stars: Jackson's Story (Access All Areas 3)

“Hell yeah. If this woman would let me near them.”

Still, I’d give up all the whiskey if I could go back to that moment before Drew entered the room. I wanted to see that wicked grin on Gina’s face again. I’d told her to wait until I sorted things out but I was damned impatient to get my hands on her again. And things were getting as sorted as they could be.

Chapter 25 Jackson

“I’M READY FOR MY LESSON, Jackson.”

We’d been having the lessons at the club since I didn’t want Drew hanging out at my apartment. We practiced in the band room in the afternoon before the actual bands came in to soundcheck. Most of the bands turned up late anyway, which gave us a decent stretch of time.

Drew sat on the edge of the stage. He liked sitting there.

“I can see what it’s like to actually be on the stage,” he said. “But it’s not like I’m ready to go all the way. I’m just halfway, right, Jackson?”

“Halfway is pushing it.”

He’d improved a helluva lot, though. I did notice lately he’d started imitating Razer quite a bit in the way he played. That was normal. It’d be Razer for a while, then someone else, maybe Holden or Alex. He’d keep that up until one day he found his own style. At least he was picking up good habits.

“Play that bit again, but slow it right down,” I said.

I’d pulled a chair up next to the stage. The room was a bit echoey with just the two of us in it.

Alex came up the stairs and walked over to the sound desk. I couldn’t really see what he was doing.

“Not bad, Drew. You’re coming along nicely.”

“Can I play with you sometime?” Drew asked.

“Not yet, but maybe one day.”

Drew lowered his head, a huge grin spread across his face. That was about as good as it’d get from Alex.

After Alex finished and went back downstairs, Drew stopped playing. “Did you hear what Alex said?”

I nodded. “Still don’t trust that guy though. There’s something fishy about him.”

“I know.”

I glanced at Drew. He didn’t mean “I know” as in, “I agree with what you are saying.” He said it as in, “I know why Alex is fishy.”

“What do you know?”

“I shouldn’t really tell anyone. It’s kind of secret and Alex’s parents paid a lot of money to keep it hushed up. They’re stinking rich.”

I’d figured there was money somewhere. You don’t just sweep into town and buy up a club, even a dirty old dive like this one, without money behind you. He’d spent a fortune doing up the band room. It had one of the best sound systems I’d ever heard. Then there was the other stuff. The fancy clothes, the guitars, the car. Alex was no struggling muso, that’s for sure.

I’m only human. If Drew had the shit on something like that, I had to know. I couldn’t beg him for the info like a pissy little schoolgirl. I’d have to use finesse to pry it out of him.

The only other fact I knew was that Alex had some success with his old band before coming to town. You don’t turn your back on something like that, not without good reason. And the most likely reason of all was fall out between band members. He’d slept with a band mate’s chick or stole their coke or —

“He killed hi

s drummer.”

Whoa, that’d been too easy. Drew would never make a good spy. He grinned at me. The kind of grin a cat has when they bring you a dead rat as a gift.

“Come on, kid, he wouldn’t be walking around today if he’d murdered someone.”

“Well, he didn’t do it on purpose, obviously. That would be murder. It was an accident but it was Alex’s fault.”