Read Online Under the Lights (A Brothers of Rock - GONE BY AUTUMN - Novel) by Karolyn James - Free Book Online Page A

worked out for the tour.
    All three seemed happy.
    Jules smiled at Tanner and gave a
cute little wave as she left the loft. Tanner curled his hands into fists. She
made him feel crazy and he knew nothing about her.
    When the door shut, Sam turned and
tossed his phone to the table.
    “ Look
for the commas, ” he said.
    “ What? ” Tanner asked.
    “ The.
Commas. ”
    “ In
what? ” Ryan asked.
    “ Your
next advanced payment, guys. Record company heard the new stuff and is pumping
more into it all. I know you guys were feeling good before. Money, cars,
apartments, women. The whole thing. But this … this is security. ”
    Tanner looked at the phone and had
to do a double take. There was a seven figure number on the phone. Proof of
electronic payment made to what was now a company. Gone by Autumn wasn ’ t just a band. They were an
image, a brand, a business. And they just got paid.
    “ Holy
shit, ” Asher said. “ That ’ s …”
    “ That ’ s a lot of money, ” Gabe said.
    “ More
than we ever got before, ” Ryan said.
    “ We
could quit and retire, ” Blake said. “ Done. Buy an
island. And enjoy booze and women until we drop dead."
    “ Trust
me, ” Sam said. “ You ’ re not going to want to run away after this one.
There ’ s a lot more to come. ”
    Tanner looked at Sam. For a second
he saw Sam as the young, geeky, punk kid he always was. Then he looked to the
band. The five of them used to sit around, drinking beer, strumming chords,
dreaming and writing music. Just to find a way to ease the different struggles
they each were going through back then.
    “ Oh,
and if that wasn ’ t enough,
you guys are number one on every chart possible, ” Sam said. “ The new song is
perfect. ”
    “ New
song … , ” Tanner said.
    “ Now
I ’ m lonely, ” Sam tried to sing but butchered
it.
    “ Christ, ” Ryan said. “ This is unreal. ”
    “ It ’ s real, ” Sam said. “ I
need to go finish up all the details for this coast tour. ”
    Sam took his phone and tucked it
into his pocket. He started to walk away and Tanner grabbed him by the back of
his suit jacket. Sam stumbled back and let out a yell.
    “ Not
that easy, ” Tanner said. He
put an arm around Sam and pulled him close. “ Come
on. All of us. Bring it in here. This is unreal. ”
    The entire band - and Sam - hugged.
    “ That ’ s so much money, ” Asher said.
    “ We
should give something to Maya again, ” Blake said. “ It ’ s only fair. ”
    “ Everyone
will be taken care of, ” Ryan said. “ We ’ re not greedy …”
    Tanner closed his eyes and thought
of Richie. That shithead lurking around, trying to get into Tanner ’ s head.
    “ Well,
to be fair, ” Sam said. “ That number is before taxes. And
my cut. So it ’ s not all
that much. ”
    “ Okay,
get out of here, ” Gabe
said.
    They all laughed and Sam left.
    Clarity hit Tanner and he excused
himself from the band. He needed to catch up to Sam. Maybe he could give him
Richie ’ s card and have him
get the guy off his back. Sam would be able to do that.
    Tanner left the loft and made a
turn down the hall before he stopped in his tracks.
    There was Jules, standing at a
window, looking out. Her back was to him. It instantly left him wanting to
touch her waist, like he ’ d
done the night before. To grab her, turn her around, and pick up where they
left off. There was definitely enough time to enjoy each other a number of
times the rest of the day.
    As Tanner closed in on her, all
thoughts of Sam, Richie, and the band slipped away.
    “ What
are you thinking? ” Tanner
asked.
    Jules gasped and spun around. She
looked at him, and her face was instantly red.
    “ Hey, ” she said.
    “ Whoa,
sorry. Thought you would have heard the door shut or my footsteps. ”
    “ No.
I was … thinking. ”
    “ Try
me, ” Tanner said. “ What ’ s on your pretty mind? ”
    Jules blinked fast. “ Nothing. Music mostly. ”
    “ I
do music. Tell me. ” Tanner
closed in.