A Sound Like Hope (Fallen Tuesday #3) by Karolyn James

the thought of her being hurt or being in
trouble made him want to help. Just for the sake of what they once had together.
    “ I
think we should put a date on all this, ” Luke said.
    “ On
what? ” Trent asked.
    “ The
recording. The songs. Man, if we stay in the studio much longer, we ’ ll end up with enough material
for two or three albums. ”
    “ But
isn ’ t that how the best do
it? ” Mack asked.
    Trent nodded. “ Just keep writing and writing.
But Luke ’ s right, we need
to come up with a list and stick to it. ”
    “ Well,
how much do we have now? ” Jake asked.
    “ Close
to eight songs finished, ” Trent said. “ And probably
dozens of pieces just hanging around our minds. ”
    “ We
have to do it then, ” Luke
said. “ If we want to get
back out there and tour, we need to finish the album. ”
    “ Agreed, ” Trent said.
    The rest of the band nodded in
agreement and Mack slapped his hand to the table.
    “ Did
we just make a band decision? ” he asked.
    “ I
think we did, ” Trent said.
    “ You
know what that means …”
    “ More
drinks, ” Trent said. He wasn ’ t drunk, but he definitely wasn ’ t sober. It was a warm, relaxing
feeling now. A couple more rounds and he would be good for the night. He had no
idea where he would end up crashing, but that was the fun part of being a
rockstar.
    Nobody ever knew where the night
would end.
    Trent was back at the bar and the
bartender was quick to help him this time. She was young, cute, and flirty.
Trent wondered how many hearts she had broken in her life and how many she
would break. He knew the perils of a woman's eyes that looked innocent. The
devil was usually hidden behind them, ready to strike without warning.
    “ Hey,
there he is again. ”
    Trent ignored the voice. He turned
his back to the guys and looked up at the television.
    “ Trying
to pick up the bartender? ” the guy asked. “ Maybe take
her for a ride after she ’ s
good and drunk? You'd probably end up killing her and then just pay off her
family. ”
    Trent fought every urge in his body
that wanted him to destroy the ignorant piece of shit taunting him. He took his
eyes away from the screen and saw the bartender pouring drinks. If she was
close enough he was going to tell her to just bring the drinks to the table.
    “ Look,
the rockstar is too good to talk to us now. ”
    Trent looked over his shoulder. He
knew it was a mistake, but his mind was blurred by the alcohol.
    “ Is
something wrong, man? ”
    “ Yeah,
there is, ” the guy said as
he stood up. “ I don ’ t like you and your friends. You're
acting like big shots roaming around here. ”
    “ We ’ re not roaming anywhere, man.
Just having some drinks, enjoying our night. You should do the same. ”
    Trent wasn ’ t used to dealing with people who weren ’ t fans. It was rare to find
someone that didn ’ t like
the band or at least was willing enough to say so, because it was usually only
someone who felt the lyrical meanings of some of the songs Fallen Tuesday
played weren ’ t moral. Even
then, Trent and the band were able to ignore them and move on.
    But this guy had gotten under Trent ’ s skin.
    “ How
about I knock your teeth out and then I ’ ll
go about my business? ” the
guy offered.
    “ I ’ m good right here, ” Trent said.
    “ What ’ s going to happen? You have
bodyguards to protect you? ”
    “ You
see anyone with us? ” Trent
asked.
    “ So
you ’ re all alone. So if I
came up and …” The guy
lifted a fist and smiled.
    “ Do
whatever you want to do, man, ” Trent said.
    He focused back on the bar again.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Mack eyeing him. He was ready to jump up and
attack. But it wasn ’ t the
look on Mack ’ s face that worried
Trent right then.
    It was Jake.
    Jake was looking at his cell phone
and smiling. His fingers started to move and Trent just knew Jake was sending a
text to Chloe. His anger boiled over.
    “ You
know, rockstar