Blow my Fuse
Hollywood Demons Book Two
Autumn Jones Lake
Copyright
Hollywood Demons #2
Copyright © 2020 Autumn Jones Lake
All Rights Reserved
Digital ISBN #: 978-1-943950-53-9
Print ISBN #: 978-1-943950-55-3
Large Print ISBN #: 978-1-943950-56-0
Audio ISBN #: 978-1-943950-57-7
Cover Model: Megan Napolitan
Cover Designer: Lori Jackson Design
Photographer: Wander Aguiar Photography
Edited by: Angela James
Proofread by: Fairest Reviews Editing Services
Blow My Fuse is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review or article, without written permission from the author.
The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction. The publication/use of these trademarks is not associated with or sponsored by the trademark owners.
About Blow My Fuse
She’s the steady pulse in my veins.
Mallory burst into my life like glittering gold in a concrete jungle. We’ve fought hard and survived the biggest obstacles in our relationship. At least that’s what I thought. The band should be headed for platinum status. Instead, new threats emerge from the most unlikely places. It’s impossible to tell who’s a friend and who’s about to stick a knife in my back. Suddenly, taking the easy road seems a lot more alluring.
He’s my vigilant protector.
Rock & roll might have been Chaser’s first love, but I never doubt his devotion to me. I’m always his priority. But protecting me at all costs drives him to reckless acts, so now it’s my turn to keep him safe. I’m willing to do whatever it takes, whether that means seeking help from Chaser’s father and the Devil Demons MC or visiting my father in prison.
Hollywood won’t tear us apart.
Together we’ll struggle to hold on to what matters most—each other. I’ll fight for my man with everything I am, even if I have to drag him through hell to the other side.
Blow My Fuse is the second book in the Hollywood Demons series by USA Today bestselling author Autumn Jones Lake.
Also By Autumn Jones Lake
THE LOST KINGS MC SERIES
Slow Burn (Lost Kings MC #1)– Free at all retailers!
Corrupting Cinderella (Lost Kings MC #2)
Three Kings, One Night (Lost Kings MC #2.5)
Strength From Loyalty (Lost Kings MC #3)
Tattered on My Sleeve (Lost Kings MC #4)
White Heat (Lost Kings MC #5)
Between Embers (Lost Kings MC #5.5)
More Than Miles (Lost Kings MC #6)
White Knuckles (Lost Kings MC #7)
Beyond Reckless (Lost Kings MC #8)
Beyond Reason (Lost Kings MC #9)
One Empire Night (Lost Kings MC #9.5)
After Burn (Lost Kings MC #10)
After Glow (Lost Kings MC #11)
Zero Hour (Lost Kings MC #11.5) - Free at all retailers!
Zero Tolerance (Lost Kings MC #12)
Zero Regret (Lost Kings MC #13)
Zero Apologies (Lost Kings MC #14)
White Lies (Lost Kings MC #15)
Swagger and Sass (A Lost Kings MC Novella)
Rhythm of the Road (Lost Kings MC #16)
Lost Kings MC World
Hollywood Demons Series
Kickstart My Heart
Blow My Fuse
Wheels of Fire
Bullets & Bonfires
Warnings & Wildfires
Cards of Love: Knight of Swords
Paranormal Romance
Catnip & Cauldrons
Onyx Night
Onyx Shadows
Feral Escape
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
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Chapter One
Chaser
“I need you to go home to L.A.”
As far as morning greetings go, that’s probably my rudest one yet.
Mallory’s still groggy, so she doesn’t hold it against me. She yawns, then rolls out of bed and shuffles into the bathroom.
It’s hard to be sympathetic when someone you’ve considered a brother lands on your bad side. Yesterday, Jacob slammed into my bad side at 180 miles-per-hour. Attempting to set Mallory up with Davey Revolver by luring her to that creep’s hotel room is the lowest stunt Jacob’s ever pulled and possibly my breaking point. I don’t care how hard he thinks we’ve worked or how desperately he wants our band to finally achieve success. At the moment, I’m fresh out of compassion.
All night long I considered my options.
Kill Jacob.
Kill Davey.
Quit the band and go home.
Murder Jacob and Davey then quit the band.
One and two are currently my favorite options.
Now that I’ve appeased the punishment-thirsty demon inside me by considering the bloodiest options, I go over some more practical solutions.
Sending Mallory home is the best way to keep her safe. After what happened yesterday, if I have her continue on the tour, I’m only putting her in danger. Davey will be a hell of a lot sneakier next time.
As much as I’d love to march into our next band meeting and announce that I’m quitting, I can’t do it. Call it pride or stubbornness, but I refuse to let Jacob’s stupid stunt ruin everything I’ve spent the la
st few years working toward.
Mallory’s safety is my top priority. As much as I’ll miss having her by my side for the rest of the tour, I can’t be selfish and have her stay. I hope she sees the situation the same way and isn’t hurt or doesn’t feel like I’m punishing her for what happened.
She’s so damn cute as she toddles back to bed, yawning and blinking. I flip the covers aside, and she crawls into bed, curling up next to me.
How am I supposed to send her home and finish the tour without her by my side?
Easy, there’s no other choice.
“What was that you said, now?” she mumbles.
“After yesterday, I’m worried about you finishing out the tour. I need you to fly home. Today if possible.”
She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “Thank you.”
“You’re not mad?”
“Are you kidding? If anything, I’m relieved.” She shifts her gaze away from me. “I feel guilty though. I don’t want to abandon you if you need me.”
Christ, I love this woman so much. I reach out and cup her face with my hand, rubbing my thumb over her cheek. “You’re not abandoning me at all. I want you somewhere safe, away from that asshole, while I deal with the fallout.” I’m expecting some sort of payback from Revolver, and I don’t want Mallory here when retribution arrives.
She bites her lip and nods. “I’ll start packing up my stuff.”
While she packs, I roll over, grab the hotel phone and dial downstairs, asking the operator to connect me to the airport.
After an hour of arguing and charging a ridiculous amount on my lone credit card, I have her booked on a flight home.
I can’t manage her bags on the bike that I rented, so when we get downstairs, I ask the bellman to hail a cab for us.
“You okay?” I ask. Mallory has my hand in a death grip the whole way to the airport. “Are you afraid of flying so far by yourself?”
She turns and blinks tears out of her eyes. “It’s not that. I hate leaving you. I hate leaving like this. I’m so sorry I messed things up for you.”
I can’t stand her thinking she’s done something wrong when she hasn’t been anything other than a loyal, supportive woman.
It hits me hard—I’d choose her over music in a heartbeat every day of the week. “You’re not responsible for this. If they didn’t have me by the balls with that contract, I’d go home with you.” Davey would no doubt tie me up in lawsuits for the next few years, and I won’t allow that asshole to have that kind of influence over my life.
“I would never ask you to leave. Then they win. And you’ve worked too hard and for too many years to allow that dirty old man to take your career away from you.”
This woman floors me. Every damn time. I expected her to be bitter, maybe pissed that I wasn’t coming home with her. Something. She’s everything sweet and loyal I don’t deserve.
I swallow hard past the lump in my throat. “I still don’t know what I’m going to do about Jacob.”
“He wants to succeed at any cost. I’m sure in his mind he was doing me a favor. A win-win for everyone. He’s probably shocked I didn’t jump at the chance to screw Davey, and you didn’t fall at his feet with gratitude.” She shrugs. “I don’t respect it, but I understand to a certain extent.”
I’m glad she understands, because I sure as fuck don’t. More than ever, I miss home. Miss my MC family. I made a mistake thinking my bandmates had the same loyalty as my MC brothers.
Back home, if a brother even joked about passing another brother’s old lady around, the punishment would be severe. In this world, I’m the one who stands to be punished. By the record label, my manager, my band, as well as Bloody Revolver if they decide to kick us off the tour.
Even if I end up losing everything, I wouldn’t change a thing about the way I handled it.
Still doesn’t change the fact that sending her home will rip my heart in two.
Chapter Two
Mallory
Saying goodbye to Chaser is almost impossible. I can’t release his hand, and every time I look at his beautiful face, my heart constricts with pain.
We’re at the gate, and I need to board the plane, but I can’t let go.
Our eyes meet, and he draws me into a tight embrace. “It’s okay, little dove. I’ll be home next week. You won’t have time to miss me.”
“I already miss you.” My throat’s so tight I barely get the words out. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t you dare cry. I’ll cry by myself on the plane where Chaser can’t see me and feel any worse about this than I already know he does.
He leans down and presses his lips against mine. My hand tunnels into his hair, holding him to me for a much deeper, longer kiss.
“Call me as soon as you’re settled. I don’t care how much it costs”
“I will. I’ll call my agent tomorrow too, so she knows I’m back early and can set some stuff up for me.”
He hesitates. “Wait until I get back, please. Or at least don’t go to any auditions alone.”
“I went on auditions alone before while you were away.”
“Please.” His simple plea can’t be ignored. “I hate being so far away if something happens.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
“I love you so much, little dove. You’re my whole world.”
Agony tightens its fingers around my throat. “I love you, too,” I whisper.
I can’t stall any longer. I have to go. With trembling fingers, I take my bag out of his hands. I turn once, before stepping into the long hallway leading to the plane. Chaser stands there, thumbs hooked in his pockets, legs wide, stoic expression in place. He nods and mouths, “Go on. I love you.”
“Me too.”
I make it onto the plane and into my seat without shedding a tear.
The gentleman in the next seat leers at me and rubs my arm. “What’s a pretty girl like you doing traveling all alone?” His fingers graze the side of my breast. “Are you all right, sweetheart?”
I’ve had it with creeps invading my personal space. “I’m fine,” I answer tartly, jerking my arm away.
I take out my Walkman and snap in a cassette. As I’m adjusting my headphones, he mutters, “Bitch” under his breath.
If not wanting to be groped makes me a bitch, then so be it. I bet if a man were in this seat, he wouldn’t have rubbed his arm.
When the stewardess walks by, I reach out to grab her attention.
“Is there another seat I can move to?” I tilt my head and put as much effort as possible into my get-me-away-from-this-jerk eyes.
She shifts her gaze toward the creep next to the window and nods. “Come on. There are a few empty seats on this flight. I’ll set you up near the back.”
Once I’m settled in my new, creep-free spot, I slip my headphones into place, rest my head against the seat and close my eyes.
The pilot makes an announcement.
The plane moves down the runway.
Sadness intertwined with pain comes in waves. Ripping out my heart and leaving it in England might have hurt less.
Fear scoots in behind the pain of leaving Chaser.
Only time will tell if our love is real or if I’ve been living in a fantasy.
He put everything on the line for me. Over the next few weeks, will he see it as a mistake? Resent me for making things difficult for him? Did I ruin everything he and his band have worked so hard for?
We’ll survive this separation, right?
Chapter Three
Chaser
Rage beats against my skin from the inside, threatening to break free and pound the next person who pisses me off into oblivion.
It hurt like hell leaving Mallory at the airport. Watching her walk onto the plane? It took every ounce of strength not to run after her.
Foul is the only way to describe my mood when I walk into our band meeting later that afternoon.
“Are we calmer today?” Val asks in a neutral tone.
“No
, Val. I’m not calm at all. But I’m here to do my job, so let’s get to work.”
Ignoring the seat she points for me to take, I flatten my back against the wall and cross my arms over my chest. Alvin stands and takes up the spot next to me. Given the circumstances, it’s a bold move, and I appreciate his support.
Jacob, the coward, won’t meet my eyes. Garrett lifts his chin in my direction. A big gesture for him, since he’s so tightly aligned with Jacob.
“Okay. Well, then,” Val says, composing herself. “I spoke to Revolver’s manager last night. And the lawyers for the record company this morning. You messed up Davey’s face pretty bad, but he’s not pressing charges. You’re still required to finish these tour dates, but Kickstart is not invited on the next leg of the tour.”
Boo-fucking-hoo. As if I would’ve said yes after what went down yesterday. I glare at Val and then Jacob, daring them to complain about the missed opportunity.