Chapter Seven
Lucas was pissed. He had no choice but to leave the edge of the stage as they got everything ready for the next set, and they did that by having a queue of people waiting to go on, which pissed him off. He lost sight of Kate, and on his way toward the other side of the stage, a large television caught his attention.
“What the fuck ever happened to her?” one guy asked.
He stared at the screen and saw a young, bubbly looking woman singing some kind of pop tune. It was a flashback to has-beens of seven years ago.
Benjamin was there. “Kate knocked this woman off the charts.”
“What?”
“Melanie Turner. She was considered the up-and-coming star seven years ago. She got to number one and stayed there for one week. Everyone expected her to smash the charts, and go on to have an amazing career.”
The woman was beautiful, no doubt about that. Young, talented, but he didn’t recognize the song or the woman.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Unfortunately for Melanie, Kate happened,” Benjamin said.
“How did Kate happen?”
“Melanie got her number one spot on the Friday, and the entire world saw Kate on the Saturday. I’ve never known an artist to fall out of the charts so fast. She stayed number one in the top ten for one week only. Faded out. Her next hit didn’t even make it into the top one hundred. Everywhere you looked Melanie’s face was turned into Kate’s. She was every woman’s rising star.”
As Lucas looked at the screen, and thought about the misspelled angry letters and death threats, he didn’t for a second think it could be this woman. No one had heard from her, and it had been seven years.
Seven years of Kate’s success.
Seven years of bubbling anger.
Lucas stared at the woman, and he didn’t like how the nerves on the back of his neck stood on end. You took everything away from me. You deserve to die. I fucking hate you, whore. Those were just some of the words that had been written.
Glancing around the stage, Lucas became aware of how busy it was. With so many artists and bands performing, there were more people, making it easier for people to blend in, and others to get backstage. Kate had left the stage about five minutes ago.
Her crew warned him that between each set, she often had a few minutes by herself. He didn’t like the panic that began to fill him.
This was the perfect opportunity for anyone to attack.
“Was everyone accounted for here?” he asked.
“Yes, of course, but you always have people entering backstage, or some groupies. It’s impossible to keep an exact list.”
“So anyone can get backstage, right?”
Benjamin frowned at him. “Of course, anyone can get backstage, but we have security in place.”
“It’s her,” Lucas said. It was taking a huge leap, but his gut was telling him that this woman was someone he wouldn’t have considered. He didn’t even know about her. She’d been part of the industry long enough to know how it worked.
“What do you mean it’s her?”
Benjamin began to follow him.
“No one knows what happened to Melanie, right? Kate’s rise to fame damaged hers. She’s everywhere. Fully booked for the past seven years, and this girl just faded into the background. The letters. ‘You took everything from me.’ ‘No one would care about your fat ass.’ ‘You deserve to die just like you killed me.’” He read out just a couple of the notes that Kate had received. Lines he’d memorized. The specialist had told him it sounded like the person blamed Kate for taking something from her, but what? All he needed to fill the missing gaps was right here. “We all thought it was some crazed fan because most stars have them. Kate’s never harmed anyone, but in a way, someone could blame her for ruining that woman’s career.”
He moved toward the end of the stage that wasn’t completely blocked and saw a band was already playing. Checking his watch, he saw Kate had already ended her set five minutes ago. He had to get to her.
“Where’d Kate go?” he asked someone.
“She went toward the refreshments.”
“Go and get security. Alert Wayne that I need him. Tell him Kate’s life is in danger. Now, go!”
He moved toward the refreshments area, and saw that it was vacant.
“You took everything from me, and I don’t get it. Look at you. You’re too fat to fit into this world. This is my world. My dream. All you had to do was pick up a damn microphone and sing!”
“I don’t…”
“Shut your fucking fat whore of a mouth. You don’t get to talk to me. I knew it was going to be a tough industry. I was told it was tough and that I had to make certain sacrifices. The only way to get ahead is to give head. I sucked cock to get that single, and then you with your pathetic song, and you … did it.”
He saw Melanie, and the woman before him didn’t look like the teenage girl in the music video he just watched. She’d aged. Her blonde hair looked thick with grease.
“I was going to do everything that I could to be a star. I fucked who I needed to in order to get in the door. Who did you screw? You got it handed to you easily. You knocked me off the top spot, and then I couldn’t get a hit again. I was tossed out for being a waste of time, and no one wanted to know. So, I left, and then I had to sit back while you took everything away from me. Your number one hits, your albums, the girls screaming your name whenever it came on the fucking radio. I’m done listening to that bullshit. You’re not taking my place.”
She held the gun steady, and Lucas grabbed his gun, aiming it at the woman.
“Melanie,” he said, drawing the woman’s attention to him.
“Don’t you come in here!” She pointed the gun straight back at Kate. “She deserves to die. They all do.”
“You’re the one who stabbed her one year ago?” he asked.
“I was aiming for her heart. She deserves to have her heart cut out and ripped to shreds.” The anger, the hatred toward his woman shocked him.
Kate clearly didn’t have a clue who she was or what she’d done. Tears trailed down her face.
“Killing her is not the answer here, Melanie.”
The woman paused and glanced over at him.
“You know my name.”
“Of course, I know your name.” He didn’t mention that he’d only just seen her on the has-beens episode. He didn’t think she’d take too kindly to being referred as that.
“I was good. Damn good, and they said they were going to make me a star.” The smile on Melanie’s face looked … scary.
She was crazy. Her hatred of Kate was based on the belief that Kate had somehow stolen her fame from her.
“I’ve seen pictures of you with her. You’re her precious bodyguard.”
“Killing her is not the answer to your troubles.”
“Troubles? She’s the reason I’ve got them. My life was just starting, and she took it away from me.” Melanie focused the gun on Kate, and he didn’t have a choice.
Firing his gun, he watched Melanie fall.
****
Sitting in Lucas’s apartment, Kate had already been told that Melanie had been obsessed with her. The other woman was convinced that Kate alone had ruined her life and her career. Sipping at the whiskey Lucas placed in her hand, Kate stared straight ahead of her until he bent down, staring into her eyes.
“Am I a horrible person?”
“No.”
“I ruined that girl’s life.”
“What happened in her life is not your fault. You couldn’t control any of that, babe.” He cupped her face, tilting her head back. “You’re not the one responsible for this.”
“She’s dead.”
He pressed his lips against hers, and she put the whiskey down, wrapping her arms around him. “Her obsession got her killed. She was going to shoot, Kate. You know that, and I know that. She was determined to end your life, and I wasn’t going to let her. They searched her apartment, and found several more of the letters along with some knives and stuff. She’d kept the knife that stabbed you a year ago. She’d placed it in a sealed plastic box, and there was still blood on it.”
She shivered.
“You’re not to blame for this, and I won’t let you take any of it. I’ve spoken with Benjamin, and he’s in agreement with me. You and I are going away for a little while. I’m going to take you far away from here.” He kissed her, driving any other thoughts from her mind. “And if I have to keep you completely naked and at my mercy … I will.”
****
Three weeks later
The story broke worldwide about Melanie and her attack on Kate. Everyone had their own thoughts, but none of them blamed Kate for what happened. They discussed Melanie’s rise and sharp fall into and out of fame, how she worked to get there, only to have been promised the world and then pulled out at the last minute. Behind closed doors, no one believed that she’d ever succeed in the world.
Her number one hit had only gotten there on a really bad week when sales had plummeted. Kate came out, and the rest was history. They sat and watched the news, seeing the same footage of Kate falling that had brought them together over a year ago. No one knew why it had taken Melanie so long to finally lash out, but Lucas believed it was down to the simmering rage that she could no longer keep locked away inside. She’d finally snapped, and Kate had become Melanie’s target.
It had taken some time, but Kate had fully recovered. Lucas wouldn’t leave her alone, and he certainly made sure that she knew none of this was her fault. He’d known when Melanie began to blame her that Kate would believe it was entirely her fault. Especially as she’d told him being a singer wasn’t always her dream. She’d wanted to be something else. The guilt had weighed heavily on her because this hadn’t been the life she’d sought. Everything had been given to her in that one moment.
Sitting on the edge of their bed, he held a small velvet box in his hand. Kate had become a part of his world, and the love he felt for her wasn’t the kind that would disappear, not that he wanted it to.
His kind of security wasn’t needed for her anymore, but he’d long ago decided that he couldn’t live without her, and that he didn’t want to. She was under his skin, in his heart, and he wanted a future with her.
She opened the bathroom door, and the smile on her face made him so damn happy. At the beginning of them getting away, she’d been very emotional, crying, and the guilt had weighed down on her. Slowly, he’d been able to pull her out of her depression, and now he sat, waiting to propose.
“Did you get the Chinese food?” she asked, climbing behind him onto the bed and wrapping her arms around him. She hadn’t seen the velvet box yet. Feeling her lips against his neck had him closing his eyes and just enjoying her touch.
“It’ll be arriving very soon. There’s something I wanted to ask you.”
“What is it?” she asked.
He held the box within his hand, and he felt her stiffen behind him.
Pulling out of her hold, he held the box on display, and smiled at her. “I want you to be my wife, Kate.” He opened the box for her to see. “I love you more than anything in the world. I’d protect you with my very life, and I know that you love me.” She told him every single day.
“You’re proposing?”
“To the love of my life.” He reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “I know I can make you happy, just like I know you can make me happy. I know your career is very important, and I’m here with you. I’m not going to leave your side.”
“What about your company?”
“I can do the work from anywhere. Your case was a special one, Kate. I wasn’t going to allow anyone to risk your life.” He kissed her lips. “Marry me. I can make you the happiest woman in the world. All you’ve got to do is give me the chance.”
“Yes. How could you even for a second doubt that it? I love you, Lucas. I love you more than anything else in the world.” She threw her arms around his neck, slamming her lips against his, and he held her tightly, knowing he’d never let her go and that he would protect her for the rest of their lives.