“Get him away from me!” she spit out. “Oh God, get him away.”

The last ended in a moan and she huddled into a ball, so devastated, so numb from shock, that she wanted to die. The entire world knew. They knew everything. No more secrets. No more lies. Her shame, her pain, was laid bare for the world to see.

There was a scuffle. Connor’s curses split the air. She scrambled to her feet and then lunged for the back entrance. Connor shouted at her but she ran as hard and as fast as she could. Away from him. Away from her past. Away from the awful reality that awaited her.

She ran straight into Kane. He caught her and she swung violently, connecting with his jaw.

“What the fuck?” he demanded. “Lyric, what the hell?”

She twisted away, intent only on running as far and as fast as she could. Kane hit her with a flying tackle and rolled them to the ground. He wrapped both arms around her and held her immobile as she kicked and raged against him.

When she realized her efforts were futile, she collapsed against him, sobbing great, gasping sobs.

“Shhh,” he said. “Lyric, what the hell is going on? What’s the matter?”

“Get me out of here,” she choked out. “Please, Kane. Just take me away.”

“Where the hell is Connor?”

She went rigid. “He sold me out. Please, please, Kane.”

The last of her fight left her and she simply shattered. Her chest hurt so badly she wondered if something wasn’t broken. She felt broken. So damaged that she’d never recover.

She leaned her head on Kane’s shoulder as sob after sob welled from her throat.

“Son of a bitch,” Kane murmured. He got to his feet and hauled her up into his arms, then made a run for the car. He shoved her inside, climbed in behind her and then ordered the driver to take off.

“Where are we going, Lyric?” he asked. “What do you want to do?”

“Away,” she said brokenly. “Just away from here. Somewhere safe.”

He put a tentative hand on her arm as she lay huddled on the seat. “What the hell happened back there, Lyric?”

She shook her head and closed her eyes as more tears slipped down her cheeks. How could she explain to him that she’d just been destroyed by the only man she’d ever trusted? The only person she’d ever trusted?

She felt like the worst sort of fool. Why had he done it? Did he hate her so much? None of it made sense. Surely he didn’t need the money. Phillip was likely paying him a fortune for his babysitting job. Had his supposed infatuation with her been some sort of twisted game?

Her throat was raw but she couldn’t stop the sobs. Grief welled out of her heart. Grief for her mom. Grief for herself. Grief for everything she’d believed of Connor and the dead hope for someone who loved and cherished her.

She was dimly aware of the car stopping and then the door opening.

“Lyric,” Kane said softly. “Can you make it out? We’re at the house.”

It took her a moment for his words to sink in. She stirred slowly and looked at him through dull eyes.

“I don’t want anyone here,” she said in a voice that cracked and was painful from the crying. “Do you understand? No one.”

Kane nodded shortly. “If that’s what you want.”

She tried to sit up but found she lacked the strength. She felt dead on the inside. She was in complete and utter shutdown. Was this what it felt like when you finally broke from reality? Maybe it had been a long time coming for her. There was only so long you could live in denial.

Kane gently helped her from the car and wrapped an arm around her as he walked her toward the house. She trudged like an old woman, stumbling once when her feet dragged like lead.

Wordlessly, Kane led her up the stairs and into her bedroom. She halted as soon as they got through the doorway, and she went rigid.

“Not here,” she burst out. “I won’t stay in here.” She stared at the bed she and Connor had made love in. The same bed where she’d told him all her secrets. Had shared the pain of her past. The bed where she’d trusted him implicitly.

“Okay,” Kane said softly. “There are other rooms.”

“I don’t care where. Just not here.”

He guided her toward one of the other bedrooms and she crawled onto the bed, curling into a ball and shutting herself off from him.

She felt him sit on the bed, but she kept her eyes squeezed shut as she turned further into herself where it didn’t hurt quite so bad. The next thing she knew, a cool cloth was dabbed carefully at her face. The cut at her lips stung. The spot under her eye ached.

“You going to tell me what the hell happened back there?” Kane asked in a quiet voice as he touched the cloth to her mouth again.

“You’ll know soon enough,” she said bitterly. “It’ll be all over the news and the tabloids. You can thank Connor. He’s the only person I’ve ever told.”

Kane swore. “Lyric, I don’t think . . .”

“If you’re going to defend him, get out. Just leave me alone. Please.”

She hated the pleading tone of her voice, but she was begging. She just wanted to be alone.

Kane sighed and she felt him leave the bed. “If you need anything, let me know. I’ll check in on you later.”

She didn’t respond. She listened to his retreating footsteps and then shoved her fist into her mouth as more tears began to fall.

CHAPTER 31

“You going to tell me how you wound up in jail?” Micah asked as he and Connor walked from the police station.

“They tried to keep me from Lyric. I resisted,” he said shortly. “Thanks for coming so quickly. Pop didn’t answer the phone, but to tell the truth, I’d rather not get into it with him right now.”

“No problem,” Micah said with a shrug. “What the hell happened?”

Connor ignored Micah as they climbed into his truck and opened his cell phone. It had been three goddamn hours since things had gone to hell at the music store. He had no idea where Lyric was, if she was safe, or just how upset she was.

Well, that wasn’t true. It was pretty damn obvious she was destroyed by what she thought was his betrayal of her. It pissed him the fuck off. How could she think he’d ever do that to her?

There was only one missed call and it sure as hell wasn’t from Lyric. It was from Kane.

He hit the button for his voice mail and listened to the short message.

“Connor, I have no idea what the hell happened back there. Lyric’s a mess. She’s here at the house and she doesn’t want anyone allowed on the premises. You included. Give me a call when you get this so you can fill me in. I’m working without a net here.”

“Son of a bitch,” Connor swore.

“Is there anything I can do?” Micah asked quietly.

Connor pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers and closed his eyes. “This is a goddamn mess, Micah. I don’t know what the hell to do. I’m going to lose her and I’m not sure there’s a damn thing I can do about it.”

Micah winced in sympathy. “Been there, done that. Don’t ever have the desire to do it again. Tell me what happened. Maybe an objective opinion will help.”

“I can’t,” Connor said helplessly. “She already thinks I betrayed her trust. The shit’s going to hit the fan any minute now. Maybe it already has. She thinks I sold her out to the media. She trusted me. Only me. It looks bad, but goddamn, I told her I loved her. How can she believe I’d do that to her?”

“Sounds like you’ve both had a shitty day,” Micah murmured.

“Yeah,” Connor said bleakly. “You could say that.”

“So where am I taking you?”

“Home.”

Micah lifted a brow as he stared over at Connor. “Giving up that easily?”

“I have to give her some time. She’s devastated. She’s told her security not to allow anyone on the premises. I can’t pile on her right now. It’s going to goddamn kill me, but I’ve got to give her time to cool off and get over the initial shock.”

Connor curled his fingers into tight balls. He wanted to put his fist through the window. He should be with her right now. He should be holding her. He should be her shield against the world. But she was desperately alone and she was hurting and he couldn’t get within ten feet of her.

“Look, why don’t you come home with me and have a few beers? It beats going home and driving yourself insane.”

Connor sighed. “Thanks, man. You know I’d love to see Angelina, but the truth is I’m really shitty company right now.”

“Okay. Offer stands, though.”

Twenty minutes later, Micah pulled into the apartment complex he shared with Connor. Connor got out, waved his thanks to Micah again, then headed for his apartment while Micah walked back to his.

He unlocked his door and went inside, home for the first time since the day he’d gone to Lyric’s hotel room after their meeting at the office.

Boy, had his life changed dramatically since then. That day had started something he’d never dreamed would happen. It seemed a lifetime ago.

His apartment had always been comfortable. Lived in. Slightly cluttered. His comfort place. A place he always enjoyed coming back to.

Tonight it was barren and sterile. The silence was suffocating and the walls seemed to close in on him from every direction.

He flopped onto the couch and reached for his phone to call Kane. He hadn’t wanted to go into the details in front of Micah. No matter that she already thought he’d betrayed her. He’d never tell anyone the things she’d shared with him.

“How is she?” Connor demanded when Kane answered the phone.

Kane sighed. “Not good. What the fuck happened?”

“It’s a clusterfuck, Kane. I can’t get into the details. They’ll be public soon enough. She thinks I sold her out. It’s bullshit.”

“Yeah, I figured.”

“You sit on her, Kane. Keep her safe. Don’t let her do anything stupid. I’m going to give her until tomorrow and then I’m coming over and I don’t give a fuck how many guys you throw at me. All I’ll say is that you better be up on your workman’s comp, because if anyone tries to stop me, they’ll wind up in the hospital.”

Her head ached. Her jaw ached. Her heart ached. Her eyes were swollen and her nose felt like it had run off her face. She looked and sounded horrible. She had no voice, which was pretty stupid considering it was how she made her living.

Her throat was so swollen it was hard to swallow but no matter how much she tried to turn it off, tears still leaked endlessly down her cheeks.

She’d lain in bed for hours. Kane had come and gone with an ice pack for her face. He’d hesitated and she could tell he had no liking for leaving her, but she shut him out and curled in on herself even more until he’d left with a sigh.

Grief was a living, breathing entity inside her. It swelled so much that she feared she would break. Maybe she was already broken. Maybe she’d always been broken and had slapped enough Band-Aids on to muddle through.

She tried hard to conjure her mother’s face, to remember her smile, but every time she thought of her she saw only blood, heard the sounds of her being beaten and heard her cries of pain.

She hadn’t even attended her mother’s funeral. Had there even been a service? Lyric doubted it. There had been no money and no one to care. Lyric had been hospitalized for days and afterward she’d been released into the care of the state.

They’d tried their best. Lyric had lived in a poor county without many resources. No one had been willing to foster the silent, grieving child. She’d been too steeped in violence. Many were afraid that Danny Higgins would come after her. After the trial she’d been shipped off to Jackson and shuffled around there.

She’d been awarded a new life. New name. New birth certificate. The kind judge had told her that this was her opportunity to rise above her circumstances. It was the only thing that had managed to break through the thick wall of defense she’d erected.

She’d taken him at his word. She’s chosen her name to honor her mother’s love for her singing. And she’d made a vow that one day she’d get the hell out of Mississippi and she’d never look back.

She’d spent every day after that running. Always running from her past. Burying everything under a don’t-give-a-shit, abrasive exterior so that no one ever dug deep. Until Connor.

A fresh surge of pain nearly paralyzed her. She’d believed him. Or maybe she’d been so desperate for someone to love her that she’d been blinded. But she had believed in him and his love for her. She’d wanted it so bad even when it baffled her.

She sat up in bed and wrapped her cold arms around herself and hugged as she rocked back and forth. A glance at the clock told her it was nearly two a.m. She laid her cheek on her knees and stared sightlessly toward the window.