I want to cry with relief. Hell, who am I kidding—I want to cry regardless. The last twenty-four hours have been hell. But I’m worried about Cole. I’ve never seen him this angry before.
“Let’s sit.” His lips are against my ear.
I don’t let go of him for fear that he will change his mind and race off the bus to the nearest airport.
He settles on the couch, me sitting sideways in his lap. Our arms are locked around each other, neither willing to let go.
“Give it to me,” he says gruffly.
“First, Stacy, babe, are you willing to press charges against this asshole?” Gavin asks.
I stiffen. I chance a look at Cole and his eyes are locked on me. He gives me a hard nod. No argument there.
“Yes,” I confirm.
“We need to call the police and file a report. They need to take pictures.” He points to my arms.
I watch as he puts his phone to his ear and alerts the bands security team to call the cops.
“Okay, what else?” I ask.
“He’s going to want to cut a deal. He’s going to try and get us to drop the charges.”
“Fuck that!” Cole barks.
“Calm down. I didn’t say we would. Our contract with the label is up in, what, four months? I say we get him to release us. We hate the way he runs things. This is finally our chance to open our own label. We bring Bobby and Cassidy with us.”
“How does this make him suffer?” Tristan asks.
“I’ve been spending a lot of time at the label. I hear things. The staff is all too willing to spill what they know. The label is going under. He can’t manage it for shit. He blows through money, drinking and rumored drugs, although I have no proof.”
“Again, how does that hurt him?”
“We make him think she’s willing to drop the charges, if he releases us. He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed. He inherited the label from his grandfather. He’ll fall for it. He releases us from our contract and Stacy continues with pressing charges. We’re in the press constantly. You and Stacy need to be open about this, give interviews even and get the public, our fans, on our side. Hell, after the show tonight, they already love you two.”
“So, we trick him?” I ask.
“Yes. He’ll go away for a few years at least, from the looks of those bruises, and the . . . inappropriate touching.”
Cole growls.
“Then what?” I’m trying to see how this protects them. “You’re losing your label. How is that good for the band?”
“Well, we’ll no longer be clients of Stone Records. I’m in tight with the board members, and I know they’ll have to sell,” Gavin says, like I should understand where this is going. My brain is too jumbled to make sense of it.
“We swoop in and buy the label.” Kacen is grinning.
“Fucking brilliant!” Tristan bellows.
“Babe?” I address Cole.
His head snaps toward mine. I watch as his lips lift in a slow, sexy smile. “I like it,” he says, leaning in and kissing me. “Say it again?”
Say what again? I must be wearing a confused look because he places his lips next to my ear.
“You called me ‘babe.’” Pulling back, he cups my cheek. “I want to hear it again.” His eyes are pleading, as though maybe he didn’t hear me right.
“Babe.” I keep my voice low, just for him.
His lips cover mine, slow and easy.
Give and take.
Pulling back once again, he rests his forehead against mine. “I’m so fucking sorry, baby. He’ll never touch you again. I swear to you.”
“I’m okay. It’s just a few bruises. I was worried about you. I didn’t want you to lose what you’ve worked so hard for over me. In my mind, that led to me losing you, and that just isn’t an option for me,” I tell him.
“Not gonna happen.” He looks over at Gavin. “What do we need to do?”
Gavin looks at me. “You ready for this, Stacy?”
Cole squeezes my leg.
“As I’ll ever be. Are you all sure about this? I don’t want to ruin anything for you.”
Gavin nods as he pulls out his phone I’m assuming to alert our security team to bring the cops to the bus.
“What you need to understand is that you are one of us.” Kacen points at Cole. “He loves you, we love you—it’s that simple. We’re going to push through this, and it might actually work to our advantage. An established label is a hell of a lot easier to get off the ground. Not to mention it’s in Nashville, close to home.”
“We’ve talked about this as a group for a while now, more so since Kace got married. This has always been the plan as we all start to settle down,” Cole says.
“Let’s do it.”
Gavin unlocks the door. “Bring them in, guys.”
I move to sit beside Cole instead of on his lap. Gavin mentioned pictures. Cole keeps his arm around my waist as I sit on the edge of the couch. A female officer steps onto the bus.
“Ma’am, I’m Detective Morris. Is there a private place where we can talk?” She looks around at the guys. They can be a little intimidating.
“Here’s fine. They’re family.”
Cole gives my hip a gentle squeeze; I assume that means he approves. I start my story from the beginning, telling her about the run-in outside the bus and every detail of last night. Cole never stops touching me; rubbing circles on my back, kneading my shoulders, squeezing my hip among other things, his hands stay on me. He handles hearing the story again better than I thought he would. His grip would tighten, and I’m pretty sure I heard him growl a few times, but other than that, he kept his cool.
“I’m going to need to take some pictures.” Detective Morris pulls a Polaroid camera from her bag.
Standing, I pull off my long-sleeve Soul Serenade T-shirt. Cole gasps and I laugh. “I have on a cami,” I tell him.
“Woman,” he says, shaking his head.
I’m filled with relief at our banter. It gives me hope that this is not going to turn out like I had originally thought. The guys seem like they’re okay with the plan, and Cole . . . well, he still wants me. I just hope Gavin knows what he’s talking about, that this will all turn out good for them. The Soul Serenade guys are my biggest concern at this point.
“Thank you. I’ll get this processed and there will be a warrant out for his arrest.” Detective Morris looks at Cole. “You make sure she’s not alone until we catch him.”
“I’ve got her,” he says, pulling me close.
Once Detective Morris is gone, I turn to Cole. “Are you sure this is the best way? What if this doesn’t work like you think it will?”
“It’s going to be fine. Besides, it doesn’t matter. We have two weeks left of this tour and then our contract ends a few months after that. Regardless, once this tour is done, so am I. I will not continue to work for Stone Records with Wilson at the helm.”
“This was our long-term backup, if you will. I want to spend more time with Logan and the baby. I don’t want to miss a minute. This is something we’ve talked about. Don’t stress,” Kacen adds.
“If it weren’t for the fans, I would say fuck the rest of the tour,” Tristan chimes in.
“No shit. I would hate to disappoint them, but it pisses me off that that fucker is going to make money off us,” Gavin remarks.
“You can’t.” I cover my face with my hands. “Your fans will hate me.”
“Pretty sure your boy took care of that. Our fans are loyal, and he told them he loves you tonight. When this gets out, they’re going to rally around you. That’s only going to help us, and you,” Kacen explains.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Bruce the driver says. “We need to get on the road if we’re going to make our next destination.”
“Let’s do it,” Kacen responds.
“Babe, let’s go to bed. It’s been a long-ass night, and I need to hold you.” Cole stands and holds his hand out for me.
“Wait!” Logan reaches out and pulls me into a hug. “Don’t you ever keep something like this from me again. Ever. Do you understand?” she scolds me.
“Yeah, I just—”
“No excuses. Stacy, it could have been so much worse.” Her voice cracks.
“It could have, but it wasn’t. It’s just a few bruises that will be gone in a few days,” I try to soothe her. “Get some rest. We can talk more tomorrow.” I hate putting this extra stress on her and the baby.
Lacing my fingers through Cole’s, I allow him to lead me to our bunk. Once we’re settled, my back to his front and his arms around me, I take what feels like my first breath since last night.
“I want to kill him.”
“I know you do, but you can’t. I need you.”
“You should have told me last night.”
“Cole. . . .”
“No, I know why you didn’t. I get it, I do.” He pauses before saying, “I need to see you.”
I roll over, which is not the easiest feat in our cramped space. When we finally get settled, he cups my cheek. The rough pad of this thumb traces across my lips.
“I need to know that you understand what this is. I love you, Stacy. It’s not a crush, not a fling, not just sex. This is more, more than anything has ever been or ever will be. You and me, that’s what’s important. Nothing, not even my career, can touch this, touch us.”
The tears have already started to fall; I’ve lost count of my breakdowns today. His thumb moves from my lips to wipe underneath my eye.
“You come first. I need to know that the next time you need me you will remember this moment right here. No matter what it is, you come first. Always.”
“I love you,” I sob.
Cole tucks me into his chest and I let the tears fall. I cry for the man who is holding me like I’m a precious gift, for his bandmates, for Logan. I cry just to wash away the drama and the emotions of the last twenty-four hours.
With his words, Cole Hampton just made it impossible for me to ever love anyone else. Never. Not the way that I love him. He’s it for me, and that feels amazing.