A chill woke Connor and he shivered as he reached for the blanket. Opening one eye, he bit back a laugh. The comforter and the extra blanket Balthazar had pulled over them sometime during the night were wrapped around Annette, covering so much of her he wouldn’t have known she was in there if her hair wasn’t trailing out over her pillow.

Glancing over at the other side of the bed he frowned. Balthazar wasn’t there. And the room was quiet, so he must have gone out.

Carefully stepping off the bed, Connor found his clothes, groaning when he started pulling on his shirt and remembered Balthazar had torn it off him. A quick search and he found his rucksack in the closet beside Annette’s suitcase. Balthazar must have realized he’d forgotten it and brought it up for him.

Fuck, I love that man. Connor grabbed the first shirt—which was folded?—and tugged it on. As he was grabbing his jacket he spotted a note on the small round table at the far side of the room.

Connor checked the time on his phone. Balthazar had only been gone about thirty minutes. From experience, he knew Jesse could keep the meetings going for about two hours, pouring over every single detail of a venue, any potential complications, and internal band drama.

He was pretty sure the latter was just so the bodyguards could gripe, but either way, Balthazar wouldn’t be back for awhile.

And no way was he waiting for room service.

Annette was fast asleep, so he wouldn’t bother her, but he took Balthazar’s cue and left her a note. This one sweeter, with hearts and kisses and a promise to pick her up something tasty. He’d totally rock this boyfriend thing. Wake her up with coffee and chocolate. Maybe some flowers. If the hotel didn’t sell any, he could swipe some from a table or something.

Look at him, being all romantic.

He started out the door, then returned, finding his pills in his bag and palming one. He popped it in his mouth as he walked out, carefully checking the door to make sure it was locked.

The restaurant served American style breakfast. His mouth watered as the smell of bacon hit him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a huge breakfast with all his favorites. Every European country had its own version of morning food, but not eggs and bacon and grits and beans…

His stomach growled. He looked around for a server so he could ask about bringing his order to his room. The first asked him to wait, then apparently forgot about him. The second was new and didn’t know, so had gone to find out.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to see North.

“Hey, what are you doing up so early?”

North’s lips curved in a lazy smile. “I haven’t slept yet. Just coming down to get sustenance.”

“Same here.” Connor eyed the singer. Maybe he shouldn’t be sticking his nose into the man’s business, but he couldn’t shake his concern. He kept his tone light so North wouldn’t feel attacked. “Where’s Tate?”

Brow furrowing, North didn’t say anything for a few moments. Then he inhaled slowly. “You’ll have to discuss that with him. I don’t know what he wants to share with you all yet.”

“No one’s going to stop him from having a relationship.”

“Even if it’s with me?” North shook his head and sighed. “Fuck, I can’t even blame you. Tate’s…” His expression softened. “He’s amazing. One minute he’s bouncing off the walls, dragging you along for a wild ride, and next he’s the most calm, compassionate person in the world, ready to give you the shirt off his back if it’ll help you out.”

Connor rubbed his jaw, studying North as he stood there, talking about Tate like he was in love with the drummer. The rest of Winter’s Wrath wouldn’t like the idea. Hell, he wasn’t sure he did. Then again, none of them really knew North.

Except for Tate.

If Tate was willing to give North a chance, no one had the right to stop him. Keeping secrets from friends fucking sucked. He didn’t want Tate to feel like he had to keep them from him.

“I’d warn you not to hurt Tate, threaten you and all that, but you know the deal.” Connor grinned and slapped North’s shoulder. “He deserves to be happy. And if you can give him that, I got no problem with you.”

“Thanks.” North lips quirked into a hesitant smile. Then something caught his eye and his lips thinned. “That son-of-a-bitch.”

Following his gaze to the street outside, Connor didn’t see anyone. “Who?”

North had already taken off. Connor ran to catch up, swerving to avoid the morning crowd. He almost ran into North when he stopped abruptly at the corner, staring down one street, then the other. “The guy who grabbed Tate. I saw him again before our last concert. Tate was talking to him and I didn’t recognize him at first. He had changed his hair and was dressed all nice.”

“What makes you sure it’s him now?”

“He’s wearing the same jacket he was that first night. A ratty old black jean jacket with rips in the sleeves like he’s some kinda hipster.” North gnashed his teeth, searching the streets with narrowed eyes. “I’m going to kill that fucker.”

“Not if I get to him first.” Connor backtracked to the restaurant. Across the street, where North had first seen Tate’s attacker, was a narrow laneway. He stared when he saw the man halfway down, watching him.

Stupid bastard. He’d had his chance to ghost. Maybe he was waiting around to see if Tate would come out. Which made him dangerous and stupid. Connor bolted across the street, narrowly avoiding cars, cursing under his breath as the man turned and started running.

Lengthening his strides, Connor cut across the distance between them. He grabbed the man’s jacket and slammed his back into a brick wall. North nearly ran into Connor as he skidded to a stop at his side, already reaching for the man’s throat.

“You’ve got some balls showing up here.” North growled as Connor blocked his arm. “You’ve already hurt him once. You think we’re letting you near him again?”

The man’s eyes widened and he burst out laughing. “I think you won’t be able to stop me. It’s heartwarming though, you being so protective. It’s going to kill you to see Tate with me. To know that sweet ass he let you use is all mine.”

This guy is fucking certifiable. Connor pulled him away from the wall and slammed him back into it again. “You won’t be able to get near him if you’re in a body bag.”

“Are you going to kill me, Connor?” The man’s brow lifted. “Does the idea of me fucking that little slut piss you off that much? Did he ever beg you to fuck him? Because he begged me.”

Connor blinked. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Tate knows me. He’s known me for years.” His lips slid into a cold smile. “Fifteen years old and begging for my cock. That tight little ass was hard to resist.”

Red flashed across Connor’s vision. His fist connected with the man’s jaw. He hit him again, his throat tightening as a vision of this disgusting freak touching Tate when he was just a kid played out in his head. Tate had been on all kinds of drugs back then. Connor didn’t know all the details, but he knew enough. This bastard had taken advantage of a broken child. And he was back to do it again.

The man’s hysterical laughter enraged him even more. He lifted him up and threw him down, pinning him to the ground with a hand on his throat.

He could hear shouting in the distance. He ignored it, tightening his grip.

North shoved at his shoulder. “Connor, let him go. The cops are here.”

Blinking, Connor looked around at the men in uniform, surrounding them, guns drawn. He released the man, who was limp and bloody on the ground, and put his hands up, rising slowly. The cops shouted something in Italian.

Connor frowned. “I don’t understand—”

“Face the wall and keep your hands up.” One of the men said in thickly accented English. Once both he and North were against the wall, the officers came up behind them. The officer who’d spoken wrenched Connor’s arms down and slapped handcuffs around his wrists. “You are under arrest for assault. Do you wish to say anything?”

“No…” Connor shook his head as his thoughts blurred. “That guy is stalking our friend. He hurt him… Please don’t let him near him again.”

The officer frowned, glancing down at the bloody man as another officer checked on him. “I don’t think he’s going anywhere right now aside from the hospital. You should explain what happened to your lawyer.”

Good idea. Connor didn’t resist as the officer brought him to a light blue jeep with Polizia written on the side. Next to the jeep were two Lamborghinis in the same shade with the writing. He would have been impressed if he didn’t know he was royally fucked.

Sitting in the back seat, he glanced out the window. An ambulance pulled up. A crowd had gathered and he cringed as he spotted Balthazar, trying to work his way through the press of people. One of the cops started yelling at him when he stepped into the street. Balthazar regarded the officer calmly, saying something that had the cop leading him to the car.

The back door was opened. Balthazar stood beside the officer and gave Connor a hard look. “You do not say a word to anyone, do you understand?”

“I get it, but you have to make sure Tate is safe.” Connor spoke in a rush, knowing the cops wouldn’t let them talk for long. “Balthazar, I’m sorry. I had to—”

“Not another word. I don’t need to know what happened now.” Balthazar nodded as the cop said something to him in Italian. “You keep your mouth shut. Jesse is finding you a lawyer. We’ll figure this out, but you do exactly as I tell you. Not a fucking word.”

Clamping his lips shut, Connor nodded. His eyes burned as the door shut and the jeep pulled out. He needed to tell Balthazar why he’d ignored his instructions. Needed to warn Tate. Fuck, if he hadn’t lost his cool he could have called the cops and had the man arrested for stalking. Then Tate would be safe and the man would be the one behind bars.

Instead, Connor was the one being treated like a criminal. Not that he could blame the cops. He’d almost killed the fucker. He would have if they hadn’t stopped him.

Over and over he heard the laughter as he hit the man.

“You won’t be able to stop me.”

The cops had gotten there fast. Too fast.

The asshole planned this. Connor and North had done exactly what he’d expected them to do. But that only got them out of his way. He couldn’t get past the rest of the band, or the security that would be even tighter once Connor told Balthazar everything the man had said.

Maybe the fucker really was crazy. But something told Connor this wasn’t over.

Not even close.