Now
It takes a couple of weeks to get everything set up. In that time, I learn one very important thing—Dex and I make a great team.
Everything is running like a well-oiled machine, and I get to sit back and do what I do best. The best part is that I feel confident in Dex’s plan. We’re no longer sitting on our asses—we’re fighting back. This shit ends tonight, and I can have my girls back. I miss them terribly.
We’re holding a special comeback performance at Slo, Nic’s club inside the Black Building. Press-zilla has worked her ass off to get the word out. We’re expecting a huge crowd, but the hope is to lure the stalker here tonight. He can’t sneak past the security here; this place is more secure than Fort Knox.
My whole company has been scrambling to make this all happen on such short notice, while the guys and I put the music together. It feels like coming full circle in more ways than one. The music is me, heart and soul, but having Asher, Spence, and Spaz with me has been amazing, blending old and new to make something different that is uniquely ours.
I feel an arm snake around my waist, and I feel slightly dizzy. I melt back into him when he kisses my shoulder.
“Are you nervous?” Dex asks, his lips teasing the shell of my ear.
I sigh. “No. It’s my superpower. I’ve never gotten stage fright.”
Turning in his arms, I meet those hypnotic eyes. They’re smiling.
“I’d say your superpower was that thing you did last night.” He laughs. “You people need to learn some healthy boundaries… no, I’m not telling you.”
That’s when I notice the earpiece he’s wearing. Better him than me. I smirk at him because I know those guys. And I guess when you work in a place like this and see what they do, day in and day out, taboo topics fade to normalities. It could also be Nic, since Nic is coordinating the security team from the command center upstairs. That would not surprise me.
“I got something for you,” Dex says, pulling a small black velvet pouch from his back pocket.
I watch him curiously as I take it and upend the bag. A silver necklace spills out into my hand. It’s a dragon pendant, but not just any dragon—his dragon. It’s pure silver with rubies for eyes. It’s beautiful.
“Thank you,” I say with a watery smile. “You want to put it on me?”
“I do.”
He pushes my hair over my shoulder, running his fingertips over my skin so lightly it makes me shiver. He clasps the necklace, and I look down at it. It sits right in that perfect space between my throat and the neckline of my shirt. I love it.
“You’re on in two,” Nate says, walking into the greenroom.
Everyone springs into action. The opening act trails in behind Nate. Spence and Spaz greet them since they’re friends of theirs. I start to head toward the stage, but a finger in the belt loop of my ripped jeans stops me. I’m pulled back into Dex’s arms.
“I think I might be developing a rock star fetish,” Dex whispers, while toying with the black bra strap peeking out from my white wifebeater tank.
“I’m okay with that. It works well with my artist fetish. Especially, when you paint my body with your tongue,” I whisper back, nipping his lower lip.
I’m swept up in his kiss, losing track of what I’m meant to be doing until a voice announces, “One minute.”
We break apart, and I hurry down the long hall toward the stage. The click of my boots echoes off the walls of the mostly empty hall until it’s drowned out by the rising volume of the raucous crowd.
I climb the steps of the raised dais, but Dex jerks me back, and his mouth claims mine again. It’s hard and fast, possessive.
“I’ll be right here,” he assures. “He won’t get to you.”
Smiling at him, I’m reminded that I’m in love with this man. It’s that simple. He sets the darkest parts of my soul ablaze and makes my heart feel like it’s not just an empty husk. I reluctantly let go and walk onstage to the chorus of cheers.
“What’s up, Austin?” I say into the microphone, pulling my guitar strap over my head. “I hope you’re ready for some new stuff because this is a new band and a new beginning. You ready to hear what Splash! is all about?”
Cheers and whistles are my answer. Spaz named the band. He thought it was cool because it was a mash-up of all our names—Spence, Spaz, Laine, and Ash. We couldn’t think of anything better, so we ran with it. I look back at Asher with a nod, and he launches into the first song.
By the third song, the crowd is pumped—they love the new stuff. I’m sweaty and hot, but I feel like someone plugged me directly into an electrical socket. The energy in the room has me buzzing. I look out over the multitude of faces, but there’s only one I want to see.
I turn to look at the side stage, and he’s there, still watching me. The blend of shadows and light that fall across him highlight the sexiest parts of him. Jesus Christ. He’s mine. His eyes darken as if he’s reading my thoughts.
The girls are out there somewhere. Holly and Marcus are supposed to be moving through the crowds, searching for anyone familiar who was not officially invited. Bridget, Ruby, and Dawn are just here for moral support and because they wanted to see the concert. They have security assigned to them, so they’re free to enjoy their night. I look for the green head of hair; Dawn’s always easy to spot in a crowd. They are bouncing up and down, dancing about ten feet away from the front center of the stage. It’s amazing I hadn’t seen them because they’re right in front of me.
Bridget makes eye contact, and I grin at her, blowing a kiss in their direction when I get a break from singing. When we get to the eighth song, the crowd is getting tired, so we switch gears and play a slower-tempo song. God, I’ve missed this. I can read it all over Asher, Spence, and Spaz. They’re flying high on it, too. We pick up the pace again with the ninth song, gearing up for the tenth and last song, which is going to be the first single from the album.
That’s when it happens.
Pop!Pop!Pop!
Gunshots ring out over the loud music. People scream and scatter, running from the sound. I crash to the ground under the force of a large, hard body. The neck of my guitar snaps off, and the discordant sound reverberates from the speakers throughout the room.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I scream at Dex.
“Keeping you from getting shot.”
“What about you? You’re going to take a bullet for me?”
His face scrunches in confusion. “That was the plan.”
“Fucking stupid, jackass plan. Fuck your plan. If you’re not shot, I might just do it myself. Get the fuck off me.”
“Can’t move yet. I’m waiting for the all clear,” he explains.
Anger takes over me, and I can’t stop the flow of expletives from my mouth. Spitting mad. I’m seething. He can’t sacrifice himself for me, because I’ll never survive the fall. I’d rather die than watch him take a bullet for me. He laughs.
“What the fuck were you thinking? I can’t watch you die. You can’t take a bullet for me, you giant tattooed asshole.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too! That’s the point. Now get off me before I knee you in the balls. And I really don’t want to ruin my chance at another child—”
I’m silenced by his kiss. It’s a good kiss. And in any other situation, I’d be lost in this kiss, but there’s a person in this room with a gun. They could’ve been shooting at me or in the opposite direction, but they could still be getting ready to shoot again and now is not the time. I slap at his shoulders to make him stop.
When he does, my guitar strap is over my head before I can blink. I probably have whiplash from him pulling me up so quickly. He’s still shielding my body with his own. I want to kick him in the shins for it, but my feet are busy trying to keep up. He’s dragging me as he navigates the halls like he knows exactly where he’s going. Spencer, Spaz, and Ash are following us. When we get to a door and it clicks open ahead of us without anyone touching it, I catch on to the fact that he’s being guided where to go.
The door clicks shut behind us, and we stop. Well, me and the guys do—Dex, however, is checking out the room.
“Yeah, it’s clear,” he says, obviously to whoever is talking to him through the earpiece since he’s not looking at any of us. “The stairwell on the southeast corner? I’m on it.”
He pulls his gun from his holster. His back is to me as he does it, and I get caught up in the thought that he’s only able to hide that because he has a nice, pert ass. Like a really nice ass. Now I’m remembering it naked. Yep. It’s a good one. I shake myself out of it.
“Your friends are coming up the hall.” Dex pulls me out of the way, and only then do I realize I’m still standing in front of the door.
He opens the door. Bridget, Dawn, and Ruby rush in, followed by Noah. I hug the girls tight, thanking God that they’re all right. Dex starts to move past them and out the door, and I reach over and grab his arm.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“There’s a security breach in the stairwell. It might be our guy. I’m going after him.”
“Did I not make myself—”
Son of a bitch cuts me off with another kiss, and the door snaps shut behind him and Noah. He’s gone. When I try, the handle doesn’t work. I flip the middle finger to the camera in the corner of the ceiling because I know I just got tag teamed by Nic and Dex. Fuckers.
“Psst, Laine,” Spaz whispers. “When did you start dating John McClain? Didn’t you say he was an artist?”
I roll my eyes at Spaz, but really, it’s just to buy time to think of an explanation. I can’t think of anything, though, so I go with distraction.
“Why are you whispering?” I say in a normal voice.
Then
I sipped from my glass of wine as I sat across the golden cloth-topped table from Jared at the Driskill in Downtown Austin. I leaned back in the wide leather chair, enjoying the rare date night with him. Though, it wasn’t just an ordinary date night. It was my birthday. The dimly lit wood-paneled room with its heavy red curtains was romantic and cozy.
The location wasn’t really my scene; the reservations had come from Priscilla. I accepted them with a smile, knowing that I was conveniently not telling her about our plans to go to Ruby’s to shoot some pool and drink beer afterward, as was tradition. You had to pick your battles.
Jared laid his hand on the table, and I placed mine in his. He smiled at me.
“Have you given any thought to setting a date? I know we had decided to wait until after the tour, but it’s only six months and we’ll be done.”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “I’m conflicted. I really don’t want a big wedding, but we have so many friends that would feel slighted if they didn’t get to be there. If I had my way, we’d run off and get married on a beach alone somewhere, with turquoise waters and white sand,” I said and started dreaming of standing on that beach with a white sundress and no shoes.
“Sounds perfect. I think we should do it,” he said, taking a bite of his steak.
“Really?” I asked skeptically.
“Yeah, we can have a party for everyone else when we get back, but do what we want to do for everything else.”
I thought about it for a moment. It could work for most people. We might not be able to pull off alone on a beach, but close. Just as I was about to open my mouth to reply, a shadow fell over our table. I looked up into familiar green eyes.
“I didn’t know you were in town,” he said.
“Holden,” I exclaimed and stood from my chair to give him a hug. “What’re you doing here?”
“Just have some business to talk about with my boy and some potential sponsors. It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? Sloane keeps me informed about you, but you should come by the gym sometime.” I looked over his shoulder to see Law standing about twenty feet away, watching us warily. I sent Law a half smile and turned my attention back to his father.
“We’re only in town for two more days, and then we’ll be back on the road. We just flew in to handle some issues.”
“Ah, well, I’ll let you get back to your dinner. I just wanted to say hi.”
“No problem. It was good seeing you.”
“You too, baby girl. Sir.” He nodded to Jared and left.
The table the host sat them at was two rows away and directly in my line of sight. Great. I kept my eyes on Jared and tried not to pay attention to the fact that I could feel his eyes on me throughout the rest of dinner.
We chatted endlessly about trivial things, but everything I did felt awkward and staged. The fact that I knew Law was watching us made me self-conscious of every facial expression, laugh, and gesture. While we were waiting for dessert, I excused myself to go to the bathroom. I needed a break from the pressure.
I sat in a stall and forced myself to pee. I stood up and heard the door open to the outside, and someone entered another stall. I flushed and walked out to the sink to wash my hands. I looked at myself in the mirror and really caught sight of the difference between the girl I once was back before senior year, the night I met Jared. I looked less like a girl and more like a woman. I’d no idea when that had happened.
I heard a shuffle and a click and turned to face the stalls. There were no feet visible at the bottom of any door, and I could’ve sworn I heard someone come in.
“Hello?” I said, hoping for an answer.
I finished rinsing off my hands and reached for the towels. I heard another thump and turned to see a pair of decidedly male boots topped with jeans through the bottom of a stall door. This place had a dress code; jeans were not allowed. I shouldered my purse and walked out quickly. I was going to notify management that some creep was in the ladies’ restroom. When I turned the corner, I ran smack into a really solid, broad chest. The hand I put up to protect my face from the impact rested near a steadily thumping heart covered in a gray wool suit.
“In a hurry?” he asked.
“There’s someone in there. A dude. I think he was watching me,” I said to Law as he looked down at me with concerned hazel eyes.
His eyebrows rose. “Was there anyone else in there?”
“No.”
“Then I’ll check,” he said, pushing past me and walking into the bathroom.
I followed him in as he pushed all the stall doors open.
“There’s no one here.” He opened the last stall.
“Did someone come out behind me? We were standing no more than five feet from the door. There doesn’t look like any other way out.”
“You sure you saw someone?”
“Yes, Law. They wore work boots and jeans. Their feet were under that stall door right there.”
He held the door open to the stall I pointed to. “There’s no one there.”
“Holy fuck, I think I’m losing it.” I massaged my temples. “I swear to God someone was in here.”
I leaned over the sink, feeling dizzy. When I opened my eyes, Law was standing there looking at me. My mind flashed to another time when we were in a similar position. Another bathroom, so many years ago. His eyes grew darker.
“You sure you weren’t just trying to get me alone in a bathroom again? Remember what happened last time?” he asked with that one-dimpled smirk.
I cringed. “Give me a fucking break, Law. That’s not what this is.” I felt dirty thinking about the things we used to do together.
“What’s that look?” He tipped my chin up, turning me to meet his eyes. “Because to me, that look says you’re ashamed of something, and that’s not the Laine I know. You never held back.”
“I guess you don’t know me that well anymore. I’m not that person. What we did was dirty and twisted—that’s not how normal people act.” I jerked my head out of his reach and backed away.
“Says who? Him?” He took a step toward me, his eyes narrowing to thin slits and the muscle in his jaw ticking.
“I’m not doing this with you.” I turned for the door.
I made it to the door and had it open several inches before his hand came over my head and slammed it shut.
“You know, I backed off because you seemed happy. I love you enough that that’s all I want for you. He seemed like a nice guy and was good to your girls. But I’ve seen the news—the videos TMZ shows of him freaking out and attacking fans and berating you. I’m only going to ask you this once. Has he hurt you?”
“It’s none of your business, but no,” I said, turning to him. I had to look up to see him, he was standing so close, leaning over me to keep his hand on the door.
“You say that, but obviously he’s made you feel ashamed of who you are. That’s not right, Laine, and you know it. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the way we like to fuck.”
“I give up, Law. Why can’t you just move on?” I whined, letting my head fall back to the door with a thump.
“Do you know how hard it is to find someone who is not just willing to try the things we did, but actually enjoys them? Fuck, Laine. You’re one of a kind, and that’s really hard to ignore and just let go. We were fucking perfect together.” He took a ragged breath. “Jesus, I want to touch you right now, kiss you. The fact that you don’t even know what you do to me drives me insane.”
My eyes flew open, and I glared at him. “That’s not going to happen.” I put my palm in the center of his chest and shoved, but he didn’t budge. “Let me go, Law. Now.”
“Fine.” He held his hands up in surrender and took two steps back.
I walked out the door, and as soon as I turned the corner, I halted. Jared was coming around the corner into the hall. Law bumped into my back, causing me to stumble forward. Jared’s eyes went from normal to deadly in a fraction of a second.
“You sit there and talk to me about wedding plans, then get up and go fuck this asshole in the bathroom?” he asked loudly. Too loud. Jealousy is an ugly stain on a relationship, and like most stains, once there it’s next to impossible to remove.
“That’s not what this is, Jared. It’s not what it looks like.”
“Sure. I bet it’s exactly what it looks like. He turned you into a sick twisted slut—makes sense you would go running back to him eventually.”
Law tried to push past me. “Don’t fucking talk about her or to her like that.”
I flung out my arms and used my body to keep him away from Jared.
“Why not? I bet you jerk off to that picture of her on the Rolling Stone cover, too.”
“She’s got a nice ass. What can I say?”
I looked back to Law. “That’s not helping,” I growled.
“Come on, Maddie.” Jared held out his hand in invitation to come to him. “It’s time to go home. I already paid the check.”
I walked toward Jared, and when I was within reach, he grabbed my arm, wrenching it and pushing me toward the door. Law crashed into him, knocking over a table. Dishes clattered to the floor, and people screamed before my brain could even process what was happening. I ran back over to where they had fallen.
“Stop it!” I yelled over the commotion.
“Or what?” Jared seethed, grappling with Law. “You going to use the handcuffs he used on you in the bathroom?”
“There’s nothing wrong with the way she likes to fuck, asshole,” Law said through clenched teeth.
People nearby gasped. My hands flew to cover my face. Oh, God. This was not happening. They were a tangle of limbs as both fought to gain the upper hand over the other.
“Just fucking stop it,” I sobbed, gasping for breath as tears spilled from my eyes. “You’re both acting like children.”
Law threw another punch and it landed with a thump. “He put his fucking hands on you, Laine.”
I looked for an opening to intervene, but they were too fast. The tears streaming down my face dripped onto my helpless hands.
“Jared—Law—please just stop,” I begged.
Holden fought his way through the gathered crowd and pulled Law off Jared.
“You three need to leave, now,” Holden said in a stern voice that brooked no argument.
I nodded and grabbed Jared’s arm, pulling him toward the door with every ounce of strength I had.
“If I find out you put your hands on her again, you’re a dead man,” Law called after us.
“Ditto,” Jared replied snidely.
People had their phones out, recording the whole scene. This was going to be bad in so many different ways. I wanted to go home and curl up in a ball, and forget the rest of the world existed, especially Jared and Law.