“Where the fuck have you been!” Ian yelled, as we ran up to the side of the stage. We were late, of course. And I’d thought we’d surely die along the way, as we sped along in Liam’s Jag, the low, sleek machine hugging the winding roads that led from his house to the Hollywood Bowl. “We go on in five minutes, you bastard!”

Liam smiled at Ian, grabbed his head in both hands, and planted a kiss right on Ian’s forehead. Ian laughed and pulled away.

“You fuckin’ wanker! Get on stage now!”

“I love you, bro,” Liam said, smiling at everyone that was standing around watching him. Rocket smiled, shook his head and walked on stage. Rhys came over, and patted Liam on the back.

“Glad you made it, mate,” he said, turning to follow Rocket. Liam turned to me, kissed me on the cheek, pinched my ass, and walked on stage to the roar of the crowd, throwing his hands up in the air in greeting. He strapped on the guitar and spoke into the microphone.

“This song is for Catherine,” he said. I gasped as he looked over at me and blew a kiss my way before he launched into the song.

“Please don’t let me down, sweet mama…” he sang, before the first notes sounded and the rest of the band started playing. The crowd went crazy, singing along with him, the energy electric and sizzling. “Don’t drag me down, mama…”

I watched from the side with Rhone again, my heart swelling with pride and feeling like I fit in for the first time. She welcomed me warmly and offered me a beer. We watched the crowd sway and sing, riding along the wave with them. Liam’s performance was an experience in itself, and I thought back to the first time I’d seen him perform. I never imagined the week would end up here, with me having feelings for this man. Now, here I was, completely enthralled with him.

In addition to the fact that our bodies seemed to be made for each other, I was beginning to feel like I was starting to see the real Liam now. When we were alone, he was at ease, relaxed, funny, loving. He made love to me like a man, and I loved the way he took he charge, the way he knew exactly what he wanted and how to get there. He played my body like his very own finely tuned instrument, and I fucking loved it. I craved his touch constantly.

I knew it was crazy. I knew it was against all odds. He’s a fucking rock star, for god’s sake. I knew it was probably destined to fail, but I also knew there was no turning back. Not for me, at least. And after today, I hoped, not for him either.

We had to see this through. There was no other way. At least not any other way that didn’t involve torturous amounts of heartache.

I was so glad to see him happy today. I hoped I had a small part in that. Because it was so rare to see him smiling, I’d still not mentioned the messages I'd received from my assistant. She'd checked the rest of Callum’s list and found the same situation with each one. Where Callum had listed the donors as receiving millions of dollars each, they all said they received a thousand dollars or less. I was sure there had to be some sort of explanation, so I was just going to ask Callum about it instead of mentioning it to Ian or Liam. He probably just gave me the wrong list, I figured.

The beer was going right through me, and I turned to Rhone to whisper in her ear.

“Gotta pee, be right back!” She nodded and I walked back to the dressing rooms, nodding to Big D and Matt along the way. I was really starting to feel comfortable here, and now it was time for me to leave. No matter my feelings for Liam, I did have to get back to New York and finish my story, well - start my story. I’d avoided it thus far. But I also had to go back home, figure out exactly how I was going to continue with my life, and what it would look like with Liam in it.

But I wasn’t going to think about the logistics of all of that now. I was going to enjoy my last few days with Liam, without any drama, without any fighting, and just have fun. I was looking forward to the party tonight, and even more so, going back to Liam’s amazing house in the hills and making love till dawn.

The dressing rooms were far from the stage, and I walked down a long hallway until I reached a door that had a star with Liam’s name emblazoned across it. I smiled to myself, the image of him shredding the stage flashing in my head.

The room was stocked with the usual spread - beer, wine, liquor, food. What a life, I thought to myself. To have everything mapped out for you, every moment scheduled. I was more of a fly by the seat of my pants girl, and this last week’s schedule had taken some getting used to. I wasn’t sure I’d want to do it for months at a time, though. I thought of Liam, how tired he must be all the time, and yet he never really showed it. He soldiered on, always up for the party and ready to move to the next place. Even if he was a little late getting there.

I walked out of the bathroom and ran smack dab into Callum.

“Oh!” I exclaimed, my heart racing with surprise. “Hello, Callum.”

“Hi, Catherine, how are you?” he asked. His glasses hung on the end of his pointy nose, his short brown hair jutting up in spikes on top of his head. His eyes darted around, looking everywhere else instead of meeting my gaze. He wore baggy, pleated khaki’s and a plaid button up shirt under his over-sized brown suit jacket that seemed to swallow his skinny frame.

“I’m good, thanks,” I said. “Enjoying the show?”

He shrugged, “If you’ve seen one Electric Horses show, you’ve seen them all.”

“Okay…” I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. He was such an awkward guy.

“How is the story going?” he asked.

“It’s going just fine. I wanted to ask you another question, though. I’m glad I ran into you.” I figured now was as good a time as any to ask about the recipients list. “I had my assistant verify the list you gave me. The numbers that the research organizations quoted didn’t match the ones you provided us. I figured you just sent me the wrong list?”

“You verified them?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.

“Well, yes, we have to verify everything before it’s reported.”

“Well, your assistant is wrong. Those are the right numbers.”

“Well, I thought that at first, but she got different information from all of them, over a dozen names that you gave me. Are you sure there’s not a mistake on your end?”

He turned towards the door, ignoring my question.

“Callum?” I asked to his back, as he walked away slowly.

He stopped when he reached the door. Slowly, he reached up and turned the deadbolt.

“Callum!” I exclaimed. “What are you doing?”

When he turned, I saw the gun in his hand, pointed right me, his gaze now firmly directed my way.

“Don’t make a fuckin’ sound, bitch,” he hissed.