Текст книги "Out Of The Blue"

Автор книги: Carina Adams

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Текущая страница: 18 (всего у книги 20 страниц)

“Have you seen Mike?” I asked him as he hurried me along.

He shook his head, barking more orders to “wait a goddamn fucking second,” and “he’s on the list, keep him there!” and I knew this was not the time to talk to Sam. When we got to my dressing room, he opened the door and ushered me inside.

“Listen,” he crossed his telephone pole sized arms over his rock hard chest and looked down at me. “There’s a situation.” His words caused me to stiffen, worry creeping up my spine, but he shook his head. “Nothing for you to worry about, darlin’, my guys have it all under control. But I need to go for a few minutes. I’m sending someone up to stand at the door, in the meantime, I need you to promise you won’t leave.”

I shook my head. “I’m not going anywhere, Sam. I swear to you, after the day I’ve had, I just want to sit here and chill.”

He watched me closely, trying to decide if I was being honest. Then he nodded. “You leave, you deal with me. Got it?”

“I’m still waiting for Mike to be pissed about this morning.” Was that really only a few hours ago? “No offense, big guy, but he’s scarier than you are.”

Sam’s face softened. Just slightly. “Yeah. Yeah, he is.” He turned and grabbed the door handle, pointing at me. “Stay put.” Then he was gone, the door clicking behind him.

I was tired, exhausted really, but it had been a great show and I was coasting on the high. Only one thing could make this night better. I missed my Mike.

I grabbed my cell off the table, ready to call him, when the bathroom door opened. I turned, ready to tell him what a great surprise it was, when I came face to face with a man that was most definitely not my Mike. But I knew this man. I wracked my brain, trying to place him.

Then it clicked. This was the valet. The sketchy guy from Ohio? Pennsylvania? They all merged together. It didn’t matter where I knew him from, only that he was here, in my dressing room. Alone with me. He’d scared me then. He scared me now.

I took a step back, toward the door. “Hi,” I managed to say, not sounding pathetically weak or half as nervous as I was. “I think you have the wrong room.” I took another step back.

“Not another step back, Georgie Porgy.” His tone was severe, but that’s not what stopped my retreat. If the gun he’d raised and had pointed right at my chest wasn’t enough, the use of that name was. No one had called me that in eleven years.

I looked at him, really looked. The silver gray streaks in his hair aged him, but other than that, and the hate-filled scowl, I could see the resemblance. They weren’t twins by any means, but they were definitely brothers. “Hello, Jamie.”

He didn’t acknowledge his name. Instead, he glowered in my direction. “Did you think that, on top of everything else, I would let you profit off him?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He pointed his empty hand toward the door. “I heard the song,” he snapped. “You’re not going to use pretend grief over my brother to sell records. You’ve taken enough from this family.”

I didn’t know how to disagree with a crazy man who held a gun. This man was hurting. My own grief had floored me, so I couldn’t imagine how he felt. So, I stayed quiet instead.

“Boy or girl?” he demanded a few seconds later. I knew what he was asking, but I didn’t answer. “Did you have a boy or a girl?”

There was no use lying. “A boy.”

“He always wondered. He’d look at every child he saw, trying to see if there was a resemblance to him. Or to you.” He took a step toward me. “You ruined his life.”

I shook my head, not caring if he had a gun on me anymore. “No. We agreed, Kevin and I together, that adoption was the best plan. He could have known his child, he chose not to.”

“You took that choice from him,” Jamie screamed, running his free hand through his hair. “You ran away in the middle of the night! So you could what? Sell my nephew to get here?” He waved the gun around the room. “Is this worth the lives you’ve ruined?”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about!”

“I watched my brother slowly fade away, the stress of not knowing his child wearing him down until he put a gun in his mouth. You fucking killed him!”

“You’re wrong.” I shook my head. “How’d you find me? Huh? Kevin, right? You went through his stuff and you realized he’d known where I was, who I was, all along. If he’d wanted to know where his son was, he would have asked me himself.”

“Just shut up. Shut the fuck up!” he screeched, aiming the gun at me once more. “My brother died never knowing his son because of you. Nothing you can say changes that! You are going to tell me where my nephew is, or I swear to fucking Christ, bitch, I will shoot you in the head.”

“Then shoot me. Because I’m not telling you anything.”

“I’m not kidding. Tell me!” he screamed, rage filling his tone.

“I’m not, either, Jamie. I’m not telling you anything about him. If Kevin had wanted to know, or wanted you to know our son, he would have told you the truth. We didn’t want our son tainted by your family. Nothing’s changed. So you either shoot me, or you leave. Because either way, I’m not telling you anything.”

He was in my face so fast I didn’t have time to rear back. The cold metal of the pistol he carried dug into my skin as he shoved it against my temple. I wished I could have seen Mike one more time. If I had, I would have told him I loved him.

The click of the gun echoed in my mind. Then I heard the shot. Pain ripped through me. Then the world was quiet.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

~ Mike ~

Lia sat and listened as I talked. She didn’t ask any questions, didn’t interrupt, and didn’t give me her opinion. She let me get it all out. After she’d calmed me down earlier, she’d sent me back to the hotel to get some sleep and told me to stay away from everyone until she could meet me for drinks before the concert.

“Do you think she’s telling the truth?” I asked her once I’d given her all the facts.

Lia only shook her head. “It’s Jules, Mikey. Let’s face it, she’s never had real clear boundaries between fact and fiction.” She sighed. “If I had to guess, I’d say she’s bending the truth to fit her will. As usual.”

I nodded. “What if Janet is mine?” The thought terrified me.

Lia raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that the outcome we’re hoping for?” she asked skeptically. “That would be the best thing that could ever happen to that little girl.”

“Yeah, except the fact that I disappeared and I’ve been gone for half of her life.”

“Is that what you’re worried about?”

I nodded, and she gave me her sympathetic smile.

“Mike. She’s eight. It’s more important that you’re in her life from this point forward, because that’s what she is going to remember. She’ll look back and see that her dad was there for everything that mattered. And that he fought for her when he should have. That’s all she’ll care about.”

“She’s going to fight me.”

“Julie? Yeah, but that’s only because she’s not getting what she wants.”

“You mean me?” I snorted. “Julie doesn’t want me. She just doesn’t want to be alone.”

“I know that. You know that. She doesn’t.”

“She has a good case, Lee. I abandoned that little girl. I went crazy after the accident…I don’t own a house and I travel for a living.” The realization hit then. I’d have to give up my job because touring the world with two kids in tow was not an option. And Molly. I’d have to give up my Molly.

“You have just as strong of a case, Mike. Julie lied to you. For years. She lied to one of the most respected doctors in the area. A man who I’m sure will gladly testify on your behalf, even if he is a douche.” She had a good point. “Julie cheated on a Navy SEAL while he was deployed during the war. Then she told you the daughter you’d been raising wasn’t yours. No judge is going to think Julie is a better parent than you are.”

“I’m still a single dad without steady employment. Julie’s a nurse with established ties in the community. It just scares me.”

“It’s not like you don’t have an income. Your military disability didn’t leave you destitute. We’ll hire the most ruthless lawyers, and we’ll fight her tooth and nail. She wants to play dirty, we’ll get dirtier. You know damn well we’ve got your back. All of us.”

“I know you do.”

Her phone vibrated on the table, for the fifth or sixth time since we’d been sitting there, but she ignored it.

“You can answer that, you know.”

She shook her head. “Nope. I’m busy. They can handle things for a little while.”

I picked at the label on my beer. “How’s Molly holding up this afternoon?”

“She’s fine. She locked herself in her room and wrote a new song.”

“Oh, yeah? Is it any good?”

She shrugged. “I’m sure it’s brilliant. I’ll hear it later.”

I frowned.

“I had somewhere else I needed to be,” she said with a smile.

She’d blown off Molly’s concert for me. Well, fuck.

She shook her head at the face I made. “It’s fine, Mike. Sam’s with her, the guys are watching out for her, Emily is there if Molly needs anything. I checked on her before I left. Right now, I’m helping my best friend work through his crazy baby-mama drama.”

“You’ve been looking for a way to say that all day, haven’t you?” I teased.

“I have.” She giggled. “I really have.”

I laughed with her, relaxing even more. Sometimes all you needed was a few minutes with your best friend and then even the worst news didn’t seem so bad. “So, I guess the first step is getting an actual paternity test.” I sighed.

“Yep. You need to know for sure. Then we can figure out the next step. But it’s not something you need to stress over. Let Julie say whatever she has to say to make herself feel better. Just know that in the end, you’re not in this alone. I promised you years ago that you’d never be alone. I meant it.”

Thinking of Molly, I smiled. “I’m definitely not alone. It’s a good feeling.”

Lia read my mind. “So, with this new development, where does that leave things between you and Ms. Ray?”

I shrugged. “I’m in love with her, but you knew that already, didn’t you?”

She offered me a smug smile.

“I don’t know how it happened, Lee. It came out of nowhere, completely out of the blue. One minute she was a friend that I liked to hang out with sometimes, and the next she was consuming practically every waking thought. I don’t know how she feels about me, but I can’t imagine my life without her in it.”

“Aww, is Mr. Tough Guy Mike Carson actually being sentimental? Has he found the woman he would die for?”

Before I could respond, to tell her I would kill for Molly, Lia’s phone went off again. “Really, Red. Answer the damn phone.”

She scowled at it. “I don’t recognize the number.” Picking it up, she used her professional voice, “This is Lia Kelly.”

I smiled at that. The red-headed, pig-tailed little girl that I used to know was all grown up.

“Thank you for calling me back, Anneslee.” She sat up straight and snapped her fingers at me, trying to grab my attention. It wasn’t needed. As soon as she’d said Molly’s sister’s name, there was nothing I wanted more than to hear what was going on.

Lia explained the problems Molly had had with Eli and how she had replaced him as Molly’s manager, and then she told Anneslee how we’d found Molly earlier. Then she listened. I couldn’t hear what was being said on the other end of the phone, but Lia’s face fell and then went pale. Whatever it was, it wasn’t good news.

“We found some of those letters, too.” Her voice was no more than a whisper. “But Molly thought they were from Roxy.” I knew instantly they were talking about those random letters that had the bible verses in them.

When Lia stood up, I stood up with her, shadowing her as she rushed to the door. “I had no idea. No, Molly didn’t tell me.” I didn’t like the sound of that at all. “Thank you, Anneslee.” Lia paused, pointing at the black suburban on the other side of the street. I waved at them, letting them know we had to go. Now. “Yes, I’ll have her call you later tonight. I promise.”

The SUV pulled up to the curb just as Lia hung up. She slid into the backseat, still looking at her phone. “Fuck!” Telling the driver to take us to the concert venue, she shoved her cell phone under my face.

I looked at the picture, moving it away a little so I could figure out what I was looking at. It was a picture of a letter on a table, but when I looked closer I could see it was more than that. In large black block letters was a bible chapter. Exodus 21:12. I looked back to Lia, not understanding. “Okay? Is this new?”

“That’s a text from Emily. That letter”—she tapped her screen—“was delivered yesterday. To the hotel. The postmark is from L.A.”

“She’s here. Roxy, or whoever sent those letters, is here.”

“He. It’s a him, Mike. And he’s here.” Lia snatched her phone from my hand, punched in a number, and lifted it to her ear. “Molly’s friend who died? His name was Kevin. Apparently he killed himself a few months ago. Apparently his little brother came to see Anneslee, demanding information on Molly. She told him if he didn’t stop stalking her sister that she’d have him arrested. Instead of calling the police, she called Eli.” Lia lowered her phone, swearing, before lifting it again. “Why in the fuck is no one answering their phones?”

Fucking Eli. Helpless and stuck in a car where I couldn’t put eyes on my girl to make sure she was fine, I glanced at the time. “Nate’s on stage. Call the others.”

She nodded. “Yeah, but Sam, Kris, and Peterson aren’t! That’s who I’m calling,” she cried, desperation filling her voice as she lowered the phone again, bringing up another number. Pointing to my phone, she demanded, “Google Exodus 21:12.”

I nodded as she swore again, trying yet another number.

As soon as I pulled up the verse, the world dropped out from under me. I read it to Lia. “Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death.”

“That makes no sense. Molly never killed anyone.”

My mind whirled, trying to put together all the pieces. Molly may not have killed anyone, but Kevin was dead. The same Kevin who fathered the baby Molly gave up for adoption. The earlier letters called her a whore. He knew. Whoever this asshole was, he knew about Bryant. And he blamed my girl for his brother’s death.

“He’s here to kill her,” I ground out, praying to any God who would listen that we got to the venue in time. “Get someone on the goddamn phone and make sure they put Molly in a secure location!” I wasn’t there. I’d been too focused on my shit with Julie, just like I had been four years ago. I’d made a vital mistake that cost some of my brothers their lives. I’d barely made it back from the brink of depression. If Molly paid the ultimate price this time, there would be no coming back from that.

It didn’t take hours for us to get to the venue, but it felt like it. Sam was outside, in the middle of a security nightmare. Fans had snuck into the back lot and onto the buses. They, along with a handful of local police, looked like they had most of it under control.

Sam stepped away from the huddle when he saw Lia and me, walking with us as Lia started to fill him in. She’d only said the words, “Molly’s stalker is here,” when he started screaming into his radio for all available team members to get into the venue. The ruckus caught the attention of the police, who were suddenly everywhere.

At the door, a police officer tried to stop me, wanting me to wait, but I didn’t listen. It was my Molly inside, and he had no idea what that felt like. Instead, I shoved Lia into Sam’s arms and ran, pulling my 9mm out as I moved.

Nate was in the middle of his set, Billy’s drums drowning out most noise backstage. I made it to Molly’s room before anyone else, and pushed my ear against the door, breathing a sigh of relief when I heard her voice.

“Then shoot me. Because I’m not telling you anything.” She told whoever she was with, her voice calm.

“I’m not kidding. Tell me!” a man screamed back. I closed my eyes. I would beat him within an inch of his life when I got my hands on him.

“I’m not, either, Jamie. I’m not telling you anything about him. If Kevin had wanted to know, or wanted you to know our son, he would have told you the truth. We didn’t want our son tainted by your family. Nothing’s changed. So you either shoot me, or you leave. Because either way, I’m not telling you anything.”

Shut up, Molly! I screamed in my mind. Just shut up. You don’t tell a man with a gun to shoot you.

I glanced down the hallway, not seeing anyone else. I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to go in there, with or without backup. I pushed the door open slightly, trying to get eyes on them.

The man moved quickly, running across the room with his own gun drawn. My heart stopped beating as I watched him hold it to her head. The look on his face was one I’d seen thousands of times. It was one of a man who didn’t have anything to live for, and he didn’t care who he took out with him. There was no doubt in my mind that he was going to kill Molly.

I did what I was trained to do. I raised my piece, aimed, and shot. His body fell with a thud, but I barely heard it. Instead, I focused on Molly as she gasped, falling down.

The room was full before I could move. Sam and Kris rushed toward the man Molly had called Jamie. Kris kicked Jamie’s gun across the floor, while Sam knelt to feel for a pulse. Peterson ran to Molly, a police officer on his heels, calling dispatch on his radio and telling them what had happened. Someone pulled the berretta from my fingers, but all I cared about was getting to Molly. I’d shot her—it was the only damn shot I’d had. If it meant that she’d be here with me, alive, with only a small scar, I’d do it all over again.

Blood had already soaked through the shoulder on her shirt, and I yanked my own over my head, balling it up and pressing it to the wound. I didn’t dare look to see how bad it was. I couldn’t. Instead, I focused on the fact that she was still breathing.

At one point, for one brief moment, she opened her eyes, raising her uninjured arm to cup my cheek. “Mikey, it is you.” She smiled, “I love you.” Then her eyes fluttered closed and she was out cold again.

I bent over, practically lying on the floor with her. “I love you, too, Mols. More than you can ever imagine.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

~ Molly ~

Machines beeped steadily. Codes were called over the intercom in the hallway. People spoke in hushed tones, as if they talked just a little bit louder they’d be disturbing me. Someone needed to tell them that whispering, just low enough so that I couldn’t hear what they were actually saying, was rude. Screw that, I’d tell them. As soon as I got enough energy to open my eyes.

My body was tired. So very tired. But my mind didn’t want to rest right now. Instead, it bounced back and forth like a Ping-Pong ball, from one topic to the next, never settling on one event long enough to get my memories straight. Right now, the events of the last few days had merged into one giant, screwed-up day.

And I was uncomfortable. I’d never really been in the hospital, except when I’d had Bryant, and I was so focused on him I couldn’t tell you if the beds were too soft or the chairs were too hard. This hospital did not consider the comfort level of guests to be a top priority.

There was a rustle next to me, a scrape of wooden legs against the linoleum floor as someone pulled the chair closer to me, and then a warm hand closed around mine. “Babe, time to wake up.”

I wanted to bat at him, make him go away, but my arms wouldn’t cooperate.

Nate laughed. “Come on, sleeping beauty, I brought you coffee.” The smell of Arabica beans wafted under my nose. Damn him and his evil bribery.

I pushed myself up in the chair, eyes still closed, and rolled my neck. When I was finally able to pry one open, my best friend smiled at me. The million-dollar, panty-dropping grin I’d read so much about. The one he knew was contagious. Damn him! I couldn’t help but smile back.

Reaching for the coffee vente Grande, or whatever in the hell they called an extra-large on the west coast, I thanked him, opening the lid and blowing on it. This was real coffee, not the sludge the nurses brewed in the snack room. The smell was enough to make my mouth water.

I’d been stuck in this hospital room, in this hideous pea-green torture chamber they tried to pass off as a chair, for what seemed like days, waiting for Jamie to wake up. Yeah, I walked down to the bathroom, and sometimes I made it to the waiting room where my friends were all camped out. But the majority of the time, I sat here, waiting for the man who tried to kill me to open his eyes.

The officer at the door tried to keep me out at first. I explained that Jamie was my son’s uncle, and that I’d found out I was the only living family he had. It hadn’t worked. They’d said no, sighting something about the fact that he’d tried to kill me. When I’d pointed out that he hadn’t actually shot me, and there was no real way to know if he was really going to pull the trigger, they brought up the fact that my bodyguard had been the one to shoot Jamie. Touché.

Apparently, the Kelly name had reaches far beyond Nashville, though. Some police chief in some Los Angeles department was the son of one of C.C. Kelly’s best friends. Nate’s grandfather may have been a beloved legend, but Nate had a fan club all his own. Not only did this police chief remember C.C. fondly, but his own children were big fans of Nate.

All the man had to do was flash his smile and velvet ropes parted and locked doors opened. Nate explained that even though I thought Jamie was nuts, and didn’t want anything to do with him, the idea of him hurt and alone broke my heart and went against every good Christian value I had. Just like that, I’d been welcomed with open arms.

I hoped that Mike, wherever he was, wasn’t having a rough time. With any luck, the Kelly name was able to offer him protection, too. If not the Kelly name, the fact that he’d been a Navy SEAL and fought for his country for years, almost dying for our freedom, should. Plus, he was a trained and licensed bodyguard. He’d been on the job when he fired his weapon. That had to account for something, right?

I hated that I didn’t know where he was or what was going on. They’d let him come to the hospital with me at least, so he’d been with me when they disinfected my shoulder and bandaged me up. I thought he was going to cry when they told him I was fine and didn’t have to be admitted.

Apparently, I was a really big baby, because if you’d asked me, I would have sworn I’d been shot point blank and that half my shoulder was missing. Hell, it still stung and my arm felt like it was on fire whenever I moved. I’d bled, not the pints I’d assumed, but a little bit, because my skin had been torn and burned when the bullet cut across the top of my skin, grazing me. But there was no actual bullet wound, no hole, and I probably wouldn’t even have a scar.

I wish I could say the same for Jamie. Okay, no I don’t. The bastard held a gun to my head. He’d wanted me to die.

I didn’t want him to die, even if he hated me. It was selfish, I know. He was the only link to Kevin, though, and if Bryant ever wanted to know his birth father, Jamie would be the only person who could help him. I wanted him to live and get the help he needed, so he could one day meet the world’s most amazing little boy.

The medical staff wouldn’t give me much information, but they would tell me when Jamie was doing better, or hint that his latest test results were much better than the one before. Even if I didn’t have all the medical answers, they tolerated me sitting here around the clock and encouraged me to talk to him. I told him stories, tales about his brother and the things we used to do, about my visits with Bryant, and how amazing his nephew was. How much like Kevin he was. The doctors might not tell me, and Jamie hadn’t woken up yet, but even I could see how much better he looked.

The police had interviewed everyone who played a role Jamie’s life, from his boss to his ex-girlfriend—a woman he hadn’t been very nice to. Little by little they pieced together the pieces that I already knew. The portrait of his life wasn’t a pretty one.

After graduation, he’d joined the Army, probably to get away from his violent home. Unfortunately, he couldn’t handle it, and went AWOL a few years later. Instead of turning him in, his mother let him live in her basement until he got caught.

After that, his life had been a series of misdemeanors and gateway crimes. His girlfriend had spilled everything to the police, explaining that all the information Jamie had on me he’d found in his brother’s house. Kevin had never told anyone about me or the baby. After his death, Jamie had gone through his things, looking for an explanation.

He’d found my pictures.

That was all it took for me to become the one he blamed. He fixated on me, telling his girlfriend that he was going to find Kevin’s baby and steal it back. He told her they would raise it together. It had been eleven years since I left pregnant, eleven years since the pictures were taken, but in Jamie’s mind, the baby was still a baby.

The snapshots from New York, the ones taken during various stages of my pregnancy and then after I’d had Bryant, were kept in a special drawer. Kevin had apparently taken them when he’d come to see me. I’ll never know why he took pictures from afar and never stopped to visit, but I’ll wonder that for the rest of my life. And I’ll wish that he’d reached out to me, so he could have seen his son’s beautiful face at least once.

“Hey.” Nate’s hand found mine again, this time squeezing. “I don’t know where you are, but come back to me, okay?”

I looked over at my friend as he reached out to wipe tears I didn’t know I was crying, off my cheeks.

“I’m right here if you need to talk to me.”

I wiped each cheek again. “I’m so tired of crying. I want to go back to the time when I was tough as nails and never let anything hurt me.”

“Mols, it always hurt, you just got really good at pretending it didn’t. There’s only so much a person can take. And, babe, you reached your limit a long time ago.”

I nodded, wondering if he was right. “How’s Lia?”

He snorted. “Feisty as fuck. She’s pissed they won’t let her see Mike, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she was staging a sit-in right about now.” He made me laugh. “Naw, she’s good. Worried about you. I am too.”

“I’m fine.”

“I know that. You’ll heal.” He was quiet for a few seconds, steepled his fingers the way he did when he was avoiding something. Whatever was coming was something he didn’t want to talk about. “Other than you, he’s my best friend.”

I glanced over, surprised that he wanted to have this conversation right now. I’d known for a while it was coming, but here? I didn’t know what to say. “That’s because he’s an amazing man.”

Nate nodded, eyes meeting mine. “He is. There is no one in the world I trust as much as I trust him. He’s my brother in every way but blood. I never saw the two of you together. To be honest, the thought never crossed my mind.” He snorted. “Guess it only makes sense, though, since there isn’t anyone else in the world that could put up with either of you.”

“So, like you and Lia, huh?”

He laughed. “True story.” Then his smile disappeared. “I’m gonna tell you what I told him. He’s family, Molly. He’s been through hell and back, and doesn’t need more shit in his life. You wanna be with him, I’ll support you however I can. It goes south, you cut your losses and move on. But, you hurt him unnecessarily, and I’ll never forgive you.”

I couldn’t hide the smile. Nate just threatened me. “Not gonna happen, you big oaf. I love him. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt him. You can worry about something else now.”

Nate narrowed his eyes for a brief moment, then nodded. “Right now I’m worried about you being here when he wakes up and sees you.”

I glanced back toward Jamie’s bed and took a deep breath. “I don’t want him to be alone.”

He leaned sideways, throwing his arm over my shoulder. “I know you don’t. You got him through the worst of it. But I need you to think about how he’s going to react if you’re here. You’re the last person he wants to see, Mols, even if you don’t want to admit it.”

He had a point, one I’d been trying to make to myself for days. “I just wanted to get him through the rough patch. But they won’t tell me anything, so how do I know if it’s over?”

Nate smiled his signature smirk. “The nurse on duty told me they wouldn’t be surprised if he comes out of it tonight or tomorrow.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, making him laugh.

“I’m Nate Kelly.” He didn’t need to give me more of an explanation. “Come to the hotel with me tonight, please? Sleep in a real bed. I’ll bring you back first thing in the morning.”

I gave in, the idea of an actual bed too tempting to turn down. Nate led me out, stopping in the almost empty waiting room to grab Rhett. Seeing my confused expression, Rhett nodded. “Rock stars can sleep anywhere—and most of us have. We just prefer somewhere a little more comfortable than a hospital waiting room.” He smiled. “They’ve taken over a conference room at the hotel instead.”

After we had gathered up everything of ours that had been left behind, I turned and headed toward the elevators. “Uh, uh, uh.” Nate grabbed me and steered me away. “We can’t go out that way.”

“Why? Where are we going?”

“Back elevator staff entrance. And you’ll see.”

I didn’t see them until we were downstairs, safely on the other side of the security barrier, where Sam and Kris were waiting for us. Camped outside, pressed up against the glass, there were what looked like hundreds of photographers.

“They all want the photo to go with the big story.”

“Ahh. And what is the big story right now?”

Rhett laughed while Nate looked uncomfortable. “Lover’s quarrel gone bad. Lia shot you when she caught us together.”

That was funny. I couldn’t imagine Lia shooting anyone. No, I take that back. She would definitely shoot the woman she caught warming Nate’s bed. But she’d make sure her husband caught a bullet as well.

Nate started to walk towards the back of the hospital, flocked by his security guards, but I stopped him. “No. Not this time,” I shook my head. I’d let the damn paparazzi, and the fear of whatever story they might print, control me for far too long. I hadn’t done anything wrong and I wasn’t going to sneak out of the back entrance like I had. Fuck them.