Cody starts pacing. “I hate this damn waiting. I just want to get on that stage and let rip.”
Tyler and River nod in agreement. Tyler looks at Eddie. “How long?”
Eddie shrugs.
“Ten minutes, possibly fifteen. We have a schedule to keep to.”
River grumbles.
“It wouldn’t be so bad if we could have a drink. Maybe just one, to steady our nerves.”
Eddie looks at him sharply. “Do you really expect me to believe that you haven’t already downed a few? I’m not an idiot.”
We all grin and I say with interest.
“Anyone we know in tonight?”
Eddie looks at his list.
“Yeah, Samson from Rock Monkey and Gabrielle from Victoria Secrets.”
Cody’s eyes instantly light up.
“She’s mine, I called it so nobody had better try anything.”
Tyler smirks. “Last time you tried, she cut you dead. It will be fun seeing it happen again.”
Cody looks around smugly.
“She came back though. I’m guessing she realized her mistake and has secretly had a picture of me by her bed that she sleeps with every night whilst playing with herself.”
Eddie rolls his eyes and River laughs.
“Keep telling yourself that, Cody. I think she’s here for me. I read somewhere she likes her guys tall and dark with an edge. I think that just about sums me up perfectly.”
Cody responds with sign language and Tyler pipes up.
“Well, I invited her, so hard luck guys. I’ve already called it.”
We all look impressed and Cody splutters.
“Since when did you arrange this?”
Tyler looks around smugly.
“We’ve been on and off for a while. That night you tried it on with her she was here for me. By the time you had your dick in another unfortunate fan we were hot at it in my hotel room. Nothing serious just a coming together of minds and other interesting body parts.”
Cody pretends to gag.
There’s a knock at the door and one of the crew pokes his head around it.
“Five minutes, guys.”
We all look at each other and grin. Finally, we get to go to work.
Emily.
I grin at Helen and we link arms. I was overjoyed to see her again today and I don’t think we stopped talking for three hours. Luckily, Eddie is taking control tonight and I get to have fun with my friend. Actually, my only friend. Not much to show for the last twenty-two years.
I look around with interest at the people waiting in the VIP area. There are the usual reporters and hangers on. I recognize a singer from another Rock band with a Playboy Bunny on his arm. There is a stunning girl with legs that reach the stars and a figure that would be the envy of many. She’s wearing cut off shorts and a low cut top. She has a natural face and looks like your typical California Beach Babe. I want to hate her but she smiles shyly at me when she catches my eye. She appears to be alone so I smile back and wave at her to come over.
Close up she’s even more perfect and I feel Helen sigh beside me. Grinning, I hold out my hand.
“Hi, I’m Emily and this is Helen.”
She smiles revealing perfect white teeth that would be the wet dream of every dentist in the world.
“Hi, I’m Gabrielle. I’m here to see Tyler.”
We look at her with even more interest. Tyler keeps himself to himself and never talks about his personal life away from the band. I know he’s as lecherous as the rest of them and he never mentioned a girlfriend. I am curious about their relationship.
“Oh, are you family or a friend?”
She giggles.
“A friend—I think. We’ve hooked up a few times, and he called me last week and asked me to come.”
She suddenly looks unsure and says quietly.
“I’m playing it cool but I’m not gonna lie, I couldn’t get here fast enough. It’s not just that he’s sexy as hell but we talk, I mean really talk about stuff that matters. I’ve never met a guy so sensitive and interested in the things I like.”
Helen rolls her eyes but I can see Tyler being like that. He writes their lyrics and they are beautiful poems of the soul. He has a deep side that he keeps well hidden. I bet he’s romantic when he wants to be.
We are interrupted as the show starts and I feel the heat rising inside me. Seeing Jax perform turns me on. We have the most amazing after show sex every time and it’s the thought of this that feeds my lust. Two and a half hours left to think dirty thoughts and cross my legs.
In fact, twenty minutes later I need to do just that. Damn, why didn’t I go before they started?
I wave to Carter and he heads over. Words are difficult in this environment but he gets the gist and follows me out. As we head towards the rest room, he looks cross.
“What’s the matter?”
He searches his pockets.
“I think I dropped my phone. It’s not here and I could swear I had it a minute ago.”
We are at the rest room so I don’t even think about it.
“Go back and see if you can find it. I’ll be ok in here for five minutes.”
He looks unsure and I frown.
“Go! Nothing will happen in the next five minutes. You’re getting as paranoid as I am.”
He laughs softly.
“It would appear I am. Don’t leave the rest room, I’ll text you when I’m back.”
He watches me go in and then heads back for his phone.
Quickly, I head inside. I hate missing any part of the show but nature will never be ignored.
As I exit the cubicle my world shatters.
“Hello, Amelia.”
***
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Amelia
Images from the past whizz around my brain and make me gasp for air. How is this possible? I feel weak and struggle to maintain my composure as I feel the power of those ice blue eyes.
I can’t speak as I choke on my fear and try to remember to breathe.
He moves towards me and I see the anger in his eyes.
“We have a lot to discuss. Come with me.”
I shake my head, but he grips my arm firmly and pulls me with him, down the corridor and into a vacant room. He pushes me against the wall and I feel his arm under my throat choking me and rendering me powerless. He pushes against me hard and kicks my legs wide whilst searching me.
He pulls out the phone and throws it angrily across the room. Then he rips my disguise from me and whispers darkly.
“You’re mine, Amelia, nobody else’s. Maybe you need reminding of that.”
My eyes fill and I bite back the whimper forming in my throat. He stares into my eyes and I see the desire thick and heavy in his. Then he crashes his lips to mine and punishes me with a hard kiss, biting my lip and causing it to bleed.
“Did you miss me, honey?”
Roughly he pushes up my top, urgently and without care. Leaning down he bites my breast and groans.
“God, I’ve missed you. Have you missed me too, baby?”
I try to shake my head but he turns his attention to removing my jeans.
“God, I need you baby. The thought of you has kept me going through that infernal farce of a marriage. Nobody measures up to you my darling. We are two pieces of the same puzzle. Others may try to fit but there is only one that can. We are those pieces, Amelia. Now I’ve come to take you home.
With a strangled cry, I push against him with all my might. I feel the panic setting in as he laughs hoarsely.
“You want it rough, do you? Well, I always have been happy to comply with your desires.”
Grabbing my hair, he pulls my head down and I cry out. His breathing intensifies, and he pushes me to the floor. “Take me, Amelia, like I know you want to. Let me fuck those sweet lips.”
Crying, I shake my head and his eyes narrow.
Then without warning he strikes a blow across my face leaving me stunned. The force o
f it causes my head to hit the wall and I see stars. I hear him growl.
“We’re out of here.”
He grabs my arm and pulls me up and I feel dizzy as I am dragged towards the door. My heart screams at me to stop but my legs aren’t listening. I try, but he is too strong. Then I realize I’m panicking. Suddenly, I see Carter in my mind telling me to remain calm. Take stock of the situation and use your best weapon.
Then as Scott drags me towards the door, I pull down sharply on his arm and aim for the neck. He screams as his legs buckle and he falls to the floor. The trouble is, he falls against the door which is the only way out.
I know that I don’t have much time and grip the watch tightly, running my hand over the face. Then I see my phone in the corner and move quickly to reach it.
I feel my legs go from under me as Scott grips them and pulls me down. I strain to reach the phone but only manage to push it further away.
He growls.
“Don’t be stupid, Amelia. You have no choice but to come with me.”
I look at him and feel the anger consume me. I growl.
“Like fuck I do.”
He looks surprised and narrows his eyes.
“What the hell has happened to you? You have changed into somebody I don’t even recognize.”
He shakes his head as I laugh, the hysteria rising.
“Oh, I’m sorry, but Amelia James no longer exists. That woman who worshipped you and took all the shit you doled out is dead and buried. I woke up, Scott and saw you for what you really are. You’re a sick psycho who prayed on a young vulnerable girl. You say you loved me but that wasn’t true, was it?”
He looks astonished and says bitterly.
“I do love you, Amelia. I loved you from the moment I met you. You are everything I want and I have done everything to make you happy and keep you safe.”
I glare at him angrily.
“What sort of love is it that gives a woman to another man to use as he sees fit, without the consent of the other party. What sort of man makes his supposed girlfriend take a back seat to another and watch whilst he parades her around and then marries her.”
My voice raises even louder until I am shouting.
“And what sort of love is it where the man controls the woman by pain and punishment whilst dressing it up as love.”
Scott snaps angrily.
“The sort of man that loves to desperation. The sort of man that has no control over his own life and wants to keep just a little bit of control over something he desires more than life itself. The sort of man who has pleased everyone else his whole life and sacrificed his own happiness for somebody else’s dream. The sort of man that loves a woman to distraction and stops at nothing to bring her back to him. The sort of man that can’t live without you.”
I am now backed against the wall and he sits with his head in his hands. He doesn’t see me and I reach the phone and prop it up against the wall.
I say in a hard voice.
“What sort of man takes an innocent girl and ruins her? I know something happened that night at the club. I woke up, and you were missing. Then I heard you—all of you. It was Ashton, wasn’t it, Scott?”
He looks at me with such a wretched expression time stands still. There is silence all around us and it feels as if a storm is fast approaching. He looks at me with tortured eyes and says harshly
“You saw nothing.”
Shaking my head, I say forcefully.
“Oh, but I did. I saw everything. I saw a frightened young girl taken upstairs by a man who should have known better. I watched the looks pass between you all as you gazed at her with hunger in your eyes. When I went to the door that night, I heard somebody crying and angry voices. Then I heard a name. You were scared, weren’t you? All of you. Something went badly wrong and now Ashton is missing. What happened to her Scott? What did you do?”
Then something happens that changes everything. He puts his head in his hands and whispers.
“It wasn’t meant to happen.”
I sense his grief and can almost hear my heart beating loudly. I whisper softly.
“What did happen that night?”
He looks up and I see the conflicting emotions battling in his eyes. I hold my breath as he says darkly.
“Ashton was there voluntarily. She knew what was going to happen, she agreed to it the moment she stood on the Auction block.”
The blood rushes to my head and the room spins. I whisper, “What Auction?”
He looks down.
“There’s a place we know who match people with particular tastes. Ashton offered herself up for Auction for a large sum of money. The club paid the price for the pleasure of her innocence. She knew what was involved but when it came to it she changed her mind.”
An icy hand holds my heart as I whisper.
“What happened next?”
He shakes his head and looks at me with a desperate look in his eyes.
“It had gone too far. There were five of us in that room and we had paid for her. There was no way she was changing her mind at the last minute. You don’t break an agreement and so we took it against her will. She had to learn there are rules to these things that can’t be broken. When you sign the deal, the deal is unbreakable. I am not proud of what happened. None of us wanted it that way but she would have talked. There are no loose ends in the lives of the powerful, Amelia, you know that.”
My anger threatens to overwhelm me but I must know.
“What happened to her?”
He looks at me with a lost expression and then appears to blink and regain his senses. I watch as the realization of what he has said dawns on him and he snaps.
“Enough. I’m done talking. I don’t have to explain anything to you. Don’t be a fool and come back with me.”
I shake my head. “No.”
His looks at me with an expression of cold, hard anger.
“I mean it, Amelia. You have to, you have no choice. If you don’t come back, I can’t protect you. You will be a loose end that needs tying up and you won’t like what they have planned. I came here to save you because I love you more than anything. Don’t be a fool and know that I have your best interests at heart.”
His face softens as he sees the tears running down my face. He shifts closer and strokes my cheek and groans.
“Look at you, so beautiful and the only woman I can ever love. You are frightened, I understand that. It has been hard on you seeing me marry another and given to another man for safe keeping. But know this, Amelia. I only love you and you alone. Shelby is a business deal that has no meaning. She is a trophy that enables me to fulfill my ambition. With her by my side I can reach the top. But I can’t do it without you. You feed my heart, Amelia. I need you as much as you need me. I promise that I will protect you and keep you safe.”
He lifts my face to his and lowers his lips to mine gently.
He touches my lips with his and groans.
“Oh, how I’ve missed you, my darling. I have thought of nothing else. Come back to me, let us live the life we were always meant to live-together.”
I shake my head and watch the light leave his eyes as I say,
“I don’t love you, Scott. I thought I did but now I know that what he had wasn’t love. It was a craving. I wanted to belong, to feel important in somebody’s life. All I wanted was love and the chance to build a future with a caring, loving man. You shattered that dream and turned it into a nightmare. I had to run to free us both. And then it all became clear. I saw things for what they really were and the life we lived was wrong. I see that now because I have everything I wished for in somebody else.”
His head snaps up and I see the storm in his eyes. He grasps my wrist and squeezes it as I cry out in pain.
“What do you mean-somebody else?”
Then we hear.
“Get your fucking hands off my girlfriend.”
***
Chapter Forty
Jax
I
feel good. The sea of faces in front of me absorbing every bar of music and every word I sing, gaze at me with hero worship. I make a few of them out but otherwise, they blend into one and I can’t even see the end of them. My band is beside me and we ride our guitars like the steel cowboys we are. Our music fills the stadium and every crevice, heart, and mind aren’t safe. Blasted Rock is in the building and is out to Rock it hard.
I sing to Emily. Her face fills my mind and is all I can see. Every part of me craves her at all times. She is the steady beat of my heart and the ecstasy in my veins. Thoughts of her power my mind and she inhabits my soul. I search for her in the crowd but see nothing. I know she is watching me though, and it feeds my performance. I want to make her proud and deserve her love.
Then something happens that takes my heart and wraps it in ice-cold fear. Over my headphones, I hear a voice. Emily’s voice. She sounds scared and there is the sound of a scuffle. I can see that Cody hears it too, and he looks at me sharply. Frantically, I look into the crowd but can only just make out Helen in the VIP area. Carter and Emily aren’t with her and I can’t fucking breathe. Cody looks at me with a worried expression and then nods. He takes over and wanders over to River and whispers in his ear before doing the same to Tyler. As the music changes, I leave them to it. Cody often takes over and sings a few songs of his own. Now he needs to give me some time.
I leave them to it and leave the stage, ignoring the worried looks of security. Eddie steps forward with a worried expression.
“What’s up, Jax, are you feeling sick?”
I shake my head and say urgently.
“It’s Emily. I think they’re here. We need to find her.”
Eddie growls.
“Leave it with me, Jax. I’ll find her. Just get back on stage and leave it with me.”
Pushing past him, I growl, “Like fuck, I will.”
Rocked Page 18