by Nashoda Rose
“I’m sorry.”
His mouth dropped open and eyes widened. “Sorry? For what?”
“The story. What I did . . . it will be all over the media and it will look bad—”
“Stop.” He cupped my cheek, his eyes softening, and for a second, I let that little girl that I used to be in, as her brother sang to her in the closet. “I don’t give a shit what anyone says. None of us do.” He looked at Crisis who remained with his hand in mine. “We’ve been together this long because no matter what happens, we stick together.”
“What if they find out about Gerard—”
“Haven. We were sixteen living with a drug dealer who is dead because of the shit he did. That isn’t touching you or me. We defended ourselves. We survived. And whatever happens with this story and what is dug up on you and me, we’ll deal with it.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I felt like I’d been holding it since Dillon showed me the article. “We have amazing fans, sis. They support us. And they’ll support you and see the truth no matter how the media spins it.”
Emily and Kat came over and hugged me. Kat passed me a pair of jeans and a sweater. “We heard your clothes were wet.” Logan came over and kissed my forehead and Roman squeezed my shoulder.
Kat and Emily went with me to the washroom so I could put on the clothes. Clothes, that still had the tags on them and were two sizes too big, but much better than a hospital gown, and I was able to take my gun out of the bag and put it in the pocket of the hooded sweatshirt. I was trying to be strong, but there were parts of me that were scared, that needed the safety of the gun which ended the nightmare for me.
When we came out, a doctor approached the group of us.
“Killian Kane’s family?”
We all turned toward the doctor standing with a file in his hand looking at us.
“Yes.” Logan, Ream and Crisis said.
KILLIAN KANE? I hadn’t known his real name, no one ever mentioned it—ever. When I looked at Emily and Kat, both of them had raised brows and wide eyes. I didn’t expect to know his last name or his real first name, but I thought Emily and Kat would have. Obviously, they hadn’t.
“The swelling has eased,” the doctor said in a low voice. “Vitals are good and we don’t expect any complications.”
“When can we see him?” Logan asked.
He frowned as he looked at the group of us. “Family only.”
“We’re all family,” Logan said.
“And we all want to see him,” Kat said, standing in front of Ream while his hands rested on her hips.
The doctor pursed his lips together then gave an abrupt nod. “I can allow one of you for now. And briefly.” He didn’t wait for us to decide who should be the one to go and started down the hall.
I thought it would be Crisis, but there was no discussion as Logan stepped forward and followed the doctor. Crisis pulled me over to a chair, sat, then tugged me onto his lap. His brows rose when his arm touched the hard metal in my pocket.
“It didn’t drown?”
I bit my lower lip. “Nearly.” I knew he didn’t like that I had it, but he also now knew that it was harmless. In a way, my gun was like a kid refusing to be parted from her teddy bear. The gun was my badass teddy bear.
“Why Logan?” I asked.
“When Logan moved here, Kite and him became friends. Some piss-ants in high school from Kite’s old band went to beat him up. Logan stepped up and the two of them took them down. Been close ever since.” Crisis lowered his voice. “Kite was the only one who knew Logan’s real name for a while. Shit, and Deck, he fuckin’ knew no doubt.” Before I could say anything, he said, “Yeah, he knows Ream’s past too and most of yours, I suspect.”
Yeah, he did. He knew about Olaf and the club. What I hoped was that they found the girls, at least the ones who wanted to be helped. “I want to know.”
“About?” Crisis ran his finger across the back of my neck and gently pushed my hair over my right shoulder.
“I want to know if they found the girls. I told Vic a while ago not to call me again about the club, but now . . . I want to know if they helped them.”
“Olaf wouldn’t be dead if Vic hadn’t gotten what he needed from him. It might take time, but he’ll find the girls.”
“And the men, too?” The men who had fucked me; had their hands on me.
“They’d leave some of that to the police, but yeah.”
Some of the tension eased from my body and I settled back against him, soaking in his comforting warmth.
He clasped his hand in mine and kissed my cheek. “Babe?” I tilted my head, which was resting on his shoulder to look up at him and he leaned forward and kissed me. It was a deep, intense kiss and I melted into him, my hands slipping into his hair as I angled my head and moaned under his mouth.
Fifteen minutes later, Logan returned and we all gathered around him. His voice said it all. It broke when he told us about Kite. He was trying to keep it together for the rest of us and I imagined it would’ve been devastating seeing his best friend with tubes and machines hooked up to him.
“He’ll pull through,” Logan finally said with a nod. He sounded as if he was trying to convince himself by saying it aloud. His eyes went past us toward the entrance of the waiting room.
Every one of us turned and I heard Kat and Emily both whisper, “Vic.”
Vic I’d never met and he wasn’t just a guy. He was a tall, built machine who currently wore a fierce scowl with narrowed dark eyes that matched his dark skin. He wore black cargo pants with combat boots and a vest. I knew what was hidden in all the pockets and behind the vest, weapons. I suspected if a cop took a look at him, they’d know, too, but I was betting they wouldn’t touch him. Not only was the guy super intimidating, but there was no question he was one of Deck’s men. And Deck’s men weren’t touched by the cops.
This was the guy who’d killed Olaf. Who extracted information before he’d killed him. And I knew whatever he did to Olaf wasn’t a friendly chat.
Luke and Roman walked over to him and spoke, but Vic’s eyes were on me. I stiffened. Crisis did, too. Luke was still talking, and scary new guy didn’t even look like he was paying attention as he stared at me.
I put my hand on the cold hard metal of my gun sitting in my pocket. When they made their way toward us, I raised my chin because no matter how I looked or felt, I wanted to appear unaffected.
Crisis stood with his arm around my waist.
“Haven.” He didn’t offer his hand, which wasn’t really surprising. I realized now that he was closer that he had beautiful russet-color skin and defined features with thick plush lips.
Vic held up the picture. “Luke said a Kevin Delaney spoke to a girl about you.”
I nodded.
“Fuck,” Crisis muttered next to my ear.
Vic put the photo back into his vest pocket. His tone hardened. “He’s in custody.”
Ream was beside us, as was everyone else.
Logan questioned, “It’s not illegal for him to spill info to some chick.”
Vic kept his eyes on me. “Not police. He’s in my custody.”
Oh, shit.
“He saw whoever did this. Whoever spread the story about you and informed the reporters.” And I suspected he’d get them anyway he could.
Crisis’ fingers dug into my hip, his body was tense. When I glanced up at him, I saw the muscles in his jaw throbbing and his eyes lost that easy casual laughter. They were hard and narrowed.
I knew he wouldn’t explode or go on a rampage. He was angry that Kevin, a guy who had gone to karaoke with us, who ate lunch with me, had sold information about me. But, the steadiness in Crisis was still there and he’d be the rock I needed him to be just like when I’d told him all the bad shit that had happened to me.
“Police are still investigating the crash, but the truck that hit you didn’t stay at the scene and several witnesses claimed there was no license plate, and they saw one person in the car. Disguise
d, but three people swear it was a woman.”
“It’s that fuckin’ chick,” Ream shouted.
Vic shifted his weight and a dried clump of mud fell off the bottom of one of his combat boots. “We’ll start with Kevin. We’ll know within the hour if it was Tammy.”
Crisis spoke, “And if it’s not?”
“Don’t think it is. I reviewed her profile and everything you’ve given me. Her posts online and the text messages don’t match. She’s infatuated, but nonthreatening. The texts are crude and are directed toward Haven. Jealousy. Revenge.”
“But there is nothing to be jealous of,” I said.
“You’re beautiful and dating a rock star,” Vic stated.
“That’s not enough to . . .” I shut up because Vic wasn’t done and despite my ability to encase myself in ice, he was a guy who could flick his baby finger and make it shatter.
It was the first time I saw Vic’s expression change. The corners of his mouth drew down to match his lowered brows as he met my eyes, then he moved in and completely surprised me as he ran his hand over the top of my head. It was a brief show of affection before he turned his attention back to Luke. “They can wait here until Kite’s condition improves, then lock down at the farm.”
Luke nodded then Vic turned and left. There was no good-bye or nod, nothing. He just strode out the hospital doors.
THE DOCTOR GAVE us a report two hours later. Kite was awake and going to be okay. Crisis, Ream and Logan went to see him with Luke accompanying them. Roman stayed with Emily, Kat and me in the waiting room.
When I looked out the window this time, there were hundreds of people outside. Bouquets of flowers littered the area with lit candles, their flames dancing in the light breeze. I stared, stunned at the sight.
“Fans,” Emily said, coming up beside me. “News of an accident travels fast when you’re in a popular rock band.”
God, my brother was right. They had good fans, people who cared. It was heart-warming to know they were here showing their support for Kite. For the band.
“Jolie’s on her way.” The publicist who Crisis had talked about. “Logan will make a statement. Let them know how Kite’s doing.”
“And about me,” I said it more to myself than to her because they would have to say something about the story.
“Don’t know,” Emily said, then put her hand on my arm. “I know you must feel . . . invaded, especially after everything you’ve been through. But these men, our men, they will do anything to protect us.” I met her eyes and there was no pity, instead a solid strength and resolve. “Anything.”
“Are any of you Haven?” a nurse called from the nursing station, holding up a phone as she looked at Kat, Emily and I. “Phone call.”
Roman straightened, pushing away from the wall he’d been leaning against and went to the nurse and held his hand out for the phone. She didn’t want to give it to him at first, but quickly gave in when he whispered something to her and her face blanched.
I walked over and stood beside him.
Roman wasn’t nice as he said abruptly, “Who is it?” He paused, listened then handed the phone to me. “Dana, she says she saw the news about Kite and has been trying your cell. Found out they brought Kite here.”
My cell had fallen out of my back jeans pocket and was most likely at the bottom of the Don River. I took the phone and Roman walked back to stand by the door.
“Dana? How did you know I was here?”
“Actually, it’s Lily.”
Lily? Who the hell was . . . my grip tightened on the phone. The girl at the condo with Lena? The brunette? The night I broke down.
“Don’t do or say anything. Keep your eyes forward and smile nicely at the nurse. I know you can smile now, Haven. I’ve seen you smile at him while jogging.” A cold wave descended on me hearing the venom in her tone. Jogging. She’d seen me running with Crisis. This was the girl who’d been sending messages to Crisis. Not Tammy.
“How did you get his cell number?”
She laughed. “Lena put on a nice show on the table at the bar.” Avalanche. “She also knocked over numerous drinks. Pretty easy to snag a phone for a second when she has everyone’s attention. Stupid bitch got us kicked out of your condo. This would’ve been much easier if she hadn’t.”
I pressed my weight onto the counter then slipped my hand into my pocket and curled my hand around the gun. “Who are you? How do you know me?” It wasn’t fear I felt it was the drum of anger pulsing through me.
“Shut up. No more talking. Listen clearly to my instructions. You didn’t do that very well before, fighting them all the time.” What did she mean? I didn’t even know who the hell she was. “That bodyguard is watching. Smile at him for me.” I jerked, looking around as I realized she could see me. “Smile, bitch, or I press ‘send’ on my phone and pictures of you naked from the club go viral. And I have to say, none of them are flattering.”
“What?” My stomach flipped. That was impossible.
“Shut up,” she yelled. “You’re going to complain of severe head pain to the nurse in front of you. Tell her you need to lie down. If you do anything other than what I tell you, I press ‘send.’”
I could signal Roman, but Lily obviously had eyes on me. Would she do it? Yes. There was nothing for her to lose and everything for me. But I didn’t care about me; I cared what pictures of me would do to Ream, Crisis, and the band. She had to be lying. How could she find pictures of me? I’d never seen her at the club.
“The car accident? It was you.”
“You were supposed to overdose on heroin that night at the condo, but you had to go freak out and get me kicked out. Over what? Poor Haven. Precious Haven. The girl every man wanted at the club.”
“I don’t even know you.”
“No, of course you don’t. You were like a fucking queen. You had the wealthiest men, made the most money, had a private room away from all the other girls. Olaf’s girl.”
“I was raped,” I seethed.
The nurse at the desk looked up at me and frowned. The anger pulsed through me. She was jealous. Jealous? I was raped every Saturday night for years.
I searched the nurses walking around, trying to see if any of them were Lily. Where the hell was she? She had to have a phone and she could see me.
“Enough. Do what I tell you.”
Like hell. I needed to keep her talking while I tried to find her. “How did you find me?”
She laughed and I quickly looked around the room trying to find someone laughing. I saw Roman frowned when he caught my expression, but I gave a tentative smile. If he came over now, she’d post the picture then escape before we even had a chance to stop her. I had to get eyes on her first.
“Why do you think you were kept separate from everyone else? Twin sister of the famous Ream from Tear Asunder.” They knew? Everyone at the club knew and no one helped me? God, it was sickening. “Then you went and ruined everything. You couldn’t just leave the club and let us be. I was the Saturday night girl after you left. Me. I went for the most money until that fucking guy came and shut it down . . . Now, I have nothing.”
Vic. And he’d been trying to find all the girls. Lily had been one of them, but by the sounds of it, she’d been there willingly.
“Stupid bitch. Stop delaying and do what I told you.” I heard her. She was somewhere to my left. “Now.”
I curled my hand around my gun and took a deep breath as I placed the phone on the cradle. I straightened and put my hand to my temple. “Nurse, is there anywhere I can lie down? My vision is a little foggy and my head is throbbing.”
She stood, her eyes widening as she rushed to her feet. “Yes. Of course.”
I glanced to my left as the nurse came around the desk and took my arm. Roman was striding toward me from the other direction.
“Haven? You okay?” he called.
Then I saw her. I let the nurse guide me toward a room as Lily pushed a supply cart toward me.
The nurse
had the door to the room open and was urging me inside. “Miss, you can lie down in here.”
I didn’t move.
Lily frowned and stopped with the cart. She reached into her upper pocket of her nurse’s uniform and took out her cell phone and gestured with her head to the room she wanted me to go in.
I didn’t do what she wanted. I’d never do anything I didn’t want to again.
Fuck her.
I pulled my gun from my hoody and pointed it at her. Her eyes flickered to it and I heard the gasp of the nurse who held the room door open.
“Fuck, Haven?” Roman said from somewhere behind me. “What are you doing?”
People noticed I was holding a gun pointed at a nurse and screamed, diving for cover in rooms. Lily didn’t. She stood unflinching, staring back at me.
I saw movement behind Lily as Luke came out of a room down the hall, gun drawn. He must have heard the screams. He moved closer while Crisis, Logan and Ream all came out of the room and stopped, looking from me to my gun, to the nurse I was aimed at.
She tossed her phone on the cart. She obviously didn’t have any pictures.
Lily smiled and that’s when I knew she wasn’t too concerned about whether she lived or died. Her whole purpose was to make sure I didn’t. According to her, she had nothing left. I’d ruined everything for her.
It happened so fast that I didn’t even know what hit me as Lily pulled a gun from the cart. I heard movement from behind me then Crisis’ agonizing shout as a searing pain went through me seconds before I crashed to the floor.
“NOOO.” I SHOUTED as I ran toward her, shock and horror ripping through me. Everything was in slow motion, my legs couldn’t move fast enough, taking me what felt like hours to reach her, but knowing it was seconds.
Ream ran, too. Her name repeated over and over even as we both crashed to our knees beside her. Roman was still on top of her, his body a protective shield as several more shots rang out. I didn’t know where they came from, who was shot, what happened. The only image was of Haven’s body jerking back from the impact of the bullet then Roman throwing himself on top of her and both dropping to the floor.