Ransom (Courting Chaos Book 2)

by Heather Young-Nichols

  “First, no. He doesn’t. The last thing I need is him in prison for murder. Second, money. I don’t have an unlimited supply. I’m not working, so I’m using savings to pay for my things while I’m with you. It might just be shampoo, tampons, and small shit, but my savings was tiny to begin with. It’s going to put me behind when I’m back in school. I shouldn’t have come in the first place.”

  We both jerked forward as the car came to a stop behind the venue. I climbed out my side and Indie hers. We thanked Dean for taking us, then started toward the buses.

  Once inside, Indie attacked.

  “Of course you should be here. Bellamy, you know what’s mine is yours. Let’s live together off-campus in the fall. It’ll be cheaper than the dorms. This beautiful home”—she waved her hands around to indicate the bus—“is as much yours as it is mine and it’s free. We can eat other people’s leftovers. Do our laundry in a creek.”

  I had to laugh as tears burned behind my eyes. This was my best friend at work. Indie may never have needed to worry about money, but that didn’t mean she didn’t understand my struggle.

  “An off-campus apartment?” I asked as I slid into the bench seat by the table. “I won’t be able to afford that. Grants and scholarships barely pay for school and the dorm. They aren’t all refundable so it’s not like I can just use the cash for the apartment instead of the dorms. You know this.”

  “But my dad can.” She sighed and climbed in across from me. “I didn’t want to tell you because you’ve seemed off, but I’ve decided not to live in the dorms this year.”

  “Seriously?” I scrunched my nose up at her. She was my last roommate still in the dorms. Maggie had left the dorm before junior year when her dad had agreed to pay for a small apartment for her. Must’ve been nice to have a dad. They seemed like a nice thing to have around.

  “Yeah,” she said, sighing. “I’m sorry. It’s just Cross and I will be doing the long-distance thing—”

  “And you don’t want others to hear your weird phone sex.”

  She snorted, then said, “That and he’ll be coming to see me at weird times. Like whenever he has a day off, etc.”

  “And you don’t want others to hear your real-world sex.”

  “Exactly,” she said through a giggle. “But the one-bedroom I planned on could easily become a two-bedroom.”

  “I highly doubt I’ll ever be able to afford half of the play you’re going to get,” I said honestly, swallowing hard. “What kind of friend would I be if I skated through life with your dad paying for me? I don’t mooch off my friends.”

  She rolled her eyes at me.

  “Well, I’m getting a two-bedroom,” she said. “It’s decided. I think my dad’s going to insist you stay with me. He hates the idea of me living alone.” She slapped the table in front of her, causing me to jump. “But let’s go to the concert tonight. We’ll be the hottest ones in the crowd. Cross will be all distracted. Ransom will drool over what he can’t have.”

  “No one’s going to be drooling, but hell yeah. Let’s do it.” I went to stand but thought better of it. “You know we have hours before the show?”

  “I know. Let’s see if we can get into some trouble.”

  She gave me her evil grin. The one that had gotten me to go to our first college party. The one that had convinced to dress up like a matching slutty nurse during sophomore year’s Halloween-palooza. Neither of us had ever been slutty but Indie said we were wearing the costumes ironically.

  We were like middle schoolers running around unsupervised for the first time. Ww2dee snuck around the arena as if we weren’t supposed to be there when in reality we had all-access passes. Courting Chaos’ soundcheck played in the background as we waited for them to finish because Indie had snuck up to their dressing room door and locked it from the inside. They wouldn’t be able to get in when they returned. Juvenile? Yes. Fun? Also, yes.

  We hid in a blind spot around the corner across from their dressing room, waiting patiently.

  “What’re you two doing?” a deep voice whispered, almost in both of our ears at the same time, scaring the crap out of us.

  “Dad!” Indie exclaimed as she slapped his shoulder. “You scared the crap out of us.”

  Vince Cinderstone would’ve been an intimidating presence even if he hadn’t reached rock-god status. Shoulder-length hair that today he had pulled into a man bun. He was taller than necessary, muscular, everything you’d want in your rock god. Everything to make the women swoon. I imagined that when Kissing Cinder had first begun, he’d been quite the hottie. When I looked back at pictures of that time... he totally was. Now I just knew him as Indie’s dad.

  “Sorry,” he replied through a laugh. “But the two of you have been sneaking around for a while, so I wanted to see what you were up to.”

  “We’re just trying to kill time with a little junior-high fun,” Indie said.

  “Sounds like my kind of fun.” Then he turned those dark eyes on me and asked, “How do you like being on tour?”

  “It’s awesome,” I answered honestly. “Not what I thought it’d be like.”

  He shook his head. “It never is. It’s mostly waiting to hurry up.”

  “Hey, Dad,” Indie said, interrupting us, “you know how we were talking about me getting an apartment this fall?”

  “Yeah.” Vince actually sounded fairly annoyed by the idea, which I didn’t understand. He’d give Indie the world if she asked for it.

  “I was thinking of upgrading what I said I wanted before.”

  “Upgrading?” He raised an eyebrow.

  “Yeah. Get a two-bedroom instead of one. That way Bellamy can live with me.”

  His eyes widened and the irritated look vanished. “Perfect. You know I wasn’t excited about you living alone.”

  Indie had told me before that there’d been a few incidents over the years where she’d been approached on the street, not to mention when press had shown up at her house. Her mom had chased them off. Once it had become clear that her mom and dad were no longer together, she and her mom tended to be left alone. But her dad still worried.

  “That’s what I said,” Indie offered. “Bellamy is resistant, but I figure if the bedroom is open, she might just find her way there.”

  Vince chuckled deep in his chest, then turned to me. “It’d be a favor to me. You know Indie needs a babysitter.”

  “Do not,” she protested. But we all knew it was just good fun.

  “I’ll think about,” I said, finally giving in.

  “It’d be convenient for Cross and Ransom if you two were in the same place, too,” Vince said.

  Why would he say that?

  “Ransom and I aren’t together,” I protested.

  Vince’s mouth formed a thin line and both eyebrows went sky-high, as if this were a surprise to him. Why did everyone think Ransom and I were a thing? We’d hung out a couple of times in a non-romantic way.

  “Uh… ” He stammered. “I’m going to get the guys for our check.” Vince walked away, so I turned on Indie.

  “What have you told him?” I asked.

  She raised her hands in defense. “Nothing. I didn’t think he even knew you two have spoken. But Dad knows everything that goes on when on tour. He heard it from someone else, though.”

  I slid back behind the corner against the wall. “They’re coming,” I whispered. All four members of Courting Chaos were coming down the hall toward us and we didn’t want them to see us.

  Cross walked ahead of the rest. He reached out to open the door as the four of them talked at once, laughing at something that had happened on stage. When he turned the knob, it wouldn’t budge. He stopped talking and tried it again.

  “The fuck?” he said under his breath. “Did you lock this on our way out?” He looked to Ransom.

  “I don’t see why I would have.”

  He tried it again. Dixon pushed him aside to try it himself as Cross scanned the area until he saw us peeking from our not-so-good
hiding spot.

  “What’d you do?” he called out, humor playing at the corners of his mouth. The rest of the guys looked our way. When Cross sprung into action, Indie took off as if on instinct. I pressed myself into the wall so he could get by me without tripping.

  He caught her easily and swooped her up in his arms, then threw her over his shoulder.

  “Were you in on this?” Ransom’s voice came from behind me. I shouldn’t have known it so well, but then again, I’d been listening to it sing to me on the radio for years.

  I turned to him. “We’ve been doing a bunch of stuff for hours. You may get in there and find all your clothes gone. You’ll have to go onstage in those clothes.” Which I noticed were the same ones he’d worn into my hotel room last night.

  “Or naked,” he offered.

  I tried not to laugh but was unsuccessful. “The fans would love that.”

  He cocked his head to the side. “Would you?”

  The words that swam in my head wouldn’t form in my mouth. He didn’t get embarrassed, but that didn’t mean no one else did. Then he laughed loudly and came in closer.

  “I’m just messing with you,” he said.

  Indie’s laugh echoed down the hallway, but Ransom and I grew quiet. I wasn’t sure what to say to him after the ugly moments in the hall this morning. But if he didn’t get embarrassed, then I should say whatever was on my mind. But I’d say it quietly. His business was his business.

  “So that’s really not your girlfriend?”

  The smile slowly slid from his face. “No,” he finally said. “She was, but not for months now and only for a few months.”

  I wet my lips and nodded. “She doesn’t seem to think that.”

  “Yeah, well, she has a way of making up her own reality.”

  “Think she got pregnant on purpose?” I asked, though then wished I hadn’t. “To keep you in her life?”

  He blinked all of five times, as if the thought hadn’t occurred to him. As if he hadn’t considered the possibility that women did crap like that. “I don’t know,” he finally answered.

  Suddenly, Indie was running toward us and didn’t stop until she could hold my arms.

  “We should go,” she said slightly out of breath which made her sound desperate but not in a bad way. Cross turned the corner, walking casually with his hand jammed into his pocket and a sly grin on his face. “Become concert hotties. Fun night. Remember?”

  Her happiness became infectious. “I remember.”

  “Hotties?” Ransom asked with a smirk. “You coming to the show tonight?”

  “We are,” Indie answered. “And we’re going to be the hottest ones there. You’ll be able to find us by following the smoke.”

  Ransom chuckled as she pulled me away.

  Indie and I had the most fun possible getting ready for the concert on the bus. It was like we were back in our dorm and it was amazing. We grabbed a snack before heading out just so we wouldn’t starve before the concert ended.

  During the show, Ransom found us easily. I didn’t know how he did that, considering we were just two in a very large crowd, but his gaze kept flitting back to me and at one point he gave me a quick wink. He was on point. Watching him was breathtaking. I may have been biased, but I thought it was the best show of theirs I’d ever seen.

  In between Courting Chaos and Kissing Cinder, I really had to pee. Indie didn’t, so she stayed behind as I traversed the crowd to the women’s restroom. Surprisingly, I only had to wait on two people in front of me before a stall became available. Sweet relief.

  “But how are you going to convince him?” someone on the other side asked and for some reason I paused instead of unlatching the door.

  Others’ voices echoed in the restroom, but I’d taken the last stall at the corner and the women I was eavesdropping on were right outside my stall. I could hear them clearly.

  “It’s fine,” another voice said, then sighed. “I don’t really need to convince him totally. Just enough to keep him around until he realizes I’m right for him.”

  “But, Hope… a baby?”

  Oh, shit. They were talking about Ransom. And wait… convince him? Of what, that’s she’s pregnant?”

  “You could just actually get pregnant,” the non-Hope voice said.

  “Gross. No. I don’t want an actual baby, but I can keep this going until Ransom and I are back together.”

  “Then what?”

  “I’ll figure it out. But this is the best way to get him to spend time with me. He’ll come to his senses.”

  That was my limit. I released the latch and walked out, glaring directly at Hope. How awful did a person have to be to fake a pregnancy to get her boyfriend back when he didn’t want to be with her anymore?

  “Jesus Christ, you’re everywhere,” Hope said as soon as she saw me.

  “Who is this?” her friend asked.

  “The bitch trying to get her claws into my boyfriend.”

  “I’m not trying to do anything, but faking a pregnancy is pretty fucking dirty,” I said back.

  “You shut your mouth.” Hope stepped into my space, but I wasn’t going to back down, even if I had to look up to her. She really was incredibly tall. “I swear if you speak a word of this to anyone, I will make your life a living hell. My dad is a very powerful attorney and he knows people that are not so nice.” She squatted down so we were at eye level. “Don’t make me use them.”

  Then she and her friend left the restroom while I stood there with my mouth hanging open but already knowing I would tell Ransom everything I’d heard.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Ransom

  As I sang on stage that night, there was something different in the air. Sure, each show was inherently different with a completely new audience because two are never the same. Different venues had acoustics that varied. But no. This was aside from all of that.

  The feeling I had… that had to be Bellamy. With her in the audience watching, it was as if her eyes could physically reach out and touch me, and I loved every minute of it. I couldn’t help the wink I threw her. She responded by smiling softly and pushing a red curl behind her ear. Her hair looked soft; I just wanted to run my fingers through it. For now, I’d concentrate on the show.

  Everything went exactly as we’d practiced. Possibly the best set we’d ever played. We were amped up on adrenaline as we got off stage and walked back to the dressing room. I needed a shower. We all did.

  “What got into you?” Dixon asked from behind me.

  I glanced over my shoulder and grinned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You were on fire is what he’s talking about,” Cross offered up.

  “I just felt it tonight, that’s all.”

  “Perhaps a certain redhead had something to do with it.” Cross smiled and wiggled his eyebrows at me.

  I shook my head, tried not to gin, and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  After a long, hot shower, I threw on a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt. I wouldn’t admit to the guys that I hoped to find Bellamy, but that was exactly where my mind was. I wanted to spend time with her, get her to let her guard down a little, let me in.

  Since the girls planned to watch Kissing Cinder as well, according to Cross, I went with the guys to eat. Performing made us hungry. Nothing fancy, just a quick bite.

  On the way back to the venue, I noticed that a lot of the cars in the parking lot had disappeared, and the crowd had thinned, which meant Kissing Cinder’s portion of the show had ended. Time to get back to the bus and start the trip to another city. Dixon and Booker broke away from the group first, heading toward the bus they shared. Cross made it almost to our bus before turning away to find Indie in her bus next to ours.

  For a brief moment, I contemplated going with him to check in on Bellamy, but since I didn’t want to spook her, I grabbed the door handle on my own house on wheels, then froze when I heard, “Ransom, got a minute?”

&n
bsp; For Bellamy, I had all the minutes she wanted.

  “Come on in,” I said, then pulled the door open. We climbed in and she shut the door behind her. “What’s up?”

  Bellamy wet her lips, then worried at the corner of them, as if whatever she had to say made her nervous. Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

  “I know you don’t know me very well and would have no reason to believe me, but I overheard something in the women’s restroom during the show.”

  “Am I sure I want to hear this?”

  She tried not to smile. “Shut up.”

  I chuckled at the look on her face. “Go ahead.”

  “As I was about to come out of the stall, I heard a couple of women talking about you.”

  I nodded. “That happens a lot, I think.”

  “It does, but not like this.”

  Silence hung between us, making my stomach tighten. I didn’t think I wanted to hear it, yet knew I needed to. “Come on, Bellamy. Out with it. I can handle it.”

  “It was Hope and a friend of hers.”

  Pretty much what I’d been expecting. To be honest, if she’d just overheard some random women talking about what they would or wouldn’t do with me or one of the other guys, I didn’t think Bellamy would look as upset as she did. Her worry made me worry.

  “To make a long story short, I’m almost certain that she’s faking her pregnancy.”

  “What?” Not what I’d been expecting.

  “Actually, I’m one hundred percent sure.”

  I dropped onto the bench seat at the table in the tiny kitchenette. My knees felt a little weak, but I wasn’t going to wobble in front of Bellamy. “What?”

  She slid in the other side across from me. “She told her friend she doesn’t have to completely convince you that she’s pregnant. Just needs enough time for you to see that you and she belong together.”

  “The fuck we do.”

  “The friend suggested she could get pregnant for real and Hope wasn’t in favor of that. She sounded disgusted by the idea of actually becoming pregnant by anyone.” Bellamy reached across the table and laid her hand on top of mine. “I’m sorry, Ransom. She sucks.”