I smiled innocently, and loud enough for everyone to hear, I said, “No I don’t want to use the nipple clamps on you Holden. You’re such a deviant.”
Aiden started choking and sputtering on his drink.
Liv laughed and patted Aiden on the back. “I may change my bet.”
Aiden shook his head. “You can’t change your bet. Dibs Julia dies first.”
Holden leaned back and narrowed his eyes at me.
If looks could kill.
I grinned at him with pure amusement. Score one point for me.
His masked face suddenly softened and his eyes moved down to my mouth. The tingling sensation from earlier was back with a vengeance and I nearly considered leaning forward and kissing him.
There were several flashes from my left and men yelling.
Holden stood up so fast his chair flew back and he immediately pulled me closer to him so that I was shielded.
My assumption was that they were media from outside. There were questions being thrown at Aiden, but the more I listened, I heard several people calling my name as well.
“Miss White! Why is your website reporting you missing?!”
“How does it feel to perform at the Latimer’s wedding?!”
“Julia, are you dumping the independent label and signing with Bansham Records?!”
“What happened to the harassment suit this year Julia?!”
Holden barked at the security team surrounding our table, “Get those assholes out of here, now! If one of those morons gets back in here, one of you is getting fired.”
The noise died down as the reporters were moved out of the building.
I looked over at Liv. Aiden had her in a bear hug and looked livid. Liv for the most part looked unfazed and rolled her eyes at me.
Holden sat down, his face red and eyes still furious.
I reached out and slid my hand to the back of his neck. My fingers rubbed the bottom of his hairline. “Can I use your phone? I think I may have to check on some things.”
Holden slid his phone toward me on the table.
Liv piped up. “Did they say Bansham Records? I thought you said they were asshole rapists. And what was that about missing?”
Holden growled beside me. “You have some explaining to do.”
I held up a finger of silence to Liv as I dialed a familiar number. “Jared! Yeah it’s Jules man. I just got my photo taken by some weirdo photographer out here in Lakefield. They said our website reported me missing.”
Jared coughed, “Sorry about that. Couldn’t get you on the phone. Your sister called and said they filed a missing person’s report or something. Said to get it on the website.”
“Jared! Jesus, are you high?”
“Not today,” he replied.
“Don’t ever listen to my sister. Never, ever, ever. The only authorized person from now on is my dad.” I thought for a minute and added, “And Holden Saunders. That’s it. Take that shit down. Call Aimee and post something else.”
“You should be missing more often. We posted at noon and we’ve gotten over three million hits Jules.”
I held the phone out from my face and yelled. “Take. It. Down. Jared.” Then I hung up.
Liv, Aiden and Holden were all staring at me.
Holden opened his mouth and I held my finger up again.
I dialed my dad’s work cell number.
“Detective White,” he answered.
“Dad, it’s Julia.”
“Your sister called. What the hell is going on? I’ve been trying to call you since noon. Something happened with that wacko fan of yours and I called Allie. She said she didn’t know where you were. What phone number is this?”
“This is Holden’s phone. My phone got wet. What do you mean something happened? Allison was drunk at the airport and I had to drop her at Liv’s house. She called Jared and had him post some crap on my website about me being missing.”
“Who is Holden and where are you?”
I squirmed slightly. “I’m in Lakefield with Aiden, Liv and Holden. Allison is pulling some major drama. I’m fine.”
“Who is Holden?” my dad barked.
I looked at Holden and grimaced. “Uhm. The head of Aiden’s security division?”
Holden grabbed the phone from me. “Holden!”
“Sir,” he said into the phone and walked away from the table.
Uh oh. That was going to go one of two ways. Either they would hate each other, which I shouldn’t care about, but I would prefer that neither of them shot the other. Or, I would be dealing with two tyrannical men, bent on making my life a lot stricter.
Aiden deposited Liv into her seat and stepped away making his own calls.
Liv finally spoke, “So, who’s Jared? Is he cute?”
“No, he is most definitely not cute. He’s my website manager for the indie label that’s putting out some of my records. They still let me control my own shit but they do some marketing for me.”
She smiled. “So, you’re like kind of famous.”
I ran a hand down my face. “No, and I don’t want to be. I just let them do some promotions so I can get around at some festivals and stuff. Nothing big.”
Holden came back to the table staring holes in me.
I looked at him. “What?”
“You received three threatening love notes over the last year and your dad says someone tried to grab you on stage. You have a crazed fan that apparently threatened to kill you two months ago and you dropped the charges. Your dad also said he arranged for an off-duty police officer to help at your shows, but you refused. He mentioned some douchebag named Roger. Jared is apparently an idiot. This morning a dozen red roses showed up at your house, with your picture pinned to a gutted doll.”
I shrugged. “It happens.”
He grabbed my arms and forced me to stand up in front of him. His eyes burned furiously into mine. “Not anymore. You’re going to start explaining some things.”
I reeled back. “Holden, it’s fine. I was thinking about moving back here anyway. Maybe do some local shows and get my old job back. Or bartend, I don’t know.”
He gave me a look that was half crazy. For Holden, who didn’t show his emotions in public, this was turning his head slightly to the side by a fraction of an inch, bugging his eyes out, and clenching his jaw. It spoke volumes to me.
For some reason, I was hoping for a better response. I’m not sure what I expected. Certainly not roses and poetry, but the crazy look from him felt insulting.
“We’re going home. That dress is going to burn. Then, you’re going to tell me what the fuck Roger did, who the fuck Jared is, and why the fuck I’m not going to choke you for dropping legit charges.”
Aiden came back to the table and pulled Holden away for a private talk.
I looked at Liv. She had a smug smile on her face. “Yeah. Welcome to bossy, arrogant, overbearing brute world. You might as well give up now.”
I downed my White Russian in one gulp. The liquid burned down my throat. “Give what up?”
She gave me a dramatically fake laugh that sounded somewhat hysterical. “Your SANITY.”
I narrowed my eyes and looked at the back of Holden’s head. “Never. He’s not all that scary. Besides, I’m winning.”
Chapter Five
Holden was intent on getting me to the door and back to his place. He had come back to me and was now steering me across the bar with his hand in my lower back. The crowd had swelled to standing room only. Likely due to the press outside but it was also a very popular place.
Aiden and Liv’s presence was a hot topic as we passed by multiple people conversing. The noise from the crowd was starting to drown out the music in the background.
A perky brunette in a pair of jeans, ponytail and t-shirt came hopping out of the horde to stand right in front of me.
“Hi! Are you Julia White?”
I came to a stop and Holden ran into my back.
“Uh, yeah,” I said, smiling. �
��Who are you?”
“Kate, well Kaitlyn but everyone calls me Kate.”
Holden grumbled behind me, “We need to go.”
I elbowed him.
“What’s up Kate?”
“I know this is going to sound weird, but I work with Dr. Matthews at the clinic and he said he knew you. And that I should come say hello sometime, but I don’t think he realized this was going to be so crazy tonight because I’m not exactly dressed for it. Anyway, I’m saying hi and I also wanted to tell you that I really like your music and I’m glad you aren’t missing because you’re an incredible singer.”
My eyebrows shot up. She was either the happiest person I had ever met or quite possibly just the chattiest.
Did she even take a breath while talking?
Happy, happy.
I smiled at her. “It’s really nice to meet you! No, I’m not missing, apparently someone got a little worried when they couldn’t get me on the phone. I absolutely adore Logan, he’s awesome.”
Holden growled behind me and I smirked.
“In fact, I need to go see him. I was thinking of getting my old job back. He’s quite the looker don’t you think?”
Kate did a perky hop. “Oh, you’re telling me! Geesh, he’s gorgeous!”
Did people actually say “geesh” anymore? I just wanted to shake her and infuse some bad language into her vocabulary.
I’m a terrible person.
Holden started moving me around the perky girl named Kate.
“Oh uh, I’ll see you soon, I guess. What department are you in at the clinic?”
When she smiled, her entire face lit up. “Physical therapy. I’m so excited. Can you bring your guitar?”
I waved at her and nodded.
Perky didn’t even cover it.
Holden had managed to remove anyone else in front of us with the aid of another one of his guards. He stepped to the side to move a drunken woman out of the way. We were nearly to the door when a thin man with long hair and tattoos stepped in front of us from the side.
I recognized him and stopped.
Why was he here? This was pure madness.
My heart jumped in my chest.
It was the man who had grabbed me at a show I was performing at several months ago. He sneered and I saw him point a gun at me.
Holden turned me around so fast I lost my balance and nearly tripped.
I heard the weapon go off and I felt Holden jerk against me. I felt a hot burning sensation in the back of my upper arm. There was screaming and I saw a mass of people push past me. Their eyes were frantic as they pushed and shuffled away from the door. Another two shots rang out behind me.
Holden’s arm was still securely holding my waist. The burning sensation was starting to feel painful enough that I was dizzy. My legs buckled.
“Damnit! I need a car now!” I heard Holden yell above the raucous noise of the people around us.
“I’m never wearing this dress again,” I said. Then everything went black.
* * *
There were parts of the car ride that I remembered. Holden yelling at the driver. Sitting in his lap while he held my arm. It burned where he touched me. Him telling me I would be okay. I knew if he was telling me this, that I honestly would be.
Holden. I woke up and then went out. I wasn’t sure what was happening but I could smell his musky scent in my nose. He pressed me close several times against his chest.
He was carrying me when I woke up next. His arms engulfed me. He was yelling again and there was movement of several people around me. They were yelling at him and he was barking right back
When I woke up the next time I could hear a faint beeping sound. People were talking around me. The place smelled of cleaner and antibacterial soap. It reminded me of another time when I had woken up and had seen Holden asleep in the hospital chair.
My eyes fluttered open. Holden was leaning over me. He was scowling but his hazel eyes were worried more than angry. His square jaw was clenched, his short hair was sticking up in places, and he needed a shave. I wondered if he would ever get rid of the goatee at some point, but I couldn’t imagine his face without it.
He was still an ass, but beautiful.
I wondered if my breath smelled as bad as my dry mouth tasted.
“Hey, angel,” he mumbled.
Of course, his breath smelled minty.
Damnit.
“Water,” I croaked.
He didn’t reel back like I was the creature from the bottom of the swamp so I figured that was a plus. Still, where was a mint when you needed one?
“Okay, just a little bit. You had a bullet go through your arm. Had to do some minor surgery. You’ve been asleep for a while.”
Oh gawd.
I was probably hooked up to a catheter. Nothing sexier than having a urine bag.
“How bad?”
He walked to the sink and I quickly checked for the pee bag. Nope, all clear.
He brought me an ice chip and ran it across my lips before he broke off a piece in his own mouth. He surprised me by leaning over and rubbing his lips against mine. The stubble on his chin and around his mouth tickled. He swept his tongue between my lips and the ice chip slipped in.
I felt a tingling pool in my belly and my heart started to race. I sucked on his cool tongue slightly. He angled his head and dove deeper.
“What is it about you and Aiden getting horny over the patients? Stick your dick back in your pants Holden,” a deep voice said from the door.
Holden growled and got up from the side of the bed. His face went blank but I could tell he was irritated by the small tick in his jaw. “Logan.”
Dr. Matthews came around and perched on the side of my bed where Holden had been. He looked tired and a little thinner since the last time I had seen him. He was wearing a long sleeve dress shirt rolled up to his elbows. When I looked closely at his arms, I could see some puckering of skin that looked like it had scarred.
He gestured back to Holden with a slight turn of his head. “Looks like you’ve broken through the iceman’s cool façade.”
I blushed, thinking of the ice he’d just given me.
“He’s still an asshole Doc. No worries, I’m sure he’ll go back to normal soon,” I chuckled.
“Hmm,” was the only response the doctor gave me as he used a pen light on my eyes. I blinked several times.
“How bad was it?”
I could see Holden stiffen behind the doctor and cross his arms over his chest. His mouth was tilted up slightly.
The doctor smiled, “Not bad actually, as far as bullet wounds go. We have a magic bullet that went straight past Holden, grazed his ribs because he wasn’t wearing a vest for once. Can’t imagine how you got him out of one of those. Then it went through your arm, didn’t do much damage, managed to miss several people, and lodged in a chair.”
I threw a worried look at Holden. He had been injured and hadn’t told me.
“Wow, that’s weird.”
The doctor winked at me. “Exceedingly lucky I would say. For both of you. Holden has nine lives though so I’m really not surprised by that one. Let’s have a look at your arm.”
I turned to my side and the doctor slid the gown I had on over my shoulder. The edge of it came to rest at the top of one of my breasts.
Holden moved closer and looked like he might attack the doctor if he slid it any further down. He had a furious glint in his eyes.
The doctor sighed. “Back off Holden. I swear you and Aiden are the same person sometimes. Julia, fair warning that Holden has a temper. He once knocked Brock out for laughing while he had been trying to catch some shut-eye.”
I grinned at Holden. “I forgot, Liv told me you all served together.”
The doctor rolled his eyes. “Yes, and you can’t imagine what it was like dealing with the four of them all in the same tent. I felt like I patched more broken noses than bullet wounds.”
I kept staring at Holden, who was visibly relaxing t
he longer I looked at him.
Another man’s voice piped up from the door. “Hey fuckers.”
Holden scowled at him as the man he came to stand beside him.
“Oops, sorry Julia. Didn’t know if you’d be awake. Name’s Cade. I own the bar and have the misfortune of knowing these two assholes. Sorry. No offense.”
He and Holden could have been twins as far as body structure. But Cade had dark unruly hair and a clean face. He looked older than the doctor or Holden. It was in the eyes. The crow’s feet some people developed were starting to show. It could have been just the way he carried himself or maybe just that he looked slightly sunburned.
“Hey Cade. None taken,” I smiled. “Well, Logan here is checking my arm and Holden is trying not to rip the doc’s arm off.”
Logan poked at a particularly sensitive spot and I hissed. Holden jumped for the doc and Cade put a hand in his chest. “C’mon, let him do his thing.”
They walked away from the bed and I heard Cade say, “She’s got a nice rack man. If you’re not gonna hit that—”
There was a commotion in the hall and I heard a woman start yelling. Then there was a loud thud against the wall.
The doctor sighed. “At it again. Might as well get used to looking at a black eye now and then.”
“Oh, well I doubt I’ll be looking much. We’re not really together. Holden blackmailed me for a date.”
The doctor laughed. “Not dating. Right. Julia, I’ve know you for a while and I’ve always been very clear with you. So, now that you’re dating one of my best friends, I would like to let you in on something. Holden doesn’t date. If you’re going out on dates with him. You’re dating.”
I gave him a confused look.
“Olivia had the same look on her face when I warned her about Aiden. But I’ll tell you another thing, that guy has a lot on his mind. Holden has always been too serious. He was pretty messed up after we all got out. But, he went right back to the same things that messed with his head in the first place, which was doing security work. He’s married to his job. You’re going to have to learn to share.”
“It’s so weird doc. Holden isn’t like this when we’re alone. It’s like he goes into a different mode or something. I mean, he’s insane.”
He coughed. “Clearly. I’m not in the least bit surprised he’s different with you. I think you probably bring that out in people.”
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