KADE: A Second Chance Rockstar Romance

by Jane Anthony

  He locks my wrists above my head. I kick and cry, but his hold on me is strong and unyielding. Finally finding my voice, I scream, “Let me go!” I’m stuck here. My only hope is that someone notices I’ve been gone a while and comes looking for me.

  His knees are braced against the wall, holding mine open as grimy fingers inch up my skirt to the waistband of my panties. There’s a knock on the door, followed by a low voice saying my name. Salvation! “Kade! Help me!”

  The door flies open, and I hit the ground. The next few minutes are a blur of arms and fists, and the sickening sound of cracking bones and skin smacking against skin. Blood splatters across my face as I lie helpless on the floor, crying in a heap. Water shoots from pipes where the sink once hung, now on the floor next to the guy’s lifeless body. I don’t know if my attacker is alive or dead. All I see is a crumpled mess lying in a pool of his own blood.

  Kade lifts me off the filthy tile, cradling me in his strong arms, and runs out of the bathroom. He carries me through the restaurant, out the door, and onto the bus, finally sitting me down on the counter in the bathroom. “Are you hurt? Do you need a hospital?” His hands skim my skin looking for signs of damage, but the only thing marred is my psyche. I’m covered in blood, but none of it is mine.

  A knock raps against the door, and I leap into Kade’s arms, shaking like a frightened puppy. “Kade! What the hell happened? Where’s Ainsley?” Jenny’s shrill voice is more piercing than I’ve ever heard it. Kade literally carried me out of the restaurant without a word to the others still sitting in the booth in the back. The mess in the bathroom must have scared the hell out of her.

  “She’s fine, Jen. I got it.” The voice rumbling in his chest vibrates across my cheek. I cling to him for dear life as his protective hands stroke my crud-covered curls. I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if he hadn’t been there.

  “Ainsley, are you okay?” Jen’s voice is thick with concern. There’s no way she’s going to leave me unless she’s heard from me directly, and I don’t want to worry her any more than I already have.

  My breath stutters in a failed attempt to sound collected before answering her back. “Yeah, Jen. I’m okay.”

  “All right, lovie. I’m right here if you need me.”

  Her footsteps wander from the door, and the sound of sirens in the distance bring my worst nightmare back to the forefront of my mind. The feel of his blood on my skin is just as foul as his breath. I need to get every trace of that man off me.

  Kade steps away long enough to start the shower but comes right back. Steam clouds up the tiny bathroom as he hikes the dress over my head and drops it into the wastebasket next to the toilet. Even if it weren’t splattered in blood, I’d never wear it again. He lifts me off the counter, places my feet on the tile, and then removes my bra and underwear.

  When he looks up from his position on the floor, he doesn’t have the same lust-filled eyes I’ve grown accustomed to. Right now, I see worry staring back at me in his soulful gaze. This isn’t about sex for him, not this time.

  Rising from the cool tile, he takes my hand in his, helping me into the shower. The water pelts my skin but doesn’t ease my wounded soul. It runs off my body in pink trails that disappear down the drain. I huddle under the spray, holding myself, quivering despite the scalding temperature. I have nothing more to fear, but I don’t want to be alone.

  Kade fills the space in the tiny stall shower. I recoil at first, still skittish over the feeling of a presence behind me. Fresh tears begin to fall, and I melt into his body, allowing his warmth and strength to wash over me like the water from the nozzle above. “I’m sorry, Ainsley. I should have gotten there sooner.”

  “It’s not your fault, Kade. You saved me.”

  “As long as I’m around, no one is ever going to hurt you again.”

  CHAPTER 9

  “KADE.” VIC’S HUMMINGBIRD rap on the accordion door is more irate than usual. “There are police everywhere, Kade. You need to come out.”

  The word police causes me to spring up like a Weeble. This is bad. Jenny and I are supposed to be here to keep Kade out of trouble, but I’ve done the exact opposite. I caused trouble.

  Kade’s lips drop to my head as he pushes himself off the edge of the bed. “Try to get some sleep. This might take a while.”

  “I’m going with you,” I argue, standing up with him.

  “No. You’re staying here. I’ll handle this.”

  I continue pulling on my shoes and throw a sweatshirt on over my T-shirt. “Kade, be serious. You’re in a butt-load of trouble because of me. Besides, the police are going to want my statement anyway.”

  “A, I don’t get in trouble. I make the trouble. The cops aren’t gonna do shit to me.”

  And the cocky asshole returns.

  “Whatever. I’m going with you anyway.” I roll my eyes as I open the accordion door and walk out.

  My pulse races as I make my way past the row of pods and into the cool night air. Being wrapped in Kade’s embrace on the bus offered a false sense of comfort, but out here in the parking lot, surrounded by police and a gaggle of onlookers, my inner wounds begin to fester. I feel vulnerable, like any one of those people could come out of nowhere and hurt me again. Just like he did.

  A hand grabs mine, and I practically jump out of my skin. “Relax, sweets. It’s just me.”

  Kade’s presence outside kicks the lifeless mob into a frenzy. Policemen guard the lines of yellow tape that now barricade the area, keeping the crowd from rushing the crime scene. Oh my God, I’ve created a crime scene!

  “Mr. Black, Ms. Daniels.” Two men in blue uniforms approach us as we stand together in the lot. “I’m Officer Stranz, and this is Officer Fairchild. We need to ask you a few questions.” Officer Stranz opens up his little notepad and continues. “In your own words, can you tell me what happened here tonight?”

  I swallow hard, trying my best to keep my composure before rehashing the whole terrifying story. The officers make notes and nod along as I tell them in gruesome detail the events that occurred earlier that night. Kade’s hand squeezes mine as I recall the way the man talked to me and how he reacted to my telling him no.

  “Okay, so just to reiterate: Butch Robinson followed you into the bathroom, made an unwanted advance, and then proceeded to become aggressive when you told him no.”

  Hearing the slimeball’s name for the first time gets my hackles up. It’s just as sleazy as the man himself. “Yes, that’s right.”

  “At what point did Mr. Black intervene?”

  “I guess I was gone a while. Kade came to see if I was okay . . .” Maybe I should let him handle this. I don’t want to implicate him and make things worse. My gaze rolls in his direction. His jaw’s clenched tight, and his nostrils are flared. Hearing the recounted tale of what happened returns his murderous scowl with a vengeance. His hand holds mine so tight, I start to lose feeling in my fingers.

  “Ms. Daniels?” the policeman urges.

  “And I did what I had to do,” Kade counters.

  The policeman looks up from his notepad without moving his head. “So you admit to having assaulted Mr. Robinson in retaliation?”

  “I did what I had to do,” Kade reiterates.

  Officer Stranz stands straight, crossing his arms over his chest trying to look oppressive. If I wasn’t scared out of my mind, I might have laughed. Kade wins in the intimidation competition by leaps and bounds. He’s built like a brick wall. The sleeves on his T-shirt threaten to tear each time his arms flex. Not only that but, considering his erratic behavior, he probably has lawyers on standby in every city he ventures into. “If you aren’t going to cooperate, Mr. Black, I’m going to have to bring you into the station.”

  The corner of Kade’s mouth curves into an arrogant grin. “You gonna cuff me, too? I love the feel of cold metal against my skin.”

  What’s he doing? He’s actually goading the cop into arresting him! I stand there stunned as the c
op grabs Kade by the arm and attempts to pull him toward the squad car.

  Kade stands firm and drops a kiss on my mouth that sends my thighs up in flames. “Tell Vic to take care of this. I’ll see you in an hour,” he whispers before allowing himself to be escorted to the black and white vehicle.

  The crowd goes berserk. I’m rooted to the spot as he ducks into the backseat. Camera flashes pop, the red and blue lights blink, blinding me as I watch the car drive away. I turn and run back to the bus to talk to Vic as Kade instructed.

  Later that night, I lie in bed alone waiting for Kade to return. Vic seemed little more than annoyed that Kade had been arrested, giving me hope that he would be able to take care of it just like Kade said. Vic may be a total harpy, but I’m beginning to see why the band keeps him on. It seems like he has connections in every state.

  The creaking sound of the accordion door startles me awake. “It’s me, A. Don’t be afraid.”

  He pulls off his clothes and slides into bed next to me. “It took you longer than an hour.”

  His rich chuckle comforts me in a way I haven’t felt all night. It’s smooth, carefree. I love the sound of it. “Yeah, well, a few of the guys downtown were fans.”

  Snuggling in next to him, I breathe in the spicy scent of his skin and twist my leg up over his. “Is everything going to be okay?”

  “Yeah, sweets. It’s all good. No worries.”

  His arms wrap around me as I melt into his warm body. He always feels hot. As if his blood is rocketing through his veins at a furious pace at all times. It’s cozy, like cuddling up next to a fire that smells divine.

  “So what happens now?”

  “Now we go about our business as if it never happened.”

  I let out an inadvertent sigh of relief. Forgetting it ever happened sounds excellent to me.

  CHAPTER 10

  DESPITE MY LATE night, I wake up early, finding it hard to sleep on a moving bus. Kade lies next to me sleeping like a log. I watch for a few minutes, taking in the tiny parts of his face that usually go unnoticed. Long, beautiful eyelashes rest along a little row of freckles that sweep across his cheeks and onto his straight nose. Dark stubble grows along his chiseled jawline. His tatted up muscles seem less severe as he rests there peacefully, but the bloody scrapes on his knuckles are a stark reminder of what he’s capable of.

  I climb out of bed and slip from the room, closing the door behind me. The bus is quiet, save for Jenny on her cell phone with what seems like a business call in the kitchenette. She spots me coming toward her and greets me with the raise of her index finger.

  “Okay, thank you so much. Yes, I’ll be in touch with details.”

  She trades in the call for a series of swipes. “Mornin, Ains. How ya feeling?” Her distracted tone is questionable. The clicking of her nails against the screen of her phone continues with the rapid movement of her thumbs.

  “I’m better, thanks. Busy morning?” I move about the tiny space preparing myself a cup of coffee from the Keurig machine as the relentless click-click-click of Jenny’s nails continues behind me.

  “You betcha.” She finally stops her incessant texting and places her phone on the table face up. She stretches, releasing a groan that leads me to believe she’s been sitting there a while. “I’m trying to spin this crazy story to work in your favor instead of Kade looking like a crazed baboon.”

  The lights on the coffeemaker flash when I close the lid with the pod inside. I smack the middle button, having no idea what size my cup is, and hope for the best. “What story? What do you mean?” I tear my eyes from the trail of brown liquid filling the mug to see Jenny back on her phone.

  “Seems you and Kade are trending today.” With the simple nudge of her finger, the phone glides over the smooth tabletop toward me. Top story today: Kade Black, Hero or Heavyweight?

  “Oh, no! Jenny, this can’t be good.” I flop onto the bench seat, my coffee long forgotten and no longer needed. My eyes are so wide as I scroll through the articles that they actually start to hurt. I anticipated a little news coverage, but nothing like this. There’s so much.

  Some articles paint him out to be a hotshot who came to the rescue in my hour of need, while others just claim he’s a maniacal monster who beat the guy up for fun. When I come across one that actually has my name in it, I almost choke on my own tongue. “How did they get this information so quickly?”

  “From a lot of places. People at the restaurant, or onlookers that were crowding around as he was arrested. It’s more likely the information came from a mole, though.”

  I look up from the phone. “Mole?”

  “Yeah, a mole. You know, a rodent, a rat . . . someone at the police station probably leaked the story. Reporters pay top dollar for stuff like this.”

  She slides off the bench and saunters up to the Keurig for another cup of coffee. How can she be so calm? This is a disaster! My name is plastered all over the internet, and no one even knows I’m here! I can just see Bob sitting down over croissants in Europe, poring over the news and seeing grainy cell phone images of my face staring back at him. Standing next to Kade Black of all people! I’m going to be sick.

  “My personal favorite is the article that claims you’re a tranny Kade picked up on a street corner.”

  I fling the phone back to her side of the table not wanting to look at it anymore. “So what’s your plan?” Jenny places my coffee in front of me as she scooches into her side of the bench at the table, but the thought of drinking it now makes me want to hurl.

  “I’ve been on the phone all morning. Music Buzz is squeezing Kade in tonight for an interview to tell the real story about what happened. He’s going to need a red cape and friggin’ set of tights by the time I’m done spinning this shit in his favor.”

  So much for forgetting this ever happened.

  Music Buzz is the number one celeb news show. I’ll be humiliated on national television when Kade tells the world he had to save my drunk ass from getting raped in a dirty bar bathroom. Everyone is going to know my business. Bob . . . my parents . . .

  Shay.

  How am I going to look my innocent daughter in the face and explain to her what happened to me and what it means? This is worse than a disaster. This is life altering.

  “Ainsley, lovie, you look like you’re going to faint.”

  Jenny’s calmness exacerbates the situation, only making me feel worse. She’s about to destroy my life, and she’s so damn composed. “Does he have to do this? Can’t we just let this go? It was bad enough I had to live through it once, why would you make me do it again? Where’s your sense of loyalty?” My voice grows progressively more earsplitting as I come to the end of my rant. I’m having a mini panic attack right here in the kitchen.

  “Hey, my loyalty lies with my company. I have to do what’s best for it, and that means keeping the client happy. I’m sorry if you don’t like that, but it’s business.”

  She’s tactful and professional—you have to give her props for that. This is business, and I screwed with it from the start by sleeping with Kade in the first place. I’m the one who drank too much, and I’m the one who declined her offer for the buddy system in the bathroom. The only person here to blame for this mess I’m in is myself. Jenny has a job to do, and she’s doing it, much to my chagrin.

  “So it will go like this,” she continues. “Turns out this Butch Robinson guy was a small time drug dealer with a rap sheet a mile long, full of misdemeanors and assault charges. You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Kade heard your cries and selflessly came to the rescue of the woman he loves. It’s pure gold.”

  “But he doesn’t love me.” Far as I know, I’m just his piece of road tail. He’s never going to go for that. I’ll be willing to acquiesce that he likes me—and I stress the word like—but love? No way. There might be something brewing beneath the surface of that gorgeous head of his, but love definitely is not it.

  Famous rock stars just don’t fall in lo
ve with boring housewives. Period. They have tumultuous relationships with models and actresses. The thought of Kade sitting through a family dinner with my parents would have me rolling on the floor with laughter if I wasn’t so unbelievably nauseated from having this conversation.

  “Ainsley, be serious. Have you seen the way that man looks at you?”

  “Yeah, like I’m his own personal sex toy.”

  She snorts and takes a sip of her coffee. “No. Like you’re the Mona Lisa.”

  “Great, so I’m an ugly woman from the fifteen hundreds. Comforting, thanks.”

  “No, you ass.” She laughs. “I mean there’s something about you that draws him in. He can’t quite figure out what it is, but he can’t look away either. He’s had the same look in his eyes since the day those baby blues landed on you.”

  I don’t bother honoring her crazy insinuation with a response. There is no use talking about it anymore. There is little, if nothing, between us. I’m a fun distraction from the tour, and that’s it. No matter how she chooses to spin this incident, that’s all it is. Nothing more, nothing less.

  The click-click-clicking of her nails on her phone is the only sound between us until my name is bellowed from the back. Our heads whip in the direction of the lounge room then back at each other. The Cheshire Cat smile grows on her face like stop motion footage of a blooming flower. “Well Mona, it seems your services are being requested in the boudoir.”

  ***

  “Where did you fling my underwear?”

  I hang over the edge of the bed, peering underneath for the garment Kade couldn’t seem to get off me fast enough. He was hesitant at first, handling me with kid gloves. I think he was worried that I would freak out because of last night—what I’m now referring to as “the incident”—but the second he got my approval, it was on.

  “I honestly don’t know. Maybe I ate them in the throes of passion.”

  Laughing, I keep looking. The last thing I need is for someone else to find them. I’d shit twice and die. It’s bad enough this interview is hanging over my head. That’s gearing up to be mortifying enough as it is.