I was nervous. It wasn’t a real date, but it was a date nonetheless. Oh, who was I kidding? We were on a date, and his sister’s words were bouncing around in my head. Seduce him? I wasn’t the seductress he accused me of. I didn’t know how to be sexy for him. It’d always been so easy before. Now, I just felt awkward.
“What can I get you?” the waitress asked as she approached the table. Her eyes scanned his multitude of tattoos, and she looked at me with a weird expression on her face. She raised a brow at me, and I rattled off an order for a salad and some water.
“Steak and eggs,” Braxton replied when she asked him.
I folded my hands on the table top and took a deep breath, because we were alone in the corner, and I figured it was a good time to talk things out. “I want to put the past behind us.”
“I’ve tried, Abby,” he said sadly, wiping a hand over his face. It was a nervous tick he had and I was fairly sure he didn’t even realize he was doing it.
“What can I do? What can I say, Braxton?” I begged, reaching out to take his hand. I felt a small bit of relief when he didn’t pull away from me.
He started to speak, but paused when his thumb brushed over the rough patch of scarring on the back of my left hand. I tightened my hold, because I didn’t want him to let me go. What surprised me was when he carefully lifted my hand to his lips. I saw the tears well up in his eyes when he pressed a kiss to the scar. “I did this, and for as long as I live, I will never forgive myself.”
“I forgive you,” I stated, my voice strong and stern. I knew he felt the harshness of my words because he looked up at me with wide eyes. “Now, I am not going to say it again, Braxton Keller. You have to stop this before the guilt kills you.”
“It’s hard.” He paused, carefully placing my hand back on the table. I found comfort in the fact that he didn’t release his connection. “I don’t deserve you, Abby.”
“Yes, you do, Braxton,” I replied, feeling tears prick the back of my own eyes. “I’ll always be your Abby.”
“Yes, you will,” he nodded. As the waitress returned with our food, a small smile appeared at the corner of his lips and I felt my heart burst open with relief.
I was finally getting through to him.
Braxton tucked into his food while I poured ranch dressing over my salad, picking out the tomatoes. He chuckled and shook his head, silently remembering my hate of the vegetable. Or was it a fruit? Didn’t matter, anyway. I hated them. Just like old times, he reached over with his fork and stole them from where I’d piled them on one side of the bowl. I smiled and took a bite, refusing to comment.
“So, be honest with me,” Braxton finally spoke up about halfway through our meal.
“What?” I asked.
“Are you really enjoying this job?” His narrowed gaze told me he would be watching for my answer, and heaven knew that man could tell when I was lying, but I wasn’t lying when I answered.
“I didn’t think I would like it after the first few shows, but it’s grown on me.” I shrugged, setting my fork on the table. “I like it, now.”
“Is it too much for you?” he continued. “It’s not bothering your arm, is it?”
“Actually,” I started, stretching my scarred arm out for him to see. I didn’t uncover it, but I wanted him to know I wasn’t ashamed of what happened. “I actually feel really good. Liam won’t let me lift anything too heavy. So, I usually just organize after he brings in the boxes.”
“Good,” he grunted. “He’s doing his job.”
“I wish I could do more.” I frowned. “Maybe, after this heals more, I can be of better use.”
“You are doing just fine,” he promised, taking my hand again. “I don’t want you doing too much, Abby.”
“You still care for me,” I stated, softening my voice.
“I never stopped,” he replied, but his face fell. I knew the moment his memories starting rushing back from the stiffness to his hands. Immediately, I began to rub circles over the back of his hand with my thumb, hoping that would calm him.
“Braxton, please don’t,” I whispered. “Please don’t go to that dark place.”
“Are you done?” he asked, clearing his throat. “We need to get back.”
“Yeah,” I nodded, taking the napkin off my lap and crumbling it before tossing it on top of the table. I stood from my seat, calming my erratic heart.
He took my hand and dropped two twenties on the table to pay for our meal, leaving a healthy tip for our waitress. Outside, the cold wind blew in my face, tossing my hair all around. Braxton stopped and pulled my hair back, tucking it into the back of my hoodie. I smiled and whispered a thank you as he took my hand and walked toward the bus. By the time we climbed the steps, the snow had started and the driver was looking at his phone with a frown.
“Weather is getting bad in Chicago,” he informed us. “We will probably make it as far as Joliet before we will have to stop for the night.”
Hayden, Marshall, and Lane were searching their phones for weather updates. Each one of them looked grim, and I felt my stomach drop. The food I’d just eaten was now soured.
A hush fell over the bus as he began the trek. I clasped my hands in front of me and tried to shake off the bad feeling I had in my gut. Taylor pulled Coraline down next to him on the small loveseat that sat directly across from us. Liam, Josh, and Kevin cleaned up the small kitchen area and took their seats at the dinette table. Ace and Cash excused themselves to the living area in the back of the bus with our security team in tow, holding their computers and phones close to their chests.
“I’m going to check in with Bleeding Secrets,” Ace said as he disappeared past the bunks.
Each bump and turn on the road caused my anxiety to increase, and I knew Braxton felt it from the stiffness of my body. He tried to relax and lean back on the couch. When I didn’t follow him, he sat up and wrapped an arm around my waist. “Everything will be okay.”
“I know,” I sighed. “I just hate driving anywhere in the snow.”
I’d lived in Seattle my entire life, but I never left the house during the worst of any weather. We didn’t get snow like they had in Chicago. So, I was a little on edge. I probably looked like an idiot for being nervous, but as I glanced at everyone else, they looked just as worried as I felt.
I decided to look out the windows, breathing a sigh of relief when I noticed there was only a thin layer of snow on the roads. The grass had more of the white stuff, but so far, everything looked fine.
“I need something to do,” Coraline announced. “Who wants to watch a movie?”
“That sounds like a damn good idea,” Taylor agreed. His eyes connected with Braxton’s and I saw something pass between them. I didn’t know if that look was a good thing or not, but I would trust them. At this point, it was all I could do, or I’d have a panic attack.
“Comedy,” Braxton blurted when Taylor stood up from his seat. There was a television on a partition behind the driver’s seat. Within a few minutes, we were set up, and Taylor dimmed the lights before taking his wife back into his arms and holding her protectively.
Braxton finally relaxed and crossed his ankle over his knee. I grabbed a small throw pillow from the other end of the couch and slid down so I could lay down on my side. I didn’t even bother trying to put the pillow in his lap. That was too intimate, and with everyone around, I wasn’t sure how he’d handle it. I was shocked when he tugged on the pillow under my head. When I lifted my head, he placed it on his lap, and I stifled a smile as I found a new place to rest my head. “Do you want a blanket?”
“No, thank you,” I said, then blushed. “I’m fine.”
Coraline was curled up in Taylor’s lap. It didn’t take her long to fall fast asleep. He sat as still as possible, watching the movie in silence so she could sleep. I felt a longing in my heart for that. It’d been so long since Braxton and I had shared special moments. I honestly thought it’d never happen again.
He wasn’t touchin
g me, and I wanted so badly to reach up and take his hand, but I didn’t. I yearned for him to touch me as tenderly as Taylor touched Coraline. I had to stop myself several times from tucking my hand under the pillow just so I could rest my hand on his muscular thigh.
Ace and Cash never returned from the back of the bus. The rest of the crew stayed close as we continued down the road. It seemed like days before we reached the town of Joliet. I wasn’t sure how much further we were from the hotel, but at least we were closer than a few hours ago. I’d be glad when the bus was sitting still for once.
One second, we were sitting at a red light, the next, the bus started through the intersection, but didn’t make it far before the driver screamed out, “Hold on!”
Braxton’s arms were like steel bars as they wrapped around my body, and the next thing I knew, he was taking me to the ground as something crashed into the side of the bus where we had been sitting. Pain lashed the side of my face as my head cracked against the ground. I sucked in a harsh breath, feeling the cold air from outside invade my lungs. A hard shiver rolled through my body as I tried to move. My name was called, but my ears were ringing so badly, I wasn’t quite sure who’d said my name.
“Abby!”
“Abby!”
My eyes cleared and I saw a blurry image of Braxton’s face. His hands touched the side of my face, holding me in place. I shivered again and mumbled, “C…cold.”
“Don’t move them!” Someone was yelling for help. Maybe it was Ace? Cash? At that point, I was just too tired to care. When I heard the voice again, I realized it was Hayden.
I was so tired. Braxton’s warmth around me felt amazing. Why was the air turned on anyway?
“Don’t you dare go to sleep, Abby,” Braxton ordered. “Open your eyes. Look at me!”
I tried to pry my eyes open and saw his beautiful blue ones staring at me, and for a moment, I found myself lost in them, thinking they were back to the vibrant blue I’d remembered from so long ago. He was so handsome. As my mind started to clear, I tried to reach up and touch my head, but Braxton grabbed my hand, pulling it back to my side. “No, don’t touch your head, baby girl.”
“It hurts, and I’m cold,” I complained, finally blinking away the haze over my eyes. When I got a good look at Braxton, there was a trail of blood leading from his hairline down between his eyes and around his nose. “You’re hurt!”
“I’m fine,” he said, still leaning over me. “It’s just a cut.”
“But you’re bleeding,” I pointed out, but was cut off when he pressed his finger to my lips.
The blood wasn’t dripping off of his chin yet, and I took his words as truth, but seeing him hurt had tears building in my eyes. Braxton’s eyes widened and he leaned closer so we were nose to nose. “An ambulance is on its way. You took a hit to the head, and you are bleeding, too. I don’t want you to move until they get here just in case you are hurt worse than it looks. Don’t cry, Abby.”
“Braxton,” Lane barked as he came into view. “Let me have a look at your head.”
Braxton’s gaze rose up momentarily, but he quickly turned it back on me. He growled when Lane pushed on the spot at his hairline. “Check on Abby. I’m fucking fine!”
Lane frowned, but handed Braxton a white rag of some sort to press to his head, and in true Braxton fashion, he tossed it to the side so he could have both hands free. As much of a pain in the ass as he could be, Braxton was always loyal to his friends, putting their needs above his own. Just look at what he’d been doing for the last three years by living in squalor so my bills would be paid.
“Abby, where do you hurt?” Lane took to my left side, careful of my arm.
“Just my head,” I moaned when a pain flared behind my right eye. “I’m sure I’m going to be sore in the morning.”
“I think we all are,” he teased, giving me a weak smile. He looked up at Braxton and whispered something I couldn’t quite hear because of the ringing in my ears. On Braxton’s nod, Lane moved out of my line of sight.
“You’re going to be okay,” Braxton said as he leaned over me once again. He was so close that our noses were dangerously close to touching. As stupid as it sounded, I wanted nothing more than for him to press his lips to mine, sealing his promised words that everything was okay. “We will get you to a hospital quickly.”
“Stay with me?” I asked, feeling my tears roll out of my eyes. Braxton wiped them away as each one fell. “Don’t leave me, Braxton.”
“I won’t leave your side, Abby. I promise,” he whispered, tears welling up in his own eyes. “I won’t leave you this time.”
There was a commotion behind me. Ace, Cash, and our security team were mumbling, but their words sounded rushed. My mind started taking roll. Where was everyone?
“Oh, God!” I gasped now that my brain was finally back online. “Coraline! Where’s Coraline?”
“She’s okay.” He swallowed hard, taking a moment to look over my head. I didn’t hear her or anyone else for that matter. “Taylor has her.”
“The baby?” I cried. Please let their baby be okay.
“I’m sure she will need to be looked at, too,” Braxton stated after a long pause. “I think she’s okay, just in shock. We all are.”
Sirens sounded, cutting off our words. For the longest time, we all quieted as the realization hit us that we’d just been in an accident. I tried to calm my fear every time I saw most of the band and crew moving around us. The most activity was from our security team, and that worried me more than anything else, because of Coraline. They were quiet, but there was also an urgency to all of their movements.
The sound of heavy boots had Braxton looking toward the front of the bus. I heard Taylor’s frantic voice, “My wife is twenty-two weeks pregnant. She says her back hurts.”
My heart shattered, tears poured from my eyes, and when I tried to look behind me, Braxton held my face again. “She’s going to be okay.”
“But…” my voice trailed off when he shook his head.
“Ma’am,” a man said as he knelt at my side. “Do you hurt?”
“Just my head,” I replied, feeling a constant dull pain above my ear.
“We are going to get you looked at,” he told me, reaching into his bag to retrieve his supplies. While they put a neck brace on me, I watched as another paramedic tended to Braxton. His eyes never left mine, and I found some comfort in the fact that he was there. He wasn’t freaking out. In fact, he was the epitome of calm, and I hoped that was a good thing.
I was put onto a backboard and moved to a stretcher. Braxton insisted on riding in the ambulance with me, and they agreed. The ride to the hospital was slow, but we made it through the snow that had started falling right after the accident.
“Sir, we will need to take a look at that wound,” a nurse said as Braxton walked alongside my stretcher. “I’ll need you to come with me.”
“No,” he growled, ignoring the woman. He was still watching me, and I raised my hand from its place on the gurney, laying it on his hand that had a death grip on the rails. “Braxton, go with her. I’ll be fine.”
“No.”
“Braxton, go with her,” I scolded, turning to the nurse. “He can come to me when he gets checked out, right?”
“Yes, ma’am,” she said with a smile. “I want to look at that cut to see if it needs stitches, and I’ll bring him to your room as soon as we are done.”
“Go with her, Braxton,” I said, closing my eyes. “I’ll be okay.”
He didn’t reply, just let go of the hold he had on the stretcher. The paramedics kept rolling me away as he stood there in the hallway of the emergency department. The nurse spoke softly to him and he nodded, following her into another room.
A doctor met us as I was placed in my own room. He introduced himself and grabbed my chart. He went over all of the information he had, asking me questions. After I gave him my history and told him that I wasn’t allergic to anything, he ordered some scans of my head.
&
nbsp; “Someone will come get you shortly,” he replied. “I’m going to go check on your friends.”
“What about Coraline?” I asked, accepting help from another nurse who elevated the head of the bed I was on so I could at least sit up.
“She’s seeing another doctor, but I’ll check in on her for you,” he promised, closing the door softly.
The next hour, I was taken back for all kinds of tests to make sure I hadn’t cracked my head open. Braxton was waiting on me by the time I returned. He was sporting a few stitches where he’d been cut. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just some glass cut my head.” He paused, taking a deep breath. “I’m more worried about you.”
“I’m sure I am fine,” I replied, hoping like hell I didn’t have some crazy concussion or something.
“Are you hurting still?” he asked, walking over to the bed.
“No.” I smiled, scooting over as far as I could so he could sit on the edge of the bed. “It just throbs a little.”
We were interrupted by the doctor. I blew out a harsh breath in relief when he came in with a smile on his face. “Everything looks normal. I’m going to release you, but suggest you rest for a few days. Take some Tylenol for any headaches, and if it gets worse, please come back here as soon as possible. The nurse will give you your release instructions.”
“Thank you,” I replied, trying to stay strong in front of Braxton. I knew he was on the verge of losing control. I could see it in his eyes and I worried he’d run from me again if I was hurt.
I rolled my head to the left and saw him staring intently at me, but he wasn’t looking at my face. No, Braxton was staring at my left arm that was exposed from wearing a short sleeved hospital gown.
It was the first time he’d seen my scars in the bright light, and from the hard set to his jaw, I knew he’d just recessed back into his self-imposed journey to hell for the damage he’d caused me.
“Braxton, don’t leave,” I said as he stood and marched out the door.
Fatal Seduction (Fatal Cross Live! Book 3) Page 10