The Grabber looks up, wincing.
Josh leans to him and growls, “Learn some fucking manners, or we’re gonna dance.”
Grabber’s friends circle Josh. Josh doesn’t waver, his eyes piercing Grabber.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Sky says.
Grabber’s friends gaze up at Sky.
“I forgot to feed it dinner.” She’s petting Rocco’s head, gesturing at him. “Makes Boo here unstable.” Rocco glares toward the strangers, confirming her statement.
Josh asks Grabber, “Tango?”
After evaluating the situation, Grabber slowly shakes his head.
“Josh-u-a!” Jolene pushes her way back through the crowd, completely unaware of why Josh is manhandling the stranger. “You let him go,” Jolene scolds, as if Josh were a child.
Josh’s hand releases the man, but his eyes do not.
Jolene nervously explains to Grabber, “I’m so sorry. My boyfriend warned me he was hungry, but I didn’t listen.”
The strangers peer back at Rocco. Sky grins. “Told ya.”
Jolene rolls her eyes. “So short tempered when his sugar drops. Are we all good here?”
Grabber appears somewhat guilty. “Uh, yes, ma’am. We’re all good here.”
As we walk away, Josh tells Grabber, “She wouldn’t have deserved that, huh?” Grabber puts his head down.
After feeding the guys, we head to the stage. I yank on Dereck’s hand as I slither through the growing crowds. “Sky, how much farther?” I can’t see shit with all the tall people around me, so Sky is my scout.
“Three kilometers to the north.”
“Do you even know what kilometers is?” Roc asks.
“Tower, I am busy directing traffic from up here. No distracting comments from minions, please.” She shouts, “Almost there, my sweet!”
Managing to lead the Crew to the very front, I touch the stage as if it’s the long-awaited altar I have been searching for my whole life. Roc takes Sky off his shoulders so we can be together. As soon as she’s back on my level, I scream and hug her. We’re so excited, but nothing compares to my thumping heart as the lights begin to fade.
The first band we’re to see tonight enters the stage. They’re a local band named Moonshiners. From what I’ve read online, Destiny picks a strong local band to open her concerts in whatever city she’s performing. And since she is from Austin and lives here, this is the band she’s picked. Moonshiners was really building momentum on their own, but now, because Destiny has chosen them, they are already getting radio time. Another band will perform after Moonshiners, then we get Destiny’s show.
The crowd is squished together like a tightly packed can of tuna. We bounce off each other in wave formations, and it only gets worse as the crowd gets more riled up. But I love it! We’re all here to have fun. Good cheer echoes through the air. The Moonshiners seem to be loving life, being a part of this great concert. They finish a song, and the lead singer yells into his microphone, “How we doing, Austin?”
Maybe it’s my bloodcurdling scream or my body losing absolute control, but I win the lead singer’s attention. He moseys over as if ready to pick which slice of pizza to claim. Into his mic, he says, “This little one is losing her mind. What’s up, girl?”
He extends his mic, and I say, “I need your help.”
He nods at the band behind him with a knowing, naughty smirk. “I am at your service, pretty girl. Name it.”
This is probably not what he’s expecting, so I rush my words before he can stop me. “It’s my husband’s birthday, and I need your help with his gift.”
Dereck leans down. “What are you doing?”
The singer throws his hands into the air. “You’re married? Well, don’t that just make me lose interest.”
“Since when?” his guitarist asks into his own microphone.
The drummer follows with a comedic da-da-dump.
Smiling, the singer shrugs at the laughing audience.
“Yes,” I say, “but you’ll be my hero if you let him sing a song.”
Dereck violently shakes his head. The singer points. “Don’t think he’s on board—” He pauses when peering behind me. “Dukes? Number 2?”
That’s Josh’s jersey number. This Texas crowd starts screaming. I pull a shocked Josh forward, offering him as a sacrifice. “Yes, Josh Dukes. Will that help me?”
“Holy shit! Hell yeah, that helps you. Anything for our quarterback!” The singer squats, excitedly reaching out for a handshake. Then he gestures at Dereck. “Sorry, dude, you’re singing. Get him up here.”
Moonshine fans pick Dereck up and start shoving him onto the stage. Dereck looks over his shoulder. “Serenity, what did you do?”
I scream at the top of my lungs, “Happy Birthdayyyyy!” I don’t have money, my IOU list has been cremated, so I thought of this when he surprised me with tickets.
An acoustic guitar is strapped to Dereck, and he’s placed in front of a mic that just happens to be in front of thousands of people. The crowd silences, waiting. Dereck takes a deep breath and says into his mic, “Uh… not quite sure how this happened, but—uh… here goes nothing, I guess… Uh, I would like to sing a very special song that I wrote for my wife.”
I face Josh. “For me?”
“Like I have a clue of what’s happening here.”
Dereck plays the guitar, and I recognize the music. The song he played in the rain—the night we made love. This was supposed to be me surprising Dereck, and he ends up surprising me?
The lyrics didn’t sink in that night, but they sure do now:
If the sky came falling down tomorrow, I would stand by you
If fire burned through the sky, I would stand by you.
My pledge, my pledge to you
Mountains to be moved every day, won’t ever scare me away
Rivers of emotions to be crossed, by my side you’ll never be lost
My pledge, my pledge to you
I hear an echo of a female voice singing with him. One I’m pretty sure no one else is hearing.
Journeys deep, journeys long
If you can’t see me, I hope you hear this song
Journeys deep, journeys long
Baby, I’m coming, it won’t take too long
I hope you hear my song
There’s volcanoes, yearning to erupt
In my heart, I know I’m enough
Smokes trying to lose me in their clouds
I’ll yell your name out loud
My pledge, my pledge to you
Something is feeding him, settling him into this song as if he’s a pro.
Mysteries from the past, don’t worry, baby, now they won’t last
Secrets that try and hold you from me
They don’t know what I can be
Seeing another side of Dereck Hamilton is alluring and magnetic. Dereck finishes playing his guitar and rests his hand on his chest—like the Crew does. He sings with no music, My pledge, my pledge to you. His eyes shut, followed by silence.
I gasp. The Crew has taken a pledge? To me? Sky? For what? Why? My body jerks when the crowd explodes, pulling me from my thoughts.
As the lead singer approaches Dereck, he yells, “Damn! That was awesome. What is your name again?”
“Dereck—Dereck Jones.”
I understand the lie. Dereck wants this night for himself. No media following the Hamilton name, as they have been lately. Dereck jumps off the stage. I’m motionless, shocked. Pledge… what does this mean?
Dereck picks me up. My legs wrap around his waist as he carries me through the crowd. In my ear. he says, “That was the best birthday gift in the whole world.”
The Moonshiners begin playing again
. I hold tight to Dereck’s neck and absorb the love he’s sending me. Pledge? Over lifetimes? Why?
As we make our way through the crowd, people pat Dereck’s back, wishing him a happy birthday. In his arms, I watch over his shoulder. Josh shakes hands while trying to follow us. Sky, perched on Roc’s shoulders again, watches it all. Our world is changing.
We finally clear the thick crowd. Dereck sets me down and kisses me. Hard. Circling us, the Crew all talks at the same time.
“Where did that come from?” “That was incredible!” “Dereck! Dude!” “Did you hear him?”
He grasps my face. “I love you. Thank you, you crazy girl. Amazing. Just amazing.”
Skyler hugs me from behind. “That was so rock-star-ish, you nut!”
Jolene jumps up and down. “Hot! Hot! Hot! Damn, that was hot!”
“Hey!” Josh yells to Jolene, “I helped him get up there!”
She grabs him and lays one on him. “You are so getting laid tonight.”
“Much better.”
At the T-shirt stand, Dereck gestures at the wall of samples. “Which one do you want?” He’s still on cloud nine.
I stare, slobbering at the display of the many T-shirts. “I can’t decide! Oh, I love that backpack.”
Media pics always show Destiny in airports with a backpack slung over her shoulder. And her band members are always posting Snapchat or Instagram pics of her on the road with her trusty backpack.
Dereck points over my head, telling the cashier, “We’ll take that backpack, that keychain, those three shirts in extra small—”
“Dereck! Too much—”
“It’s my birthday, and I can do what I want. Sky, you want a backpack, baby?”
Sky screams yes as Rocco pulls the T-shirt he just bought her over her head.
“We need another backpack, please. Jolene? Backpack?”
“No, thank you, but I’ll kiss you for that cowgirl hat.”
Josh is standing behind her, signing the back of someone’s T-shirt. “I heard that.”
One Destiny shirt is for me to wear now, and the others I roll and put into my new backpack. Stuffing the last shirt in, I stop dead in my tracks. Family. The feeling of belonging blows through my whole being.
I look at where this mystical breeze is coming from. A man about Dereck’s height but thicker is walking right toward us. The real-life cowboy is complicatedly gorgeous. Tough—country kind of strong, seriously used boots, which I happen to respect and am mirroring—but that’s not what has me. His green eyes look… familiar. The light of his aura is white, like Dereck’s, yet his light blue color is rimmed with silver. It’s warm and so inviting I’m sure I know this stranger, and know him well.
As when I met Dereck and saw visions, one returns to me…
“Is she still with Hitler?”
Adalbert nods, grabs Dereck in a strong embrace—pulling me with him. The man kisses my head as if he adores me then pushes us away. “Now go! One must survive.”
Adalbert is this man standing before me. His rugged voice asks, “Are you Dereck?”
“Yes, sir.”
My brain tries to not overheat and continue to be coherent during the conversation. Adalbert is shaking Dereck’s hand. “Hi, my name is Sawyer Crowe.”
I start feeling woozy. I whisper to anyone listening, “This is Destiny’s husband.”
Dereck’s eyes bug out of his head as he shakes his hand. “Uh, sir, I apologize, but I lied on stage for privacy reasons.”
Sawyer takes a step back. “Oh, if I’m intruding—”
“No, sir. It’s just… my last name is Hamilton.”
Recognition crosses Sawyer’s eyes immediately. “’Nough said. I live in my father’s shadow at times. I work with horses, and he was a master at his trade. One that has been hard to live up to.” He gestures. “Anyways, if you have time, Destiny would love to meet you.”
“What? Umm, because of Josh?” Dereck points next to him.
Sawyer gazes at Jolene, tilting his hat like a character in an old western movie, then shakes Josh’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Dukes.” He answers Dereck, “No. It’s because of your song. Do you mind coming to the tour bus? Your friends are welcome.”
He peers at us friends, and when he sees me, our eyes lock. I watch in slow motion as his big hand rests on his chest.
The pledge…
Sawyer shows his badge as he moves the Crew behind the scenes—backstage. People carry equipment and move quickly, talking into headsets. Major hustle and bustle. Parked next to a semi is a big black-and-brown bus with pretty earthy, golden-brown designs. The sides appear to be extended for extra room inside.
As we approach, two women walk off the bus. One says, “Hair and makeup done, Cowboy.”
“As always, thank you, ladies.” Sawyer tilts his cowboy hat as they walk past.
A huge black man stands next to the bus’s entrance. He sees me and raises his hand over his heart. For some reason, I think of the huge man that I saw at Margie’s—the one with his sister who thought she knew Sky. “Your watch,” the sister had said. Oh, watch… He’s a bodyguard.
“Security cameras help you find them?” I would expect a bodyguard to be in clothes he can easily maneuver in, in case he needs to fight someone, but this man is dressed in a suit and tie.
Sawyer pats Rocco on the shoulder. “And I used this big guy as my beacon. Everyone, this is Zane, our new addition, due to all the scares you probably have heard about in the news.”
I think about the DJ on the radio saying that Destiny has had some scary close calls with creepy fans.
Zane says to the rest of us, “Nice to meet you guys.”
My heart pounds as I follow Sawyer up the stairs of the bus. I’m overwhelmed with all I’m seeing, and I trip, but before I can fall, Sawyer’s hand reaches behind him and grabs mine, keeping me from going down. Just as Dereck’s did in the Hindu memory. He reacts with lightning speed, and Sawyer didn’t even look back. He knows where I am.
Holding his hand, I tried to say thank you, but my mind leaps…
“It’s only going to hurt for a little while.” Her voice is rattled but trying to sound courageous for me.
I recognize this sound of strength. I blink when I see the cloak. Even though it is night, and only a fire lights us, I will always recognize the woman from my dreams. Yet this is not a dream.
I cry, “I don’t want to go,” as someone forcefully grabs my upper arm.
Dereck’s arm swings over my head, and he punches the one grabbing me. Once I’m freed again, the cloaked one pulls me into her embrace. Dereck is giving her the moment she needs. Over her shoulder, I witness a huge crowd of people that angrily yell at us. They’re in old clothing and cloaks, mimicking ours. Sawyer fights everyone he can get his hands on. Then Dereck’s body hits my back as another man is thrown past me.
Her brown eyes are crying as she grasps my face. “Listen to me. We’re not winning this one, so I need you to be brave—”
A man yanks her, forcefully dragging her away.
Sawyer screams in rage as the men holding him back fight to control him. “Noooo!”
As if accepting the inevitable, the cloaked one stands tall and proud as they tie her to a tall stake. Looking back at Sawyer, she mouths, “I love you.”
He becomes a beast and tosses seven men off him, then runs for her. His arms get to hold her one more time before he’s ripped away from her by the mob.
Dereck huddles his upper body over mine as he pushes others away. “No! Don’t do this. They are not what you think!”
But too many hands reach for me. I watch in agony as they approach the wood under the cloaked one, preparing to light it.
Still restrained, Sawyer hits his knees as he lets out a bloodcu
rdling scream to the sky. “I need more help! I can’t protect them like this!”
Dereck grunts in my ear, and his body goes limp—heavy on mine—before he rolls to the ground, blood running from his head. I reach for him but am taken over. Like the cloaked one, I do not fight them. I can feel my surrender to my fate as I’m tied to a stake next to her.
Her brown eyes are fixed to mine…
They set us on fire…
Sawyer’s eyes peek out under his cowboy hat. “Are you okay?”
I’m still holding his hand, fighting tears. Breathless, I tell him, “You had to watch.”
“Pardon?” he asks with a hint of a country accent.
“Baby Doll?”
Dereck’s hands lie on my waist from behind. With my free hand, I touch him. Dereck’s alive.
Attempting to appear normal, I nod. “I’m okay.” But in all truth, I’m starting to crack. Too much… Too much…
As I continue up the stairs, my ears begin buzzing as soon as I hear a voice. “Rusty, we can fix that in the studio next week…”
At the top of the stairs, Sawyer lets go of my hand. I watch him walk to a little brunette, no bigger than me. Her back is to us as she talks on a cell phone. “Yeah… Sure… ’Kay, see ya then.”
Sawyer, the man who has the inner strength of a Viking, softens at the sight of her. The phone is placed on a table. Sawyer rests his hand on her shoulder to get her attention. Watching him touch her this way, I have a memory crashing into me. They are the two people with Dereck and me in the Roman warrior times. Now I can remember their faces clearly in another lifetime. I grab my chest as my heart pounds erratically.
The Crew gathers on this bus, looking around, but not me. I can’t. So drawn to her, I can hardly breathe.
Destiny snaps her sight to her shoulder, where Sawyer is touching her, and grabs his hand. Under her cowgirl hat, she slowly lays his hand on her cheek, inhaling deeply. Then she becomes frantic. “It’s her! When did you touch her? Where is she, Cowboy?”
Serenity (Forever Book 1) Page 40