“Stay close to me,” he said the moment I dodged the security guards to reach his side. I’d taken off without a word to Flo, hadn’t even looked at another person, determined to step into the safety of Grayson. Well, safety and complete destruction of my vagina, which reminded me with a fluttering pulse exactly what had happened in that alley.
It was only when Rhett turned away from Jace and pushed in toward my right side that I felt a balance that allowed me to breathe again. Something about the two of them, the vastly different personalities that drew me in, allowed me to find an equilibrium within myself.
“Are you ready to go?” Rhett asked, expression concerned as he ran his gaze over me as if checking I was still in one piece.
“Yes,” I said, nodding hard. “More than ready.”
Making it to New York was step one of my plan. I couldn’t think about step two, or I’d break down.
Just one step at a time, and then I’d keep them safe.
Grayson reached for me, and I let him wrap an arm around my body, dragging me into his side. Rhett didn’t complain or even make a comment, he just drew in closer to my other side, so I was practically sandwiched between the pair of them.
“Jace, take the back,” Rhett snapped out, but none of us stopped to look if he had.
I didn’t have to look; I could feel his presence behind me as Grayson started to move. Move and drag me along with him as I remained in his protective hold.
The three of them were different but the same–I could feel it in their energies as they wrapped around me. That presence that gave them an extra spice of charisma.
In my experience, rock stars lived up to their clichés, something I’d known from a very young age since I’d lost myself completely in Jace. I was still lost, if I was being truthful with myself, hence why I had never cared for anyone else until I’d stumbled into the midst of Bellerose. Except Angelo.
It was definitely best that I got out of here before my need for these three sexy, famous, and rightfully crowned themost desirablemen in the world got me into big trouble. Might make the Ricci family coming after me look like a walk in the park.
One more night. That was all I had left, and as much as it hurt, I had to follow through with my plan.
When we reached the bus, Grayson didn’t trust anyone else to check it over. He left me with Rhett and a very silent Jace while he entered. Within a few seconds, Flo, Tom, and the majority of our security surrounded us, and not a single person entered the bus until Grayson gave the okay.
Something told me it would be very helpful to know Grayson’s backstory, even if another part of me was very aware that prying that information from him wouldn’t be an easy job.
It wouldn’t be achieved in the short time I had left with them, but maybe one day I’d find out.
I was all about the small slivers of hope that I couldn’t purge, even as the rest of me drew inside myself and back to reality. This had been a dream, living the rock star life. But it was not my dream.
Not my future.
Not any longer.
Only Bellerose, Tom, Mark—our driver—and I ended up on the bus. The rest were sent to the other two vehicles, as per usual, and we got moving much faster than we had before. We were on the road to New York within a few minutes, and it was a tense moment as everyone remained silent and unmoving in the living area. “I might go lie down,” I finally said, needing to escape the tension.
Before anyone could reply, I took off toward the bedroom and the only space in this bus to hide. It would appear normal to fall apart, but I couldn’t raise any suspicions about what my plans were. For that reason, it was best not to be around them as much as possible until we reached the city. From there they’d be busy with their concert, and I would solidify my plans to escape from the venue during the show. It was my best chance—to get lost in the crowds and know that Grayson and Rhett were on stage and unable to keep as close an eye on me.
That was the moment I would run and never look back.
Grayson would be pissed, no doubt. He clearly didn’t like losing control of anything. Rhett would behurt, and that was almost enough to make me reconsider. Ultimately, though, I’d rather Rhett’s feelings get hurt than him be dead. No question about it.
With a deep sigh, I dug my fingers into my pocket, searching for the scrap of paper with Angelo’s phone number on it.
“No!” I gasped as my fingers touched nothing but cloth. “No, no, no!” I sat bolt upright, turning my pocket inside out to find the paper,convincedit was just stuffed in the corner or something. But there was nothing but lint.
Nausea washed through me, and my breath came fast as I checked all my other pockets. The paper was nowhere to be found, though. When did I last have it? In the car… right before I ran. Right before Grayson had finger fucked me against an alleyway wall and made me see fucking stars as he kissed me.
Had I dropped it? Or did he have it? Either way, I was utterly sick with worry.
What would Grayson do, if he had it? Would he try to confront Angelo? One thing was for damn sure, he was no ordinary rock star… if such a thing even existed. Grayson was an enigma and no stranger to violence. It made me want to crack his head open and understand what had made him the way he was. And work out how the fuck he’d ended up inBellerose.
I flopped back down on the bed, running my hands over my face in exhaustion. It didn’t change anything, not having Angelo’s number. Not really. I’d just have to figure out how to either get spotted by someone who could let the Ricci family know or figure out how to contact someone in their organization to advise them that I was out of Bellerose. Then they could focus their attention away from the famous musicians. Which would keep the band safe.
A shudder of fear ran through me at the idea of facing Giovanni Ricci. He’d hated me as a teenager when Angelo and I were in love, so I doubted things had changed much since then.
