16. Chapter Sixteen
16
Evan
I’m not going to lie, my heart was racing so hard I was afraid it would burst out of my chest while I stared at the contents of my window on the floor.
Carmen taps her foot anxiously on the carpet, staring down at the rock with a glare, and sighs heavily. “Evan, maybe we should think about postponing the tour until this is figured out.”
The floor creaks, my eyes cut to Mia’s shadow beneath the bathroom door, and I cough to drown out the sound of her movements. Carmen frowns at me, but I ignore it and say, “No way, that would crush everyone. Nothing has put me directly in danger; as soon as that happens, you’ve got every right to cancel the tour.”
“The maniac threw something into your bedroom window. How did they even get onto the property?”
Good question.
“I’ll have Mia get onto that right now, but you should go back to your room and get some rest.”
Carmen shakes her head frantically. “There’s no way I’ll be able to sleep now. If he, or she, can get through the front gates, who knows what else they’re willing to do.”
“At least go grab a cup of coffee, or let the others know what’s going on and to lock their doors.”
I’m not counting on the stalker coming into the house, but I need Carmen to get out of here before Mia blows her cover. This is the best way for her to give me some space.
“Maybe I’ll grab Mia for you,” she mumbles, then nods. “Yeah, that’s what I’ll do, then I can go let everyone else know what’s happened.”
“No,” I say abruptly, then scrub a hand down my face. “I’ll call for Mia in a few, I just want a minute to get my emotions under control.”
Which is partly true. Knowing the stalker is now standing outside my bedroom window is enough to have me shaking, but I’m not about to show that to Carmen or she’ll never leave.
Carmen frowns, but nods. “Whatever is best for you, Evan, just let me know if you need me.”
I cough again when Mia moves, which causes Carmen to turn toward me. “You should really get that cough checked out too, it’s probably not good for you to be on stage when you’re sick.”
“I’ll get on it, Carmen, thank you.”
“We’ll figure this out, Evan, maybe hire another guard to help Mia out?”
“If Mia agrees to it, then sure.”
“Okay…well, goodnight.”
As soon as the door opens, then shut, I hurry over to it and slide the lock into place just in time for Mia to come scrambling out of the bathroom with wild eyes.
“Evan, we’ve got to figure out who this is. You’re only putting yourself in more danger by continuing with the tour, maybe you should listen to Carmen on this one.”
I shake my head. “I can’t, Mia, the fans are counting on us.”
“Maybe we should make sure everything is okay with Liam,” she says softly, chewing on the inside of her cheek.
Ever since the last note, where they mentioned something about Liam, Mia has been going overboard on the phone calls and texts. Every thirty minutes she’s texting Kenzie, asking if Liam is okay, then calls every two hours to talk to him. This is eating her up inside, knowing she can’t figure out who it is, but I’ve got a feeling we’re almost there.
It’s only a matter of time before the stalker ends up coming clean about their identity… and there’s something inside of me that says I won’t like it when we find out.
The drive to the venue is tense. Mia's eyes constantly scan our surroundings, and her body is coiled tight like a spring.
I try to focus on the set list and on the excitement of performing, but the stalker's threat hangs heavy in the air.
As we pull up to the stadium, I take a deep breath. It's showtime, and it's time to give the fans what they came for.
But even as I plaster on a smile, I can't shake the feeling that something's not right.
***
As much as Mia wanted me to cancel the show, I managed to convince her that it was the right thing to do since we had to postpone the other half of our US tour.
Brent’s solo song, a slow one that he wrote just for Julia, comes to an end, and he clears his throat into the mic with a big smile. He thought it would be awesome if we started this set with this song because he wants to surprise the fans about Donny being back.
“Okay, okay, we’ve got something very special for you guys tonight,” he says, and the crowd goes insane around us.
When I look backstage, Mia is nervously darting her gaze around the stadium, while Carmen looks like she wants to push Donny off stage. Donny’s bouncing from excitement, his drumsticks clutched in his hands, and he runs a hand through his long curls.
The women loved his long hair, and I can’t imagine they’ve already forgotten about it.
“Alright, come on out, man,” Brent says, looking right at Donny.
He takes confident steps toward the stage, and as soon as the spotlight shines on him, the women in the front row nearly trip over each other to get a closer look at him. There’s people standing up on the top rows, practically leaning over the banister, and I shake my head with a chuckle.
“Give it up for Donny, everyone, who is more than happy to be back with us!”
I’m not sure why he did it, there was no reason because the crowd sounds exactly the same.
Donny makes a show out of the attention, doing his own thing on the drums for a few moments, and then he winks toward the curtain that closes us off from backstage. When I look over, Carmen is glaring at him, and her arms are crossed in front of her.
She acts like there wasn’t a chance that Donny would be put back into the band. I understood her need to have him audition since he was gone for quite some time, but she couldn’t think he wouldn’t kill it. Did she ever hear him on the drums? He’s practically a God, and if we said no, the next open spot would’ve gladly stolen him from us — which wasn’t happening.
Brent nods his head at Jace, who starts up the next song on our set list, and the crowd dies down so they can pay attention to the beats Donny starts to make it with the drums.
Every eye will be on him tonight, no doubt.
Having Donny back feels right, like a missing puzzle piece slotting into place. We're not the same band Donny left. We've grown and changed. Can we find our rhythm again, on and off stage? Only time will tell.
For now, I focus on the music, on the energy Donny brings. It's good to have him back, complications and all.
As I start my part of the song, there’s a noise that echoes above me that has my eyebrows pulling down, but since I don’t hear it again, I shake it away and continue strumming. Brent brings the mic up, ready to belt the lyrics, but I’m being knocked onto the ground before he can start.
I’m about to ask what the hell is happening until one of the beams above us crashes right into the space I was once occupying. When I glance over, Mia’s got her entire body wrapped around mine, and she’s breathing heavily against me.
She just saved my life.
The crowd gasps, eyes wide with fear at what just happened, and Brent jogs over to me on the floor with the color drained from his face. Before I know it, Carmen’s rushing onto the stage and snatching the mic from Brent’s hand with a smile.
“I apologize, but unfortunately, we’re going to have to cancel the show tonight. Everyone will be refunded for their tickets, and we’ll be sure to let you know when there will be another one.”
Everyone groans, but they start filing out of the stadium without a single complaint.
Mia pushes herself off me, then holds a hand out to help me from the ground, and she looks me up and down rapidly. “Are you hurt?”
She roams her hands over me. Worry is evident in her features, then bends down to make sure my legs aren't injured before rising from the ground and straightening in front of me. Her eyes cast below the stage, where Rory is currently standing, with his eyes narrowed on the scene beside me, and she beckons him over to us.
As soon as Rory gets in front of her, she nods her head toward the space where the beam should be and says, “Get someone to look at that, see if it was an accident or foul play.”
Rory nods, then hurries backstage to gather whoever is necessary to look at everything.
Mia looks between me and the guys, then sighs heavily. “You guys head to the dressing rooms.”
She places her gaze on Carmen, and then she looks at me. “Carmen, take Evan to his and keep an out for anything weird. I’m going to stay here, just to make sure the guys check everything out okay.”
Carmen nods, her posture drastically changing with the job she’s been asked to do, and I let her lead me from the stage and in the direction of the rooms. Brent wraps an arm around me, giving me a quick hug, while everyone else nods and hurries into their rooms.
I could’ve been killed.
Mia saved me, and I have no clue how I’ll ever be able to repay her for that. It only cements my feelings further — I’m falling for her. I could see how scared she was for me, the emotions swimming in her eyes as she looked me over, and my heart warms at the thought.
I should be terrified right now. Don’t get me wrong—I’m scared, but knowing that Mia is the one watching my back gives me a level of bravery that wouldn’t have been there if she wasn’t. She makes me feel stronger than I’ve ever felt before.
I’m just getting a new shirt pulled over my head, a cotton sweater that I snatched from my closet earlier before heading out, when there’s a rapid knock on my door. Mia bursts through the door without my okay, which doesn’t bother me, and she shuts it immediately before rushing over to me.
She lets me lift her into the air, her arms tightening around me, and I set her gently back onto the floor.
“This is done,” she says. “The tour is getting postponed, whether you like it or not. I’m not going to keep watching this psychopath do this to you.”
A tear slides down her cheek, and I carefully swipe it away while nodding. “You’re right. It’s the best thing to do.”
“They checked over everything,” she says quietly, leaning into my touch while still staring into my eyes.
“Okay, what’s the verdict?”
Her eyes close slowly, another tear rolling in response, and she sucks in a breath before saying, “The screws were loosened, Evan…someone is really trying to hurt you.”
I’d already gathered that, but I was hoping it could’ve been a mistake by the stadium, and they hadn’t had anyone look over things in a while — it’s rare, but it happens, and it would’ve been better than finding out someone is trying having me squashed right on stage.
Mia shakes in front of me, and I immediately pull her into my chest, then press a kiss to the top of her head. “Hey, I’m okay, darlin’.” Her shoulders shake with sobs, my heart cracking at the sound, and I run my fingers through her hair.
I’ve never seen her so worked up before. Sure, I’ve watched her get angry and protective, but crying uncontrollably? Never.
In her line of work, I imagine emotions are something she tries her hardest to hide.
Yet, she’s not hiding them now in front of me, and that has me thinking entirely too much.
What if she feels the same way as I do?