Chapter Eleven #2
The VIP area sits on the club’s top floor, enclosed by one-way glass—giving us a perfect view of the chaos below while keeping us hidden from prying eyes.
Anna, Johnny, Colt, and I settle into a booth against the back wall while the others dive into the drinks and endure the terrible music blasting through the speakers.
A sudden commotion draws our attention. Dragon’s Lair strides in, loud and obnoxious, soaking up the attention like they own the damn place. The entire band radiates arrogance, but the worst of them is already making his way toward our booth.
I exhale sharply as Colt’s arm snakes around my shoulders, his grip firm, possessive—a silent warning.
“Fuck face, how are ya?” Jared asks, stretching out his hand to knock knuckles with Johnny, who stares at his hand and scoffs. Jared frowns and puts his hand down. “Well, someone’s in a mood,” he barks out, sliding into the booth beside me.
Urgh, why couldn’t he have sat next to Anna?
Although I wouldn’t wish that on her either.
“So, Dee, had enough of this cockhead? Are you ready for a real man?” he whispers in my ear.
“Piss off,” I answer, and he laughs obnoxiously while making himself comfortable.
“Coslecki, fuck off. None of us wants you here. Go fuck some whore in the bathroom like you normally do.” Colt groans the words out loudly.
Jared laughs, throwing his head back.
This ass makes my skin crawl.
“The only whore I’ll be fucking in the bathroom tonight is yours, Colt. Isn’t that right, beautiful?” Jared suggests, skimming his hand up my thigh. Colt stands immediately and reaches out to grab Jared, but he’s too quick and jumps out of the booth before Colt can reach him.
“Fuck you, you fucking cunt! Touch her again, and you’ll be missing a hand, and don’t you ever call Dee a whore again, or I swear to God, I’ll slice your balls off with my Swiss army knife, then make you eat them.
Actually, fuck it! I’m gonna do it anyway,” Colt claims, trying to push past me to get at him.
I stand and face Colt, placing my hands on his chest, trying to stop him, all while Jared laughs obnoxiously.
“Dee, get out of my way.”
“Colt, leave it! He’s not worth it, babe.”
He picks me up by my waist and turns us quickly so I’m out of the way. Then he storms off toward a laughing and manic Jared. In a panic, I look at Johnny, who stands and rushes behind Colt.
Shit!
Shit. Shit!
Shit. Shit. SHIT!
“Colt, stop,” I exclaim.
He storms straight to Jared and lands a brutal punch to his nose. The sickening crack echoes over the music, and blood spills instantly as Jared crumples to the floor. Colt doesn’t hesitate—he drops to his knees, pinning Jared beneath him, fists flying in a relentless barrage.
My hand flies to my mouth as I watch Colt lose control, each hit more vicious than the last. The crowd gasps, cell phones flashing as people gather to capture the chaos. Thankfully, Johnny is there in an instant, grabbing Colt from behind and yanking him off before it goes too far.
Brad and Hux rush in next, hauling Jared off the floor, his face a mess of blood and bruises.
“Your brother’s a fucking idiot, Hux. His slut came on to me. Couldn’t keep her hands off me,” Jared lies as he spits a line of blood onto the floor.
“You bloody wish, you wanker,” I yell, stepping toward Colt, who’s still seething despite Johnny’s attempts to calm him.
Wrapping my arms around his waist, I press close, but his body remains rigid, his glare fixed on Jared.
“C’mon, babe,” I murmur, hoping to pull him back from the edge.
But his nostrils flare, his breath coming hard and fast—my touch doing little to soothe the storm still raging inside him.
I cup his face in my hands, my thumbs brushing over his tense jaw. “Colt, look at me,” I whisper.
He exhales sharply, his eyes squeezing shut for a moment before he finally turns toward me. When he opens them again, the fury is gone, and it is replaced by something softer, something warm and steady.
“You with me?” I ask, looking deeply into those soft blue pools.
He swallows and whispers, “I’m with you.”
Raising on my toes, I kiss his lips while he holds on to me tightly.
Dingo and Sia walk over to assess the situation.
“Should we start calling you the Hulk from now on? Colt angry. Colt smash things,” Sia jokes, trying to sound like The Incredible Hulk. I smile, intertwining my fingers with his, and he manages a smirk, but his eyes never leave mine.
“Colt, I know he’s the biggest prick walking, but you can’t go around smashing the face of the lead singer of our opening band. What if he wants to press charges? Did you think of that before you went all ‘green’ on us?” Sia asks, bringing forward her managerial side.
Colt’s eyes are still on me, and I move my hand up to touch his face gently. He exhales, leaning into my hand, seemingly finding comfort. When I smile at him, he finally looks at Sia.
“Sorry, Sia. I know it was stupid, but what he said about Dee was fucking bullshit.”
“Yeah, maybe so, but he wanted to get a rise out of you, and that’s exactly what you gave him.
He won that round, Colt, because you let him get to you.
And don’t forget, you’re the one who insisted on having fucking Dragon’s Lair on this tour because of your friendship with Brad.
Well, guess what? Brad and Jared are a damn package deal.
So you gotta take the good with the bad.
We don’t need the press getting hold of this type of shit.
It won’t look good for you or the rest of the band.
Sales could drop. Tours could be canceled.
Producers could walk. All I ask is that you think next time before you Hulk out,” Sia states firmly while touching his arm and squeezing.
He nods, and Sia walks over to Jared, Hux, and Brad to assess the damage.
“Fuck what my wife says, Sladenator. Go fuck that kid up! He deserves the beating of a damn lifetime. In fact, I’ll come with and help.
We can tag team the little bitch until he’s screaming like a baby pig, then we beat the living shit out of him till he can’t sing anymore.
That’ll get rid of that cunt for good. What d’ya say?
” Dingo raves, bringing his fists up and jumping from foot to foot like a boxer.
I can’t help but laugh as Anna slaps him across the back of the head, earning her a smirk.
“I know you like it rough, Madam A,” he says, and she gasps.
“Oi,” Johnny yells at Dingo. “I told you ’cause you said you wouldn’t say anything, dick. Thanks, man,” Johnny berates as he looks at Anna, blushing bright red.
“Oh, c’mon, even though you told me about her Dom sessions, we share a penthouse everywhere we go, and we hear you guys all the time, so it’s not really a shock, now is it?” Dingo questions, looking over at Colt.
“Yeah, he’s kinda right, Anna. Penthouse walls are thin. We can hear how much of a bad, bad boy Johnny has been,” Colt states.
Even though it shouldn’t affect me, I gasp quite loudly but then smirk.
Anna flushes an even brighter shade of red. She’s so sweet—I would never have guessed she’s a Dominatrix over Johnny.
I can’t help it—I burst out laughing.
“Oh…” She turns to me. “Thanks for the support, Dee,” Anna sharply states, but with a grin.
“Sorry, Anna, I never pictured you like that. You’re always so, well… sweet,” I reply, and Colt laughs.
“My wife, sweet? I don’t think so,” Johnny quips while he takes her in his arms and dips her down, kissing her like they do in the Hollywood movies. This is nice, and it is just the right amount of light relief we need after an episode of Hulk-a-mania.
Colt takes my hand and walks me back to the booth, but forces me to slide in first so I’m against the wall, and he’s on the outside in case anyone else tries to sit next to us.
“I apologize, baby. I should never have gone all crazytown out there. My anger flared when he called you a whore. Honestly, no matter how much I tried, I wouldn’t have been able to restrain myself.”
“I know, but don’t do it again. The last thing I need is for you to be arrested in a foreign country. I wouldn’t cope with that,” I say, and Colt nods, leaning in to kiss me.
Anna and Johnny return to the booth with a bottle of Jack and four shot glasses.
Oh, this is NOT going to be good!
“I don’t think I’ll have any tonight. I can’t handle tomorrow’s inevitable hangover, and we’re flying,” I babble.
Anna frowns at me. “C’mon, just one with your new bestie?
Or do I have to get my whip out and tell you you’ve been a bad, bad girl?
” Anna asks deadpan. I open my eyes wide with shock, and she bursts into laughter along with Johnny and Colt.
“Dee, don’t stress. Madam A is reserved only for Johnny. Isn’t that right, baby?”
“Yes, Mistress,” he replies, pouring out the shots.
I burst out laughing as Colt wraps his arm around my shoulders. “The things you learn about people, hey?”
Hux and Jared are sitting on a couch on the other side of the room with a small table in front of them.
Hux looks around the room while Jared pulls out a small bag filled with a white substance.
My brows furrow as I look at Colt, who’s too busy chatting with Johnny to notice.
I watch intently as Jared empties the contents onto the table and pulls out a card, positioning the powder into long lines.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what they’re doing.
I watch, hoping—praying—that Hux is smart enough not to go through with it. But then he pulls out an American dollar bill, rolls it up, and snorts a line of white powder. Cocaine. Probably.
My stomach tightens as I glance at Colt. He’s still oblivious, utterly unaware that his brother is snorting drugs, right here, in the VIP section, in public.
Jared follows, snorting the second line before sinking back into the cushions, his battered face barely flinching.
Bruises from Colt’s punches are already darkening, but shouldn’t he be seeing a doctor instead of getting high? What if he has a concussion? Something worse?
Jessi slides onto Jared’s lap, and he yanks her in for a forceful kiss, his grip possessive.
Colt finally glances at me, and whatever he sees on my face makes his expression harden. He follows my gaze, sees his brother and his enemy side by side, rubbing their noses high as hell.
With a sharp exhale, his jaw clenches. “Seriously?” he states as he moves to get up.
“Babe, please don’t start something,” I say as I grab his hand.
“This is so fucked up,” Colt hisses, running his hand through his hair.
“What?” Johnny asks.
“Hux is snorting coke again,” Colt replies.
Johnny frowns, looking over at Hux and Jared.
Again?
“Stupid dick, you’d think he would’ve learned from last time and from your dad,” Johnny says. Looking at Colt, I see a wave of sadness wash over him.
From his dad?
But I don’t ask because his eyes show me the sadness that doesn’t need to be dredged up.
“We’ll have to keep an eye on him. If it gets too bad, we might have to deal with it like last time,” Anna states.
“The same as last time?” I ask.
“Yeah, Hux has been to rehab for substance abuse. Last time, he nearly didn’t survive it. So if he’s heading down that path again…” he trails off, but then it’s like a lightbulb going off, and he continues, “Oh God, it’ll kill Mum if she finds out.”
“I know, don’t worry. We’ll keep an eye on him. We won’t allow it to get bad this time, Colt. I promise ya, man,” Johnny declares.
Colt turns to look at me. “Wanna get out of here?” When he raises his brow, I nod. “You guys wanna come back to the hotel? I don’t want to be here,” Colt croaks out before we shuffle out of the booth.
“Nah, you go and have a good night. We’ll stay here and keep an eye on things,” Johnny says.
Leaning in, I hug Anna goodnight, and Colt walks with his arm around my shoulders. I snuggle into him and wrap mine around his waist while we head to the awaiting stretch Hummer.
As we walk outside, the screaming starts, and the flashing lights of the cameras blind me, but two bouncers step across to help us into the car.
Colt holds me tightly, and suddenly, a flash goes off right in front of me, temporarily blinding me.
The evil minion fans start screaming Colt’s name, causing me to flinch as I remember what these crazed fans are capable of.
I tighten my hold, attempting to stay away from them, but people start to push, and then I feel someone grab my hair and yank.
I’m jolted back into Colt’s arms as I let out a whimper.
“Back the fuck off,” Colt yells.
A security guard from the club takes her away, and the bouncers open the door for us.
Colt practically pushes me inside with his body as a shield, then follows behind me.
He slams the door shut and turns, taking my waist and lifting me onto his lap.
I squeal a little as he pulls me to him, his hands running through my hair frantically.
“What are you doing?” I ask as the car pulls away from the curb and onto the street.
“I’m checking your head to make sure you’re all right. That stupid bitch, I should’ve taken her name so we could charge her with assault.”
“That’s funny coming from the man who only ten minutes ago assaulted Jared Coslecki,” I reply with a smirk.
“That’s different. He deserved it. You didn’t. You did nothing to that bitch except be here with me. You shouldn’t have to put up with that crap. Fuck! I wonder if it’s even worth it, ya know?” His hands gently massage my sore scalp as I lean into him.
“Colt, you love making music. It’s a part of you, and unfortunately, that out there is a part of it, too. You can’t have one without the other. And babe, you can’t live without your music,” I speak softly, then kiss him gently.
He ends up kissing me all the way to the Rutherford Regent, and I don’t object. After the events of tonight, I find myself craving this side of Colt.
We make our way upstairs without any hassle this time. He swipes the key card, and we walk in. As the door clicks closed behind me, he pulls me against him. In this moment, I’m grateful we have a separate suite, especially after the remarks about the thin walls.
“And now, Miss Norman, I’m going to make you scream my name so the whole of New York City can hear who I’m with,” he says, sliding his leather jacket off my shoulders.