Chapter 20
Twenty
STONE
Time stops. My heart does, too. Hazel’s eyes are wide with fear as she begins to fall forward. Thoughts of anything but getting to her disappear from my brain as I lift the guitar over my head and drop it.
I’m jumping off the stage before I even realize it. Event security in yellow shirts are trying to hold back the crowd, inadvertently putting themselves between her and I. Thank fuck for the private security crew we have because they’re tossing yellow shirts to the side and reaching for her and Dan.
“Get the fuck out of my way,” I growl at the yellow shirt who tries to stop me from getting to the rail.
Whatever he sees in my eyes must have the desired effect because he holds up his hands and steps back. I make it to the barricade just as Dan pulls Hazel up from the ground. He lifts her into his arms and tries to hand her off to one of our security team, but I step between them, taking her myself.
Blood runs from a cut on her forehead down along the slope of her cheek and I see red.
“I can walk,” she says weakly. “Please, Stone, put me down.”
As I do what she asks, someone reaches across the barrier and pulls her hair. The guy who does it sneers at her. “Bitch made me spill my beer.”
Rage consumes me. I push an unsteady and dazed Hazel beside me just as Xander drops down with me. My fist connects with the guy’s face with a satisfying crunch. I’ve never been happier about my misspent youth where fights weren’t uncommon because I don’t feel any pain from the impact.
Should I have done that? Probably not. But I’m sure the guy will go away easily enough if I throw money at him.
When I turn around Tobias is helping pull Hazel onstage while Xander boosts her from below. I vault on stage beside her and pull her offstage where I wrap her in the tightest hug I’ve ever given anyone.
Her entire body is shaking. Or fuck, maybe it’s mine. Adrenaline races through my veins as I release her from my arms only to cup her cheeks between my palms. I wipe the blood from near her eye as I catalog her injuries. Her eyes are dazed as she looks up at me.
“You punched that guy.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you okay? Your hands are important.”
“Not as important as you.”
Tears roll down her cheeks as those words sink in. Before she can say anything, Jade whisks her away, and I’m handed a backup guitar.
I drag in a few deep steadying breaths before walking back out onstage. The area where the fight broke out is now empty, a few people starting to fill it back in. Xander gives me a questioning look, one that asks whether I’m good. I nod and walk to the microphone.
“I think we need to have a little chat about basic fucking etiquette,” I say into the microphone.
“Blue Sunday doesn’t tolerate violence or harassment of any kind at our shows.
We especially don’t fucking tolerate laying your hands on a woman.
Have some goddamn decency, and let’s get back to the music. ”
The crowd cheers as I launch into the intro of the next song.
I’m enough of a professional that I still give them what they came for.
The best damn concert of their lives, even if my mind is currently on the woman backstage.
I’m sure she’s being checked out by paramedics.
That’s the only reason I’m able to focus on my job.
By the time the lights go down and we walk offstage, I’m shaking with the comedown from the adrenaline still pumping through my veins. The only person I want to find is Hazel. I need to see her with my own two eyes.
Darren steps into my path, his hand splaying over my chest. “She’s back at the hotel resting.”
“Alone?” I clench my jaw.
“No. Jade went with her.”
My jaw loosens. “I’m not staying around for anything tonight.”
“That’s fine. The guy you punched took a pay off.”
I scoff. Of course he did. Darren looks like he wants to lecture me.
“Don’t,” I say sharply.
He lifts his hands and steps back. “I won’t. At least not today.”
“Is there a car ready?”
He nods, and I stalk past him. Adam falls in step beside me, his body as tight with tension as my own.
“Is Dan okay?”
“Yeah.” We reach the car and get inside. “He’s got some cuts and scrapes, but nothing serious. He’s mostly just concerned about Hazel. The crowd surged between them before he could grab her.”
“I saw.”
From onstage I could tell the crowd tonight was a different breed.
The way they kept pushing forward toward the barricades in waves was making me nervous.
It’s why I didn’t work them as much. Part of my responsibility is making sure I keep an eye on them as the concert progresses.
We’ll stop if we see someone needs assistance.
I’m not going to let anyone get hurt on my watch, not if I can stop it.
Despite the fact that I punched one of our fans tonight, I do actually care about them. I care about their well being. Especially when they spend a good bit of money to come see and support us.
“How’s your hand?” Adam asks, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Fine.” I squeeze it in and out of a fist a few times. “Not even a scrape.”
“Good. Sorry I didn’t get down there fast enough to help.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Any word on Hazel?”
“Darren said she’s resting with Jade at the hotel.”
I pull my phone out and shoot a text to her.
Me: What room are you in?
Jade: Her room.
Me: I’ll be there soon
Jade: You’ve gone viral.
Me: I don’t care
Jade: I didn’t think you would, just wanted you to know
Me: Is it going to make your job harder?
Jade: Nope. It’s all positive. Someone got a video of the entire encounter between you and the guy.
It’s not long before I’m knocking on Hazel’s door. Jade swings the door open and steps aside for me. Her hand splays over my chest as she quietly closes the door.
“She’s a little out of it right now. The doctor who checked her out gave her a sedative because she had a panic attack.”
I draw in a deep breath and blow it out. “Just a single dose?”
Jade nods. “Yeah. One Ativan.” She forces me to look her in the eyes. “You good? Should I stay?”
“I’ll be fine. Benzos weren’t my drug of choice.”
“Okay, I’ll come by and check on her in a little bit. She’s pretty sleepy.”
I give her a nod and walk into the room. My gaze immediately finds her tucked under the covers with her eyes closed. When I sit on the edge of the bed, they flutter open. Her gaze is unfocused as she blinks a few times.
“Hey, little Archer.”
She looks at me, and her eyes light with a mixture of happiness and relief. “Hi.”
“How are you feeling?” I move a lock of her hair behind her ear and look at the cut on her temple. I didn’t notice it before, but she also has a bruise on her cheek. I wish I could find whoever gave it to her and make them pay ten times over.
“Better now.” She scoots over for me.
“I should shower first.”
“Take me with you.”
Fuck. Why did that make my heart squeeze?
“In the shower?” I clutch invisible pearls. “I don’t think you’re in any condition for that, love.”
She rolls her eyes. “No. I meant I’d lay in your bed while you shower. Then you can cuddle me.” Her eyes widen. “I mean, if you want. You don’t have to cuddle me.”
I grab the blankets covering her and pull them back. “I’d be a fool to say no to that.”
Her legs are bare, so I walk over to her bag and riffle through it to find a pair of shorts for her to slip on. She wobbles as she pushes to her feet, so I take the shorts back from her and kneel at her feet to help her step into them.
“Put your hand on my shoulder for balance,” I instruct her. I do my best to ignore how close I am to her delicious cunt, but it’s proving to be a problem as my asshole of dick twitches against my leg.
“This is so embarrassing,” she grumbles.
“No.” I stand and press a kiss to her forehead. “I’ve been in way more embarrassing spots than this before. Just ask Xan and Tobias.” I pause and rethink that. “Actually, forget I said that.”
She chuckles then whimpers. “My face hurts.”
“Yeah, you’ve got a bruise on your cheek. Do you know how it happened?”
“Nope. Everything was such a blur.” She stumbles, but I grab her before she can fall.
Fuck this. I’ll carry her to my room. I bend down and lift her into my arms.
“You’re going to?—”
“I swear if you say hurt myself by picking you up I’m gonna lose my mind.”
She drops her head against my shoulder and sniffs at my neck. “How do you smell so good when you’re so sweaty and gross? It’s annoying.”
“You must like my pheromones.”
The fact that she doesn’t argue with me is a win I’ll take. I set her down while I pull out the keycard to unlock my door. She sways but stays upright. Surprisingly she lets me guide her to the bedroom without fussing.
“I’ll be back out in three minutes tops.” I pull the covers back and watch as she pushes her shorts down her legs and then pulls her sweatshirt over her head, dropping it beside them. I hate myself for getting hard.
“Don’t let anyone in here. I don’t want them to see my scars.” She pulls the covers up to her shoulders, and her eyes fall shut instantly.
I watch her until her breathing evens out and then walk into the en suite bathroom.
A hot shower would be best for my muscles, but a cold shower is what I need to get my dick under control.
The cold spray hits me as I suck in a breath and wet my hair.
I told her three minutes, and I’m done in ninety seconds.
It works though, my cock is sadly shrunken. Serves him right for being a prick. My phone vibrates with a text from Darren telling me he’s at the door to my room with Jade.
I walk past a lightly snoring Hazel and close the door behind me. Neither of them are bothered by me answering the door in nothing but a low slung towel, pretty sure they’ve seen me in much worse a state.
“How is she?” Darren surprises me by asking about Hazel before launching into business.
“She’s okay, kinda loopy and out of it, but she’s sleeping now.”
“Good. Luckily for us, the idiot you punched just wanted a bunch of signed merchandise and two grand. He signed an NDA on the spot and holds no ill will.”
If I had my way, he wouldn’t have gotten anything, but I keep my mouth shut.
“Dan is fine. He’s worried about Hazel, though. I’d expect a knock on your door early tomorrow morning,” Jade says.
I nod. “That’s fine.” I know I’m not angry with him, and I’m sure no one else is either.
“We’re going to push back our departure until noon tomorrow. I think we all could use a morning to sleep in. Plus we don’t have to be in Indianapolis until the following day. We have flexibility.” Darren claps a hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay? Physically, mentally, whatever?”
“I’m fine.” I hold his stare until he sees what he needs to in my gaze and nods.
“In that case I’m going to go check on Xan and Tobias. Goodnight.”
“Night.”
Jade waits until he’s gone. “How is she?”
“Sleeping.”
“Good. I’ll leave, too, then. Have a good night.” She gives me a brief hug and walks herself out.
After turning the lights out, I walk into my bedroom and toss the towel aside before climbing in beside Hazel. She rolls toward me, curling her warm, soft body around mine without ever waking. I fight sleep, wanting to revel in the feel of her in my arms for as long as I have her.
Hazel is still asleep as I watch the sunrise through the window. This is the third night in a row that I’ve slept with her in my arms. It’s also the third night in a row that I haven’t had trouble sleeping.
No one has ever given me this feeling of peace before. I press a kiss to her head and let my fingertips dance over her smooth skin. Every touch is light enough to not wake her while still filling my need for connection.
A wave of inspiration hits, so I grab my phone and open the notes app, filling it with possible lyrics.
I’ve never had a muse before now. It’s easy to see why so many creatives make their best work while having one.
I’ve scrawled so many lines of lyrics all over during this tour, in notebooks, on receipts, anywhere or anything accessible is fair game.
Hazel and sobriety are the only two things that have changed. Sobriety is definitely the reason for my clear and levelheadedness, but the creative rush I have? That’s all her.
Since I have my phone in my hand, I decide to scroll for a bit. That idea proves to be a mistake because I immediately see that not only have I gone viral, so has Hazel. As Jade said last night, most coverage is positive. But the inevitable wave of backlash has started to crest now, too.
I read through several of the articles bringing up incidents from the past suggesting I’m violent. Those get an eye roll from me. It’s the articles calling into question my sobriety that feel like a gut punch.
I’ve worked so hard to battle addiction, and now because I defended someone who means everything to me they think I’m back sliding? Plus my family is going to read this and start worrying again. As soon as Hazel wakes, I’ll have to call them.