Chapter 2 Blake
Keaton suddenly rockets around Dickless, shooting down the hall like he’s a firefighter running toward flames.
Nash and I share a glance and we follow in our friend’s path, even as the owner of the music label does his best to take up the entire hallway with his hands on his hips, elbows sticking out.
“I’m not done talking to you boys,” he hisses, like we’d even give a shit what he has to say. Not after the way he’s treated Raina. We blow past him, knocking him out of the way and he curses under his breath, choosing to follow us as we struggle to keep up with Keaton. The man is a powerhouse.
We lose sight of him as he turns in the opposite direction of our dressing room.
I have no idea where he’s going, but unease works its way through me.
“What are you doing back here?” one of the guys from Napalm Delights asks.
I can’t tell you which one it is right now with how little I want to pay attention to him, but he blocks our way and Dickless hangs back.
“You can’t just go anywhere you want. Carmen wants some privacy outside her dressing room. ” He crosses his arms over his chest.
“Fucking move,” Nash snarls in his face.
Before anything else can happen we hear faint words coming from down the hall. “Don’t give up, Raina. Stay with us. Fight. I know you can.”
What the fuck?
Douchebag’s eyes go wide and flash to Dickless, searching for some sign of what he should do, making it clear he was meant to keep us away from this area.
Nash doesn’t wait for a cue; he shoulders past the guy, barreling toward the faint whispering.
“What the hell is going on?” Dickless asks the band member in our wake. It’s clear to me he’s trying to save face, to make it seem like he’s not trying to stop us from finding our girl.
We blow through double doors leading to a short stretch of hallway. At the end an exterior door is hanging open, letting frigid air blow through, but it has nothing on the ice storm surrounding my heart at the sight of Raina on the floor.
Darius is giving her chest compressions, tears streaking his face, and Keaton is nowhere in sight.
Before we clear the shock and jump into action, Dickless appears behind us.
His shout for security makes me jump, and it doesn’t take long for the footsteps of venue personnel to come stomping our way.
Why weren’t they already here? Why the fuck is our girl needing to be resuscitated in a godforsaken hallway, with Darius—of all people—as her savior, and no one else in sight until we arrived? My blood boils as anger rushes to the surface, but this isn’t the time for rage.
This is a time for action.
Knowing that and being able to instantly change the rush of bitter anger fighting for dominance over the dread that’s clawing in my chest is almost impossible. Shaking my head clear, I find Nash kneeling by Darius, shouting for someone to call an ambulance.
He brushes our girl’s hair away from her face, leaning in to assist Darius by giving her mouth to mouth while the Brit focuses on the chest compressions. The unbidden tune of Stayin’ Alive plays in my head before I break out of my frozen state.
I fumble with my tight pants, reaching for my phone and frantically punch in 911, my voice gruff as I snap out our location and request medical assistance. The response is crackled but swift, promising immediate aid.
There’s always been on site medics, but this way they can page them directly, it has to be faster than going through the security guys who are bursting into the door. Fucking useless since Raina was attacked on their watch.
“Dammit, where’s Keaton?” Nash yells as he breaks from breathing for Raina.
The question hangs in the air like a bad smell as I turn back to the scene. My heart stutters painfully at the sight of my Bunny’s pale face—so different from her usual fiery energy on stage and her private moments filled with laughter and music.
As if summoned by our desperation, Keaton suddenly reappears, a medic following close on his heels with an emergency kit under his arm. The relief I feel is monumental, but it’s quickly overcome by fear as the medic kneels beside Darius, taking over the chest compressions.
“Detain him,” Dickless yells, making my head jerk up, searching the narrow area for a new arrival. Would the attacker actually come back to the scene right now?
No. No, they wouldn’t.
I’m horrified to find he’s pointing to Darius, the man who was clearly doing everything he could to save Raina. Why would he need to be detained?
The security guys—who are fearful of their jobs, rightfully so—share glances, unsure of what they should do, but ultimately decide they don’t want to make the owner of one of the biggest music labels an enemy.
They quickly advance on Darius, but before they can reach him, Nash and I step in front of them, blocking their path.
Our determination is clear in our matching glares.
We need to do everything we can to protect our family right now, and that includes Darius. It would hurt Raina to find out he was arrested for trying to save her life.
This is ride or die territory.
“You ain’t touching him,” Nash growls, his cheeks flushed with anger.
The security guards hesitate, wavering under our combined intensity.
They struggle with the choice of angering either the owner of the record label or the band behind one of the most beloved musicians in the world.
“He was saving her life when all you were doing was standing around with your thumbs up your asses!”
They eye D up and down, taking in his dark complexion, and it’s clear they’re letting bias creep into their decision. How hard is it to take in the circumstances playing out in front of them? It’s not that fucking hard.
In their moment of hesitation, Keaton quietly moves to kneel beside the medic and Raina, staring down at her with an unreadable expression. He reaches out hesitantly, his fingers grazing her face before holding her hand with a gentleness that tugs at my heartstrings.
“Stay strong, Peaches,” he murmurs to her unconscious form, his voice raw with emotion. “We need you.” He then turns to the medic and asks for updates on her condition.
Dickless glares at us, furious that we dare to defy him. “Arrest them too for obstruction of justice!” he threatens, but there’s an edge of desperation in his voice now. He knows he’s lost control of the situation.
“Go ahead!” Nash taunts. “They can arrest you while they’re at it.”
Dickless snarls something under his breath and takes a step back. It’s clear that he’s breaking under the pressure of his vulnerable house of cards tumbling in front of him.
Coming to a decision, they approach us, their hands grasping roughly at our arms, handcuffs rattling as they bind our hands behind us. It’s this time that actual cops show up, taking over and reaching for D.
“Get your hands off me,” Darius snarls, trying to break free to where he’s at. But he’s no match for the brutish officers and is quickly pulled away from Raina’s side. His eyes are aflame; a spark of defiance and outrage amidst the chaos.
Keaton’s eyes narrow with an intensity I’ve never seen before, his body tense like he’s about to lunge toward the guards at any second, but with one glance at Raina, his body deflates.
His expression turns to one that begs us to understand—he can’t afford a fight right now, not when Raina needs him more.
Dickless simply stands there, a smug smile playing on his lips. “You ask me, it looks like he was trying to finish the job.” His laugh is unforgivingly cold as it echoes down the hallway.
Regardless of what he thinks, we all know Dickless isn’t interested in justice—only control.
Seeing him standing there, his hands balled at his sides as he watches Raina’s body convulse beneath the medic’s steady compressions…
it makes my skin crawl. This wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t for him, if it wasn’t for his reckless pursuit of power and control.
The medic works diligently on Raina, her normally vibrant face ghostly, and I’m consumed with fear as I’m ripped away from her, shoved by the cop guiding me through the building to his car.
I twist around—practically walking sideways—so I can continue to stare at the woman I love, wishing to see her open her eyes. I watch her for as long as I can, and then I wish for laser vision to see through the walls.
Will I ever see her again?