Chapter 26
CHAPTER 26
L ike he’d felt over the past year off and on, Kyle had been in a state of mourning, trying to figure out what had gone wrong with him and Melody. And he’d reached out to his therapist too. She’d suggested that maybe the breakup hadn’t been his fault at all. He knew that he had been a big part of the problem with his relationship with Hayley, so this breakup had been shocking and devastating—and hard to understand. But his therapist had helped him put it in perspective.
Melody wasn’t ready for a relationship.
Still, that didn’t mean he’d been looking forward to performing at Tequilaville tonight. The split was too fresh, and he felt like he’d be seeing her too soon after. The only way he’d be able to handle it was to avoid getting anything from the bar and leaving right after the show.
His bandmates completely understood.
But just before the show had begun, he’d gotten an unexpected text message from Melody, the woman who was still listed as Scarlett in his phone. She’d said she had something for him and asked him to see her after the show.
At first, he’d planned to ignore it, not feeling up to facing her, but as he allowed himself to think it over, he decided to do it. Despite his brain trying to tell him not to get his hopes up, he couldn’t help but wonder if she’d changed her mind.
But what if it was just that he’d left something at her apartment he’d forgotten about? He was positive he hadn’t…so what did she want to give him?
Because of that text message, he kept stealing glances at her during the show. She was busy with customers but the one time he caught her turning her head to look at him, he averted his eyes to the crowd. He realized how stupid that was, but he didn’t want to lay his heart out there to be flayed once again. Although he was planning to see what she had for him afterward, that didn’t mean he should act like a willing victim. He would be mature but not eager, because he didn’t know her intentions.
Still, his eyes kept wandering back to her throughout the show. He couldn’t always see her, thanks in part to the stage lights, but he found a good spot to stand where he could see just fine. Of course, the music they played didn’t allow for him to stay in one spot, but that was probably for the best; otherwise, he probably would have done nothing but look her way.
They were playing the second-to-last song when Kyle noticed a guy talking with Melody at the bar. He wouldn’t have thought much of it, but the guy had a baseball cap on his head turned backwards and the tattoos on his neck reached his jaw.
Was that Melody’s ex?
Now Kyle watched intently, so concerned that had he not known these songs so well, he wouldn’t have been able to continue playing. Fortunately, his fingers knew what to do without any conscious thought. After what appeared to be a short interaction, Melody moved down the bar past the other bartender—and then she disappeared into the crowd.
Kyle was certain then that the man who’d been talking to her was her ex. But Kyle wasn’t sure if she was joining him on the other side of the bar or trying to get away. He kept an eye on the ex, assuming Melody was going to join him, which would explain why she’d dumped Kyle, but it wasn’t long before the ex jumped off the bar stool and started looking for Melody, shoving people aside to create a path.
Kyle tried but couldn’t see the entrance—it was too far away and bathed in shadows past the sea of people. Melody’s ex headed that way, and Kyle was torn. Should he do something? She’d been scared out of her mind of the guy. If she was going with him, it wouldn’t be because she was willing.
Intent to Murder began the last song just as Kyle decided he was going to help. He took off his guitar and said, “Wolf, you got this.”
He heard Pedro say, “What the hell, dude?” Just then, Kyle saw Melody run past the side of the stage toward the back. He walked to the edge of the stage and, rather than take the stairs, jumped off, knowing that time was of the essence.
And then he made a decision. As soon as he got away from the loud music, he was calling the cops—because no matter what else was happening, the man out there was stalking Melody and harassing her.
She wasn’t in the hallway, and he tried calling her name, but the music was too loud being so close to the amps onstage. There was no way she could have heard him.
When he turned the corner, he saw the back door that led to the alley closing. As he approached it, he pulled his cell phone out of his back pocket and dialed 911. As soon as a person answered, he said, “Please send police immediately to Tequilaville. It’s on the corner of Main and Fourth Street.”
“What’s the emergency?”
“There’s a known felon here who’s threatened to kill one of the female bartenders. And I believe he’ll do it.” Before the dispatcher could ask any other questions, he hung up—because he could get to Melody a hell of a lot faster than any cop could.
But where had she gone?
She wasn’t in the alley, not anywhere along the long stretch to the left, unless she was hiding in a nook somewhere or behind a dumpster. His gut told him to go to the right. It was just a few yards to the street and likely the way she would have gone. Just as Kyle turned the corner, he found exactly what he was looking for halfway down the block.
Melody.
But she wasn’t alone. Her ex—Tommy—was holding her around the arm, and it looked like he was trying to force her to move. They stood in front of a small red car—Melody’s, the one that had allowed her ex to find her in the first place.
Kyle didn’t hesitate. “Hey!” When Tommy looked over at him, he said, “Let go of her.”
“Who the fuck are you?”
Kyle continued approaching them, fueled by pure adrenaline. “I’m not the asshole felon who needs to get the hell out of here before the cops show up.”
“What the fuck?”
“You heard me. Let her go.”
As Kyle got closer, Melody wrenched her arm free. “Kyle, you don’t need to do this.”
He didn’t take his eyes off Tommy, because he didn’t know if the guy had a weapon. “Yeah, I do.” Although Kyle was tall and in shape, he wasn’t sure if he could take a guy like Tommy—but he also didn’t care. He just needed to give Melody time to escape. “Go. Get out of here.”
In his peripheral vision, he could see her hesitate—but he took two small steps closer to Tommy, and the two men faced off as if in a showdown. Although Kyle had had a few schoolyard scuffles as a kid, he’d never fought anyone as an adult. But he refused to let any fear inside show.
Finally, Melody opened the car door and got in. That was when Tommy moved—but he didn’t throw a punch at Kyle; instead, he was ready to take back the woman he thought was his.
That was Kyle’s moment. He grabbed Tommy’s arm and the other man tried yanking it free. When Kyle tightened his grip, Tommy again tugged and then turned. Melody fired the engine and then Tommy took a swing at Kyle. Fortunately, his reflexes responded, blocking the shot with his forearm. The guy had a hell of a punch and Kyle knew his arm would hurt later, but right now, he couldn’t feel anything.
Forming his hand into a fist, Kyle used that same arm to throw the hardest punch he could, right toward Tommy’s nose. It was a dirty blow, one that could result in blood and bruising, but he hoped it would blur Tommy’s vision and hurt long enough for Melody to get away.
“Motherfucker!” Tommy yelled after Kyle felt the crack underneath his knuckles. As he’d expected, the man’s nose began bleeding but it didn’t deter him at all. However, Kyle’s plan worked. He’d distracted Tommy enough that Melody was able to back her car into the street.
Because he was watching her drive away, Kyle wasn’t paying as close attention to Tommy as he should have—and the guy got in two good punches: one to Kyle’s jaw and the other right in the gut, causing him to double over, trying to catch his breath. But as soon as he looked up, ready to defend himself, Tommy was running down the sidewalk, no doubt in an effort to try to stop Melody.
It wasn’t hard for Kyle to find it in himself to go the extra mile, and he ran as fast as he could to catch up to Tommy. Had he been thinking rather than moving on instinct, he would have been grateful that he’d quit smoking earlier in the year, because he might not have been able to perform the feat. He wasn’t sure if Tommy’s intent was to intercept Melody’s car or get in his own to pursue her, so Kyle didn’t try to anticipate any move.
Before the end of the block, Kyle tackled him and both landed on the cold, unforgiving sidewalk—but Tommy took the brunt of the blow. Kyle used his advantage to straddle the man in hopes of pinning him down until authorities got there.
As if they heard his mental thought, they did show. Although they had the red and blue lights atop the vehicle flashing, they didn’t have the sirens going. They didn’t park, either; instead, they kept their car near the corner of the intersection where it wouldn’t block cars that needed to get out of parking spaces but where vehicles on the road might have to maneuver just a bit to get around.
Tommy was cursing and wriggling, threatening to cut Kyle’s balls off when he got loose, but the officers began approaching the entrance of the bar before noticing the two men on the ground. Kyle said, “This is the guy right here you’re looking for.”
It happened quickly and resulted in a long night—at first, they were going to arrest Kyle as well. But Melody appeared, walking down the sidewalk from the direction she’d driven off and she said, “Officers, this man is my ex-boyfriend, Tommy Nogales. He’s been stalking and harassing me and he is threatening my life. Kyle was only helping.” Then she turned to Kyle. “Thank you for all you did to save me.”
Her gratitude was enough and what he needed to make it through that cold, dark night.