Chapter 10 Kolton
Kolton
Reeling, my hands went lax on Beckett’s collar as I stumbled backward.
I raised one to my face, cradling my throbbing cheek as I tried to keep from falling.
From behind me came the sounds of a taser being fired.
When I turned back around, Beckett was frozen in place as fifty thousand volts shot through his body.
Before he even hit the floor, someone screamed.
“Beckett!”
Sloane was standing in front of her open apartment door. Without thinking, I rushed toward her and grabbed her. “Dammit Sloane!” I spun her around and lifted her up before pushing her back inside and dropping her to her feet. “I told you to stay put!”
Her pretty brown eyes were wide, her mouth open as if she were about to scream again.
Though everything in me wanted to comfort her, to make sure she was okay, my primary objective was her safety, and she was safer behind a locked door.
Without another word, without waiting for her to speak, I slammed the door closed between us.
I pressed my clenched fist to my forehead and squeezed my eyes shut.
I’d never be able to unsee the look of fear in her eyes, and her terror reverberated through me like it was my own, some long-held emotion I’d never been able to shake.
Was Sloane scared of me? Or was she just scared for Beckett?
They’d been together eight years, had been friends for even longer.
It was his name she screamed, not mine, despite the pain that ricocheted through my cheek and jaw.
Surely it was him she cared for, and the thought turned my stomach sour.
Beckett, the golden boy with the perfect blond coif and the pretty boy smile.
The man who continued to get parts in Hollywood and kept his name in the tabloids every week despite his subpar acting and inability to hold a tune.
He’d won Sloane’s heart, and then he’d cheated on her like the scum he was.
And she still called out his name instead of mine when all I wanted was to keep her safe.
The golden boy was curled in a ball on the floor, whimpering like a maimed dog. Marty pulled out his phone and looked at me.
“I’ll call the police.”
Nodding, I told him, “I’m calling my boss.”
Lee picked up on the first ring, and the sour feeling in my stomach worsened. “What’s up, Kolton?”
“I’ve got a problem, boss.” I gave him a quick rundown of what happened, forcing myself not to glance behind me at Sloane’s door.
It felt like someone was staring—the hairs on my neck were standing on end, and I hoped with everything in me that she’d gone back to her room and wasn’t watching this horror show through the peephole like I would be.
Not long after I got off the phone with Lee, the elevator doors opened, and two police officers stepped out. Before they’d gotten Beckett to his feet, the doors opened again and more officers and an EMT joined us in the hall.
Time moved both quickly and slowly as the police questioned Beckett, Marty, and me.
Reluctantly, I let two officers into Sloane’s apartment, and I was quick to rush in myself once Beckett was hauled away.
I couldn’t get close to Sloane while she was being questioned so I begrudgingly let the EMT take a look at the bloody wound slashed across my cheek.
“Kolton Johns?” she asked as she dabbed at my cut. “You’re not Kendra and Kacie’s little brother, are you?”
My grimace likely gave me away, but still I tried. “Do I look like anyone’s little brother to you?”
She laughed, though sobered as I flinched away from the alcohol-soaked swab. “Last I heard, you were one step away from a boring desk job. How’d you end up here?”
Glancing across the room, I caught sight of Sloane as one of the officers got up to leave.
She wouldn’t look at me—she hadn’t spared me an ounce of her attention since I’d stepped foot inside her door.
I hated it. Hated that she’d seen what happened in the hall, that she’d witnessed something that would cause her to question her safety when I wanted her to know I’d never let anything happen to her.
“I got lucky, I guess,” I said, drawing my gaze back to the EMT.
She had a smile on her face that put me on edge even though I assumed that wasn’t her intention. “I’d say. Sloane Rivera. I bet your sisters are going to freak out when they find out about this. Kendra wouldn’t stop talking about seeing her concert when she performed here last year.”
“Please, don’t tell them.”
Her smile widened, and that somehow put me at ease. “No worries there, my man. My lips are sealed.”
Pressure I hadn’t realized was there lifted from my chest. “I appreciate it.”
She pulled out a butterfly bandage and peeled off the wrapper. “I’d like to suggest earplugs and maybe a good strong drink when it comes time to tell her.”
I huffed out a laugh, throwing my head back as I looked up at the ceiling. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Hold still now, let me get you bandaged up. I don’t want to face Kendra’s wrath by not doing a good enough job patching up her baby brother.”
“Your secret’s safe with me,” I told her, holding steady for her to bandage my wound.
By the time she and the rest of the police had cleared out, Lee and Monica were there, with Skylar, Anita, and Sloane’s grandmother following close behind. Skylar introduced me to Sonia Rivera, who had me wrapped up in a hug before I could even extend my hand in her direction.
“Such a good boy, keeping our Sloane safe from that no-good piece of—”
“Nana!” Skylar hissed, cutting her off. Sonia only pulled back and shrugged. When she turned her attention to Anita, Skylar stepped closer, her fist held out in front of her. “Look at you, taking care of business.”
Though I ducked my chin, I didn’t leave her hanging. I tapped the top of her fist with mine, smiling as she lifted her hand and tapped mine back. “It was nothing.”
She gestured to my cheek. “That doesn’t look like nothing.”
Fingering the edges of my bandage, I was about to answer, to say it was mostly the ring he’d worn on his finger, when my words were cut off by a sharp yell across the room.
“Absolutely not!” Sloane looked ready to take up where Beckett left off. I tugged Skylar backward, not willing to risk Sloane’s family getting hurt even if the attacker this time was the singer herself.
As if she felt the same way, Monica edged to the side, regaining Sloane’s glare.
“I know this isn’t ideal for you, Sloane,” she said, casting a quick glance my way.
“But quite frankly, we don’t know how Beckett got up here so easily, and we’re not willing to take a chance of it happening again.
Building security is reviewing their processes and camera footage to see if they can figure out what happened, and they’ll keep us updated on any findings.
Until then, it’s best if we have someone by your side at all times. And that includes overnights.”
Fuck.
Lee had suggested as much over the phone when I called earlier, but I hadn’t expected them to approach her about it before I had a chance to speak to her.
We’d been okay prior to Beckett’s arrival, hadn’t we?
She’d been open, asking me a personal question I had to bite my tongue to keep from answering in full.
I’d thought some of that animosity she’d felt toward me was finally slipping away.
Now, the glare she sent me was downright hostile.
Sloane’s family flanked me, chattering away their agreement that her safety was key, and it didn’t help the hatred burning in her eyes.
Lee angled sideways so he could see me without taking his attention off my client. “You’re going to need to pack a bag and shut down anything at home. I’ll be here with Sloane until you get back.”
My brow furrowed, and I glanced at Sloane as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked away. Inside my rib cage, it felt like something was squeezing the air out of my lungs. I tried to suck in a breath and only succeeded after grabbing my throat and reminding myself there was nothing there.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Before I could turn to leave, Sloane spun on her heels and stomped away. I flinched when her bedroom door slammed shut.
The ride home was slow and almost as painful as watching Sloane storm off on repeat, since the image of that raced continuously through my mind. I had my head down as I unlocked my backdoor and pushed inside. When I reached to flip the light switch, I finally looked up.
And screamed.
Illuminated by nothing but a dim light was a face with a terrifyingly evil grin. It took a minute—one where my heart hammered in my chest and my brain whirled in search of a way out of this nightmare—before the wicked laughter that shook the room turned into the familiar cackle of my oldest sister.
“My god,” she said, gasping for breath, “that never gets old!”
“Kendra?” I pulled my hands away from my chest and flicked on the light. “What the hell are you doing? You scared the—”
Before I could finish, she slammed her hand down on the table. Her smile fell just as fast, her voice rising above mine. “What the hell are you doing?”
On guard for only the billionth time in my life, I braced myself. “I live here. I have a right to—”
This time when she cut me off, it was because she tossed her phone onto the tabletop. “You’re a goddamn meme.”
“What?” I edged forward to see her screen, leery of getting too close. Staring up at me was… well, me. Wide-eyed and open-mouthed and wearing the same thing I had on right now.
It was that moment at the concert this morning, where I’d been in awe of Sloane and her voice and the song and every-fucking-thing about her.
Seeing that look on my face brought me back to that moment, to her standing there, looking down at me while I looked up at her like she was the star she was born to be.