43. Kelsey
Kelsey
Ican’t believe for a moment I let myself be drawn in by a song he wrote a million years ago.
I can’t believe no one warned me that bitch would be taking to the stage tonight. I’m torn between laughing and crying. Part of me wants to find her and punch her in her smug face again.
I send the door crashing into the wall and storm across the suite to my room. The soft mattress curves around my body as I fall into it.
My phone rings and rings and rings. It stops only to ring again. At first, it was Riot, and I ignored him. Watching him kiss her made it crystal clear that we are totally over. But Bronx and Kodiak and Golden have been ringing too.
Jasper puts his head into the room. “Need me to answer that?”
“No.”
“Need anything?”
“Yes. A big knife I can stab Sonatina with. And maybe Riot too.”
“Sorry. I wish I could. How about I get you another fork?”
“That’s not going to cut it this time.” I want grievous bodily harm. I want blood and guts all over my floor.
He looks at me with sympathy. “How about I get Sam instead?”
“I’m not going to hurt myself,” I grumble. “I want to hurt them.”
“Still not sure that’s a good thing,” he says.
“Okay, then I’ll take being left alone.” I throw a pillow at his head.
He ducks and the door closes.
At least he can do that. I roll my gaze to the ceiling.
The next time my phone rings I pick up. “Yep.”
“Special K, finally,” Golden’s worried voice comes through the speaker. “Are you okay? Where are you?”
“The hotel,” I say. “I’m not going to do anything stupid.”
Unless it’s stab Sonatina. I could still get on board with that idea.
“Tell her,” Bronx says in the background.
“We didn’t know,” Golden says. “We had no clue she was going to show up here tonight. Neither did Riot.”
“Seriously,” Kodiak grabs the phone. “He was as shocked as you were.”
Maybe I should give him the benefit of the doubt. Sonatina is toxic and conniving, and she would totally pull something like hijacking the guys’ show. I push up on my elbow. “Thanks for telling me.”
“We’re going to head back as soon as we can,” Bronx says. “But he might beat us back. He took off as soon as they finished the song.”
We end the call. I can wait for Riot, hear him out, see what he has to say for himself. But if Sonatina plans to join them on the tour tonight, I’m going to have to say goodbye to my guys.
I’m not ready.
Suddenly my phone springs to life. It vibrates so much with incoming alerts that it nosedives off the nightstand.
Picking it up, I look at the alerts multiplying on my screen. They keep coming and coming. They all say the same thing.
Riot Maddox proposed to Sonatina Savant. They’re engaged to be married.
Engaged! What the fuck? Is this real?
I open one of the many notifications. There’s a picture of the two of them in a high-end—and very empty—restaurant with a view of the Bellagio fountain. He’s on one knee. He has her hand in one of his while the other makes a motion that very much looks like he’s sliding a ring on it.
This can’t be real. It has to be a fake or something. So why does my heart sink like it’s certain that what I’m seeing is exactly what it looks like?
I scream as I throw my phone across the room. It hits the mirrored door of the wardrobe and the glass shatters.
How could he?
Jasper’s steps thunder outside, the door crashes open. Hand on his service weapon, he scans the room for danger. “Everything okay?”
“He’s getting married.” Jumping off the bed, I grab the phone and then the canvas bags from the wardrobe and start tossing all my things that I brought in from the bus into them. It doesn’t matter whether it’s real or not, he’s still doing it. “And I am leaving.”
“Are you sure that’s—”
“You can’t stop me, Jasper. Not unless you’re going to hold me against my will.” I finish with one bag and shove everything else in the other.
“No, I’m not going to do that.”
“Great.” I left my memento box on the bus. I need to grab it before I leave. I give Jasper a quick hug. “I’m going to miss you.”
“Be careful out there,” he tells me.
“I will.” I pick up my bags and walk past him.
I leave the suite and take the elevator down to the bus to collect my memento box. Once I have it, I’m gone. I have no idea where I’m going to go, but at least I’m in a different city than Marco. I can get lost here.
It’s quiet and my footsteps echo in the concrete structure. The hair on the back of my arms lift.
Normally there would be security stationed, but no one was expecting us on the buses for a week, so the buses have been downgraded to a walk through.
My footsteps double.
My heart beats in my throat.
Those footsteps single out from mine. Quicken.
A chill rolls down my spine.
“Jailbait,” Marco’s voice turns my stomach to ice. Click. “Don’t bother trying to run. You have nowhere to go.”
I turn around to face him. Even when I hated Riot, I didn’t hate him like I hate Marco.
He points out a vehicle with the gun he’s holding. “Get in the car.”
***