Chapter Twenty Four
Carter
The sight of Harley’s fear and betrayal of her associate, of her new friend still flashed in my mind. I raced down the corridors, going from man to man, on my way to the entrance to warn them to look out for Cassie Shaw.
This had to end tonight.
I was positive she was hiding somewhere around here, just waiting for her moment to do… I didn’t want to even think about what she was planning to do.
My phone rang and I pulled it out from my pocket.
“Talk to me,” I said.
“Same as the first round of check, she comes back clean,” I could hear Chace’s frustration through the phone.
“There has to be something,” I bit back. It didn’t make sense otherwise. “Did you check her family? Harley said that she was raised by a single mom.”
“I’m going through it right now,” Chase muttered.
“There’s no father listed on the birth certificate.
Mom has worked at her current job for over fifteen years.
She’s a file clerk for the Department of Social Services.
Her phone number is not listed, and she’s been living at her current address for ten years.
Never married, as far as I can tell, never even had a serious relationship.
Has a Facebook profile, but it’s not very active.
The last post is from two years ago when her daughter graduated. 672 credit score. Nothing stands out.”
“Look deeper.” I barked.
“It’s gonna take me a few.
“Chace,” I growled. “We don’t have time. This bitch is hauled out here somewhere waiting for an opportunity.”
“I’ll work fast,” he promised and ended the call.
I followed the line of people trickling into the venue, trying to look into each face, see if they were twitchy or trying to hide something.
“Anything,” Trevor walked up to me from the stage.
I shook my head, grabbing a fistful of my hair. “Nothing.”
I looked around again.
“Fuck,” he hissed. “What do you want to do?”
“I want to end this. I want this threat out of Harley’s life.”
“But, should we cancel the concert?”
My brows pulled, “It would be a smart thing to do, but Tim was coming to get Harley as I was walking out. There’s no way in Hell she would back down from this. Not now.”
“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with this, brother.” Trevor shifted on his feet.
“Neither am I, but we have to be.”
I jerked up my chin to the stage, indicating the men positioning there, “Make sure they don’t move even an inch from their spots.”
Trevor nodded. “I called up my guys to do a sweep of the crowd. Do you have anyone who can look at the back? Once the show starts, it won’t be crowded back there, so it should be easier to spot her.”
“Yeah, I’ll get someone right on it.”
I grunted, turning in place. I was restless, couldn’t stand still. The need to protect Harley was burning in me, and I wouldn’t be able to breathe until Cassie Shaw was found.
“Good, come with me to the entrance and we’ll start searching again.”
We moved through the crowd. Searching.
The space filled up fast. Bodies were pushed together. It was almost impossible to see anything.
But I didn’t give up.
Soon, the stage lit up, then it went completely dark.
I could see shadows moving on it. The band taking its place.
Then, the beams of lights flashed in the air, the drummer counted down the beat, and the sound hit me just as those beams slowly lowered to the center of the stage.
And then, she was there. Her eyes shining, hand in the air, a brilliant smile on her lips.
God, she was made for this.
Made for the stage, made to shine so bright it was hard to look at her.
The fear coiled in my gut, but I ignored it.
Just looking at her gave me the strength to breathe.
“Are you ready?” She screamed into the microphone, and then the mayhem started.
People were dancing, singing, jumping up and down, heaving a great fucking time.
I was in awe of what Harley was capable of doing.
I’ve seen it before, from the wings of the stage, but this was different.
And it was all at risk.
I glanced in each and every direction without any luck.
“Anything?” Trevor panted next to me.
I looked at him, and shook my head unease blanketing my body.
She was here somewhere.
We just had to find her.
“I’ll keep looking,” Trevor said and then blended back into the crowd.
I walked forward to the stage.
Harley finished her song and laughed out loud, carefree. God, that was all I wished for her.
I looked around me again, peering into faces.
“And now, I have something special for you tonight,” she murmured into the mic. “I wrote this song for a man that holds my heart in his hands.”
Hearing her words, I turned my head. My eyes collide with hers.
A fire in roared to life within me. A million different visions swam right in front of my eyes.
Harley waking up next to me, her smile the first thing I see in the morning.
Her walking down the isle to me as I wait.
Her belly big and swollen while small feet rest on my lap.
Her laugh echoed in my ears as kids ran around us on the beach.
In a single second I saw our lives as they could be.
And I knew, there was nothing that could stop me from reaching for it.
Not even me.
“A man who’s the best man I ever knew. A man who has given me silence I didn’t know I craved.”
People started clapping and cheering. Some even turned to me and either pointed with their fingers at me, or whispered with their hands over their mouths. Some even had their phones pointed at me, probably recording me, my reaction. I didn’t give a fuck.
All I cared about was the woman who has become my whole world, and her words that fueled my battered heart.
She broke eye contact with me for a second, motioning to someone in the wing of the stage, and then looked back at me.
“This one, this one is for you Carter Ryan. You were the silence I didn’t know I needed.”
I couldn’t help it, A smile so wide it hurt a little broke out on my face.
“You promised you would keep her safe,” the words were full of hurt, and I looked down from Harley, and to the person standing in front of me.
Jude Brown.
I frowned,” What the fuck are you doing here, Jude?”
He didn’t answer my question. “I told you she’s not safe. I warned you. And you did nothing.”
“Jude,” I raised my arms in a useless attempt to calm the man down. “I’m doing everything I can. You see her up on that stage, she’s safe.”
“No, she’s not.” He shook his head forcefully. A move that had mania written all over it. His eyes twitched and he shifted before he leaned towards me. “He’s here. With her. Watching her every move.”
I grabbed Jude by the collar of his shirt, “Who?”
Jude blanched, and his mouth opened and closed. “He watches her, her every move. Hope she will see him. He's a bad man. He isn’t like me, just wanting to be near her. He wants her. He’s selfish, he wants to shut her light. But, I see him. I see because I watch her. I see him.”
He was starting to ramble, his eyes twitch, and his whole body was shaking.
Who the fuck was he talking about? This was beginning to look like a horror movie. Monster after monster coming out of the dark, and they all seemed to have one target, Harley.
Or was Jude so deep into his delusions and he was talking about himself in third person?
I couldn’t be sure.
I needed to get Jude out of here. Needed to lock him up, so at least that threat would be contained.
Frustration bubbled inside me, we were butchering this every step of the way.
Instead of being closer to the threat, with each day we were further and further away. Left in the middle of chaos with not a single clue as to who the real threat was. Left scratching our heads like complete amateurs.
Just then the lights cut off, and Jude tore out of my grip.
I took a step towards the stage, bumping into someone.
After a minute, the power got back, but it was too late.
The center of the stage was empty.
Harley was gone.
And so was Jude Brown.