Chapter 22
Just after ten, Nikki boarded the private plane with Riley following right behind her. Though she felt bad about him missing a day of work on her behalf, she was thankful for his company and his support.
“Are you sure Mac won’t be mad if you miss work tomorrow?”
“I’m sure. I texted him, but he’s probably already asleep. It’ll be fine. Finn will let him know what’s going on, so don’t worry.” Riley took a good look around at the luxurious interior of the private plane. “So, this is how the other half lives, huh?”
“Don’t be impressed. The person who owns this ostentatious plane is a flaming asshole.”
“I already knew that, but the plane is kind of cool. I’ve never flown private before.”
The pilot and flight attendant came into the cabin to say hello to Nikki.
“Nice to see you, Jesse,” Nikki said to the pilot.
“Wish the circumstances were better,” he said grimly. “We’ll get you to your sister as fast as we can.”
“Thank you.”
“This is Mel, our flight attendant. Let her know if you need anything.”
“Thank you both.”
“We’ll be airborne shortly.”
Nikki and Riley strapped themselves into side-by-side white leather seats.
“Zane likes his gold, huh?” The plane was finished with gold on every available surface.
“He bought the plane after his first gold record,” Nikki said, clearly unimpressed.
As they taxied for takeoff, Riley reached for her hand. “Are you okay?”
“I’m strangely numb after all the crazy crap that’s happened since she met him. She’s going to tell me that this it, she’s done with him forever this time.” She shrugged. “I’ve heard it all before.”
“Maybe this’ll be different.”
“Maybe, but I’m not optimistic. He has some sort of weird hold over her that I’ve never understood. She has to be strong enough to break that bond, and so far, she hasn’t been.”
“What about your grandmother? Should you call her and tell her what’s going on?”
“I’ll call her in the morning.”
“She won’t see it online or on TV before then, will she?”
“No, she goes to bed early and gets up early. I’ll catch her before she watches the news. I wonder if it’s already all over the internet.”
“You want me to look?”
She shook her head. “I’ll find out soon enough.”
The plane flew down the runway and lifted smoothly into the air, leaving Gansett Island behind as they climbed through thick clouds that made for a bumpy few minutes. When they cleared the clouds, they found a sky sprinkled with stars.
“I hope this flight is a metaphor for what happens next with Jordan,” Riley said. “A patch of bumpiness followed by clear skies.”
“That would be nice.”
At his suggestion, they snuggled into the same chair and watched a movie to make the time go by faster.
Nikki couldn’t have said what movie it was or what it was about, but the mindless activity and his steady presence helped to pass the ninety minutes it took to fly from Rhode Island to North Carolina.
Nikki moved into her own seat for the descent and landing.
Davy was waiting on the tarmac when they came off the plane.
In his mid-thirties, Davy was tall and blond with a wiry build and always seemed to be vibrating with nervous energy.
Nikki had thought he was on something the first few times she met him, until she realized the nervous energy came from trying to manage the unmanageable Zane. “Davy, this is Riley. Riley, Davy.”
The two men shook hands.
“How is she?” Nikki asked.
“In a lot of pain, but she didn’t want to take anything for it until you get there.”
“Let’s go,” she said, climbing into the backseat with Riley.
“Hurry.” The thought of her sister in pain because of the man she loved made Nikki feel murderous.
If she had ten minutes alone with Zane, she’d be tempted to stab him in the throat.
It was probably just as well that he was in jail.
“Does he know you sent the plane for me?” Nikki asked.
“Nope.”
“Will he be pissed?”
“Fuck him if he is.”
Realizing that Zane’s own people were fed up with him, too, made Nikki feel slightly better.
Riley squeezed her hand.
Nikki was really glad he was there, and even more so when they arrived to find a massive crowd of reporters and photographers outside the hospital.
“Crap,” Davy said. “We tried to keep a lid on it, but it’s hard to keep a lid on anything these days.”
“Can we find another way in?” Riley asked, seeming unnerved by the sheer volume of people waiting for news about Jordan.
“I’ll try the back.” Davy pulled around to the emergency entrance, which was deserted. “She’s in room four forty-one. Go on up. I’ll park and meet you. Leave your stuff. I’ll take you to a hotel when you’re ready.”
Nikki appreciated that Riley let go of her hand only long enough to get out of the car.
The second they were both out, he took hold of it again, letting her know he was right there with her.
She’d never had that kind of support to lean on before.
She was always the strong one, the one everyone else turned to in times of trouble.
It was a refreshing and welcome change to have someone there just for her.
In the elevator, he put his arm around her, giving her exactly what she needed.
“I’m glad you came,” she said.
“Me, too.”
He walked her to Jordan’s door. “Go ahead. I’ll be right out here. Take your time.”
She went up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek and then went into her sister’s darkened room, where the only sound was that of sniffling.
It broke Nikki’s heart to know her sister’s heart had been broken yet again by the man she loved.
“Hey,” she said, making an effort not to recoil at the sight of her sister’s bruised face.
One cheek was almost totally black and blue, and her lower lip had been laid wide open.
Her arm was encased in a bulky cast and resting on a pillow. “I’m here.”
Jordan began to sob, wincing from the pain the movement caused her.
“Easy,” Nikki said, taking her hand. “Don’t move. I’m right here, and you’re going to be okay.”
“No,” Jordan said as tears slid down her face. “I’m not going to be okay.”
“Yes, you are.”
“I didn’t even last two weeks on my own without you,” she whispered.
“No one is keeping score, least of all me.” Taking a tissue from a box on the bedside table, Nikki gently wiped the tears from Jordan’s face.
“This is it, Nik. I swear to God. I’m done this time.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that,” Nikki replied, although she’d believe it when it happened.
A nurse came in and asked if Jordan was ready for pain meds.
“Yes, please.”
The nurse gave her a shot of something into her IV. “Now get some rest,” she said on the way out of the room.
“I know you have good reason not to believe me,” Jordan said, resuming their conversation. “But I mean it. I never want to see him again after this.”
“The only thing that matters is getting you better so we can get out of here. Wait until you see what I’ve done to Gram’s house on Gansett.”
Jordan’s eyes began to get heavy. “Did you see your roofer friend again?”
“Uh-huh. He’s here with me.”
Jordan’s eyes flew open. “Really?”
Nikki nodded.
“Tell me. I want to hear the whole story.”
While Jordan closed her eyes and listened, Nikki told her about Riley.
Riley was leaning against the wall outside Jordan’s room when Davy joined him a few minutes after Nikki went in. “What happened tonight?” Riley asked him.
“I’m not sure exactly. There were some technical issues during the show last night, and he was a bear all day.
We were supposed to leave for tonight’s show, when we heard a disturbance inside their room.
Next thing I knew, Jordan was in the hallway screaming for help with blood running down her face and her arm hanging at a weird angle. I could tell right away it was broken.”
“Son of a bitch,” Riley muttered. How any man could do that to a woman was beyond him, but to call Zane a man was giving him far too much credit. “I hope he’s at least spending the night in jail.”
“I have no idea,” Davy said. “I’m not taking his calls. He doesn’t know it yet, but I’m done working for him. I’ve put up with a ton of shit from him, and so has Jordan. I’ve had enough. I’ll be surprised if she hasn’t after this, too.”
“We can only hope so.”
“Yeah,” Davy said. “Nikki did the right thing getting off the crazy train when she did.”
“You can’t tell her that. She feels responsible, like she could’ve done something if she’d been there.”
“Nah, it’s not her fault. Zane’s got real issues that he’s going to have to do something about before his life and career go up in smoke.
We’ve got thirty thousand fans losing their collective minds because tonight’s show was canceled at the last minute.
Gonna cost a fucking fortune to give them all refunds.
And then when they hear where he is and why…
” Davy shook his head. “PR nightmare, and he’ll deserve all the bad press he gets.
Jordan is a sweet girl who can do better. ”
“You won’t get any argument from me—or her sister.”
“Figured she had to be at the end of her rope. Zane has that effect on people.” Davy glanced at him. “Didn’t know Nik had a boyfriend.”
His familiarity and use of her nickname grated on Riley. “It’s a relatively new development.”
“Hmm, well, good for her. She’s a nice girl, and so is her sister.”
“Yes, she is. I’m looking forward to getting to know Jordan.”
“I’m going to get a coffee. You want one?”
“Sure, sounds good. Just cream for me.”
“You got it.”
A few minutes after he walked away, Nikki came out of Jordan’s room and stepped straight into Riley’s arms.
“How is she?”
“Terrible. Her face is bruised and swollen, her lip is split, and her arm is in a big cast.”
“I’m so sorry, babe. I feel so bad for both of you.”
“She says this is it, and maybe I’m being overly optimistic, but it sounds different this time.”
“I really hope so, for your sake as much as hers.”