So, I made my way to my seat and waited along with the eighteen thousand plus other screaming fans in the crowd. Waiting for their idol to take the stage. The lights dimmed, then the place went dark. The crowd roared, chanting his name. Then the pounding of the piano keys could be heard from the first frame of one of his songs, just before bright spotlights green, red, purple crisscrossed across the stage. The drummer began to play ramping up the rhythm in the crowd, causing the place to pulse with energy.
I was close enough to the stage to see when six people had come on, but none were Pike. They were members of the band and back up singers. A sudden flash had the crowd screaming, smoke covered the stage and one lone spotlight focused on Pike emerging from the floor of the stage. The crowd went wild, the roar deafening. He belted out the first verse of one of his older popular songs. Then he stopped and greeted his audience. “Hey DC. Thank you for coming out tonight. Let’s burn this shit down.”
Again, the crowd roared and chanted, ‘Burn This Shit Down’ replacing Place with Shit, the title from one of his songs. As good as he sounded and as happy as the crowd around me was, I felt he was a little off. He didn’t seem to run around the stage as much as I know he was known to do. Even the small bar area back in C-Ville, he would sometimes jump down onto the floor to sing, because there was never enough room to hold him, contain him. He did none of the running around and using the stage. He stayed mostly in the center of it.
He did three songs then paused. “Whew, DC. It’s been a long rough last month. There’s a song I want to sing that I wrote for a special person. She’s so special she’s the woman I love. I wrote this song to make sure she knows what she means to me.”
The women in the crowd were screaming. It seemed as if everyone in the entire center were on their feet. All I could do was remain rooted in my seat. Frozen in place as Pike began to sing. His words were for me. He might have sung it to the crowd but his words were for me. The sadness in his voice. The pain is what broke me.
My tears came then. They flowed down my cheeks and I couldn’t seem to stop them. I’d been wrong. So wrong. Foolish. I knew what I had to do. I moved forward to the front. Where I knew he would be able to see me. He just had to look in this direction. I whispered his name. Of course, he couldn’t hear me over all this noise, I know he didn’t.
Still though, he turned his head and opened his eyes. Across that sea of people, he found me and our eyes locked. His voice croaked, he tried again and paused. He raised his hand to his face and rubbed his eyes. “Eryn, baby. I love you,” he said in front of thousands of people what he’d already told me in his song. I blew him a kiss.
I would wait to tell him I loved him too. Then he began to sing again, but this time—this time, he sung with a joyful heart. And this time, he was moving across the stage.
“You have one more fucking shot. If you fuck this up, don’t come back. Put a bullet in your worthless brain.”
“I will not fail. Not this time.” Harameed placed the explosives earlier that morning, before the concert started he’d set the timer for when the show would be at its peak. The plan had always been to bring attention to Hasla by killing as many as possible. It was up to him to pick the target. While a government building or even one of the monuments would have suited part of his mission, it would have a limited number of deaths. They needed more than a handful. It was simply fortuitous that it just so happened the bitch and her lover who’d cost him Aru in the first place, created a way for him to kill them and fulfill his mission at the same time.
“Detective Simons, please.”
“Who’s calling?”
“Serrita Bose.”
“Thank you for contacting me Mrs. Bose, I’ve been trying to reach you for awhile to talk to you about your sister.”
“I think something bad is going to happen detective.”
“What makes you say that ma’am?”
“I overheard something I was not supposed to. There is a man attached to the embassy, Vinay Harameed. I think he might be part of a radical group.”
“That’s the man we identified as a possible match in your sister’s shooting Mrs. Bose. We’ve been trying to talk to him. What can you tell me?”
“I believe he might be trying to do something very bad. There is a concert tonight and everyone there is in great danger. I don’t know where and that’s all I can tell you. Please. Please. Stop this.”
The line went dead. Simons knew of only one concert tonight. He was on his feet running into his Captain’s office with his phone at his ear, calling The Center.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Pike
I’d never felt so fucked up in my life. The vibe from the crowd helped. I fed off it. The only way I could get through this. Not wanting to disappoint them. That and the thought that finally, about goddamn time I would see Eryn in three more days. I just had to make it through three more fucking lonely nights without her in my arms and hope to God that at the end of it, she would be back in them. I didn’t know what I would do if my plan didn’t work to talk to her. Get her to see me and listen to what I had to tell her. Really listen. I was ready to get down on my frigging knees and beg that woman for another chance.
Me. So fucked up. I DO NOT BEG. But I got a taste of my life with her in it and her not. I fucking want her back.
I sang up on that stage, trying to give the audience what I knew it wanted. It was about all I could do to stand there. I swayed from side to side, letting the music fill me and move me, but I couldn’t…didn’t have the energy to move around the stage. My heart wouldn’t let me. We did the first three sets, I sang by route, just using my voice. My soul stayed out of it.
I dropped my head and signaled for the band to slow it down. I needed to make a slight change. We’d practiced this song only a couple of times, but I needed to get the words out. Had to do this now. So, I made the announcement, dedicated it to the woman I love. Closed my eyes and began to sing from my heart. I let the hurt pour out of me, my pain. Sending my love out there into the night, hoping it would be heard.
Then I turned and opened my eyes. What the fuck?. I don’t know how I remained standing, because there she was, my eyes found hers and I couldn’t let go. Couldn’t look away. I had to start the song over again, because my voice had choked up when I tried to swallow down my tears. Did this mean she forgave me? I fucking hoped so. Cause I wasn’t letting her go. Not again. Never again. And in front of God and all, I told her with the words what she needed to know. Suddenly, I had energy to burn now, because my heart was full of hope and I sang my ass off.
I caught movement from the corner. Sol frantically waving at me, one of the singers saw him too, but we were in the middle of a song. What the fuck was going on? I signaled for the bass player to do an extended play and made my way off stage, like I was grabbing a drink of water. “What—?”
That’s all I got before Sol spoke, “Just got a call from Detective Simons and this,” he gestured to a man I didn’t know standing beside him. “Is Johnson, he’s the head of security here. We’ve got to evacuate the building Pike, now. But we don’t want to scare people.”
“What the fuck is going on?”
“Simons is on his way, but he got a call a few minutes ago. He believes a bomb has been planted here.”
“What the fuck man? Oh, my fucking God, Eryn is in the fucking VIP section.” I turned around to go back on stage to get to her, because it was the fastest way.
Sol grabbed my arm. “Wait, what are you doing?”
“Eryn is out there man. She’s out there.”
“Listen, Mr. Pike,” the security head interjected. “We need to try to have everyone remain calm. The last thing we need is for people to panic. What I’d like you to do is make an announcement, so as not to alarm people.”
“What the fuck you think is going to happen if I tell people there’s a bomb in the building?”
The man shook his head. “No you misunderstand. I don’t want you to tell them that for exactly that r
eason. Just say that we need to evacuate the building. That everyone should remain calm and walk as quickly as possible to the nearest exist.”
I raked my fingers through my hair. “Okay, okay. Yeah, yeah I can do that.” Then I would go get Eryn the fuck out of here.
I walked back on stage and raised my head toward the band and singers patting my hand in a downward motion for them to stop playing and singing. The crowd began to scream my name. I walked to the front and center of the stage, then moved closer to Eryn’s side. All the lights in the building went up and I spoke into my mic, “Listen everyone, there’s been an emergency. And I’ve got to ask everyone to please leave the building.”
People were screaming before they were roaring even more now.
“No!” I raised my hand to try to get quiet. “Please, for your safety everyone needs to evacuate the building now. Move as quickly but and as orderly as possible to the nearest exit.” But not everyone seemed to be moving fast enough. Some sat down and were just looking around, but then I could see the security people now moving amongst the crowd, getting them up and moving toward the exits.
I glanced over at Eryn who was looking around then back at me. I held up my hand toward her indicating she should wait there. I spun back toward the band and called them over to me.
Jimmy spoke first, “What’s going on man?”
“We’ve got to get out of here man, like now,” I told them.
“What’s the fucking problem?”
“The police think a bomb’s been planted here.”
“WHAT?” Jimmy cried.
“Yeah, so come on you guys, go on and get out of here. Leave the building. I’m going to try to get everyone moving and out.”
By this time, my security had come onto the stage, I hadn’t even noticed the two women who’d made their way onto the stage and were screaming for me. The Center security escorted them off stage. I noticed that most everyone was now heading toward the aisle and the exits.
“Go on get out of here,” I told them. I looked up at Eryn and I saw Sol talking to her. I know the moment he told her what was going on, her gaze found mine and there was fear in them.
“Go with Sol,” I said into the mic.
She nodded and turned to leave the section.
I noticed a few folks trying to shove their way past the crowd. “Calmly people! No pushing or shoving. None of that shit. Let’s get everyone out of here safely. Or do I need to come down there and bust some ass?” I think that might have done the trick to release some of the tension, at least I hoped so. I’d just made it off the stage and was in the hallway with my two bodyguards heading toward the exit, knowing Sol would see about getting Eryn out when I felt the first explosion and the building shook. My bodyguards and I froze for a moment, then all hell broke lose. We heard the screams and people in the hallway began to run.
I don’t know how we made it out of there. Smoke clogged the air turning it arid. “Eryn,” I managed to croak out to Tank. “Where’s Eryn? She left with Sol. Have you seen her?” I coughed out.
“Let’s move a little further away from the building Pike.” He held me under my elbow trying to usher me further away.
I pulled back out of his hold. “Fuck that! Where’s Eryn?” I began looking frantically around. People were in full out panic now, running and screaming. I could hear sirens nearby. My lungs were burning. I didn’t realize how much smoke I must have inhaled and we were still too close to the blaze at our back. I glanced up and saw a familiar face, not the one I needed to see but maybe he could tell me what was going on and if he’d seen Eryn.
“Simons. What happened? Have you seen Eryn?”
“No. Sorry I haven’t seen her, but there’s a lot of people around. Looks like most had made it out before the bomb went off. There were two of them and we don’t know if there’re anymore, so you’ve got to move away from the building. We’re trying to get this area completely clear until we can get a bomb unit in there.”
“I’m not going anywhere until I know Eryn is not in there. What the hell happened?”
“We think it’s the same guy who blew up her office building.”
“You’re fucking kidding me!”
“No. I got a call tonight from the ambassador’s wife, warning me she was scared something like this would happen.”
“What the fuck man! What the fuck? Eryn. I need to find Eryn. She was with Sol.” I had a horrible thought. It settled deep in my gut and wouldn’t leave me. I twisted around and sprinted back the way we’d come before anyone could stop me. I heard my name shouted but I paid it no heed—my only thought was of getting to Eryn. She needed me. I wasn’t fucking with her and she needed me. I ran past everyone back into the burning building. I pulled off my shirt and stuck it under my nose. I could hear footsteps behind me. I didn’t give a shit. I just kept right on running.
I wasn’t quite sure of the layout of the place but I knew the VIP section was off the area of rooms where we could get ready in the back. So. I headed in that general direction. Only to be met with rubble like the ceiling had collapsed and the way was partially blocked. I knew I had to get to the other side. My life was on that other side. I began moving the concrete piece by piece. Soon, other hands joined mine. We could hear muffled voices coming from the other side crying for help.
“Hang on baby, I’m coming,” I yelled.
“Stand back, Pike. Let the EMTs do their job.”
“Fuck that! They need all the hands they can get.” I think that’s the only reason no one tried to stop me and instead, other hands joined mine as we quickly moved the debris before us. Finally, we’d cleared a narrow path and I was the first one through. There was a metal beam, another part of the ceiling had fallen and it blocked the door. The sound of weakened screams were louder here.
“Eryn!” I yelled. Other hands joined mine again, adding their strength in lifting the beam away from the door, so those trapped within could escape. As soon as we opened the doorway, a wave of smoke hit us, the room was full of it.
Two women were on the floor nearest the door. I helped them rise to their feet. They were coughing, but were able to stand and move past me. There was another man who made his way groggily past me. I took his elbow and handed him off to whoever was behind me. I continued moving further into the small area. The sound of coughing drawing me. I found Sol bending over a body. I knew before I even screamed her name. She lay crumpled beside a metal food cart on her back like a broken doll. There was blood on her forehead and her eyes were closed. The room was full of smoke.
I sank to my knees beside her. “No, God, please baby no.” I reached for her hand to draw her into my arms but someone placed a hand on mine stopping me from lifting her up.
I think it was Sol, I almost didn’t recognize his voice, it was wheezing. “N-no, Pike don’t move her. Something fell on top of her, we got it off but I’m not sure if anything is hurt inside and she took a blow to the head. You have to move aside. Let them help her.”
“Yes, Pike,” Simons added. “We’ve got to get her out of here, everyone has to go, it’s not safe here.”
“She’s alive, P-pike,” Sol coughed out. “But not much air in here. Need—to get out.”
That’s the only thing that had me moving away and not taking her into my arms. I didn’t want to risk doing any more damage to her than had already been done. All I could do was nod and step back while the EMTs came in with a stretcher, placed an oxygen mask over her face, quickly checked her then placed her on a board carefully putting her on the stretcher.
Sol was telling the men, the blast had shaken them all, that Eryn had stumbled, hitting her head but a cart had rolled over onto her.
I shed tears then, as I numbly followed them out to the ambulance, getting into the back with her. I took her hand but stayed out of the way to let the guy do whatever needed to be done for her. But I was not fucking leaving her side. No how. No way. Never again. Even if she could never forgive me, that was just too damn bad,
she would just have to learn to live with it. She had to fucking live.
“I love you, baby and I’m never leaving you. Come back to me. Don’t you even fucking think about trying to send me away. Now you come back, so we can fight some more if you need to do that. Fine. Be angry with me for not telling you the truth. Fine. We’ll fight about it. Then get past it. Because I love you and I know you love me too.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Eryn
I tried to open my eyes I really did, but the damn sun was right there. Who wants to look into the full rays of a fiery ball first thing in the morning? Besides, I had one hell of a headache, my entire body ached and my lungs were burning. Suddenly, there was something in my mouth and I automatically took a sip. Water. Oh, thank God, someone knew exactly what I wanted. But I needed Pike. Where was he? “Pike?”
“Right here, baby. Right here.”
I hadn’t even realized I’d said his name aloud. I thought it was all in my head, still not sure if it hadn’t been all in my imagination. Tears welled up behind my closed eyes, forcing them open. He was right there in front of me. The tears rolled down my face, so many things I wanted to say to him but all I could do was cry. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” My voice came out more like the croak of a frog.
“Drink.” He held up the cup with the straw for me.
I placed my hands over his and took a sip.
“No, baby,” he said. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m the one who’s an asshole. I’m the one who should have told you the truth from the beginning. I’m sorry. Please, forgive me.”
I raised my hand to wipe the tears running down his cheeks, and he was doing the same to mine. We both realized that at the same time and smiled at each other.
“I thought I’d lost you. Don’t ever leave me again,” he whispered.
“You’re awake.”
I turned my head to see my mom and Uncle David come through the door with cups of coffee in their hands.
The Prison Guard's Son: Young Guns Book One Page 16
