Ransom (Courting Chaos Book 2)

by Heather Young-Nichols

  “I was kind of a dick to him earlier because I’m apparently now full of myself and think that every dude who speaks to me is trying to get in my pants.” Well, that was a heaping load of honestly.

  “To be fair, he probably was,” Cross told us, “even if he wasn’t doing it on purpose.”

  I shook my head because I highly doubted that. “Anyway, we got coffee, where I found out that he apparently doesn’t get embarrassed?” I directed the last part at Cross.

  “I’ve known him since middle school,” he said. “He really doesn’t.”

  “I took it as a challenge.”

  “Yay. That should be fun.” Indie grinned widely at me.

  We finished eating quickly and had to head back. We still had hours before the show, but the guys had to get ready—they performed first, after all—and Indie said she wanted to touch base with her dad. I’d seen him last night not long after my brother had dropped me off in Detroit, but it had been quick. He’d given me a hug, then had had to go.

  I stepped out of the car to a much bigger crowd that the one we’d left and holy crap, I didn’t know how any of them got used to being around that kind of energy. As soon as Cross got out of the same car, this roar rose up from one end to the other. He waved but didn’t make a move to go over to them.

  Then I saw him.

  The tall, dirty blond with cropped hair and more muscle than sense. My heart sputtered, then raced out of control, the blood draining from my face.

  “Bellamy?” It was Indie’s voice, but she sounded far away, blocked by the thumping in my ears. “What’s wrong?”

  Something in me snapped and I forced my eyes from what I thought was the unfortunately familiar face to the one I was glad I knew.

  “Do you want to go to the bus?” I asked, grabbing her wrists and pulling her away. Fear made my nerves quiver inside my body, as if I was physically vibrating. “Or the venue?” I asked before she answered. “We could go in the venue. I just really want to get out of the open. Anywhere would be fine. It doesn’t really matter.”

  I couldn’t imagine what Indie saw on my face, but hers was covered in concern. My rapid blinking and tight muscles probably scared the crap out of her because it scared me.

  “Sure, Bellamy. Let’s go in the venue,” she said, then Cross put an arm around my shoulders and pushed me toward the entrance. I glanced back in search of the man in the crowd and found him. My breath caught in my throat and everything in me relaxed.

  It wasn’t him.

  The man I’d seen sure looked a hell of a lot like him, but it wasn’t him. Still, Cross didn’t let go of me until we stood in Kissing Cinder’s dressing room.

  Chapter Six

  Ransom

  “So? Is she the new girl?” Hope asked as I fought every instinct in me to turn around and watch Bellamy walk away with my best friend and his girl.

  “She is nobody and none of your business. What do you want, Hope?” I didn’t move a muscle and especially didn’t take us somewhere more private. I liked to be at least near the public where she was concerned.

  “What about the blonde?” Hope asked. “Is she with Cross?”

  “Why do you care? What’re you doing here?”

  Hope wet her lips and, in one of those fake baby voices, said, “I want us back together, baby.”

  “Pfh. Never. You can go now.” As I brushed past her, she turned to follow. Fucking hell, I’d do just about anything to make her go away.

  “We’ve had our little break, Ransom. Now it’s time to put things right.”

  I spun around on her, causing her to stop short and almost slam into my chest. “It’s been two months. That’s not a break—it’s a breakup. I don’t want to be with you. And if we’re being honest, we should’ve broken up months before that, so go away.” I turned on my heel again but didn’t get two steps.

  “I’m pregnant, Ransom. You’re the father and a baby deserves parents who’re married.”

  “The fuck you are,” I said, looking at her and trying not to let my gaze scan down to her stomach. Technically, she could be telling the truth. We’d had sex the night before we’d broken up. Protected sex, but sex nonetheless and no sex was one hundred percent protected.

  “I am.” Hope took a step toward me. “And we are getting back together or I’m going to the press. It’s as simple as that. And I’m pretty sure the last thing Courting Chaos needs right now is for yet another member to be a misogynist.”

  Fuck. Of course she’d bring up Eric and his underage fuck buddies, then try to use his disgusting behavior to her benefit. I’d ended our relationship long before Indie joined the tour and everything with Eric had happened. So she hadn’t been around for any of the fallout or even for us to know that he’d been messing around with underage girls, yet leave it to Hope to act like she knew exactly what had happened.

  “I want proof,” I said.

  “Proof?” she asked, as if it were a foreign concept to her.

  “Yeah. Proof you’re pregnant and proof I’m the father.”

  She raised her eyebrows at me. “I’m not doing anything to risk this baby.”

  “I’ll find out what the options are, but I want proof. You’ve lied before and I’m not trusting your word.” With every word, a little more confidence built inside me. She had to be lying. She had to be.

  “I’ve lied before?” she asked with mock outrage. “Fuck you, Ransom Drake. I’m going to the press either way and you’ll look like the douchey asshole you are.” Hope turned on her heel and stomped her way across the parking lot.

  I really needed to learn to spend all of my time in restricted areas where passes were required to get into. If I’d done that, I never would’ve run into Hope. And I’d still be talking to Bellamy.

  But I had to shake all of that off. After doing a pretty decent job of convincing myself of Hope’s treachery, I went into the dressing room to get ready for the show. Tuned my guitar, got hydrated, all of that. The rest of the guys came and I tried to hide my disappointment that the girls weren’t with Cross. But hell, I was disappointed as hell. Seeing Bellamy would’ve taken the stink off the interaction with Hope. Even seeing Indie would’ve helped, considering she was also an example of everything that was the opposite of Hope.

  “What’d Hope want?” Cross asked as he grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge.

  “What’s she always want?”

  “Hope’s back?” Dixon asked. “Please tell me Hope isn’t back.”

  “Hope isn’t back,” I said. Dixon raised his eyebrow at me. “Yes, she’s here but not back. I’m not back with her. I’ll never be back with her.”

  “Who’s Hope?” Booker asked because yeah, he was still new.

  “Hope’s a lot like herpes,” Dixon said. “You can never truly get rid of her.”

  Cross laughed loudly, but I didn’t. He wasn’t wrong, but I didn’t have a lot to laugh about right then.

  “That’s messed up,” Booker finally said.

  I was still trying to figure the guy out. Cross, Dixon, and I were all twenty-four and had gone to school together. Booker was twenty-five and if I remembered correctly, he’d dropped out of high school to go on tour with City Angels when they’d still been pretty big. But being sixteen on a world tour meant he’d seen a lot at a young age and he was gifted with a bass. We were lucky to have him. He just hadn’t opened up to us quite yet.

  “Might be messed up,” I said to him, “but it’s also really true. We were pretty together for four months, but she’s acting like I backed out on a wedding or some shit.”

  “But on top of being clingy and demanding,” Dixon offered, “she also happens to be crazy.”

  “She’ll go away,” Cross predicted, but I wasn’t so sure. “Are we playing tonight or what?”

  “Let’s go,” I said as Lawson came through the door to get my guitar. He’d put it in the stand on stage. All part of the show.

  “Oh, not that you want to know this”—Cross threw his
arm around the back of my neck—“but the girls are in the third row on the left.”

  “And I care why?”

  He pulled back and held his hands up defensively. “Not saying you do. Just telling you in case there’s any reason you might want to know.”

  Fuck him. Now that he’d told me, it was all I could think about.

  I promised myself I’d get through two songs before glancing over at them, but I never made it that long without looking at them the entire night. Each time I glanced that way, Bellamy danced as if she didn’t have a care in the world. I sang the words I could’ve repeated in my sleep and took in just how in her element she looked. I’d rather have watched her all night than continued playing the show.

  Her hips swayed to the ballads. She hopped and her shoulders shook as she and Indie sometimes held on to each other as they danced. There was a peaceful look on her face in the middle of a fucking rock concert. People yelled all around her, yet Bellamy looked like a young woman having the time of her life and loving every single minute of it.

  Chapter Seven

  Bellamy

  After the concert last night, Indie and I had returned to her bus, put on the comfiest pajamas we owned, and watched movies until we’d fallen asleep together on her bed. I knew what she was doing by not asking me to go to my own bunk and I loved the hell out of her for it. It was all about comforting me, even if she didn’t know why.

  Indie had wanted to ask me about my mini freak-out in the parking lot, but she didn’t. The question sat on the tip of her tongue for so long, I swore I could almost see it. Still, she didn’t ask. She was biding her time for me to confess what was going on in my life. The movies and popcorn had been planned so I’d know that she’d be there for me no matter what. She didn’t have Cross over that night. I had to assume he rode with Ransom on the rare nights she and him weren’t together.

  The only thing missing that night was Maggie, our other best friend. Though her last text had told me that Eagan had surprised her with a visit from Ireland. He’d be staying a month and she didn’t want to leave her bedroom while he was here. However, after six texts back to her, she agreed that she’d look at the tour schedule to see if they could meet up with us at a show. I really wanted to meet the guy.

  Now that the sun hung brightly in the sky again, I stepped off the bus in front of a nice hotel. Even a couple of nights on the bus made me grateful for the idea of a regular bed. Apparently, Lawson made the arrangements for Courting Chaos, so he’d just put them into one room and Vince had assured me and Indie that we’d have our own rooms. When I told him I didn’t think we’d mind sharing, he glanced from me to Indie, then back, and I got the picture. He knew Indie and Cross would be together either way.

  I hoped we’d at least get to be next door to each other. And for the guys, three to a room had to be better than four.

  I’d packed an overnight bag as Indie had instructed. She’d said I wouldn’t want to lug everything back and forth for only one night. After the concert tomorrow we would be back on the road to D.C. But tonight… a real bed.

  Indie and I met her dad at the front desk to get our room assignments. Courting Chaos, Indie, and I had been assigned to the same floor while Kissing Cinder was on another. I suspected that might’ve been by design. Indie wouldn’t want to witness whatever her father did and not to mention KC was a lot older than CC.

  Anyway, we grabbed our key cards and our bags, then stepped onto the elevator for the third floor.

  “So what do we want to do today?” Indie asked me now that we were alone again.

  “I don’t know.” I shrugged.

  “I have a super ambitious idea,” she said. The sound of that scared me. “How about an amazingly lazy day by the pool? They have an indoor and an outdoor, so we could work on our tans or hide from the sun.”

  “What about Cross?”

  “What about him?” she countered. “He has things to keep him busy and I have months left on tour. I don’t know how long you’ll be here.”

  True. I hadn’t told her my plan to never go back home or at least not for a lot longer than the couple of weeks I’d originally said I’d be visiting. Honestly, I thought I’d stay until she got sick of me or until Vince no longer wanted to pay for me. There was of course the worry about my bank account running dry, even though I’d been trying to be extremely cautious. That money needed to last me once school started back up; otherwise, I’d have to work around classes, which sucked. I’d do it, but it would still suck.

  “That actually sounds like a fantastic way to waste a day,” I finally said. The doors opened in front of us and we stepped off together.

  “Let’s get things settled and change into our suits. It’s never too soon to laze. How long do you need?”

  “I thought I’d take a shower. Go crazy and shave my legs if I’m going to put on a bikini.”

  “So an hour?”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  Indie passed by me to get to her room, but before we could get our doors opened, the guys poured out of the elevator. A lot of people would’ve complained about being so close to the elevator, but I didn’t mind. Being close meant I had an escape route near me and I made sure to locate the stairs as well. Might’ve been dumb or paranoia, but it still made me feel better.

  I watched as Dixon, Booker, and Ransom made their way to their own room, loudly talking about something Dixon had said or done, I wasn’t sure. Cross, though, went to Indie and scooped her up into his arms, kissing her like a man returning from war.

  Watching them might have made me a creeper, but those two clearly loved each other. That much couldn’t be denied and witnessing it made me wonder if I’d ever find something like that. Or even if I wanted to.

  Then my gaze slid to the left and I found Ransom frozen in the threshold of his room, his hand holding the door open. The sound of Dixon and Booker inside lofted out like a soundtrack, but Ransom wasn’t watching Cross and Indie fumble their way into their room. His gaze fell heavily on me. Watching me watch them.

  I shook my head, gave him a little smile, and swiped the card in the door lock. Once inside, I sighed and went to ready myself for the pool. Normally these days, being exposed outside at the pool wasn’t something I’d be willing to do. But with both bands running around, I assumed security would be pretty tight. I’d chance it and try to have a little fun.

  After my shower, I packed up a little tote bag with my sunglasses, a book, sunscreen, and a few other essentials I might need. Pool towels would be down there, so I didn’t have to worry about that.

  I’d almost made it out the door when I realized I’d forgotten my phone. I went back and grabbed it off the bed. As soon as my fingertips hit the phone, it rang, making me jump. Since I expected it to be Indie, I didn’t check the caller ID which I’d done religiously since changing my number a while ago.

  “Calm down. I’m on my way,” I said as I grabbed my tote. This time my hand froze on the door knob when the sound of his voice hit my ear.

  “Well, well, well,” the deep voice sneered into my ear. His tone didn’t match the surprise indicated by his words. “She answers the phone.”

  “Fuck,” I muttered. Pulling the phone away from my ear, I intended to end the call, but he stopped me with just his voice.

  “Don’t you dare hang up.”

  I was torn between wanting to do it anyway and knowing that if I did, he’d just keep calling. And sometimes ignoring Chris was worse than hearing him out. No matter the fear and nervousness it filled me with.

  “What do you want?”

  “I noticed you’re not home. Where are you?”

  “Did you go to my house? You know you’re not supposed to do that,” I said back.

  “Where the fuck are you, Bellamy? We need to talk.”

  “We don’t need to talk. You’re not even supposed to be calling me. So move on.”

  “Oh, we’re not done yet.”

  My phone beeped in my ear, so I pulled
it away to see a text from Indie asking where the hell I was. I couldn’t let Chris influence my day. Not anymore. With the bag on my shoulder, I yanked the door open harder than I needed to and stepped into the hall.

  “God damn it, Bellamy. Come home now or I’ll make you. And you know I can.”

  That threat skittered up my spine, along with the fear and the wonder of exactly how he’d make me. Without meaning to, my eyes began to water. No. Chris had to be back in Michigan and I was currently in Ohio. He couldn’t know where I was. Even if he put together that I’d met up with Indie and gone on the tour, there was no way would he’d know which hotel I was at. Right?

  “Just leave me alone.” I hoped that came out like a demand and not a plea, but I hung up before he responded.

  Unfortunately, I was out in the hall and I wasn’t alone.

  Ransom stood outside the guys’ room, hand on the door handle, his eyes wide as he stared at me. Maybe it was the sound of my voice when I’d told Chris to leave me alone or the fact that my eyes filled with tears. Maybe he just hadn’t expected to see me. Whatever the reason, I swiped a finger under my eye to wipe away the tear that had broken loose and I walked away before Ransom could say the words so clearly on the tip of his tongue. His mouth already formed words and he might have already said something that I hadn’t heard.

  I wasn’t going to wait to find out.

  Chapter Eight

  Ransom

  Even with my own shit going on, I still focused on the look on Bellamy’s face when she’d told whoever the fuck had been on the phone to leave her alone. I didn’t know her all that well yet, but anyone could’ve read that particular look. Sadness. Fear. Probably a couple of other things, but the fear concerned me the most and made me want to put myself between her and whoever was on the phone to protect her.

  She hadn’t given me the chance to get a hold of the anger coursing my body to speak to her, which might’ve been for the better. Hope already had me pissed off to the highest order and seeing Bellamy took that to a nuclear level. If I really wanted to, I could’ve gone to her. Tried to talk to her. Based on the bathing suit straps peeking out from under the blue cover-up she wore, she and Indie were spending their day down by the pool.