End Note

by Sonya Loveday

  I forced myself to stand up a little straighter. “Yeah, I’m good, but she needs to go.” I tipped my head at the girl on the ground.

  The security guard rolled her over and cuffed her as another golf cart rolled up. Oliver was off it before it came to a stop. “Can’t even leave you on your own for an hour, Riley.”

  I couldn’t believe, out of the multitude of people in the crowd, she’d somehow met Oliver. “A friend of yours?”

  Paige spun around and shoved her finger into my chest. “He saved her from your crazy-ass fans when they shoved her to the ground and almost made her a part of it.”

  That shocked me a little. I’d thought Paige was being overly dramatic earlier about the crowd, but knowing Riley had almost been trampled? Not cool. Not cool at all.

  “I thought you were kidding… just being dramatic… Shit, Riles. I’m sorry.” I dropped my face and pinched my eyes closed for a second. What the hell had I been thinking? Having Riley and Paige come to the concert, any concert, wasn’t safe when they were on their own.

  When I forced myself to open my eyes and look up, Oliver was loading the unconscious girl on the bench seat of the other security guard’s golf cart. When he drove off, Oliver walked over to us.

  “So you have a pretty good right hook,” he said to Riley. “Tom, the security guard, was impressed anyway.”

  Riley cowered behind my back, probably scared that Oliver would haul her off next. Instead, he winked at her and then turned his attention to me. “Might I suggest you take that bodyguard idea seriously, Mr. Jackson? This concert is milder than most, but you and your friend could have been seriously injured today. Thankfully, you only had to face a horny groupie. Next time, you might not get so lucky.”

  I could have fuckin’ decked him for that. I knew how serious the situation could have become; he didn’t need to say anything. “Shut up, Oliver. My parents had no right hiring you. I don’t need your help. Just go.”

  Oliver shook his head and walked away. Paige, on the other hand, jumped in where Oliver left off. “Are you serious? All of that could have been eliminated if you’d stop being so damn stubborn!”

  Having Paige snap at me was the final straw. “I don’t need a shadow babysitting my every move!”

  “No, you fucking idiot. You’re right. You don’t need a babysitter. You need a fucking savior!” Her hands fisted beside her, probably ready to strike out at me if I opened my mouth. “Riley, I’m done here. Can we go?”

  She didn’t wait for Riley to answer; she just stormed off.

  It took a second for Riley to process what had happened. She took off after Paige, hollering for her to wait.

  When Riley caught up with her, it looked like they were arguing. I jogged over to where Riley watched Paige double time it across the field. “Is she okay?”

  A tear rolled down Riley’s cheek, and I pulled her to my chest. It was as if everything had worked against us being able to visit with each other. It seemed like everything was all wrong. “I’m sorry, Riley. Maybe being here wasn’t a smart idea. You should go back to the hotel with Paige.”

  She pulled away from me. “And then what, Jared? Forget I know you? Forget we’re friends?”

  Hearing her say that killed me. Never would I want that. “No, Riles. Never that. I couldn’t live with myself if you weren’t my friend. I just think that concerts aren’t a good idea. We’ll see each other in between my concerts. I can fly you and Paige out when I have a few days between gigs. We can hang out in a safe place where you don’t get shoved to the ground, and I don’t get attacked.”

  Ace would have my ass for sure when he found out about Riley almost getting trampled. He’d even told me to keep her safe, and I’d fucked that all up.

  “I’m not ready to say good-bye. I just barely got to say hello,” she said, kicking her foot against the grass. The action alone made me realize just how small Riley was, how easily she could be broken.

  I put my finger under her chin. “Hey, it’s okay. Besides, the band’s packing up and heading out in like thirty minutes.”

  I could see Oliver parked across the field, watching us. I waved him over.

  “Jared,” she said, sighing when Oliver pulled up alongside us and patted the seat.

  “Come on; let’s go find your friend so she doesn’t have to walk back to the hotel alone.”

  I didn’t give her a chance to argue as I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her tight, and then helped her into the golf cart. I couldn’t stand there and watch Oliver drive her away. My throat tightened, and my eyes teared up. “I’ll call you!” My feet moved me into a jog before I made a fool of myself in front of everyone.

  I’d made it halfway across the field to the bus when I noticed Lars running towards me with a panicked expression on his face. “Have you seen Murphy?”

  My heart dropped. “She’s not on the bus?”

  We took off across the field back to the bus. There had to be some sort of mistake. Murphy stuck to the schedule. If anything, she would be standing in the stairwell of the bus, checking her watch every few seconds while she waited for us to board.

  Jeff met us at the bottom of the stairs. “Did you find her?”

  “Where’s Retro and Licks?” Lars asked as his eyes scanned the field around us.

  “They split up to walk around the field. They figured she might have gone looking for Jared and Oliver.”

  I cursed myself.

  Murphy was smarter than that. She wouldn’t have taken off by herself to go look for me. Not with Ed prowling around. My thoughts came so fast and hard at me that I grabbed Lars and yanked him closer. “Where is Ed’s bus?”

  “Ed?”

  “Red Gaze… where’s their bus?”

  Lars’ face paled. “No… no, he wouldn’t…”

  I spun around to Jeff. “Call Oliver and tell him to meet us at Red Gaze’s bus!”

  Lars took off with me right behind him.

  I hoped with everything in me that we were wrong. I hoped Murphy would pop out between buses and curse us out for having to come look for us.

  My hopes crashed when Lars slid to a stop at the backside of Red Gaze’s tour bus. The generator was running, making it impossible to hear if there was anyone moving around inside.

  “Let me do the talking,” Lars said as we approached the bus.

  The security guard, standing in front of the closed bus doors, made two of Oliver. And Oliver was a big dude. He turned his head when we approached. The mirrored sunglasses he wore reflected our images back at us, but he made no acknowledgment of us standing in front of him.

  Lars stopped directly in front of him. “We’re looking for Murphy. Have you seen her, Al?”

  Al turned his head away, ignoring Lars.

  Even if Murphy were on the bus, she’d never hear us over the sound of the generator. Who knew if there was a TV blaring inside?

  I slammed my fist against the side of the bus. “Maybe you didn’t hear the question so I’ll repeat it louder for you!” I opened my hand up and slapped my palm against the side of the bus as high as I could and hit it with every word, “Have. You. Seen. Murphy?”

  I left my palm against the bus. I might not be able to hear a thing, but any sort of movement would rock the bus and I’d feel it.

  Al took two steps towards me and went to grab for me. I ducked, darting around him. Being smaller than him made me way more agile. If he got a hold of me, it would be a different story. I kept him moving, away from the door leading into the bus, giving Lars time to try to pry it open.

  I made the mistake of taking my eyes off Al to see if Lars had made any progress getting inside the bus. Al turned, realized what Lars was doing, and charged at him.

  I dove for Al’s feet, and we both went down. I rolled to get away, but not fast enough. His foot caught me in the collarbone, and black dots sprung across my vision. I heaved deep breaths, fighting to stay conscious, as a pair of boots ran towards me. They pushed off against the ground in front
of my face and I tracked them, turning my head to watch Oliver land on the other side of me and hit Al like a freight train.

  A sort of numbness settled over me and I pushed myself to my feet, staggering to where Lars almost had the door cracked open. Retro shot past me, hollering at Lars to move. Lars jumped out of the way. The next thing I saw was Licks sliding to a stop in front of the door. His leg shot out and slammed into the center of the bi-fold door. It cracked open under the force of the blow. He wasted no time after that, sliding his narrow frame into the opening and shoving it the rest of the way open.

  Lars was up the stairs before any of us could react. Retro shoved Licks up the stairs in front of him as the bus rocked. The movement pulled me from my stupor. I shot up the stairs and ran smack into Murphy. Terror filled her eyes as she looked through me, not seeing who I was, only that I was an obstacle to get around in order to make it off the bus. I turned, allowing her to pass by, and then followed her out. When she made it outside, Oliver scooped her up as she fought him.

  “Murphy, stop! You’re safe now; we’re here. Everything is gonna be all right.”

  I didn’t know if it was the rough timbre of his voice that broke through, or the fact that her eyes met mine as she struggled to get away from Oliver, but it worked.

  When he set her down, she launched herself at me.

  “Get her back to the bus, Jared. We’ll meet you there in a few minutes,” Oliver said as he shot up the bus stairs.

  Murphy shuddered in my arms. “I’ve got you.”

  Her head tucked into my neck, and I hissed against the red-hot ache of my shoulder.

  JEFF PACED IN FRONT OF the bus. When he saw us, he shot up the stairs and moved out of the way. When I managed to get us on the bus without falling backwards, Jeff hit the button and the door hissed closed. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph… what the hell happened?”

  “Murphy was attacked. I’ll need some ice and a shot of whatever kind of alcohol we have on this bus.”

  Jeff didn’t hesitate to start putting together what I asked for.

  I set Murphy down on the couch and grabbed a blanket. Her hands curled into it and she clutched it to her chest, scooting to the far corner against the wall.

  Jeff appeared seconds later with a bottle in one hand and a bag of ice in the other. “Should I call the cops?”

  Murphy’s head snapped up. Her eyes were wide and haunted. “No!”

  I shook my head at Jeff, “Oliver will make that call when he gets here. They should be coming any time now.”

  Jeff’s eyes danced between Murphy and me for a second. “Holler if you need anything else. I’ll go stand up front and keep an eye out for them.”

  When he walked away, I went over and sat down beside Murphy. In all the commotion, I hadn’t had a chance to really look at her. And with her wrapped up tight in a blanket, there was no way to tell what sort of injuries she had. One thing was certain—she was in shock. I set the ice on the table, unscrewed the bottle of bourbon, and took a long pull from the bottle.

  Both of us needed a minute to collect our thoughts. Unfortunately, we didn’t have that kind of time. The guys would be back soon, and I wasn’t sure how Murphy would handle the rage that would surely permeate every air molecule around us when they returned. I wasn’t sure how she’d handle it if Oliver made the call to contact the authorities. She’d been attacked, so that would be the smartest decision. Let Montgomery’s finest throw Ed’s ass in jail so charges could be brought against him.

  I moved to face her. “Murphy?”

  Her eyes moved up to meet mine. I put my hand out, palm up, and waited.

  Her hand let go of the blanket and shook until her fingertips met mine. I leaned over, placed a kiss to her palm, and laced my fingers loosely with hers.

  “Here,” I said, lifting the bottle up for her to drink.

  She shook her head no, but I refused to give up. “Just a small drink, Murphy. You’re in shock. You probably feel really cold right now, and this will help.”

  She let go of my hand and released the blanket in order to keep hold of the bottle as she brought it to her lips. It was then I noticed that her T-shirt had been ripped open at the collar. The rest of the material was baggy and loose, as if someone had played tug-o-war with it. Her chest had splotched red marks and a few red streaks running from her throat down to where they disappeared under the material of her shirt.

  The bottle lifted to her lips, breaking my intent stare at her chest. She chugged back a long pull from the bottle, almost dropping it when she shuddered. I took it from her and set it on the table.

  When I turned back to her, her head was bent, her hair falling forward. I reached out, tucking her hair behind her ear, freezing when her shirt slipped down, exposing her shoulder down to the top swell of her breast. Ugly red smudges the size of dimes stood out against the stark whiteness of her skin. Rage danced along my gut. I had to force myself to keep still and not freak the fuck out.

  “Murphy, where else are you hurt?” I couldn’t help the way my clipped words sounded.

  She shrugged and tried to pull the blankets back up around her. I put my hand on top of hers, and she dropped it.

  “Don’t do that. Don’t shut down, Murphy. Please talk to me. Tell me so I can help you.”

  She opened her mouth, closed it, and chewed on her bottom lip.

  “They’re back!” Jeff shouted from the front of the bus.

  Murphy’s eyes sought out mine. “Help me to the bathroom, Jared. I don’t want them to see me like this!”

  I stood up, helped her to her feet, and led her down the hallway to the bathroom. Lars stopped in his tracks when I put my hand out to stall him. “She wants to get cleaned up.”

  He ran his hand down his face, clearly aggravated that she wasn’t up to seeing him. His hand fell to his side when he saw her cowering behind me. “Is she all right?”

  Behind me, I heard what sounded like a kitten mewling, and it broke me. Tears flooded my eyes, and I shook my head no at Lars. A lump formed in my throat, forcing me to swallow several times before I could answer him. “She needs a few minutes.”

  I took another step forward and opened the bathroom door. She slipped inside and tried to pull it closed, but I held onto the door and spoke to her through the small gap. “I’m gonna get you some clothes to change into. Don’t lock the door. Okay, Murphy?”

  She nodded her head and I let go of the door, softly closing it.

  When the sound of running water broke the silence, Oliver spoke. “We need to talk.”

  OLIVER GESTURED US ALL TO the front of the bus, keeping his voice low. “Lars, I need to know what you witnessed when you made it onto the bus.”

  Lars rubbed his hand against the back of his neck, closing his eyes so tight that it scrunched his face.

  “I know it’s not easy, but we have to know what we’re dealing with,” Oliver said as he put his hand on Lars’ shoulder. “It’s important we know.”

  Lars blew out a breath and opened his eyes. “All I saw was the back of Ed. He had her pinned against the wall. Her shirt was wrapped around his fist, and he was trying to force her to bend over.”

  White-hot heat raced from my hands inward, like at any moment I’d go super-nova.

  “Okay, so Murphy was fully dressed, correct?”

  “Yes.” Lars closed his eyes as if recalling the moment.

  A full shudder worked its way through me.

  “She was fighting him at every move. Her shirt was hanging, like they’d been fighting like that for a while. I noticed the back pocket of her jeans was torn when he kicked her foot out from under her. When they hit the ground, his hand went under her. He had her pinned, ya know… so I’m not sure if he… if his hand… Fuck! I don’t know, Oliver… I don’t know if he managed to get his hands down the front of her pants or not. I just… I just fucking yanked him up and put my arm around his neck. Murphy took a few kicks when we struggled, but she was able to get out once I had a good hold on him
.”

  Lars rubbed his jaw, his eyes searching Oliver’s. Murphy wasn’t the only one who would relive that particular nightmare. By the looks of it, he’d be sporting a nice bruise along the side of his face as a reminder of it until it healed.

  “Okay, now we know what we’re working with,” Oliver said.

  “Yeah, but what do we do about Ed?” Retro asked.

  “The cops need to be informed about this. How many other girls has he snatched up and carried off to his bus? How many other girls weren’t as lucky as Murphy to get away?” Licks asked the same questions that rolled through my mind.

  “Ed is being taken care of,” Oliver answered, crossing his arms.

  “What the hell does that mean? Did you call the cops?” I asked.

  “No, I called someone who would ensure Ed won’t ever get the chance to do that again,” Oliver replied.

  “You called a hit man?” Retro asked incredulously, taking a step back to lean against the sink.

  Oliver rolled his eyes. “No, I called Jared’s parents. They will ensure that Ed gets picked up by the FBI. Once that happens, he’ll be held for a long time while they comb through all the cold cases of girls who’ve reported being either drugged or attacked at concerts that Red Gaze has played.”

  “What do you mean—my parents? How do my parents have any involvement with the FBI?” To say I was shocked was an understatement.

  “They have their connections, Jared. All you need to know is that Ed will soon be paying for the crimes he’s committed.” Oliver walked over to where Jeff stood beside the driver’s seat. They exchanged a few words as Jeff slid behind the wheel and brought the bus to life.

  It wasn’t all I needed to know, and Oliver damn well knew it. I stepped in front of him before he could pass by me. “And what’s to stop Ed and his bodyguard from coming here while we’re just sitting around doing nothing?”

  Oliver put his hand on my shoulder, moving me so he could get by. “Security has been informed, and Ed’s been detained. The FBI will be here within the hour.”

  I stepped back, getting in his way again. “And what about Murphy?”