“He had to deal with something.” Ron guided Abby toward her dressing room.
“Anything wrong?” Danny always escorted Abby to her dressing room after a show. The fact that he wasn’t there made her uneasy. Something was up, and she didn’t like not knowing what was going on.
“No, nothing’s wrong. Stop worrying.”
She looked over at him and saw his wandering eyes scoping out a pack of groupies.
“Ugh, gross, Ron.” Abby gave him her best disgusted face.
“Just looking. Nothing wrong with that.” He winked. “I’ll wait out here for you.” He opened the dressing room door. The room was completely empty and for a moment she simply stood and enjoyed the quiet. She continued on into her dressing suite but stopped when she remembered she needed to talk to her tour manager.
“Hey Ron…” she opened the door, and he was nowhere to be found. “What the fuck?”
“Abby!”
She turned at the sound of her name. Stephanie was standing behind her, smiling like a sticky sweet predator.
“Just the person I wanted to see. I’d love to get a comment from you on the story I’m running tomorrow.”
Shit. Where the hell was Danny and Ron? She scanned the area but didn’t see either of them.
“Of course. Why don’t you come inside?” Abby stepped aside, and let Stephanie through the door.
“This won’t take more than a minute of your time.”
“I always have time for you.” She smiled, but really she wanted to roll her eyes.
“I got a very interesting email this morning, and I had to take the first flight to Reno. Let me just pull it up for you.”
Abby waited while Stephanie fiddled with her phone. What was going on tonight? No Danny, now Ron was gone and Sophie wasn’t around either.
“Here we go.” Stephanie’s voice jolted Abby out of her thoughts.
Abby turned her attention to the phone that was shoved in her face. It took a moment to realize what she was seeing. It was Sean. Sean and her mother.
“Feel free to scroll through them all.”
Abby was stunned. This couldn’t be. Her mother? No way. With shaky fingers, she swiped the phone and looked at the next picture. Her heart broke. These photos were not like the out of focus video Sean sent her. These were clear. Sean couldn’t talk his way out of this. She was sure he’d try, but there was nothing he could say to convince her that it wasn’t him. And her mother. She was used to Sean being a lying, cheating bastard, but her mother? She was a lot of things, but this was in another league.
Her mother’s total disregard for Abby was the worst kind of betrayal. She felt a great loss, and it surprised her. She thought she’d stopped expecting anything from her mom a long time ago. They weren’t close, and their relationship was strained, but nothing had prepared her for this. How could Abby ever forgive her? Nothing she could say would explain this away and make it okay.
“It seems Sean has a preference for the Murphy women.” Stephanie’s words registered in a distant part of Abby’s mind, but she had no idea what she was actually saying.
The photos overwhelmed her. They had to be fake. But she knew they weren’t. Suddenly, she felt sick. She took in an audible breath.
“Where did you get these?” Abby was short of breath, and her hands were clammy. She’d never hyperventilated before, but she imagined it felt a lot like this. If she didn’t get herself under control, she was definitely going to faint.
“A reporter never reveals her source. These will be on the front page of every paper tomorrow morning. I assume you didn’t know this was going on?”
“Get out,” she whispered.
“What dear? Speak up, I want to make sure I get your quote correct.”
“Get out! Now!” She threw the phone on the ground and smashed it with the heel of her shoe and didn’t stop until little battered bits of electronic parts covered the floor.
“Abby?” Sophie’s voice came from behind her, but she couldn’t turn, she couldn’t do anything. She was in a state of shock. Her mother and Sean? No, no, no. It couldn’t be.
“You need to leave.”
“Who’s going to replace my phone?”
“Fuck you. Who gives a shit about your phone?”
Sophie continued to argue with Stephanie. Abby heard them exchange of words, but she couldn’t concentrate on it. Their voices sounded as if they were in a tunnel. Nothing seemed real anymore. She felt like an observer in her own body, as though her body was there, but her consciousness was floating somewhere far away.
“Abby? Abby!”
“Sophie?”
“Just breathe for me okay? You scared the shit out of me.”
Abby listened to her friend, and as she settled her breathing, she realized they were no longer standing by the door to her dressing room. Instead, she was sitting on the couch in the back dressing area. “How’d we get here?”
“Don’t worry about that. Just keep breathing. I’m going to get you water. Don’t move and just listen to my voice, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Do you remember what happened?”
“Um, I opened the door to ask Ron something, and he wasn’t there, but Stephanie was. She wanted me to comment on an email she got. And it was…it had…” She started hyperventilating again.
“Shh, here.” She handed her a bottled water.
“Where are the boys?” Sophie asked.
“The hell if I know. Ron said Danny had to deal with something but didn’t elaborate.”
Even though Ron said everything was okay, she knew Danny’s absence was significant. And she needed to clear the stream of heartbreaking scenarios running through her mind. After the video Sean sent her last night, she wasn’t able to rule anything out. He could be hooking up with a girl or bleeding out in a stairwell. One scenario made her irrationally angry, and the other filled her with deep, gut-level fear that blossomed and grew with each passing moment. Neither possibility was even remotely helpful.
“Then he disappeared. Something is up, but right now I don’t care about any of that. Sophie, my mother and my boyfriend.” Tears stung her eyes. She didn’t want to cry, but shit…her mother. Abby thought her mother had far too much control over her career and her life, but she never thought she’d do anything this hurtful. This cut. Deep.
Sophie wrapped her arms around Abby. “Just breathe, girl.” Abby held her tight and tried to follow her instructions. How much more could she take? She was getting hit with one horrible thing after another.
“I don’t know how much more I can handle.”
“I know.”
“This shit is going to be everywhere.”
“I’ll do damage control. I’ll put on my fightin’ clothes,” she winked. “I know how to throw a few blows too. But first let’s get you out of this get-up and on the bus. Then we can figure out what’s going on with the guys and how to handle this other mess, okay?” Sophie gave her a reassuring smile.
“Fine,” Abby wiped the tears away and got up.
They spent the next half hour getting Abby out of her sweaty outfit and ready for the long trip to San Francisco. When Abby was dressed in a pair of charcoal grey leggings, a white tank, and a loose fitting scoop neck tawny color sweater, Abby followed Sophie out of her dressing room. Danny stood next to Ron, waiting for her. Relief flooded through her, and she had to physically stop herself from giving him a hug, followed by a slap for making her worry.
“Where were you?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Where were you?” she repeated.
He bent down and said quietly, “We’ll talk on the bus.”
“No. I asked you a question.”
“Abby, I’ll explain everything on the bus, please. This isn’t the right time or place to talk.”
“Okay,” she said, but his tone didn’t make her feel any better.
They walked through the doors to the parking lot, and were met with a larger-than-normal gr
oup of fans waiting to get a glimpse of Abby.
“What the fuck?” Danny said. Usually, she was greeted by a small group of fans who won a pass to see her before she boarded the bus. Tonight, though, Danny had canceled all passes, and this area was supposed be clear of fans and press.
“I thought you said we were all clear?” Danny addressed Ron and quickly closed the door.
“Fuck. I…I did, man. The arena security said it was all clear.” Ron stumbled over his explanation.
“Obviously not.” Danny’s words were cold, and he gave Ron a death glare. There was definitely some tension there.
“We should bypass the crowd,” Danny said as he took her hand and started to walk the other way.
“No way.” Abby stopped and twisted out of his hold. She returned to the door. After the night she had, she needed to do something that brought her joy. “I’ll do a quick hello and sign a few autographs. There are guards out there, too. It’s not just you two. It’ll be fine.”
“Absolutely not.” He gave her one of his stern glares. “This isn’t a controlled situation. I cancelled all after-show passes. The fact that they are even here means someone set this up. I can’t evaluate the risk because I don’t know anything about this.”
Abby understood his concern, she really did. But she also understood that fans like these, the people who stood in the rain to catch a glimpse of her, were the basis of her career. Without them, she would fade into pop star history. “I’m sorry, but it’s a chance I have to take. One quick pass of the line.”
“This isn’t safe.” Danny’s firm, professional façade crumbled slightly, and the look of desperate anguish surprised Abby. She may be just a job to Nucci Securities, but there was no denying the emotion Danny showed her in that moment. She had no idea what it meant.
“The bus isn’t far. I can’t ignore all those people. You’ll be with me the whole time. It’ll be fine.”
“Fine.” He turned and gave Ron a look. Abby knew they’d have words later.
“Thank you.” She placed her hand in Danny’s and waited for him to guide her out. She greeted the crowd, signed a few autographs, and smiled for a bunch of pictures. Abby was posing for a picture with a fan when the crowd surged forward and the barricades fell. She tried to retreat, but stumbled and was quickly overwhelmed by the press of unfamiliar bodies. Within seconds, she lost sight of Danny. She was pushed and pulled toward the middle of the crowd, and panic swelled in her chest.
“Abby!” Danny’s loud voice rang over the excited crowd.
“Danny!” She yelled back, but she was pulled deeper into the crowd. It felt as if she were in a mosh pit. She continued to search the crowd for Danny and yelled in vain. There was no sight of him or Ron.
She felt a strong tug on her arm and turned around expecting to see Danny pulling her to safety. She was wrong. Standing in front of her was a very pissed off ex-boyfriend.
“Sean.” Abby gasped.
“Told you your pretty boy and his crew couldn’t stop me.” He pulled her around the bus and out of sight from the crowd. Abby screamed, but no one heard her through the chaos around them.
“All I had to do was send your devoted bodyguards a little free pussy, and my plan fell in place.” His laugh sent shivers down Abby’s spine. “This all could’ve been avoided if you would’ve just talked to me.”
“I told you I have nothing to say to you.”
“You don’t have to say anything. Just listen. I get I’ve made a mistake, but we’re off the road soon, and we can get things back to the way they used to be.”
“What way is that Sean? Is that where I pretend you aren’t sticking your dick in every groupie? Or is it where I say it’s okay for you to abuse me and pretend life is just peachy? Or wait, I know, it’s where I pretend I didn’t just see pictures of you and my mother fucking on some couch? Is that what you were referring to?”
Sean stood there, speechless. While he was distracted, she started running. Unfortunately, she didn’t get far.
“Where do you think you’re going? We’re not finished.” He yanked her back against the bus. “Abby you don’t understand. She took advantage of me. She said if I didn’t do what she wanted, she’d make my solo deal go away. What was I suppose to do?”
“I don’t know, maybe say no. Maybe tell me. There were a million different things you could’ve done.” She paused, remembering the photos. “Although from what Stephanie showed me, it didn’t look like you were being forced to do anything.”
“Son of a bitch. That Stephanie is a nosy cunt, isn’t she? She’s had a hard-on for me since I rejected her. Don’t get me wrong, she’s hot. But I’m not about to touch that.”
“Bastard.”
“You need to remember your place. I didn’t put up with you and your mother to get nothing in return.”
The longer she listened, the more Sean scared her. She reached for her panic button. It worked last time Sean had her cornered.
“Not this time.” Sean caught her hand and ripped it from her wrist. Then, threw it across the parking lot.
It flew through the air and hit a large boulder She prayed the contact with the rock set it off.
“So I’ve been nothing but a means to an end.” Abby said, almost to herself. She struggled to keep her voice even. Damn him if he thought he could see her cry again after yesterday.
He inched closer and caressed Abby’s cheek with his hand and a cold shiver ran down her spine. “Honey, what else would you be? Once I sign my deal, you can go on your way. For now, you play the loving girlfriend while we’re out in public.”
Abby shook her head in disgust. “It doesn’t matter. Stephanie said those photos go live tomorrow morning. No one’s going to believe we’re still together after that.”
“I’ll handle her.”
“Your plan’s fucked. Your name and your face will be plastered over every social media outlet. Soon everyone will know the real you.”
“Shut up!” Sean grabbed her injured arm and did a combination squeeze-twist that hurt so much more than the last time he’d injured her. Abby screamed, but he clamped his hand over her mouth.
“Nothing’s changed. Play your part.” He backed away from her, and when she was no longer able to see him, she ran to the safety of the bus. She banged on the driver’s side window, startling poor Anthony. He opened his small side window.
“Abby, thank God. Stay close and don’t move,” he instructed.
She nodded, then crouched behind the front tire. It was a crazy-mob scene on the other side of the bus and she was in no hurry to move from this spot. What the fuck happened?
She spent several long minutes alone, waiting for Anthony to make his way to her.
“Abby!” Danny shook her out of her trance.
“Danny!” She wrapped her arms around him.
“Listen to me.” He pulled her out of his arms. “We need to get out of here, but there’s no way to get you on that bus without being spotted. Sophie’s inside, and Ron will meet us on the other side of the building. You and I are going to take a short ride in the storage compartment.”
“You’re joking, right?” She looked between the two, convinced they’d lost their minds.
“We have no time to argue. In you go.” Danny pushed a few suitcases to the side, helped Abby in, and then climbed in beside her. Anthony closed the door, and a few minutes later they were moving.
“This is the craziest thing I’ve ever done,” she said as she wrapped her arms around Danny.
“I’ve got you, don’t worry.” He pulled her closer.
She should have been freaking out. She deserved to freak out. But Danny was so close, his hard body flush against hers. She rested her head against his chest and listened to the pounding of his heart and inhaled his fresh clean scent.
The sound of the bus’s horn startled her, and she burrowed closer. She wrapped her leg around his thigh, pushed her face tighter against him, and held on for dear life.
The bu
s stopped a few minutes later and just in time, too. Abby was shaking, and Danny needed to get her out of there so he could assess if she was injured and find out what the hell happened.
“We’ll be out in a minute,” he whispered into her ear.
He was seriously pissed about this entire situation, but he didn’t want Abby to worry about him. Right now, she was his main focus. Finally, the hatch door opened, and Abby buried her face into his neck.
“Shh, it’s okay, it’s Anthony.”
He needed to help Abby out, but he was enjoying the heat of her body pressed up against his. Danny was willing to travel the rest of the tour in the storage compartment if it meant he’d have her wrapped around his body.
“You’re good,” Anthony called.
Danny removed himself from Abby’s grip when he got the okay to exit.
“Come on.” He took her hand and walked her around to the main doors of the bus. “In you go.” He stated calmly, as if it were a typical day and they hadn’t been ambushed by a few hundred fans. His goal was to keep her from becoming more upset than she already was. Clearly, she was rattled and on the verge of crying. And he really didn’t want to see that.
He followed her up the bus stairs. “Sit,” he instructed and then took his place next to her on the sofa. It was the perfect spot because he could see the arena doors and watch for Ron. He needed to have a conversation with him before letting him on the bus.
“Are you okay?” Sophie asked as she sat down on the opposite sofa.
Abby’s body started to shake. A common reaction to the adrenaline rush she must have had after that crazy situation. She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Are you hurt?” He gave her a once over, relieved when he didn’t see any blood or torn clothing.
Danny tucked Abby’s hair behind her ear and placed his fingers under her chin. He tilted her head so she looked him in the eyes and he could check her out for any cuts or bruises. “You’re okay. All you need to worry about is relaxing for the rest of the night.”
She drew in a shuddered breath. It pained Danny to see her this way.
“What?”
“Sean¸” she whispered so low he thought he heard wrong.
Finding Us Page 7
