Assured (Soul Serenade #2)(58)

Mine.

When I finally pull away from her, I realize the crowd is on f*cking fire, cheering and screaming. I look over at Kacen and he’s wearing a wide grin.

“Don’t stop on our account.” My eyes shift to Tristan. He waves over the crowd. “We’re enjoying the show.”

Stacy immediately buries her face in my chest and I hold her tight. Gavin smirks and hands me a microphone.

“What? You’ve never seen a man kiss the woman he loves before?”

Thunderous.

The f*cking crowd is thunderous as they roar with their approval.

I kiss the top of her head, still buried in my chest, before bringing the microphone to my lips. “I’ll see you after the show, sweets.”

I feel her nod against me, and then she turns on her heel and runs to her seat side-stage. Logan winks as she waddles in the same direction.

Tristan is already behind his drums and starts the beat for our next song. We don’t stop again, playing six more songs straight through before calling it a night.

As it’s come to be my routine, I hand off my guitar and make strides toward my girl. As soon as I reach her, f*cking Wilson shows up from God only knows where. I assumed he would be at the show tonight since he is in town, but I was hoping we didn’t have to be graced with his presence.

Stacy looks at him, then at me, then the rest of the guys as we’re all gathered in a circle.

“I-I-I have to g-go,” she stammers.

“Stacy.” I reach for her, but she’s too quick. She’s already running away from me.

Logan has her hand on my chest before I can move. “Let her go, Cole. They’re already with her.”

Looking up, I see that her guard has indeed caught up with her.

“I’m heading to the bus. You do what you need to do.” Logan motions toward Wilson. “We’ll see you guys soon. Let me talk to her.”

“I need to go to her.” I run my fingers through my sweat-soaked hair. I pull the tie off of my wrist and tie in a knot.

“Let her go, man. This is all new to her. Let Logan talk to her first,” Kacen tries to reason.

Clenching my jaw, I nod. I don’t f*cking like it, but I’m at a loss. Looking over at Wilson, I say, “What the f*ck do you want?”

“Now, Cole, is that any way to talk to the man who holds your future.”

“Fuck you, our contract is almost up. What do you want?” I seethe.

That f*cker laughs. “I just wanted to say congratulations on a great show. That new bit you did with the girls, the crowd loved it. How did you convince her to play along?”

What the f*ck? “Did you hit your head? What the hell are you taking about?”

“The girl.”

My hands instantly ball into fists at my sides.

I feel a hand on my chest, but I don’t know whose it is. “Calm.”

Gavin.

“That girl,” I grit out, “is mine. You stay the f*ck away from her.”

He f*cking throws his head back as he laughs this time. “She must be sweet, to have your balls in a vise. I wouldn’t mind a taste,” he boasts.

Motherf*cker!

I lunge forward, but all three of my bandmates, my brothers from another mother, stop me. All three of them are holding me back, and it’s barely working. I’m insanely f*cking pissed off.

“Don’t f*cking talk about her, don’t look at her, don’t f*cking breathe around her,” I spit at him, because Gavin and Tristan each have an arm, and Kacen is standing in front of me, hands on my chest, pushing me back.

I’m not moving.

“Is there a problem here?” the security officer asks.

“Yes, he’s harassing us,” Kacen speaks up.

“I will f*cking kill you, do you hear me? You ever come near her and I will f*cking end you!” I scream at him.

“Sir, you have to calm down,” a security guard, who takes Kacen’s spot in front of me, says.

“Get him the f*ck out of here,” I growl.

I don’t know what he says to them, but two guards flank Wilson and lead him away. I didn’t even get to swing.

“Stacy.” That’s all I say, and the guys seem to understand.

“I’ll take him. You two okay to clear out?” Kacen asks.

“We got it. We’ll get there as soon as we can,” one of them replies. I’m in too much of a fog to recognize their voice.

I need to get to her.

She ran from me, and then . . . f*cking Wilson.

Gavin and Tristan release me and I run. I run through the fans, the roadies, the paparazzi—I run to her.

I don’t stop until I reach the bus. I sling open the door and find Stacy and Logan on the coach. Stacy has tears streaming down her cheeks and Logan looks worried.

I immediately drop to my knees in front of her. “Hey, sweets.” My voice cracks. She doesn’t look at me. My heart is about to beat out of my chest. I take a few deep breaths then try again. “Stacy, can you look at me?” She still doesn’t respond. She just cries. Big tears falling from her eyes, each one cracking my f*cking heart wide open.

Standing, I lift her in my arms and take her spot on the couch. She immediately buries her face in my neck as a sob breaks free from her chest.

What. The. Fuck?

My mind races with what could cause this kind of reaction from her. I know she wasn’t feeling well, but something tells me this is bigger than that.