Sweet Possession (Sweet #5)(70)

She took a step forward but Kane pressed in close and maneuvered her farther away until she was against the far wall in the hall. She was surrounded by male bodies, and it drove her crazy that she couldn’t see what was going on.

A few moments later, Kane stepped back just in time for her to see R.J. and Trent being manhandled down the hall by Kane’s men. Blood smeared Trent’s nose and R.J. was sporting a swollen eye.

“Oh my God, Connor!” she exclaimed as she rushed into the room.

He turned and she saw he was fine. In fact, he looked cool and calm, like he hadn’t just taken on men larger than himself. Her only sign that he had in fact mixed it up with them was the curling and uncurling of his hand. The knuckles looked bruised and there was a smear of blood over the top of his hand.

“Are you okay?” she asked anxiously as she reached for his hand.

He cracked a smile. “I think your boyfriends fared the worst.”

She scowled. “They aren’t my boyfriends.”

“You don’t have to worry about them anymore. I told them if they had anything to say to you at all, to contact your label and they’d provide the name of your new manager whenever you get around to hiring one.”

“Thank you,” she murmured. “I suppose that was cowardly of me but I didn’t want to have a confrontation with them.”

“Lyric?”

She turned to see Kane holding a piece of paper in his hand. His face was dark with a frown as he concentrated on the note. Then he turned and stared at Connor.

“I think you need to go after those two and bring them back. This was hanging on her mirror.”

He held out the note and Connor yanked it from him before Lyric could reach for it.

“Son of a bitch,” Connor muttered. “I knew it was them. Those bastards.”

“Connor, what does it say?”

He held it out to her. She took it and glanced down at the colored cutout letters in varying fonts and sizes.

You won’t be safe.

Her brows came together and unease skittered down her spine.

“Run them down,” Connor ordered Kane. “Detain them and I’ll call the cops. We’ll turn the matter over to them. Our priority is Lyric’s safety.”

Kane nodded, then motioned to his men. They disappeared from the room a few moments later, leaving Connor and Lyric alone.

“I’ll leave you to dress. Your people should be here any moment now to help you get ready.”

“Don’t go,” she said, reaching for his arm. “I mean, it’ll be boring. They’ll do my hair and makeup and arrange my clothing, but it won’t take long. There aren’t any wardrobe changes for tonight’s show. It’s really like a miniconcert. Just eight songs total.”

A knock sounded at the door, interrupting them. “I’ll get that,” he said as he turned to open it.

Moments later, the room was filled with people. Chatter rose. Lyric was poked, prodded and made up until she barely recognized the woman staring back at her. For several days she’d lived a normal existence. No makeup. No outrageous clothes. Would Connor be repelled by the role Lyric played?

She glanced into the mirror to see him leaning against the back of the couch, hands shoved into his pockets as he watched her stylist put the finishing touches on her makeup.

Lyric couldn’t make out the expression on his face. She had no idea what he was thinking.

“You look great, Lyric,” the stylist said with a bright smile.

“Thank you, Stacy. You did a great job.”

Another knock sounded and Kane stuck his head in. “Five minutes, Lyric. They need you outside.”

Lyric rose, smoothed her tight jeans down her body and checked her appearance. It was a good costume choice for the rodeo. Though she didn’t sing country music, her outfit would appeal to the more conservative types, and what was the saying? When in Rome?

She pulled on her boots, slapped the sassy straw cowboy hat over her hair and grinned at Connor. “Showtime.”

Connor saw the light reenter Lyric’s eyes. Her confidence was back in spades and he was so relieved he nearly keeled over. She strutted into the hallway where he and Kane’s men surrounded her. Kane led the way and they stopped at a black Ford jacked-up pickup that bore the performers to the stage in the middle of the dirt-packed rodeo arena.

The lights were dimmed and the crowd buzzed with excitement.

Connor helped Lyric inside, then crawled in behind her. Kane’s men started ahead of the truck, even though the arena had security positioned at intervals around the stage.

Kane’s men positioned themselves between the area where the fans who had chute seats were allowed from the stands close to the stage and the stage itself.

It seemed the entire stadium was electrically charged and waiting for Lyric to arrive.

With a roar, the truck lurched forward and drove toward the stage just as it lit up and the stadium came alive with laser lights. The huge LCD screen that wrapped the back of the stage flashed Lyric’s sassy face and smile. The crowd went wild as she stepped from the truck and ran up the ramp to the stage.

Lyric yelled a greeting to the Houston fans and immediately launched into one of her upbeat songs.

The stands thumped and rocked along with her. Cameras flashed a repeating staccato of light, peppered throughout the thousands of people gathered for the rodeo.