Ransom(80)

“Where are you going?” Cash yells. “Get back here so I can punch that smug little face of yours!”

“Rain check, Cash,” he calls over his shoulder, never taking his eyes off me, seemingly oblivious to the drama he’s caused. “Hey, girls,” he says to Paige and Karen, before grabbing my arm and pulling me into the same abandoned office Levi and I had talked in earlier.

He shuts the door behind us, and before I can say a word, he has me pressed against the wall, his body flush against mine. His lips attack me with a passionate fervor. I moan, the fire of his mouth making me forget all about the mess he’s created.

“Sorry,” he whispers against my mouth. “I’m sorry I didn’t call.”

“Where were you? You scared me.”

His face falls. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just needed to take care of something, and it took longer than I planned. Can I tell you about it later?”

I look up into his gorgeous blue eyes, so serious and pleading. I think of how long it took me to get up the courage to tell him my secret. “Of course. I’m just glad you’re back.”

He smiles, looking over my shoulder at the door. “I don’t think everyone out there would say the same.”

I laugh. “Your brothers are going to murder you.”

“You joke, but I think they actually might.”

“Tell them to suck it. They can’t go out there without the great Daltrey Ransome to sing his pretty songs.”

He laughs, and as his head tilts back the light hits his face differently. I spot a reddish shadow around his eye. I reach up and brush my finger across the skin then jerk back when he winces. “What happened?”

“It’s nothing.” He releases me and moves back a step. He reaches up to pull off his beanie and runs his fingers through his tousled hair. There’s blood on his knuckles.

I gasp. “Daltrey?”

“Later, right?” he says softly. “You said we could talk about it later.”

I can’t force him to tell me, and I need him to know that he can trust me, the way he proved I could trust him. “Okay.” I say, though a sick feeling of worry has lodged in my stomach. “Okay.”

Someone pounds on the door, and Daltrey seems to relax, which is kind of funny since it’s probably his dad or one of his brothers coming to kick his ass.

“You really ought to be more afraid of them than you are,” I tell him. “They were pretty pissed.”

He shrugs. “Whatever. I can handle those ass clowns.”

I think about what his dad said to me and suppress a shudder. As long as we’re keeping secrets, there’s no reason for Daltrey to find out about that conversation. I have a feeling he wouldn’t be pleased.

“Daltrey!” Levi yells. “You need to get on stage.”

Daltrey leans in for one last kiss, his tongue trailing softly along the outside of my lips, making me shudder for entirely different reasons. “See you after?”

I nod, breathless, and he grins that cocky rock-star grin of his. It makes my heart constrict. I love him so much. Levi pounds on the door again.

Daltrey opens it, smiling at his friend. “Hey, dude, what’s up?”

“What’s up is that it took everything I have to get your asshole brothers out of this hallway. So move your ass.”

I smile as I follow Daltrey into the hall.

Levi frowns when he sees me behind Daltrey. “Sorry, Daisy. I need to get him out there.”

“Go.” I make a shooing motion with my hands. “Be gone.”

Levi frog marches Daltrey down the hall. I watch until they turn out of sight. There’s a weight in my chest that I can’t seem to shake. Something bad happened today; I’m certain of it. A bruise on his face and blood on his knuckles? Who was he fighting? And why doesn’t he want me to know about it?





Chapter Twenty-four


Daisy





The family-and-friends area in this venue is down on the main floor with the rest of the fans. There are heavy barriers around it to keep people away, but I’m still not crazy about the idea of being out there in the throng. Plus, I would have to find a bouncer to take me over, and I’m not really in the mood to talk to anyone. At the same time, I really want to watch Daltrey perform tonight. I’m worried that he’s not as okay as he says he is. And after an entire day of being scared for him, I know I won’t feel better unless I keep him in sight.

In the end, I make my way up to the left of the stage. Most of the roadies are on the other side, so I pull up a stool to watch the show from the wings. Daltrey’s piano is closer to this wing, so I can see him clearly. He appears no worse for the wear. In fact, it’s one of his better performances. I’m mesmerized by his hands as he plays, memories of last night flashing through my mind. It’s strange, how different it feels to watch him now that I know what those hands feel like on my body.