Ransom(84)

The shrilling of my phone breaks the silence. I pull it from my pocket and see my dad’s name. My stomach immediately plummets, and I fear I might start gagging again soon.

“Ignore it,” Levi says. “You can call him later.”

I shake my head. “He’ll freak out if I don’t answer. Why don’t you call Dan and let them know about the press outside.”

He still looks uncertain, but when I bring the phone to my ear, he sighs in resignation and leaves the bathroom.

“Hello?”

“Daisy? Is that you? What’s going on? Are you okay?”

The sound of Dad’s voice sends a lump straight to my throat. As I expected, he sounds frantic. “I’m okay, Dad.”

“People are calling here, reporters. And the news says Daltrey got arrested, and you’re involved. What did he do to you?”

“He didn’t do anything to me, Dad. He… had a fight. With Justin.”

After a beat, he says, “So he thought he’d be all big and tough, huh? And he pulled you right into the middle of it. Did he consider, even for a minute, what this attention would do to you? I knew I shouldn’t have let you go out there.”

“Dad, please…”

“I’m booking you a plane ticket,” he goes on, ignoring me. “Right now. I’ll call you when I have the details.”

“No! I’m not leaving.”

“Daisy, of course you’re coming home. You think I’m going to allow you to stay there? With the media and God knows who else at your door? Absolutely not.”

I know he has a point, and I have no desire to be within a hundred miles of the band right now. But I also know I can’t go home. “I can’t be there either, Dad!” My voice is way too loud, but I can’t seem to control it. The idea of being so close to Joanie and Justin right now makes me break out in a cold sweat. “I’m not coming home. I refuse.”

“Your apartment then,” he says. “I’ll book the ticket for Fayetteville.”

But that won’t work, either. If everything is getting out, if people are talking about me, it won’t be long before they know where I go to school. “Dad, I need to think. Just give me some time to figure out what I want to do.”

“Daisy, you listen to me. I want you out of there. I’m not kidding—”

“I’ll call you back.” I hang up before he can protest further.

I bury my head in my hands. What am I going to do? I can’t stay here. My dad is totally right. His condo back home isn’t an option, nor is my apartment. I feel trapped, cornered, hopeless. I have nowhere to run.

Levi clears his throat, and I look up to see him standing in the doorway. He looks so concerned. I think of all the times this summer that he helped me out, looked out for me. He didn’t even hesitate tonight, putting my well-being before his responsibilities at work. He’s been a good friend to me, one of the best I’ve ever had.

“Levi,” I say, reaching out for him, “I need your help.”

He’s next to me in the blink of an eye, grabbing my hand and pulling me to my feet. “Of course,” he says. “What do you need me to do?”

“I need you to get me out of here.”





Chapter Twenty-five


Daltrey





Well, I really messed up this time.

I run my hands through my hair, staring down at the concrete floor of the holding the cell. The holding cell. I can’t believe I’m actually in jail. It just doesn’t feel real.

On the bright side, my brothers can no longer give me a hard time about not being rock and roll enough. What’s more rock and roll than getting arrested backstage at your own concert?

I pretty much knew all along that going to see Justin would come back to bite me in the ass. Even as I booked the plane ticket this morning, I knew I was making a mistake. But I couldn’t seem to stop myself.

When Daisy finally told me what happened, I thought I was going to go insane with the anger. I wanted to throw things, to rip out my hair, to absolutely destroy someone or something. The thought of them hurting her like that, for no reason, just because they could… I can’t understand it. She’s never done anything to anyone. Why would anyone be so cruel? As her words sank in, I felt sicker and sicker. That bastard took pictures of her. She trusted him, trusted him with her kisses and her touch and her body, the very things I would have died to have. And what did he do with that trust? He sold her out. He made it possible for people to attack her, to wound her.

I wanted to kill him.

When she showed me her scars, and I realized how close I had come to losing her, actually losing her forever, everything else went away. The anger and the hate receded to a deep place within me, so my entire heart and mind could focus on her—on loving her. On healing her. Daisy needed me, and I needed her right back.