Page 140 of Rebel

“You don’t need to shout, Chase.” She frowns. “We want the same thing. I’m here to help.”

“So fucking help!” I roar in her face, watching her recoil in horror and fear. I’ve never scared a woman before, but she’s on the receiving end of my anger. It’s her job to protect us and she failed. Because of that, the person I care about most in this world is hurt. “Find who did this, I mean it. We won’t be back on stage until you do . . . until she’s safe.”

“Chase.” She reaches for my arm, but I step back. “Beck is safe—you all are—it was just an accident.”

“An accident? She could have lost an eye,” I seethe, stepping close to her so she sees my fury. She gulps and steps back. “I mean it. We won’t go near a stage until she is safe and we have answers. Go. Now.” Grabbing her bag, she squeezes past me but stops at the door.

“I’m sorry, Chase. I really am.”

“Sorry doesn’t make it better,” I retort, and she nods. Her head is ducked, but I see her tears. No doubt I will feel bad about that later, but right now, I’m too angry to care. Someone dared to attack my girl right in front of us, on stage, where she should be safe. We have been hunting for someone who hurt her sister, and we thought it was just mind games—horrible, but not physical.

What if we were wrong?

What if our girl is in real danger?

The thought makes my heart squeeze with a terror I have never felt before.

I can’t lose her.

I have to calm down before I go back to my girl. She doesn’t need that kind of energy around her while she’s healing. My skin itches with the need to get high, but I ignore it like I always do. It’s become easier, but some days are harder than others. I’ve noticed that it’s harder when Beck isn’t around.

Instead, I grab my phone, and despite the fucking backlash I’ll get, I put out a statement on our social media condemning what happened. Then, on my personal account, I upload a picture from last night with Beck lying at my side in bed. I need to see her there and let people know she’s mine and that if they fuck with her, they fuck with me.

It’s only then I notice the blood specks on my hands. I hurry to the shower in my room and wash it all away, putting on my comfiest clothes so they don’t irritate her, and then I head back to her room. Trav rolls so I can slip in next to her, no doubt sensing I need it, and I carefully pull her into my chest.

She makes an adorable little noise but soon goes back to sleep, the meds they gave her knocking her out. For a moment, my eyes catch on the bottle before I jerk them down to her.

“Well?” Kolton murmurs from her other side.

“I told them we won’t go back on stage until we have answers,” I reply without an ounce of shame. I made that decision for the band. I hope that’s okay, but I can’t take it back.

“Good.” Kolt nods. “Hopefully, that will kick their asses into gear.”

“I can’t believe that even happened,” Trav mutters. “I want to kill someone.”

“Me too,” I agree.

“Do we think it was random, like an accident, or do you think whoever is behind all this shit did it?” Kolton asks.

“That’s the question, isn’t it? The label should be doing more to protect Beck.” We all quiet down when she sighs. Placing a gentle kiss on her cheek, I settle down with her. “Hopefully, we’ll have answers soon. If not, this might be a very short tour.”

“That’s okay with me. She comes first.” Kolton nods.

“First,” Trav agrees.

Despite everything we have done to make this tour happen, we all realize right then that we would give it all up to keep her safe.

SIXTY-FOUR

Iwake up groggy. My face hurts like a son of a bitch, and the lights are way too bright. The room dims, and I blink. One eye is swollen shut, which isn’t surprising, and I force myself to sit up. Kolton watches me worriedly as he hurries back from shutting the blinds. “Hey, how are you feeling?”

“Like I got hit by a truck,” I joke, but his face falls. “I’ll be fine, I promise.”

“Oh, the doctor said to give this to you first thing before food.” I take the pills with the water he offers, and then he holds out an ice pack. “And to ice it to help with the swelling.”

“Thanks, babe.” I sit up against the headboard, pressing the ice pack to my eye. “What time is it?”

“Trav and Chase just went to get food. They won’t be long.” His hands wring nervously, and my one good eye narrows.

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