Page 52 of Protecting Hailey

Sam slammed her fist against the door. “Five minutes to show time, Hailey. Don’t make me come in there again.”

Christian grinned. “If she only knew how much that just turned both of us on, she’d never have said it.”

I giggled into his chest, and he squeezed me tightly. Exhaling, he kissed the top of my head. “I’ll give you a few minutes to clean up and make sure everything is set before you get on stage.”

“Thank you.”

“Did it work? Do you feel better?”

I waggled my eyebrows. “Oh, yeah. I feel like a rock star.”

He laughed and shook his head. “There’s no question about it.”

I walked over to the bathroom and cleaned myself up. Staring at the mirror, I smiled at my flushed cheeks and bright eyes. “You’re a fucking rock star.”

I pushed off the bathroom sink and opened the door. “All right. Let’s do this.”

“Okay,” shouted Sam. “You heard the woman. Everyone, get ready. The show is about to start.”

I walked past Frankie, who patted me on the back. I still hadn’t scolded him about the Trey setup, but it would have to wait.

Adrenaline pumped in my veins and I bounced on my feet just as the MC announced my name. “Give it up for… Hailey!”

15

Christian

Hailey ran onto the stage and the audience jumped up from their seats and chanted her name. “Hailey! Hailey! Hailey!”

Standing behind the black curtain, I could see the faces of the fans in the front row. I pressed on my earpiece, connecting me to the security guards. “The girl wearing the yellow T-shirt is holding something pointy in her hand. Someone needs to check it out now.”

One guard immediately ran over to the woman and pointed at her hand. She opened it, revealing a stuffed unicorn. “She says she wants to throw it on stage for Hailey.”

“Collect it and tell her we will give it to her. I want to examine it first.”

“Got it.”

Reluctantly, the fan parted with the purple unicorn but resumed jumping up and down once the security guard left.

I surveyed the rest of the room. The crowd sang along with Hailey as she performed one of her more lively songs. A few people cried while others danced, but everyone appeared to be engaged in the show. Experience taught me to look out for people not living in the moment. If someone had something planned, they either looked for escape routes or weakened security details. Scanning the room again, I confirmed no one fit that description.

I exhaled, not realizing how stressed I’d been leading up to the concert. Fortunately, everyone’s background check came back relatively clean. Which reminded me of Frankie. I kept an eye on him as he, too, watched from backstage.

If what Hailey said was true and he had set up Trey and Hailey without letting Hailey know, I questioned whether he had her best interest at heart. Or was he only interested in his bank account?

He checked his watch.

“Do you have some other place to be?” I asked while keeping an eye on the crowd.

His head snapped up. “W-what?”

“I asked if you’re late for something else since you keep checking your watch.”

“No.”

I sucked my teeth.

“I know about Detroit,” I said, referring to his last drug arrest.

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