Page 103 of Tortured Tones

Chapter 23

COLE

I hit the treadmill.

At pace, I ran. I had the hotel gym all to myself. But my brain was far from quiet.

As I pumped my fists, my legs burned. I ran for miles. With my earbuds in, I turned up the music on my cell phone to silence my thoughts. But it didn’t help. I wanted to stop worrying about everything and dwelling on every what-if scenario. I wanted to slow down and enjoy the tour, but everything kept hammering my head harder and faster. Harder and faster.

Aaaarrrghhh!

I hit the stop button on the treadmill.

Dizziness swayed through my head. I grabbed the safety rail to steady myself. I blinked, took a deep breath, but my vision tunneled.

Panic seized my lungs.

What was wrong?

I’d only been running for twenty minutes, not an hour.

I grabbed my towel, wiped the sweat off my face, and sat on the edge of the treadmill. Glancing at my smartwatch, I checked my heartrate.

Fuck! It was way too fast.

The door to the gym shot open and Ava rushed in...in her tracksuit and running shoes. Fire blazed in her eyes as she stormed toward me.

I yanked out my earbuds. “What’s up?”

“What do you think you’re doing?” She flicked her hand at me. “You can’t leave your room without telling someone.”

I closed my eyes, unable to focus. “How did you know I was here?”

“Hotel security saw you on the monitors. They contacted me as your bodyguard.”

“I needed a run.” I pressed my thumb and index finger against my closed eyelids and took a big, slow breath. Hmm. That’s better. No spinning.

“At this hour?” she fired at me.

“Yes.”

“You should’ve called me.”

“You’re not on duty until seven.” I stood, grabbed my gym bag from beside the treadmill, and veered around the exercise equipment, aiming for the showers.

But I caught the scent of her alluring perfume and my knees weakened. Not from my dizziness, but from her.

“Cole. Stop.” She caught my arm and drew me to a halt. “You do not do this. You do not put your safety at risk.”

“What risk?” I waved around the gym. There was no one here but us. “I’m in a fucking hotel.”

“There are fans camped out on the sidewalk.” She stabbed her finger toward the door. “Some could be staying in this hotel. Some could be dangerous. Those people who we couldn’t identify outside your home in LA could be following you.”

I got up in her face. “Did I go outside? No. Security clearly saw me, so where’s the fucking issue?”

“Please, follow the rules.” Anguish embedded into her tone as her volume plummeted. “For your safety.”

I clenched and released my hands. “Rules? I’m over rules.” Was that it? I missed causing havoc with the guys. They were all tied down with partners. We used to party hard until dawn. Have wild times. Drink ourselves stupid. We still did, but with me being the only one single, our nights weren’t as crazy as they’d been when Phil had been around. Even I’d toned down my behavior because I had a fucking kid.

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