Page 154 of Rush of Jealousy

My phone rings with a call from Graham.

“Go ahead. Answer it. We both know how he gets when you make him worry.”

I laugh bitterly. “Yeah, I’m surprised he isn’t lurking in the corners here just to make sure I’m not lying in a gutter somewhere.” I slide the answer bar.

“Angela.”

“Graham.”

“Did you get to the restroom safely?”

“Yes. And I’m perfectly safe here as well with Cl—” A loud noise erupts behind me, and I whip around to see a massive fight break out. “Shit.”

The singing on stage stops, and the herd of people start rushing toward the exit to avoid being a part of the throwdown that is happening in the center of the venue. I look to Claire. Her eyes are wide.

“Angie! Angie, answer me! What’s going on?”

“There’s a huge fight and people are fleeing,” I yell. My words jumble together, and I try to keep my throat from closing up in fear.

“Fuck! I need you to look for the man with the gray ball cap. He was sitting beside you earlier. Do you see him? His name is Austin. Do not leave his side. I’m coming for you.” His voice is calculated. Controlled.

I scan the bar and see the same man. He’s the one who offered to buy Claire and me drinks earlier. “I see him.”

Austin jumps across the top of the bar to get to me faster. In an instant, I am pulled to him and flipped behind the wall of the bar. The sudden action causes my phone to slip out of my hand. I frantically search for it and see the shiny redness of blood dripping angrily from my right knee.

My eyes close and open. My vision blurs with the sight of glass and James’s helpless body. The smell of gasoline penetrates my nostrils and burns the inner lining. My name is being chanted to me in my ear. Over and over and over again…

Angie.

Angie?

ANGIE!

But I am stuck in my nightmare. It is the same nightmare that I can’t stop reliving. I can’t separate the past memories from my current reality.

I struggle to hold on to the present, my fear paralyzing me and making me lose track of my surroundings. I squeeze my eyes shut and take a deep breath. When I open them, I am looking into the eyes of Graham’s hired security worker, Austin. He instantly looks relieved when I seem to see him.

“Are you hurt?” he asks. “Can you walk?”

I nod my head and then realize that I was talking to Graham. “My phone! My phone! And Claire! I can’t leave without Claire!” I shake in Austin’s arms as he binds me to his side. He is young. Can’t possibly be much older than twenty-one. However, his reflexes and ability to think on his feet make him seem seasoned.

“Calm down, Miss McFee. I’ll get you out of here safely. Just stay calm.”

“Claire! Where is she? What about Zander?”

“Claire is with my partner who was also assigned to detail for tonight. She’ll be safe. Worthington left to go home after you chatted with him outside.”

Austin snatches up my phone from the ground, sliding it into his pants pocket. He tucks me close to his side as gun shots sound. A series of them—one after the other.

Oh shit. My heart races, and I feel like I’m going to be sick. I whimper into Austin’s body, the sound of my own voice muffled. I am trembling so much that I feel like I am going to pass out.

Austin pushes me farther behind the protection of the bar. He then crouches down, flips up his pants leg, and releases his own gun. Is he even old enough to have a gun? He looks younger than me now that I take another glance. I don’t know much about guns but it looks to be a Glock. My eyes fill with tears as I take in the scene. I try to focus on the present and not drift back into the past, which swirls around in my head, waiting to swallow me up. The blast noise is so loud that it feels like I am in the eye of the storm.

“Just breathe,” he instructs. “I promise to get you out safely.”

I try to concentrate on breathing between my words as I ask, “What is happening?”

He ignores me, places a device into his ear from his jeans pocket, and speaks so fast that I can’t even understand what or who he is talking to.

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