Page 3 of Rush of Insanity

“Last question.” Judd spoke over the top of them. “And this is the most important.”

She couldn’t help it, she inched to the edge of her seat, fully invested on what he said next. Judd might not be famous for crowd interaction, but he was a ladies man and she wanted to see the face of the wench who would win something from the charmer she used to claim as her own.

“Here goes.” Judd rubbed his hands together, glancing from woman to woman to woman. “Keep standing if your name is Harper Douglas.”

Oh, fuck.

Nicole screamed, the piercing volume causing a Mexican wave of gazes to snap in their direction. Surrounded by an army of betrayers, Harper had no choice but to slide off her seat and crouch in the leg space as she silently begged for the world to end.

“Sit the hell down,” she pleaded. “Sit the hell down!”

Nicole waved one arm and used the other to point a traitorous finger toward Harper’s hiding place.

No. No, no, no, no, no. This wasn’t real. Nope. She was going to stand up and find herself miraculously naked. Everyone would laugh. She would be horrified. Then she’d wake up in a cold sweat realizing this was all some elaborately horrific nightmare and her existence would be peaceful again.

Only the sound of Judd’s laughter had never been as clear in her dreams. So sleek. So captivating. Yet it sank into her ears with more weight than Nicole’s psychotic screech.

“It looks like Harperishere,” he drawled. “Why don’t you come down and see me, princess?”

Chapter Two

The far offscream came from the upper level. Judd squinted and still couldn’t make out the owner of the voice. It definitely wasn’t Harper, though. There was no way his moody, snarly femme fatale would screech like that. Not for him. Well, at least not anywhere other than the bedroom.

The high-pitched noise had to be coming from a friend. Maybe Nicole. At least he hoped so. If some whack job was pretending to be his Harper, he’d lose his shit. Especially when his heart was already thumping at the possibility of seeing her.

“I’ve got a better idea.” He glanced to side-stage on his left, pinning Kyle, his assistant, with a stare. “Why don’t we send one of the security team to escort you backstage?” He stepped back from the microphone, still holding Kyle’s attention. “Don’t let her leave the building. Do you hear me? I want her backstage when I finish the show. And tell whoever she’s here with that she won’t be leaving with them tonight.”

Kyle nodded and slunk from view, always eager to keep his six-figure salary.

Judd returned his focus to the crowd, honing in on the woman who now stood in the middle of the upper level stairwell. His throat tightened, his legs grew heavy, and for the first time in a year, his cock stirred with a lethargic pulse, as if awoken from hibernation.

Harper.His Harper. Even from the opposite side of the stadium, he could recognize her—the black hair, the petite height, the hand gesture that he couldn’t quite make out but had the sneaking suspicion was the bird.

He chuckled and repositioned his ear piece, enthusiastic to get his performance over with. Two of his security team were already closing in on her, and he was confident they’d ensure she didn’t leave.

“Okay, Denver. Let’s get this show back on the road.”

On cue, the stadium fell into darkness. A wave of squealing and yelling battered into him, vibrating the stadium floor and thrumming into his limbs. The stage lights burst to life, increasing the noise to a deafening pitch. He blinked through the temporary blindness as his band kicked off the next song, and together they blew the minds of everyone in the building.

Well, almost everyone.

He wasn’t a mind reader but he was positive Harper wouldn’t be impressed at being escorted backstage. He could picture her screaming his name just like the fans before him, only she wouldn’t have the same favorable tone. She would be furious and he couldn’t wait to witness it for himself.

She deserved retribution for what she’d put him through. Every show was haunted by her. No matter how many people he performed to or where he was in the world. He could be surrounded by wall to wall adoration, yet he could never make out the faces of his fans. None of them were unique. All of them were her.

Every fucking one of them.

He would’ve taken the punishment if he’d been the cause of their relationship break down. But she was the one who walked out on him. Without a word or a kiss, she penned a note and never looked back.

His pride still hadn’t recovered. Not completely.

Now it was time to get the answers he deserved.

He ploughed through the rest of his set, unable to wipe the smirk from his face. He could already picture the reunion. There’d be snarling and hissing. Maybe a bite or two. And after the fighting would come the inevitable fucking. Just like the good ol’ days.

“Good night, Denver.” He spread his arms wide, sucked in the euphoria streaming through the air and then jogged from the stage. There was no encore. No tease for one more song. He was currently riding the most epic natural high of his life and he lacked the restraint to stay away from his woman a moment longer.

“Where is she?” He dislodged his in-ear monitors as he reached Kyle in the wings.

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