Sweet Possession

“Send her a bill,” she heard Co

Her eyes widened when a thump sounded. And then a crash. Then she heard what sounded like something or someone hitting the wall.

She took a step forward but Kane pressed in close and maneuvered her farther away until she was against the far wall in the hall. She was surrounded by male bodies, and it drove her crazy that she couldn’t see what was going on.

A few moments later, Kane stepped back just in time for her to see R.J. and Trent being manhandled down the hall by Kane’s men. Blood smeared Trent’s nose and R.J. was sporting a swollen eye.

“Oh my God, Co

He turned and she saw he was fine. In fact, he looked cool and calm, like he hadn’t just taken on men larger than himself. Her only sign that he had in fact mixed it up with them was the curling and uncurling of his hand. The knuckles looked bruised and there was a smear of blood over the top of his hand.

“Are you okay?” she asked anxiously as she reached for his hand.

He cracked a smile. “I think your boyfriends fared the worst.”

She scowled. “They aren’t my boyfriends.”

“You don’t have to worry about them anymore. I told them if they had anything to say to you at all, to contact your label and they’d provide the name of your new manager whenever you get around to hiring one.”

“Thank you,” she murmured. “I suppose that was cowardly of me but I didn’t want to have a confrontation with them.”

“Lyric?”

She turned to see Kane holding a piece of paper in his hand. His face was dark with a frown as he concentrated on the note. Then he turned and stared at Co

“I think you need to go after those two and bring them back. This was hanging on her mirror.”

He held out the note and Co

“Son of a bitch,” Co

“Co

He held it out to her. She took it and glanced down at the colored cutout letters in varying fonts and sizes.

You won’t be safe.

Her brows came together and unease skittered down her spine.

“Run them down,” Co

Kane nodded, then motioned to his men. They disappeared from the room a few moments later, leaving Co

“I’ll leave you to dress. Your people should be here any moment now to help you get ready.”

“Don’t go,” she said, reaching for his arm. “I mean, it’ll be boring. They’ll do my hair and makeup and arrange my clothing, but it won’t take long. There aren’t any wardrobe changes for tonight’s show. It’s really like a miniconcert. Just eight songs total.”

A knock sounded at the door, interrupting them. “I’ll get that,” he said as he turned to open it.

Moments later, the room was filled with people. Chatter rose. Lyric was poked, prodded and made up until she barely recognized the woman staring back at her. For several days she’d lived a normal existence. No makeup. No outrageous clothes. Would Co

She glanced into the mirror to see him leaning against the back of the couch, hands shoved into his pockets as he watched her stylist put the finishing touches on her makeup.

Lyric couldn’t make out the expression on his face. She had no idea what he was thinking.

“You look great, Lyric,” the stylist said with a bright smile.

“Thank you, Stacy. You did a great job.”

Another knock sounded and Kane stuck his head in. “Five minutes, Lyric. They need you outside.”

Lyric rose, smoothed her tight jeans down her body and checked her appearance. It was a good costume choice for the rodeo. Though she didn’t sing country music, her outfit would appeal to the more conservative types, and what was the saying? When in Rome?

She pulled on her boots, slapped the sassy straw cowboy hat over her hair and gri

Co

The lights were dimmed and the crowd buzzed with excitement.

Co

Kane’s men positioned themselves between the area where the fans who had chute seats were allowed from the stands close to the stage and the stage itself.

It seemed the entire stadium was electrically charged and waiting for Lyric to arrive.

With a roar, the truck lurched forward and drove toward the stage just as it lit up and the stadium came alive with laser lights. The huge LCD screen that wrapped the back of the stage flashed Lyric’s sassy face and smile. The crowd went wild as she stepped from the truck and ran up the ramp to the stage.

Lyric yelled a greeting to the Houston fans and immediately launched into one of her upbeat songs.

The stands thumped and rocked along with her. Cameras flashed a repeating staccato of light, peppered throughout the thousands of people gathered for the rodeo.

Co

She was sassy, cute, seductive and endearing. Her fans loved her and she clearly loved them.

At one point during the show, a mechanical bull rose from underneath the stage through an opening in the floor and Lyric climbed on and proceeded to ride like a champ. She waved and rotated and threw her hat into the crowd of fans assembled near the stage.

The bull sped up and she was tossed several feet into the air. His heart pumped into his throat and he was about to leap onto the stage to see about her when she popped up, laughing uproariously.

Then she slowed things down and sang the ballad that Co

The show had lasted only a little more than an hour, but sweat gleamed on her face. Her hair was damp and her shirt clung to her like a second skin.

But she wore a smile and waved enthusiastically as she headed down the ramp toward the truck. Co

As soon as they stopped, Co

He took her hand in his and led her back to her dressing room. He was gratified to see that food and drink were waiting for her. A few people with security passes milled about. Lyric ignored them, latched on to a bottle of water and chugged it down without taking a breath. She tossed the plastic and then reached for another as she slumped onto the couch.

“I have it on good authority you’re going to be having company in a very few minutes,” Co