“Accident? What kind of accident?”
“Look at the news and you’ll see. I’m sorry, Blake. I didn’t want to be the one to tell you.”
Dropping my phone, I ran into the hotel bar and pushed past everyone crowded around the counter. The TV’s above showed nothing but fire, and the words below emblazoned in blue, Hadley Rivers, dead?
Holy fuck.
Women around me cried while others watched the news in complete horror. I couldn’t watch anymore. “She’s dead?” someone cried. “How can she be dead? Wasn’t she just giving a concert tonight? She was so young.”
I refused to believe it. She wasn’t gone, it had to be a mistake. What if it wasn’t?
“Fuck.” I gripped the counter and momentarily felt lightheaded before the anger took over. If it was her in that car, someone was going to pay for taking her away from me. Growling, I hurried back to where I dropped my phone, dialing Robert’s number as I stormed out the door.
“Evan’s, you okay?”
“Call the Chief of Police out here and tell them I’m coming.”
“What are you going to do? You can’t interfere in this.”
“I don’t care. I want answers.” Everything inside of me was numb. I didn’t want to feel the pain yet. I wanted answers, and I sure as hell was going to get them.
“I’m sorry Mr. Evans, but I can’t allow you back there. The chief said only family is allowed at this time.” The arrogant twat glanced down at his paperwork, completely dismissing me.
My blood boiled. I’d been sitting there for over two fucking hours. “Look, fucker,” I growled, grabbing him by the neck, “I showed you my badge and told you who I am. I want to talk to the Chief of Police. I suggest you let me back there before I rip off your goddamn head.” He grasped at my hands, but all it did was make me squeeze harder.
“Mr. Evans, let him go. I’m Byron Jennings.” I glanced over my shoulder at the middle-aged man, pursing his lips. “Robert called and told me to expect you.” He had graying, dark hair and a moustache, his uniform badge confirming he was the Chief of Police.
I squeezed shitdick’s neck one more time because it felt good, and then let him go. He grabbed his neck and fell back in his chair, coughing.
Byron stood to the side and motioned for me to walk past. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t assault my staff.”
“And I’d appreciate it if he wouldn’t act like a cunt. Now what happened to Hadley?”
Sighing, he started down the hall and I followed. “It looks like her bodyguard lost control of the car. They slammed into a tree right outside of Burnsville. According to her agent, she was staying at a hotel in town. It makes no sense why they were heading out of the city.”
Where the hell was she going? “Something’s not right. She sent me a text right after her concert saying she was on her way to the hotel. There’s no fucking way this was an accident.”
He shrugged. “We don’t have any evidence proving otherwise. Hadley’s father did say he’d received threats on her life over the past couple of years, but as far as we can tell, they were all just ploys to get his money. Believe me, if this was intentional, we’ll find the culprit. Right now, we have our people gathering everything they can. As it stands, it’s being ruled as an accident . . .”
Byron’s mouth kept moving, but I couldn’t hear a fucking thing he said.
The signs were there . . . why couldn’t anyone else see it as I did? It wasn’t a fucking accident. My chest tightened so hard, I could barely draw in a breath. I didn’t want to feel the pain of her loss; I wanted the anger. It didn’t hurt as bad if I could focus on that. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face. I should’ve been there to protect her. If I’d only gotten to her sooner.