“Wait,” she growled, pulling away from me and glaring at Nick. “Did you know she was alive this whole time?”
His smile faded. “No. Evans and I didn’t find out until we were in Burnsville. Then we had to plan a rescue mission. I’m talking guns, mafia, you name it. They could make a movie out of this shit. Actually, they probably will.”
“Are you serious? Did anyone get killed?”
Nick and I both stared at each other and I knew he felt the same betrayal I did. Blake was the one who answered. “A few people did, including Tristan. He’s the one who was behind everything from the very beginning. He killed Scott and shot Nick, all in hopes of getting Connor put in as her bodyguard. That way he could have access to her.”
“Fucking Tristan? Tristan Doherty? What the fuck? What about that Dane guy?” she asked, focusing on me.
“He was a regular ol’ stalker and ended up being at the right place at the wrong time. He was innocent, except for trespassing on my property. Tristan admitted to being the one who broke in that night though.”
She fell down in the chair, her mouth open in shock. “I can’t believe this. This is some serious stuff right here. Do you realize how many people are going to want to talk to you when we get back? I’m talking the news, talk shows, et cetera. You’ll be booked up for months.”
I glanced up at Blake and he put his arm around me. “What do you think?” I asked him. She was right, there were going to be a lot of people who wanted to talk to me.
Blake squeezed my shoulder and sighed. “It’s up to you, princess. I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”
Felicity’s brows furrowed. “Something you need to tell me?” she asked.
Smiling wide, I wrapped my arm around Blake’s waist. “I’ll stay in town until everything calms down. Then afterward, I’m going home . . . to Wyoming.”
She gasped. “You’re leaving us?”
Nick nodded in understanding which gave me the courage I needed. I was so afraid of losing him as a friend, but after everything that happened, I felt like we were closer than ever. He might have even won Blake over in the process. I could dream, anyway.
“I am, but I’m still going to sing. So schedule up my concerts and do your thing. I’ll be there,” I promised.
“What about your producer? Recording your music?”
“I guess I’ll have to cross that bridge when I get to it.”
Hadley
Nick and Felicity left to go back to California and ever since being back, they’d been the main headline on every single news station on TV. My time was going to come. There were people parked outside of the hospital to see us, but I hadn’t left the building. For two days, Blake and I stayed hidden in the hospital, waiting for my dad to fully wake up. I couldn’t leave without him.
We had tried to eat lunch in the cafeteria but there were reporters everywhere pretending to eat lunch. Luckily, Dr. Reese took pity on me and let us hide out in an empty room, just down the hall from my father.
“Is Tyla okay with taking care of everything while you’re gone?” I asked.
Blake finished taking a sip of his soda and nodded. “She has Jerrod to help her in the mornings. Nightshade will be glad to see us come back though.”
“What about the new horse you’re supposed to be training? Tyla doesn’t mind putting in the extra work?”
He snorted. “She’s getting paid for it. Trust me, she’ll be fine. I have ten million in my bank account to help with that.”
“You deserve a whole hell of a lot more, after doing what you did. My dad will be indebted to you, as am I.”
He winked. “There’s plenty of ways for you to pay me back. As soon as we get home, I’ll start collecting.”
I leaned forward and rubbed my hand up his thigh. “Do we have to wait until we get home?”