Rock Redemption (Rock Kiss 3)

He was aware of Kit jumping out and flying toward Molly and Fox’s bus next door. Abe, meanwhile, was pushing against Noah’s hold, causing Noah’s biceps to bulge and his body strain to hold position. “Fuck it, Abe, pull back,” he gritted out as the man Abe was holding against the bus began to choke.

“Abe, stop!”

Only at the ragged feminine cry did he become aware of another person in the shadows. She’d been kind of crumpled against Fox’s bus, which was why Noah hadn’t noticed her at first, but now she tugged on Abe’s arm. “Stop!”

Shit, it was Sarah. That meant there was a good chance the man Abe was trying to kill was her fiancé. Noah had never understood Abe and Sarah’s relationship, but he’d felt Abe’s muscles flicker at Sarah’s voice, so he didn’t tell her to back off.

“Abe!” Sarah cried again. “Stop it!”

Making a wordless sound of rage, Abe wrenched back just as Fox appeared. The man behind Noah began to cough and rasp at the same time. “I’m going to fucking call the cop—”

Abe roared and would’ve come toward the idiot if Fox hadn’t body-slammed their bandmate into the side of the bus. Leaving the lead singer to handle Abe, Noah turned to the man—what the hell was his name?—and said, “Shut the fuck up.”

The patrician-faced man flinched at Noah’s ice-cold voice but squared his shoulders nonetheless. “I’m pressing charges.”

“Yeah?” Noah wanted to sock the asshole himself. “You do that and I’m going to release the security-camera footage of Sarah’s face and how it got that way.” He’d glimpsed the bruises, the bloody lip when she came over to try to stop Abe.

Jeremy Vance, that was his name, swallowed. “There’s no footage.”

“You sure? After that shit the last asshole tried to pull with Molly and Fox? There sure as fuck are security cameras pointed at all external areas.” It was no lie—the cameras were mounted discreetly on different parts of the buses.

The shithead looked unsure. “Your primitive friend isn’t worth my time,” he said at last in a voice that screamed wealth and breeding.

It had zero impact on Noah; he came from the same cesspool.

“Sarah.” Jeremy Vance settled his suit coat as if Abe hadn’t almost torn off a sleeve. “Come here. We’re leaving.”

Noah glanced over his shoulder to see Kit standing with her arm around Sarah, who was still in her party dress. Abe’s ex-wife was shivering, her eyes huge with shock. When Abe ripped off his jacket and threw it at Kit, she caught it, put it gently around Sarah.

“Sarah.” Jeremy’s tone was what another man might use calling a dog.

Abe shoved out again, Fox slamming him back down. Turning to Jeremy, Noah said, “Leave now, or I’ll break your face myself. Come near Sarah again, and I won’t stop Abe from killing you.” And because he understood what held value for men like Jeremy, he added a final icy warning. “You ever even whisper about charges against Abe, and I’ll make damn certain you’re known as the wimp who pounds on women—I’m sure that’ll go down great on the charity board and country club circuit.” He curled his lip. “I not only know your world, I’m part of a family that fucking rules it.” Noah might hate his parents, but he had no compunction about using their connections if those connections would protect a friend.

It was the least Robert and Virginia could do for the son they hadn’t protected.

The bastard paled and walked off at last. Noah didn’t think he’d say a word about this, but he was glad to see Thea appear with David, Molly obviously having run to get the other couple.

“What happened?” Thea asked, taking in everything at a glance, her phone already in hand.

Neither Abe nor Sarah said a word, so Noah filled Thea in as much as possible given what he’d seen. Sarah’s face told its own story.

Going up to Sarah, Thea said, “You’ll hate me for this, Sarah, but I’m going to take photos of your face.” She did it before the other woman could object.

Sarah flinched, her trembling becoming full-out shaking. “I don’t want anyone to see.” It was a thin whisper.

“No one will.” Thea’s voice was fierce. Reaching out, she cupped Sarah’s bruised face in gentle hands. “This is your insurance against the bastard. He won’t be coming near you again.”

Sarah gave a jerky nod.

“Let’s get you inside,” Molly said to Sarah and waved everyone into her and Fox’s bus.