The Insiders (The Insiders Trilogy 1)

They stared at me. One clipped his head. “Stay in the circle.”

I nodded back. Decision made. We were going.

They started first, and I caught sight of the staff member. She was coming with us. I paused. “What are you doing?”

She hesitated. “Mr. Colello told me to take care of you.”

I frowned.

But then we were heading to the main street again. Time for questions would have to be later—and once we got there, I was thinking it’d be much, much later.

Paparazzi were lined up on the streets.

Flashes of light went off as we rounded the alley corner. The ambulance was sitting in front of the club. The doors were open, people were streaming out. And in the middle of all of that, a stretcher was being loaded up.

“Matt!” I began running again.

Kash was off to the side, talking to a cop. His head snapped up at my shout, and a storm quickly clouded in. He was heading to cut me off, a hand up. I started before he even could. “I don’t care. I have to make sure Matt is okay.” I dodged around him, but it wasn’t Matt on the stretcher.

“What?” I was confused.

A girl stared back at me, oxygen on her and a sheet covering her. She was sweating, tears on her face, and pale. Really pale. She was terrified. A guy was next to her, holding her hand, and at that moment the back door was shut. The paramedic walked to get in the front seat, and they pulled away.

“Where’s Matt?”

Kash had my arm in his hand. He ignored me, speaking to the guard over my head. “You were supposed to take her back.”

“She wouldn’t cooperate.”

Kash’s hand tightened on my arm, a reflex to that answer. He growled, “You’re supposed to make her.” His eyes cut to the staff member. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m not on duty tonight. I came in because you asked.” She motioned to me. “You said to watch her for you.”

His jaw clenched.

He nodded to the guard. “Call for the car.” He said nothing to me, drawing me away from the crowd and back to the alley. It wasn’t empty anymore. Others had followed us, and they were streaming out, sprinting past us. Some were bloodied. Most sweating. Crying.

But all were scared.

Kash’s hand slid down, catching mine, and he tugged me away. We went down another block and turned into a second alley. This one was empty. The guards were on their phones. All of them. The female staff member was still with us, and Kash turned to scowl at me.

“I don’t care, okay?” I bristled, ready for a fight. “They said Matt was in trouble, then the riot started. I’m already worried about my mom. I’ve already lost enough. Not…” I quieted, a tear falling. “Not Matt too. Not him too.”

His eyes gentled, but he still didn’t talk.

A guard came over. “Car’s coming down this back alley. Streets blocked off up there. The cops were quick to respond. They’re trying to contain the crowd.”

Kash let out a curse, running a hand down his face. “This was a nightmare. Was that gunfire we heard?”

The guard was back on the phone, then shook his head. “They don’t know yet.”

The staff member approached, looking up from her phone. “Some workers found empty firework shells in the mens’ bathroom, in the basement. That’s probably what it was.”

“Timing’s suspect.” That was Kash.

He wasn’t happy. He wasn’t happy at all.

But a car was coming down the alley, an SUV to be exact, and we moved aside as it stopped before us. Kash opened the back door. I started to get in, but Kash held me back. He motioned to the girl. “Get in, Torie. You’re with us then.”

He urged me in after, and followed to slide next to me.

Torie? I glanced at her.

As if reading my mind, she flashed me a grin. “Hi.”

Okay. “I’m Bailey.”

Another grin from her. “I know. I work at Naveah. Kash warned me a girl might be coming in with Matt Francis. Asked me to watch out for you, so I did.”

“You told Kash we were at the club that night?”

“I did, but he already knew.” Her eyes trailed past me. “I’m assuming your security notified him almost immediately.”

Kash didn’t respond to the slightly veiled question. He was on his phone.

His phone began ringing and he grunted into it. “Can you contain it?” Silence. He was listening. “I don’t know.… I said, I don’t know. I stayed back for her.” Pause. “We’re going now.… Yes. She is too.” Another beat of silence.

That jaw clenching again. It was sexy, but scary in this moment.

His eyes closed. He took in some air, then his voice dipped low—eerily low, but still sexily low. “If you want to start telling me how to keep your daughter safe, you and I are going to have a whole new level of problems.” He was quiet. “You got that?” He didn’t wait, saying right away, “We’re two minutes away. You want to know how she is, you ask her yourself. You want to know how your son is, you come ask him yourself.” And he hung up, dropping the phone in his lap and turning to look out the window.