“I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Even if you hadn’t, it was clear when you walked back in here that something was wrong. Even Elijah noticed, and he’s not the most switched-on guy in the world. You were as white as a ghost.”
“If I’d stayed back in Brussels—”
“He’d have attacked someone else. It’s sad it had to be you, but guys like that are just shits.”
I pulled my knees up to my chest. This wasn’t the way this night was supposed to go.
“At least you got away from him,” Rose said.
I nodded again. I could still feel his hands on my shoulders. I’d had guys be a bit overly keen before, but that had been different. A few stern words and they’d backed off, but that guy wouldn’t ever have backed off. And those people who’d seen him dragging me, had seen me screaming, and they’d laughed. The world could be a really shitty place at times.
“They’re taking a while,” I said.
“They’ll be fine. You really care about him a lot,” she said.
“I do. Everyone keeps telling me to stay away from him, but he’s not a bad person,” I said. “Although he scared me a little. The way he looked.”
“He’s a good person. I bet it takes a lot to anger him, but when he gets fired up, it’s for real. That’s not a good thing, but it’s not a bad thing, either, so long as he knows how to control it.”
I got up and grabbed one of the beers. I wasn’t sure if I should be drinking when I was so worked up, but I wanted something to hold in my hands. I didn’t even open it, just picked at the label.
Finally, Crow and Elijah returned. I looked from Crow to Elijah, hoping to find some kind of clue as to what had happened, but I wasn’t sure.
“It’s taken care of,” Crow said. “Now, we’re going back to the hotel. We’re supposed to wait, but Fartstard’s made special arrangements.”
I got up and followed him. I needed him to tell me what had happened, but he wouldn’t talk unless he wanted to. And right now, it seemed he didn’t want to.
Chapter 14
CROW TOLD ME WHAT HAD happened on the drive back to the hotel. We were both sitting in the back of the van. I leaned on Crow, wanting to feel the strength of him. His solidness soothed me.
The two of them had found the jerk, but he’d tried to laugh everything off. He said I’d led him on, then got scared.
“I did nothing to lead him on,” I said.
“I know that,” he said. “The guy’s a dick.”
Then Crow had grabbed him. “I had him in a choke hold. I wanted to kill the bastard. But Elijah talked some sense into my head.”
I shuddered a little. Things could get out of control so easily in this life.
Crow took my hand in his, sensing my need for reassurance.
“Then what happened?” I asked.
“Are you sure you want to talk about this?” Crow asked. “It might be better to forget about it.”
“No. I’d rather know.”
“It all got sorted out. Elijah called out for one of the security guards to get the organizer.”
Where had that damn security been when I needed them? If you had security, surely they should keep people secure.
They’d explained the situation to the organizer while the jerk protested his innocence. He kept saying I’d led him on.
“Fay does not lead people on,” Lij had told him.
Good old Lij, but Crow said that Lij had gotten fired up after that, too. If the organizer hadn’t stepped in, the two of them would’ve beaten him into a pulp.
“What did the organizer do?” I asked.
“Kicked him off the site. Told him he’d never play one of their festivals again. He also asked if you wanted to press charges.”
I shook my head vigorously. Pressing charges would be awful. I was just glad to have gotten away from him.
“I’m happy to forget the whole thing happened.”
“Apparently, he was causing trouble before this. Just small things. Give some people a bit of fame, and it turns them into total assholes. He’s getting a reputation for being trouble, and the guy isn’t big enough to do that. Sad thing is, if he was a huge name, this would’ve probably been overlooked.”