Tainted

Chapter Sixteen

I am on the edge of death, and death is taking over me.

Resuscitate me, I wanna breathe you in.

Resuscitate me, I wanna live again.

I am filled with a darkness. My veins now run black,

And only you can change that.

Resuscitate me, I wanna breathe you in.

Resuscitate me, I wanna live again.

Let your light take hold of me.

Get rid of this misery.

Time’s running out. Give me one last shot.

Resuscitate me, I gotta breathe you in.

Resuscitate me, I gotta live again.

Sawyer stood behind the curtain as she listened to the song, grinning as Kaden turned to flash her a smile. The weeks on the road had been tiring, but she also had to admit that they had been the happiest of her life.

The only part that had kept her worried was Vida. Kaden hadn’t heard anything about her friend, but had confided that the FBI had warned Alec to add additional security measures. Alec had, and he had also remained by her side until she entered her bedroom on the bus.

The song ended, and another one started with Alyce walking seductively onto the stage. Her loose t-shirt hung low, exposing her black bra along with the areolas of her nipples. Her skintight booty shorts and thigh-high boots made Sawyer regret her decision yet again to remain in her own jeans and shirt. Each night she saw them together, she swore she wouldn’t put herself through it again.

Tonight, they were in Michigan, and the band had been eyeing each other warily. When she had asked Kaden if anything was wrong, he had denied the way everyone was acting.

The performance finally over, Kaden and the band exited the stage. They had planned on spending the night in a hotel, but Kaden had insisted they push through to the next concert.

The VIP room was packed to capacity with several of the local contest winners still there. Sawyer leaned back against the wall, watching Kaden take several pictures with the local personalities when R.J. interrupted him, pulling him to the side.

She could tell he was becoming angry by the harsh look on his face. So, when he nodded and R.J. left the room, Sawyer wondered what was going on to make Kaden so angry. D-mon and Sin walked over to him. She could tell they were questioning him and whatever Kaden answered had them happy.

Noticing that Sawyer was watching, Kaden excused himself and came to her side. “R.J. just told me there’s trouble with the bus. Apparently, it can’t be fixed until tomorrow and we’re going to have to stay the night at the hotel.”

“That’s fine. It’ll be nice to get off the bus for a while.” She knew Kaden preferred to stay on the bus because it was safer for her. However, it was making the band crazy. Both D-mon and Sin were scoping out the women in the room to share the night with;even Ax—the more conservative of the group—was looking over the available women.

“We’ll leave in twenty. Alec is getting us some cars.”

“Okay.”

Kaden left her, returning to the press who were covering the concert. It was closer to thirty minutes later before they all slid into the limo. D-mon and Sin sat across from Kaden and her. Ax and R.J. rode in the other car with the women they had selected to spend the night with them. Sawyer had learned early on that R.J. would separate the band from the women to get the women to sign a privacy agreement. If they refused to sign, they didn’t make it out of the limo and into the hotel room.

“Brings back memories, doesn’t it, Kaden?” Sin asked while staring at her.

“There are some memories not worth repeating.”

“You sure?” Sin asked.

Sawyer wondered what he was questioning.

“I’m sure.” His arm slid over her shoulders, pulling her closer to his side.

“Shame. I was looking forward to it,” Sin remarked, his eyes going down her body.

Sawyer stiffened against Kaden’s side. Even she understood that look.

“Knock it off, Sin.”

Sin grinned, shrugging his shoulders.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the hotel where the limo pulled around back and they stayed seated until Alec opened the door.

Kaden stepped out, taking her hand as they followed the security detail to the back elevator. R.J. had rented them two connecting suites, calling ahead to have food waiting on them.

Feeling slightly nauseous from snacking on the finger foods at the arena, Sawyer opened one of the trays, finding a succulent chicken breast with a mushroom gravy and fingerling potatoes. She had quickly figured out the one who grabbed the trays first got the best choice. After she had become stuck with burgers and fries several times, she had learned to become more assertive.

She had sat down at the table when Kaden came back from taking a shower, his hair still wet. Sawyer smiled up at him as he leaned down, placing a brief kiss on her lips.

“That looks good. Anymore left?”

“Nope. You shower, you lose,” she joked. “Ax took three.”

“He’s a bottomless pit.” He searched through the remaining trays, ending up with a chicken Alfredo pizza. “It could be worse.”

“Yes, it could,” she said, remembering getting stuck with oysters on the half shell.

They ate as the others finished eating. Sin and D-mon were pumped up with energy from the concert. Even Ax had brought a woman back for the night.

“Has the band played here often?”

“It’s where our band formed,” Kaden answered her question with a closed look on his face.

“Do you have family here in Michigan?” Sawyer asked, surprised none of them had made arraignments to see their families while in town.

“Not anymore. Ax, D-mon and Sin’s families all moved to warmer climates.” Kaden got up, taking their empty trays to the trolley. Sawyer didn’t ask any more questions, sensing it was closed for discussion by Kaden’s closed expression.

A knock sounded on the suite door, and Kaden went to answer it. Sawyer saw his back stiffen as he stepped aside, letting a woman enter the suite. Sawyer glanced around the room, seeing the same startled reaction from all the band members. Ax looked toward her before coming to stand next to her.

Sawyer recognized the exotic woman. Her and Vida might not have had the money for CDs, but magazines were cheap. You also didn’t need to buy magazines to be able to recognize Tatiana Shepas; her famous face and body were on billboards and televisions everywhere.

She had dated two extremely popular actors. She had even become engaged a few years ago to a well-known rock star who had been famous almost from birth. She looked at Kaden, gripping the back of the chair so she didn’t fall down. When he’d said he had walked away from the music industry for a few years, he hadn’t been lying. It was five years to be exact.

She had always assumed he had been a part of Mouth2Mouth; it had never occurred to her that they hadn’t gone by his band’s original name. Cross was the lead singer of CrossWinds. They had dismantled and gone their separate ways when Cross’s entire family had been killed in an airplane crash.

He had finished his concert tour then walked away. Tatiana had been interviewed constantly about his entering rehab. No one knew if it was drugs or sex addiction, which had put him there. Tatiana had remained silent through the entire ordeal.

She reached up, brushing her lips against Kaden’s. He didn’t step away when she hugged him, either. Her liquid brown eyes that she had become famous for showed she was still in love with him.

“Aren’t you going to say hello, Kaden?” Her sultry voice carried in the suddenly quiet room.

“Tatiana,” Kaden said, closing the door.

“Are you surprised? R.J. said he would help me surprise you.”

R.J. stepped forward. “Hello, Tatiana. It’s good to see you again.”

“R.J.” Tatiana brushed her cheek against his.

“I take it the bus is fine?” Kaden made the statement, looking toward R.J.

“We thought it might be better if she surprised you. It’s downstairs,” R.J. answered, revealing his deception.

Kaden remained quiet.

“Kaden, please don’t be angry at R.J. I jumped at the chance to see you again. I wish you had called.”

“R.J. called you?” Kaden asked sharply.

“Of course. I quit trying after the first two years, but I never forgot about you, Kaden. How could I?”

Sawyer was sickened by the woman’s expression because it was the same one on her own face when she was around Kaden.

“Please, Kaden, can we talk in private?” Tatiana’s pleading voice had Kaden’s attention. Sawyer began to feel like a fifth wheel.

“You can use the other room.” R.J. went to the connecting door, unlocking it. “It will give you both some privacy.”

Tatiana walked through the doorway, casting Kaden another pleading glance.

“Give me a few minutes?” Kaden turned to Sawyer, who stared back at him numbly. She nodded her head, needing a few minutes to gather herself.

Kaden went into the other room and closed the door behind him at the same time that the room he had just vacated became silent; the other women were giving her sympathetic looks. Sawyer didn’t need to be told what they thought. There was no comparison between herself and Tatiana.

“Well, that was a downer. Good job, R.J.,” Ax said angrily.

“If they can resolve their issues, maybe he will come back full-time instead of walking away again when the tour ends. Isn’t that what you want, Ax? You’re never going to have the success with Jesse that you had with Kaden.”

“Tatiana wasn’t the reason he left and she won’t be the reason he comes back,” Sin said, standing up. “It’s bullshit you pulled this stunt, R.J. You’re never going to learn your lesson, are you?”

R.J. paled at Sin’s words.

“I need to get my things out of the bus,” Sawyer broke into the brewing fight. “Could you call Alec and ask him to send someone to escort me?”

“I’ll take you,” R.J. volunteered. “I need to grab my own clothes.”

Ax touched her wrist as she passed him. “You all right?”

“I’m fine.” It hurt that Kaden had left to talk to a woman he used to be engaged to, but she had done a good job so far not letting jealousy rule her and she wasn’t going to start now.

Sawyer followed R.J. out the door. They waited in silence for the elevator, entering it when the door slid open.

“I didn’t mean to cause problems between you and Kaden.” He broke into the uncomfortable silence between them.

“Yes, you did.” She had noticed that he had been constantly throwing women Kaden’s way. Whenever R.J. picked women, he made sure to include a couple of extras; some she had even begun to notice resembled her.

R.J. didn’t say anything else after Sawyer’s comeback. They exited the elevator in strained silence where the bus was parked several feet from the back door.

“Maybe we should call Alec? Where are they anyway?” Sawyer said nervously.

“They’re in their rooms. They’ve had even less space in their vehicles than we do on the bus. I was trying to give them a break, but if you prefer, I can call,” he said, taking out his phone.

“N—no. That’s o—okay. Alec usually leaves someone watching the door and bus, but I don’t see anyone.” Her eyes searched the darkened parking lot.

R.J. shrugged as he opened the door, holding it impatiently for her. Sawyer went out, feeling suddenly nervous; however, her eyes kept surveying the parking lot, seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

R.J. unlocked the bus and then waited for Sawyer to enter it first. She was up the first step when she knew she had made a terrible mistake leaving the hotel room. The light came on when R.J. flicked a switch.

Sawyer turned to escape, expecting R.J. to do the same. Instead, he blocked her, forcing her up the remaining two steps.

“Hello, Sawyer.”