Chapter 18

Something was off.I didn't know what it was, but coming off stage in Glasgow, there was something that just didn't feel right. I shook my head, trying to dismiss my thoughts and feelings as something else; stupidity on my part. I had expected Tom to drop everything and want to be with me as much as I wanted to be with him. He had been absolutely right. We did need to wait until the madness of a stalker and the forced closeness that had been thrust upon us was over. It was the right call—even if it did sting.

Carl hugged me with a massive grin on his face. "Lennox, that was fucking amazing! They love you, and the new song went down fantastically!"

Some of my nerves disappeared, and I smiled, leaning into his hug. He was right, the new song I had played for the first time tonight had the crowd captivated. They really loved it. It gave me hope for the new album I was working on, and how it was going to be received.

Levi also nodded in my direction. "Nice gig, mate. They really loved you tonight! Are you ready?"

I smiled at him. "Yeah, they really did. Where did Tom go?"

Levi's mouth pulled a grim line. "He had a call from the local cop shop about a lead on Natasha."

I nodded. "Did you get the toy ray out of my dressing room?"

His brow furrowed; he hadn't. He went to move past me, and I held my hand up to stop him. "It's okay, I'll go and get it. I could do with a piss break anyway. Everything's all secure back here anyway, right?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "But if you're not back in about two minutes, I will be coming in after you."

I rolled my eyes and smirked. "Back in less than two minutes then!"

Leaving them outside in the wings, I made my way back down the corridor and into my dressing room. I first nipped into the attached bathroom, and no sooner had I started to pee when I heard the outer door of my dressing room being opened.

"Jesus, Levi, I'm sure even you can't piss that fast!" I laughed, flushed, zipped up, and washed my hands before walking out to find a complete stranger standing in my dressing room.

"Who the fuck are you?" I panicked. My heart started to pound in my chest, and I thought for a second about how I could disarm him and escape.

He held his hands up in surrender in an attempt to calm me. "Relax, Mr Love! Levi is waiting for you in the car outside. He told me to come back here and tell you they've had a possible sighting of the Gibson woman and to take you to him. The car is just outside the fire exit opposite here."

I stared at him. This. This was what my instincts had been telling me. Feeling validated, I listened to what I was being told. I slipped across the corridor, out into the night, into the awaiting car.

Before I could realise what was happening, the man slammed the door closed behind me. I wasn't alone in the car. Sitting pressed against the driver's door so as to not be noticeable from the outside was Natasha. A split second after I realised it was her, I also noticed the glimmer of metal in her hand and saw the gun she had pointed directly at me.

Bile rose to my throat. My heart started hammering against my ribs. It was her. I was in the car with Natasha Gibson. My blood ran cold. This was going to be how I died.

"The doors are locked, so are the windows. Don't try anything. We're just going to go somewhere where we can have a little chat in private."

I stared at her, my mouth dry, my pulse throbbing in my ears. I was so damn stupid. I listened to someone I didn't know after everything Tom had told me and now I was the victim of my own stupidity. Words wouldn't form; I gave her a nod. She smiled, seemingly satisfied with my compliance as she turned to the steering wheel and nodded. Seconds later she drove us out into the streets of Glasgow and the darkness.