Chapter 20

20

J ake paced around the waiting room of the hospital. Ben paced right along with him, while the rest of the guys sat in chairs in various states of distress: Theo with clenched fists, Will with his head in his hands, and Liam staring up at the ceiling with a pinched face. Celine and Miranda stood off to the side, whispering to each other.

The hospital had put them in a private waiting room to avoid the paparazzi after the concert was shut down from Claire's ex Charles pulling a gun. Fortunately, he didn't go on a rampage trying to kill anyone in sight. His eyes were only on Claire, and unfortunately, he didn't miss.

Blood covered the front of Jake's shirt, but he didn't care. It would have been all over his hands as well, but Celine had led him into a bathroom and helped him wash his hands while she also washed hers. Celine and Jake had been the first two people at Claire's side once she had been shot. The two of them applied pressure to the wound.

Jake squeezed his eyes shut as the memory of the past few hours washed over him. It wouldn't be something he'd ever be able to forget. He had noticed Claire had stopped dancing and was looking around.

Jake didn't know how he knew it was Charles. He couldn't really make out the features of the person who had his eyes locked on Claire because the lights had been so blinding on stage. But his hair had stood on end immediately.

He pulled his guitar off and dropped it, not caring that he likely damaged it, and flung himself off the stage and into the fenced area. He tried to get to her, to get her to safety, but he hadn't been fast enough.

The rest of the band had realized what was going on as soon as Jake jumped off the stage, and chaos ensued after. Ben jumped off the stage and tackled Charles just as Lonnie did. Between the two of them, they had him pinned in a matter of seconds and had the gun secured.

Jake had been in a state of shock when they came in, but now his adrenaline was going and he couldn't sit still.

"What's taking so long?" he all but shouted before slamming a palm on the wall.

Celine moved across the room and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Surgery takes a while. They had to prep her, and the procedure itself is delicate, especially when you're dealing with someone who is also pregnant. They won't come and give us an update until she wakes up."

He nearly growled and glared over at the doors. "Can't we pull a celebrity card or something and get information faster?"

Miranda stifled a laugh, and Jake's gaze swiftly moved to her.

She wiped the smile off her face as much as she could before daring to speak. "I recall a time when you said you'd never pull the celebrity card. What happened to staying humble?"

A laugh burst out of Theo and soon all of them were laughing. Jake wasn't sure how they could all be laughing right now, but he blamed it on the nerves.

"Yeah, well, this is an emergency," Jake said. "I revoke any humbleness and demand answers."

Celine gave him a small smile. "I know this situation is scary, but her injuries weren't life threatening. She's going to be okay."

"All surgery is risky."

"It is. But just trust she'll be fine."

Jake dragged a hand down his face and looked over at Ben. He had taken a seat and was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, staring at the floor. Jake gave Celine a small smile before stepping away from her and dropping onto the seat beside Ben.

"How are you holding up?" Jake asked.

Ben shook his head. "This whole situation is so fucked. But you know what makes it worse? I suspected that something bad was going on in her house with that dick. When she stopped coming to events or always had an excuse about why she couldn't come to holidays with our family, I suspected. I should have gone over there. Maybe if I had, it wouldn't have gotten this far."

Ben had already mentioned it several times, and everyone knew it was still eating at him.

"You don't know that, man. If you had, maybe Charles would have pulled a gun on you and killed you right then. Maybe she would have gone with you, only for him to chase you two and gun you both down. Maybe he wouldn't have gunned you both down but caught her unaware in a grocery store and could finish the job." Jake sighed. "I hate to say it, but him pulling a gun on her at our concert was probably the best-case scenario for her. There were bodyguards all around. She had several people she knew who could help her."

Jake tipped his head to Celine. "Celine could stop the bleeding because she was trained. If it had happened anywhere else, there's no telling what would have happened."

"Jake's right, man," Theo said. "She was lucky it was at our concert and not somewhere else."

"Plus, now the dickhead will go to jail because there were a massive amount of witnesses," Liam said. "And possibly get heavier charges and more jail time because of doing it in a packed arena."

A beat of silence passed.

"Didn't it feel good to tackle him? To help take the asshat down?" Will asked.

Ben smirked. "Yeah, that felt good." Then he turned toward Jake. "Look, I don't know what's going on between you and Claire, but I want you to know that I wouldn't approve of anyone more than you. You two are perfect together. I've always known it and I suspected something happened between you four years ago, but I never wanted to say anything. I hope you can be together."

Jake stared at Ben as he processed the words. His mouth opened and then closed again as he fought to find something to say. "Thanks, man. I appreciate that."

"And stop trying to hide it. I'm not blind. I can see the way you two look at each other. Everyone can."

Everyone laughed and nodded in agreement.

Ben continued, "I appreciate you getting to Claire so fast tonight. For realizing what was happening before the rest of us." Then Ben's eyes moved to Celine. "You, too, Celine. Thank you for saving her."

She smiled over at him and tipped her head in acknowledgment.

The doctor came through the doors at that moment, and everyone stood.

"Hello, everyone. I just wanted to give you an update. The surgery went well. She and the baby are just fine. We don't expect any complications with Claire's recovery, but she will need to take it easy for a bit. I know with touring life that can be difficult, but please make sure she gets a lot of rest."

"Is she awake?" Ben asked.

"She is just waking up now. We are going to move her over to a room and she'll be admitted for the night, and then you'll be able to see her. However, our visiting hours are over, so you'll have to make it quick. I'll send someone to get you once she gets settled."

"Thank you," Jake said.

As soon as the doctor left, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"This was the longest five hours of my life," Jake said. "I think I aged ten years."

"You and me both," Ben said.

Lonnie came bursting through the door a moment later, startling everyone in the waiting room.

"Where is she? Is she okay?" He was out of breath, and his eyes were wild.

"She just got out of surgery and is doing well. We'll be able to see her soon," Miranda told him.

He nodded and dropped into the nearest seat next to Will.

"Damn, what a night," he muttered.

"What happened after we left?" Will asked.

Lonnie shook his head. "Pure chaos. The local law enforcement was overwhelmed with the large crowds, so we helped them comb the arena to make sure no one else was injured. It was just a precaution since we knew he wasn't targeting anyone else. No one even noticed he had a weapon until he began shooting. Then you bet your ass I laid into the arena security for letting someone in with a gun. Fucking amateurs. People will lose their jobs over this."

"What happened there? I thought they used metal detectors on everyone," Theo said.

"They're supposed to. No one knows how he slipped through the cracks. They're going to comb the security footage and fire anyone involved. Possibly even press charges if someone was helping him. The arena has already started getting backlash for the lack of security in a supposedly weapon-free zone. It's a mess."

"I'm just glad it's over," Ben said.

Jake scrubbed his face and glanced at the clock. It was well after three a.m., and the adrenaline had worn off, making him feel exhausted. But there was no way he could sleep until he saw Claire.