Seeing the guys perform was a high she had missed. So much energy radiated around them. She even swore she felt the baby kicking in time with the beat.
The crowd screamed, and Claire danced along to the music. No other family members or friends were there, so Claire and Celine were the only people occupying the private viewing area that was off to the side and fenced off from the fans. Fans could still see them and take pictures, but they couldn’t get to them. Lonnie was one of the security guards beside the fenced-in area doing crowd control. They were almost butted up to the stage,so the guys could easily see them, and they had, arguably, one of the best views in the arena.
Jake’s eyes strayed to her constantly, and she blushed every time. Celine even stopped pointing it out because of how often it was happening, but Claire knew Celine continued to notice, despite glances she shared with her own rockstar.
The guys had certain areas of the stage they usually stayed on for specific songs, but Jake wandered in her direction often. She hadn’t seen the show enough times to know if it was normal for him to be over there, but she suspected it wasn’t. Especially with how often Ben looked toward Jake with a raised eyebrow.
The guys were only halfway through their set when Claire got a sudden chill up her spine. She stopped dancing, and Celine put a hand on her arm.
“Are you okay?” Celine shouted into her ear.
Claire met Celine’s eyes. “I don’t know. I feel weird.”
“Is it the baby?”
Claire shook her head. “No.”
Then she looked around. The fans were all dancing to the music, and no one’s eyes were on her until suddenly someone’s were.
Her eyes met his through the crowd. She didn’t even know how she spotted him, since there were thousands of people in the arena. Perhaps it was because he wasn’t dancing, and his eyes were fixed on her.
She reached out and gripped Celine’s arm.
“Claire, what’s wrong?”
“Charles,” was all Claire could get out.
Celine moved quickly to the fence to get Lonnie’s attention, but Claire didn’t take her eyes off Charles. She knew she should run. But where? She was inside a fenced area and needed an escort to leave. She needed Lonnie to get her out.
Just as she turned to see where Lonnie was, pain exploded through her left shoulder. She rocked back and hit the ground hard just as a flurry of motion happened around her. Several people were suddenly in the fenced area, the music stopped, people were screaming. Claire stared up into a pair of worried eyes belonging to Celine. Only a moment later, Jake’s panicked face was above hers.
And then all went dark.
20
Jake 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 beable 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’stakingso 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.
