“Not your problem,” he tells me as we both hear Sean start shouting. “He’s not getting in here, and if he does, I can guarantee every fucking one of us will take him out.”
I know it’s supposed to ease my fears, but it does very little to help. I can hear his loud, booming voice, the rage in it—hating that he isn’t the center of attention and that I’ve also fucked him over with my posts.
He’s here to get back at me and ruin the lives of anyone involved with me too.
“We’re at capacity,” I hear someone say, and then Miles gets on the mic.
“Dude, don’t make us call the cops,” he says, shaking his head. “Just take your ass out of here and stop making a scene.”
“I fucking made you!” Sean shouts back, and Miles lets out a condescending laugh.
“Made us? Please, man. You’re embarrassing yourself. You had nothing to do with our success or taking us on tour with you. That was a fucking tour company.”
There’s no sense in arguing with Sean, though. He will always need to have the last word—a narcissist at his best.
Pushing up on my toes, I can see him at the entrance, trying to shove his way past one of the bartenders who had been checking IDs at the door.
He’s flailing around, screaming and shoving the guy, who has remained shockingly calm despite the show Sean is putting on.
People begin to take out their phones, recording it. I can hear the words being thrown around, shocked at Sean English’s behavior, and right now, he’s sinking his own ship. Something I knew would eventually happen, and I’m glad it has nothing to do with me directly.
“For real, dude,” Miles says, this time his words harsh. “Just leave.”
But all this does is fire him up even more, and when I hear the gasps from the crowd, I know things have taken a shitty turn.
He’s swinging at anyone within his reach, striking the bartender a few times with a closed fist, and the phones continue to record his meltdown.
Sirens begin to blare, and Eli flips the phone around, telling the girl on the screen a play-by-play as Jonah and Lacey meet back up with him.
“I can’t be here right now,” I whisper to Kai, the tears welling up in my eyes. This horrible sense of dread and anxiety pools heavy in my chest, my stomach churning, bile rising up in my throat, burning and hot.
“Come on,” he says, not even questioning me or asking me to suck it up or whatever.
Tapping Eli on the shoulder, Kai adds, “Quinn and I are leaving. Probably gonna go to our house, but don’t feel like you need to stay out or whatever.”
“Yeah, all good, dude,” Eli responds. “Take care of Quinn. We’ll deal with this dickhead here.”
Kai nods, and I smile gratefully at Eli, so happy to have a group of friends who are willing to help me get past this situation. It makes it so much easier to leave Sean when there are people I know have my back.
Linking his hand in mine, Kai weaves us through the crowd toward a back exit. His car is parked there, and I have full trust in him to get me out of here without Sean noticing.
Not that he doesn’t know I’m here. He knows the connection now, seeing things online and Kai showing up when Sean was trying to intimidate me into signing the NDA.
We can see the lights of the police cars flashing and glowing in the dark parking lot. It’s still filled with people. The windows of the bar are wide open, and crowds are gathered around them.
They’re all here to see Miles’s band, but they’re getting a show they never expected. They’re getting to see the real Sean English. Not the one the media portrays him to be or who he pretends to be either. He is literally the epitome of a self-absorbed asshole, and everyone is about to see him lose his shit.
As soon as the car door closes, I feel a huge sense of relief, even more knowing we are going to Kai’s. It’s a place that Sean doesn’t know, making me feel safe.
But more than likely, he’s about to be arrested, taken to jail, and have his life shared for everyone to see. And not in the way that he wants.
He loves media attention, but on his terms. Controlled and curated to make him look like enough of bad boy to be attractive, but not so much that it turns off his fans.
Kai drives slowly through the back of the parking lot, heading over a small grassy area that divides the bar from the place next door. He exits, and we’re on the road back to his house without anyone noticing.
As soon as he pulls up outside his little dark green cottage, I feel the weight of everything lift off me. It’s secluded and quiet, surrounded by lush greenery and the ocean. There are neighbors, but they’re far enough away and blocked by all the foliage.
“You good?” Kai asks, and I nod slightly.
