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24
CANNON
After being in a holding cell for a few hours with people who smelled as if they hadn’t showered in weeks, all I wanted to do was stand under the hot spray and wash away the grime of the day. One of the men in the cell I’d been placed in had been one of the nicest people I’d ever met, but the poor guy had also smelled as if he’d been sitting in his own piss and excrement for who knew how long. The stench seemed to have seeped into my pores, and I couldn’t smell anything else.
But first, I needed to check on my girl.
The bailiff led me out of the courtroom through a side door where they uncuffed me and then processed me out. My attorney, Peter Kratt, stayed with me the entire time. As Emmie had instructed me, I hadn’t said a word to anyone but Kratt, and I kept my lips sealed until I was given back my phone, wallet, and keys.
With a nod to the bailiff who had been with me in the courtroom, I followed my lawyer out to the corridor. My eyes searched for Piper and my parents, but as soon as we walked out the door, cameras were shoved in my face while question after question was shouted at me.
“Cannon, why did you attack Piper?”
“Cannon, is the tour canceled?”
“Cannon—”
“Cannon—”
“Cannon—”
“Everyone, shut the fuck up!” I roared, a headache throbbing behind my eyes. But my outburst did nothing but make them yell my name louder, the cameras flashing so fast, it was enough to make anyone dizzy.
Kratt grabbed my arm and clenched hard enough to remind me to remain quiet. I shot him a glare but did what he needed me to. But I was beyond pissed that these fuckers were asking if I’d hurt Piper. Did they not know what had happened? Was Petrova keeping it quiet about his producer and letting this bullshit fall back solely on me?
“Son!”
I heard my dad’s voice to my left and pushed through the group of paps to get to him. As I cleared the last of the vultures, I saw Mom and Emmie standing with Rodger and Marcus. Then someone shifted behind the two guards, and I knew it was Piper trying to hide from the cameras.
She peeked her head between the two men, and when she spotted me, she dived through them and took a running leap. I caught her ass in my hands as she wrapped her legs around my waist. Holding her against me, I buried my face in her neck, inhaling her sweet scent. “You okay?” I whispered.
She nodded, tightening her arms around me even more.
“The doctor told her to rest her voice,” Mom informed me, her blue eyes scanning me from head to toe as if making sure I was in one piece. “She shouldn’t speak unless absolutely necessary.”
“Nothing was damaged?”
“No. She should be fine as long as she keeps quiet for the next ten days.” My mother was a registered nurse, so I trusted her to know what was best for Piper. Relieved that my girl was going to be okay as long as she listened to the doctor’s orders, I turned my glare on Emmie. “They all think I hurt Piper. Has the news about that fucking producer not been made public yet?”
“Petrova is trying to keep the very short list of artists that he still has by covering up what happened with Laurence this morning.” Even as she spoke, she was typing one-handed on her phone. “But don’t worry. If he thinks he can play that kind of game with me—and throw one of mine under the bus to cover up his dirty secrets—he’s only going to fuck himself over in the long run.”
“Artists he still has?” I repeated.
“All my clients are leaving Petrova Records, and as of an hour ago, everyone except you has signed with ASM Records.” She shoved her phone toward me. “If I could just get your digital signature here and here, you’ll be the last one.”
“Wait.” My head was pounding at all the new information being thrown at me. “What is ASM Records?”
“Shane and I started our own label,” Emmie said with a casual shrug. “Are you in or not?”
I glanced at my dad, who nodded, letting me know he’d already signed. Which meant OtherWorld was completely on board as well. That was all I needed to know before I used my finger to scribble my name across her phone screen in both places she indicated and then press enter.
“You mean every one of your clients who was signed with Petrova?” I still couldn’t quite believe it.
Petrova Records was the biggest label in the business. It was the dream to get signed by them, because once your signature was on that contract, you knew you’d made it in the music world. Emmie represented more than half of the artists on Petrova’s roster. I didn’t doubt for a minute that if she told her clients it was in their best interest to end their contract, they would all listen to her.
She’d already been pissed off over what had happened to Piper earlier that morning. Walking with her full client list must have scared Petrova. But his contingency plan, to make the world think I was the one who had harmed Piper, was about to blow up in the billionaire’s face.
I might have enjoyed watching the show if the world hadn’t thought I’d put my hands on the woman I loved.
“Yeah, and I’m about to sign every one who wasn’t my client, too,” Emmie said with that glitter in her eyes that, from experience, made me take a few steps back from her.
“Well, before you destroy the old fuck, do you think you could make a statement that I’m not a wife-beater.” I adjusted Piper in my arms, and because she fit so perfectly in my hands, I couldn’t help squeezing her lush ass. I heard her mewl in my ear, but I didn’t have time to enjoy it because my parents and Emmie reacted.
“Wife-beater?” Dad snorted. “What the fuck are you talking about, boy?”
Mom and Emmie shared a look before groaning. “This isn’t going to go over well with Liam and Gabriella,” Emmie muttered.
“What isn’t—” Dad broke off as realization dawned in his eyes, and he gaped at me. “Are you two that serious?”
Piper lifted her head in confusion at his question, but I quickly tucked her head back into my shoulder and made a zip-it motion with my finger across my lips to tell him to shut the fuck up.
“Goddamn it, Cannon,” he groaned. “Whatever bullshit you’re playing—”
“Not playing,” I told him. He opened his mouth to yell at me, but I blocked him out by turning to face Kratt. “Will I be able to return to the tour tomorrow? Or do I need to stick around?”
“You’re good. I’ll get everything finalized with Hamilton and send you the paperwork. When you return from the tour, we will discuss your community service obligations. But you have to stay out of trouble in the meantime. Otherwise, it will void the deal I made with the DA, and you will most likely face jail time.”
I nodded my understanding and lifted one hand from Piper’s ass to shake his hand. Over his shoulder, I saw the paps still taking pictures, but now that I had my girl in my arms, they weren’t nearly as interested as they had been.
Kratt walked away, and I kissed Piper’s cheek. “You ready to get out of here, sugar?” At her nod, I kissed her again. “Good. I need to shower, and then we’re going on our date.”
Her dark eyes lit up with excitement. “Really?” she rasped out with a smile.
“Shh, no talking. But yeah, really.” I glanced at my parents. “Mom, thanks for taking care of Pipes while I was unavailable. Sorry to just run off on you like this, but we have plans for tonight.”
She blew out a heavy exhale. “Just be careful, Cannon. And when you get back to the tour, take things easy. Liam is already like a bear with a sore paw. When he sees Piper, he’s going to lose his head. Don’t push his buttons. Okay?”
“I don’t plan on it,” I assured her.
“What about me?” Piper whispered. “What about—?”
“Shh,” I growled at her again.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” Emmie urged. “I think we will use a local band to fill in for each tour stop until the doctor clears you.”
Piper pouted out her bottom lip, but she nodded in agreement at the suggestion. Needing to get her home and the both of us cleaned up, I said our goodbyes and let Marcus drive us back to my apartment in Emmie’s car while she and Rodger left with my parents.
