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It was not long before Thomas reappeared, face set in stone. “He’s gone and you won’t see him again so don’t worry, but, interestingly, he said he’d been personally invited tonight by Tanner. This is the invite he got.” And there in front of me was Tanner’s writing, although I knew it wasn’t him because he loved me too much to hurt me like this. I mean, to invite the man that assaulted me was pretty messed up. This was the same person who left me the note telling me Tanner was waiting for me in that car.
“Thanks, Thomas. I don’t know what you did. And I don’t want to know, but I appreciate you keeping me safe. Let me take the invite, and I’ll show Tanner when we get on the plane tonight.” I slid it into my purse, my eyes searching the room for my man because I knew I wouldn’t feel 100% safe until I could wrap myself around him and forget what just happened.
Melissa placed her hand on my arm and offered me a warm smile. “Emmy, if you ever need Thomas or me for anything. Catching bad guys, a friendly face, a hug, a place to hide, please, call us. Thomas said you have his number. Don’t be afraid to use it.”
“Promise.” I tried to force on a smile before Tanner worked out there was something wrong and flipped. I wouldn’t ruin tonight for him.
Tanner
“I’mjustgoingtoget changed. I need to take this wig off,” Emmy muttered as she stepped away from me. She’d been quiet since we got back to the table after our song and I knew something was wrong, but I’d left it until we could talk in private.
“Tonight was amazing,” Frankie declared.
“I know. Your song went down a storm,” Mav congratulated her as he threw his arm around her shoulder.
“Mysong. That sounds messed up. Like we’d ever record little old me’s song.”
“Well, we did and I would guess that the next album will be all your songs. They’re great, Frankie. Who’d have thought little Frankie would become a song writing genius?” I teased as I took a seat near them all on the plane.
“Let’s see how well it does in the charts, and then we can discuss the rest of the album,” Frankie deflected.
Hhhmmmm,” I replied, not really listening to any of them.
“Are we keeping you, Tan?” Mav asked.
“Yes. I mean, no. Sorry, I’m just waiting for Emmy. She was weird after we got off stage and I can’t work out why.”
“Don’t look at me,” Addi cried out, holding her hands up. “She went to the bar with Thomas and Melissa, but other than that, she didn’t move all night.”
As if she knew we were talking about her, she stepped out of the plane’s bathroom, make-up wiped away, hair high on her head in a messy bun, wearing one of my hoodies that was huge on her over some black leggings. I didn’t know how it was possible, but she looked even more beautiful than she had in her dress tonight. I pulled her onto my lap, but her body tensed.
“Talk to me, Em. What’s wrong? Don’t shut me out,” I whispered, not wanting anyone to hear me.
“Can we all talk together? I think I need to tell you all at once.” She looked at me wide-eyed, almost scared.
Em stood, staring down, fidgeting with the hem of her hoodie. I’d not seen her this nervous or withdrawn since we’d first met, and I sensed what she was about to say wouldn’t be good.
“Okay. I need to tell you some stuff and it’s really hard for me to talk about, but here goes. A few years ago, I was sexually assaulted. I was at a party in my house and someone grabbed me and pushed himself on me. He didn’t rape me, but he did things I didn’t want him to do and no one helped me. Tonight, he was at the party. I saw him at the bar. The weird thing was, he knew my name. When he attacked me, I’d never met him, and I’ve never seen him again. Anyway, Thomas was there tonight, and he took care of him. I’m not sure what that means, but I’m hoping he got what he deserved. The weirdest bit was that he was invited… by Tanner.”
There was a pause as the gravity of her words settled. Desperate to reassure her, I scrambled from my seat and grabbed her hand.
“I didn’t—”
She pressed her finger to my lips and nodded, telling me she knew it wasn’t me. Reaching into the large pocket that covered the front of her hoodie, she pulled out a handwritten invite, laying it out in front of us.
“Someone… the same someone who wrote the note that put me in the car did this. And I know it’s not Tanner, but when I find out who put me in front of that asshole tonight, I will punch them so hard they won’t know their own name.” I couldn’t help but smile at the fire in my angel. The timid, terrified girl I first met was long gone.
“What the hell, Addi? How does this keep happening?” Addi shook her head, looking at us all in disbelief. Sitting down, I pulled Emmy onto my lap. “I’ve only ever written one note in my life and that was when I sent Emmy some clothes. So if you get one, it’s not from me. And when I find out who this is, I will make their life a living hell.”
Emmy wrapped her arms around my waist, burying her head into my chest, letting me feel the anger and tension in her body. Trusting me with her pain.
The flight back was quiet, everyone exhausted from the evening and in shock with what happened to Emmy. As we stepped into the elevator, I leaned closer to Em, letting my lips ghost her ear. “You wanna come to bed with me, angel, or do you need some time?”
“I don’t need time away from you, Tanner.”
“Thank fuck for that. I think I’d have slept outside your room if you didn’t want me around.”
We walked to my suite, hand in hand. Inside, as I closed the door, I placed a light kiss behind her ear, making her groan.
