AllFreeNovel
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Connor flings the door open to a horror show. Ty is like a caged animal. The look on his face is terrifying. He’s pinned Carter to the ground and is pummeling him with every ounce of strength he has. The man’s been a gym rat since our hiatus and is shockingly strong. Zane’s no slouch himself. He’s trying to pull Ty off and can’t budge him.
I have no idea what to think. Ty’s yelling all sorts of crazy things. “You cock-sucking motherfucker. What have you done? What have you fucking done?”
Finally, Zane is able to use his Krav Maga training to pull Ty off and put him in a headlock. I wince when he smashes Ty’s face and knees him in the nose. Our singer crumples to the floor, his nose a bloody, pulpy mess. Zane’s got him pinned, his fist raised and cocked when Connor and I pull him back.
Jesus. LTZ is done. There’s no way to come back from this. I don’t have a clue what set him off, but there’s no way we can trust Ty around our families. Not after this.
No fucking way.
It doesn’t even matter why he beat the shit out of Carter. It’s his lack of self-control that pisses me off. Ty has none of it. I’m so fucking sad. Angry. Then it hits me. Ty’s actions ruined Fee’s restaurant opening.
Zane must be utterly devastated. He’s in terrible shape, hovered over Carter, who is unconscious. He starts CPR, but it’s his keening wails that do me in. “Wake up. Dad. Daddy.”
Finally, Connor speaks. “What the actual feck? What happened?”
Zane points at Ty as he frantically does CPR on Carter. “He fucking killed Carter. You’re so fucked up, Ty. Seriously. Stay the fuck away from us.”
Apparently, someone had the intelligence to call 9-1-1. When the EMTs rush in, they take over CPR and get Carter stable enough to load into the ambulance. On his way out, Zane points at Ty and yells, “Fuck you.”
I don’t blame him.
Except Ty’s not done with his destruction. He roars after him, “No,fuckyou. AndfuckCarter. You are both fuckingdeadto me.”
Without thinking, I reach out to Ty and grip his arm. He whips around, hissing like a possessed man. “Don’t youfuckingtouch me, you have no idea how sick to death I am of you treating me like a fuckingchild.”
And with that, I’m done. I hold my hands up and walk over to Connor’s side. We both watch him, transfixed. Part of me, the guy who’s known Ty for over a decade, wants to get him some help.
The other part of me, the father and hopefully soon-to-be husband, is done with the man. Cemented when Ty literally growls at us and closes the coffin lid on our band. “What? Do you want a piece of me too? Have I been a bigjoketo all of you? All these years? Wind Ty up. Put him on stage. Use his songs.Rip his soul out. Pat him on the head. Fucking repeat. It’s all fine, right? We’ve made our money, right? You’re allrichnow, right? Well fuck this. I fuckingquit. There is no more LTZ. It’s fuckingover. If I never see any of you again it will betoo fucking soon.”
With that, he storms toward the loading dock. Connor and I follow him back into the main room and witness the aftermath. All of his foundation artists look horrified. Some are crying. This man represented a future to them, and he’s let his demons ruin everything. “There won’t be a show tonight, kids,” he snarls as he passes.
Two police officers are waiting by the back door. They slam him against the wall, yank his arms behind his back and cuff him. His face is destroyed. The fight’s gone out of him. His eyes are utterly blank.
Ty is an empty shell of a man. A man who just completely and totally fucked himself and seems intent on bringing all of us down with him.
Connor and I look at each other. His eyes are like saucers. I’m sure mine are too. Reality catches up to me, “I need to get to Alex.”
“Feck. Let’s go.” He bolts toward the front door.
I feel like I have whiplash.
How did my band implode with no warning? The anger I feel toward Ty is like a powder keg that’s exploded into a zillion pieces. I’ve kept my shit together for so many years. Held my tongue. Played my part. Mostly to keep the peace in my band and for Alex’s sake. And Zoey’s, for that matter.
No more.
It’s time to face reality. And my reality is, I won’t deliberately let any toxicity enter into mine or Alex’s life. Not when we have to take care of precious cargo.
As far as I’m concerned, my band is dead. Ty’s dead to me too.
That’s a fact.
I may not like it, but it’s my truth.
Fee looks stunning.
She wears a tall, white chef hat. One long, pink braid drapes over her ample breasts. She’s in all black, including her apron, which has the Gus logo emblazoned prominently to the left side.
Ronni and I sit at the plush chef table inside the kitchen, watching the magic happen. Fee’s so cool and confident. Her brigade is dedicated. She’s recruited them from the best kitchens from all over the world.
