Page 151 of Of Heartbreak and Harmony
“Where’s Callie?” I ask, craning my neck to find her. “What’s going on? Where’s Callie?”
There are a lot of frightened, anxious faces backstage—roadies and venue employees rushing about, directed by police and security guards—but none of them belong to Callie. My throat tightens and my heart starts to race. My feet stop working.
“Where the fuck is Callie?”
“She’s okay,” Red says. “She’ll meet us outside. Walk.”
“What the fuck is going on, Red?” Mabel’s voice is high-pitched and shaking as we rush down the hallway.
“There’s been a threat. That’s all I know right now.”
I turn immediately, ready to rush to the VIP tent, but Red throws his body in front of mine.
“Callie and Levi are with Damon and Craig. They will meet us back at the hotel. Walk.”
I let myself be shoved down the hall toward the exit doors, and the moment I step into the night air, I scan the darkness. The traffic noise is loud, but it’s blended with muffled sounds of the announcements being made inside the arena and the buzz of the concertgoers evacuating out into the street. Still no Callie. No Damon and no Craig.
“What the actual fuck is happening?” Sav asks, turning wide eyes on Red. “Was someone hurt? Is Levi okay?”
Red doesn’t answer, and my skin crawls.
“Red,” I bark. “Was someone hurt?”
“I don’t know yet,” he says quickly. “We need to get back to the hotel.”
In a daze, we’re split up and shoved into cars to be shuttled back to the hotel. We’re dropped at an entrance off the street and snuck into the elevator, trying to avoid the growing crowd of reporters in the lobby. The moment the elevator doors open on our floor, I run into the suite and find it empty. One by one, my band members and their security details appear, but no Callie. I take deep breaths and try to stay calm, but I’m failing. I can feel myself succumbing to panic.
“Where are they?” I say, flinging myself on Hammond the moment he steps through the door. “What the fuck is going on?”
Sav’s hands are clutched together in front of her body, face twisted up with worry. Levi isn’t here either, and the expression of fear on her pale face is exactly how I imagine I look. It’s certainly how I feel.
“An arena security guard found a backpack with three guns stashed near a trashcan on the club level.”
To Hammond’s credit, his voice stays steady, but the news is no less shocking. Mabel gasps. Jonah curses under his breath. My stomach clenches.
“Do they know how they got there?” Sav asks, voice trembling. “Do we think it was...I mean...was it meant for our show?”
I know what she’s thinking. What we’re all thinking. It’s her stalker.
“We don’t know yet. We’re working on it.”
The room falls silent seconds before the door to the suite opens, and it’s like a tidal wave of relief hits me when I finally set my eyes on Callie. I rush to her and wrap her in my arms. She feels cold and she’s trembling slightly.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” I rub my hands up and down her back trying to soothe her. “It’s okay. You’re here. It’s okay.”
She shakes her head against my neck, and I hear her sniffle as her shoulders start to shake. I hold her closer.
“It’s okay,” I whisper. “It’s okay.” I look up and make eye contact with Damon. “What happened?”
“Evacuating from the floor was a bit chaotic,” Damon says slowly. “Some pushing and shoving. A lot of yelling. It was...overwhelming.”
I nod and tighten my hold on Callie. “Let’s go lie down. They’ll tell us when they learn something.”
She shakes her head and pulls back. “My sister. My mom. I need to check on them.”
“We can call them. I’m sure they’re fine.”
“No. No, Torren.” Callie lets go of me so she can pull her phone out of her back pocket. “I got this from Glory. I didn’t see it until after we were in the car coming back here.”
