“I’ll do that. How long until the show is over?” The man’s eyes darted around when Matt turned back to him.
“About an hour. What press outlet are you with again?”
“The local paper, the Virginia Chronicle.”
“Okay, well, there’s coffee and donuts and stuff over there. If you need to leave and come back, you’ll have to go through security again.”
The guy nodded and wandered away, aiming one last glance at the dressing-room door. Matt watched as he ambled over to the press area and sat down. A few minutes later, he glanced around, freezing when he noticed Matt observing him.
Matt pulled his walkie-talkie from his belt. “Eli? Are the girls scheduled to do an interview with the local paper, too?”
Static crackled over the line as Eli responded. “That was yesterday. The only interview they’re doing tonight is for Entertainment Weekly.”
Matt turned back to the press area. It was empty. “Shit. We have a problem. There was a guy poking around backstage who looked a little off to me. He claimed he was from the Virginia Chronicle and had a green pass.”
“Where is he now?”
He could tell by the sound of Eli’s voice that he was running. Probably on his way to where he was.
“He’s gone now. There’s only two ways he could have gone.”
“I know,” Eli interrupted. “I’m heading to the back entrance now to see if I can cut him off.”
Tank interrupted them then. “Should I hold position?”
“Everyone stand fast,” Eli stated. “If this is the guy sending the letters, we can’t let him leave.”
He moved to the side of the stage area and scanned the platform. The club had its own security so if there was a problem in the crowd, they’d handle it. His concern was making sure no one got onstage near the girls. Several people were pointing to the ceiling. Matt looked up and then raised his walkie-talkie.
“He’s in the rafters. I repeat, he’s in the rafters above the stage area.”
“I’m on my way now,” Eli replied.
“I’ll get the girls.” A scream from the audience rang out. Matt’s blood chilled. The guy had jumped from the rafters to a speaker on the side of the stage.
Matt strode out onto the stage and grabbed Kaylee, ignoring her gasp. The girls had been facing the crowd, so they hadn’t even realized what was happening behind them.
He pushed her toward the exit, causing her to stumble into Sasha. The other girl stopped singing mid-lyric and turned to glare at Kaylee. “What is going on?” Sasha cried.
“Security breach. You need to leave the stage now.” The other girls ran over and he herded them toward the other side of the stage where Tank was waiting. “Go!”
“Look out!” Tank’s surprised face gave him a split second of warning, so he moved to the side. The arm that came slashing down had a knife with a three-inch-long blade in it. Another fist crashed into his cheek.
Tank ran out and jumped in front of the girls. Matt shoved the guy and then kicked him in the kneecap. The man fell to one knee with an anguished cry. Then he swiped at Matt’s legs.
Matt jumped back and landed on his ass. He got to his feet and pulled his weapon.
“Stay right where you are.”
The other man chuckled, the sound incongruous with the position he found himself in. “It’s about time you got here,” he rasped.
Matt figured the guy was delirious until he heard the click of a chamber near his ear. Instinctively, he rolled the other direction and ducked behind one of the large speakers. He peeked around the side, then pulled back abruptly. A bullet whizzed over his head and took a chunk out of one of the stage backdrops. Great, there were two of them.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” a voice taunted.
Matt fired blindly to the ceiling, hoping the noise would scare them. There was a shout and a thud to his left. It sounded like the men falling to the stage as they dove for cover. He couldn’t actually shoot toward the crowd because there were still people in the club.
It was time to assess his options. He pulled out his phone and sent Eli a quick text, letting him know his location and how many assailants there were. He could likely hold them off for a while since he had a lot of ammunition on him. But sooner or later, they were going to lose patience and rush him. At that point it was just a matter of who shot who first.
You’re also assuming there are only two of these guys.
Matt sent up a silent prayer that Eli wasn’t busy holding off any other attackers. Tank had been with the girls, so he could only assume they were safe.
Another shot whizzed over his head.
“Come on, Eli,” he whispered.
* * * * *
WHEN THE FIRST scream rang out, Mara thought it was just the usual crowd noise. Ridley had asked her to come because she wanted to support Kaylee. Mara didn’t know her that well, but Kay seemed like a real sweetheart and she’d been a sport about helping Mara spy on Penny and Matt that day. She’d heard that Eli hadn’t been too happy about how that had gone down.
Mara shivered. She couldn’t imagine having Eli mad at you. He was always friendly when he saw her and she was grateful to him for giving Matt a job, but he kind of scared her a little. There was something about the way he stared at you without blinking.
“I don’t know how Kaylee deals with this all the time,” Mara remarked over the sound of the crowd.