Page 87 of Just What She Needed

"No, he wouldn't," Sara insisted. "Owen and Jax were already there behind them ready to take the guy down if T couldn't. He wasn't going to get to Rhys."

"How did he know which car it was?"

"Now that I don't know. It must have been a lucky guess, because there were four Town Cars all in a row, and the one Rhys was in was third." Sara's voice gentled. "I didn't mean to scare you, but it's been on the news even down here in Mobile. I didn't want you to see it and freak out."

"I would have lost my mind if I'd seen some sensational story on the news," Rhett said. "At least you know what really happened so you can tell me. Where's Rhys now?"

"They're in Memphis. They had to stick around Little Rock forever to give statements and all that happy horseshit, and for T to get his shoulder patched up so they didn’t get to Memphis until this morning. They play there tonight, and then in Dallas day after tomorrow. You can see him when he gets there and see that he's okay. You're going to the show, right?"

"Maybe. I don't know. Sara, I told you about the fight we had." Without warning, she burst into huge, braying sobs. "And now some asshole goes after him with a gun, and I'm just sitting here not able to do anything, and...and...Christ, Sara. What am I going to do?"

"Oh, honey, don't cry. I mean...Shit. I've got another call coming through. It's Ross. Hang on."

Rhett took the opportunity to get herself under some semblance of control. She managed to beat the crying back to a slow trickle and pushed herself to her feet. Each step she took was tentative and careful, like a baby just learning to walk. Still shaking with reaction, she expected her knees to give out at any moment and dump her back on the floor.

In the kitchen, she tore a paper towel off the roll and mopped up her face. She was in the middle of pulling a bottle of water from the fridge when Sara came back on the line.

"Rhett? I've gotta make this quick because Ross is still on the other line. They're going to have to reschedule the show in Memphis. Seems Drew's arm got banged up worse than they thought, and he can't play tonight. Look, I'll call you back later, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Rhett sagged against the counter. She needed time to process everything she'd been told and find some way to deal with it. "Find out how Drew is and let me know."

"I will, promise. Later."

Rhett tossed her phone onto the counter and pressed the cold water bottle to her eyes. Now that she thought about it, there was no way in hell she would be able to process any of what happened. And deal with it? Fat chance. Everything that shattered apart inside of her now flew up in a maelstrom, the sharp edges cutting her to ribbons, and she really thought she might lose her mind. She wanted to scream, and at the same time she wanted to curl up in a silent ball. The urge to run was overwhelming, but she also wanted to just sink back to the floor and cry. Most of all, she wanted to turn back time, to go back ten days to L.A. and agree to anything Rhys wanted. Then she would have been with him the night before. She would be with him now, able to touch him and look at him and hear that smoky voice and know that he was all right.

When the doorbell rang, she didn't bother to lift her head. She wasn't expecting anyone, and if Mel had some sort of delivery scheduled then hell with it. They could come back. Or not. Rhett didn't give a rat's ass. After a few beats of silence, the bell rang again.

"Go away," she muttered. The last thing she needed was to have to deal with whoever was on the other side of the door. If she ignored it, they'd go away.

But they didn't. The bell rang twice more in quick succession, and Rhett's head snapped up. All the rage and frustration and pain and fear came together in a hot, heavy ball in her chest, and she slammed the water bottle onto the counter. She stalked out of the kitchen and into the foyer. Someone in the hall was about to have a very bad day.

Eager to let her unseen intruder have it with both barrels, she yanked open the door, ready to let loose with some of the finest cussing ever heard in Texas. But when she saw Rhys standing in the hall, everything came to a complete halt.

His gaze swept her face, and his own expression fell. "Oh, Christ, you've already heard."

At the sound of his voice her paralysis broke. She hurled herself at him and wound her arms around his neck in a death grip.

"Oh, baby. Don't," he murmured into her hair. "Everything's all right."

Wordless, she shook her head and pressed herself tighter against him. She breathed in the scent of chocolate and rum, felt his breath against the skin of her cheek, and the strength of his arms around her, and she never wanted to move again. Ever.

"Come on, let's go inside." Rhys attempted to remove her arms from around his neck, but she locked them tighter. Letting him go was not an option. He finally settled for walking her backward into the condo until he could close the door behind him.

"All right, then. Come here." He gathered her close and just held her. "Rhett, I'm fine."

After an indeterminate amount of time passed, Rhett started to relax. The soft words he murmured and the brush of his lips against her hair and cheek brought a measure of calm. She buried her face in his hair and took a deep breath.

"Drew?"

"He's got a deep bruise on his bicep, but he'll be fine," he assured her. "Don't worry about Drew."

"And Terry?"

Rhys huffed out a short laugh. "You really don't need to worry about T. He's more than fine. He's running round with this big bandage on his arm, showing it off to anyone who looks sideways at him. It's not bad, honestly. The bullet barely even grazed him."

Rhett stopped in the act of rubbing her cheek against his hair. Now that she knew for a certainty that the people she loved weren't badly hurt, another emotion pushed its way to the forefront. Outrage. She swiped the tears from her face with one hand and untangled herself from Rhys's arms. Her breathing grew agitated as she took a step back, and she looked up at him from under lowered brows.

"Rhett?" His expression became concerned. "What's the matter?"