This was going to end so badly, she sensed it deep in her gut. She wished Ginny were here. Ginny always knew what to do. She knew the right things to say. She soothed tempers as easily as she ruffled them.
‘Gentlemen, this is a casino, not a fight club.’
Just shut up a minute, she wanted to yell at the security guard. They’ll be fine if they’re left to it. It was only an argument, not a fight. So far, the physicality of it was because of their previously close friendship; it wasn’t aggressive. No one had even thrown a punch.
Dani wasn’t sure who did throw the first one, and certainly wouldn’t testify to it having been either Xane or Steve. Yet all of a sudden they were at the centre of a pile of flailing men.
Oh, hell! Dani raised her arms to cover her head as a wall of limbs reared around her. Stupid rock stars and their egos. She knew Xane had reasons to be mad, but being justified didn’t mean he had to cause mayhem. Someone would get hurt. Him most likely. Her quite possibly. She’d never be able to explain a black eye or bruises to her mum.
Shit!
‘Stand aside,
mademoiselle
.’ As if she had that option. She was barely managing to stay on her knees.
When she lost her grip on Xane’s arms, Dani’s instinct for self-preservation kicked in. She crawled between two guards’ legs as a succession of heavy thuds shook the floor behind her. Bruises were definitely being made, and possibly bones being broken.
‘Please,’ she begged, performing a pirouette as she attempted to stand in order to try and spy Xane amongst the sea of bodies. Was it really necessary for security to go in quite so heavy-handedly? Xane’s sunglasses lay smashed upon the floor. ‘Stop it. Nobody needs to get hurt.’
‘Bit late for that,’ one observer remarked, as a security guard left the throng with blood pouring from his split lip.
‘Hey, lady,’ called another man. ‘Are they fighting over you?’
‘No,’ she retorted in disgust. She’d never orchestrate anything so cruel, pitching two guys against one another, two-timing your boyfriend with his best mate and then sneaking off for a secret wedding. It took a special kind of self-centred spitefulness to do something like that.
‘All right, hot-head, calm it down now.’ Quiet rippled outwards from the centre of the broiling maelstrom, which split apart to reveal one of the security guards with his hands around Xane’s throat. A second guard had dragged Xane’s arms into the small of his back, preventing him from defending himself, although he was still writhing like a live eel.
Steve Matlock had his elbow in one man’s stomach and was clawing at the guy who had Xane, attempting to draw his attention, presumably in the hope that he’d relinquish his grip around his former band mate’s neck.
‘He’s a singer,’ Dani cried, darting forward. ‘Don’t hurt his throat.’ And, well, just don’t hurt him. He’d already lost a contact lens during the fight, and a red ring encircled one eye socket. The current hold would cut his air supply to his brain if the guy kept the pressure up. ‘Please, let go.’
Someone caught her around the waist and lifted her right off her feet, making it her turn to kick and squeal.
Xane somehow found breath enough to bellow in outrage.
‘Is that Xane Geist of Black Halo?’ Someone in the crowd behind her asked.
‘I heard they split up.’
‘It is. That’s their drummer, isn’t it?’
‘Tiff over a girl.’
‘What, her?’
‘You mean this little piece of ass?’ The guy holding her raised her up and jiggled her about.
A million flashes seemed to go off in her face, leaving her dazzled and squinting.
‘No,’ she shouted back at them. Black Halo had not split over her. She hadn’t caused this current situation. Nor did she want them taking her photograph. They had no right. ‘Put me down.’ She kicked at the guy holding her, but he was built like a tank. ‘Are you fucking the both of them? I bet you’re a right goer, eh?’ A companion of the man holding her shoved his phone in her face, set to record. ‘Why don’t you show us what it is about you that gets them both off?’
Realising the pair weren’t part of the security contingent, Dani rammed the heel of her stiletto into the big guy’s foot with as much force as she could muster. He squawked in surprise and released her. Dani left him hopping and slipped away under his arms. Simultaneously, his bellow distracted the guards enough that Xane and Steve managed to twist their way out of various holds.
‘You all right?’ For a second Steve’s bright-blue eyes stared deep into hers. ‘Run for the exit,’ he suggested.
‘What about Xane?’
‘Right here.’ He grabbed hold of her hand and nearly jerked her off her feet as he swept past at full tilt. They were almost out of the door when some do-gooder from out of the crowd took a swing at Steve’s face and caught him straight on the nose, causing his head to jerk backwards. Blood sprayed everywhere.
Xane downed the guy with a well-placed shin to his nuts.
She held out her hand to Steve, and got an elbow in the face from another cretin in return.
‘Don’t you fucking lay a finger on her.’
Strike two. Xane dropped the offensive idiot. She hadn’t realised he was quite so quick with his fists.
‘Don’t … It’s OK. He didn’t really hurt me.’ Much. Her cheekbone throbbed, so too did her ear.
Bright sunshine filled the entry way. They kept running until they hit the grass at the centre of the square formed by the casino, the Hotel de Paris and the café of the same name.
Steve held his nose as they stood in a ring, all bowed over, panting.
‘Xane, will you please let me explain?’ Steve pleaded despite the blood gushing from his nose. ‘Let’s go somewhere and talk.’
‘If I was cool with it all, don’t you think I’d have come to the wedding?’
‘I admit, I thought it was odd that you didn’t. I missed you.’ He stretched his hand out as if to touch Xane’s face.
Xane jerked away from him. ‘Stop talking, and concentrate on stopping the bleeding.’
‘Please, I know I was rough on you last time we properly spoke. I just wanted you to understand my position and that I couldn’t give you exactly what you wanted.’
‘Be quiet, I can’t hear you properly anyway.’ Xane clasped his fist over his own mouth as if he meant to hold in a host of other things he desperately needed to let out.
‘Guys,’ Dani pleaded. Two of the local gendarmes were heading straight for them; evidently someone from the casino had called for assistance. ‘You’re going to get us arrested standing about like this.’
No sooner had she spoken than the pair split like forked lightning and streaked off in different directions, in what Dani suspected was a well-practised move. Steve turned left towards the café, Xane right into the hotel, leaving Dani to trot after him as best she could.
The only good thing was that the police didn’t seem remotely interested in her.
‘
Mademoiselle
requires a drink,
non
?’
Dani knocked back two before she braved the elevator ride up to Xane’s suite. She found him in the bathroom surveying the damage to his face. A red puffy swelling ringed his right eye. He had the edge of a dripping wet towel pressed to it. His long silky hair lay matted against the side of his head where someone had held onto him. She’d swear there were a few clumps missing too.
Like her, he had resorted to alcohol; half the contents of the mini-bar were lined up around the sink, most of them with the tops missing.
‘Let’s see.’ Dani plucked the towel from his grasp. The scab had torn off the wound he’d sustained the day before, leaving a glistening red patch of flesh exposed. ‘Feel better now you’ve hit him?’
The scent of whisky fumes wafted off his breath as she took hold of his hands to inspect the damage to his knuckles. They were angry red too.
‘I didn’t,’ he said.
‘What do you mean you didn’t?’
‘I never hit him. The guards started the rumble. Did you see if he got away all right? I can’t believe those fuckers broke his nose.’
‘He headed towards the café.’
Xane sighed in relief. ‘That’s good. He‘s probably staying at the Monte-Carlo Bay. He prefers it down there, as they have a pool.’
Men were strange. Dani frowned as she struggled to unfasten the studded leather collar around Xane’s neck in order to survey the damage the guard had done. ‘So, what, you’re friends again now you’ve got in a fight together and have almost been arrested?’
Xane pushed away her hands. ‘I didn’t say that. But just ’cause he fucked up doesn’t mean I don’t care about his welfare.’ He unfastened the buckle himself. What hadn’t looked too bad before appeared ghastly once you compared it with his normally pale skin. The marks under his jawline were vivid enough to take fingerprints off. They were blue-tinged now, but rapidly darkening. And of course the fading bruises from the love bites she’d given him didn’t help.
‘Does it hurt?
He hitched one eyebrow, not bothering to voice the ‘what do you think?’ part of the response. Of course it did; what she wanted to know was how much, and whether he needed to see a doctor.
‘What about your vocal cords?’
‘I sound all right, don’t I?’ he asked, putting on a squeaky falsetto.
Dani poked him in the ribs, which provoked an angry hiss of pain. OK, she’d apparently discovered the really sore bit.
She reached for him.
‘It’ll be fine,’ he said batting her hands away. ‘It’s not like I need to sing at the moment.’ He turned away from the mirror.
‘Stop right there,’ Dani demanded. ‘Forget the throat. What’s going on beneath the shirt?’ He’d already changed out of the one he had been wearing, she realised, spying the discarded item tucked under the wash basin. ‘Lift up the T-shirt, Mr Geist.’
‘What for?’
‘Lift it up.’
Xane ignored her demand. The contrary bugger jogged through to the sitting room instead, where he proceeded to restore the battery to his phone. The mobile immediately began bleating, informing him of numerous missed calls and message alerts.
‘Xane.’ She rested a hand upon his shoulder blade. Even his breathing, now she could feel the vibrations through his back, seemed a little unsteady. ‘What are you hiding?’
‘Nothing. I’m a big boy. I’ve been in a fight before. I know when to swing my fists and when to run. Right now is running time. You should go and pack your case.’ He gave the instruction without looking at her, his attention stayed focused on the touch screen of his mobile phone. ‘Right. That’s the seats booked. We board in an hour.’
‘Seats! What? Hang on.’
Oh, hell, she thought, wondering exactly how much trouble they were in. ‘Are you thinking that the casino will press charges?’
‘They have no bloody right to. If anything we should be doing them for assault, since they started it. But I’m not sticking around to find out.’
‘So we’re fleeing the police.’
Xane finally looked up at her. ‘No.’ He frowned, and then turned the phone so that she could see the screen. One of the casino punters had posted snapshots of the brawl online. The comment ‘What are the odds of that?’ was written beneath in bold letters. It was tagged ‘Monaco now’, and was already trending across a host of social networking sites. Someone had taken a close-up of her too, and captioned it, ‘Who’s that girl? And where the f**k is Elspeth?’
‘We’re leaving before the media circus arrives.’ He scraped a hand through his dark hair. ‘You don’t need this sort of crap in your life.’
Oh, God! She couldn’t catch her breath. The one thing she hadn’t wanted was to be noticed, and now every Black Halo fan on the planet would be playing detective to find out who she was. It wouldn’t be long before her whole history became public domain.
Her mum didn’t go near the Internet, or the gossip mags, but when things went global they had a way of creeping into the collective unconscious, and on top of that she had Xane’s reaction to think about. He wouldn’t thank her for being linked to a bunch of nutcases.
And … and … they were going home. This was it, adventure over. Goodbye time.
‘Dani, I’m sorry I’ve got you tangled up in this.’
She bit her lip. She’d known this would be a short affair, but if it were ending now it’d barely been more than a one-night stand.
Xane tramped back into the bedroom, where he dragged her case onto the bed, wincing from the effort. ‘Just grab the essentials.’ He flipped the lid and stood back to give her space to work. ‘I can have the rest sent to you.’
Numb with shock, Dani packed on autopilot. She emptied everything she’d brought with her out onto the bed, and then selected five or six of the new outfits Xane had bought her to take home, and packed them, along with her make-up bag. The box of condoms Ginny had gifted her still remained there unopened.
Xane collected their passports from the room safe, along with his leather jacket and a replacement pair of shades, the latter now necessary to hide his bruises as much as to mask his identity. He winced when he tried to lift her luggage onto the floor.
‘Leave it,’ Dani insisted. She took the case from him and placed it by the door. ‘You’re hurt,’ she said, returning to him. ‘What have you done? Let me see.’ She steered him onto the bed.
‘Dani, there’s not time.’
‘I’m making time.’ She glared stubbornly at him until he gave up and flopped back against the pillows.
Dani cautiously peeled up the hem of his T-shirt. He was all muscle and sinewy beneath, as beautifully sculpted as he’d always been. There were no obvious marks or bruises, but rib injuries didn’t necessarily show external trauma.
‘Nothing,’ she admitted, stroking him tenderly.
‘I said so, didn’t I?’
‘You did,’ she agreed. ‘Maybe I just want to check, and grab a last opportunity to touch you.’ She pressed a kiss to the centre of his abs where that faint line of golden hair started its downward journey. God, this couldn’t be over. Not yet. It had only just begun.
‘Where will you go?’ she asked, trying to sound merely curious and not clingy or desperate. ‘The guys know about your bolthole, so I’m guessing not there, and they know about my place too, thanks to Ginny.’