A Guarded Love Read online

  He grabbed her hand with both of his hands. “You were wonderful tonight.”

  “Thank you. This was amazing!” Kristin slowly removed her hand from his.

  “I don’t think we’ve had this many in attendance at one of our concerts before. We’d love to have you back sometime.”

  “That would be great.”

  “Wonderful. I’ll have our manager contact you.”

  “Okay.” Kristin turned to see what all the commotion was about. Three women in their late thirties and early forties came up to see her. They were all trying to talk at the same time.

  “Hello!” said a woman with graying hair.

  Their excitement made Kristin laugh.

  “We’re big fans of yours!” a robust woman said.

  “You are?” Kristin tried to not look surprised.

  “Yes. We work at the university and attended your last concert. We liked it so much that we asked when your next concert would be.” The woman with glasses smiled and the gray-haired women nodded. “You did a wonderful job tonight!”

  “Thank you so much. You’re my first fans. This is exciting.”

  The robust woman touched Kristin’s arm. “Do you have a Facebook page with your concert dates?”

  “Not yet, but that’s a great idea. I’ll have to get on that.”

  “Here’s my business card. Can you email me with your schedule?” The woman with glasses had such a warm smile.

  “I’d be happy to. Thanks for coming tonight. It means a lot.”

  The gray-haired woman patted Kristin’s hand. “We’d better let you go. I’m sure there’s a lot of people who want to talk with you. Let us know when you set up Facebook.”

  With that, her fans left. Kristin was thrilled to meet these women. Today was a wonderful day and Kristin didn’t want to go home. Maybe they could go out and celebrate. Kristin headed back to the dressing room and hoped she’d see Landon. Instead, she saw the girls that were scowling during the concert. Wondering what they wanted but not wanting to talk with them, Kristin slowed her pace. She watched a tall skinny girl approach her. Kristin timidly asked, “Can I help you?”

  “Are you the girl in the picture?” The lanky girl folded her arms and that made her elbows look pointy. Kristin also noticed that her chin and nose were pointy. It was distracting.

  Kristin didn’t need to answer because Landon walked up. The girls immediately forgot about her and rushed to Landon. It was so loud from the giggling and talking that Kristin couldn’t wait to get into her dressing room. She heard one of the girls ask for a picture. When she glanced at Landon, he was smiling as the picture was taken. This was her chance to escape to her dressing room.

  There was a big bouquet of pink flowers. How did Landon know her favorite color? That was so thoughtful. She went to look for a card, but was interrupted by Rob, who burst through the door.

  “Did Mike escort you in here?”

  “No.”

  “Why didn’t you wait for him?”

  “I was exhilarated from the performance and I didn’t think about it.” Kristin felt like she was being corrected like a child.

  “You should have waited for him.” Rob sounded gruff.

  Landon walked in and Rob started talking to him. Kristin took the opportunity to slip into the restroom. She didn’t want to listen to Rob anymore. After checking her hair in the mirror, she turned to look at the stalls. All of them were open except for one. It seemed strange to see a pair of scuffed black dress shoes so close to the stall door. They looked like men’s shoes. Was she in the wrong restroom? No, this was a private room for her. She heard the stall door open and she watched the black shoes stop in front of her. As she looked up to see who was standing there she gasped when she recognized Sam. Kristin’s mind started racing and her palms were wet.

  “Don’t look so surprised. Did you like my flowers?” Sam’s voice was sickeningly sweet.

  “How did you get in here?” Kristin spat.

  “Someone left the restroom window opened.”

  Kristin’s stomach dropped. She remembered opening the window. What a stupid mistake! As she looked at Sam, she noticed he was dressed like one of the servers who worked there. Was this a chance meeting because he worked here? Before she had time to react, Sam pounced upon her. He put a hand over her mouth and pushed her against the wall. She squealed a little when she saw a gun in his right hand.

  “You make one sound and you’re dead.” Sam’s breath was foul. Kristin had a hard time breathing.

  They were interrupted by Rob and Mike bursting through the main door of the restroom. Both of them had their guns drawn. “Put your gun down,” Rob ordered.

  Sam pulled Kristin in front of his body, using her like a shield. He kept his left arm around her neck and a gun pointed at her head. Both of her arms were free and remained by her side.

  Mike started speaking in a calm tone. “Put the gun down and talk to us.”

  “Come any closer and I’ll kill her!” Sam bellowed.

  “Why would you want to hurt her?” Mike spoke like he was talking to a friend.

  Rob kept a steely eye on Sam. He had his gun pointed straight at Sam. Kristin’s heart was beating so hard she could hear it in her ears. She’d never been so scared in her life as she stood perfectly still. Kristin could feel the sweat drop roll down her back. She was helpless, totally at the mercy of Sam. He would kill her, she knew that. Mike and Rob had her life in their hands. She prayed they would know how to get her out of this. If they had to shoot, she prayed that they would miss her. Landon appeared in the doorway. His eyes looked like huge saucers, but he kept quiet. It was like he knew that Sam could go off at any moment. Sam squeezed Kristin’s neck tighter. It was hard to breathe. Hoping to get air, she tried to turn her head so her neck was in his elbow area. It didn’t work; the grip was too tight. She felt like she was going to pass out.

  “You think because you’re famous, you can have any girl you want.” Sam was yelling so loud. Kristin felt spittle on the side of her face.

  Landon stayed still.

  Kristin could feel Sam’s body start quivering. He had to be very angry.

  “You don’t get to have her. We’re meant for each other.” Sam waved the gun around.

  “Let her go.” Rob leaned forward.

  “Don’t come any closer or she’s dead.”

  “We can work this out.” Mike used a soothing voice to try and deescalate the tension.

  “She stays with me, where she belongs.”

  When were Rob and Mike going to do something? The stress was too much. There would be no happy outcome. That was a fact. Rob and Sam were staring each other down. It looked like neither of them would budge. Kristin wanted to be free of Sam.

  She stomped on his foot and planted her fist into his crotch. Sam crumpled to the ground, taking Kristin with him. She heard the thud of her head as she hit the sink and saw a blinding flash of light before she landed on top of Sam, who was in the fetal position. Ignoring the searing pain from her nose, she knew this was her chance to escape. She pushed herself off Sam to stand up and leave. They briefly made eye contact. In that instant, Kristin knew he wasn’t going to let her live. The crack of the gunshots didn’t surprise her, and when she looked down at her stomach, blood was oozing between her fingers. Then she passed out.

  Chapter 22

  Landon rushed through the emergency room, looking for someone who could tell him where Kristin was and how she was doing. He was a fury of frustration. They had forced him to wait back at the country club to answer questions for the police. All he wanted to do was be with Kristin. Now he had no idea where she was. The emergency room was full of activity and commotion. It didn’t give him the feeling of reassurance and security. He found the receptionist. She was so busy typing, she didn’t even look up from her computer when she asked, “Can I help you?”

  “I’m here to see Kristin Reynolds. She was just brought in by ambulance.”

  “Are you family?”<
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  His frustration was building. He definitely felt like he was bothering this woman. “We’re dating.”

  “We can only discuss her with a member of her family.”

  “Can’t you tell me anything?”

  “That would be a HIPAA violation.”

  Landon wanted nothing more than to tell this person off, but that could end up in the tabloids. He turned on his heels and went outside. His hands shook as he tried to find Lexi’s phone number. He didn’t want to sit there alone, and besides, she might have Kristin’s mom’s phone number.

  He also called his grandparents and asked them to come to the hospital. Landon tried to find a quiet spot to wait for them. He didn’t like feeling helpless. Only a little over an hour ago, Kristin was performing at a concert. She was vibrant, happy, and glowing. Now she was in the emergency room and Landon wasn’t sure where she had been shot or if she was dying. The hopes he had for the two of them seemed to be vanishing. He thought they would have a lifetime together to make memories. Now he was afraid that his time would be cut short. Landon had so many emotions—fear of the unknown and hope for the future, sadness that Kristin was so seriously injured, anger at Sam who violated the person he loved, and guilt that he didn’t stop him.

  Thinking back, Landon remembered how talking to Rob had taken all of his attention. He didn’t notice that Kristin slipped into the restroom. By talking to Rob, he found out that someone left the bathroom window opened. One of the security team reported that he had checked on the perimeter of that building at 6:45 p.m. That would have been right before Kristin went on stage. Sam must have come in through the window and already been in the restroom when security shut the window. Who could have opened that? The conversation with Rob ruined the protection that should have been given to Kristin.

  Landon knew experiences like this could change people, but he wanted to spend time with Kristin even if she was changed. If she lived…

  But that felt wrong. Don’t go there, keep it positive. When she pulled through this, they would work on healing together and continue making memories. With his head bowed, he whispered, “Please, let her be okay. Please, let her be okay.”

  Landon felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Lexi. The worry he was holding seem to ease. He stood to give her a hug. “I’m so glad to see you.”

  “Me too. Have you talked with a doctor yet?” Lexi sat down next to him.

  “Not yet. They will only talk with family.”

  “I texted Kristin’s mom. She works near here so she should be here soon.”

  “I appreciate you doing that.”

  Landon noticed a woman in her mid-forties walk in, followed by a girl who looked to be about sixteen. Kristin looked like her mother. The girl approached Landon. “I’m Taylor. I’m Kristin’s sister.”

  “I’m Landon Ross. I’m a friend of your sister.”

  “I’m Julie. I’m Kristin’s mom. Are we allowed to see her?”

  “I can’t get any information because I’m not family.” Landon looked at the floor.

  Julie had a take-charge demeanor. She looked around the room until she found an admissions clerk. Landon and Lexi stayed where they were. Once she finished talking, she rejoined the group. “A doctor should be out with us shortly. We might as well make ourselves comfortable.” Once everyone had a seat, Julie turned toward Landon. “So, what happened?”

  Landon had to force himself to meet Julie’s eyes. His throat felt thick and his chest felt tight, but he pushed through. He explained what he had seen. Tears threatened to spill from Julie’s eyes. Lexi’s mouth was hanging open and she was shaking her foot. Taylor was silently crying. The doctor interrupted Landon before he could finish. Approaching the group, he looked at Kristin’s mother. “Mrs. Reynolds?”

  Julie stood. “Yes. You can call me Julie.”

  “I’m Dr. Chamberlain. Can we go to one of our consultation rooms?”

  “If it’s okay, I’d like everyone to hear.”

  “Absolutely.” Dr. Chamberlain cleared his throat. “Kristin has a broken nose and the bullet that entered her abdomen doesn’t have an exit wound. She’s being prepped for surgery and I will be her surgeon. We need to get the bleeding stopped. I already gave her a unit of blood. They’ll give her more blood during surgery. After the surgery, my primary concern is to monitor for an infection at the surgery site. Do you have any questions?”

  “What does this mean for the long term?” Julie’s voice sounded shaky.

  Dr. Chamberlain looked Julie in the eyes. “Everything is uncertain at this point.”

  Everyone was silent. Julie shook her head and wrapped both arms around her waist. Landon felt like his world had been ripped apart. It was hard to breathe. Lexi went over to hug Taylor, who was still crying.

  “I need to get up to the surgery floor. If you follow me, I can show you to the surgical waiting area.”

  Everyone quietly followed the doctor. Landon went directly to a chair by the window and leaned his head on the back. He rubbed his eyes. Lexi put her hand on his back. Landon lost track of the time. He kept replaying the events of the night. The image of Kristin’s lifeless body on the floor with blood flowing through her fingers was too much. Landon didn’t hear the nurse when she escorted his grandparents into the waiting room.

  “Landon.” Grandma Suzie stood next to him with Grandpa Scott close behind.

  He looked up and almost started to cry once he saw them. Their hugs were exactly what he needed.

  “Lexi filled us in. How are you doing?” Grandma Suzie looked concerned.

  He gave a not-so-funny chuckle. “I’m hanging in there.”

  Once introductions were made, everyone sat down in their original places. The silence was drowning the room. Taylor laid her head on her mom’s shoulder. Julie stared out the window. Lexi paced. Landon stared at the floor. He had no idea what to say to these people. It was hard not knowing what was going on. Shouldn’t there be some update?

  Grandpa Scott’s voice boomed through the silence. “She’s a strong, healthy girl. That will be in her favor. Would you mind if I said a prayer?”

  “I would like that.” Julie tried to smile.

  Everyone gathered in a circle. Grandpa Scott expressed how thankful they all were to have Kristin in their lives. Then he pleaded for help. There wasn’t a dry eye in the group. After some small talk, everyone seemed to go back to their own thoughts. Three and a half hours after the surgery began, Dr. Chamberlain entered the waiting room. Landon’s grandparents stayed in their seats, but everyone else jumped up and met him.

  “Should we go somewhere private?” Dr. Chamberlain looked over his glasses at Landon’s grandparents.

  “They are with us. You can talk freely.” Julie squeezed her fingers so much that they were blanched.

  “The surgery went well.”

  Julie’s chin started to tremble, and tears filled her eyes.

  Dr. Chamberlain continued. “I discovered that as I looked at the intestine the bullet went through a couple of areas, and then, lodged near a kidney. I made the necessary repairs and gave her another unit of blood. She’s stable and in recovery. I want to keep her in ICU for a couple of days to watch for infection. A neurologist will be in tomorrow morning to do some brain tests. We want to make sure the fall didn’t cause a brain trauma.”

  “What’s a brain trauma?” Julie looked confused.

  “A concussion,” Dr. Chamberlain said. “The nurses will keep me informed of her condition throughout the night, and I’ll check on her tomorrow morning.”

  Julie shook the doctor’s hand. “Thank you for all you’ve done. May we see her?”

  The doctor’s brow pulled together and his lips pressed together in a grimace. “Visiting hours for the ICU is over. They have restricted visiting so that doesn’t interfere with patient care, but I think it’s important for you to be able to see her. If I let two of you visit for five minutes each, I think it will be okay. I’ll let the nurses know.”

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nbsp; Grandma Suzie stood. “My husband and I don’t have to visit. We can see her tomorrow.”

  “Family should go first,” Landon said. “Lexi and I can go next.”

  “That should be fine. Follow me.” Dr. Chamberlain walked out of the room.

  All six fell in step behind Dr. Chamberlain as he escorted them to the ICU. Landon noticed Lexi had started crying as she wiped a tear from her cheek. Landon made his way over to her and gave her a gentle side hug. As they reached Kristin’s room, Landon, Lexi and his grandparents looked through the window as Julie and Taylor ventured closer toward the door. Taylor touched the door frame as if hesitant to go near her sister. In contrast, Julie dashed to Kristin’s side and held her hand; tears welled up as she looked lovingly at her daughter.

  Landon was stunned by all the tubes and monitors connected to Kristin. The reality of how badly she was hurt overcame him. He found it hard to breathe. This wasn’t right. Landon screamed internally. None of this was right. Kristin didn’t deserve this. Landon didn’t like feeling helpless.

  When it was Landon and Lexi’s turn to visit Kristin, he found he was nervous to touch her. She looked so fragile. Lexi went to the other side of the bed and held her hand. Landon decided Kristin’s hand was a safe place to touch. He had so much to say. Where to start? He watched Lexi talk to her, giving her words of encouragement. Landon kept rubbing her hand with his thumb. Forming a complete thought was difficult, and it was hard to speak when he feared he would burst into tears. The five minutes was coming to an end. He had to say something. Leaning over the bed he whispered in her ear, “Come back to me.” Landon continued holding her hand, staying near her side. It was hard to leave her bedside when his time ended.