Page 47 of Conviction

He sends a text and looks at me, nerves making his eye twitch. Good, I’m glad I make him nervous. He’s my mate as well as my manager, but he doesnot… touch…her… ever.

“Chill Reed. Your driver’s Matty. He’ll be at the doors that you came in. Down the back stairs and out the emergency exit. Have a beer and chill for a few, and he should be here.”

“I don’t want a fucking beer, thank you very much.”

Tyler is watching me as he throws pistachios into his mouth. My eyes meet his.

“You good bro?” he asks.

“I’m good.”

Sophie and Jenna are both staring at me, not sure what’s going on. I haven’t looked at Meebs, I can’t. I know it’ll hurt.

“Matt’s outside,” Lawson announces.

Without giving myself chance to over think it, I grab Nina’s hand. I force my eyes to meet hers, they’re wide with shock. Good, I’m fucking glad I’ve shocked her.

“We need to talk. Say goodbye to everyone, Meebs, you’re coming with me,” I tell her.

“What? I...” she stutters.

I expect Sophie to start shouting and screaming. Instead, she fist pumps the air and shouts, “Fuck yeah.”

I don’t say another word to anyone. I keep a tight grip on Nina’s hand and pull her through the crowd and along the corridor toward the emergency exit doors. We head down the stairs in silence and out through another emergency exit. There’s security at all of them.

Matt, my usual driver when I’m in England, is waiting outside leaning against a Land Cruiser. He nods his head and without a word, opens the back door of the car. I stand aside to let Nina in, but she stops dead in her tracks and folds her arms across her chest.

“Get in the car, Meebs. I’ll take you home, but we need to talk first.”

Her eyes meet mine, her chin tilts in defiance, but her eyes are shining like they’re filled with tears. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“Meebs, get in the fucking car. The very least you can do is give me an explanation.”

A tear rolls down her cheek, and she swipes it away angrily.

“The very leastIcan do? The very fucking leastIcan do. You’ve got some nerve, Conner Reed. After everythingyouputmethrough, the very least I can do is giveyouan explanation? Get fucked.”

I pick her up by her waist and lift her into the car, evoking a scream. Climbing in after her, Matty shuts the door behind us.

Matty has been my driver and close protection since the band first made it big. Over the years, he’s become a mate, and he knows me well enough now to wait outside the car and give me a minute to talk to Nina.

Nina. I don’t know why I’m now calling her Nina in my head. She’s Meebs, always will be, whether she fucking likes it or not.

I tilt my head back and stare up at the roof interior of the car.

What the fuck am I thinking?

There’s probably a hundred paps surrounding the venue, and if any of them have one of those big fuck off zoom lenses they like to use, they’ve probably just gotten a dozen shots of what looks like me kidnapping a tiny blonde.

Fuck! I have kidnapped a tiny blonde.

I turn to look at her. She’s pushed as far into the opposite corner of the car as she can get, as far away from me as she can possibly be.

Her bottom lip is quivering, and she wipes away a tear with the back of her hand.

“I’m sorry, Meebs. I’m so sorry. Please don’t cry.”

She wraps both her arms around herself, and I feel like a complete cunt for making her cry.