Thinking of Molly, I smiled. “I’m definitely not alone. It’s a good feeling.”

Lia read my mind. “So, with this new development, where does that leave things between you and Ms. Ray?”

I shrugged. “I’m in love with her, but you knew that already, didn’t you?”

She offered me a smug smile.

“I don’t know how it happened, Lee. It came out of nowhere, completely out of the blue. One minute she was a friend that I liked to hang out with sometimes, and the next she was consuming practically every waking thought. I don’t know how she feels about me, but I can’t imagine my life without her in it.”

“Aww, is Mr. Tough Guy Mike Carson actually being sentimental? Has he found the woman he would die for?”

Before I could respond, to tell her I would kill for Molly, Lia’s phone went off again. “Really, Red. Answer the damn phone.”

She scowled at it. “I don’t recognize the number.” Picking it up, she used her professional voice, “This is Lia Kelly.”

I smiled at that. The red-headed, pig-tailed little girl that I used to know was all grown up.

“Thank you for calling me back, Anneslee.” She sat up straight and snapped her fingers at me, trying to grab my attention. It wasn’t needed. As soon as she’d said Molly’s sister’s name, there was nothing I wanted more than to hear what was going on.

Lia explained the problems Molly had had with Eli and how she had replaced him as Molly’s manager, and then she told Anneslee how we’d found Molly earlier. Then she listened. I couldn’t hear what was being said on the other end of the phone, but Lia’s face fell and then went pale. Whatever it was, it wasn’t good news.

“We found some of those letters, too.” Her voice was no more than a whisper. “But Molly thought they were from Roxy.” I knew instantly they were talking about those random letters that had the bible verses in them.

When Lia stood up, I stood up with her, shadowing her as she rushed to the door. “I had no idea. No, Molly didn’t tell me.” I didn’t like the sound of that at all. “Thank you, Anneslee.” Lia paused, pointing at the black suburban on the other side of the street. I waved at them, letting them know we had to go. Now. “Yes, I’ll have her call you later tonight. I promise.”

The SUV pulled up to the curb just as Lia hung up. She slid into the backseat, still looking at her phone. “Fuck!” Telling the driver to take us to the concert venue, she shoved her cell phone under my face.

I looked at the picture, moving it away a little so I could figure out what I was looking at. It was a picture of a letter on a table, but when I looked closer I could see it was more than that. In large black block letters was a bible chapter. Exodus 21:12. I looked back to Lia, not understanding. “Okay? Is this new?”

“That’s a text from Emily. That letter”—she tapped her screen—“was delivered yesterday. To the hotel. The postmark is from L.A.”

“She’s here. Roxy, or whoever sent those letters, is here.”

“He. It’s a him, Mike. And he’s here.” Lia snatched her phone from my hand, punched in a number, and lifted it to her ear. “Molly’s friend who died? His name was Kevin. Apparently he killed himself a few months ago. Apparently his little brother came to see Anneslee, demanding information on Molly. She told him if he didn’t stop stalking her sister that she’d have him arrested. Instead of calling the police, she called Eli.” Lia lowered her phone, swearing, before lifting it again. “Why in the fuck is no one answering their phones?”

Fucking Eli. Helpless and stuck in a car where I couldn’t put eyes on my girl to make sure she was fine, I glanced at the time. “Nate’s on stage. Call the others.”

She nodded. “Yeah, but Sam, Kris, and Peterson aren’t! That’s who I’m calling,” she cried, desperation filling her voice as she lowered the phone again, bringing up another number. Pointing to my phone, she demanded, “Google Exodus 21:12.”

I nodded as she swore again, trying yet another number.

As soon as I pulled up the verse, the world dropped out from under me. I read it to Lia. “Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death.”

“That makes no sense. Molly never killed anyone.”

My mind whirled, trying to put together all the pieces. Molly may not have killed anyone, but Kevin was dead. The same Kevin who fathered the baby Molly gave up for adoption. The earlier letters called her a whore. He knew. Whoever this asshole was, he knew about Bryant. And he blamed my girl for his brother’s death.

“He’s here to kill her,” I ground out, praying to any God who would listen that we got to the venue in time. “Get someone on the goddamn phone and make sure they put Molly in a secure location!” I wasn’t there. I’d been too focused on my shit with Julie, just like I had been four years ago. I’d made a vital mistake that cost some of my brothers their lives. I’d barely made it back from the brink of depression. If Molly paid the ultimate price this time, there would be no coming back from that.

It didn’t take hours for us to get to the venue, but it felt like it. Sam was outside, in the middle of a security nightmare. Fans had snuck into the back lot and onto the buses. They, along with a handful of local police, looked like they had most of it under control.

Sam stepped away from the huddle when he saw Lia and me, walking with us as Lia started to fill him in. She’d only said the words, “Molly’s stalker is here,” when he started screaming into his radio for all available team members to get into the venue. The ruckus caught the attention of the police, who were suddenly everywhere.

At the door, a police officer tried to stop me, wanting me to wait, but I didn’t listen. It was my Molly inside, and he had no idea what that felt like. Instead, I shoved Lia into Sam’s arms and ran, pulling my 9mm out as I moved.

Nate was in the middle of his set, Billy’s drums drowning out most noise backstage. I made it to Molly’s room before anyone else, and pushed my ear against the door, breathing a sigh of relief when I heard her voice.

“Then shoot me. Because I’m not telling you anything.” She told whoever she was with, her voice calm.

“I’m not kidding. Tell me!” a man screamed back. I closed my eyes. I would beat him within an inch of his life when I got my hands on him.

“I’m not, either, Jamie. I’m not telling you anything about him. If Kevin had wanted to know, or wanted you to know our son, he would have told you the truth. We didn’t want our son tainted by your family. Nothing’s changed. So you either shoot me, or you leave. Because either way, I’m not telling you anything.”

Shut up, Molly! I screamed in my mind. Just shut up. You don’t tell a man with a gun to shoot you.

I glanced down the hallway, not seeing anyone else. I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to go in there, with or without backup. I pushed the door open slightly, trying to get eyes on them.

The man moved quickly, running across the room with his own gun drawn. My heart stopped beating as I watched him hold it to her head. The look on his face was one I’d seen thousands of times. It was one of a man who didn’t have anything to live for, and he didn’t care who he took out with him. There was no doubt in my mind that he was going to kill Molly.

I did what I was trained to do. I raised my piece, aimed, and shot. His body fell with a thud, but I barely heard it. Instead, I focused on Molly as she gasped, falling down.

The room was full before I could move. Sam and Kris rushed toward the man Molly had called Jamie. Kris kicked Jamie’s gun across the floor, while Sam knelt to feel for a pulse. Peterson ran to Molly, a police officer on his heels, calling dispatch on his radio and telling them what had happened. Someone pulled the berretta from my fingers, but all I cared about was getting to Molly. I’d shot her—it was the only damn shot I’d had. If it meant that she’d be here with me, alive, with only a small scar, I’d do it all over again.