Rock the City: A Midnight Fate Novel by Gia Riley Read Free Book Online Page B

Lane tries to turn around and get to me, but they won’t let him.
    Reed moves toward the door, opening the three that were closed just as shrill screams light up the space around me. The mad rush toward the exit sends two girls standing on the other side of the barrier to the floor, their shrieks becoming muffled as they’re trampled.
    I try to help them, yanking on the cold metal fencing separating us, but it won’t budge. It’s only when the crowd starts jumping over the barrier into the safe space where I’m standing that I realize I’m about to be in the same situation. With all my might, I latch onto the metal bars, praying they don’t knock me down, too.
    Screaming for Reed, I look for his towering frame, but he’s fighting against the masses to get to me. I can either let go and risk falling or stay where I am, hoping he gets to me before it’s too late.
    I’m scared to death but I choose to hang on, scraping my nails against the metal to the point they’re breaking off. Just as a drop of blood trickles down my wrist, I’m jolted from behind, my ribs screaming as loud as the voices in my head. Even though my brain’s in full panic mode, my body won’t move from where I am.
    Lyrics from the song they were playing before they left the stage swirl around in my mind, and I force myself to focus on them. By the time I get through them, Reed will come and get me and this nightmare will all be over.
    You’re all I need in this life.
    I will love you.
    But I’m fading so fast.
    Tell me that wasn’t our last hello before good-bye.
    Breathe with me.
    I’m fading. Fading so fast.
    I say them once more but Reed still hasn’t come, and just like the song says, I can’t hold on much longer. In a split-second decision, and with numb fingertips, I let go, prepared to either fall to the floor or fade into the sea of colors around me.
    All the bodies and equipment around me disappears into a meaningless blur. My eyes are so watery all I can see is the flashing red and white exit sign—my finish line.
    Breathe with me.
    I’m not fading. I won’t fade so fast.
    Two steps toward freedom and steel arms wrap around me, hoisting me up and over a strong shoulder. My sore ribs bounce against bone and muscle as my savior runs up some stairs, across a dark floor and through a dimly lit corridor.
    A minute later, we bust through a door. The only indication that we’re outside are the black patches of gum left behind on the cement and the glowing yellow lines leading us away from the building.
    When the yellow brick road finally ends, I’m thrown into the back of an SUV with so much force I hit the leather seat and roll off onto the floor, landing on a floor mat below. Tiny rocks dig into my legs, but I’m so stunned I curl into a ball, praying whoever has me will take me back to Lane.
    Seconds later, the driver steps on the gas pedal so hard my body’s jolted against the back of his seat. I latch onto the pocket of the front seat, knocking a magazine to the floor as I try to sit up, but I don’t get far on my own.
    Even though I raise my head and see a shadow in front of me, I can’t see who it is. His face is so blurred by my tears, but until now I didn’t even realize I was crying. The only place I’ve existed is in my head, song lyrics getting me through chaos.
    His voice stops floating around me and his words begin to make sense. “Noelle, talk to me.”
    His voice is the sweetest victory. “Lane,” I whisper around a strangled sob.
    Once he realizes I’m out of the fog, he pulls me off the floor and into his lap. With his arms around me, and his kisses, he slowly brings me back to reality. It’s the first breath I can remember taking where I wasn’t slowly suffocating.
    “Noelle, baby, talk to me.”
    My shaky hands with broken nails on each finger reach for his torn shirt. Pulling the fabric apart a little farther, I try to look at his skin. “Are you hurt?”
    He glances at his side to see what I’m