The Chilling Spree by LS Sygnet Read Free Book Online Page A

ushered us to the right side of the stage, down a
flight of stairs and toward a security guard.  He paused long
enough to yell something neither Devlin or I could hear over the
throbbing din of music.  The guard nodded and escorted us to
the front center section of the front most barricade.  He
leaned close.
    “Enjoy the show!”
    I saw no need to stand in front of Devlin
until I realized the hand that started groping my ass didn’t belong
to my date.

 
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter 5

    Our guard escort returned twenty minutes
later with two large glasses of beer in his hands.  “From
Swanson,” he shouted.
    I glanced up at the grinning singer on
stage.  Uh-huh.  Right.  I was wary of drinking
anything I didn’t watch the vendor dispense, but Devlin had no such
qualms.  He guzzled.  I tentatively sipped.  The
fact that we were served more Guinness made me exceedingly
paranoid.  I felt my discomfort radiating in waves. 
Surely Devlin felt it too.
    His lips brushed the shell of my ear. 
“You’re not having a good time.”
    Guilt, that hated and waste of emotional
energy, shrouded me.  Hadn’t he told me – repeatedly – for the
past week how much he was looking forward to this concert? 
His hand curled around my waist.
    “If you want to go –”
    I rested my hand over his, let my fingers
slide between his and shook my head.  “Sorry, Dev.  I’m
trying to shake it off.”
    “Don’t give him the power to ruin our
night.  Was he here because he wanted to be with you?”
    More like lord his authority over me. 
The dagger hit my heart.  Unfortunately, Devlin saw the effect
his question had on me.  The hand at my waist tightened. 
“I’m sorry,” lips moved in slow motion.
    “No, don’t apologize.  You’re
right.”
    “Drink your beer,” he urged.
    Alcohol, my anesthesia of choice.  For
a split second, I hoped someone had dropped a hit of something else
into the cup before handing it to me.  I tipped the cup to my
lips and let the pungent liquid roll over taste buds down a willing
throat.  Wasn’t this the excuse Johnny planned to use to throw
me off a case that by all accounts should’ve belonged to Dev and
me?  If I had the label, I may as well embrace it.
    I tossed the empty cup to the floor and let
Devlin pull me back into a thrashing rhythm.  Soon enough, the
alcohol hit my blood stream.  The arms around me soothed away
some of the pain I’d been grappling with since Johnny’s little mind
wipe. 
    Maybe Ned was right.  There was no
indication that Johnny was interested in anything other than
blaming me for a lot – even though he wasn’t exactly wrong to do
so.  He lost his cover, lost his memory, maybe gained some
insecurities.  I never asked him to follow me anywhere. 
I never wanted him pushing his way into my life.
    At least Devlin showed enough respect to let
me make the decision to spend time with him. 
    More beer appeared.
    Madden struck familiar chords.  A
memory floated back to me.  I hadn’t been completely
forthright with Devlin when he invited me to see this band in
concert.  Yes, I had bought records based on a name that I
knew Marie would have a fit of apoplexy over when she saw
them.  But I wasn’t ignorant to the music, and there were bits
and pieces of the band’s songs that I knew very well.  Before
long, one fist was in the air and I was singing along at the top of
my lungs.
    I felt Devlin’s laughter ripple through my
chest.  His lips grazed my neck.  The fist uncurled over
my head and reached around to ruffle through the hair at the nape
of his neck.  His arms tightened around me in response. 
I melted into the embrace, head tipped backward against his
chest.
    “Helen?”
    “I don’t want to hurt anymore,” I said.
    As a general rule, I am not accustomed to
feeling the protective instincts of men.  Only one man ever
got away with it – my father.  But Devlin’s snuggled around me
in that instant, and for the first time in