Chapter 80
Howie had taken his seat and was laughing with his family as she continued her set. She was midway through it when she caught a glimpse of a dark haired man standing against the wall, his arms crossed, a dangerous stare focused on her. Something inside set off warning bells, cautioning her to be leery of him.
During the next two songs, both Howie and John began to realize something was very wrong.
"What’s going on with Kris?" John asked, leaning over towards his brother. "She’s not acting right."
"I’m not sure. Get security to scan the place, particularly the left side of the stage. She keeps looking over that way."
As John left the table, Kristina ended her song and made her way back towards the rest of the band. She took sheet music from her folder lying on the piano and handed it to her guitar player. They began what seemed to be a serious discussion and soon conversed briefly with the rest of the band. Nodding their heads as if they understood what she wanted, she walked back to the front of the stage and turned her eyes towards Howie, touching her choker. Her face was pale and her eyes were filled with fear as she once again turned back towards the crowd. Howie knew immediately what was wrong. Stephen was in the club and she had seen him.
Stephen’s pay off had gained him entrance to the club that night and he had managed to go undetected by Sarah and anyone else who might know his face. He had learned through his ‘employee’ that a flyer with his identity had been passed around the staff with explicit instructions to apprehend him if they saw him. He was to get NO where near Howie or Kristina. Now, in his anger, he had moved to close to the stage and she had seen him. She knew that he was there.
"This song is new and a little different for me. It may be a little rough since we’ve never played it before, but there is someone in the audience tonight that needs to hear it. Thanks for your patience and I hope you like it" she said as the lights dimmed and she began to speak, pointing into the crowd.
"After all you put me through, you’d think I despise you. But in the end, I wanna thank you ‘cause you made me that much stronger."
Sarah turned to Howie, a terrified look on her face. "What’s wrong? Who is she talking to?"
"I’m not sure. I’ve got security scanning the place right now."
AJ leaned closer, having to practically yell as Kristina started to sing. "Is HE here?"
Howie shrugged his shoulders, hoping that his true emotions were not betraying him.
"Well, I thought I knew you, thinking that you were true. Guess I couldn’t trust, called your bluff, time is up ‘cause I’ve had enough. You were there by my side, Always down for the ride. But your joy ride just came down in flames ‘cause your greed sold me out of shame. After all of the stealing and cheating you probably think that I hold resentment for you but uh uh, oh no, you’re wrong. ‘Cause if it wasn’t for all that you tried to do I wouldn’t know just how capable I am to pull through. So, I wanna say thank you!
‘Cause it makes me that much stronger, makes me work a little bit harder, it makes me that much wiser, so, thanks for making me a fighter. Made me learn a little bit faster, makes my skin a little bit thicker, makes me that much smarter, So thanks for making me a fighter!"
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The anger in Stephen was boiling now. She was singing about him, to him, for everyone to hear and he wanted to put his hands around her neck and strangle the life from her. How dare she tell the world their business, to make fun of him, to tell him that she was stronger because of all that he had done to her? This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be. "Oh, this bitch is gonna pay!" he said angrily, although no one could hear him over her voice.
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"Oh My God, Howie! He’s here. She’s talking about Stephen!" Sarah all but screamed, standing up from her seat and looking around the club.
"Sarah, sit down!" AJ said pulling her back into her seat. "There are too many people in this club and you will do nothing but draw attention to yourself. You certainly don’t want him to know that you are here too. Let Howie’s security team handle it. We are safe for now!"
"He’s right, Sarah. Try to relax" Howie added as he caught Fiona’s attention. She and Nick were now staring at him, looking for answers as to what was going on. He simply shrugged his shoulders and searched the crowd again with his eyes in an attempt to protect Kristina from any sudden movements.
"Never, saw it coming. All of your backstabbing, just so you could cash in on a good thing before I realized your game. I heard you’re going around, playing the victim now. But don’t even begin feeling I’m the one to blame, ‘Cause you dug your own grave. After all of the fights and the lies you wanted to harm me but that won’t work anymore. Uh huh, no more! Oh no, ‘cause if it wasn’t for all of your torture I wouldn’t know how to be this way now, and never back down. So I wanna say thank you."
Realizing that Kristina’s words were becoming more and more harsh by the moment which would only add fuel to Stephen’s rage, Howie stood up and walked over to the side of the stage, feeling satisfied that he would be able to reach her quickly should anything happen.
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Fire blazed in his hardened eyes as he listened carefully to the words she was singing. She had deceived him once again, letting him believe that she was dead. Thinking he had succeeded in killing her, putting her deceptive ways to rest. How did she survive? And who helped her fake it? Now, here she was standing before him, telling him that she wasn’t afraid of him and that he simply made her stronger. Where had this strength in her come from?
"Thank you, Goodnight!" Kristina said after finishing the song, tossing the microphone to the floor and storming off the stage. Howie wasn’t close enough to see the tears of anger she shed as she grabbed the keys to the vette from her dressing room table and burst out the back door of the club.
Reaching the dressing room, one of the new security personnel said to him, "She just left out of here like a tornado!"
"Where did she go?" Howie asked, panicked that Stephen may reach her first.
"I don’t know, Mr. Dorough. She kicked the back door open and went through it like gangbusters. She looked REALLY mad."
Howie heard the squeal of tires as he opened the back door, watching helplessly as she peeled out of the parking lot in his corvette.
"DAMNIT!" he yelled out into the night air.
By this time, John had come up behind him and had a look of horror on his face.
"Was that Kris?" he asked.
"What the hell happened out there?" Howie asked angrily. "I thought security had explicit instructions to be on the lookout for Stephen?"
"They did. They do" John answered defensively.
"Then explain to me what the hell had her so spooked and prompted that song? Obviously she thought that he was here."
"I don’t know, little brother. But, I’ve scheduled a mandatory meeting after the club shuts down. We’ll stay till we get to the bottom of this."
"You better believe we will. I just hope Kris comes back and can tell us what happened."