Until Next Time (The Shooting Stars Series) (24 page)

“Thanks, Kaitlyn, but I’m in the middle of a tour. I can’t just quit; my label would flip.”

“And if you OD next time or you’re too screwed up to finish a show, then what will they do?” she countered.

“If I end it all, purposely or accidentally, they’ll simply capitalize on it,” he shrugged.

“Please don’t say that, Adam,” she pleaded around a tight throat.

“When I called you at Christmas I was thinking about doing just that, Kaitlyn. I’m miserable. I got the music career I wanted, more money than I know what to do with, more stuff than any twenty people need, and women ready to fall in my bed and I just want to end it all,” his brown eyes were tortured when they met hers.

“Check yourself in, I mean it, Adam; I will come see you and will stand by you all the way,” she couldn’t stop her tears.

“What would Ken say about that?” he asked her.

“
Derrick
would live with it,” she assured him.

“Thank you, Kaitlyn, for caring and trying to help, but I couldn’t do it if I tried. They would never let me simply walk away,” he informed her.

“Last I knew you were a pretty resourceful guy,” she reminded him.

“I’ve missed you, Kaitlyn,” he offered her a smile; his eyes were studying hers.

“I’ve missed you too,” she returned with a smile before she had to look away.

“Have you and Ken set a date?”

“Adam,” she shot him an impatient look.

“I’m sorry, have you and Derrick set a date?”

“We haven’t,” she admitted.

“There’s something wrong with this guy,” Adam shook his head.

“Derrick is a nice guy,” she insisted.

“Good; you deserve a nice guy.”

His gaze was studying her again, almost caressing her before it lingered on her mouth; her lips began to tingle.

“I should probably go,” Katherine flew to her feet. She was engaged to a nice man, a stable man with a promising career and they had planned a future together. She needed to remember that.

“Let me walk you out,” he volunteered. “Or better yet…” he grinned. He tracked down Sam and a moment later Adam, two body guards in tow, claimed a golf cart from security.

“Where are you parked?” he asked her.

Katherine smiled and climbed onto the seat before giving him the row and section she was parked in. She was rather relieved for the escort given how far away she was parked from the amphitheater. The lot was rather dark too.

“You’re way out here, aren’t you?” Adam noted.

“I was late,” she reminded him.

Adam parked beside her car and hopped off the cart, the two guards stepped off to scan the area cautiously.

Katherine stood and accepted the hug Adam offered.

“Adam, promise me you will think about what I said?” she requested as she leaned back in his arms to look up at him.

“I’ll think about it,” he nodded and then kissed her forehead. He pulled her back close and squeezed her.

“Bye, Kaitlyn.”

“I hate that word,” she informed him as she stepped from his arms and dug her keys out.

“Me too,” he agreed.

“Until next time, Adam. Call me if you need me.”

Adam smiled and nodded.

“Until next time; I like that.”

Adam watched Kaitlyn leave and felt the darkness close back in on him; he wanted only to escape the reality of the life he’d built. He watched her taillights fade and then climbed back onto the cart to return back inside. His dressing room had already been cleared by the time he returned inside and he went to his bus to climb on board. It had been a long day and he was exhausted but he didn’t think he could sleep. He reached for a bottle of Jack Daniels and a medicine bottle from the cabinet above the sink. He shook a few pills into his hand and stared at them. All he had to do was pop them and follow them with a long drink of the whiskey so he could escape, at least for a little while. The oblivion would be welcome.

Kaitlyn’s pleading eyes swam through his mind and he closed his eyes. The woman was everything that was goodness and kindness and even now she believed in his ability to be a better man than he was. Adam shook his head. The woman had to be the biggest optimist that ever lived and yet somehow knowing she believed he could do it made him want to believe it too. Adam opened his eyes and stared at the pills in his hand. He turned the sink on and washed them down the drain before dumping the rest of the bottle behind them. He emptied the remaining bottles in the cabinet and dug the stash from his luggage, each went down the drain. The alcohol followed; the empty pill bottles and alcohol bottles began pilling up in the floor.

When the last of it was gone, he shoved a few things in a bag and glanced out the window at the crew where they were loading equipment. In a few minutes, his driver would be along to start the long drive to the next venue. He didn’t have long if he was going to do this. For a moment he almost backed out. It was now or never. He knew if he didn’t do this soon, he was going to burn out rather than fade away as the old song suggested. He hopped off the bus and rounded its front, away from where the crew was loading and surveyed the area around him.

He waited until the crew returned inside and darted around the side of the building away from the loading areas. Several minutes later he slipped quietly from the parking lot and chose to stay in the shadows. He walked to the nearest gas station, thankful that it was closed, and used the pay phone to call a cab. He had actually done it; he had walked away and no one had seen him. An hour later the cab stopped in front of the address Adam had given the driver and Adam paid the bill.

Adam, his insides knotting painfully, stared at the building before him. He was about to find out if he could be a better man and that scared the hell out of him. If he failed this time…no, he couldn’t think that way. He pressed the buzzer for security and watched a guard come to the door.

“Yes?” the man peered at him curiously.

“I’m here to check myself in.”

Twelve

Katherine, her thoughts still troubled as they lingered on Adam, showered and dressed the next morning. She couldn’t help worrying over him. She was preparing to go to a friend’s baby shower when a knock sounded on her door. She opened it to find Sam on her doorstep; she blinked.

“Sam, hi; is Adam okay?” she demanded.

“I’m not sure, that’s why I’m here to see you. This man is a private detective and we have a few questions,” Sam nodded to the man next to him.

“Come in,” she invited and turned to lead them into her apartment. She seated herself in an arm chair and watched as the men perched on the edge of the couch; her stomach was knotted painfully.

“Ace is missing,” Sam came straight to the point. “Last night after he escorted you to your car he was seen climbing onto the bus. When his driver went to see if he was ready to roll out, Adam was gone and there was a large number of empty medicine and liquor bottles lying around. Needless to say we are very worried. We need to know what you two discussed and anything that might help us find him. We’re hoping he didn’t take all that…” Sam, his eyes hazel eyes concerned, broke off.

Katherine felt panic slam through her as she considered Adam’s frame of mind the night before. He certainly had not been in a good place; she wanted to cry.

“We chatted, caught up; he talked about Mia. I can’t…” she fought tears, “I don’t know.” She started to mention the pamphlets she’d given him and then thought better of it. On the chance that he had decided to get help she did not want to lead the money hungry record company straight to him.

“He wasn’t in a great frame of mind,” she admitted.

“That’s what worries us too. Think, Kaitlyn, is there anything he said that might help?” Sam encouraged.

“I can’t think of a single thing, Sam; we just chatted and caught up. That was pretty much it.”

“Thank you, anyway, Kaitlyn. If you hear anything please call me. I’m worried about him, Kaitlyn,” Sam handed her one of his business cards after jotting down a secondary number. Katherine saw them to the door and closed it behind them before she returned to her couch and sank onto it.

“Please, Adam, be okay,” she pleaded as her tears spilled over. The thought of him lying hurt somewhere, or worse, dead made her want to throw up. She didn’t know how long she sat there worrying and crying before a glance at the clock had her hurrying to her feet and out the door. She had somewhere to be and if she was going to make it, she needed to hurry.

Katherine grabbed her gift, purse, and keys and made her way out to her car. She frowned as she negotiated traffic. She could swear there was a black sedan following her. After considering it further, she laughed at herself. No one had any reason to be following her; she needed to get a grip on herself.

She arrived at the shower and forced a smile to greet her friends. Courtney, the mom to be, looked happy and content. Katherine sighed; she wished she felt happy and content. Katherine managed to smile and talk as the shower progressed, but her thoughts remained troubled.

“Are you okay,” Kristen finally asked her as she pulled her aside.

“A friend of mine is in some trouble and I can’t quit worrying about him,” Katherine admitted as she blinked against tears.

“What kind of trouble?” Kristen’s eyes showed her concern.

“He’s gotten mixed up in drugs and drinking,” she admitted. “I’ve encouraged him to get help but beyond that,” she shrugged.

“Don’t let Derrick know,” Kristen advised. “He will cut this person off from you.”

Katherine knew there was some bad blood between Derrick and Kristen; the two had been engaged a few years earlier.

“I’m sorry, Katherine, I shouldn’t have said that,” Kristen apologized. “But he did run a friend of mine out of my life because he felt she was a bad influence on me. If this friend is a man he will be worse, trust me on this.”

“Thanks for the warning but I won’t stand back and let Derrick run a friend out of my life, especially one who needs my help,” Katherine assured her friend.

“I hope not, Katherine; I’m a little surprised he allows you to be friends with me.”

“Don’t you think you’re exaggerating?” Katherine asked.

“No, I don’t but maybe he’s changed; I hope so. We should get back in there,” Kristen suggested.

Katherine frowned as she watched Kristen rejoin the others. She had come to count Kristen as a good friend and was confused by her acidic words against Derrick; it wasn’t like Kristen. She wondered what Derrick had done to leave such a bad taste in Kristen’s mouth and then reminded herself that it took two to build a relationship and it took two to destroy one. Whatever had happened, they had both played roles in it.

As soon as the shower was over, Katherine went to buy her groceries. The papers caught her attention as she waited in the checkout line. Adam’s disappearance had made the front page; two blurry pictures prompted her to snatch the paper up for a closer look. One of the photos was of Adam hugging her after the concert. The angle of the picture meant she was not readily identifiable. Unless someone who knew her recognized the dress and her curls hanging down her back. She bit her lip and smiled when she noticed Adam had a hand full of her curls. The other picture had been taken in the parking lot; she had not seen anyone around. She was leaned back in Adam’s arms looking up at him. Thankfully it had been taken at a great distance and the quality was not good enough to discern who she was.

“Miss,” the cashier called for her attention.

“Sorry,” she muttered as she laid the paper on the conveyer belt before adding her other purchases.

Back at her apartment she put away her things and checked her messages; she hadn’t done so since last night and found she had a back log of calls.

“Katherine where are you? I guess you were held up at work.”
It was Derrick.

“Hey sweetie I was just checking on you.”
Her mom's voice floated into the room.

“Hey Kattie, Amy here, I need your measurements so I can order your dress.”

“Katherine where on earth are you? Didn't you get my flowers? I told you I would call. I'll call again.”

“Katherine I'm starting to worry. Are you mad at me?”

“Katherine I assuming that you are angry with me. I'll be in day after tomorrow, we'll talk then.”

“Katherine, this is ridiculous. It’s now Saturday morning and you still won’t talk to me?”

Katherine let the tape rewind and sighed. Derrick was obviously upset with her. Her phone rang and she snatched it up.

“Hello?” she answered.

“So you’re over being angry at me?” Derrick demanded without preamble.

“I am not mad at you, Derrick. I was held up at work last night and then had to rush home to change and then back out the door and it was late when I got in and then this morning was Courtney’s shower.”

“Why did you have to rush back out the door last night?”

“I went to a concert,” she admitted.