Masterpiece (A Chris Motionless Love Story)

Chapter Nine - Protection

LILITH'S POV
I was frozen, and so was Chris. Neither one of us knew how to react to it.

"Are you saying that Lilith is in danger?" Chris finally asked, grabbing the phone from me.

"Yes, Mrs. Solace is in immense danger. Now, my suggestion is that she is kept out of the public eye, and someone should always be with her. I know that's not easy to do right now but-" Chris cut the detective off.

"I'll cancel the tour, I'll hire extra security, I'll do anything to keep her safe." Chris stated. I shook my head at him. I couldn't make him put his life on hold.

"The safest option is to keep her on the road. Right now, if she were at home she'd be an easy target considering her name is on the building she lives in. I have round the clock security posted outside the funeral home, so everything should be okay. Mrs. Solace, I promise, we will catch them." The detective hung up, and I sat in bed petrified. It's not exactly a call you expect at 4am, especially when you've decided you can cope with what happened. It was all too much. I felt like my lungs had collapsed, like someone had gut punched me and knocked my breath away. I started grabbing at my chest, struggling for air.

"Lilith, are you okay? Can you breathe?" Chris started asking. I couldn't speak, I couldn't move. His anxiety almost fed off of mine, but he was able to calm himself down, fearing that his anxiety would make my anxiety attack worse. He rubbed my back, and pulled my into his chest. The tears finally came and I felt as if I was wailing once I caught my breath. I wasn't sure if it was the shear panic of knowing someone was coming after me, or the knowledge that the person who killed my husband wasn't being punished for their wrongdoing.
When everyone woke up Chris called them into our room, and we all stood around.

"The situation at hand is rather... severe. The person who killed my husband is not behind bars, and they have reason to believe they are out to get me. We have no clue who it is, other than the connection to the case I worked that I lost." I informed them. Everyone stared in disbelief, and I didn't blame them. It was almost something out of a movie.

"So what does this mean? I mean, if they look online you are everywhere, and if they know exactly who we are they know where we are. What's the plan of action?" Justin asked. I shrugged my shoulders, and handed the rest off to Chris.

"I called for extra security, so every event is going to be highly secured and monitored until we know for sure there is no threat." Chris explained.

"Would she be safer in Scranton at home under the surveillance of the police?" Ricky piped up. Chris shook his head.

"Already checked, they said it puts everyone at risk because she lives at the funeral home. They do have someone posted outside round the clock, though." Chris seemed like he was more prepared for these questions than I was.

"So, the short of it is that Lilith can not be alone? Is that what I'm getting?" Ryan asked. Chris nodded his head, and we disbanded the meeting of my safety so we could all get dressed and ready for the day ahead of us. I splashed my face with some cold water from the sink, and stood there with my eyes shut for a minute when Chris came in and interrupted my quiet time. I stuck my finger up at him, signifying I needed a second to process things or I was going to have another freak out.

"Lil, I know what you're doing. You're bottling up your emotions, we need to talk about it. You haven't expressed how you're feeling about it." He didn't heed my warning.

"Chris, how the hell am I supposed to feel! I want to cope with this, I want to move on, I want to be happy with you! But I feel like I just took a huge step back, and I don't know how to go forward. I feel like my chest is going to explode, like I have water in my lungs. Chris, I don't know what to do." I broke down and fell on the bathroom floor. He got on the floor with me and pulled me onto his lap. He didn't know what to say.

"Lilith, I don't have anything to say that will take away this pain, and I wish I did. However, I will tell you, I will go to the ends of this earth to keep you safe and out of harms way."
After what felt like hours on the bus, we finally got to the next venue, and I could feel my heart beating out of my chest. I stayed close to Chris and clung onto his arm as he walked in front of me, and the guys were behind me. As soon as we met up with the guys in Black Veil Brides and Ice Nine Kills, Chris re-explained the whole situation, not wanting me to get worked up again.

"No one is gonna fuck with her man, not on my watch." Spencer expressed. Chris squeezed my hand, and I could tell he was anxious. I mean, who wouldn't be? He just got me back in his life, and now I'm at risk of being murdered. Even though I had security everywhere, and multiple people watching after me, something didn't feel right in my gut. Whoever this was had to be calculated, collected, able to pull it off. It could be anyone at the venue if they are actually here. Chris could tell I was nervous and that something was off.

"Lilith, what's wrong?" He asked. I shook my head, claiming it was nothing. "If anyone is making you feel uneasy you need to say something immediately." He warned.

"No, I'm fine, I'm just paranoid. There's no way someone would go to these lengths for this." I said it out loud just to reassure myself that I was in fact okay and safe. Chris grabbed my hand again and squeezed it.

"You don't know that. Please, be careful. Don't wander off or anything without anyone with you." He urged. I agreed, and when it came time for the show I sat right next to the stage with him, they were the last performance of the night. I broke the silence finally.

"Chris, I had my lawyer do papers real fast. In the event that something does happen, the funeral home will go to you. Sell it, keep it, I don't care. There's a plot next to my husbands that's mine, the cemetery will know which one. My prearrangements are in a file in our prearrangement drawer" he cut me off.

"Stop! Just, stop. Lilith, I don't want to think about losing you!" He shouted. The guys came rushing over, and I stared at him with my eyes wide.

"Death happens, Chris. I just wanted you to know so you're not struggling on what to do." I told him. He shook his head, then leaned it back so the tears in his eyes wouldn't screw up his makeup.

"What do I sign?" He finally said. I handed him my phone and told him I just needed an e-signature and he needed to send a picture of his license back to my lawyer. He did just that, and excused himself to the bathroom. The guys tried to follow, and he snapped at them quickly, "Stay with Lilith!" They didn't listen, but I had a security guard with me, so I felt like I was fine. I felt someone come up behind me, and then felt something cold against my back. My heart pounded, and I turned around slowly. It was a woman, and it took me by surprise. Her eyes were cold, filled with hatred. I put up my hands, and slowly backed up.

"Listen, I know what this is about, I know everything, but if you stop here I promise you won't get a heavy sentence." I tried to convince her. She shook her head.

"Oh, you have no clue what this is about, I guarantee. We did a good job at keeping it a secret, until he decided he wouldn't leave you." I was confused, but also panicking. What was she talking about? Who wouldn't leave me? "I decided finally if I couldn't have him, you couldn't either. That wasn't enough, though. Somehow you found happiness again, and I just can't have that. Are you really so blind you haven't put it together? Your husband was a CPA, there were no after work meetings for taxes." I looked around for security, but she was the one guard that was standing with me. I heard running feet, and looked over to see some guards coming at that moment, then I heard a BANG, and I fell on the ground. I reached up to my chest, and felt something wet. Blood. I finally shut my eyes, thinking, "this is it".
CHRIS' POV
I ran out of the bathroom and looked around as soon as I heard the shot. Then, I saw it. Lilith was on the ground covered in blood. I ran over to her and pulled her onto my lap, then ripped off my shirt to start applying pressure to the wound.

"Lil, come on, please just wake up. Don't do this to me, you can't leave." I begged and pleaded. She coughed up some blood and her eyes slightly opened. She put her hand on top of mine and I started screaming louder as I held her. She looked at me, and then spoke quietly, "you know all the grieving I did? It wasn't worth it. Maybe I'll see him in hell." I figured she was talking crazy from blood loss. I brushed her hair out of her face and everyone stood around us as we waited for the ambulance. Her pulse started to slow, and I started to cry even more. I couldn't live a life without her.