Safe In A Stranger's Arms

Chapter Nineteen

Justin's POV

I was furious. You could literally see the smoke coming out of my ears at the sight in front of me. I didn't even pay attention to Caitlin as she repeatedly called my name. All I could think about was what I was witnessing.

Derek was here. Right in front of us. Along with that smug smirk that I completely loathed on his face. The worst part was that he was talking to Cameron and Josh, which wasn't fucking good. Just by the way they were glancing around the room and were standing incredibly close to each other, you could tell they were up to no good. 

"Justin, are you okay?" Caitlin's voice threw me off as I quickly looked down at her. She had a worried face, probably due to the fact that I blanked out for a good few minutes. I didn't blame her.

"What? Y-yeah, I'm fine." I quickly grabbed her hand and held it in mine tightly. "We should get going, don't want to keep you up too late." I lied as I practically dragged her out of the lobby.

It didn't work out as great when she tugged her hand back and stood in front of me. Her eyes met mine as her eyebrows furrowed, creating creases on her forehead. Confused Caitlin was back. "Justin, what's wrong?"

My eyes locked back to the three guys. I watched intently as Josh handed a roll of money to Derek and quickly slipped it into the pocket inside his leather jacket. He had a mischievous grin on his face, along with the other two. They were saying things to each other which I couldn't make out, only the low and raspy mumbles of their voices could be heard. 

"What are you even looking at?" Caitlin said as she turned her body around to see what I had my attention on. I quickly took her hand and pulled her body close to me so she couldn't see them. "Justin, please tell me." She whined.

I pinched the bridge of my nose with my fingers and sighed. "Fine." I spit. "Josh and Cameron are talking to that fucking prick, Derek. I can tell they're up to something so can we please just get out of here?" My voice was aggressive due to the anger I had inside of me. The last thing I wanted was to even have contact with that asshole. 

Without another thought, I turned around and pulled her with me towards the doors of the venue. The cold Chicago weather hit us instantly as we stepped outside to the dark sky and empty sidewalk. There were still a few security guards out and the band's tour bus was parked right in front of the entrance. 

"You parked the car over there, right?" 

"Yep." I replied, smoke escaping my mouth from the cold air. 

Before we could even cross the road, the sound of one of the security guards echoed throughout the street, stopping me and Caitlin in our tracks. I turned around, more pissed than before. "Excuse me, miss." The big guy motioned to Caitlin. "I have to check your bag." 

"And why is that necessary?" I growled, my anger growing rapidly. I turned my head to see a scared and nervous looking Caitlin. Her skin was pale except for her rosy cheeks from the cold. I squeezed her hand, which I was still holding, in reassurance. 

"We've been told that there has been drug use in the venue and we need to check everyone's belongings." He took a step closer to us while his hand was out in front of him, with a bright flashlight in his other hand. 

"She doesn't have anything." I groaned, more impatient than ever.

"Sir, we still have to check." 

I finally gave in as I let go of Caitlin's hand and asked her to give me her bag. She slid it off her shoulder and handed it to me, before I gave it to the tall man. He patted the sides of the leather and then unzipped it, aiming the light to get a better look. He nodded his head and handed it back to her. "Thank you."