text: The sight of Iona running across his front yard with a cell phone pressed to her ear sped Jack's pulse. He tore through his house and flung open the front door in time to allow Iona inside.
  
  "It's Avery." Iona shoved the phone at him.
  
  Jack pressed the phone to his ear. "How's Blaine?"
  
  "Stubborn but fine. Doctors don't think she'll have any major problems. They're tending her wound now. She'll be released before the day is over."
  
  Breathing a sigh of relief, Jack braced his hand against the doorframe and closed his eyes. The past couple hours had been the worst of his life. Now he knew what his mama felt that time he'd been hospitalized overseas with a gunshot wound. Not being able to be there when someone you loved was hurting sucked. "Tell me everything."
  
  Avery made an annoyed sound that tensed Jack's body. "Random lovers don't deserve intimate details, Mr. Sander. The information I just gave is more than I would've done, but Blaine insisted. You won't be getting any more."
  
  "Then expect me on Blaine's doorstep as soon as I can get a passport." He'd drive to the nearest issuing center and beg for expedited service if he had to. "Then I'll get the details directly from Blaine."
  
  "Sorry. Blaine isn't allowed to talk to anyone, including her random lovers. Doctor's orders. She needs to rest."
  
  "I am not a random lover." Jack gritted out the words. "I'm her boyfriend, and I'm demanding to know my girlfriend's condition. If you won't tell me, I'll have to get my information another way."
  
  A long moment passed before Avery spoke. "Boyfriend, huh? Let me talk to Blaine, and I'll call back, if you deserve any more details."
  
  Avery cut the call, and Jack cursed. He resisted the urge to slam Iona's cell phone onto the ground and focused on Blaine's best friend. "What did he tell you?"
  
  "The same, except he complained how frustrated he was with the hospital. They examined her, took blood work, then let her suffer in pain for hours before the doctor ever came in to see her." Iona twisted her fingers together. "They gave him the excuse about having to wait for test results to come back and for a specialist to be called in, but it didn't much help when Blaine was slipping in and out of consciousness."
  
  "She was in that much pain?" And he had no way of getting to her. He couldn't even hold her hand.
  
  "I don't know. She was dehydrated too." Iona smoothed her hands over her thighs. "But the good news is she's being taken care of now. Getting discharged today is another good sign."
  
  Yes, it was a good sign, but it didn't make up for the suffering she'd endured. "Did Avery say anything about the attacker?"
  
  Iona shook her head. "I didn't get a chance to ask. I figured you'd want to talk to Avery immediately."
  
  "Thank you." Jack squeezed Iona's shoulder. "Any word from Wyn?" Because Jack wasn't the only one dealing with unexpected shit today. Wyn was too. With Kyle on a flight back from his extra-long honeymoon, Wyn was the one dealing with Neil's issues.
  
  Iona sighed. "Neil was in a helicopter crash. Wyn said he's fine, just knocked up a bit with a few broken bones, and this was standard procedure. Wyn's staying down there overnight since Neil doesn't have any close relatives left. He'll know more in the morning after the specialist sees him."
  
  Neil did have a father, but he hadn't seen the drunk lowlife in years. Jack's dad had stepped in and acted as the fatherly figure Neil needed back in high school. Jack wouldn't be surprised if his dad made the trip down to see Neil too.
  
  Jack nodded. "That's good—"
  
  The phone he held buzzed with an incoming call. After one look at the foreign number, Jack answered. "Avery."
  
  "Blaine wants you to know she's okay. The staff is finally taking care of her and giving her the help she needs. The pain isn't bad at all, and the doctor is optimistic she'll heal without too many issues."
  
  The tone Avery used set Jack on edge. "Who don't you believe? Blaine or the doctors?"
  
  Avery laughed. "That's pretty good insight for an American."
  
  Jack clenched his jaw. Despite the urge to tell Avery where to stick his attitude, Jack resisted. This man was his only point of contact to Blaine. "Well, Avery? Who's lying?"
  
  "Both. Neither. It's hard to tell. I'm only sharing the details as they were shared with me."
  
  "But…" Jack let the pregnant pause grow, hoping Avery would fill in the silence.
  
  "But I was here when Blaine was slipping in and out of unconsciousness. They said she was dehydrated and some people react strongly to pain, but I still remember Blaine as the kid who crashed her bike and walked home with a nasty gash on her hip and didn't tell anyone she'd gotten hurt until days later."
  
  "So you think Blaine is downplaying this?"
  
  Avery's heavy sigh filled the line. "No. It's probably me. I failed my sister. Every second of pain, no matter how little or intense, is my fault."
  
  That was an explanation Jack could understand. "What happened?"
  
  "Iona said you saw the clip. Blaine was hit with a throwing star during the one part in the show I argued with her about, telling her I didn't like the lights out with her so close to her fans. She insisted with me standing feet from her it'd be fine." Avery delivered a string of curse words. "It wasn't fine."
  
  "The attacker?" Jack didn't want excuses.
  
  "A few dozen fans were taken into custody for questioning, but all were released. There were no fingerprints on the star and no evidence on their persons."
  
  "Somebody close to Blaine had to have thrown that star. No witnesses?"
  
  "No. Everybody's eyes were on Blaine. Even Alex didn't see anything, and he was on that side, a few rows back."
  
  "Shit." Tension wound into Jack's muscles. "Whoever hurt Blaine is still on the loose."
  
  "Yes, but Alex is with the police now. They're following up on leads. We'll catch this guy. I promise you that."
  
  "And if you don't?" Because it was a distinct possibility. If her attacker came in with one star, threw it, then slipped into the crowd while chaos reigned, he could escape capture altogether.
  
  "Blaine will be guarded twenty-four seven. I won't risk my sister's life again. She's canceling all appearances until the perpetrator is caught too."
  
  "Who'll be watching her?"
  
  "Me, Alex, my staff, and the police. Blaine is safe. Trust me."
  
  After Avery had failed both Iona and Blaine? "The moment I get my passport, I'm booking a flight."
  
  "Blaine doesn't want you to come."
  
  Jack flicked his gaze to Iona. Her carefully neutral expression didn't help him. "She told you this?"
  
  "Wrote it down, yes. I can even send the picture of it if you don't believe me."
  
  "No, I don't believe you. Put Blaine on the line."
  
  "She's not supposed to talk until she gets her stitches out. Look, she doesn't want you to see her like this. Give her this time, or I won't have to worry about my sister being in love with an American. Frankly, I'd rather the latter, but she appears to be infatuated with you, and I don't want to see her heart broken. You decide, Jack Sander."
  
  Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. There was only one choice to make. "Have Blaine text me or email me or something as soon as she can."
  
  "Will do."
  
  The call ended. Jack faced Iona. "Well?"
  
  She sighed. "Blaine doesn't like people worried about her. I can tell you that. She has this view she can take on the world alone."
  
  The phone dinged with a new message. Iona took the cell and opened the attachment. A scribbled note written in Russian showed on the screen. She read it.
  
  Tell Jack I need a few weeks alone to heal and deal with some stuff. And that I love him. Make sure you tell him I love him and will be in touch soon.
  
  Jack rammed his balled fist into the doorframe. "Send me that, Iona."
  
  He'd have it translated just to make sure. It wasn't as if he didn't believe Iona, but he couldn't understand why Blaine wouldn't want him to comfort her. That was what people in relationships did.
  
  "Done." Iona tapped a few times on her phone. His dinged with a new message. She rested her palm on his back. "Give her space, Jack. Blaine has never used the word love in reference to a man before. If she says she loves you, she means it."
  
  He hung his head. Every instinct demanded he get on a plane the moment he could. The desire to keep Blaine in his life permanently stopped him. "If anything changes, I'm going. I don't care what anyone says."
  
  And in the meantime, he needed to go apologize to his mama for putting her through hell when he was stationed in a battle zone. No doubt she worried every second of every day he was gone. Now it was his turn.