“Never thought of it like that before. I guess I was under the impression that was why you performed on stage.”
“Why, because we make a lot of money?”
“No, because you make a lot of people happy. They love you.”
“How can they? They don’t know me. I’m just plain old Oliver Trolling from London.” A sobbing note crept into his voice, warning her that whatever he was on was wearing off.
“Well, I’m very pleased to meet you, Oliver Trolling from London. Any chance we can shake hands like normal people, maybe share a cup of coffee?”
A loud sigh could be heard before a sound of something being tossed. What made Alia’s heart swoop lower than her belly was the gunshot that followed and the grunt from a man who took a bullet. Oliver’s scream “Dave!” was the final straw.
Moving out of the way, she waved on the SWAT team with the battering ram. Once the door flew open, first on the scene, she dashed inside.
With officers surging into the room behind her, and commotion happening everywhere, all Alia focused on was getting to Oliver. Unable to stand upright, the stumbling fool hovered over the body of his buddy. Blood gushed from a gaping wound on Dave’s shoulder and swear words oozed from his mouth. He screamed. “Ollie-man, why the hell did you shoot me?”
“I didn’t mean too, Ras. I was throwing the gun away. I didn’t know it would go off.” Oliver’s tears were making it difficult for him to speak. “Shit man, I’m sorry.”
As Alia moved in, Oliver reacted to having a person near him. He went for her, gripping her shoulders harshly, hurtfully. Without a second’s hesitation, she reacted and flipped him over so she could restrain his movements. The guy was out of his mind and taking chances wasn’t in the cards. He needed to be shut down.
“Okay, Oliver. Just relax now. We’ll get your buddy to the hospital and let the doctors repair the damage. Unfortunately, you’ll be downtown answering questions.”
“I jus-s wanted to spend some time being happy.”
“Once the hotel hands over the bill to your agent, you’ll be spending a hell of a lot more than time.”