The Detective and the Rockstar

Chapter 8

         Before her father passed away, Annika loved watching the bull run with him on TV. She couldn't explain why, but watching those people run from those angry, snorting beasts charging at them thrilled her to the core. She always imagined what those people might feel like. Whether they were afraid or excited or regretted their life's decisions.

          The curious girl sitting next to her father on the sofa dressed in pink butterfly pajamas was exceedingly interested in whether or not these people got maimed. She watched one man get pinned against the side of a building by one ferocious beast. Then there was another man who had been stabbed in the back by one of those sharp horns and had to be taken away by ambulance. Her little heart would race in her chest as her young mind tried to process why anyone on this earth would do something like this. Adults were insane- it was the only reason she could conjure up in her mind to explain it.

Fixing a lock of hair that had been knocked from her hair claw, she looked down to assure herself that her clothes hadn't been ripped off her body. She imagined the people in those bull runs had never been through something as terrifying as getting past the hoard of screaming, clawing, and fighting girls who had gathered outside the studio where Rio was scheduled to arrive.

Her heart was racing, and she felt winded. Annika had never gripped onto a man the way she did to Rio's jacket when his fans started screaming in her face, demanding to know who she was. Those girls were feral; they were ready to rip her apart. Luckily, Rio had security and a lot of it. They kept the girls at bay long enough for Rio and his entourage to get through the doors and into the safety of the lobby. The lights from flashing cameras lit up the extravagant room as paparazzi tried to get a winning shot of the singer. His bodyguards, unfortunately for them, were large enough to cover him from the cameras as they made their way to the elevators at the end of the lobby.

She stood next to Rio and Alice as the elevator doors closed, locking them away from the chaos outside in the streets. She breathed in and exhaled.

Rio leaned closer to her. The citrusy fragrance of his perfume infused her breath. "Welcome to my world," he said. He was wearing a naughty smirk on his face that told her that he enjoyed watching her suffer. "You were holding on pretty tight back there."

"Those girls are like jackals. I'm a police officer. I deal with ruthless criminals every day, and I was terrified of those girls. How do you do it?"

He gave her a comforting smile. "You get used to it after a while."

She nodded, unable to smile through the uncertainty of what she had just experienced. But she was grateful that Rio was there. He didn't leave her behind or push her aside to save himself. He was sympathetic, coming to her aide though she was there to protect him. He kept her close so he could keep watch over her, and once they were behind the doors, he made sure she was alright. It was her first encounter with his fans, and he recognized it had unnerved her. He was lucky she hadn't started swinging at those girls to chase them away.

The elevator stopped, and Alice stepped toward the opening doors. A feeling of panic took control of Annika. She felt like that day when she got separated from her mother at the mall. She was one terrified five-year-old.

She grabbed Alice by the arm. "Where are you going?" she asked with a demanding tone.

"I got stuff to do. I'll meet you when we get back downstairs."

Rio reached over and peeled Annika's fingers off her sister's wrist.

"Wait! Can I go with her?" she asked him. She was acting exactly like that five-year-old girl wailing in the security room.