Desiring Dylan - Suzanne Jenkins Page 0,4
night in autumn when the place was normally dead would give Vaspar the shot of panache that it really needed.
“You mind if we eat here, Landon?” Kenny asked, his arm around her. For the last year, he always thought of her needs first.
“It’s fine. We’re together! I’m so happy you were in town this week. I’ve missed you so much.”
“Yeah, we need to find a way to make it permanent. I know you love your job, but maybe we can find something to keep you busy if you start traveling with me.”
“Yes! I can do your wardrobe!”
“Ha! We go to Forgotten Saints. I was thinking more along the lines of tour manager.”
“Wow, you’d trust me with that job?”
“Of course. I trust you with my life, Landon. I love you. You know that, right? I was serious when I introduced you as my future wife.”
“My answer, if you’re asking, is yes!”
She stood on her toes to kiss his cheek when as the maître d’ came out to show them to their tables. “Seat us separately from the rest of the band,” Kenny told the man, and he complied, leading them to a private table on the second floor, facing the backyard, overlooking Boat House Row.
“I love this view,” Kenny said, pointing out the window. “I love Philadelphia, period.”
“I love New York, too,” Landon said. “I love it when I’m there with you.”
He pulled her chair closer to his and didn’t hesitate kissing her in front of other patrons, a few who got their phones out. The photos of the young rock star on this particular night would pay off big time.
“What are you in the mood for?” He shared his menu with her. “I want seafood and lots of it. Scallops, preferably.”
“Yum. Me too. I never can finish, so you can have the rest.”
“It’s a deal.”
They were interrupted by a form coming toward them, and like he always did, so friendly and amicable to his fans, Kenny turned to the woman, but Landon felt him jump, his eyes switching back and forth between Landon and the stranger before he smiled a big fake smile.
“Hey, what can I do for you?”
“This, fucker. Thanks for breaking my heart.”
And in one swift movement, she raised a small handgun and shot Kenny in the face at close range, blood and bits of flesh and hair spraying Landon, but she didn’t care, jumping up and throwing herself at the woman before she could do more, while other patrons came to her aid.
In seconds, turning to Kenny, she saw the worst, taking her sweater off and wrapping his head with it before anyone with a camera could get close. She crouched down next to him, whispering that she loved him forever, thanking him for the best year of her life as his blood poured out upon her.
Feeling his neck for a pulse—there was one. It was fading fast, so she grabbed the linen napkins on the table and pressed them to the wound at the base of his skull, knowing there was a good chance it was futile.
The chaos around her went unnoticed. The woman who shot him was screaming like a maniac while the men who had grabbed her tried to keep her from running off.
“That fucker! That cheating prick!”
In the main dining room, band members were beginning to become concerned when the commotion ensued. The paramedics rushed up the staircase with their bags, followed by the police.
Until the squad arrived, Landon never stopped the stream of words, loving him and kissing him where she could. Squeezing his hand, she told him again, “I love you so much. You’re so wonderful, Ken. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Fight. Don’t leave me. You are the love of my life. I will never love like this again.”
The EMTs approached her, one gently holding her while his partner did an assessment of Kenny. That was when she let it go, wailing in misery with a broken heart. The police cleared the dining room after removing the suspect, questioning witnesses, and allowing the other band members to come up to the top of the stairs, in horror, to see that their main member was nearly dead.
The next hour went by in a blur. They got Kenny into an ambulance—as long as he had a pulse and was breathing, there was a slim chance—and they took him to the ER of Center City Medical Center. The techs had Landon come with them in the ambulance.