“Sounds like things have died down out there. Maybe your little pretty boy didn’t even notice you were gone.” Frank said.

In her heart she knew Kevin would be freaking right about now and he would have pulled all the punches out to try and find her, but she decided to play along with Frank. She knew they weren’t going to be found as long as they stayed in the small closet. “You’re probably right Frank. Kevin was pretty mad at me when he saw the newspaper.” Abigail said.

“What about the little statement he made this afternoon?” Frank asked.

“That was management’s idea. Can’t tarnish the Backstreet Boys image.” Abigail stated.

“Good, that means he’s going to dump your ass. Maybe I won’t kill you right away. I’ll make you suffer a little first.” Frank said.

They sat in the closet in silence for what felt like an eternity. Frank didn’t believe he would actually get this far so he had to carefully plan out his next step.

Frank finally had a plan derived in his head and said, “Sit here and don’t make a fucking sound or I swear I’ll kill you.” Frank proceeded to slowly open the closet door just enough so he could see down the hall. He closed it quickly when he realized there was tons of security roaming the halls. ‘Fuck, there is tons of security out there. Look’s like we’re not moving for a while.” Frank said as he settled in beside Abigail. Time to figure out plan B.

Carlos saw movement from the corner of his eye when a door down the hall had been opened slightly and closed again very quickly. He quietly called over a few guys from venue security and instructed them to find some police officers. Within minutes, there were six police officers in the room. Carlos quietly explained what he saw and asked the officers to check it out. Carlos accompanied them part way and then he was told to stay back for his own safety.

The six officers slowly approached the door that Carlos saw open. They could tell that a light was on inside the closet as they drew their weapons and moved to open the door swiftly.

Abigail screamed when the door opened and six guns were drawn and pointed at her. She heard the men scream, “Freeze” and that’s when she lost consciousness.

Four officers quickly apprehended Frank, while the other two checked Abigail for vital signs. By that time Carlos had seen Abigail’s unconscious body, “Is she...” was all Carlos could say.

“It looks like she just lost consciousness after we opened the door. Her vital signs are strong, but we will need to take her to the hospital as a precaution.” One officer explained as Abigail started to show signs of coming around.

Kevin paced around the dressing room as the guys tried to keep him calm. The police insisted that they all stay in one room and stay under tight security. They didn’t need another missing person to deal with.

Several officers outside the dressing room knew there was some action, but didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up until they knew the particulars. As soon as they got the word that the suspect had been apprehended and the victim appeared to be unharmed, he entered the dressing room. “Mr. Richardson, come with me. They’ve found the victim.” The officer said.

Kevin rounded the corner as quickly as he could, and panicked when he saw paramedics lifting Abigail onto a stretcher. He ran to her side and looked around at everyone when he realized that she was not conscious.

“Please stand back sir. We need to get her to the hospital.” A paramedic said.

Kevin refused to back off. “What’s wrong with her?” Kevin asked.

“She appears to be fine, but she’s drifting in and out of consciousness.” A paramedic explained.

“I’m going with her in the ambulance. Don’t worry Abi, I’m not leaving you alone again.” Kevin said, hoping that Abigail could hear him.

The paramedics quickly loaded Abigail into the ambulance. She still hadn’t regained consciousness fully, which the paramedics assured Kevin was normal after suffering through such a traumatic ordeal. Kevin sat there and watched as the paramedics put an oxygen mask on her and checked her vital signs once again.

One of the paramedics noticed Kevin’s paled expression and said, “She’s going to be all right. She’s just in shock.”

Kevin gave a small smile to acknowledge what the paramedic said, but his eyes never left Abigail. It would be a while before Kevin trusted anyone to watch her again.

An hour later, Kevin was finally able to go in and see Abigail. The doctor had given her a clean bill of health and said that he would be prepared to release her in the morning. Kevin quietly pulled up a chair beside Abigail’s bed. He just wanted to scoop her up in his arms and never let her go, but instead he reached forward and brushed a strand of hair off her face, which appeared to wake her.

Abigail looked around and couldn’t figure out where she was. She started to panic until she saw Kevin sit down on the side of the bed and say, “You’re ok Abigail.”

“Where am I?” she asked, thoroughly confused. The last thing she could remember was being at the venue.

“You’re in the hospital. They’re keeping you overnight just as a precaution since you were drifting in and out of consciousness for a little while.” Kevin explained.

That was when Abigail remembered all the horrid details. “Kevin, he wanted to kill me.” Abigail said quietly.

“Who was he Abigail?” Kevin asked.

“It was Frank.” Abigail said before she broke down.

“Whoa, back up for a second. How could it have been Frank?” Kevin asked. “That’s impossible.” Kevin added.

Abigail took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She had to admit that everything Frank said to her really bothered her. “I thought it was impossible as well. He said he wanted me out of his life, but he didn’t have the nerve to kill me, so he staged his own death and framed it on me.” Abigail explained, shivering as she recalled the amount of time she spent locked in the closet with a man she used to love.

At that moment, Brian walked into the room. Kevin didn’t want anyone else knowing about this yet. “Not now Brian. Abigail and I need some time alone for a few more minutes.” Kevin said. As soon as Brian had left the room Kevin exploded. “What kind of twisted person does something like this?”

“Please Kevin, don’t get all upset.” Abigail pleaded. There was no way she could remain calm if Kevin was freaking.

“I have every right to be upset Abigail. To be honest, I was holding back my true feelings for your sake, but this is too much even for me. God Abigail, you’ve been through more shit in a few years than most people experience in their lifetime. I’ve reached my breaking point Abigail. I want to get my hands on this guy and make him pay for everything he has put you through.” Kevin said in a raised voice. When he realized that Abigail was crying, he immediately regretted loosing it like he did. “Oh god baby, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you even more.” Kevin said as he took Abigail in his arms.

They both trembled. Abigail from fear and Kevin from anger.

“I thought you were going to tell me that you didn’t want to be with me anymore. I don’t think I could handle loosing you right now.” Abigail said.

“I’m not going anywhere Abi. You’ll be lucky if I let you out of my sight ever again.” Kevin said, as he gently rocked Abigail.

“Is that a promise?” Abigail asked as her eyes started to get heavy.

“We’ll talk about that in the morning ok. Right now I want you to get some sleep. You’ve had an emotional and traumatic day. You look exhausted.” Kevin said.

“Will you stay with me tonight?” Abigail asked. She was afraid of being alone.

“I’m not leaving this hospital until I can take you with me. I will need to leave the room for a few minutes though. I really need to talk to the other guys, but that can wait until you are asleep.” Kevin said reassuringly.

“Thank-you for everything Kevin. I’m not sure what I’d do if you had left me.” Abigail said.

“It’s the least I can do for the woman I love. Now go to sleep.” Kevin said as he kissed Abigail on the cheek.

As soon as Abigail was asleep, he quietly slipped out of her room where he found the other guys waiting.

“Is she all right?” Brian asked.

“Physically she’ll be fine, but I’m not so sure how she’ll fare emotionally though.” Kevin said honestly as he sat down and buried his face in his hands.

“Did she know that guy?” Howie asked.

“Yeah, it was her husband Frank. Apparently he staged his death and framed it on Abigail to get her out of his life.” Kevin explained. It felt strange saying the words. It just seemed too insane to be true.

“That’s crazy. He’s one sick fucker.” AJ said, voicing the opinion of everyone in the room.

“Tell me about it.” Kevin said. After a few seconds of silence, he continued. “I’m worried about her guys. How much can one person tolerate before they snap?” Kevin said.

“Your concern is justified Kevin. All you can do is be there for her. Something tells me that as long as you’re by her side, she can make it through anything.” Brian said.

“About the show tomorrow night guys, I don’t know if I can do it.” Kevin said honestly, hoping the guys would understand.

“All ready looked after. That show has been moved to the end of the tour. That gives you and Abigail 3 days before you need to be back on the road.” Brian said.

“Thanks for everything guys. I just have one more thing to ask. I’m hoping to convince Abigail to come with us. Do any of you have a problem with that?” Kevin asked.

All the guys looked at each other and Nick said, “We’d probably kick your ass if you tried to leave her behind.”

“Thanks guys. Look why don’t you guys head home and get some sleep. It’s been a really long day. I promised Abigail I’d stay with her tonight, so I want to get back in there. Thanks for everything guys. I never would have made it through today without you guys.” Kevin said.

“Don’t mention it. We’ll see you tomorrow. Give Abigail our love.” Howie said.