Chapter Eighteen       Billy saw Kevin enter the room just as a loud yell echoed off the concrete walls. He picked up his pace and slid to a halt in the doorway, disbelief washing over him.    "What in the...." Billy's voice trailed off, his eyes taking in Nick, Kevin, Heidi and the man he assumed was Harry Withers. Nick was messed up pretty bad and Heidi had a large bruise forming on the side of her head. Kevin was unharmed and Harry was bleeding from the nose and out cold. "Would somebody please explain what happened?" he asked as he moved past them and grabbed the rope off the chair and began tying Harry up.   "I'd like to hear what happened myself," a man in a police uniform stated. Quickly, without embellishment, Nick and Heidi had explained their parts in the fracas. "That's when Kevin hit him over the head," Nick said as he sank into the chair, his adrenaline rush wearing off. "That I did. I could barely hear anything out there, but when the man yelled, I knew something was wrong. When I came in he had Heidi's arms pinned to her sides and he was shaking her all over the place. I did the first thing that came to mind. I hit him," he stated without remorse.   The police officer's pencil scratched across the paper as he took down their statements and then allowed the medics in to take a look at Nick and Heidi. "I'm okay," she said, waving them off. "Just see to him" she finished, nodding toward Nick.       The medics worked gently to clean the blood away. "Luckily, your nose isn't broken and you don't need stitches for your lip. You're going to be a spectacular looking rainbow for the next few weeks, but other than that, you should be fine."   The police had untied and then cuffed Harry and the medics transferred him to a stretcher and carried him out. "We'll need to decide what to do about the concert tonight," Kevin began then said, "But we'll talk about it later," as he backed out of the door.    Billy studied Heidi and Nick before saying, "I'm glad you two are all right, but I swear Heidi Cole, if you ever pull something like this again, I'm going to beat you!"     Heidi smiled up at Billy and promised, "Don't worry Billy. It's my job!" Billy threw his hands in the air as a sign of defeat and then roared with laughter. His laughter trailed down the hall and echoed off the walls as he walked away and Heidi couldn't help but grin.     "He may be teasing you but I'm not. You scared the life out of me Heidi. Watching you fight with him, knowing how powerful his fists were, knowing I couldn't do anything, my heart just about stopped. Don't you ever do anything like that again. He could've hurt you," he whispered as he gently touched the bruise that was beginning to form near her temple. Needing to know that he really was all right, Heidi lifted her lips to his and kissed him gently, careful of the split in his lip. Nick ran his hand through her hair and held her still as he plundered her mouth. She was alive, he was alive and that was all that mattered. They broke apart, coming up for air. She leaned her head against his chest and said a silent prayer of thanksgiving.    "Let's get you to the dressing room and you can lie down and the guys can talk you're ear off," she said as she stood and put her arm around his waist. Nick smiled and together they walked away leaving behind the terror that they had been living with. SNC Index Chapter Nineteen Main Page