Magnus didn’t reply. His brain was whirring around like it was on a rollercoaster. Was any of this true? Taking Skylar with a pinch of salt seemed wise. But some of this rang true and it made sense. It explained why Taylor was so lost and uncertain. ‘Hmm,’ he muttered.
‘And she can be so convincing,’ said Skylar. ‘Pretending she’s me, but I’ve changed and become so grounded. She’s a good actress, you know. If she’d carried on with her career, she could have been almost as good as me, only she didn’t have the confidence. She always bottled it at the last minute.’
‘Look, I need to go.’
‘And meet me later.’
‘I’ll think about it,’ said Magnus with no intention of doing it. Skylar let him go with a serenely unconcerned expression as she moved into the throng of waiting onlookers. Magnus stopped by the group of women he’d met earlier.
‘That was some kiss,’ said one of them.
‘Was that you whistling?’ asked Magnus, grinning, despite the heat rising in his neck.
‘Guilty.’ Another woman raised her hand.
‘Yeah, well, the lengths a guy has to go to these days to get an answer. Anyway, I told her about your venture and she seemed interested. If you join the queue, she’ll get round to you. I need to go, but thanks, all of you. You’ve really helped me tonight.’
After some pats on the arm and a couple of air kisses, Magnus left the hotel, jumping down the white stone steps onto the pavement. He needed air before the meal. No doubt Fenella would be fussing and wondering where he was. Passers-by chatted in the evening buzz under the streetlights and horns honked. The ever-present hum of traffic filled the air and Magnus pulled out his phone. Skylar had told him where to find Taylor but he hadn’t written it down or tapped it into his phone, he’d committed it to memory and was desperately trying to remember it the whole time Skylar had been talking to him. Opening Google maps, he put in the address. It was some distance away. Maybe he and Fenella could go the next day. He tapped out a quick message to his mum, saying he’d nipped out for air.
Slipping his phone into his pocket, he strode along the road. Walking around the block might air his brain after that encounter with Skylar. He’d not gone far when he passed the entrance to an alley. Its near wall was the hotel side and a door was open. Smoke and cooking smells wafted from it. He scrunched up his nose. If Skylar knew her dinners were made in a place that smelled like that, she’d have Gordon Ramsay called in.
A scream split the darkness further up the alley and Magnus stopped dead. Some kind of struggle was taking place, not the kind of thing he wanted to get involved with, but now he’d seen it, he couldn’t stand back and pretend he hadn’t. A head poked out the smoky side door and peered around.
Magnus jogged up the alley. ‘What’s going on?’ he shouted.
The man at the kitchen door, dressed in chef’s overalls, stepped out and yelled, ‘Hey, leave her alone.’
A woman was struggling against two men. One of them was big and beefy and looked like one of Skylar’s bodyguards. The other man was older and a shock of white hair fell around his face as he tried to restrain the woman. She kicked and flailed. Her foot jerked, connecting with a suitcase. The huge guy snatched it and launched it behind him. Magnus dodged it.
‘Hey,’ he shouted, putting up his hands. His heart hammered as he got closer and saw the woman clearer. It was Taylor. And the man restraining her was her father. Magnus recalled meeting him once when he’d worked for Courtney and knew his formidable reputation.
A cold sweat broke out on Magnus’s forehead. He wouldn’t put it past Sammy Rousse to be armed, and surely the bodyguard would be. Was this where he met his maker? In a back alley in LA. Jeez, what would his mum and dad make of this?
‘Stand back,’ said the bodyguard.
‘Taylor,’ said Magnus.
She looked up mid-kick and stared.
‘Who are you?’ said Sammy Rousse.
‘A friend,’ said Magnus.
Sammy frowned, still trying to hold on to Taylor. ‘A friend? Of who?’
‘Taylor.’
‘You know Taylor?’
‘I do. Can you let her go, please?’
‘This is none of your business. I don’t know who you are, but I want you to leave.’
‘Taylor knows me,’ said Magnus. ‘Let me talk to her.’
‘No,’ Sammy said.
‘Please,’ Taylor whimpered, making a weak attempt at breaking free. ‘Let me go.’
‘No.’
‘Why not?’ said Magnus.
‘You’re a danger to yourself,’ Sammy said to her, ignoring Magnus. ‘It isn’t safe for you to run off again.’
‘It’s up to me. I don’t want to hear any more lies. Skylar’s lies, your lies.’
‘No, Taylor,’ said Sammy quietly. ‘It’s you. This is projection and false memories. We’ve been through this with your therapist, remember?’
Desperation flashed in Taylor’s eyes, and she didn’t meet Magnus’s gaze. She shook her head, tears welling. Her arms were locked behind her back as her father held them.
‘Why don’t you at least let her go,’ said Magnus. ‘Holding on to her like that can’t be comfortable.’
‘Will you get out of here?’ said Sammy. ‘I told you already. Your help is not required. Now scram or Jackson here will remove you.’
‘Look.’ Magnus threw up his hands. ‘I don’t want to interfere, but I really need to see Taylor. Could we maybe go inside and talk?’
‘No one’s gonna be talking to Taylor tonight. Least of all you. I don’t know who you are, but I can smell trouble a mile off.’
‘I don’t want any trouble.’
‘Then get away from me and Taylor. And if you’re some kind of pap, there’ll be hell to pay if any of this is reported.’
With a quick flip of his palms, Magnus shook his head and drew back. ‘I’m just a friend.’
‘Taylor doesn’t have any friends. Now scram before I have to make you.’
Magnus backed off and left the alley. As he reached the pavement and the bright street, a surreal feeling crept over him. Taking his life in his hands, he glanced back into the alley. Taylor was slung between the two men like a corpse; they bundled her in a side door.
‘Fucking hell.’ Magnus ran his hand down his face. He was out of his depth. This world didn’t belong to him. An overriding desire to put as much distance as possible between himself and this family gripped him. But what about Taylor? Maybe keeping her out of his life was the best route. What would Fenella make of this? This was the kind of place Taylor Rousse came from – a different dimension.
He started to walk, but all he could think of was the expression on Taylor’s face. Her tormented soul. Those eyes that had once looked at him with such love and admiration were now full of terror. He couldn’t leave her there alone. He just couldn’t.
Chapter 27
Taylor
Taylor lay on the bed, shaking and sobbing. Her head ached, her eyes stung, her heart was raw and naked and had been ripped so thoroughly from her chest it could have been lying beside her on the bed, bleeding out, staining the pristine white sheets.
She’d seen Magnus again and he’d seen her. Witnessed her reality. What must he make of her? Why had he kissed Skylar? He’d claimed to be her friend but what was he doing now? Was he in the bar with Skylar while she filled his head with her lies? Carl and Robyn’s wedding was playing out all over again with renewed keenness. If someone had attacked her with a knife, it wouldn’t have hurt this much.
All the fight had ebbed out of her. Had they injected her with some sleep-inducing drug during the struggle? Because she felt listless and apathetic. Outside the world was happening, but what did it have to do with her? She was a stranger to it.
Her door opened. She didn’t look up. Something thudded on the floor.
‘That’s your case,’ said her father’s voice. ‘And let’s not pull any more tricks like that one.’
&n
bsp; ‘Hey, honey.’ Bianca’s soft voice spoke as if from a dream. With a waft of Chanel, the bed dipped and a hand landed on her back. ‘We’ve been talking and we’ve agreed the best thing would be for you to go back into rehab.’
‘What?’ Taylor sat up, rubbed her eyes and hugged herself. ‘I don’t need rehab. I just need my freedom.’
Bianca cocked her head with a sad smile. ‘If only that were true. You’re so agitated, we can see the signs.’
‘There are no signs. I’m clean, I have been for years. I just want to lead my own life.’
‘But, honey, every time you go AWOL, you do something crazy. This latest thing tells me you need help. If it’s not rehab, then we’ll get you back to therapy. We have to do something because you simply cannot keep impersonating your sister like this. It’s not right.’
‘Ugh.’ Taylor balled her fists. They would never get it, would they? It would always be her fault.
‘Skylar told us…’
Of course, how it always begins.
‘That you’d been off with some man, claiming to be her. It’s dangerous, Taylor. You might not always appreciate it, but she’s in the public eye and as her sister, we expect you to help maintain her image. We can’t afford to have you going off like that doing whatever you were doing and blackening her name in the process. This man might end up selling the story. He might have photographs.’
Taylor pressed her palms into her cheekbones, massaging her sinuses. ‘So, unless I have surgery to make me look different, you’re keeping me locked up?’ said Taylor.
‘Locked up?’ said her father. ‘You have everything you could ever want and more. It isn’t exactly a hardship.’
Taylor’s heart sank to her feet. There was no way out. There never was.
‘Listen,’ said Bianca, ‘you need to have a good night’s sleep. Gather yourself. Tomorrow we’ll take you to rehab and you can sign yourself in. We’ll get you the best care possible.’
Her father stepped forward, took Taylor’s face in his hands, and kissed her forehead.
‘Sleep well, baby girl,’ said Bianca, giving her a peck on the cheek. As they left the room, the lock clicked with ominous finality.
Great. Just great. Would anyone anywhere ever believe her? She slumped back on the bed and got lost in the luxuriously soft pillows. She’d much prefer to be back in that little room in Fenella’s house, wrapped in the warmth of love and acceptance. When she closed her eyes and pulled the duvet tight, she could reclaim those feelings in her mind. And the heat surrounding her came from Magnus’s strong arms, not the plush duvet cover. His lips kissed her cheeks. I love the new you. The words had come from his heart. But it wasn’t the new me. Just the person I want to be.
An abrupt knock made her sit up. Rolling over, she frowned at the door. The knock came again. She got up. Who would knock? Her father would have a bodyguard standing there vetting anyone.
She pulled open the door and her jaw dropped. Magnus. He didn’t hang about, almost pushing her out of the way as he shut the door behind him.
‘What are you doing? How did you get in here?’
‘My mum’s chatting up your bodyguard.’
‘Oh Jesus.’ Taylor massaged her temple.
‘Look, what is going on? I feel like I’ve arrived in LA and gone straight onto the set of a movie.’
‘You won’t believe me if I tell you.’ Taylor walked to the window, not wanting to look too closely. The sight of Magnus could reduce her to tears. If she’d been real, he’d comfort her now, let her know things were ok. But she wasn’t the right woman. ‘No one ever does and with my track record I can’t blame you.’ The city glittered beyond the window.
‘Taylor, I want you to come with me.’
She spun around and stared. ‘Why?’ Her shoulders trembled and her chest constricted.
Magnus walked slowly towards her. As he drew level, he ran his thumb from the corner of her eye across her cheek, taking a tear with him. ‘Because I love you,’ he whispered.
‘Me?’ she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
‘Yes. You.’
‘Not Skylar?’
‘No.’
‘But I saw you.’
‘I don’t follow,’ he said, adjusting his cuffs.
‘I saw you kissing her.’
He stared out the window and shook his head. ‘That was part of the deal.’
‘You made a deal with her?’ Taylor’s insides turned to ice.
Magnus let out a little snort. ‘She said she’d give me your address if I kissed her, so I did. We didn’t think you were here.’
‘What address did she give you?’ Taylor’s mouth dropped as he told her. ‘I don’t live there, she was messing with you.’
‘Jesus Christ. Fooled again. I’m a real sucker.’
‘But you wanted to find me that bad?’
‘Yes, I told you. I fell in love with you.’ He peered up at her. ‘You know I did. I wrote it on the beach. I meant it. Everything that happened was real for me.’
‘And me… But I messed up. I wish I’d been truthful from the start.’
He put his hands on her arms. ‘I do too, but I understand better now. And what I understand most is how I feel when I’m with you and how I feel when I’m not.’
‘I’m sorry.’ She looked up, willing the tears back.
Strong hands gripped her shoulders, his thumbs gently stroking her. ‘My ego took a hit. But I’d be stupid to let it get in the way of how I feel.’
She stared at him. His pupils dilated in his icy blue gaze. Taylor clamped her arms around his back at the same time as he took her face in his hands. Their lips sealed and he groaned as she poured everything into the kiss. No apology was spared, no secret hidden. She laid herself bare and he stepped in, tilting her back towards the window to claim her with a deep and engulfing kiss.
‘Come with me,’ he said, lacing his fingers into her hair and pressing his forehead against hers.
‘Now?’
‘Yes.’
‘What if my bodyguard’s back?’
‘We walk past him and leave.’
Taylor stared into his eyes; her breathing matched his: erratic and ragged.
‘I can’t leave tonight,’ she whispered. ‘They’ll drag me back. You saw what they’re like.’
Magnus drew his fingers down her cheek. ‘But we’re not letting them do that again. We can be strong together. Get your case.’
‘Are you serious?’
‘Of course. Unless you don’t want to.’
‘I do. I really do. I don’t even care where we go. I just want to go with you.’
He dipped his head in and kissed her cheek. ‘Me too. Just be with me.’ He slipped his palm up her back and rubbed gentle circles on it. ‘Where we belong. Together.’
‘I don’t know how. I can’t.’
‘Stand up for yourself. Be you. Let them see Taylor. It doesn’t matter what Skylar did to hurt you in the past. Drop it and let it go. Let her go. Set yourself free.’
‘But, Magnus, they never believe me.’
‘You don’t need to make them believe you, just show them someone they can believe in.’
She inhaled a long shaky breath as his hand stroked, calming her right down. This was almost a return to perfection. Getting out of this room with him was another matter entirely. How could she make them listen? But Magnus was right. She had to at least try.
Chapter 28
Magnus
Magnus opened the door. The bodyguard crossed his arms and frowned. ‘What are you doing in there?’ he asked.
‘Coming out,’ said Magnus.
‘You’re not allowed out,’ the bodyguard said to Taylor as she slipped out behind Magnus, pulling her case behind her.
‘Yes, we’ve seen what you did to her the last time,’ said Magnus. ‘Try that again and I’ll report you for assault. You’ve got no grounds to keep her here against her will.’
‘How do you know what grounds we have?�
� The bodyguard growled. ‘Taylor, you know your father’s rules.’
‘I do. But I’m also twenty-six and quite capable of deciding for myself. I’m just not strong enough to take you on.’
‘And she shouldn’t have to,’ Magnus added. His height matched the bodyguard but he was nowhere near as brawny, and violence of any kind was the last thing he wanted.
‘I’m going to have to call Sammy,’ said the bodyguard.
‘Right,’ said Magnus. ‘You get on with that and we’ll leave you to it.’
The bodyguard gave him a filthy look and pulled out his phone. As they started down the stairs, Magnus was aware of him not far behind, talking urgently. ‘Yup, she’s coming down the stairs with the guy from the alley.’
Taylor glanced at Magnus. ‘This won’t work. I can’t walk out, they’ll hound me and you. And your family.’
‘You have every right to leave if you want to.’ In the throng at the bottom of the stairs, Magnus spotted his parents. Per’s fluffy hair stood out amidst the Hollywood perfection. ‘Mum,’ he said as they drew closer.
Fenella spun around. ‘There you are. And Taylor.’ She opened her arms and welcomed her into a massive hug. Taylor’s shoulders shook as Fenella held her. ‘And here’s my friend.’ She looked over Magnus’s shoulders and he followed her sightline. They still had the bodyguard.
‘Ma’am,’ he said. ‘I didn’t realise you were part of this.’
‘Part of what?’ she asked with wide innocent eyes. ‘I’m not part of anything. I just want everyone to be happy.’
‘Where is she?’ A voice boomed behind the bodyguard and Sammy Rousse pushed his way through the crowd with Skylar close behind.
Taylor pulled away from Fenella and adjusted her hair, recreating her messy up-do with her crocodile clip.
A Flight of Fancy (Scottish Island Escapes Book 6) Page 20