Fury

by Tammy Coons

  “What about your bruises and cuts?” Cheyenne sat stunned. It was almost embarrassing that she hadn’t solved this puzzle, but with the Scot and Nathan situation distracting her, it wasn’t any wonder.

  “I had to climb down two stories after bugging Ian’s room. I slipped and caught a rail to the temple…”

  “And the man running from your room…?” Steph inquired.

  “That was Duncan trying to get a little too friendly. He wasn’t expecting what he got in return.” Cheyenne watched a gleeful smile creep across Steph’s face.

  “And that’s all I’ve got,” Margaret concluded, standing. “Have fun at the party in New York.” She shook hands with all three of them and left.

  The moment she was gone Steph jumped up.

  “Are you crazy, putting us in that situation? Do you realize someone was killed?” Steph gestured emphatically.

  Cheyenne eyeballed Steph, then Adam. She was floored by Steph’s emotional outburst.

  “Yes, Lass, I know. But I knew you’d be safe. There were agents everywhere—in cars, on planes, working in the hotels…you were watched constantly. It was no mistake that I sent Cheyenne along. I hoped she would rein you in and keep you from causing an international incident.” Adam was on his feet. His rosy cheeks and flashing eyes were so like his daughters it was remarkable. He loosened his tie with a huff. “Don’t you think I was scared and worried about you?”

  He walked to the cabinet and poured himself a whiskey,

  “We could each use one of those,” Cheyenne said.

  Adam looked at her, smiled, and poured them each a drink.

  The next two weeks were a flurry of activity: they pulled some arduous all-nighters, but with help they managed to get the material to press on time. Once again Cheyenne and Steph found themselves sitting outside Adam’s office waiting.

  “Are you feeling any better?” Steph asked Cheyenne, who’d been sleeping more than usual and feeling very fatigued.

  “Not really, I think I have the stomach flu.”

  “That sucks.”

  “My period is a mess too. I think it’s just all the stress.”

  Steph graced her with a sideways glance. “What about your period?”

  Cheyenne sighed. “It’s not here yet.”

  “Well…hopefully, it’s just stress…” Steph raised an eyebrow.

  “It is, now stop,” Cheyenne growled.

  “Come in, ladies.” Adam appeared at the door. They entered the room.

  “Please sit.” Adam beamed. After they did, he picked up a magazine from his desk.

  “Here it is.” His voice cracked a little. “The article is amazing.”

  Cheyenne noticed him pause for a moment, seeming to gather himself.

  “The pictures are out of this world.”

  Cheyenne was elated at his reaction and noticed Steph was glowing.

  “It goes live and on the shelves this morning. I am so proud of you both!” Adam crossed to them. Cheyenne and Steph both stood and he gave them each a hug.

  “You two worked very hard on this article. I love the cover picture.” Cheyenne and Steph agreed on the picture that “Goddess” took from the floor. Fury were gathered around her in a circle. It couldn’t have been staged better.

  “I am giving you a raise, Cheyenne.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Brier.”

  “I'm also giving you both the rest of the day off,” Adam replied. “Now go! Be gone, have fun and I will see you tomorrow at the airport.”

  “I can’t believe he’s giving me a raise!” Cheyenne squealed as they headed for the elevator.

  “Come on…get your purse. Let’s go shopping!” Steph could always find a reason to shop.

  “Can we find a place to eat first? I'm starving.”

  “Where do you want to eat?”

  “Do tacos in the morning sound strange?” Cheyenne dug through her purse.

  Steph raised both eyebrows. “A little. How about some breakfast? Maybe they can make you a Mexican omelet.”

  “Oh, that’s sounds delicious.” Cheyenne applied some lipstick as they took the elevator down to the lobby.

  “Let’s go to Myrna’s.” Myrna’s was a cute little café on the next block. “We can walk there. It’s so gorgeous out,” Steph said.

  They walked and talked nonstop. As they passed a magazine stand, they saw several people murmuring over The Sound Wave. Cheyenne could read the title of her article, ‘Hell Hath No Fury’. She and Stephanie exchanged smiles without a word.

  They found a nice table outside and sat.

  A waitress approached.

  “Hello my name is Helen and I'll be your waitress today. Can I get you something to drink?’

  “I’ll take a large glass of orange juice,” Cheyenne said.

  “Make that two,” Steph replied.

  “Ok, I’ll be right back.”

  They picked up the menus. “Crap, no Mexican omelets.” Cheyenne sighed. Soon Helen returned with their drinks and they ordered their food.

  Cheyenne cleared her throat.

  “So any thoughts on the party—are you concerned?”

  “What do you mean?” Steph took a sip of her orange juice.

  “You know…Phillip.”

  “I haven’t really thought about it.” Steph shrugged.

  “Bullshit.” Cheyenne leaned back in her seat.

  “There’s nothing to think about.” Steph’s expression was casual. “You on the other hand…what are you going to say to Scot?”

  Cheyenne shook her head with a freaked out face.

  “I think I’ll just hide in the shadows.”

  “You can’t hide from this situation.” Steph sighed. “And neither can I.”

  “What do you think will happen?” Cheyenne shifted in her seat.

  “I don’t know,” Steph paused. “Phillip will probably ignore me or scream at me all night. It’s going to be a very uncomfortable situation. Come on, we’re here to celebrate. After we eat we should get a mani/pedi and I’m thinking of changing my hair. It’s time for something new.”

  “Maybe I will too,” Cheyenne said as a trace of a grin curved her lips. Since they’d returned home, she had been seeing a therapist weekly. Starting to look inward, she believed that with work she’d be able to move forward soon. Their food arrived and neither one of them discussed Fury the rest of the day.

  The next morning Cheyenne climbed out of bed, grabbed her purse, and went into the bathroom. Locking the door behind her, she took a deep breath and pulled the pregnancy tests out of her purse. She quickly scanned the instructions, followed them, and waited. The day before, while Steph was getting her hair colored, Cheyenne had told her she was going for coffee. On the way to the coffee shop, she passed a pharmacy. Without hesitation, she had gone inside and purchased the test. She looked up from the floor to the test and her stomach sank as she saw two pink lines. Positive. Cheyenne placed her head in her hands. How could she have been so irresponsible? She’d forgotten to take her birth control pills a couple of times while they traveled with Fury due to the time zone changes.

  “Shit!” Tears welled up in her eyes. She picked up the test and threw it across the bathroom.

  “Hello?” Steph asked from the other side of the door.

  Cheyenne grabbed the test and shoved it into the garbage can.

  “Just a minute!” She glanced around to make sure nothing was visible, then went to the door and unlocked it. She turned to grab her purse and the empty pregnancy test box fell out.

  Steph glanced at the box, and then looked at her expectantly.

  “Well?” She crossed her arms.

  Cheyenne reached into the garbage can and showed Steph the result.

  “Oh shit.”

  “It c…could be false,” Cheyenne stammered and felt like her throat was being squeezed by a giant set of hands.

  “Highly unlikely.”

  For a moment, Steph looked and sounded so much like Cedric it was scary. “What
are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know…get an abortion?” Cheyenne sat down on the edge of the tub feeling weak in the knees. “Why in the hell did I do this to myself? I don’t need a baby right now.”

  Steph walked to her and kneeled down.

  “Don’t get too far ahead of yourself. Make an appointment on Monday with your Gynecologist and go from there. Why don’t you take a nice hot bath? I’ll run down to the deli and grab us something to eat.”

  Cheyenne nodded, blinking the tears away before they could fully form.

  As soon as Steph left the room Cheyenne walked to the tub, turned it on and poured a hefty amount of bubble bath in. Spotting herself in the mirror, she looked down at her flat stomach and touched it. Was it possible? Could there really be a baby in there? Removing her pajamas, she climbed into the tub and the bubbles enveloped her. Relaxing back, she closed her eyes. Thoughts of Scot and the possibility of a pregnancy engorged her mind until she could think of nothing else. The timing couldn’t have been worse. Though she always thought she’d have a child one day, she figured she’d be married. Her career was just starting to take off. Scot was so amazing with his nieces that she couldn’t imagine anyone making a better father. Unfortunately, she couldn’t imagine a more inappropriate mother. For a fleeting moment she considered calling her therapist, but decided against it.

  Steph walked to the deli and purchased bagels and coffee. Cheyenne was pregnant. Steph hoped Cheyenne could see reason and keep the baby. Though not particularly religious, Steph had a healthy fear of fire and brimstone and her Catholic guilt ran deep. On top of this, she believed Scot would jump at the chance to be the father. She knew Cheyenne needed to come to this conclusion on her own and that she’d just screw things up if she tried to interfere. As Steph tried to focus on anything else, Phillip planted himself in the forefront of her mind. He hadn’t tried to contact her since they’d returned home. Their tryst in the cottage had been on her mind all morning. She shivered involuntarily as memories of his caresses and kisses overcame her. He’d been so protective when Duncan had manhandled her and he had seemed so genuine in his remorse to Cheyenne. Seeing him with his family had opened her eyes to a completely different side of Phillip. Sullen, she reminded herself that he wasn’t trying to contact her. Shaking her head to clear her mind, she stepped back into the sunshine.

  “New York is going to suck,” she muttered under her breath.

  Upon returning to the apartment, Steph and Cheyenne ate their bagels and drank their coffee, discussing Cheyenne’s next assignment and Adam’s valiant attempt to keep Steph as a permanent employee. She had stuck to her guns, telling him that all music pictures would go to him, but that she was going 100% freelance and had no intention of ever running The Sound Wave. She’d assured him that she still loved him and the magazine, but it would never be her passion. He’d had little recourse but to agree that she should go. Cheyenne found it hard to imagine not having Steph as a coworker and wondered about the long term implications.

  They’d finished eating and Cheyenne lit a cigarette and plopped on the couch.

  “You know if you are pregnant and decide to keep it…” Steph began.

  “Please don’t bring it up right now,” Cheyenne growled.

  Steph shrugged. “I’m going to go shower.” She disappeared into her room.

  Cheyenne glanced at the clock. It was almost noon. In a little over 24 hours she would be in the same room with Scot.

  Once they settled into their rooms in New York City, they collected Gerald and headed out for a little sight-seeing. They toured Central Park, The Statue of Liberty and the 911 Memorial. Emotionally and physically exhausted, they decided to call it a day.

  The next morning, Gerald had scheduled appointments for make-up and hair at an incredible salon. The day before, Cheyenne chosen to have some of her length cut off and her hair now fell to the bottom of her shoulder blades. Steph had her red hair highlighted with strawberry blonde and had added layers. Cheyenne thought the lighter shade really added to Steph’s beauty.

  “Did you hear that Fury is in town today for a party?” one of the hairstylists said to the other.

  Cheyenne glanced at Steph.

  “Who’s Fury?” Steph asked with a small smile.

  “O-M-G! I can’t believe you don’t know them.” The stylist turned away and grabbed a magazine, The Sound Wave.

  Cheyenne chuckled.

  “What?” The stylist asked.

  Cheyenne looked at Steph who rolled her eyes. “That’s our story on the cover.”

  The stylist’s mouth dropped. “No way! I can’t believe it! For real?”

  Her coworker, who was working on Steph’s hair, squealed.

  “Yeah. Look.” Gerald took the magazine from her and flipped to a picture “Goddess” had snapped of them with the group.

  The stylist looked at the picture then at Steph and Cheyenne, “It is you.”

  Immediately the two stylists began bombarding them with questions about Fury.

  They begged for them to autograph their magazine. The girls relented.

  “I can’t believe they asked for our autographs.” Cheyenne giggled as they rode back to their hotel.

  “Yeah that was pretty cool,” Steph reluctantly agreed.

  Later, as Cheyenne slid into her perfectly tailored evening gown, she looked at herself in the mirror, her eyes resting on her stomach.

  “Should I tell him?” Cheyenne asked.

  Steph stopped applying her eye shadow and nodded.

  “Don’t you think I should wait until I know for sure.”

  “You’re probably right.” Steph looked away.

  Cheyenne walked to the refrigerator and grabbed a beer; she lit a cigarette and walked to the window. Her stomach was filled with butterflies. She took a couple hefty drinks of the beer and seeing Steph’s disapproving glance dumped the rest down the sink.

  “Ready?” Steph asked from behind her.

  “Nope.” Cheyenne grabbed her purse.

  “Me either.”

  They laughed together then made their way down to the street. The chauffeur opened the door and they climbed in to the limo, joining Gerald and Adam Brier.

  “You both look beautiful.” Steph’s father shot them a broad smile.

  “You’re looking quite dashing yourself, Father.” Steph fixed him with a dazzling grin.

  Gerald beamed at them.

  “If I liked women, I would be all over both of you. This is so exciting!” He chattered nonstop all the way to the party.

  Upon arriving, the scene outside the limo resembled every crowd they’d encountered when traveling with the band. Security kept the surging fans at bay and camera flashes exploded like fireworks. As they exited the limo, Cheyenne was agape as several microphones were thrust in her direction. Suddenly nervous and shy, she kept her eyes focused on the entrance, but couldn’t help stealing a sideways glance at the TV camera that was focused on her. Several voices shouted her name simultaneously, causing her to look around wildly. She noticed Adam and Stephanie were stopped ahead of her, and Adam was giving a statement.

  “Ms. Carson… the drug ring. Can you tell us anymore details?” A well-dressed reporter leaned into her path, his microphone an inch from her mouth.

  “Every detail I know is in the article. Go buy a copy of this month’s Sound Wave,” Cheyenne replied coolly, impressed with her own moxie. Maybe Steph’s ballsy behavior was finally starting to rub off on her.

  “What about the video of the fight between Mr. Clayton and Mr. Charles that’s gone viral? Any more details on that?” Cheyenne turned crimson.

  “No comment.”

  The reporter eyed her amused. He’d touched a nerve, and Cheyenne could tell by the twinkle in his eyes, he knew it.

  “But you were there…obviously.” Cheyenne saw Gerald shove the microphone into the reporters chest.

  “She said no comment!” he snapped, as he tugged Cheyenne further down the red carpet. They
arrived behind Adam and Steph, just in time to hear a female reporter begin to question Steph.

  “Ms. Brier, is it true you and David Evans are an item and if so, how does Kevin Wiley feel about that?” she shouted over the other reporters.

  Cheyenne thought Steph might have whiplash from the way her head whipped in the reporters direction.

  “No, we’re not an item and I don’t give a shit what Kevin Wiley thinks.” Steph’s petulant reply made everyone within earshot laugh, except Adam, who merely shook his head. He pulled Steph along, past the red carpet contingent and into the building before she could do any more P.R. damage.

  Cheyenne took her time and stopped for a couple of pictures. She’d worked damn hard and relished the attention, but refused to answer any questions.

  When Gerald finally pulled her inside the building, the ballroom was breathtaking. The decorator had chosen to go completely black and white. Onyx chandeliers hung from the ceilings. Tall white centerpieces towered over the tables. The DJ was spinning Don’t You Want Me Baby from one of D.J. Dave’s limo mixes, and this small touch made Cheyenne’s face split in a huge grin and she giggled uncontrollably.

  Her eyes searched for Steph and saw she was looking right at her with a wry smile. As she made her way further into the room, she noticed that the ballroom opened onto a fantastic panoramic veranda. She could see it lead to an infinity pool surrounded by seating and palm trees. The glamour was so astonishing that Cheyenne felt moved; this party celebrated her hard work as well as Fury’s. Nausea gripped her and she wasn’t sure if it was from excitement or the pregnancy.

  “Adam!” They all turned in the direction of the male voice and saw Mark Smith making his way to them. He shook hands with Adam, and Cheyenne barely recognized the former accountant. His demeanor had transformed; he seemed incredibly relaxed and happy.

  “The pictures and the article are amazing. We’re all thrilled.”

  “Thank you, we couldn’t have done it without Stephanie and Cheyenne.”