by Paris Hansen
While she was waiting to hear back from him, she started reading her book again. But this time she wasn’t able to get lost in the story. Every few minutes she checked the time, wondering why Liam wasn’t texting her back. She figured he was just stuck at work and she knew that while filming they weren’t allowed to have their phones on set. His was probably sitting in his trailer waiting for them to finish a scene. He would get back to her as soon as he could.
An hour passed. And then another. She’d taken the casserole out of the oven after the first one, deciding she was too hungry to wait for him, although she barely tasted each bite she took. After putting the leftovers away and cleaning up the kitchen again, she took a seat on the couch. Picking up her phone, she once again tried to read her book, but realized it was useless. She was getting worried and angry. Even if he was stuck at work, they would have had at least one break where he could have gotten his phone or had one of the assistants get it for him. She’d spent a day on set earlier in the week and knew if he wanted to text her, he could make it happen.
Since she couldn’t get a hold of him, she texted his sister instead. Finley didn’t really expect Abby to answer, especially since it was almost ten o’clock and she had two small children, but she had to try. She couldn’t stop thinking that if he hadn’t called her or texted her, then something was wrong.
He’s just stuck on set, Finley. Everything’s fine. I’m off to bed. See you when you come back.
Finley’s head dropped back against the couch. Abby was probably right. She was worrying for nothing and he was just stuck on set. She closed her eyes, hoping to calm herself down. Sometime later, she was startled awake by a door slamming shut. Checking her phone, she noticed it was after midnight. She had less than eight hours before her flight. Her heart sank at the thought. Standing up, she rubbed her eyes, trying to get rid of the haze of sleep.
Liam rushed to her, pulling her into his arms. “Finley, I’m so sorry I’m late. We ran over time. I couldn’t text…”
“And were you drinking whiskey in whatever scene you were working on cause you smell like a fucking distillery,” Finley said, pushing against Liam’s chest so she could get away from him.
“The guys wanted to unwind a bit before leaving the set. It was a long day and I was already late. I figured a few more minutes wouldn’t hurt anything,” Liam said, but something wasn’t right. Finley could feel the lie in Liam’s voice, the hesitation.
“Whatever. I made you dinner. It’s in the fridge. I’m going to bed. I’ve got an early flight tomorrow, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“I didn’t forget. I’m sorry Fin. Let’s go to bed. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
Finley sighed. She didn’t have the energy to call him on his lies or to worry about why he was lying in the first place. Obviously, her plans for the night weren’t happening. For some reason, he decided to drink and stay out late on her last night in town and he wasn’t being truthful about it. There had to be a reason, but she just didn’t care.
“I’m tired Liam. I just want to go to bed,” she whispered. “I’m sorry, but I have to be up in a few hours and it’s been a long day.”
Liam’s shoulders slumped as he let out a breath. “Fine, but at least let me hold you while you sleep. I don’t want to forget what it’s like to have you in my arms.”
With a nod, she turned and walked toward the bedroom. She changed into her pajamas and brushed her teeth before climbing into Liam’s bed. He followed the same routine, then crawled into bed behind her. Draping his arm over her waist, he pulled her tight against him and placed a kiss behind her ear. They laid like that for a long time, their shallow breathing filling the silence. When she was fairly certain he was finally asleep she whispered the three words she’d been dying to say all day.
As his body tensed behind her, she wished she could take them back.
Chapter 11
Finley
“I can’t fucking take this anymore, Sav. I don’t know what to do,” Finley said as she tossed a stack of papers onto the table between them.
She’d been home for a week and had gotten another three notes to add to the ones she’d received before she left and the five her manager had found while she was gone. He hadn’t opened any of them since they were in manila envelopes addressed to her. The unopened envelopes had greeted her the day she came back to Seattle. Her week had gone further downhill since then.
“You’ve got to take the notes to the police Finley. They’re getting more aggressive.”
“I know, but I wanted to talk to Liam about them one more time before I did. He’s not answering my calls or my texts. Neither is Abby. I don’t know what the hell is going on. He was weird before I left. I told him I loved him while I thought he was asleep…don’t look at me like that, it was a chicken shit move, but I’m glad I waited since he tensed up the minute the words were out of my mouth.”
Savannah sat forward in her chair, “Seriously? Did you ask him why?”
Picking up her mug, Finley took a sip of her steaming hot tea. The morning she flew back to Seattle had been awkward to say the least. She’d insisted on taking a cab to the airport since it was so early and Liam had to report to work. He probably could have made it to the airport then to work in plenty of time, but she just couldn’t handle being in close quarters with him after the way he reacted the night before. She didn’t mention what she said to him and neither did he. They said their goodbyes, he kissed her and told her they would talk soon.
It was the most uncomfortable and awkward moment they’d spent together and it made her want to cry just thinking about it. She’d held back the tears so far, not wanting to admit that something was terribly wrong with her relationship, if she even had one anymore. With every call he ignored and text message he didn’t respond to, she sank deeper into despair. The fact that his sister was also ignoring her calls and texts broke her heart even more. She thought they had become friends during her trip. Their last conversation had given her hope, but with each day that passed, her hope wasted away.
“No. We didn’t talk about what I said. We didn’t really talk at all before I left and now we haven’t spoken at all since I got home.”
Savannah stared at her, but didn’t say anything for a minute. For the first time in the years that she’d known her, Finley couldn’t read her friend. She’d given her bits and pieces of how her trip had gone over the last week. Of course, those bits and pieces had been the best moments, the ones she would never forget even if her heart ended up shattered. Now her friend was hearing the part of the story that Finley hoped to never tell anyone. She really hoped that by the time she and Savannah had a chance to get together, she would have talked to Liam. Sadly, that wasn’t the case.
“I don’t know what to say, Finley. Are you sure he’s not just really busy?”
“Yeah I’m sure. It’s okay though. We had fun. Maybe he’s just moved on.”
Savannah shook her head, “that doesn’t ring true to me. Not the guy I saw when he was here. And not the guy you painted when you told me about your trip. I just don’t know.”
Finley took another sip of her tea. She was trying not to think too hard about what Savannah said. Liam’s behavior the last night she was in town did seem out of character, especially after how he acted before he left for work.
“Holy shit, Savannah, did you see this?”
Finley turned in time to watch Savannah’s sister Brooklyn barrel through the swinging doors that separated the store front from the kitchen, her cell phone in her hand. She stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she saw Finley.
“Shit.”
“Brook…language. People come here with their children.”
“Oh whatever. I obviously just came from the dining room. There wasn’t a single child in there. But ummmm…what I’ve got to show you can wait. I didn’t realize you had company.”
Finley stood, “What is it Brooklyn?”
“Nothing that can’t wait, Finley.
You guys go back to talking.”
“No. I can see it in your eyes. What is it?”
Finley stood so she could grab Brooklyn’s phone from her hand. On the screen was one of the tabloid sites that had posted most of the pictures taken of her and Liam in the beginning. The headline struck her first, Liam Crawford spotted with new blonde bombshell, but it was the pictures that did her in. She nearly dropped Brooklyn’s phone as she sank back into her chair.
“I’m so sorry Finley. I didn’t know you were here.”
As if seeing one wasn’t enough, Finley scrolled through the rest of the pictures on the site. There Liam was walking hand in hand with a woman that wasn’t her. There he was gazing into her eyes while he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. And there he was with his arms wrapped around her, holding her close to his body, the way he’d held her just a week before. There were pictures of them laughing, having lunch, shopping and they weren’t all from the same day.
Savannah grabbed the phone out of her hand, growling as she scrolled through the pictures. Finley felt numb. She knew that if things went south it would hurt, but seeing him with someone else right after she told him how she felt was ripping her to shreds.
“It’s got to be a mistake. Maybe this is all publicity for the movie or someone he’s going to be working with soon.”
“Nice try Savannah.”
“No she’s right. Maybe it’s not what you think. Call him and find out.”
“I’ve been calling him for a week and he hasn’t answered any of those. What makes you think he’ll answer now?”
“Maybe because he knows you’ll be worried about the implications of the pictures.”
Finley shrugged, but pulled her phone out of her jacket anyway. She was fairly certain he wouldn’t answer and that she’d just be left with more questions. As the phone started to ring, she put it on speaker, wanting the girls to see how it rang twice then went to voicemail. After the second ring, she expected to hear the telltale robotic voice that she knew so well, but instead was created with one that was completely unfamiliar.
“Hello,” a female voice said, then repeated herself when Finley didn’t respond.
“Hi, is Liam there?” Savannah asked.
“Oh, yeah he’s in the shower, can I take a message? I’ll try to get him to call you back, but we’ve got dinner plans, so it might not be until later.”
Finley’s heart sank as tears welled in her eyes. She bit back a sob, but obviously didn’t do a good enough job. Savannah’s head shot up, her eyes darting from the phone to Finley, then back.
“No. Don’t bother with a message,” Savannah said through clenched teeth before stabbing her finger against the screen of the phone.
“Stabbing the phone doesn’t hang up the call sis.”
Brooklyn reached out grabbing the phone away from her sister then swiped her finger across the screen. Dropping the phone back onto the table, she placed a hand on Finley’s shoulder.
“I’ve gotta go,” Finley said quietly, her voice catching.
“Fin…”
“No. It’s okay. I’ve gotta head to the house and then to Heat. I’ve got a lot going on. I won’t have time to let this bother me.”
“But…”
Finley stood, “Savannah, it’s okay. It just wasn’t meant to be. I should have listened to my gut in the beginning instead of him. It would have saved us all a lot of time.”
“It’s okay to be heartbroken Finley. You told him you loved him.”
“Information, I obviously should have kept to myself. Right now, I’m too damn mad to feel heartbroken. I’m sure that’ll come later. I’m pissed about the letters, about Liam being a bigger ass than I ever thought he could be. I’m pissed that I don’t know what to do with myself and that for a brief moment in time, Liam was making things a bit clearer. I’m so fucking angry right now Savannah, that I don’t know if I’m going to scream, punch stuff or start crying. So I need to keep myself busy. I need to deal with this in my own way. I’ll talk to you later.”
Without waiting for her friend to respond, Finley quickly walked out of the kitchen of Delectable Delights. The storefront was thankfully empty, so no one else had been witness to her rant. She’d hate to see the looks of pity that she’d seen on Savannah and Brooklyn’s faces on the faces of strangers. Although that was going to be inevitable once everyone saw the pictures of Liam and the blonde that were online. It was going to be yet another long and painful day in her life. She should have never let herself get dragged back into the spotlight. She should have never let herself fall in love with an actor who had obviously been acting the entire time they were together. She should have never let her guard down when she knew nothing good could ever come from it.
* * * * *
A few days later, Finley sat back in her office chair and stared at the pile of papers on her desk. She’d spent every day since she’d seen the pictures, locked away in her office. Even though it was obvious that she and Liam were no longer together, the club was still enjoying the record breaking crowds they’d been dealing with since the first pictures of her and Liam had surfaced. She had a feeling though that the people coming to Heat in the last few days were there for an entirely different reason and there was no way she could deal with that.
So instead she dealt with paperwork. Day in and day out. It was boring and tedious and it did nothing to help her feel less trapped. Even if she had nowhere else to go and nothing else she wanted to do with her life, she was nearly 100% sure that Heat wasn’t what she wanted anymore. She just needed to figure out how to pull the trigger and sell the place. But first she knew she needed to deal with the pile of papers on her desk.
Even though the pictures of Liam with another woman had been out for days, she’d continued to receive the threatening notes. She’d found another one that morning when she left her house. It had been taped to her front door, which meant whoever was doing this had been that close to her while she was sleeping or in the shower. A chill raced down her spine at the thought. And again when she remembered what was on the newest note.
He may have moved on, but can Finley stand the Heat alone?
Below the ominous message was a picture of Heat digitally altered so that it was engulfed in flames. As soon as she’d opened the note, she knew she had to take them to the police. She couldn’t wait any longer and since she was still getting them, they either had nothing to do with Liam or the crazy person leaving them didn’t care that they’d broken up. The rest of the notes she’d collected were in her office at Heat which was why she’d ended up there instead of immediately at the police station.
She’d tried calling Liam one last time, but had been sent straight to voicemail. She didn’t bother to leave one for him, but she did leave one for his sister who had yet to return any of her calls. But she needed Abby to know what was happening so she could keep an eye on her brother. If Finley was still getting notes, there was a chance Liam was too.
Taking a deep breath, Finley grabbed the notes and shoved them into an envelope. Heading to the police station was the last thing she wanted to do, especially alone, but she didn’t want to bother anyone else. She knew Savannah would go with her, but she had her own life and her own problems to deal with. She didn’t need to get wrapped up in Finley’s. Not to mention that if the crazy behind the notes was watching her and saw her go to the cops, she didn’t want that to fall on Savannah too. She didn’t need to put her best friend in the lunatic’s crosshairs.
The drive to the station was quiet and quick. Being midday there was very little traffic which was a nice change since it almost always seemed like rush hour traffic around the downtown area. She found a parking spot a block over, paid the meter and then took another steadying deep breath before walking to the station. She clutched the envelope filled with threats to her chest using it like a shield despite the fact that the threats were the reason she was having to go there.
Walking through the front door, she looked around th
e chaotic entryway for a front desk or a check-in area. There were a ton of people in the building, cops and private citizens alike. Craning over and around them, she finally found what looked like a desk on the other side of the metal detectors. Getting in line, she waited for her turn, feeling like a cow being lead to slaughter.
Of course, it wasn’t really as bad as she was making it out to be. People around her were nice and no one stared at her trying to figure out where they knew her face from. No one sneered at her tattoos and piercings. It was one of the things she loved most about living in Seattle. They were all far more accepting of people who looked a little different than the people in LA were.
Once through the metal detectors, she waited in line at the front desk. There was only one officer manning the desk, but despite the crowd, she directed traffic, answered questions and made calls with a smile on her face.
“Can I help you?” the officer finally asked Finley with that same smile on her face.
“Ummm…yeah, I need to talk to someone about threatening notes I’ve been receiving.”
“Okay hun, just wait right over there, I’ll have someone come out and get you. What’s your name?”
“Finley Blake.”
“Oh…you’re that…okay, I’ll get someone right out.”
Finley sighed, so much for no one recognizing her or her name. “Thank you.”
Taking a step back from the desk, she went over to where the officer had pointed so she could wait. She had a feeling that whoever they sent out would have a difficult time taking the threats seriously once they realized who she was and who she’d been involved with. It only took a few minutes for someone to come and get her. She followed them back to a conference room where she showed them the notes and told them about where she’d found them. It took a little over a half an hour for her to get out the entire story and for one of the officers to tell her exactly what she was expecting to hear. Someone would take a look at her case, but until something more than threats happened, they really couldn’t do much about it.