by Lisa Bilbrey
Elle laughed as she settled in the chair between Derek and Sadie, and turned her attention to the band. Aaron looked over at her and smiled before striking his drumsticks against each other and yelling, “One, Two, a One, Two, Three, Four!”
As Aaron struck the top of his snare drum, Jonas and Abe joined in on the bass guitar and keyboard, respectively. But it was Nick who pulled everyone’s attention to the stage. He wrapped one hand around the mic stand and the other around the top of the microphone, pressing the length of his body against it just before he began belting out the words.
Elle had never seen him perform live, only listened to the demos that Ivy had given her. His voice was smooth, yet there was a bit of a growl attached to each word. But more than the sound of his voice, the way he seduced the crowd, lured them into his web as intoxicating. It was erotic and sensational and Elle could see why Ivy was so in love with him.
“They’re fantastic,” Lucia yelled over the music, smiling at Elle. “God, this is amazing! Listen to how dirty every change is, feel how every note seeps into your soul. Awesome, right?”
“Definitely!” she yelled back, her grin growing.
With every song Taj performed, the crowd thickened around the stage, they screamed louder, and begged for more. Nick’s voice was on fire, but both Jonas and Abe were rocking every number. Elle, however, found herself glancing at Aaron, watching in awe as he pounded the shit out of his drum kit. His hair was soaked with sweat, yet he didn’t seem to mind as he kept the pace fast and dirty.
After almost a dozen songs, Nick dragged his hand through his dark hair. “We want to thank everyone for coming out tonight. We sure are having a good time up here. Are you having fun?”
The crowd erupted in cheers, screams, and excitement. Nick laughed and took a step back before shifting his attention to where Elle and everyone sat. His smile turned into a smirk as he looked back out at the crowd.
“Tonight we’d like to share the stage with a special friend. Is that okay with all of you?”
Again, the crowd gave their approval, the roar was almost deafening.
Nick put his hand up, quieting them down. “Good, good. Lucia Flores, get your ass up here.”
“What?” she snarled as Elle, Derek, Sadie, Callum, and Ivy looked at her. Her eyes were huge and she was shaking.
“Come on now, honey,” Nick cackled, turning on the stage and looking right at her. “Don’t be shy. They won’t bite. Hard, at least.”
“That son-of-a-bitch,” Lucia muttered as she pushed her chair back and stood up.
“Go Lucia!” Derek yelled, causing his sister to glare at him. “Go! This is your chance.”
Lucia spared a look at Elle before she walked around the table and onto the stage, her cheeks darkening as the crowd yelled and screamed for her. For a second, she worried the attention would be too much for Lucia. She’d been so reluctant to be around anyone at work or at the house, but knew this was a huge moment for her, a chance to be heard.
“Give it up for Lucia Flores!” Nick exclaimed into the microphone, which the crowd did. “I think it’s time she sang for us.”
“No,” Lucia argued, trying to push the mic away, but Nick simply shook his head and stepped backward, forcing her to hold it.
Elle leaned forward and placed her elbow on the table as she watched Lucia take a deep breath and grab the mic stand, placing the microphone back on it.
“Forgive me for not being prepared,” Lucia said, laughing softly. “Um, okay, here I go.”
For a moment, the entire bar was entirely silent, so quiet Elle felt hear her heart beating. And then Lucia began to sing Amazing Grace.
Goosebumps erupted and Elle watched as Lucia, scared and frightened of facing the world, found her moment to shine.
Ten
“I can’t believe you did that to me!” Lucia exclaimed, grabbing Nick by the shoulders and giving him a little shake.
Taj had just wrapped up their set. While Jonas and Abe headed to the bar to grab everyone, but Sadie, a beer, Nick and Aaron had joined them at the table.
“Clearly you don’t know me that well, honey, or you’d know that’s exactly the kind of shit I do,” Nick teased, falling into the empty chair next to Ivy. His hair was soaked, his T-shirt drenched in sweat. “You’re good, Lucia. Really good.”
“Thanks,” Lucia replied, shyly. “Felt incredible being on stage again. It’s so hard to find bars in L.A. willing to let me sing. Gotta know someone, and I didn’t know anybody. Even the open mic places had a long waiting list, and a lot of regulars just waiting for someone to find them.”
“You know, we’ve been looking for someone to join Taj,” Nick casually commented, toying with one of the coasters on the table. “Seems to me you’ve got the kind of voice that could take our music to a new level. What do you think, Aaron?”
Aaron cleared his throat, but nodded. “Best we’ve heard so far. Nobody else who’s auditioned could have handled that song a capela like that.”
“I’m sure that’s not true,” Lucia mumbled, her cheeks darkening from the attention she was getting.
“Trust me,” Aaron said, sincerely. “You were amazing. We’d be lucky to have you in the band.”
“Hell yeah, we would!” Jonas exclaimed setting the handful of beers he was carrying on the table, while Abe handed a bottle of water to Sadie.
“Agreed,” Abe added. “With you, we’d be able to woo any agent in the business.”
“You’re not serious, are you?” Lucia asked, sitting up straighter. “Because I’ve been dreaming of being in a band since I was like five.”
“We’d never bullshit about something as important as our music,” Nick told her. “In five weeks, we have the opportunity to audition for Sin Records. We’ve been sending the label demos for years, and they’ve finally given us a chance to play for them, but we … Well, to be honest, we need someone to make Taj prettier,” he admitted with no shame.
“So, you want me to join your band because I’m pretty?” Lucia asked, frowning.
“Yes,” he said, smiling. “And no. The fact that you’re beautiful.” Nick paused and looked at Ivy, “But not as beautiful as you, of course.”
“Yeah, nice save, asshole,” Ivy scoffed, shaking her head before taking a drink of her beer.
“Oh, well, I tried.” Nick turned back to Lucia. “You are beautiful, which is a bonus, but your tone and pitch are perfect. People work their asses off to have the kind of control you’ve got. You’ll give us more depth, more …” Nick turned to Aaron. “Help me out, dude.”
Aaron smiled and shifted his attention to Lucia. “We’re good. No, we’re damn good without you, but we want to be better than good. Shit, we’ve been working our asses off for twelve years. Nick and I started Taj when we were in high school. We found Jonas and Abe in college, but every agent we’ve found that will listen to us has told us we need a strong female voice to counter our masculine voices. We’ve auditioned hundreds of women, but none of them come close to you.”
Aaron paused and looked at Elle. “Tell her to join us.”
“I don’t tell her to do anything,” Elle replied, coolly, but then she looked at Lucia. “However, if you want my advice, I would say do it.”
“Yeah?” Lucia asked, biting her lip.
Elle nodded. “Worth the shot, right?”
“Maybe,” Lucia murmured, picking up her beer and pulling at the wrapper.
“Hey,” Nick said, reaching across the table and covering her hand with his. She looked up at him, and Elle could see the fear and doubt in her eyes. “Just think about it. That’s all I’m asking.”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll think it over,” she agreed.
“Good.” Nick smiled and looked back at Elle, and then Aaron. “Okay, how do you two know each other?”
“Um,” Elle stammered, shifting her eyes to Jonas and Abe before saying, “Because of Leo.”
Nick’s eyes widened. “Jonas, Abe, give us a few minutes.”
“Huh?” Abe asked, frowning.
“Please,” Nick said, looking at him. Jonas and Abe nodded and walked over to the bar, leaving them alone. “Okay, what do you mean because of Leo?”
Elle released a deep breath. “Aaron is the man who stopped Leo from killing me. He stayed by my side in the hospital until Sadie got there. The police took him to the station to give a statement and identify Leo as my attacker, but before he could come back to the hospital, they released me. Since Leo took a plea bargain, neither of us had to testify. I never saw him again.”
“Wow,” Nick laughed, softly. “It’s not funny, but what are the odds? I mean, Aaron and I have been friends since we were five, for fuck sake!”
Elle smiled and leaned forward, stretching her hand out to Aaron. He immediately wrapped his fingers around hers.
“I never got a chance to say thanks for helping me. You didn’t have to step in. A lot of guys would have just ignored my cries for help, but you didn’t. You saved my life.”
“I couldn’t just ignore you,” he said, softly. “You needed me. I kept thinking about my sister, and what I would have done if it had been her.”
Tears filled Elle’s eyes as she pulled her hand from his and placed it on Callum’s knee. “If it wasn’t for you, though, I wouldn’t have met the loves of my life. Well, except for Sadie, of course. She’s always been there.”
“Loves?” Aaron asked, smiling. “As in more than one?”
Elle nodded. “This is Derek and Callum, mine and Sadie’s fiancés.”
“You’re getting hitched?” he asked, his grin growing.
“Yep, and we’re having a baby,” she said, tilting her head toward Sadie and her growing belly. At almost twenty-two weeks, she had quite a baby bump.
“Oh, shit, that’s awesome,” he hailed.
“Glad you agree,” Elle snickered. “It’s taken awhile, but I’m …” Her words hung in the air. She’d almost said she was in a better place, but that wasn’t true. Her life was just as fucked up as it was three years ago when Leo tried to kill her. The only difference was the person trying to snuff out her life was a woman named Trixie.
“Baby, you okay?” Derek asked, sliding his hand over hers.
Elle blinked back the tears that swam in her eyes as she nodded. “Yeah. Just … just kind of tired.”
Derek kissed the said of her head. “Ready to head home?”
Elle nodded, dislodging the tears that had been lingering on her eyelashes. She looked over at Aaron. “I’m sorry. I wanted to catch up, but …”
“Don’t worry about it.” Aaron pulled his phone out of his pocket and held it out to her. “Give me your number. We can meet for coffee sometime.”
Elle bit her lip as she took the phone from him and added her number under his contacts. Placing the phone on the table, she looked up at him. “Thanks for understanding.”
“I’m just glad you’re okay,” he said, and she noted the sincerity in his words. “Now get home. Enjoy the night with your fiancés. I’m going to drink a couple more beers, before I go home. I have a teacher’s conference in the morning that I am not looking forward to.”
Elle laughed as she stood up, bracing herself against the table while she grabbed her cane. “Still can’t see you as a teacher.”
“I’m telling you, kids love me! Call me Mr. Hess and everything,” he chuckled.
“If you say so,” Elle scoffed. “I’ll be in touch.”
“Promise?” he asked. “You’re not going to disappear on me again, are you?”
Elle smiled and shook her head. “Nope. I’m not the same fragile girl I was a few years ago. We’re friends now, Aaron, and I don’t let go of my friends.”
“Me, either,” he said, picking up his beer.
Callum, Derek, and Sadie were quiet as the four of them made the drive home. Elle knew they were curious about Aaron, about the kind of man he was. So was she, but the night had been overwhelming. She needed a chance to clear her mind, think about what had happened. Three years ago she had been a frightened, weak woman, whose boyfriend tried to kill her. Was she that same woman now? Only, instead of a crazed boyfriend, it was a psychotic woman who was jealous of the life Elle had.
“Are you okay?” Callum asked when they were about a mile from the house.
“No,” Elle admitted. “And yes. Aaron brings back a time in my life that I don’t like to think about. But at the same time, I’m glad to know he wasn’t as figment of my imagination, either. That’s he’s real. That men like him are real. Does that make sense?”
“Of course it does,” Sadie said, reaching from the backseat and placing her hand on Elle’s shoulder. “Can’t say I was prepared to see him, either.”
“He seems like a nice guy,” Derek added, though his words were tense and tight.
“Were you jealous, lover?” Elle asked, laughing as she shifted in her seat and looked back at him.
“Yes,” he replied in earnest. “A dangerous man hurt you, Elle. He put his hands on you and made you cry, and I hate that Callum and I weren’t a part of your life when you needed us to be the ones that saved you. So, yeah, I’m jealous that Aaron was there, but I’m not threatened by him. You don’t look at him the way you do me and Callum, or Sadie even. You’re ours, and I don’t doubt your love for us one bit.”
“Good,” she whimpered, reaching into the backseat for him. “Because you three are my everything.”
“As you are ours.” Callum placed his hand on her knee as he turned into the driveway and parked in front of the house.
The entry room light was on when they walked into the house, which was odd because Elle didn’t remember them leaving it on. With a subtle shake of her head, she followed Derek, Callum, and Sadie upstairs. She must have forgotten to turn them off in their rush to leave for the bar.
However, when they walked into their bedroom, she felt her chest clench. Strung out across her bed were a dozen pairs of her panties, several of her bras, and a few pieces of her lingerie. Placed in the middle of all of them was a pink, silicon vibrator.
—FA—
Elle crawled out of bed the next morning and hobbled downstairs and into her studio. She hadn’t been able to sleep, not even after the police assure her that whoever had broken into their house was gone. A busted window in the garage was thought to be the entry point, but nobody knew for certain. The police had lifted several fingerprints from their bedroom. They’d also bagged the vibrator along with all of the clothes that had been worn. After the police left, Derek and Callum stripped the sheets and blankets off the bed and tossed them into the trash at Elle and Sadie’s insistence.
While the police didn’t know who had broken into the house, Elle knew that person was Trixie. But why the woman had broken into the house just to wear some of her clothes was something she didn’t understand.
Elle shivered; just the thought of her prancing around in her lingerie had her stomach in knots. Needless to say, she was more than happy to let the police take it all. She never wanted them back. Not anymore.
Elle settled on the edge of her stool and leaned her cane against the easel. She’d been piddling with a new painting for the last few months, but had struggled to get it perfect. Her passion for painting had just returned when Trixie came after her, and much like when her ex assaulted her, she found herself struggling to let her feeling show in her artwork.
“Hey, you,” Sadie murmured, and when she looked over her should, Elle saw the sexy woman leaning against the doorjamb, both hands rubbing her belly. “You okay?”
Elle sighed and looked back at her painting. “I was just starting to feel like I was getting my life back. She always there, you know? In the back of my mind, I always knew she was there, but I was starting to feel free.”
“And you don’t now?” she asked and a moment later, Elle felt Sadie’s arms slip around her waist and her chin resting on her shoulder.
“I don’t know how I feel,” Elle admitted.
“Well, d
o you feel hungry?” Sadie asked, laughing as she dragged her fingers along Elle’s stomach, causing her to laugh. “Because I’m starving.”
“Depends on what I get to eat,” Elle purred, shifting on her stool so that she was facing Sadie.
“As much as I want you between my legs, baby, I really am hungry. Make me some waffles? Please? Pretty please with cherries and Callum and Derek on top?”
“Wow, both of them and cherries?” Elle laughed. “Sounds like we got a deal!”
Sadie clapped her hands and cheered, causing Elle to laugh even harder. With another look at her unfinished painting, Elle grabbed her cane and led Sadie inside.
Callum was making a pot of coffee when they walked into the kitchen, and Derek as sitting at the table with his feet propped up on one of the chairs and the morning paper in his hands.
“Um, what do you think you’re doing?” Elle asked, hitting Callum in the ass with her cane.
He yelped and stepped away from the counter. “I was making some coffee, but I see that was stupid.”
“Honey, you know I love you, right?” Elle asked, sweetly.
He nodded slowly, clearly unsure what she was about to say.
“And you know that I like making the coffee, right?”
Again, he nodded. “Sorry. Just trying to help.”
“I know, and I love you for it.” Elle placed her hand on his shoulder and pulled him down for a kiss. “Go sit. I’m making breakfast.”
“I can help,” he offered, sliding his arm around her waist.
Elle smiled. “Thanks, but I’ve got it. Don’t argue with me. Just let me pamper you. Please?”
Callum narrowed his eyes at her, but nodded. He kissed her once more before turning and walking over to the table, pulling Sadie’s feet into his lap and rubbing them. She sighed and leaned back, enjoying the moment while Elle began making waffles.
A couple hours later, the four of them were in the living room, having devoured a dozen of Elle’s pecan waffles. Derek and Callum were searching for the score of a baseball game they’d missed the night before, while Sadie was laying on one of the sofas, her hands rubbing her belly.