Invisible (A Night Fire Novel Book 5)

by Watkins, TM

  I walked into the house, the entry was rather lavishly decorated with a wood clock that ticked loudly, a chair that seemed to be placed in a rather pointless position against the far wall and a glass table with a massive bunch of flowers. Arched doorways sat either side of the room, each containing lounges which seemed rather excessive. Beyond the table was a sweeping staircase that curled around the room.

  “Jerry is in the den, why don't you two kids go into the sitting room and I'll fetch him?”

  I followed Jaxon into the sitting room, feeling like I was dirtying the room just by stepping into it. It was so grand, so pretty. Soft lounges were placed in a u shape that faced a large fireplace. Jaxon sat and gestured for me to sit on the seat beside him.

  “Jerry and El are great people Kaylee. I've known them for years. Jerry's my bands manager and he's always had my best interest at heart.”

  “Why did you bring me here?”

  “To give you a better life.” he said simply.

  I turned when Eleanor returned, a middle aged man followed her. He seemed a rather happy man, settling onto the lounge near me with a broad smile.

  “What's happening Jaxon? Who is your friend?”

  “This is Kaylee and I found her in the warehouse. She's been sleeping in one of the barricaded offices and stealing our food.”

  The smile dropped slight as this Jerry fellow looked at me. His hand scratched through the salt and pepper hair as confusion slipped through him.

  “I thought the foreman checked all of the rooms.”

  “Well maybe he couldn't get into this one, she's been getting in and out through a hole. Anyway she's seventeen and a runaway.”

  Eleanor gripped Jerry's hand with a sad face as she looked from me to him and at that moment I knew my fate was sealed. I wasn't getting out of this house.

  The bus rattled, hitting a pot hole in the road. I smiled as I thought about Jerry and El. My other saviors. They adopted me even though it wasn't necessary, they welcomed me into their home and they gave me a fresh start. With the promise of a job at the end of it, Jerry made me go back to school. I worked hard, I never made them regret their decision to take me in. I made them proud of me. They gave me a home and food which I desperately needed. They gave me clothes and an allowance, things that made me feel worthwhile. They gave me love when no one else would.

  Chapter Two

  I walked into the warehouse, Curtis was sitting at his drum kit. The place had been fitted out, looking amazing now. The office area been revitalized, creating three levels of areas that worked well. Out in the main area was a vast room that they practiced and performed for their loyal fans.

  “Morning.” he said cheerily.

  “Hey.” I said as I stopped in front of the stage “What's new?”

  “Lots. Did you see the news?”

  “Yeah. How come we didn't get invited to the wedding? What a rude prick.”

  Curtis laughed.

  “Somehow I think he was rather drunk. Again. Guess he forgot that there are others out there that might have wanted to see it. He's in LA.”

  “Evan? Willingly going to LA? You're a liar Curtis Andrews.”

  He held his hands up in defense, grinning like a loon.

  “I speak the truth Kaylee, I swear. Jaxon's gone with him.”

  He paused and then looked at me.

  “Or her, rather.”

  “What's that look for?”

  Curtis shrugged and continued to pretend he was fitting a new skin to one of his toms.

  “Just sayin', that's all.”

  There was a tap on the window above me, I looked up to see Eden tapping on her wrist.

  “Oh look, I'm in trouble again. Later.”

  Curtis laughed, the sound filled the vast open area.

  “Gotta love pregnancy hormones.”

  I huffed as I walked up the stairs, relishing the three flights of quiet bliss before the pregnant dragon breathed fire on me. Okay so Eden wasn't that bad, she was just suffering terrible morning sickness and tumors. Not real ones, she likened all of the people that caused problems in her life to tumors. Her husband Fraser was one. He was the guy that she had been fighting with that day I pinched the piece of pizza. They had a love hate relationship and I couldn't figure out what made those two tick. One minute they'd be at each others throats, the next the door would be slammed shut and I'd be babysitting two kids.

  Not that I cared. Sahara was adorable, at nearly four years of age she was a bundle of energy and full of questions. Like what are mommy and daddy doing? I didn't dare answer that one. Then there was Hudson, he was three and a half and I couldn't understand their age gaps until Frankie told me that Sahara wasn't Eden's kid. She was dumped on Fraser by her mother, left in a box on his doorstep only a few hours old. I couldn't understand anyone wanting to walk away from someone as adorable as Sahara.

  I walked up to the third floor, Frankie was here as well. She had married Curtis only after a few weeks of knowing him, a whirlwind romance that resulted in their marriage, twin boys nine months later and a few more along the way. Jett and Levi were sitting at the coffee table, fighting over the crayons. Sahara was getting into the mix, hording all of her favorite colors. Hudson sat at the end of the table and quietly scribbled his picture.

  “You're late.” Eden snapped.

  “I know, I'm sorry.”

  She frowned but then relented.

  “PR is dealing with the weekend, screen the calls. Your father wants to know when those two idiots are planning on coming back. If he asks I've tried to call them but they aren't responding. I'm going to lay down. The tumors are huge.”

  I watched as she waddled into her office, slowly sitting onto the lounge and then laying down. Hudson was up and at her door before I could even stop him, not that it would do much good. He was like his father, determined and focused. I stepped through the child gate and locked it, smiling at Frankie as I passed to my desk.

  “How's things?”

  “Just taking it one day at a time.” she grinned.

  I looked at their latest addition, Quinn. She was their third child since having the twins. Those two needed to stop having sex. This place was like a crèche rather than the management hub for a rock band. I looked to the lounge beside her, Liam and Mila were asleep.

  “And how are you?”

  Frankie held a lot of hesitation in her voice, one that I couldn't figure.

  “Fine.”

  She looked at me in disbelief.

  “Just fine? No offense Kaylee but you look like shit. I've got five kids under five and I look better than you do.”

  “Gee thanks.” I said dryly. “I'm fine. Don't know why you're so concerned. I watched a movie last night and it kept me up late.”

  “So you don't care about the latest bit of news to hit the internet?”

  I rounded my desk and turned on the computer, trying to avoid this subject. It was never going to work, Frankie would push until she got the answer she knew was hiding deep within a person.

  “Yeah well I think we all need to be offended that Evan didn't invite us.”

  She looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

  “He didn't even invite his own mother. Really, that boy needs to have his head examined.”

  “Kaylee.” she softly chided.

  “Fine. So I might have cried. I don't care anymore so you don't need to either.”

  I hated how there were some that knew I pined for that bastard. They never said anything to him, keeping the promise that I made them give.

  “You're giving up?”

  With a shrug I answered the ringing phone, taking a message. There was a pile of them already, all pretty much the same. A magazine wanting to get an exclusive interview, a picture spread or maybe some bit of information that wasn't already out there. Because they weren't exactly secretive in what they did. Paparazzi followed them for the entire weekend and it was all over the internet within seconds.

  The sounds of a little gir
ls giggles filled the air, I knew who was walking up the stairs. I saw Isla first, sitting on her daddy's shoulders, giggling madly. Unlike Curtis and Frankie who were trying to create their own baseball team, Austin and Abbey only had little Isla. Of course rumors were rife that another one was being kept a secret, that the bun was in the oven but nothing had been confirmed.

  Austin set her to the ground, Isla started to protest until he took her to the group of children and set her up at the coloring table. Fraser and Curtis were walking up the stairs, soon followed by my father and Abbey. I didn't call Jerry and El by their names. It felt odd really and I think that they liked the sentiment that was attached to it.

  “Right we'll get started in a minute. Maybe we need to move the babies downstairs.” Jerry began.

  “Lookd'd what I drawed daddy.”

  Sahara held up a picture to Fraser.

  “Oh that's a great picture of mommy.”

  “Kaylee darling, a moment.”

  I looked at Jerry who was standing near the boardroom, looking a little flustered at all of the children that were getting underfoot. Liam and Mila had woken and weren't impressed.

  “Sure.”

  Weaving my way through the children I walked into the boardroom as my father closed the door.

  “How are you?”

  “Great.”

  “Just great? Because we've been through this before Kaylee.”

  I shrugged and wrapped my arms around my body, wandering to the window. The view was the same as it always was when one of the band members did something newsworthy. Paparazzi would line the street trying to get a glimpse of something.

  “Why don't you say something darling?”

  “Because I don't want to suffer rejection. I couldn't work here or around him if he did. I like my job, I like working for you and mom.”

  “Alright darling.” he sighed. “Your mom wants you to come over for dinner tonight to discuss your twenty-first birthday.”

  “Nothing big.”

  He shrugged rather vaguely, indicating that it had already been discussed and agreed upon. Tonight was just informing me of what was going to happen. God love El, she was a wonderful mother but she was incredibly overbearing as well.

  It was just what I wanted. Another birthday party where Jaxon brings a date. Another birthday party where I slink away when nobody is looking.

  “Maybe you should bring a date.”

  “For tonight?” I frowned at him.

  “No.” he chuckled. “To your party. You never know, maybe a bit of jealousy might make things happen.”

  My father swanned across the room and opened the door, calling for everyone to come in. I passed through the door before any of the great lumbering brutes reached it, returning to my desk to contemplate my father's words. Would the presence of a male make Jaxon do something? I doubted it.

  I carried on with my duties which for today consisted of answering the phone and taking messages. Even Lola, Evan's mother called. To say that she wasn't impressed was an understatement. She had raised him almost by herself. Lola was a teen mother, she lived with her aunt and raised Evan with very little help. To have him do this to her, and I suppose her aunt as well was like a kick in the teeth.

  But like all good mothers, she accepted it and asked if we had heard from him. I had nothing other than I had heard that he was in LA, Lola didn't believe it either. He hated LA and I knew why. Lola was from LA, that was where he was created. His father was Lola's teacher, she was fifteen when she gave birth to Evan. It was true to say that Evan hated his father and the entire state of California and for him to willingly go there meant that the woman he married on the weekend was something pretty special.

  Of course, I knew of Harmony Roberts. She was a great actress and had a knack for the good girl roles and the romantic films. To see her with Evan was like seeing a giraffe at the North Pole. It just didn't look right. However they did look like they were in love. Or maybe it was lust. Maybe there would be an annulment on the horizon. Maybe I'd be calling Kevin the shark in a few days' time.

  The shark was a great lawyer, he's gotten these idiots out of so many tight spots it wasn't funny. He was definitely a man that was worth his weight in gold. Kevin was on speed dial, labeled shark. Dad thought it was funny and made a point of showing him the next time he was at the clubhouse. Kevin loved it, worse yet, he loved that I was mortified that my father was showing him.

  I looked through the glass window to the boardroom, a meeting going on between my father, Eden and three of the band members. Two were still missing, purportedly somewhere in LA. I had my father's phone in my hands, under his insistence I had to keep trying to contact Evan and Jaxon. But neither of them were responding. So I took a new direction. I sent Jaxon a message from my phone, it was simple. All I asked was that he call me.

  Minutes later my phone rang, lit up with his name. It wasn't surprising, I knew that they probably didn't want to be yelled at.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey Kaylee.”

  He sounded drunk. God, it was only ten am in the morning.

  “Where are you Jaxon?”

  “We've gone on down to la-la land. Ev's not happy but he's cool. Harmie's making him happy, you know?”

  “Sure, sure.”

  I looked at the window, Curtis saw me on the phone and frowned pointing at me. Then my father peered through the window, his eyebrows raised and I nodded.

  “So uh, everyone wants to know what's going on Jaxon. When are you and Evan coming back?”

  My father opened the door and walked across the room with determination.

  “Well I'm probably going to be out here for a couple of days I suppose.”

  I heard a giggle in the background and it felt like my heart crumbled into a thousand pieces.

  “Evan's not really sure. Everything is kinda up in the air with Harmie's career, you know?”

  Not really, in fact I have no idea what you're saying.

  “No.” I sighed loudly, looking at my father who was leaning on the counter. “Dad wants dates Jaxon, give me dates.”

  “Uh well maybe Wednesday for me and Seph.”

  I cringed hearing her name come from his mouth.

  “Ev I don't know, you'd have to ask him. I'll get him to call you when I see him, 'k?”

  “Sure.”

  “Later Kaylee.”

  He was gone before I could even say goodbye, not that I wanted to.

  “Wednesday. Doesn't know for Evan. Said he would tell him to call.”

  My father nodded, offering a sympathetic smile.

  “Go and get a coffee Kaylee, stop thinking about him and find someone better.”

  I nodded and made a hasty dash to the stairs before he continued with his loving yet annoying parental advice.

  Chapter Three

  Evan didn't call. In fact we didn't hear anything from them until Jaxon rang me at dinner time. Ordinarily phones were banned at the dinner table but on this occasion and others that were of a similar nature, El ignored the fact that we got up and checked to see who it was.

  “It's Jaxon.” I sighed as I answered it.

  “Hello Jaxon.”

  “Hey, has Evan called?”

  “Nope.”

  Silence, which was odd for Jaxon. He liked to talk.

  “Everything okay?”

  “Not really. Him and Harmie had a fight, think he's gone AWOL. Don't know where he is actually.”

  “Okay well we'll do a drive by and see if he's home. When are you coming back?”

  There was silence again, something wasn't right. I couldn't figure it out but I knew Jaxon all too well to know that this tone and this silence was normal.

  “Probably tomorrow. Harmie's a little drunk at the moment, she's kinda passed out on the kitchen floor. I guess it's probably best if we stay until morning to make sure she's okay, right?”

  “Sure.”

  It was then that I figured out why Jaxon sounded so different. He was sober
. God damn, this was seriously messed up.

  “Okay well, keep us posted.”

  “Sure. Bye Kaylee.”

  And then he actually waited for me to say goodbye. I was stunned.

  “Bye Jaxon.”

  I hung up the phone to the table of people watching on. Not only was it Jerry and El but their two adult sons were here as well. Nate and Brad had already flown the coop by the time I arrived but I still considered them brothers.

  “Evan and Harmony had a fight, Jaxon doesn't know where he is.”

  “Alright, we'll swing by and see if he's home. We're done with preparations hun?”

  “Of course, finding Evan is priority for tonight. I can stop by for lunch tomorrow, how does that sound darling?”

  “Sure thing mom.”

  We were in the car for about five minutes before my father said something about the Jaxon situation. It was inevitable really, like all good fathers he wanted to make sure I was okay and put his two cents in while he was at it.

  “You know what I think the issue is, I think he still sees you as the seventeen year old girl.”

  I was surprised by the statement but it was probably true.

  “Maybe your mom needs to take you out and do all that girly stuff with you, make you look a little older. Maybe when he realizes that you're twenty-one he will finally see you as an adult.”

  “It's a great thought dad, it really is but I'm over it. I understand that until I was eighteen I was out of bounds for him but he didn't even...” I sighed as I pressed my head to the window. “He could have easily said that he was interested but wanted to wait until I was of legal age. But he didn't so it proves it conclusively that I'm not what he thinks is attractive.”

  Jerry laughed, one that caught me by surprise and made me lift my head from the window.

  “Well then he's an idiot. Honey, you're as cute as a button and if he ain't into buttons then tell him to get zipped.”

  I snorted with laughter. This was why I loved this man, his humor.

  “Thanks dad.”

  He smiled and pulled into the driveway of Evan's place, punching the code into the gate. They slowly rattled open and he continued through to the dark house. This place was deceptive and there could be a really good chance that he was here.