by LuAnn McLane
“Ah, dear Ava, trying to show some backbone. How amusing.”
“I’m going to show you my knee in your groin,” Ava growled, but he tightened his hold on her until it hurt. The look in his eyes chilled her blood. “And you won’t be laughing,” she managed to add, even though fear gripped her heart.
“I want you to leave,” he said in a lethal tone.
“That’s my line. Get out of here.”
“You’re going to leave the building. Now.” Anthony narrowed his eyes and his nostrils flared. His cloying cologne nearly made her gag.
“You’re out of your mind. Why are you doing this?”
He ran a deceptively gentle fingertip down her cheek and she recoiled. “You ruined my career by leaving me. Everyone felt so sorry for poor little Ava,” he said in a singsong voice. God . . . he’d truly lost it.
“You cheated on me. Made your own bed.” She struggled against his hold. “Let go or I’ll scream the house down. Jesse will be here any minute and he’ll be livid.”
“Ah, your pretty-boy has-been. I could take him down with one hand tied behind my back. I wouldn’t scream if I were you. I’m warning you.”
“About what?”
“Our little video,” he said with a nasty grin.
Ava sucked in a breath, suddenly feeling light-headed.
“That little sex tape of you doing . . . naughty things to me.” He pointed to his crotch and she felt bile rise in her throat. The mere memory of touching him made her want to throw up.
“You promised me that you destroyed it,” Ava managed to say, even though she found it difficult to breathe through her pounding heart.
Anthony arched a dark eyebrow and chuckled. “I promised a lot of things.”
“You recorded me without my consent. That’s against the law.”
“Oh . . . I won’t be the sender. And you can’t see my face while you’re riding me. But your face—and the rest of you—is crystal clear. So do as I ask and leave here right now. Otherwise, pretty soon the entire world will know what you look like naked.”
“Why are you doing this? You cheated on me. You don’t have the right to be angry. And you deserved what you got.”
“I had to go somewhere else after you turned into an ice queen. Angelica was only meant to be a bit of fun—not to ruin my dancing career. And then you had to go and find out.” He shook his head sadly. “Ah, Ava, you should have come back to me when I asked you to.”
“Never,” she said, frantically trying to think of what she could do to end this horror.
“Well, now I’m getting my payback. The win tonight, the money from the tabloids—how sweet it will be.”
“So take the money and run. Why are you threatening me, and why do you want to make me leave? I’m due onstage with Jesse in less than an hour.”
Anthony shrugged. “We’re the performance right after you.”
“So? We’re only an exhibition. We’re not even competing for a real score.”
“You’ll bring the house down no matter what you and your pretty boy do. We’ll look like a joke if we follow your act. My attempt to throw dirt at your name would have been all for naught if I let you get on that stage. So I have to step it up a notch.”
“You bastard.”
Anthony shrugged. “And I have Angelica believing you’re a real bitch.” He laughed. “She wants to scratch your eyes out. She believes everything I said about you, and the icing on the cake is that she really does think you were laughing at her expense at the grocery store. You played right into my hands.”
“You’re insane.”
“Time is ticking. And I don’t think you want me to release the video right before the show. I could do it anytime, you know. Like . . . how about now?”
Ava swallowed hard. God, she wanted to slap that smirk off his face. But . . . was he bluffing? Or was he telling the truth? She’d been horrified when he’d first shown her the video, but she’d never dreamed he’d stoop to something like this. “I don’t think you still have it. Get out of here.”
Anthony pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened an image of her, naked, clearly having sex.
Her stomach lurched. “Destroy it now or I’ll sue you.”
Anthony laughed. “Ah, but the damage will already be done. Imagine how your little has-been will react?”
Ava nearly dissolved into hysterical tears. She blinked, fearing she might pass out. “Okay, I’ll leave. But I want the tape erased. I want to see you erase it.”
“Right, if I erase it now, you won’t leave. Get out of here. I’ll erase it later.”
Ava hesitated, thinking she should call Jesse, but humiliation washed over her at the thought of him seeing an image of her having sex with Anthony.
“I’m not playing, Ava,” he sneered, his tone so sinister that she believed him. “Leave or else.”
“Okay,” she said, and he finally let go of her arm. Wincing, she rubbed the sore spot where he had grabbed her and watched him slink out the door. With hysteria bubbling up in her throat, she grabbed her purse and fled the building down the back stairs. She ran to her car, tears nearly blinding her, and somehow drove home without running off the road. Once she was in her apartment, she collapsed to the floor and wept.
Questions flooded her brain. Should she call Jesse? “No,” she croaked out loud, praying that Anthony would stick to his word and delete the video once it became clear she wasn’t going to be at the competition. But how could she even trust that sleazy bastard? She remained on her knees in the middle of the floor, wishing she hadn’t trusted him when he said he’d delete the video. Of course, she now knew what a cunning creep he was beneath that polished façade.
Moments later, her cheerful ringtone played, making her heart thud. She knew it would likely be Jesse. With trembling fingers, she dug into her purse and stared at the screen with blurred vision. She felt horrible about what this must be doing to him. She just wanted this night to be over. What if Anthony continued to threaten her? Blackmail her? She couldn’t subject Jesse to that. Even if this was the only time Anthony did this to her, explaining what he’d threatened would send Jesse into orbit. And a sex tape? Even though Anthony had been her boyfriend at the time, it still screamed dirty, sleazy. Would Jesse ever look at her the same way again once he found out about its existence?
No . . . I can’t do the performance tonight, she thought miserably. She lifted the thin phone that somehow felt heavy, but couldn’t bear to listen to the voice mail. Maybe she should text Jesse that she’d fallen ill? Oh, but, then he’d leave the event, hurry over to her apartment, and find her in this state of mind. He’d somehow know that her tears would have something to do with Anthony and . . . God, the vision of her in the explicit video popped into her head and she let out a sob. She couldn’t bear the thought of anyone, but especially Jesse, seeing her doing . . . that.
“No,” Ava whispered again, knowing that if she had contacted Jesse earlier and told him what had happened, he might have stormed over to Anthony’s place and confronted him. Angelica would likely have been there shooting videos, and they’d be splashed all over social media and the tabloids, ruining Jesse’s reputation and creating havoc for the Heart family. And while Grady had graced the front pages of the tabloids with his globe-hopping player reputation for a couple of years, Heartbeat was generally thought of as a wholesome boy band. Now that their main goal was to raise money for the Susan Heart Lupus Foundation, tarnishing their name in any way could be costly.
Ava sat there feeling such aching anguish that the pain felt like a physical blow to her stomach. Her phone pinged again and then again. Ava cringed, knowing she should be heading onto the stage performing the dance they’d been rehearsing for weeks. As much as it killed her not to show up, she now knew that Anthony was capable of anything. And she had her reputation to think of as well. The release of a sex tape could result in her losing her job or, at the very least, drive students away. Plus, it would come right on the heels of
the horrific Hollywood Tonight interview. The two stories would likely be linked together, perhaps making the tawdry tape seem as if it was something she’d agreed to or, even worse, wanted to do, giving Angelica’s interview more credence. And to think she’d moved to Sea Breeze to avoid this kind of drama! Plus Ava’s mind raced with the ramifications of what the release of the tape could do to both her and Jesse. And God—what about her family?
Ava stared at the phone, wondering if she should come up with some sort of response to hold Jesse at bay. She needed to gather a few essential things and hightail it out of town, maybe just head to Chicago and be surrounded by her family. She had to leave before Jesse finally did come over and find her a blubbering basket case.
With effort, Ava pushed up to her feet and swayed. She grabbed the back of a chair, gulping in deep breaths. While she knew driving wouldn’t be the best thing to do, she didn’t have a choice. She clenched her jaw, trying to remain steady on her feet, when she heard a frantic knocking at her door. She closed her eyes, thinking that it must be Jesse. Knowing she couldn’t get away with not answering the door, she went on wobbly legs to silence the banging. Bracing herself, she opened the door . . .
And was face-to-face with Angelica. “What do you want?”
“Just . . . may I come in?” Angelica asked tearfully. Ava noticed her smudged mascara and realized that she’d been crying.
“Is Anthony with you?” Ava asked, trying to see over Angelica’s shoulder.
“No,” Angelica replied in a strangled tone. “And he doesn’t know I’m here. Plus, I took his car. Well, it’s really my car, but he acts like it’s his. So he couldn’t have followed me.”
“How did you know where I live?”
“Anthony mentioned that you lived above a bakery. I told him how cool I thought that was, like goodies all the time, but he sneered and said . . . mean stuff. This was the only bakery, so I took a chance. I popped in once and the cookies are good . . .”
“Angelica, focus.”
“I need to talk to you. Right now.”
“Why should I let you into my home?”
“Because there’s something you need to know.”
Ava hesitated. “Is this some sort of trap?”
“No, Ava,” Angelica said, and her face crumpled. “I’m so very sorry.”
“For what?” Ava asked, afraid that Angelica was going to tell her that she’d released the video and was feeling remorse.
“Everything.”
“The video.”
“There isn’t a video anymore. Or at least, there won’t be.”
“What? What do you mean?” Ava felt relief so strongly that she almost fell to her knees. “Okay, come in.” Ava stepped aside for Angelica to enter and locked the door with a solid click.
Both she and Angelica sort of staggered over to the sofa and sat down. Ava sat on the far end, facing Angelica. “Okay, what’s going on?”
“Well, first, this!” Angelica pulled a cell phone out of her purse and raised it in the air as if holding the Super Bowl trophy for all to see. “This belongs to Anthony!”
Ava’s heart raced. “Really?”
Angelica nodded emphatically. “Yes, and I’m going to let you witness me deleting the video and wiping it clean from his iCloud. And then I’m tossing the phone in the trash.” She tilted her head. “Or maybe I’ll crush it beneath my heel.” She pressed her lips together. “Or flush it—”
“Angelica! For the love of God, just do it!”
Angelica clamped her mouth shut and nodded. “Oh, right, okay then . . .” Frowning in concentration, she started the process. “Come on over here and watch me.”
Ava stood up on wobbly legs and looked over Angelica’s shoulder.
“There . . . okay and there, settings, okay, yes . . . done! Poof! Gone! So long. Farewell. Bye, bye, bye,” she said to the phone screen, and then blew out what seemed to be a sigh of relief. “Ah, that felt good.”
Trembling with emotion, Ava went back to her spot on the sofa and looked over at Angelica. “Why the sudden change of heart?”
“Well . . .” Angelica blinked rapidly, appearing as if she might lose it at any moment. “Ava, when I started seeing Anthony, I thought you two were over.”
“We were engaged,” Ava stated flatly.
“I know, but . . . but he . . . he said you were horrid. That you tore him down, screamed at him, threatened him if he tried to leave you. Ava, that’s why I said those things in that interview.”
“And got paid.”
“I don’t care about the money,” Angelica said vehemently. “Anthony said he had to stay and endure your meanness because of your dance career. That you bullied him. Made him feel as if he was nothing without you.”
“He lied.”
“I know that now,” Angelica said, her eyes brimming with tears. “But not then.”
Ava felt a twinge of sympathy—one that Angelica probably didn’t deserve—and reminded herself to keep her guard up. This could still be a trap. Another devious plan that was being hatched. “Go on.”
“Please don’t look at me like that.”
“You mean, like I don’t trust you?”
“I’m telling you the truth,” Angelica said so forcefully that Ava started to believe her, but she tried to keep her expression neutral.
“Go on.”
Angelica licked her lips. “I want you to know that I resisted him at first. Ava, I met him when I went for advanced dance lessons. I didn’t know that . . . God.” She swiped at tears. “He wore me down and had me convinced you were a monster.” She swallowed hard. “Anyway, I also want you to know that I was opposed to entering this competition. I mean, why would I want to come here and endure this drama? But Anthony insisted, saying it would be good karma or something to show you up. And he needed the prize money.”
“I still don’t get his reasoning behind wanting to take me down.”
Angelica tilted her head. “See, people adored you, sympathized with you, and so his clientele for lessons fell off when they heard about what happened. And I’m not in the same league as a dancer as you were, so the only reason he stuck with me was because he couldn’t get another partner willing to dance with him. His reputation plummeted and he blamed . . . you.”
“That’s insane. Everything he did was brought upon him by his own actions.”
“I know that now too. But he can be very convincing.” She pressed her lips together for a moment. “And when we rehearsed he would go on and on about how much better you were than me, no matter how hard I worked or how hard I tried to please him. I was jealous of you, and that played a part in me wanting to help him do his dirty deed.” She lowered her gaze for a moment. “Sorry.”
“I don’t understand such meanness. What did he hope to gain in the end?”
“Revenge.” Angelica shrugged. “He wanted to get back at you. And he convinced me that you deserved it.” She closed her eyes. “I’m so very sorry,” she said in a trembling whisper.
“So why are you here, other than out of trying to alleviate your massive guilt?”
Angelica opened her eyes and leaned forward. “I want to make things right. Or as right as I can make them. Ava, Jesse is frantic, wondering what happened to you. So Heartbeat went on first.”
“Heartbeat?” Ava sat up straighter.
“Apparently their involvement was a surprise to everyone. My guess is that Jesse planned to have them appear after our dance to upstage Anthony and keep the focus away from the gossip the interview caused. Having Heartbeat suddenly appear and sing “I’ll Be with You Always” had everyone in the audience in tears. Trust me, after that, nobody was thinking about my stupid thirty seconds.”
Ava felt a sharp sting of regret that she’d missed the performance.
“Having his brothers rally around you, and refusing to address the lies, was a damned good strategy to deal with the backlash.”
“It sucks that there had to be a strategy,” Ava said tightly.
“I know.” Angelica folded her hands in her lap, rocking back and forth. “Anyway, Grady announced that Heartbeat would be opening the event and that you and Jesse would close the show with your dance. I don’t know how Jesse pulled off the performance not knowing where you were or what was going on. So . . . you have to get back there!”
“I can’t.”
“Why? Ava, “There’s no video now! Anthony’s got nothing, zilch, on you. You have to do this for me.”
Ava shot Angelica a pointed look. “This isn’t about you.”
“Right, sorry.”
“Wait, did you dance? Since we didn’t?”
“Oh hell no.” Angelica shook her head fiercely. “Anthony had the nerve to tell me what he’d just done to you and then showed me the video of, well, you know. He was so proud of himself,” she said darkly.
“He filmed the video without my knowledge or consent.”
“He let me know that too. He actually thought I’d think it was a clever move. By then, I was appalled. Horrified. And in that defining moment, I knew he’d lied to me from the beginning. And that the only reason he was still with me was because you’d found out about us and had broken off the engagement. I was just some little dalliance. And I realize too that our recent engagement was just another way he wanted to get back at you. There’s no end to how shitty I feel about this. I’m just a mediocre dancer. A spoiled little rich girl. A royal fuckup,” she spat. “A—”
“Stop it! Anthony put that shit in your head to control you.”
Angelica nodded. “How in the hell could I have been so stupid?”
“Because he’s a narcissistic bully. He gets in your head and tears you down and then turns on the charm. It’s a game to him and he enjoys it. I’ve been there, remember? He can be so convincing.” Ava shuddered. “And controlling.”
“I know.” Angelica shook her head sadly, but then swiped at tears. “Fuck him. And can you believe he wanted me to launch the video?”
“Yes, if I ignored his demands and went onstage.”
“Ha! He still planned to release the video with or without you onstage, so once I found out that little detail, I knew enough was enough.”