Our phones chime all at the same time, but only Marcus reacts. He silently reads the message, his face furrowing in confusion. “Whose car did you say they borrowed?”
Ray lifts her head. “It was one of the other PA’s. Actually, it’s more of a general access car the show has lying around. Any of the crew can use them for errands.”
His head swung around rapidly. “Them? Is there more than one?”
“Uh yeah, I think so. I’ve seen four or five of them about. Why do you ask?”
“Huh,” he comments, eyes fixed back on his phone screen as he starts furiously typing.
“Huh is not an answer.” Sky releases me and goes to stand in front of him, arms crossed. “What’s going on?”
He drops the phone back on his lap, his lips twisting. “Well, we either have a very sloppy, and severely reckless stalker… or a dangerously close one. The brake lines were cut on that car. How the fuck did he know Syd and Chantel were going to use that one?”
“Fuck,” Sky hisses, running her fingers through her hair. “This is a mess.”
Staring at the wall, I can’t speak. Someone cut the lines? Someone tried to take them out? Anger radiates through me and it takes everything not to hurl my fists into the drywall. Did they think Ray-Ann was going to be in that car too? How the hell did someone manage to sabotage the vehicle, the whole set was crawling with security and personal bodyguards. It just didn’t add up that someone would get away with this when there were so many eyes around. It must’ve been done right before too, or whoever the culprit is would run the risk of someone else borrowing the car.
“Are you the family of Miss Monroe?” A doctor walks into the room, her nose buried in her clipboard.
“Yes, I’m her brother,” Marcus immediately pipes up, earning himself a curious look from Sky. “How is she doc?”
She sighs and offers a small smile. “Well, the good news is, she suffered a clean break to her left femur and we were able to set the leg without complications. I don’t foresee any long-term problems for her mobility. The gash to Chantel’s neck is another story I’m afraid. We assume the back door of the car caught her as she leapt from the vehicle, slicing into the side and back of her neck. We’ve managed to stitch the wound but it’s very likely to leave a scar. Of course, had it been any further round to the front of her throat, we would be having a very different conversation right now.”
I could feel myself paling as she went on to describe the wound. Eight centimeters long, and roughly one deep travelling from the side of her throat round to the back of her neck. She was more than lucky.
“Please, what about my sister?” Ray begs, her voice thick with tears.
The doctor turns sympathetic eyes to her. “Your sister has a chip to her collar bone, but luckily no breaks. I expect it to bruise quite considerably. She’s going to need to wear a sling for a short while, unfortunately it’s one of the few areas that we can’t do much for as it heals. Our main concern with Miss Parker, was the knock to the head she received when she met the ground. She’s been in and out of consciousness for a few hours so we wanted to make sure she wasn’t concussed. We’re satisfied that isn’t the case. As soon as she wakes up, we’ll take you through.”
Relief slams me, dulling the pain of my fractured nerves. She was going to be ok. Cranky and a little broken, but ok. I zoned out a little as the doctor talked once again with Marcus but noticed the deep breath Sky took when she let it sink in that both girls were going to be ok.
Marcus held onto Sky’s hand as the doctor motioned for them to follow her through to see Chantel, and then there we were again. Waiting.
“I don’t think I can take any more of this,” Ray whispers timidly.
Clearing my throat, I turn to face her. “I know. It’s a lot to deal with.”
She shakes her head and yanks at the blond locks that fall down into her eyes. “No, that’s not what I meant. All of this is too much. People are getting hurt Sefa. I’m constantly looking over my shoulder… everyone feels like a suspect. I’m not cut out for this, I just wanted to sing. If this, this bastard wants me out so damn badly, maybe I should just give him what he wants.”
Blinking hard, I reach a hand out and grab her wrist. “Are you insane? He wants you Ray. Not a single fucking one of us would let you sacrifice yourself.”
She shakes her head sadly. “I don’t think he does want me. I don’t think this is an actual stalker/crazy fan at all. I think he’s trying to scare me away.”
“From the tour?”
Her hand smooths over her lips as she stares at the sterile walls. “Maybe. This all started before I was announced in the tour lineup though. The more I think about it, I can’t help feeling like he’s trying to make me quit altogether.”
I let her words settle in my head, frantically going over everything that had happened. She had a point, this whole case may have started out feeling like a typical celebrity stalker, but we’d been second guessing the notion once we realized the lengths the villain was going to. We all knew there had to be more to it, but nothing made sense. Like everything else with this case, we were stumbling around in the dark trying to puzzle the pieces. There was no reason, no obvious catalyst. But what if that was the answer after all?
Motherfucker… what if she was right?
Chapter 28
Sydney
When you lose the use of your dominant hand, it forces you to rely on other people. The simple task of changing your clothes, clasping a bra and most importantly, the private things one needs to do in the bathroom, are no longer a solo act.
“You know, we should probably hit up the mall. Flesh tones aren’t the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen, and I feel like Cross is a leather straps and red lace type of man.” Ray says while helping me slip a button up blouse on. Getting anything over my head and maneuvering my arm through the arm hole is downright painful.
“Cross doesn’t care about that anymore. Plus, this is practical. I don’t need my tits spilling out while I’m lounging around the house.” I mumble.
“What the heck ever. It’s not like they’re huge.” She says sarcastically and continues on to my pants.
After the accident I remember waking up in the hospital and seeing my mom and dad sitting next to my hospital bed. They flew in the second they heard about what happened. Once they found out about the tampered brake lines, we were kind of forced to tell them the rest of the story.
To say they were less than pleased is an understatement.
My mom sobbed, my dad yelled at every male in the crew for not keeping his girls safe. I argued that I could handle myself, which earned me a stern glare from my mom that had me cowering like a two-year-old toddler. After they finished up by giving me and Ray the riot act about keeping everything from them, we were all up to speed.
After everyone had some time to process, we devised a game plan.
“Can you believe they haven’t changed anything?” Ray asks when we leave the bathroom and walk into our childhood bedroom.
“There’s like a thousand other rooms, they have no need to turn this into the gym like most typical parents.” I laugh.
“True. I still don’t understand why we can’t stay at my place. It’s right down the street.”
“As much as I want to agree, this place is like a fortress. My friends wouldn’t have left us here by ourselves if they didn’t make sure every square inch was safe. We haven’t seen as much as a single note or photo since being here.”
We all thought it was best to take a little hiatus from the tour. Nothing too crazy. Long enough to lick our wounds and get some fresh ideas. It’s highly unusual that we’ve been on this case for weeks and have barely had a lead. Whoever’s doing this is being meticulous and it’s really starting to piss me off. I also have a hunch that the person behind it is wealthy. They clearly cover their tracks and have the resources to threaten a man’s family. Ray’s actually the one who said we should make the stalker think she’s leaving her music car
eer after my accident. I fought her, not wanting her to give up her dreams, but she argued that when they see her come back they might fight even harder and slip up.
I agree with the theory that they’re trying to scare her, not harm her. The first time anything sort of dangerous happened was me and Chantel jumping from the car and Ray wasn’t the target. I clearly was. That PA offered her car too fast for lending a stranger her vehicle. We’ve tried running background checks on her, but found out her name was an alias and she hasn’t been on the tour since I drove away in her car.
Money makes people do crazy things. Even handing an innocent person a death mobile. After using our software to put her face into the database, she came up as the daughter of a really bad guy. Not quite mob status like our last big case, but big enough that he has his hands in numerous illegal pots and we’re trying to connect all the pieces as to why they’re involved.
Colby and Briella headed back home to help with some other jobs and wrap a few things up. Chantel is relaxing and healing with her mom in Florida. Thank God her injuries weren’t worse. She’d still be out there kicking ass if she had things her way.
“Do you miss him?” I hear Ray faintly ask from next to me.
And then there’s Cross. He stayed on tour to play his part and he’s been singing next to Lucy Taylor at the end of her set. Randy’s doing. Ray left and in came Lucy filling that void. I wouldn’t be surprised if she orchestrated the whole thing. Randy always did have a soft spot for her and her sister. Cross isn’t happy about it, but he can’t let it show and sucks it up for the few shows to do something he’s grown to hate.
And I hate the fact that he gets to share that moment with Lucy. My hospital stay was hectic and I never got any alone time with him. There’s so much I want to say to him. Jumping from a moving vehicle puts your life in perspective and I realized he wasn’t the problem. The problem was me pushing him away constantly to the point that I couldn’t think of anything else because I got so consumed by him. Had I just let it be, things might have been different. In the end, I’ll never know and I refuse to play the what if game.
“Every day.” I answer honestly. When I shrug my shoulders accidently, I realize the pain is almost non-existent and that must mean I’m close to getting this god forsaken sling off.
“You can call him you know?”
“What I have to say can only be done in person. I was such a bitch to him, I’m not even sure he’ll give me another chance. When it comes down to it, I didn’t choose him.”
“You’re an idiot. I can’t believe you chose me over that fine specimen of a man. I’m sorry, but if a man ever looked at me like Cross looks at you, you’d be in my rearview mirror. I think I got all the smarts while we were in the womb.”
“Don’t get greedy, you can’t have talents, beauty and smarts.”
Sometime later after we sit down and eat a large breakfast, we head to the doctors. It’s time to see how I’m actually healing and figure out if we can head back on tour. I know Ray’s getting the itch to perform, and I’ve told her she can go back with the crew. She’s refused until I can go back with her.
I love my sister.
***
I can’t hide the smile from my face or resist the urge to wave to a little girl I walk by on the sidewalk. With my good hand! Man, it feels good to have my body fully functional. After an x-ray, we found that I’m fully healed and cleared to get back to work. There’s a little twinge of pain here and there, but that’s to be expected.
“I love mom and dad, but I’m so ready to get out of Nashville.” I reach out and hold Ray’s hand. Once a child leaves their home, going back, even for a few days sucks.
“Seriously. I’m just happy to wipe the smile off of Lucy Taylor’s face when I show back up to reclaim my headliner slot.”
“If that doesn’t do it I’d be happy to do it for you.” I smile still feeling the need to get revenge on her for her stupid errand that turned wrong.
“Hey now, she wouldn’t stand a chance against you. Now, if you want to cut a huge chunk of hair form her head for singing with Sefa, I won’t hold that against you.” She chuckles.
My phone starts ringing and I look down to see a name light it up that hasn’t been on it for a week. “It’s him.” I state.
“Answer.” Ray urges bouncing foot to foot. It’s like we’re in high school and the football quarterback is calling me.
“Hello.”
“Syd.” Cross breathes my name. “How are you, how did the appointment go?”
“I didn’t think you knew I had one. Everything’s good. I have to contact everyone else but we should all be joining you shortly again.”
“Thank Christ. Without you all here it’s been unbearable.”
Even though it’s a general statement, it still gives me hope. That’s what Cross is giving me. Showing me that maybe I still have a chance.
Ray clears her throat pulling me from my silence and reminding me I’m on the phone with Cross still. When I look at her she’s gesturing at me wildly but I can’t miss her mouthing, tell him you miss him! My face heats red and I turn my back to my twin unable to declare anything to Cross with her watching me.
“Hello, Syd? You there?”
“Yeah I’m here. It’s…” I take a deep breath. “It’s been a tough week and I just, I miss you.” I practically whisper the last part. I don’t do feelings and the words don’t feel as foreign leaving my mouth as I would have thought.
Cross is silent for some time and I think I lost our call. “Hello, you still there?”
“I’m here. We’ll talk when you get back here.” With a click I hear the phone call end and my mouth gapes open.
“What? What happened? Did he tell you he missed you, loved you? Something!” Ray questions wanting every detail.
“He just said we’ll talk and hung up.”
Ray looks as disappointed as I feel. Instead of dwelling, I set to do what I do best. Persevere.
“Ok, let’s get back and pack up. We’ll call everyone and plan out what the next steps are. Can you have your agent call Randy?”
“They could, or we could show up in style and surprise everyone.”
My sister isn’t the sweet angel everyone thinks and I love it.
Chapter 29
Cross
“You guys! It’s like the two of you were born to sing together,” Randy cries as Lucy and I leave the stage. “And the chemistry? So fucking hot, there wasn’t a dry seat in the house.”
I offer a smug grin and sling an arm around the bony country star. “What can I say? She makes it easy.”
Lucy giggles like the airhead I’ve come to view her as and twists against my side. Her genetically enhanced chest brushes against my side in a move that’s becoming annoyingly custom. “Oh god Sefa, it’s all you.”
I give her shoulder another squeeze and manage to put some distance between us. A week of this act and I’m close to tearing my skin off. The woman is like a leach, and in no way subtle about what else she wants us to pair up with. Not a fucking chance of that happening, even if I wasn’t consumed by Blue.
“I’m beat, gonna hit the shower and call it a night,” I call over my shoulder as I walk away from them, ignoring the pleas for me to come out for drinks. It’s the same fucking story every night, has been since Ray and Syd left to recuperate and it’s getting old.
Besides, I have somewhere I need to be.
When our intel managed to track down the PA that loaned the sabotaged car to the girls, I figured a little recon was in order. The woman in question, Jessie Mathews, wasn’t involved in this by accident, I could feel it in my gut. Colby was tracking her father’s whereabouts in case she went home, but the guy hadn’t so much as jumped a state, let alone come all the way out here. Damon Mathews was the head of a New York crime syndicate, one that although wasn’t anywhere near the top, was definitely on the FBI radar. And the man was nothing if not careful. So, what would he have to gain?
It
didn’t sit right with me, so my evenings and any time I could spare had been spent searching the local motels and dive bars around each venue, hoping that my hunch was right and Jessie was still around.
I was right. She was following us from place to place, never venturing too close to the events, or anyone involved but just there, as if she was waiting for something. In about twenty minutes, I was going to find out what that something was.
A chip off the old block, she had obviously clocked me looking around. Last night when I checked the reception at a seedy hotel just a few blocks from our own, there was a note waiting for me.
Tomorrow night, midnight. Meet me in room 8B. I’ll tell you what you want to know.
Now as I find myself weaving through the partygoers, I feel on edge. I don’t know what I’m walking into and I know if the crew had any idea what I was doing they would rip me a new one. I reach behind me and check the waistband of my jeans, making sure I’m protected and feel a little more at ease. I’m hoping I won’t need to use my gun but if it comes to it, there’ll be no hesitation.
The corridor is eerily quiet as I head towards the room. The dim lighting makes the walls look dank and dirty, a far cry from the splendor we’ve been staying in. I stand in front of the door, make sure I’ve got my shit together and raise my fist to knock just as the door swings open. In front of me is a young woman, early twenties at most and looking nothing like our intel predicted. Gone is the long dark hair, in its place a platinum pixie cut. She’s dressed with the latest trends but the clothes aren’t off the rack. She’s straddling a line between rags to riches and looking oddly at home in her surroundings.
“Please come in,” she whispers, shooting furtive glances down the hallway. She backs up, allowing me to see into the empty room and I slowly make my way inside, my senses on high alert. She shuts the door quickly and slides the bolt across with trembling fingers.
“You’ve got ten minutes Miss Mathews, make them count,” I growl, folding my arms across my chest and glaring down at the small woman.
Deception (A Stalker Novel Book 2) Page 13