His first expression was a baffled one, and then it turned pissed off. He stood there with his legs spread and his arms folded over his chest. He was in defense mode. “And what exactly have I been doing, Scarlett?”
I didn’t like this tone at all. It didn’t sound like sweet Kade anymore. This was the tone I heard when he talked on the phone to whomever he’d been bitching out lately.
I diverted my eyes and looked at the floor. “I know you’re using again, Kade. I don’t know why you started using again, but I know. I’ve been around drugs my whole life. I know all the signs.” I looked up to see that his expression hadn’t changed. I could see his jaw clenching. “Let me help you, Kade. I haven’t told Matt what’s going on, and I really never planned on it, but if someone finds out about it, I could lose my job.” I took a step toward him and he took a step back.
Looking at him, I saw that he was like a whole new person looking back at me. He wasn’t looking at me. It was as if he were looking right through me.
“No one told you to help me, Scarlett. If you need to tell Matt, then tell him. You don’t need to lose your job over me. These problems have been my problems throughout my whole life. They can’t be fixed. I’m damaged goods, Scarlett. No one can fix that, not even you.” He turned around and stormed out of the trailer.
I stood there paralyzed. I couldn’t move. What the hell just happened? After everything that was said and done last night, I never thought today would turn out like this. I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. All I wanted to do was help him, but obviously, I had gone about it all wrong.
I left the studio, seeing no point in sticking around. I had no clue if this meant we were no longer together, and that hurt the most. I felt as if my heart had been ripped out. Holding back the tears, I willed myself not to cry. I couldn’t cry. This wasn’t the end. What we had was too strong. I took a deep breath, got into my car, and headed to work.
When I pulled into my parking spot, my phone started to ring. Digging it out, I noted it was my mother. In no way, shape, or form was I in the mood to talk to her. She only ever called me when she needed money, and if I answered the phone in the mood I was in now, I’d tell her to fuck off. I pressed ignore and headed inside.
When I sat at my desk, I was glad to see that Jules was on the phone. I knew she’d be over in a few minutes, asking about my night with Kade, and I honestly didn’t want to talk about it, not now anyway. So I booted up my computer and picked up my phone to listen to my messages. That would give me another five to ten minutes more before she came over.
As soon as I put the receiver down, she was leaning up against my desk. “What’s wrong, Letti?”
I should have known she’d realize that I wasn’t in a good mood. She could always tell. I looked up at her with a fake smile. “Nothing, why would something be wrong?”
“Do I have stupid tattooed on my forehead? It’s written all over your face, Letti. Spill.” She crossed her arms over her chest and waited.
Letting out a sigh, I leaned back into my chair. I really didn’t want to talk about it. Talking about it would more than likely make me cry, and crying was something I didn’t want to do in the office. But I knew Jules wouldn’t let it go, so I told her everything that happened last night and this morning.
After repeating what happened, I started to get really pissed. I looked up at Jules and waited for her reply because she was usually my voice of reason.
“Holy shit, Letti. First off, wow! Being serenaded by a sexy rock god is every girl’s dream and extremely romantic. Second, you can’t take his reaction this morning to heart. He was obviously just being defensive because he was caught. I say just let it blow over and talk to him tomorrow. But I would have been freaked out too if I showed up and he was in a meeting with the producer. Just try not to stress over it. And anyway, Steve’s party is tonight, so you need to perk up.”
She stood up from my desk and started doing her signature booty shake right there in the middle of the office. She was seriously a nut job. I couldn’t contain my laugh. She was such a dork.
“Seriously, Jules, what is wrong with you?” I giggled.
She stopped shaking her booty and looked at me with a serious look on her face. “What? My body just gets excited when it knows it’s going to dance.”
She wiggled her butt toward me, making me laugh out loud some more. “Plus, I got you to laugh, didn’t I?” She stopped and smirked at me. I really did love her. I don’t know what I would do without her in my life. She always made me feel better.
~*~
After work, Jules and I stopped and grabbed some burgers then headed home to get ready for a night out. We all decided that we would meet at the bar around seven to celebrate Steve’s thirtieth. Since we had to work the next day, we didn’t want to be out too late, but I highly doubted going out early would make us leave any earlier than usual.
We had just enough time to take showers and get ready before we needed to leave. I opted to put my hair in a low ponytail, since I didn’t have time to dry it, and put on just a little bit of makeup. I then put on some low-rise jeans and a long-sleeved tunic top—nothing too fancy since we were only going to some old bar. The bar was Steve’s choice because Wednesdays were five-dollar pitcher nights, which was fine with me. I didn’t drink the foo-foo drinks as Jules did.
Jules was ready to go before I was, as usual, and we did our traditional shot of tequila before we headed out the door for our cab.
~*~
When we arrived at the bar, we headed straight toward the back where Steve said to meet. The place was packed for a Wednesday night, and the music was blaring. The dance floor was full of people already, and it wasn’t even eight yet.
As soon as we walked back toward Steve’s table, Jules stopped me and whispered in my ear, “I’m going to kick whoever’s ass invited Jess. She’s going to ruin my night.”
As soon as she moved away, I looked over at the table they were sitting at and saw her. Sure enough, she was there dressed like a slut, as usual. I swear this chick didn’t own any clothes that fit her. The jean skirt she was wearing came just below her ass and looked as if it would split if she bent the wrong way, and her sweater top looked like a second skin. She must have bought clothes two sizes too small in order to get them that tight.
I walked over and gave Steve a hug. “Hey, stranger, happy birthday,” I yelled over the music.
He pulled back and smiled at me. I could tell he’d already had way too much to drink. He was so going to regret that in the morning.
“Hey, Scar, I’m so glad you could make it.” He looked me up and down, not trying to hide it at all. “You look hot.”
Oh Lord, here we go. “Steve, don’t call me Scar. I told you I don’t like it. And I’m just wearing jeans and a shirt. You need some water to sober up a little bit.” Steve was a great-looking guy in a super nerdy kind of way. His hair was always combed to the side, and he wore khakis and button-up shirts all the time. He was really smart and funny, but no one I would ever get involved with.
“Yeah, but you wear it so well.” He smiled at me.
“Leave the girl alone, Steve. Here, have another shot.” Jules put down three shots of tequila. How the girl always managed to get VIP service at a busy bar, I never knew.
We each picked up a shot glass and raised them for a toast. “To Steve, on his thirtieth, may you wake up and regret drinking all this toxic liquid,” Jules yelled over the music.
After we took our shots, Steve laughed. “Hell yeah, I’m going to regret it, but that’s tomorrow. I’m living in the now,” he slurred.
Jules laughed, “I think that’s the smartest thing I’ve ever heard you say.”
We all broke out into laughter.
“Hey, you guys, so glad you could finally join the party.” There it was: the voice we dreaded.
“Hey,” we both said unenthusiastically.
“So how are things going with that fine ass you get to see every day?” Jess asked
as she took a sip of some kind of foo-foo drink. She was standing way too close in order for me to hear what she was saying.
Nobody at work knew that Kade and I were involved, I hoped, and I wanted to keep it that way. “Things are great, they should actually be wrapping up early next week,” I said, looking around the bar. I knew it was rude, but I was hoping that if I looked uninterested in what she had to say, she would leave me alone. I wasn’t that lucky.
“That’s too bad. Hopefully, I’ll get to see him again before he leaves. I’d love to bag that one.” She laughed.
I wanted to punch her in the face. As Jules would say, “I’m gonna slap that bitch.”
Before I could say anything to Jess about her comment, Jules grabbed me and started pulling me toward the bar. “Sorry,” she said as we made our way through the crowd, “I didn’t mean to leave you with the she-devil. Ryan started talking to me, and you know there is no shutting him up.” We both laughed. Ryan was another agent that worked at EA, and he could talk your ear off. He never knew when to shut up.
When we made it to the bar, I ordered two pitchers for the table, and Jules ordered one of her girly drinks. As we waited for the bartender to fill up the pitchers, I looked around the bar some more.
I squinted at the far corner of the room. I swear I recognized the guy sitting at one of the high-top tables.
Poking Jules in the arm to get her attention, I leaned over. “Look in the far corner over there, right in front of you. Do you see that blond guy in the black t-shirt, sitting at the high top?” She nodded her head. “Do you recognize him?”
I pulled away and looked at her, and she looked at the guy. “Nope, he doesn’t look familiar to me,” she said, looking at me. “Why, what’s up?” she asked as the bartender brought our stuff over.
“Nothing,” I shrugged as I grabbed the pitchers and walked toward our table.
Walking through the crowd, I chanced another glance over in the direction of the guy. He looked very familiar to me, but I couldn’t place him. He was really cute from what I could see, but I couldn’t remember where I’d seen him.
When we made it to the table, I was able to drink two glasses of beer before Jules decided to pull me out on the dance floor. It took two songs going by before Steve decided to come show us his white-boy moves. I don’t think I’d laughed that hard in a long time, if ever. I was glad I came out that night instead of pouting in my room, which was what I had planned to do that morning after I left the studio.
In the middle of one of the songs, I leaned over and told Jules I had to pee and that I’d be right back. I usually had Jules come with me, but I didn’t want to make her get off the dance floor since Steve was having such a good time.
I walked toward the back to the hallway leading to the bathrooms. There weren’t a lot of people in the hallway, which was a good sign a stall would be open. Just as I was about to push open the door, my arm was grabbed from behind. I was spun around and pushed up against the wall with a thud, and two arms caged me in.
“What the . . .” I stopped speaking when I saw black t-shirt guy standing a few feet away from Mr. Tall, Dark, and Scary, who was dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt with a black overcoat. Looking up at his face, I was freaked out by the long jagged scar that ran from the corner of his left eye all the way down to his chin.
“Well, hey there, sweetheart. Look what we have here, Kevin,” Mr. Tall, Dark, and Scary said.
I looked at the guy, Kevin, and then back at Mr. Scary. “Sorry, I’m taken,” I said confidently as I made my move to break away. I didn’t want to play their game, but he just pushed back on me again.
Starting to panic, I opened my mouth to scream when Mr. Scary pinched my nipple really hard through my shirt, making me gasp in shock. Not in a sexual way either. It felt as if he were going to rip it off. Tears welled in my eyes.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, sweetheart,” he said, smiling at me. “I have a gun and I’m not afraid to use it, so I suggest you be on your best behavior while we have us a little chat. Hmm?”
I stared at him, terrified. I could feel sweat forming on my forehead and upper lip. These guys were absolutely nuts, cornering me in a bar. I looked over at black t-shirt guy, and he slowly nodded at me. I guess he was acknowledging that his friend here did indeed have a gun.
I licked my lips out of habit, since sweat had formed, and then regretted it. All it did was bring attention where attention wasn’t wanted. “Those are some mighty fine lips you have there, Scarlett.”
I looked up into his eyes, disgusted. My heart was trying to hammer its way out of my chest. How was it that these assholes had me cornered in a packed bar and no one had walked back here? “How . . . How the hell do you know . . . my name?”
He laughed at me, obviously finding me amusing. “Oh, I know more than just your name, sweetheart.
Fear and helplessness were some things I’d never felt before. I balled my hands up to stop them from shaking. I could feel my anxiety kicking in as my breathing sped up. Closing my eyes, I tried to tell myself that this was all just a dream and that they would go away any minute, anything to get my breathing back to normal. The last thing I wanted to do was pass out and give them an excuse to take me unconscious.
“Calm down, Scarlett. We aren’t going to hurt you,” he said in a calming voice. “We just wanted to relay a message to you. Actually, it’s more like a demand.” He chuckled.
I looked up at him, now curious as to why he would have a message for me when I didn’t even know who he was.
“You’re going to need to drop whatever this is you have with Kade Evans, or things could get ugly for him,” he warned as he lifted his hand and ran his knuckles down my cheek.
My body tensed, and it felt as if my eyes were bugging out of my head. Who the hell were these people? I looked over at Kevin, and he was actually looking at me with sympathy. That pissed me off. Who the hell was he to feel sorry for me?
I decided to play dumb. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He laughed and looked over at Kevin and nodded to him. Kevin reached in his pocket pulling out his phone, then pressed a few buttons and handed it to Mr. Scary. Looking back at me, he lifted the phone and played a video for me. I was sure the look on my face said it all. I could feel the heat rise to my face as tears started to well up in my eyes again.
He was amused by my embarrassment. “You see, Scarlett? You know exactly what I’m talking about now, don’t you?” He grinned at me.
I felt sick to my stomach to think that they had been at the lake, watching our most intimate moment, and recorded it. I wanted to bawl my eyes out. I looked over at Kevin, who had his eyes diverted from me, and then back at Mr. Scary. He leaned in close to my ear. “It’s too bad we weren’t close enough to get sound. I’m sure you sound fucking sexy as hell when you come.” He laughed at me.
My whole body was shaking as a damn tear escaped my eye. “Fuck you,” I growled through my clenched teeth.
“Cut it out, Paul, we need to get out of here,” Kevin said as a group of girls came swaying down the hallway, making their way into the bathroom.
Paul watched me, waiting for me to make a move. I wasn’t going to do anything, not with him having a gun and knowing more about me than he should. I was too terrified.
Paul stepped away from me. “Kade’s got responsibilities, sweetheart, and you’re clouding his judgment.” He held out his hand, giving Kevin back his phone. “Be a good little girl and do as you’re told, or we’ll come visit you at home next time and maybe post this video on the Internet.” He winked at me.
“We were never here,” Kevin said, speaking for the first time as they both turned and walked away.
I stood there, not being able to move. Did he just say he’d visit me at home? Oh my God, I was going to be sick. Clamping my hand over my mouth, I ran to the bathroom, but the stalls were occupied while some girls were at the sink. So I ran, pushing them out of the way, and leaned o
ver the trash can. I threw up all the tension that had been building since they cornered me in the hallway, not caring that the girls in the bathroom were making disgusted noises and immediately left the bathroom.
Leaning up against the wall, I ran my hand over my forehead to wipe the sweat off that had formed. What the hell was I going to do? I really had no idea what the hell just happened. Who the hell were those guys?
Walking over to the sink, I turned it on, cupped my hand and brought the water up to my mouth. I swished it around and spit it out. I glanced at myself in the mirror. I looked a mess. I wiped my eyes, which had welled up again from being sick, and let out a heavy sigh. I needed to get out of here. My stomach was upset, and my head was starting to pound.
I heard the door open and looked up. “Oh my God, Letti, are you okay?”
Jules came rushing over to my side. I knew already that I wasn’t going to tell her what happened. There was no need to get her involved and worried about something I wasn’t even sure about myself.
I nodded my head. “Yeah, I’m just not feeling well. I’m going to head home and go to bed.”
“All right, come on, I’ll go with you,” I could see and hear her concern. She was really too good to me.
She guided me out of the bathroom and toward the front door, not bothering to say goodbye to the group. I felt like a zombie anyway, after what just happened.
On the cab ride home, I went over everything the guy had said. He was threatening me to stop seeing Kade. Well, I didn’t even know if Kade and I were still together after this morning. I hadn’t heard a word from him since then, and that really hurt after everything we shared and my realization that I loved him. So maybe I didn’t even have to worry about his threat.
Then, something clicked in my brain. Paul! I knew I had heard that name before. He was the one Kade was talking to on the phone that morning in his condo.
I was going to have to tell Kade what happened. I had no idea what was going on with him or what responsibility I was supposedly holding him back from, but I was going to find out.
Lifeless Page 15