I set my jaw. “Chris is dangerous, Dad. It’s not just the people he knows—it’s him, too. He actually wants to kill those men. He won’t back down. The look in his eyes scared me.”
“Do you blame him?” Dad sipped his wine, and I looked at him. My father’s face had hardened. He was one of the most laid back men I’d ever known, but his intensity was frightening. “Real men react when someone threatens the ones they love. It’s a visceral response that makes them do things they wouldn’t ordinarily do."
I stayed silent. It was the first time I’d seen this side of Dad. If even he could side with Chris, was I truly in the wrong?
“Just remember, Leah: sometimes we don’t have as much time with those we love as we thought we would.” His face scrunched up as if he had a pain deep inside. “You don’t want to be caught up in regrets because you hadn’t lived life as fully and completely with them as you wanted.”
This is a terrible idea.
The thought was my constant companion as I made the long, familiar walk from my apartment. When I rounded the corner and saw the faded sign, the certainty of it overcame me.
I’m making a mistake.
The warehouse was just as it had always been. Just like the last time I had been here, the bell was about to go for the morning coffee break, when the men gathered in the breakroom to chat and take a load off.
I fingered the object in my pocket. It was assurance I could take Derek and his cronies. After today, they wouldn’t hurt anyone with their behavior any longer.
I’ll put them down for good.
JJ’s eyes widened when he saw me walk through the door.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said.
What has Derek said that even JJ knows something bad happened?
“Are you going to stop me?”
The older man looked at me, at my hand in my pocket. It felt unnatural, the way it sat. I was positive it looked that way, too. In fact, I counted on it. He shook his head.
“Good. Because it’s time someone taught Derek a lesson. You might want to call the cops.”
I marched onward, toward the breakroom. The windows were dirty, but I could see the crew sitting at their regular table. Everyone was there. Everyone except for Tim, that is.
The thought sparked a wry smile.
I kicked the door open, and men shifted in their chairs to look at who caused the disturbance. Silence fell in a wave as they saw who it was, eerily similar to the day I had quit my job.
“Derek,” I said, “it’s time you paid for all the shit you’ve put me through.”
I played with the trigger of the tool in my pocket, ready to use it if I had to.
He stood and looked at me. His eyes dropped to my pants and the odd shape my hand made there. He paled a little.
No matter what he was thinking, he put on his usual face of bravado. “Chris. Surprised you showed your face around here after the whooping we laid on you the other night. Come back for more?”
His voice was jeering, but it wasn’t completely steady.
“You snuck up on me with three men and hit with no warning,” I said. “You think you’re hot shit, jumping a single man like that?”
Derek came out into the open. I pressed my hand forward in my pants more, showing I wasn’t afraid to use it. He stopped his approach. “You got what you deserved, fucker. You backed out of the pledge. The crew stays together until death, remember that? Maybe we thought you deserved to die, and that little prissy bitch you’ve found deserved to get a taste of a real man.”
“So you were going to rape Leah until I stopped you?” I asked him, my voice soft. He should recognize the voice. It was the one I’d used countless times against mutual enemies before getting into fights.
“Yeah, that’s right.” He was brazen, putting on a show. I could see the fear in his eyes. He knew I meant business. “We were going to show your girl what it felt like to take a real cock. I know you’ve just got a pussy between your legs these days, so she couldn’t have felt it from you.”
“Pussy, eh? How did that work out for you? Where’s Tim, Derek?”
The veins in his forehead bulged. “You fucker. You’ll pay for what you did to Tim.”
I barked a laugh. “And how are you going to make me do that?” I played with my hand in my pocket and he backed up half a step. “I have all the power here.”
“So you bring a gun here, and you think you’re hot shit all the sudden. Big deal. Shoot me if you’re going to shoot me,” Derek said.
“Who else was with you that night?” I asked. I looked at the circle of men sitting at the crew’s table. “Joe, did you help this asshole try to rape Leah?”
Joe went pure white and shook his head. “It wasn’t me, it was Clark!”
Clark punched him. “What the fuck man! He has a fucking gun!” He turned and held his hands out. “Chris, man, it was all Derek’s idea. I don’t know why he’s so obsessed with you, I tried to talk him out of it. It made me sick what we—”
“Clark!” Derek shouted. “Shut the fuck up, man. What’s wrong with you?”
“That’s enough,” I said. “You are a fucking terrible person, Derek. You deserve so much worse than to be dead. You should suffer for what you tried to do to Leah. Do you think you would die if I shot your dick off?”
He backed up further. “Chris. Don’t talk like a maniac, man.”
“Shut up,” I said, suddenly calm. Derek would get his. He would regret being a complete asshole who cared nothing about anyone else.
“If you’re going to shoot me, then fucking shoot me!” Derek screamed.
He snapped, and ran toward me, closing the distance in only a couple seconds.
Time slowed, and I dodged under his swinging arm as I brought my left fist up into his jaw.
There was a jolt and satisfying crack as knuckle hit jawbone and snapped his mouth shut, rocking his brain.
It had been only a split second, and when time resumed its normal pace, Derek collapsed onto the ground like a rag doll.
The breakroom was quiet. Silent. Half the men were bystanders, caught watching the drama unfold before their eyes. The other half were the crew, all of whom had been my friends before Derek declared war on me.
“Anybody have anything else to say?” I asked.
Nothing but silence.
“Good.”
I walked out of the room.
As I entered the office, police cruisers were pulling up to the building. JJ was nowhere in sight and had presumably done the smart thing and bailed as soon as I left him earlier.
“You, hands where I can see them!”
I put both hands in the air.
“We had reports of an angry ex-employee with a gun, is he inside?”
I smiled. “The ex-employee is me, and I have no gun. If you reach inside my pocket, you’ll find a voice recorder with an employee’s confession to assault and attempted rape three nights ago.”
“How did I let myself get this behind?”
Trying to catch up to in all my classes was a daunting task. So much time had been put toward the play and rehearsals and running lines I’d barely had time to go to classes, let alone do any homework or practice.
“Well, Leah, you were involved with that play and your handsome stepbrother,” Tyra said. “I mean, it probably would have been better if I’d just taken him off your hands for you.”
The mention of Chris wasn’t helpful. As much as I tried, I couldn’t help but miss his wry sense of humor and how he always knew what to say to clear my mind of whatever worried me.
“And now I have to make up for all that missed time.” I bent my head to my work, but then noticed that my coffee was almost empty. “But first I’m getting a refill. Need anything?”
We studied at our favorite café. Not that Tyra had too much actual studying to do, being in dance, but there was enough theory and her electives she could keep me company and keep herself occupied.
Even if that means swiping guys
on Tinder half the time.
“Uh, yeah, sure. Why not? I’ve got nothing else going on for the rest of the day.”
I left to go stand in line at the counter. My phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Hi, is this Leah Allen?”
I hated calls from unknown numbers, they always took forever to get to the point.
“Yes, it is.”
“Oh, great! My name is Deborah Carter. I’m a friend of your stepmother’s.”
She paused as if she expected a response.
“Oh. That’s cool. What can I do for you, Deborah?”
Why the hell is someone Mary knows calling me?
“First I wanted to let you know that I saw Courtly Intrigue the other night, and it left a huge impression on me.”
I winced. “Yeah, it seems to have had that effect on people. I apologize for you having to go through that, but I don’t think I can help you get a refund on your ticket.”
“No! No, that’s not why I’m calling at all. I loved you in it. It was remarkable how you pulled the play along all by yourself despite a somewhat… weaker supporting cast.”
“Well that’s… good.” I didn’t know what else to say.
She laughed. “I should explain. I’m an executive assistant to Herschel Drummond, a rather well-known Hollywood director. Do you know who he is?”
“Of course I know who Herschel Drummond is,” I said. “I think everyone in America knows who he is. He’s like Spielberg, or James Cameron.”
“Right. Well, the point is, after I saw you in the play, I couldn’t get your performance out of my mind. See, I think you’d be perfect in the supporting role of our upcoming film, and we haven’t been able to find anyone that Herschel thinks is quite right.”
Her words continued to come in, but my brain refused to put them together. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions because what it sounded like she said was…
“Sorry, I tend to ramble. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that you have an audition for the role, if you want it. We can fly you to Los Angeles and you can come and meet Herschel and read for the role. How does that sound?”
As if I could turn down an offer to audition for a supporting role in a big-budget Hollywood movie.
“That sounds… surreal,” I said. “You’ll actually fly me to Los Angeles? This isn’t a joke?”
“Oh, no, I swear on it!” Deborah said. “I already showed the play reviews to Herschel—they were quite complimentary of you, you know.”
“I heard.” I was in shock. It was like something out of a movie. Chances like this didn’t just come out of the blue. Especially not after the play you’re in tanks as badly as Courtly Intrigue did.
“What do you think? I can send you all the info so you can make an informed decision, but I have Herschel right here and he’s eager to know if you’ll consider it.”
“If I’ll consider it? And he’s right there?” It’s like they were courting me. “I don’t think I have any option other than to say yes! When did you want me to come out?”
“Does tomorrow work for you? We can have a plane fly you here direct in the morning.”
What kind of world did I fall into? I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.
“Uh, yeah, tomorrow is fine.”
“Excellent! I’ll arrange everything and call back later today. If Herschel likes what he sees, then you’ll have to stay here for filming.”
“Stay there? You mean just move to Los Angeles tomorrow?”
“That’s it, girl. We’re scheduled to shoot at the end of the week, and the actress who was previously going to play the role… well, let’s just say when she showed up to set heavily pregnant, it made it difficult to keep her. We’re desperate for a good talent who can think on her feet, and I know you’ve got that part down after seeing you in the play.”
It was the dream. I loved New York, but working in Hollywood was the goal. I never thought it could happen so soon, and figured I would do a stint in theater first, but I couldn’t turn down the chance.
You still have to impress at the audition, and you won’t have the time to practice for it like you usually do.
“Thank you, Deborah,” I said, trying to express with the words how grateful I was, even though the ramifications hadn’t sunk in yet.
“Don’t thank me yet. Thank me when you have a big chunk of that Hollywood cash sitting in your bank account and people around the world are watching you on the big screen. I’ll catch up with you later, Leah. Take care.”
“Bye.”
My body was on autopilot as I replayed the phone conversation in my mind. It felt like a figment of my imagination.
“Leah?”
“Huh?”
Tyra looked at me. “Did you get coffee?”
I had wandered back and sat down at our table, abandoning the lineup for coffee. “I have an audition. Tomorrow. In LA. For a movie.”
“What?” She craned her neck around to look at the counter. “Who the hell did you talk to up there?”
“Not up there. On the phone. And if I get the part, then I stay in LA.” I could only speak in fragments with so much of my mind occupied elsewhere.
If I move to Los Angeles to pursue a movie career, I’ll leave everyone behind. My family, my friends. Chris.
Why did that last one feel so painful?
This beat isn’t right. It needs something to balance it out.
I knew exactly what that something was, but it didn’t look like I could get it again. With Leah’s friends all abandoning me, I lost access to the pool of musical talent that made own work so much better. No more instruments and no more vocalist.
“Fuck.”
I stared at the screen. I should have been packing, but the laptop and the music always pulled me back.
Depression tugged at the edges of my mind, whispering suggestions.
Maybe I should just delete it all and be done with it. It didn’t work out, and it won’t ever work out, so I should stop wasting time chasing a fantasy. Jerry got me a job, and I should be grateful.
I didn’t feel grateful. I felt like giving up.
There was a knock at the door.
Lethargy filled me to the point where I didn’t even bother to get up. I didn’t want to see anyone, and whoever it was would just go away.
They knocked again.
I growled and stared at the door.
A fist hit the door. “Chris, if you’re in there, open the damn door.”
“Leah?”
I jumped off the couch and ran to the door, pulling it open.
She stood there like she had so many times before. As if the world hadn’t changed.
“Are you going to invite me in, or just stare at me?”
“Some things are just worth staring at.”
She blushed, and the sight made me smile.
She’s always so damn cute when she blushes.
“Let me in, doofus.”
I held the door open for her and she walked by. The smell of her shampoo hit my nostrils, the familiar scent awakening feelings and memories of the times I had held her close.
“I thought you didn’t want to see me.”
And I feel like we’ve had this exact conversation before, in the same place.
“My dad came to see me.”
“So?”
She leaned against the kitchen counter. “He said you asked for a job with him.”
I felt defensive. “What’s wrong with that? I needed a job, he had an offer, so I took it.”
“What about DJing? What about your music?”
“It wasn’t exactly paying the bills, Leah. I can’t eat vocals and sleep under a baseline.” It would make everything simpler if I could.
“Did you look for gigs?”
I didn’t laugh because I knew she would take it the wrong way. “Of course I looked. I have no connections, Leah. Not without your friends helping me out. It’s not like clubs just advertise the opportunity to
play for a thousand people so any bum off the street with a laptop can stroll in. The only things I could have done were birthday parties for little kids. Not exactly my scene.”
I tried to keep the accusation out of my voice. Tried. Didn’t succeed.
“Don’t take the job with my dad, Chris,” Leah said. “You know you’ll hate it, and it will just make you miserable being out there with nothing to do, no one to talk to, and no outlet for your music.”
“I don’t know if I even want to keep making music,” I said. “It seems pointless, doesn’t it?”
She pursed her lips and looked at me until I couldn’t take the look in her eyes anymore. I knew I was disappointing her, and I laid it on thick just so I could see if she still felt something toward me.
“That’s part of the reason I came here,” she said. “Terry on the organizing committee for that party sent me a message. Someone wants to meet you.”
“Someone? That’s helpful. I’d love to meet someone, too.”
“Don’t be an ass,” she said, but the corners of her lip were higher than they were a moment ago. “Does the name Trevor Eakins mean anything to you?”
It should. Eakins was a legend in the music business, a true prodigy that had his first number one hit by sixteen. Eight years later, he had his own label and had an uncanny habit of elevating those he signed to superstar status.
“Yeah, everyone knows him. Why?”
“Well, he was at the party that night and liked what he heard. He wants to meet with you and has been trying to set it up since then, but couldn’t find anything about you.”
“Trevor Eakins wants to meet with me?” I stared at her. It must be some kind of joke.
She nodded. “I have his assistant’s number for you. All you have to do is give her a ring and let her know who you are, and she’ll set it up.”
“Seriously?”
She laughed. “Now I know what I looked like a couple hours ago.”
I bristled at the laughter, but then relaxed and joined in. Once I thought about it, the look on my face must have been hilarious.
“I appreciate you coming by and telling me,” I told her. “I know you want nothing to do with me, and even though it kills me, you could have just given them my number and you wouldn’t have had to deal with me.”
Pulse: A Stepbrother Romance Page 15