by Dee J. Adams
Casey stomach heaved and she thought she might puke. She ran out the door only to be faced with Jeff. The sick smile on his face looked distorted and grotesque. She turned and raced toward the back door, her heart pumping, her legs straining, when a man came out of the last studio and blocked her way.
Mitch. The evil in his eyes matched the snarl on his lips. Casey backed up. Sweat popped from her pores and her heart bounced off her ribs like a medicine ball.
“You can’t run from me, Casey. You never could,” Jeff said.
Miles stood in the doorway, a hand on his button. “Your fiancé tells me you know what a man likes. Come on over here and show me.”
Fear bubbled up like bile in her throat and Casey made a break for it, slamming into Mitch to get past him, but he grabbed her arms and held her tight. “Casey, Casey,” he said. Over and over. He kept saying her name as she struggled in his arms. He pulled her closer and closer back to Miles until all she could do was scream.
Brendan, she needed Brendan!
“I’m here, I’m here! Casey, wake up! Wake up!”
Casey’s eyes snapped open. Brendan sat next to her on her wrecked bed, holding her arms. Light filtered in through the blinds and sweat glued her shirt to her skin. She glanced at the clock on the night table. Still Sunday, not Monday. Breathing hard, she sat up and ran a shaky hand through her hair. She’d fallen asleep over her sheet music. Obviously working on the bed had been a bad idea.
Brendan stroked a gentle finger down her cheek and eased some damp hair off her face. “You scared the shit out of me. I couldn’t wake you up.” He waited and when she didn’t say anything he went on. “Must have been a hell of a nightmare.”
She nodded. “It was.” She scooted against the headboard then reached for the glass of water near her phone, pissed when her shaky hand nearly upended the contents.
“Want to talk about it?” he asked.
God, the guy was adorable. She gulped a long swallow. “I can’t seem to get past that little confrontation with Jeff from the other day.” She set the glass down and straightened the papers on the bed.
“You know I’m not going to let that asshole near you again, right?”
“Bren, you’re sweet, but you can’t be around all the time. One of these days I’ll go back to my apartment. You’re not my bodyguard. You have a life, too, remember?”
“What if you’re part of my life?” He looked so damn serious. “I mean it. What if I want more with you, Case?”
“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “It’s so soon. We just met.”
“We didn’t just meet,” he countered. “We met over two months ago. Then we spent six weeks together in the same house.” He snorted. “That was like…what…three dates times seven days a week is twenty-one times six weeks is…” His eyes squinted as he calculated. “A hundred twenty-six dates right there. We totally did not just meet.”
When he put it like that… “Okay, so maybe we didn’t just meet, but you have to admit we had a very unorthodox beginning.”
“Unorthodox? When did you suddenly become eighty-seven years old?”
She smacked him, but laughed…and laughing made her chest tight and brought a knot to her throat because he was so adorable on top of sexy and he wanted her and she’d been a total idiot for too long. Swallowing the huge lump, she pressed her lips together and tried to cap her emotions.
“What? What?” God, he always read her so well.
“You keep…” She sniffed. “You keep making me feel better.”
His eyes widened then narrowed. “That’s a bad thing?”
“No, no.” She shook her head. “It’s a good thing.” She met his serious gaze. “But it scares me a little. I told myself I’d take time—a lot of time—to be with me. To find myself before I shared myself with someone else. Emotionally,” she added, since she’d obviously shared herself with him the night they met. But that had been the first step to her freedom. Her breakaway moment. It had worked wonders for her confidence and self-esteem. He’d been exactly what she needed that night.
But what if he was exactly what she needed period? What if God said, you know what? I think you’ve been stuck with enough bullshit and it’s time you get some good stuff in life. What if Brendan was the good stuff?
“Instead of a lot of time, I had like a week and then bam, I met you and, and…” Fell way too deep in a matter of hours. How was he so sure of her, of them? “You’re not freaked out about it?”
“About what?” he asked. He set his hand beneath her hair on her nape and he felt strong and warm. Like a security blanket of mega-proportions. No sense of being smothered or trapped. She felt how much he cared and worried.
“About us? About what you’re feeling?” she asked.
“Honestly…I’d be freaked out if I were the only one feeling it. But I don’t think I am. I think you’re not sure and I respect that. But I’m not freaked out because I think we have something really special.” He stroked his fingers along her neck in a mini massage. “Look, what we did in Hawaii… I don’t do that. I don’t fall into bed with someone I barely know.” He shook his head, a half smile kicked up his lips. “That day was amazing. I loved every second. Well, excluding the near drowning and the getting mowed over by a bus. I could’ve lived without those parts.”
She snorted and met his gaze, saw all the emotion in his beautiful eyes.
“So my timing probably sucks,” he said softly. “But after everything we’ve gone through and knowing how we feel about each other…can we call ourselves official?”
Official? Her brain shut down for a moment. Why was she hesitating? He was an amazing man. He’d been through so much and he was clearly a special guy. If she didn’t get over her issues with Jeff now, then when would she, and what happened if Brendan moved on and some other girl snapped him up.
“Yeah.” She nodded. “I’m good with official.”
His reaction surprised her. He didn’t make a big deal about it. He nodded and that same half smile kicked up his lips again. “So I can officially call you my girl, my one and only. The light of my life?”
She shoved at his chest, careful of his arm, but she had another dopey grin on her face. “Only if you put it in a song and sing it to me.”
His grin stretched a mile wide and filled her heart. He was so damn gorgeous when he looked at her like that. Like she was important to him. Like he needed her. Like she was more than just a pair of breasts and lips.
He searched her eyes and stroked her cheek with a gentle thumb. Instead of saying anything, he leaned in and kissed her. Gently. His lips gliding along hers whisper soft. “I know he did a number on you. I’m going to undo it and you’re going to see what it’s like to be treated the way you should be treated.” He kissed her again and Casey opened her mouth for more of him. He gave it, stroking his tongue against hers and reminding her again what it felt like to be appreciated, and dare she even think it, loved. Instead of thinking how her meeting with Miles was really going to go, she let Brendan kiss her senseless. His hand stroked down her side and Casey guided him to her breast. She arched into his touch, wanting nothing more than to drown in the wave of heat and tingles he created with his hands, his mouth.
She shifted lower on the bed and pulled him over her, holding him to her, kissing him frantically and hoping to show him that she appreciated his patience. She wanted him for a completely different reason than in Hawaii. She stroked her tongue against his and slid her hand over the very hard bulge in his jeans.
“Case, Casey,” he said, holding her head and slowing them down. “I’m happy to put a sock on the doorknob and continue this, because this is blowing me away on so many different levels, but you need to know the whole family is downstairs. Anyone could—”
She laughed. Of course his family was downstairs. Smiling, she kissed him softly. “Thanks for telling me.” She kissed him again because he was there and would continue to be there. “You’ll remind me where we left off later,
right?”
His eyes gleamed and his grin melted her heart. “You can count on it.” After one last kiss he lifted up and straightened her shirt.
“I need to finish these songs anyway, so…” She tipped her head toward the door as Brendan stood.
“So I need to scram.” He bent forward. “You have no idea how hot it makes me when you take control.”
Casey felt the heat in her cheeks, beyond happy that this amazing man wanted her. She smacked his ass. “So you’ll explain it to me later. I’ll be looking forward to it.”
With one last kiss hot enough to melt steel, Brendan left her alone.
The phone rang as he stared out his office window, watching the sun climb higher in the sky. He liked the Sunday quiet, happy to have the office to himself. He wondered if the dickhead would answer. He’d been debating all morning whether to call, or give the idiot one more try to get it right. In the end, his gut told him to quit wasting time.
“Yeah?”
His pulse jumped. “Hey, buddy.”
There was a pause as the guy tried to place his voice—and couldn’t. “Who is this?”
“Just a pal looking out for you.” He flipped a pen between his fingers and kicked his feet up on the windowsill. “I’ve got some information you might like.”
“I’m not interested in anything you’re selling. Take a hike.”
“Not so fast, my friend. Let’s just say, I’m aware of the lengths you’ve gone to in attempt to rid the world of a certain reality star. Do I have your attention now?”
There was another pause as the dickhead considered this information. “Who is this?”
“What if I told you where she was going to be tomorrow morning, and what if I made sure there was nothing standing in your way of getting that sweet revenge you want for all that embarrassment she caused you?”
“I’d say, what’s in it for you?”
He laughed. “Not much, actually. I’m just as anxious as you are to make her a page in the history books.”
“Why are you so willing to facilitate this when it sounds like you could do it yourself?”
A very good question. Maybe this guy wasn’t as dumb as he looked. “Let’s just say that I’m willing to let you have the fun. We’ll chock it up to me doing you a favor. One day you can repay me.”
“I don’t even know who you are. How would I ever repay you? Besides, I don’t know if you’re full of shit.”
“Fair assessment. Let me put it this way. I have information that links you to the shooting.” He waited for that bit of information to sink in. “Yes, that’s right. I’ve got some sweet video of you working on her car before the bomb went off. It’s crystal clear. The camera loves you.” Another silence told him he had the man’s complete attention.
“She’ll be at the recording studio on Sunset at nine-fifteen. That’s forty-five minutes before anyone else arrives. You’ll be there a half hour before her. I’ll have someone there to let you in. That should be plenty of time to do what you need to do.”
“Who is this?” he asked again.
“Your guardian angel…looking out for your best interests.” And mine. “Eight forty-five. Don’t be late.” He hung up the phone before the man got another word out. This was too big a carrot for him to pass up.
He looked out his office window. Another beautiful California day just got a little brighter.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sunday night, sitting in the cozy chair in her room, Casey was as fried as an Oreo cookie at a fair. Her brain felt fuzzy around the edges as she stuffed her notebook and sheet music into a beat up manila folder and stuffed that into her black leather case. She could go for a nice cool margarita right about now. The weekend had been a songwriting marathon and she’d produced eight songs. Not the fifteen in her dream, but eight songs in forty-eight hours was still an unbelievable accomplishment and personal best by a long shot. Now that it was over, she was completely wiped out. She stretched, popping a few vertebrae back in line.
Her phone vibrated next to her. She didn’t recognize the number, but it was a local call and since she’d been thrown into the spotlight, she’d had all sorts of calls from production assistants to producers trying to schedule her for things.
“Hi, is this Casey?” a man asked.
She didn’t recognize the voice and a tickle of unease skated down her spine. As usual, she debated confirming. “Who is this?”
“My name is Charlie. I work for Miles. He asked if you could come in at nine-fifteen instead of ten tomorrow morning. He wanted to talk to you privately before the band arrives.”
Miles had two full-time assistants and neither were named Charlie. “How come I haven’t met you before?” She would’ve remembered him from the show.
“Oh. Oh, well I’m new. I just took over for Sam. I was supposed to start a week ago, but I had a family emergency, so Sam stayed on a little longer.” He laughed. “Sorry. TMI. Anyway, can I tell Miles you’ll be there early?”
She knew Sam, so Charlie must be legit and she couldn’t really say no. A quick flash of her nightmare gave her shivers, but she shook off the feeling. “Sure. That’s fine. I’ll be there at nine-fifteen.”
“Great. Thanks. I’ll let him know.”
Casey disconnected the call and reset her notifications since she always silenced them while she wrote. She headed downstairs in search of Brendan. The house seemed exceptionally quiet and that sliver of unease snaked through her a second time. “Brendan?” she called. She waited, but got no reply. Her phone dinged and she looked down to find a text from her sister. That’s when she noticed all the other texts she’d missed. Including one from Brendan. In the garage if you need anything.
Casey strolled out back and breathed in the honeysuckle bushes along the house. Birds chirped in the twilight and the clouds looked like giant purple cotton balls in the setting sun. A very faint bass played a rhythm as she closed in on the studio/garage. She peeked in the window of the door before going inside where she saw Brendan, his older brothers and his parents. His mom waved her in as she finished the end of an old Bob Seger song. Dressed in black skinny jeans, high heeled, brown boots and matching brown shirt with intricate black stitching, Terry could’ve been a rock star.
The room had been sound proofed with thick padding on all the walls and an extra heavy door. Brendan’s father, Jay, played drums in the corner while Danny jammed on the bass, Eric played keyboard, Brendan played guitar and his mother sang. The familiar—and much loved—“Rock and Roll Never Forgets” filled the garage. The song took Casey back to her fondest memories as a toddler. She clapped at the end, then gave a sharp two-fingered whistle. Good music deserved appreciation.
“Did you even know that song?” Terry asked. She set the microphone back in the stand and moved the whole thing into a corner. “That was a serious oldie.”
“Are you kidding? I grew up on Bob Seger. My aunt loves him. I think he was her first concert.” Thank God for a normal aunt who understood her love of music and introduced her to everything besides her parents’ classical collection.
“Sounds like your aunt is our kind of people.”
“Definitely.” Too bad her parents weren’t. It still surprised Casey how different her mom was from her aunt. Two sisters with two completely different mindsets. Zoe and she definitely had differences, but growing up in the same stifled household had bonded them.
“We’ve got to jam out of here,” Eric said, covering his keyboard while Danny set his bass in a case and shoved it high on a shelf. All the brothers had the same long-legged build and broad shoulders. Casey was surprised that only Brendan’s twin had a steady girlfriend.
“Us too,” Jay said as he covered the drum set. He picked up a nice camel sports coat hanging on a peg behind him. “See you guys,” he called after his oldest sons as the door closed on their backs.
Terry checked her watch. “Are you ready? We’re supposed to be at the restaurant at six-thirty.”
“
Just give me a minute to grab the car keys and we can go.” He took Terry’s hand and they moved toward the door.
Casey’s parents had been married almost forty-five years. They rarely touched and seemed more like roommates. Casey wanted more. She wanted what these two had. “Where are you off to?” she asked. They looked adorable, like they might be headed on a first date. That kind of long-lasting love was seriously rare.
“Dinner and a movie with some old friends. We’ll be home late. Don’t wait up.” Terry grinned, the sun glinting off her red hair before the door shut behind them.
“Your parents go out a lot,” Casey commented. Her parents rarely left home.
“Yeah, they’re dating fools,” Brendan said, grinning at what must have been the look on her face. “My mom’s words, not mine. After raising five kids on a strict budget, mom decided they were going to party when we all left the house.”
Casey nodded, loving the idea of dating after so many years of marriage. She strolled around the space as Brendan picked a slow tune on his guitar. He had amazing dexterity despite his injury. She could watch him play for days, loved the way his hands worked the guitar. He was a master, and the soulful sounds he came up with constantly awed her. “That’s pretty,” she said, when he stopped playing.
He put the instrument down and put his arm back in the sling. “Eh… I’m just messing around with something new.” He walked toward her and Casey’s stomach fluttered with nerves. “Did you finish or are you going back to work more?” Maybe she imagined the hope in his eyes.
“I’m done. Pretty fried, actually. Don’t think I could write another word if you paid me.”
He wrapped his good arm around her and pulled her against him. He felt strong and solid and smelled like heaven. “You mean I finally have you to myself? I was beginning to think that was never going to happen.”
“Sorry. But I didn’t have much choice.” She settled against his chest and breathed him in.