by KB Jacobs
She nodded. “If I didn’t already believe that, you wouldn’t be standing here right now. Don’t screw it up again.” She pointed at a closed door. “She’s in there.”
I stepped toward the door and put my hand on the knob. Taking a deep breath, I turned it and opened the door.
Melissa lay in bed, her eyes closed, her skin pale. Her long, blonde hair spilled over the pillow. She would have looked ethereal if it weren’t for the ring of mottled purple, blue, and black bruises that ringed her neck. I hissed in pain and sank to the chair beside the bed.
Remorse and rage battled for dominance in my psyche. I wanted to kill this guy. Why would anyone want to hurt Melissa? She was so sweet to everyone. Nausea churned low in my belly. Never had I been so ready to physically harm someone. I just needed to know the name of the bastard who was going to die.
I took some deep breaths and gingerly grabbed hold of Melissa’s hand. I needed the touch of her soft, warm skin. In fact, it would be really good if she would just open her eyes so I could truly know that she was okay. Those bruises looked vicious.
At my touch, her eyes fluttered open. Thank god. When she spotted me, her face broke out into a small smile, but then her eyes filled with tears and her face crumpled.
“Oh, Juliet, don’t do that. Don’t cry.”
That just made her tears worse and led to hoarse, hacking sobs that tore at me.
I couldn’t stand it. I gently leaned over her bed, lifting and scooting her over. Then I crawled into the bed beside her, pulling her onto my chest, wrapping my arms around her, doing everything I could to surround, shelter, and soothe her.
She clung to me, burrowing her face into my torso. I ran my hands up her spine, across the back of her head. My shirt soaked with her tears as her chest heaved with the force from her crying. It broke my heart right in two.
It felt like hours, although it was probably only a few minutes, before her tears ceased, and the only sound in the room was her sniffles. She rubbed at the wet fabric on my chest. “I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing for you to apologize for, Juliet. I’m the one who’s sorry. I’m sorry about every single thing that happened yesterday—the photos, our fight, and especially that you got hurt. That never should have happened. When I think about how we left things between us...” She could have died, and our last words would have been those awful ones from our fight. A shudder rolled down my spine, and I kissed her forehead.
“That wasn’t all your fault.” Her voice was low and scratchy as if her vocal cords were bruised.
It wasn’t time to get into all that. Right now, I had someone to kill. “Who did this to you?”
She pulled back from me and wouldn’t meet my eyes.
I could sense her need for space, but I wasn’t going to let this go.
“Tell me.” I scooted so I wasn’t crowding her, but I was still within reach as I perched on the side of the bed. From her reaction, this was much more than a random attack from someone who’d seen her face on the news.
“For a few weeks now, I’ve been getting texts from a guy I knew in high school. I didn’t see the guy who grabbed me, but I think maybe it was him. I already told the police, and they plan to bring him in for questioning.”
“Texts? For weeks?” I thought back. “That night you went out running, you were weird when you got home.”
She nodded silently, and I wanted to curse, something I rarely even considered anymore. “And you haven’t thought to mention this? If I’d known, I would have hired you a bodyguard. Hell, forget a bodyguard. I wouldn’t have let you out of my sight.”
“And that’s why I didn’t mention it. I thought it was just some mild harassment after he saw me on TV with you. I thought if I didn’t engage, he’d let it go.”
“Do you have your phone?”
She nodded.
I thrust my hand out. “I want to see them.”
She reached under her pillow, pulled out her phone, and unlocked it, opening a screen with a series of messages that made my blood boil.
And then the words sank in. I looked up at her in shock. “Is this someone you dated?”
Her harsh laugh sounded like a hoarse cough. “I don’t think you could call him an ex, although I didn’t know it at the time.”
“Explain.” She probably didn’t need to strain her voice anymore, but I needed to know the full story so I would know how much I planned to torture the guy before I tore him limb from limb.
“You know I graduated from high school early?”
I nodded.
“I was young and shy...a perfect target. He was a senior. Eighteen. I was a senior, too, but a very young, naïve sixteen. We dated for a few weeks, but the entire relationship was all a joke. Everyone knew about it but me. I thought it was real.”
She gave me a self-deprecating look. “I guess I’ve always had issues differentiating between real and pretend. But even back then, I had sexier interests than other girls my age. I wanted him to play”—she dropped her gaze to her hands—“you know...those types of games. But it was a set up. All his friends were there to mock me, and he was horrified. Telling me what a sick weirdo I was. The entire situation was so humiliating that I was never brave enough to try again until you.”
She looked up at me, her face pale and so fragile. My heart caved in my chest. To have that history and then have those photos published...
No wonder she’d been so upset yesterday. I just hadn’t known the whole story. I wanted to pull her into my arms and protect her from the world. I loved her, but I had screwed this all up for both of us.
I shook my head. “You should never be ashamed of your desires. You’re a passionate woman, and that’s such an incredible gift. He was an idiot not to realize it back then, and I was a jerk to not protect those desires better now. I’m so sorry, Juliet.”
She grimaced. “Obviously, he’s changed his tune since then and has decided my kinks are okay now.” She shuddered as tears filled her eyes again.
Rage ran through me. “I’ll kill him.” First, I would tear his balls off. Then I would break all the fingers in his right hand so he would never be able to even think about masturbating again. This jerk had been her first, and it enraged me. She deserved so much better—the best in every single part of her life—and she’d been screwed over...in so many ways.
“No.” Melissa put her hand on my chest, and just like that, I calmed a little bit. “Let the police handle it. They know who he is. If he’s here in town, he’ll be arrested.”
I didn’t like it. It wasn’t in me to just sit back and wait for someone else to take action, especially if it meant that this jerk was still out there somewhere, roaming free so he could attack her again. But I also didn’t want to do anything to upset her further. I’d already done too much of that in the last day.
I brushed the hair off her forehead. “I know we have a lot to sort out.” We’d both been angry yesterday, but there had been some truth to what she’d said during our argument. She deserved something better than Triple B’s reputation staining her life. “But until this guy is caught, I can’t leave you unprotected. Regardless of anything else going on, I need to know you’re safe. Let me watch over you. Make sure you’re okay.”
Her expression softened, and she met my eyes with full clarity as if to show me that she was still strong and healthy. “No. I’m okay on my own.”
“But you almost weren’t. If something had happened to you...” I looked away as emotion choked the words in my throat. I cleared my throat and grabbed hold of her hand as I searched her face. “I wouldn’t have been able to stand it. I have to know you’re safe. Please Melissa. Please. Let me do this.”
“It’s all going to be okay,” she reassured me. “I’ll be okay.”
It wasn’t okay, because I had screwed up in so many different ways, and now, she wouldn’t even let me help. I’d never forgive myself for hurting her. This guy was here because her life had become part of the Triple B media circ
us, and it killed me. But I could survive that if I knew she was safe, healthy, and happy.
I had to know she was safe above anything else.
Chapter 38
Melissa
After an eternity of signing paperwork and promising the doctors to take it easy, I let Alex wheel me out of the hospital to her waiting car. The shimmering white Aston Martin stood out in the parking lot filled with pickups and jeeps, but the vehicle was all Alex. Lake and Walsh were already back at their condo, getting the couch set up for me.
“If you’re going to be sick, you need to tell me now,” Alex said, helping me into the passenger seat. “Your face is white as a sheet, and this is hand-sewn leather.”
I shook my head. “I’m fine.”
Alex eyed me but closed the door.
Except I wasn’t fine. I’d come way too close to serious injury or worse. But my heart hurt even more than my neck.
The fight with Anthony had been ridiculous. I had been hurt and angry, so I’d taken it out on him. No matter what his life was like before, I knew he’d never intentionally expose me that way. And upon reflection and clear thinking, I knew Drake was completely responsible for the press release. But that didn’t change the situation. So long as Anthony was a professional athlete, being with him meant living under a spotlight and I couldn’t live with that kind of exposure.
“So, the hospital food is always crap,” Alex said, bouncing into her seat. She turned on the car and a soft purring hum vibrated through the seats. “How about we stop for some tapas before heading to Lake’s?”
My stomach filled with bricks. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t sit in that condo and watch Lake and Walsh fall more in love with each other every day. I needed time before I forced myself to fully accept that the one person I wanted to be with was the one person I couldn’t have.
It seemed that we’d made our peace, but nothing was settled between us, and the odds were good that they never would be the same again. I needed to be alone to try to piece together my shattered heart.
Alex stared at me, obviously expecting an answer.
“Can we skip the tapas and Lake’s place and just go to the brewery instead?”
“You heard the doctors. They want you resting.” Alex put the car in drive and headed out of the parking lot to Main Street.
“I know, and I will. I’ll sit in the office, and I won’t even look at a spreadsheet.” I turned to look out the window as Aspenridge swam past us. “But I can’t go to Lake’s right now.”
Alex nodded and pushed a button on her steering wheel. “Text Lake,” she told the car. “Taking Melissa to Naked Brews. Be there later.”
The car drifted into silence for a few minutes. I watched the few remaining tourists wander down the cleared sidewalk, stopping to point into the shop windows. A few pointed at Alex’s flashy car as we drove past. If they knew who was inside, there would probably be more gawking. Look, there goes the harlot who likes to be tied up and show the world her naughty bits.
“So are we going to talk about why you’re staying at Lake’s condo instead of in the mansion on a hill with a guy who’s so in love with you it’s practically tattooed on his forehead?” Alex kept her eyes on the road, but her words shot daggers into me.
“No.”
“Oh, good.” Her voice was filled with exaggerated joy. For Alex, that was the equivalent of a tornado siren. “I’m glad we aren’t going to spend any more time talking about how it looks as if you’re walking away from the best guy you’ve ever met. It would be unbelievably painful to discuss why you’re pretending you aren’t completely in love with the guy. I’m certainly not interested in hearing you drone on and on about why you’re forcing yourself to be miserable, or what would possess my best friend to toss away true love, or any of that other boring stuff.”
God, Alex could be a pain in the ass when she wanted to be.
“It’s not that simple.”
“Really?” Alex paused at the only stoplight in town and used the time to glance at me with one eyebrow raised. She had mastered the single eyebrow lift. “Are you saying you aren’t completely in love with the very fine Anthony Millett?”
I squirmed in my seat. “No.” I couldn’t lie to my best friend.
“Sweet Jesus and a cheese plate, what is the problem then?”
Tears filled my eyes, and I opened the glove compartment in search of a tissue or napkin.
“Shit, Melissa.” Alex reached into a hidden console and pulled out a tissue packet. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.” The light turned green, and she pulled her attention back to the road.
“It’s not your fault.” I dabbed at my eyes and tried to hold it together. “You’re right. It’s not that complicated. Simple, really. I love Anthony, and I’m pretty sure he loves me. But I can’t be with him. I can’t live my life in the spotlight where every move could end up in tomorrow’s papers. Surely you get that.”
Alex nodded. That’s exactly why she’d left her parents’ cushy house in Malibu to attend college in Texas. With her actress mother and director father constantly topping the box office, every trip to the grocery store was documented by paparazzi.
“Have you talked to him about it?” Alex asked.
I shrugged. “What’s the point? The only way to make that part of his life disappear is to stop being a world famous athlete. I could never ask him to give that up.”
We pulled into the Naked Brews parking lot. It was mostly empty with everyone taking the day off at Lake’s insistence. Alex shut off the engine and turned toward me. “I’ve got some blankets in the trunk. How about we go inside, build a fort in the office, and drink beer while we eat Lake’s M&Ms and talk shit about men?”
I lunged across the seat divider and wrapped Alex in a hug. “God, I love you.”
“I know,” Alex said, hugging me back. “I’m the best.”
I got out of the car, already feeling slightly better. My love life was a load of rubbish, but at least I had awesome friends to pick me up.
Lake and Walsh pulled into the parking lot behind us. Alex’s text message.
“Melissa.”
Movement from the other side of the building caught my eye, and I turned toward the person calling my name. Bleach blond hair over dark green eyes. My stomach sank. Even after six years, I would never forget Brad Nelson’s face. In high school, he’d been boyishly handsome. Now, his features had a drawn, cruel edge to them that spoke of hard living in the past six years.
“I just want to talk to you,” he said.
“Stay away from me.” My voice shook with an even combination of anger and fear.
“Please, I need to—” He took a step in my direction, and I panicked. I screamed with every ounce of air in me.
It all happened so fast. One second I was standing there, waiting for Alex to get the blankets out of her car. The next I was wrapped up between Alex and Lake while Walsh tackled Brad to the gravel parking lot.
“Who is he?” Walsh shouted, adrenaline coursing through him.
“That’s him,” I whispered. “From the text messages.”
Lake had her phone out and the police dialed in seconds. By the time Walsh got Brad up and slammed him face down on the hood of Lake’s jeep, a patrol car careened into the lot. Within minutes, they took our statements and had him packed into the back seat, cuffed and locked behind a thick, steel screen.
“He won’t be bothering you anymore, Ms. Frye.” The officer tucked his notepad away and left us standing in the lot as they hauled my stalker off to jail.
I should have felt at peace, knowing Brad wouldn’t be able to hurt me again, but that was the last emotion I had. Standing there, surrounded by people who loved me, all I could feel was loss. The person I wanted the most wasn’t here.
Chapter 39
Anthony
The house phone rang again as Simon and I watched Annika and Vaughn on the big screen TV as they raced down the boardercross run during their latest competition. The video
showed all the runs for the kids from the high school team and played on a constant loop on the screen above the bar in my game room. Half-watching it like this, I would glance up and catch tiny flaws in their form that I couldn’t see when I sat and concentrated solely on the film.
I gestured to the screen. “We need to work on that. Annika gets sloppy with her turns on the bottom half of the run. Think that’s a stamina thing?”
Simon watched the screen for a moment. “Could be. You might need to up her cardio training.”
The phone stopped and then started ringing again. “Aren’t you going to answer that?” Simon asked as he sipped his coke.
I shook my head. “Nope. I don’t need to hear from another sponsor that they think I’m a disaster. Until I hire another manager, I’m not touching that phone again.”
“Won’t that make it a bit difficult to hire said manager? I’m assuming you have to talk to them unless you’re flying all the candidates into Aspenridge.”
I waved a hand and blew out a puff of air. “Details, details. I’ll deal with it tomorrow.”
“Well, isn’t that very Scarlett O’Hara of you?”
“Yeah, screw you.” I couldn’t think about my floundering career when Melissa was somewhere in Aspenridge without me. The idea of her out there unprotected when that guy was still free made my stomach shrivel. To think I could concentrate on anything else was a joke. “Do you think she’ll be okay?”
I didn’t have to tell Simon who “she” was. He knew me well enough by this time. “Yeah, physically I’m sure she’ll be fine. That crew at Naked Brews will watch over her now that they know there’s someone out to get her. But from what you said, I don’t think her physical state is the biggest worry here. You need to call her, talk this out. I think you both probably said some things you didn’t mean.”
Yes, harsh words had definitely been spoken between us, and to an extent we’d sorted that out at the hospital yesterday. The fact of the matter was...words said in anger meant nothing compared to life and death. But the bigger issue still lay between us.