by Nova Raines
“Gosh, Hayley,” Jessa says, mock concern in her voice. “So sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen this.”
I’ve definitely had too much to drink. So I can get away with what I’m about to do.
“Gosh, Jessa. Thank you so much for the warning.” I go to rest my hand on her arm, but “miss”, and stumble into her instead. The melty ice cubes in my glass fly through the air and drench the front of Jessa’s stupid, filmy, sparkly shirt.
She shrieks and backs away from me.
I drop the empty glass on a table and stalk past her, my head held high. I don’t look back.
“Bitch,” I hear her say.
I’m out the VIP door and back into the pounding bass of the main club before Char catches up to me.
“What the hell just happened?” She shouts over the music. “You just dumped your drink on Jessa Ali. She plays the witch on Werewolf!”
“Well, that explains it.”
“What happened?”
“What? I thought she needed a cold shower.” My voice cracks. I’m fighting to keep the tears brimming in my eyes from ruining my makeup, but a few fall anyway.
“Oh, Hay. What did she say to you?” Char’s face falls, and she digs a tissue out of her clutch and hands it to me. “Your mascara’s running.”
I wipe at my eyes. “I just want to go home now. Can your driver take me?”
Char looks back at the VIP door with longing, but then she nods. “I’m not letting you leave on your own. Let me text Levi.”
I stand there like an idiot as she texts him and waits for his response.
“He’s staying,” she says. “Come on. I’ll call my driver to come around and get us.”
Char’s driver picks us up, and on the ride home I lean into the heated leather seats of the car and tell Char everything.
“Jessa’s a bitch, but—Kaidan Stone kissed you!” Her voice is so high-pitched, I wince.
“Yeah. I’m the rebound girl. We’ve established that.”
“No. We should have stayed. Peyton probably sent her over just to intimidate you.”
“Really? Did you see Peyton and Kaidan together by the bar? He went to get me a drink and…”
“Do you want to go back?”
I let out a harsh laugh. “Absolutely not.”
She sighs. “What was it like? When he kissed you?”
My eyes start burning again. “Can we… Can I tell you later?”
“Sorry. Yeah.”
I stare out the tinted windows at the LA nightlife, at the people drunkenly walking down the street from bar to bar.
“Just so you know, you’re way prettier than her. And have a way better personality. Trust me. She’s dumber than a box of rocks.”
“Right.”
“It’s true. And screw Kaidan if he doesn’t see that.”
“Thanks,” I mumble. I sniff and pull out my phone.
“Can we have the radio?” Char says to her driver.
Low indie music pipes through the sound system. Cylon Smash. Ugh. It would be, wouldn’t it? I totally should have sat down with Ender. Screw Kaidan.
Alcohol makes me way too emotional. I angle my phone away from Char’s seat so she can’t see what I’m looking up. ScandalLust’s long page of headlines about Kaidan and Peyton MacKenzie makes me sick all over again.
Record Label Heir Caught Kissing Actress—Are Kaidan Stone and Peyton Mackenzie an Item?
KaiPey: Are Kaidan and PeyMac Over?
Kaidan Finds New Love With PeyMac Look-A-like Actress
KaiPey: They’re Official Again!
Trouble in KaiPey Land
Record Label Hunk Kaidan Stone’s a Bachelor… and #1 on The Lust List.
Is Hayley Wade PeyMac’s New Look-A-Like Rebound?
I want to throw my phone out the window. It’s all true. I’m just a PeyMac doppleganger—a pale imitation, like Jessa said.
“So… I need some new clothes,” Char says, breaking our silence. “Wanna go shopping on Rodeo with me this week?”
Char doesn’t know. No one knows I’m broke. Now I really want to cry. Dead dad, drug dealers, no money, no love. Pretty soon I’ll be complaining about having no house and no job. I’m about to fall far, fast. Will Char still be my friend when I do? I like to think she will, but… money and status are everything in this city. No one’s immune to their siren call.
“So you wanna go?” she asks again, looking down at her phone.
“Maybe.”
I look up Serena Lynn next on ScandalLust’s site. I don’t know what I’m hoping to achieve. I can’t buy the necklace off her, and she’s not going to just give it back to me.
Holy shit.
Pop Star Sensation Serena Lynn Robs The Grave… Again
Twenty-four year old Serena Lynn has done it again! She’s robbed the grave for a second time, this time falling for a man who qualifies for the senior citizen discount.
Last week, she was sighted moving into the Stone Mansion.
We’d hoped it meant she’d finally snagged someone her own age—maybe one of the supersexy Stone brothers.
But that’s not Serena’s style. She likes the granddaddies. She’s dating sixty-five-year-old Calvin Stone, founder of Stone Records. No ring on her finger yet, and she’s still wearing the massive diamond necklace she snagged during her brief engagement to another man who could’ve been her father—recently deceased Seventh Inferno singer, Razor Wade.
But, hey, at least that’s great news for the rest of us. Lust List hunks Devon and Kaidan Stone are still on the market.
I want to swear off Kaidan for good… But the answer to all my problems is living in his mansion.
When I wake up the next day, the black SUV is gone. Have the dealers given up, or is this a trick? I wait an hour, checking out the window constantly, but the SUV never appears.
I feel antsy stuck in my dad’s empty penthouse. I’m running out of the frozen dinners he left behind, and I’ve only been out once in four days, when I went to the club last night.
I called my insurance, but they need a co-pay to fix the window on my Mercedes. So, for now, I’m leaving it in the garage. My lawyer isn’t answering my calls, and I’m starting to worry something has happened to Rowan, because he hasn’t returned my calls either. We may not be close, but Rowan’s the only family I have left.
And Kaidan. No matter how hard I try to forget about him… I can’t.
I need to get out of here, even if I’m not about to drive my ghetto-ized car anywhere. I pull on a t-shirt, sweats, and a hat; grab my phone and headphones; and head downstairs. A run on the beach will help me think more clearly.
I eyeball the security guard in the marble foyer, and he nods to me politely. Could he be the one working with the thugs? They’d broken my window in plain view of the security cameras. They’d been way too confident in the cameras being off and in their LAPD connections. This sucks.
I push through the glass doors out to the sidewalk beyond. The sun’s shining, the sky is a vivid blue, and the air is warm but dry, not at all humid like I’d experienced on a warm day on the East Coast. I can see the ocean beyond the buildings across the street, dark blue waves breaking against white sand.
Things will get better. I’ll figure all of this out.
Right as I reach the beach side of the street, a black SUV pulls up to the curb. My heart speeds up, and I glance at the windows, but I can’t see inside. I’m such an idiot. Why did I come outside?
I walk faster, not toward the beach, but toward the nearest building.
I hear a door slam, and a rough hand wraps around my arm.
“Stop, chica,” a heavily accented voice says. I look up. It’s Luis’s beefy henchman, Carlos.
I gasp and rip my phone from my pocket, trying to dial 911.
He snatches the phone from my grip and squeezes my arm tighter.
“You’re hurting me,” I squeak.
“Let’s go for a ride
.”
My stomach’s in knots, and I glance toward the nearest building, but it’s too far. The SUV is closer, and Carlos is now dragging me toward it. I twist, trying to free myself. “Let me go. You can’t—you can’t kidnap me in broad daylight.”
He halts and moves his coat jacket ever so slightly, letting me catch a glimpse of the gun holstered at his belt.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck. They have guns, just like I thought. Of course they do, Hayley. Because THEY ARE DRUG DEALERS.
I really hate my dad right now, but I need to focus on escaping these thugs.
“Just let me go,” I say. “I promise—the second I have the money, I’ll pay you.”
The back door opens, and Carlos shoves me toward it. I brace myself against the door, trying to prevent him from shoving me inside. My eyes adjust to the dark interior. Luis is in the backseat with sunglasses on.
“I’m not coming with you.” My voice cracks. “I’ll have your money soon—”
“If we wanted you dead, Miss Wade, you would be,” Luis says smoothly, not looking at me. “Now, please, get in the car. We’re going to have another talk about your responsibilities to us.”
Carlos shoves me again, and I choke back a sob as I climb into the SUV. When they find my dead body, Rowan’s going to regret not returning my calls.
Carlos gets into the driver’s seat, and the car moves forward.
“Good morning, Miss Wade. I trust you have what you owe us?”
“Look,” I say, my voice shaking. “I plan on paying you—there’s just an issue with my inheritance. I don’t have it yet.”
“Are you saying you can’t pay us?” Luis’s voice is flat, and I can’t see his eyes behind his sunglasses.
“I just can’t right now,” I say.
“Regardless, your first payment is due.”
The car keeps driving, and I look outside as the buildings fly by. Where are they taking me?
Luis is silent for a long moment.
“Your brother. He doesn’t live in a secure penthouse like you do,” Luis says.
I dig my fingers into the leather of the seat, and my body goes cold. “What did you do to him?”
“Nothing. Yet.” Luis’s voice is dripping with unspoken threat this time. “Your brother seems to be living a different life than you.”
“Trust me—he doesn’t have any money to give you. But, I… I have, maybe, five hundred dollars left in my account. That’s it until I get my inheritance. But you can have all of it.”
Luis lets out a low laugh that sounds more like a growl. “That’s not enough.”
“It’s all I have. I’ll give it you. Just… give me a little more time.”
Luis gets quiet again. He taps his index finger against the window. The heavy gold ring he’s wearing makes a hollow sound against the glass, and sweat pops up on my brow.
“I will accept it as your promise to pay,” Luis says. “But we’ll be doubling what you owe.”
“What?” I let out a breath. I just want to get out of here. I’ll agree to anything. “Fine, whatever. Let me go, so I can get your cash.”
Luis gestures to Carlos, and he pulls over at the curb. “You have twenty-four hours to get us the money. We’ll be waiting for it tomorrow morning.”
Carlos gets out of the car and opens the passenger side door. Clearly, I’m free to leave.
“Please. Leave Rowan alone. I’ll make sure you get your money.”
Luis doesn’t answer, and I’m not staying in this SUV for a second longer. I scramble down from the car, and Beefy throws my phone at me. I catch it and stumble onto the sidewalk. I stand there, shaking on the corner like a hooker looking for a fix until the SUV disappears around the next block.
I look for a street sign. Four streets away from my penthouse. I start walking back, but my legs won’t follow my brain’s instructions. I sink down in the grass in front of an Infinitek medical building.
I fumble with my phone and dial my brother again. He doesn’t pick up. I’m going to have to get Char to take me to Santa Monica to check in on him. This is so bad. I leave him a message.
“Rowan. You need to call me back the second you get this. Some bad stuff is going down. If you see any black SUVs near your apartment—or anything suspicious… Just… Call me back!”
I hang up and let out a little scream of frustration. My phone rings, and I jump.
LA Entertainment Law.
I sigh with relief. My lawyer. Maybe he’s solved all of this. I answer.
“Hey,” says a deep voice. “It’s Kaidan.”
My stomach dances, and I twist my hand around a clump of grass, remembering Peyton and the way I drenched Jessa. “Oh,” I say, my voice faint. “I thought my lawyer was calling me back.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.”
We sit in silence for a few seconds, and an awful thought occurs to me. Has he seen my file? Does he know about my dad, my inheritance, about Serena, who is living in his house? “I never gave you my number. How’d you get it?”
“My dad’s a partner at the law firm where we met.”
“You looking at my confidential files?”
“Hayley.” His voice is hard. “I just asked the receptionist.”
Oh. Right.
“Tell me why you left last night.” His voice sounds cold now, commanding. What is his deal?
“You looked busy.” I don’t need this. I don’t need him or anything else in my life. Except my inheritance. That, I need.
“Ah. Can I make it up to you?”
“How?”
“Meet me. For dinner.”
I take a deep breath and clench my jaw. I want to see him, I do, but… I don’t understand him. And I don’t want to be anyone’s rebound girl. I have enough to deal with. “I have plans,” I say weakly.
“When are you free?”
I sit straight up in the grass. Serena. The necklace. She lives at his house… Maybe I can… talk to Serena. Do something to solve my problem. I swallow. “Well, you said you were having a party this weekend, didn’t you?”
“Yes. Tomorrow night. And you said you weren’t the partying kind of girl.”
“And you said you wanted to see me.”
“Right.” Kaidan’s voice hardens, colder even than before, and I know I’ve done something wrong again. I don’t care anymore.
“So? Do I have an invite?”
“Fine. I’ll add you to the list. Hayley Wade. Plus one.”
Kaidan is silent on the line, and I wonder if he’s hung up on me.
“So… I’ll see you there?” I ask.
“Yeah. See you there.” Then he hangs up.
I blow out a breath, and the heavy weight in my chest lightens. I’m about to be in the same place with Serena. I have no idea what I’m going to say or do, but I have time to make a plan. I’ll get cash for Luis from an ATM somewhere, but… Crap. I have nothing to wear to a party like this. I have some room left on my credit card, though.
I text Char.
We’ve been invited to a party at the Stone mansion on Saturday. Still up for shopping?
The next morning, the black SUV is back. But I’m ready this time. I’d found an ATM yesterday, and I clutch the envelope in one damp fist as I ride the elevator down. I’m wearing an anti-pap get-up. Baggy sweats, sunglasses, and a hat. Last thing I need is someone taking a picture of me handing drug dealers a shady-looking envelope.
Rage and fear clash within me as I push outside into the bright morning light. I jog over to the SUV, and the window rolls down before I reach it.
Carlos is in the driver’s seat. He looks straight ahead, and I shove the envelope into his window. Rage finally wins out, and heat spreads in my chest as I stare at him, watching him count the last of my money.
“We’ll be back soon for your next payment,” he says in his thick accent. He never actually looks at me while he’s robbing me. Not once.
But then I remember the gun he carries, and I take a step back. He shifts the ca
r into gear and drives off, leaving me standing on the street.
An awful pressure builds up inside me as I go back into my building and step into the elevator. As soon as I step back into my penthouse, I let the tears come, and I sob as I’m changing into shorts, boots, and a long tank top for my shopping trip. Tonight’s the party, and I still have no idea why I’m even going, or what I’ll say to Serena when I see her. I call my lawyer again, but he doesn’t pick up.
As I’m applying makeup, I get a text from Char.
Hey, I’m at LuxRy, where are you?
Crap. I forgot to tell her I need a ride. Add my ghetto car to the list of things I need to fix. I text a quick lie.
My car won’t start.
Weird… Should I send my driver to come get you?
Yes. Thanks.
A half hour later, Char’s driver drops me off at LuxRy Boutique. I’ve never been here before, but it looks a lot like the rest of the shops on Rodeo, except the mannequins behind the glass are all wearing evening gowns.
I push through the doors. The walls are covered in pale purple, striped wallpaper, and expensive crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling. The scent of expensive feminine perfume wafts over me, all floral and musk.
I know as I move around sparse racks filled with silk and sparkle that the credit limit on my card is about to be reached. How am I going to pay my rent? How will I buy food?
Chill. You’ll find a way to talk to Serena and figure out how to solve this. Or your lawyer will call back soon.
“Hey!” Char says to me. She steps around a rack, two dresses in her arms.