Loving Link

by T. D. Hassett

  “No, thanks,” he answered, pushing it away from him. She glanced at Bethany and pouted.

  “He’s so not fun anymore.” Peyton licked the salt from her hand, tipped back her shot, and sucked on her lemon slice before slapping the empty glass to the table. “Damn, that was good.”

  The rest of the group repeated the process and put in their order for another round. Link picked up his beer bottle, gave it a gentle shake, and nodded at the attentive waiter. He’d have one more and then head out. Peyton was just another pretty blond party girl, intent on getting everyone’s attention no matter how outrageous she had to be to do so. She was texting and talking a mile a minute. Her expression was glossy eyed and slow in contrast to her fast hand gestures and speech. Perhaps he could get her to take an interest in Freak Show’s singer and leave him alone.

  Chapter 53

  Sasha

  She was surrounded by fucking idiots. She was the only one with half a brain. She’d offered up Link Jacks on a silver platter to Peyton, and the dumb bitch couldn’t even get him to join her in doing one measly shot. So much for her being so in love with Link that she’d do anything to be with him.

  Sasha looked back at her phone, reading the next text message from Peyton before firing back a response. “Fine, I’ll take care of it. He’ll drink the beer. You need to make your move in about fifteen minutes.” Sasha hit Send and turned back to her station for phase one of the evening.

  She and Francisco sat at a corner table surrounded by tourists in tacky evening attire. No one on this side of the room was anyone worth meeting, just a bunch of wannabes taking pictures of themselves at the famous Hell-on-Earth hangout of the stars and beautiful people. Ugh, she wished they’d all go hang out at the Green Room and fuck themselves. She sipped her gin and tonic and twitched her fingers. She was sick of waiting.

  “Calm down, baby, everything’s fine. I got the camera placed in the hotel, and Peyton knows what to do. As soon as he starts to fade, we walk him out to my rental car like a stoned guy and film her fucking his brains out. I’m hoping to get a few shots of that other girl seeing him leave with Peyton. Nothing like some scorned-woman rage to boost ratings. We will have a celebrity showdown worthy of a one-hour special for Mr. Snow.” Francisco beamed at her and reached for her hand. “This is just the beginning, baby. You and I are going to be rolling in offers.” He pulled her hand up and kissed her knuckles.

  Yuck. She wished she could have left Frankie at the apartment. He stuck out with his cheap suit and drugstore aftershave. He had no class and no presence. If all went according to her plan, this afternoon was the last time she would ever have to touch Frankie or Jimmy Snow. She had enough film of Jimmy telling her to suck him off or fuck him if she wanted him to produce anything of hers. She was certain his wife or the studio bosses would love seeing that if he ever tried to double cross her.

  Time to make her move. Sasha headed over to the busy bar area and counted the number of shots being filled on a tray. This was the right table’s order. She worked her thin frame between some guys standing at the end of the bar. “Excuse me,” she called to the bartender, pleased when he looked up and stared back into her eyes. His gaze dropped to her cleavage, and Sasha smiled seductively. The bartender overfilled one of the shot glasses and swore.

  “Can I help you, Miss?” he asked, finishing with the last shot glass.

  Sasha eyed the lone beer on the tray and appreciated the dark amber color. This would be perfect. She batted her long lashes and pouted her lips a bit.

  “I was just hoping you could show me what brand of gin the house uses—the drinks you’ve made for my table tonight are scrumptious.” She touched her finger to her throat and waited.

  “Ah yeah, sure it’s, um, just Beefeater,” he stammered.

  Shit. She needed him to turn away from that tray for a second before the waiter came to grab it.

  “Are you sure, because I’ve had that brand before but this drink was much better.” She shook her near-empty glass and pulled an ice cube out and popped it into her mouth. Good, keep watching and wanting asshole. The bartender turned to the well and grabbed a bottle. Sasha fluttered her fingers over the beer and returned her hand to run through her long hair.

  “See, it’s Beefeater. Although we do carry some other call brands.” His hands displayed the bottle.

  “Hmm, so it is. Thanks.” Sasha turned away and headed back to her table wiggling her hips triumphantly.

  Chapter 54

  Madison

  Madison wanted to ignore the text messages that kept coming. She didn’t recognize the number, and at this hour she just wanted to go home. She’d called Jay fifteen minutes ago and now waited for him to pull up in the Range Rover. Link was worried about her taking the subway now that she was pregnant. Maddie would have been fine with a cab; his apartment was only a ten-minute ride from the Times Square tattoo shop.

  Another message popped up, and this time she opened it.

  “Come and see what Link Jacks is really like.”

  The message had a photo of Link sitting at a table next to a gorgeous blonde. There were empty shot glasses covering the table, and Madison could make out a few other people in the background. The next text listed the address. She should have recognized the blood-red walls of Club Hell on Earth. After all, she had seen Link there just a couple of months ago. Damn it, he swore he was done with clubbing and groupies. If this was what he wanted to do then why was he pushing so hard for her to be with him? Maybe this was just some nut job’s idea of a joke. There was still a lot of tabloid press over their sex video, and now that Becket was back in the studio the old story was getting a bit of a revival.

  The headlights of the Range Rover flashed through the glass windows. Madison walked out of the shop and locked the door. There were still a few artists working, but the receptionist had left and everyone else was in design rooms. Jay hopped out of the vehicle and opened the passenger door for her.

  “How’d it go, Madison?” he asked, reaching for her bag.

  “Not bad. Did an awesome infant portrait on this guy whose wife just had a baby. It was sweet,” Maddie responded and pulled herself into the Rover. Jay had warmed to her quickly once he knew she hadn’t set Link up in sexgate. She had to admit, she did feel better at night having someone as intimidating as Jay watching out for her. “Hey, is Link home already?”

  Jay shook his head. “No, he’s doing Mickey a favor at Hell on Earth.”

  Madison whipped her head toward him. No, he couldn’t be there. The text was just some crank. “I need to go there.”

  “Why don’t we just call him? He said he didn’t want to be out late tonight; I’m sure he’ll be wanting a pickup by now.” Jay pulled away from the curb and into traffic.

  “No, let’s just go, and I’ll run in and grab him.” And please don’t let this be anything. Please don’t let Robert and my mom be right. Just this once. Maddie’s phone rang again, and despite her fears she picked up the call with a quiet “Hello”. The Rover glided smoothly through the late-night streets, Jay’s eyes fixated on the road.

  Chapter 55

  Link

  Something was wrong. He felt woozy and weak. It was like he was really drunk except he’d only had two beers. He tried to get up but couldn’t seem to get his own legs under control. He looked across the table, surprised how few people remained. Bethany was all over the drummer, and some brunette was sitting on a new guy at the table’s lap. She looked familiar, but her face kept going out of focus. The man was a total stranger.

  Peyton was talking to him. Crap.

  “Link, honey, we are so good together,” she whispered into his ear.

  He pulled away from her and the room spun.

  “Uh oh, I think I better take Link home, he’s had too much,” Peyton told the table, giggling. The familiar-looking woman nodded and got up. The man joined them.

  “You sure you guys got this? He seems really fucked up,” the drummer asked, concerned.
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br />   What the fuck was his name? Link was so lost. He was moving through the room and toward the emergency exit, but it wasn’t his feet doing the walking. The brown-haired woman—Tommy’s ex-wife, that was who she was—and some strange man were practically carrying him. What the fuck was Sasha doing here? Peyton was behind him; she wouldn’t stop talking. He needed her to just shut up so he could get someone to call Madison. He wasn’t right and he needed her. Where were these people taking him? His stomach rolled and he heaved a bit but nothing came up.

  Sasha started talking again. “I think we gave him too much. We need him drunk and horny-looking, not about to overdose. And where’s the girl? We need confrontation. Didn’t you send the text message?”

  The man with her responded, but his voice turned all thick and the words didn’t make any sense. Something about a hotel and lighting. They had reached the back door and went out into the alley. It was familiar. Yes, this is where Jay usually picked him up for his quick getaway. But the car there wasn’t his Range Rover. Peyton was already in the back seat reaching for him. He was half in the backseat of a sedan when he saw her, his Madison running toward him like an avenging angel. She was calling his name but he couldn’t get any words out.

  The man who’d walked him out had slid behind the wheel. He started yelling, “We got to get the fuck out of here. I got her screaming at him on film so let’s go!” The man slammed his door and started the ignition.

  “No, he’s coming with me, he needs me,” Peyton said, holding his arm, her nails biting into his skin. Madison had caught up to him.

  If he could just move his body enough to slide out away from her.

  Madison was at his side. He reached for her, his hands grasping and clutching her shoulders.

  “What did they give you; what are you on?” she asked, pulling on his shoulder. His legs sprawled out the open car door.

  Mickey stepped into his view. “Watch out, missy, I’ll pull him out.” Old Mickey tugged on his legs. He could see what was going on but couldn’t feel his body anymore. Peyton was clinging to him, whimpering in his ear. He kept trying to say Madison’s name but was having trouble moving his tongue.

  Headlights from another vehicle glinted through the windows. A woman started screaming from down the alley, “I see you bitch, I’ll kill you.” Link tried to turn to see more but couldn’t.

  The man driver threw the car in gear and the tires squealed. Mickey and Madison tugged on him and he fell forward onto the pavement as the car rolled away. An SUV came flying toward them at full speed, and Link’s heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. Madison screamed and slammed onto him just as the vehicle flew by, the woman driver hollering, “Home wrecking bitch!” The SUV bolted forward and slammed into the sedan stuck at the end of the alley. Metal crunched into the brick of the building. Glass shattered and cries pierced the city sounds of the night. Madison reached for his face and looked worriedly into his eyes. She was trying to shield his body from the collision at the end of the alley and all he could do was watch her, dizzy and weak.

  “Are you okay? Is anything broken?” Tears streamed down her face as she examined him. “You promised me no more clubbing, that you’d given all that up.”

  Link could only nod his head and call her name. “I love you, Maddie.” Her image was fading right before his eyes.

  Mickey slapped his shoulder bringing his alertness back a bit. “I called the cops; they should be here any minute. Geez kid, you had me worried when I saw them hauling your body out the door. Thought I might need to look for another partner in the club.” He chuckled before quickly donning a more serious expression. “I think that skinny lady slipped something in your beer. I got really suspicious when I saw a shot of tequila turning blue at your table, though usually it’s a guy dropping roofies into ladies’ drinks.” He turned to Maddie. “You okay? You fell pretty hard. I think that crazy bitch was trying to run you down.”

  Madison wiped her eyes, the sound of sirens blaring in the background. She nodded her head a couple of times.

  Link could barely keep his eyes open. Who would want to hurt Madison? Who the hell was that woman driving the SUV? Nothing made any sense.

  Chapter 56

  Madison

  He was going to be okay. He was safe and he loved her, and she knew for certain that she loved him. Thank God her nephew called her, worried. He’d said Sasha had been asking him for phone numbers—Madison’s, Link’s, the PR manager for Becket. Something was going on, otherwise why start calling a nine-year-old and questioning him?

  Her first thought when she’d seen him stumbling out the door with a pretty blonde girl wasn’t that he was leaving her, but that he was in trouble and she had to help him. Her suspicions had been confirmed when she saw the people shoving Link into a car.

  She shuddered as she remembered everything that had just happened.

  Link was out of it but still trying to get away. Her heart jumped into her throat and she ran the last few steps, anxious to pull him free. The bar manager was at her side trying to help. The old guy was a lot stronger than he appeared. He was pulling on Link’s legs as Maddie reached for his shoulders, slapping at the babbling girl clinging to his arm. She pried at the woman’s hands to get Link loose. Madison balled her hand up and punched the girl in the cheek. She shook her stinging knuckles. It was just the distraction she had needed. The blonde moved her hand from Link’s arm to rub her jaw, and Maddie was able to pull him free.

  She heard another woman screaming, her car barreling down the alley, seemingly at her, which made no sense. Just as Link fell onto the pavement, the car he’d been trapped in sped off. Madison jumped on top of him, the careening vehicle and its shouting driver missing her by centimeters. The woman’s SUV shot straight into the sedan, sending it into the building at the end of the alley. Glass exploded from both vehicles and the airbags puffed out as if a marshmallow had erupted in the car. The male driver flew through the windshield, his body thumping heavily on the hood. He wasn’t moving. Seconds later she watched a brunette get out of the passenger door and stagger a few feet to lean against a dumpster. She was looking into the backseat passenger window before continuing to walk on to the next vehicle.

  Madison shook the memories from her mind and turned her attention from the wreck at the end of the alley toward the street as sirens blared.

  Several police cars came to a screeching halt. They blocked the alley, and an ambulance crew arrived on the scene. Madison waved an EMT over to Link. “He’s been given something, possibly in a drink,” she explained to the young paramedic. The man flashed a penlight in Link’s eyes and took his vitals.

  Other medics and the police were surrounding the smashed cars. The male driver must not have made it; the paramedic shook his head and moved on to the remaining passenger. The blonde was still sitting in the back seat as the EMT examined her.

  The female driver of the SUV staggered out of her car, pushing away the police officer trying to question her. “Where’s my husband? Where’s Frankie?” the woman wailed as she approached the body draped across the hood of the sedan. “Oh, God. Oh, Frankie. See what that whore made me do? I begged you to come back home. Oh, Frankie,” she cried before burying her face in the prone man’s bloodied shirt.

  Madison looked around for the brunette who had gotten out of the car but she was gone. It had to have been Sasha, but she couldn’t be sure. She must have slithered out of the alley while everyone was focused on the remaining victims.

  Mickey was talking to the cops, explaining what he had seen. Madison kept a tight hold on Link’s hand. She had never been so scared in her life.

  Chapter 57

  Sasha

  She couldn’t believe what a close call it had been. She was sitting next to Frankie in his rental when Madison and Old Mickey pulled Link out. She caught the flash of headlights in the side mirror before Frankie stepped on the gas and drove them into the building. The SUV slammed into their stuck car sending him out the windshield,
and then the air bags exploded. Too late to help Frankie since the dumb fuck didn’t have his seat belt on.

  It took her a moment to clear her head. She saw Maria in the driver’s seat of the SUV and suddenly her whole last week became clear. The eerie feeling that someone was watching her was real. Frankie’s frumpy wife had been the one following her around. Probably trying to find a way to get rid of her. What a waste of time. She would have happily handed Frankie back to his wife in a few more hours.

  She had to find a way to work this to her advantage. She glanced in the back seat. Peyton was pretty out of it, babbling and drunk. It was perfect. All she had to do was capture the next few minutes on camera, and she’d have something just as good as what she’d planned. Supermodel Peyton in a car accident caused by an adulterous affair ending in a vehicular manslaughter charge for the wronged spouse. Throw in her…um, Peyton’s attempt to drug a famous rock star into a kinky threesome sex movie, and she had reality television gold. When life handed her lemons she was ready with a shot.

  Chapter 58

  Link

  He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She was so beautiful, so talented, and he’d almost lost her. Madison was framed by morning light streaming in the oversized bay windows. Her hair reflected at least ten shades of brown as she made careful strokes on her latest canvas. Link had come up to her studio to watch her paint and sip his coffee. He’d missed her warmth in bed this morning. Madison must have slipped out early to work on the painting she was doing for Thomas and Isabel’s daughter. It was an incredible design—small baby items and toys on a nursery floor that transform into musical notes as the eye wanders up the canvas. Madison could do with art what he aspired to do with his compositions—create something astonishing out of what was swimming around in one’s soul. It was one of the many things he loved about her.