I decide to answer the unknown number. Maybe it’s her calling from Kendra or Liddie’s phone.
“Hello?”
“Chase!” Dean Falwell’s voice comes booming out of the tinny cell phone speaker.
Just what the I need to put the last feather in my fucked up cap.
“What do you want?” My voice is nasty and clipped. His is the last voice I want to hear right now.
“Just a quick chat with you, buddy. That’s all.”
“Make it quick. I’m busy.”
Dean chuckles. “No, you’re not, but that’s okay. I know you’re having a rough time over there and I just wanted to thank you for giving up Victoria’s contract. I know she was your only client.”
How does he know that? Is that bastard hacking into our files? I don’t say anything.
“Anyhow,” he continues, “that’s not the real reason for the call. Now, the best I can figure, Defender, Inc will fold in two, three months, tops. When that happens, I’d like to offer you and your brother positions with us here at ABS.”
“Fuck you, Dean,” I say.
He laughs again. “That’s pretty much what I expected to hear from you. Just, give it some thought. It wouldn’t be anything you boys couldn’t handle. Some small events, some b-list celebrities. Nothing too hard.”
Exactly the kinds of potential details and clients I was turning away from Defender, Inc. right now.
Then Dean names a salary. And it’s insultingly low. “Anyhow, give it some thought. You’ve got a few weeks. I’ll be looking forward to your call.” The phone clicks off in my ear.
I throw my cell across the room, flinching as it bounces off the wall with a loud crack. Lowering my head to the desk, I bury my face in my arms. I feel sick to my stomach.
I can’t remember a time in my entire when I’ve been as miserable as I am now. My company is on the verge is going under. I hurt the only girl I’ve every cared about by trying to save her reputation. My own twin, even though he went along with the plan, is pissed at me and the entire country thinks I’m a slimy double-dealing bastard for taking advantage of my step-sisters fame to further my own agenda.
We had to do it like that, though. Flipping the script, making Kieren and me into the main focus was the only way to draw the heat from Victoria. Maybe she’ll be able to continue her career without everyone thinking she’s just some spoiled Hollywood starlet screwing her stepbrothers for some kinky kicks.
I’m weak when it comes to her. She can control me with the crook of her pinkie. For all my stubbornness and my stoic façade, Victoria has me stripped bare.
I love her.
Shit.
Pushing away from the desk, I retrieve my phone from the floor. The facing is shattered, the back cracked open. I thumb it open anyhow and bring up Victoria’s number. When I go straight to voicemail, I know she’s blocked my number. I drop my phone.
I can’t deal with this anymore. I grab my keys and head out of the office. Twenty minutes later I’m at the apartment I share with Kieren.
He isn’t home. I have no idea where he is but right now, I don’t care. I head to the freezer and pull out an ice-cold bottle of gin. I don’t even bother with a glass. I take it to the living room, flop onto the couch and crack the top. I pour the gin straight down my throat. The piney flavor spills across my tongue and burns down the back of my mouth. I keep gulping and swallowing.
And I’m not going to stop until everything is black.
24
KIEREN
Victoria won’t answer her fucking phone.
Antony went to the office this morning but I’m at our apartment. There’s not much of reason for me to go in. Antony is better at fielding the phone calls and business aspects of Defender, Inc. I’m better as the muscle and besides, I’d just distract him. Or I'd end up fucking blowing up at him again.
So, I’m pacing around the apartment. I do some sit-ups and push-ups, try to work out some of my nervous energy but it’s not really that successful. I grab my phone and try to call Victoria again. Straight to voicemail.
She’s been ignoring us since the interview and I’m just worried about her. I know we shocked her. I know she felt betrayed. I hated doing it but Antony was right. It was better for us to take the heat than to let Victoria go down. I know we came out looking like back-stabbing scumbags but I don’t care. I just want her to be okay.
I’ve got to get out of this apartment. I head into my room and change into a pair of running shoes and sweatpants. Going for a long run might help me clear my head. I strap on an armband case for my phone and slip a pair of Bluetooth earphones on and jog down the stairs.
Outside, it’s warm. The fog has burned off, leaving the sun a bright, glowing orb in the sky. Our neighborhood is hilly and, after a quick stretch, I head off down the hill. I keep my eyes trained in front of me, passing by Spanish colonial mansions and mid-century modern masterpiece homes without glancing at them. The streets are leafy, sycamore trees lining the edges of the road and dappling the sidewalks with fallen leaves.
I turn up another hill, pumping my legs to make it up and stand at the top for a brief second, catching my breath. Victoria is still on my mind. I wish I had some way to get in touch with her. That’s when I notice I’m five blocks from Victoria’s favorite brunch place and it's Thursday. She has brunch with Liddie and Kendra on Thursday, without fail.
Liddie.
I whip out my phone and quickly text Liddie. Why didn’t I think about doing that before?
Are you at brunch?
Yes.
Is Victoria with you?
There’s a long pause before she answers.
Yes.
Are you guys at that place on Larchmont?
Yes.
I don’t say anything else. I take off down the hill and round the corner, slowing to a walk when I’m two blocks away from the little restaurant. I can see her curly hair already. She’s at a patio table with her friends, with her back to me, in a breezy yellow sundress. Kendra, her hair silver, spots me first and nudges Liddie, who can’t stop her eyes from getting wide when she looks up. Victoria stops talking when she notices her friends staring and turns to look over her shoulder.
I’m ten feet away when two guys in Men-in-Black suits slide between me and Victoria. I’d forgotten she had new bodyguards. And they were good. I didn’t even clock them on my way down the sidewalk.
“Miss Carter isn’t giving autographs right now,” one of them says.
“Funny.” I peer around the guy, “Please, Vickie? Can we talk?”
“Don’t call me Vickie,” she says but there’s something sad about the way she says it. There’s no sassy lilt or life to her voice.
“I think you need to go,” the bodyguard says.
I give Victoria a pleading look. I need this.
She gives a heavy, tired sigh. “It’s okay, guys.”
The bodyguards step to the side and let me pass. One of them eyes me up and down, visually checking me for weapons. I’m glad at least that she seems to have bodyguards who are professional.
Sliding into an empty chair next to Victoria, my eyes devouring every inch of her. Her hair is streaming in ribbons over her cinnamon-freckled shoulders, her lips are sweetly pink, and her legs are lithe and tanned under her frilled skirt. She looks like she’d taste like strawberry lemonade if I reached over and put my mouth on her.
“You look beautiful,” I simply say.
“Aww,” Liddie trills.
I look over. She and Kendra are looking at me like they’re cheering on their kid at his first Little League game. Liddie even has her hands up underneath her chin.
“Can we talk about what happened?” I ask Victoria.
I’m afraid she’s going to say no. The look on her face says she wants too. Her eyes are searching my face, looking for…what? Honesty? An apology? Love? I don’t know what she wants.
Her eyes slide to her friends, “Would you give us a minute?”
; Liddie starts to object and I know she wants to be there to protect Victoria’s tender heart but Kendra grabs her by the elbow and hauls her to her feet. “C’mon,” Kendra says, “let’s go get Bloody’s and see if we can get that sexy bartender’s number.” They head inside toward the bar.
Now that I’m alone with Victoria, I’m not sure how to say what I want to say and she’s silent, waiting for me to speak.
“I…wanted to explain what happened,” I stumble over the words.
“It’s okay. I get it, you used me, my celebrity, to beef up your business. I mean, I would have helped you, endorsed your agency, if you’d asked but what’s done is done.”
She doesn’t get it. Antony and I thought she’d understand that we were just trying to take the heat off her, get her name out of the headlines. She thinks our interview was real.
“Baby, no.” Fuck, I’m no good at this. “I’m miserable. I’m lost right now without you. Antony isn’t doing so hot either.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” she says primly. “And where is Antony?”
“At the office,” I mumble.
“Ah, of course. I’m sure he has plenty of new contract to negotiate.” She slides on a pair of white-rimmed sunglasses and turns her head.
“No. It’s not like that. As a matter of fact, he’s thinking of letting ABS absorb Defender, Inc. Which, let’s face it, is just me and Antony right now, anyhow.”
Her head is stilled turned from me. The slim line of her neck jerks as she swallows down whatever she was about to say to me.
“We had to do it, Victoria.”
A flashbulb pops, sending white light scattering over us. Victoria whips off her glasses and her face changes. The lines soften and she smiles, it’s bright and dazzling. And fake. It’s her professional face. She tilts her head and looks toward the photographer.
“Just a few, please. I’m just trying to have a bit of brunch, okay,” she calls out.
He nods and she poses, smiling prettily, even letting him get a picture of her sipping at a mimosa. After a few minutes, he thanks her and walks away with his prize photos, off to sell them to the highest bidder.
The second he’s gone, her face closes off again and she slides her sunglasses back on.
“So, can we…” I start.
“Listen, Kieren, it’s okay. I get it. And I mean, we had fun, right? I had fun. It was…interesting. And you’re still my brothers.”
“But you don’t…”
“No, it’s okay,” she continues, “I’m okay, really. And my new guards are great!” She gestures over to her bodyguards.
“Victoria, you don’t have to act like this.”
“I’m fine, Kieren.” She turns her head again and I see a single tear slip down beneath her sunglasses.
“Maybe, we can all get together. You, me and Antony. And talk about this?” I’m practically begging her.
“I don’t know.” She’s plucking at the edges of a napkin now, her face still turned away.
“Maybe we could go away somewhere. Figure out what we have to do. Just go away and…be together.” I’m trying to make her look at me but she’s sliding her eyes past me, over me, around me.
“I don’t know. I’ll try. I’m really busy now, you know. All this media stuff really has me bogged down.
“I didn’t realize,” I say.
“I don’t even have a real agent anymore. Liddie’s been filling in. She’s great, really. I’d love to take her on as my actual agent if she’ll leave her dad’s firm.”
“Oh, that’s…great.” She’s leading the conversation as far from us as she can. I try to steer it back. “So, can we get together?”
“As a matter of fact, you have Liddie’s number, right? You should give her a call, see if she can schedule you and Antony in some time.”
Oh, they cut deep and hard, her words. I feel like she’s flayed open my chest. The hurt burns all the way through. I never thought she’d lay me open like that.
”Yeah, sure, I’ll do that,” I mumble.
“You should give Kendra a call sometime, too,” she says.
“Okay. Why?”
Her smile is tight. “She seems to like she’s your type. You two seemed to enjoy flirting together.” She shrugs her shoulders. “It’s cool with me.” She picks her mimosa and sips at it, avoiding my gaze.
She’s pushing at me. So hard. She’s trying to push me right off the edge. I won’t let her. I know what I want.
“I guess I’d better go then.” I stand up, scraping the patio chair backward, and lean over, laying a soft kiss on her cheek. “I don’t want Kendra, never have,” I say against her ear. She doesn’t look shocked. She’s still hiding behind her white-rimmed sunglasses, still studiously looking everywhere but at me. “It’s always been you.” I stand up and walk away.
As I pass her bodyguards, they give me a long, knowing look. I don’t care what anyone think’s anymore.
“Hey,” I tell them, “take good care of her. Or I’ll come after you.”
I lope across the street and back up the hill, my chest still stinging from Victoria’s blows and as much as I want to look back, to catch one final glimpse of her, I manage to resist.
25
VICTORIA
I have one more interview to get through today.
This is one that Samson set up. I wanted to cancel but Liddie convinced me that it would be best to go ahead and go through with this one. This is my chance to tell my side, to portray whatever image it is that I want to project and to get the appearance fee. Liddie’s been great about filling in as my makeshift manager and even re-negotiated the fees for this appearance, getting me a higher cut. I hope I convince her that management is where she needs to be.
So, I’m getting ready for my appearance. I’m pulling outfit after outfit out of my closet, lining them up on the bed. What do I want to say with my clothes tonight? I’m thinking sexy isn’t my best option but I don’t really want to go conservative either. Maybe, sweet. Not innocent either, but somewhere between angelic and impure. Sweet’s the best I got.
I choose a light pink blouse and gray pencil skirt with a subtly sexy pair of heels. It works. Not too revealing but I don’t look like I’m trying to make myself look like a nun either. It’ll do.
I hear the front door open and a voice calls out “Miss Carter.”
It’s my bodyguards. I don’t let them stay in the house like I did with Kieren and Antony. Instead, I opted for another guard to patrol the perimeter at night along with the gate guard, extra cameras, and alarms, and these two to accompany me to appearances and outings. So far, it seems to be working well.
Except for the part where they let themselves into my house without warning. Sighing, I pull on my robe, fingering the belt for a second, before I head out into the living room.
“I’m here, just getting my things together. Kendra will be here soon, she’s my hair and make-up for the day. I need to get changed. Have a seat.” I wave them to the couch.
“We’ll be right here,” Bill says. At least, I think it’s Bill. I haven’t bothered to get to know these guys.
I head back to the room but I don't push my door completely closed. As I'm pulling on my clothes I hear the bodyguards talking. When I hear my name, I move closer to the door.
“She fucked her last bodyguards, though,” one of them says with a low chuckle.
“They were her brother’s though.”
“They did it all together, like?”
“That’s what I heard.”
I’m shaking, my stomach roiling with anger.
“I guess she likes it like that.”
“I bet I got a bigger dick than either one of them Defender, Inc. pricks. They always did look like they were trying to overcompensate for something.” Low snickering follows this announcement.
I don’t want to hear any more.
I stalk out into the living room and I can tell by the looks at on their faces that they know I heard. My voice is coo
l and venomous as I tell them we need to leave.
“My interview is at six. I need to be there an hour early.”
“Okay,” one of them says but they’re both still on my sofa, smug looks pulling at their mouths.
“Now!” I snap and they jump up and fumble to the front door.
“Meet me out front with the car.” I slam the door behind them narrowly missing their heels.
I head back to the room, gather up my bags, and slip on a pair of shoes. When I walk back out into the living room Kendra is standing there, waiting on me. She grabs my bags and leads me out the door to the waiting SUV. One of the bodyguards opens the rear door and we toss in my bags and climb in the back before heading to the television studio.
It’s pretty quiet on the ride there. The bodyguards don’t say anything at all. They’re usually silent but this time they’re uneasy too. Kendra keeps up a small, steady stream of chatter and flips her green hair around. I look out the window and watch the familiar streets of Los Angeles pass by.
In less time than I imagined, we’re at the studio. The SUV pulls up to side studio door and the guard in passenger seat jumps out and opens the rear door. Kendra gathers all my bags and steps inside. When the bodyguard tries to follow me in, I stop him.
“Thanks for the lift, but your services are no longer needed,” I say.
“Say what now?” He’s got a genuinely confused look on his face.
“You’re fucking fired.” His face darkens, eyes narrowing. He doesn't like a woman telling him what to do.
“Whatever. Guess we didn’t get around to double-dicking you fast enough. Slut.”
“Those will be last words you ever say as bodyguards in L.A.” I spin and slam through the studio doors.
I follow Kendra down a drab hallway to a dressing room. She starts on my hair and make-up and a producer comes in to give me some last-minute instructions. I nod and pretend like I hear what she’s saying but I have no idea. My heart is pounding in my ears, blocking out everything else.
BODYGUARD BROTHERS: A TWIN STEPBROTHER MENAGE ROMANCE Page 15