“For you! I did everything for you and your brother and sister. Do you think it was easy? I wanted you all to have a better life, and I gave it to you. What’s happened to you?” She narrowed her eyes. “You’ve never spoken to me like this before. Never behaved this deplorably. What’s going on? Are you doing drugs? Is that what this is? Why you did those things in public with him?” Her finger wagged to include Juaquin. “You need to get yourself together quickly, young lady. And let’s hope against hope that you haven’t jeopardized your scholarship with this stunt.”
“I didn’t jeopardize it because I don’t have it anymore.” Her mouth dropped open, and I lifted my chin. “I got kicked out of school ages ago. And you didn’t even notice. Never once questioned why I never asked you to come visit me anymore. Well, guess what, Mom? I didn’t because I live in Vegas now and strip for a living! That’s where I ran into King and had my slutty way with him.”
“Miriam, No.” She snapped her jaw shut and shook her head. “Oh my God.” Her eyes filling made my stomach burn. “Why…why are you being this way?”
“Because I’m tired of being a failure in your eyes. Probably as tired as you are of seeing me fail.”
Shocked, she sucked in a breath. I could feel my brother’s eyes drilling his own set of disapproving holes into me. They would have found out everything eventually. It was only a matter of when with me in the media spotlight. Time had run out. Campanella and more mayhem for all of my relationships lay at the end of my path. My two separate lines hurtled toward a very public collision, and I was in no shape to handle the wreckage with the heart that I had once wisely kept tucked away, now so exposed and vulnerable.
“Well.” My mother drew herself up to her full height which was the same as mine. “You certainly won’t be returning to Las Vegas. You’re coming home. Right now. With me.” She cast a quick glance around the room to include everyone though she didn’t quite make eye contact with any of them. She was too ashamed. Ashamed of me. “We’ll be leaving now. I’m sorry for the scene.” She headed for the door, waving her hand as if she expected me to fall in behind her.
“What home would that be?” I retorted.
She whirled around, her gaze snapping back to me.
“If you’re referring to the place where you live, that’s not my home. A home is where someone feels safe and protected. I stopped feeling that way the summer you invited my father to come live with us and let him stay even though you knew the hateful things he was saying to me.” I clenched my fingers hearing the litany of those words echoing inside my head.
“Miriam,” my brother cautioned, trying to latch his hand onto my stiffened arm. I shrugged away from him. He had known. He had heard everything, too, and barely done more than she had. Mostly he had sought refuge at War’s house. “Enough.” He looked shocked. “Stop already.”
I noticed then that even Juaquin was looking at me like he didn’t know who I was. I told myself that was good. It hurt sure, but it was good. If he didn’t want me anymore after this, letting him go would be that much easier. Wouldn’t it?
“It is enough. Enough of me trying to pretend to be someone I’m not just to win your approval,” I looked first to my mother, then swung my gaze to my brother. “Enough with you playing the role of my protector. That was annoying when I was a teenager. It’s just plain ridiculous now, don’t you think?”
He only stared at me. I stared back. I was alone, shaking. Until Juaquin moved to my side. As hateful and ugly as I had been, he didn’t abandon me. He didn’t reject me. He threw his arm around my shoulders and drew me close. His warmth washed over me. His abundant and generous affection. It felt important him standing at my side. Like right or wrong, for better or worse, he accepted me. I didn’t deserve his kindness, but I wasn’t in any shape at the moment to turn it away.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
King
“This was a shit move and you know it.” I leaned in over the driver’s side door of the SUV Bryan had propped open between us. “At my house. In front of my family. Totally uncool.”
“Maybe.” He tipped his gaze to the house where everyone else still remained. “But you picking up my sister in a strip club…”
“That’s done. No more stripping. I already told her.” No way did I want other men looking at her naked body.
“Well, that’s something at least. But you banged her on a fuckin’ plane, Juaquin.” He ran a hand over his hair and hit me with a look of betrayal that felt like a punch to my gut. “Just so the whole damn world can know what a stud you are, I guess.”
“It’s not like that at all.”
“Bullshit. I’ve seen you. Your ‘fiestas’. You’ve been on a fuckfest for two tours.”
“Because…” I trailed off when I saw his mother coming toward us from the house, tears streaming down her face. It didn’t appear that round two with her daughter in the privacy of my old room had gone much better than the public confrontation. What a cluster.
“Because what, man?” Bryan prompted, his eyes tracking his mom too, as she hit the driveway and headed toward the passenger side of his Infiniti QX80. She jerked her chin at him and yanked open her door.
“Because I have feelings for her.” Fucking shit I did not want to get into this with him in front of their mother, but so be it.
“Yeah, right.” He didn’t believe me.
“It’s the truth. It’s always been her.”
“What are you saying” His eyes hard, he stepped around his door, closed in a restrained manner that told me a lot about how pissed he was, before he moved menacingly closer. “Don’t tell me you…”
“No, man. She was underage when I met her. I never crossed that line. But even though I never did, even though I did absolutely fucking nothing except push her away because I wanted better for her than me, she’s always been the one I couldn’t get out of my head. I tried. Believe me, I really fucking tried. But I was lying to myself. I think you know how I coped with it until now because I’m betting that’s how it was with you all those years before winning Lace’s heart.” I saw it in his expression, slowly getting a grip on his anger and controlling it as the truth of my words sank in.
“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” His eyes searching mine, his combative stance loosened. He might not be supportive. She was his sister after all. But I think he was finally starting to get where I was coming from.
“Seriously?” I lifted a brow. “Would you really have given us a chance? You’re a little hard to reason with when it comes to her.” I glanced back at the house, my gut still on high churn because I knew Miriam was upset in there, and I didn’t want that for her. “Listen.” I beckoned him closer. I was anxious to get back inside and check on her. “You and I both know Miriam doesn’t react well in situations where she feels vulnerable. She throws up defenses and then comes out guns blazing. We can thank your asshole father for that.”
“Yeah.” He glanced back at the house. One moment ticked by. Two. I could almost see the wheels spinning inside his head. It was a lot to absorb. “Not just for Miriam, you know. He messed us all up in one way or another.” I noted his puzzled look when he turned back to face me. “You seem to know my sister pretty well.”
“I’m getting there. One step at a time. As she allows it.”
“That sounds like her.” He shook his head. “But you should have been more discreet, more careful. I think you know that.”
“I hear you. I’ll talk to her about how things went down today.” I set my voice to a lower volume. “But you need to understand something. Plane. Tour bus. Backstage. Lights on. Lights off. I’m not turning her down when she gives me the nod. We wasted too much time already.”
“King,” he warned.
“Uh-uh, man. I’m being straight with you, but this discussion is closed. Miriam and me? We’re together. Come to terms with it. And do me a solid, alright? Talk to your mom. See if you can get her to see things a little more from your sister’s perspective.”<
br />
“I’ll give it a try, I guess.” He gave me a wry look. “But I wouldn’t be banking on any backyard cookouts at my family’s house anytime soon.”
• • •
Miriam
I started to close the door. I was stick-a-fork-in-me done after the very public confrontation with my mom. I had lost my shit in front of everyone. And the private conversation that followed basically amounted to us circling around each other without any forward progress. We were both too entrenched. I was determined to live my life on my own terms and she wanted to turn me back into her little girl again.
“Miriam.” Juaquin stuck his foot in the gap. “Let me come in.”
“I just wanna be by myself for a while.” I avoided his gaze though I noticed that he had placed his hand just below my fingers. I had a sudden urge to lay my cheek against them. I sighed remembering how incredibly good it felt to have him stroking his fingers through my hair. And how even more incredible it had been having him standing by my side in the living room during the fireworks.
“I understand that, Miriam. Everyone needs time to decompress. During a tour, I can’t wait for us to get to the next stop so I can get off the bus, go workout in the gym and get inside my own head without any other company for a while. However, I don’t think that’s a good idea in this instance.” Determined eyes collided with mine. “So I’m gonna have to overrule.”
“No.” I shook my head at him. “You’re not coming in. We’ve had a conversation like this before. You are not the boss of me. You don’t get to dictate every term.” I dug my bare feet into the floor, the previous urge to feel his touch becoming an onslaught of longing that I couldn’t allow myself to give in to. Did I really need to fall any further under his spell when I knew I had to leave soon? I swallowed, feeling the pressure of a fresh batch of tears building.
“I insist, Reina.” He pressed forward, entering the room and closing the door while I retreated deeper into it, yielding. “What just went down was pretty heavy.”
“Sure it was intense, but it’s the same tired old story. I disappoint her. She doesn’t understand me. She sees my choices as acting out for her attention. I’m done with all that shit. The last thing I need to do is talk more about it.” I backed up further as he came closer, his compelling presence overwhelming in the small space, his gorgeous eyes aglow, sparklers of empathy. “I’m fine,” I insisted, my hands fluttering in front of me. “Truly, fine. So, I got knocked down again. I can pick myself back up again. Dust my own self off and get on down the road.
“You could, but you don’t need to travel it alone anymore.” He opened his arms.
“I don’t need comforting.”
“You might not, but I do. I need to hold you.”
“Alright.” I stumbled toward him. How could I resist him? The tears I had been holding back spilled down my cheeks the moment I was enfolded in his strong arms.
“It’ll be ok. Your brother’s too protective and your mother just wants what she thinks is best for you. Old habits are hard to break, but they both love you.”
“If you love someone you should give them the freedom to make their own choices.”
“True. Very true.”
“She thinks I’m a slut.”
“You don’t really believe that.” He pressed me closer with the hand he had on my lower back and began stroking my hair just the way I had wanted him too. “You know she loves you,” he said gently. “You love her, too. You were both angry and aired a lot of shit today. You gave it to her pretty hard, but I believe she’ll come around.”
“I don’t know.”
“I do.”
“Maybe,” I allowed, the tears slowing as I reflected on his words and absorbed his comfort.
“A lot of things came out that you’ve been keeping inside. They needed saying no doubt, but she might have taken them a little better if you had been a bit more gentle.”
I nodded into his chest. He was right.
His hand stopped stroking. He curled a finger underneath my chin and lifted my head. I blinked up at him. “Because I care, I wouldn’t be a very good friend if I didn’t also point out that you didn’t apologize for lying to her. It might speed the reconciliation between you two if the next time you see her you led with that.”
Ouch. “You’re double right.”
“It happens on occasion.”
My lips curved slowly.
“Ah, very nice, my queen. A smile is much better than tears.” He traced the outline of lips with the pad of his thumb, then tugged to part them. “I think I’ll take a kiss from that pretty mouth of yours. Your king deserves his reward.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
King
“So,” Sager began, making eye contact with me before breaking the awkward silence that descended as Miriam and I entered the kitchen. “You were a stripper, huh?”
“Cállate.” I conked him on the side of the head before I sat down at the kitchen table and pulled Miriam onto my lap.
“Yeah.” She didn’t shy away from the question, though she did scoot off my lap into her own seat. “I prefer the term exotic dancer. But there is no were about it. It’s what I do. And I’m good at it. I’m not ashamed.”
Mi hermano and I exchanged a glance. Yeah, I may have given him the same impression I had given her brother. Apparently I didn’t have her completely on board with the idea of packing up and putting away her pasties forever, but I would. It was just a matter of persistence.
“No one’s judging you here,” Sager said. “It’s just surprising that’s all.”
“We’ve had enough surprises for one day.” Abuelita wheeled over to the table with a huge tray of tacos in her lap.
“Agreed,” Sager said, setting the delectable fare on the table.
“You’d agree with anything if it involves our mother’s food.”
He nodded. “And you’re for whatever gets you the largest amount of it.” He gestured at my plate where I had already stacked eight tacos.
“You gotta eat big to be big.” I pointed to myself and flexed my biceps, then to him and his much leaner frame. He shot me the finger.
“It smells delicious,” Melinda said, ignoring our banter and disappointing me just a little. I had hoped to make her smile. “I’m starving.”
“I’ll say the blessing so we can eat.” Abuelita put the brake on her chair.
“No, Abuelita.” Mi madre set the salsa bowl on the table. “Permíteme que lo diga,” she asked permission to speak the blessing. My mother reached for Miriam’s hand. She placed it into mine. A beautiful gesture and one that didn’t need a translation. I exchanged a side glance with Miriam. She got what my mom was saying. Her lip trembled. I translated as she began. “Bless us, O Lord, and these, thy gifts, which we are about to receive from thy bounty. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.” She made the sign of the cross then hastily added. “And thank you for this family and my husband’s health.”
• • •
Miriam
“Hey, Mike.” I clicked the front door closed and reentered the house. It was suddenly silent with everyone gone. “Sorry it took me so long to call you back.” After I had been symbolically adopted into the family, María’s gesture still making me teary just thinking about it, we all demolished the tacos, then went our separate ways. Abuelita and María set out for the hospital. Sager and Melinda headed for their hotel. King went to work out at my insistence. I hadn’t wanted him to change his routine for me. I had assured him I was fine by myself. Beyond sexy in a backwards ball cap, Aviator sunglasses shielding his eyes and a black hoodie with the sleeves cut off, those incredibly strong biceps of his had flexed enticingly when he had climbed into his Hummer and lifted a hand to wave goodbye to me before he had backed out of the driveway.
“It’s been hours, MJ. Either you and King have been rolling between the sheets all that time or the shit has hit the fan. If you’d bothered to read them, the first text I sent you was a heads up about the Mile High video
going public. The second was to let you know that you’re trending on Facebook. The phone call was to alert you to the fact that when I Google your name it’s associated with an adult film by Campanella Productions.”
“Oh, no.”
“Oh, hell to the fucking yes. I’m sorry. I was afraid you didn’t know. I figured if you did you would have called me.”
“Is there anything else?” How could it possibly get any worse?
“Only that the film you’re supposedly starring in is already in production status. Do you want to know the name?”
“Not really.” I dropped my ass onto the sofa.
“Queenie does Vegas. Very original, huh?”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah, that’s in the description. I’ll read it to you: Miriam Jackson, sister of Tempest guitarist Bryan Jackson, has moved on from her Mile High hookup with King Acenado, the band’s drummer and now can be seen on pay per view fucking her way from one end of the Vegas strip to the other.”
“Charming,” I croaked. It would have been funny, it was so horrible, except that it was no joke. There was no punchline and after my mother found out about it there would be no chance for reconciliation between the two of us.
• • •
King
“Mr. Acenado.”
Oh, shit.
“Carter Besille. We’ve met. I’m sure you remember. Why don’t you slow up for a minute so we can chat about your Mile High hookup?” The seedy talk show host nodded to some grunt with him who switched on a professional video camera and turned the light directly into my eyes practically blinding me.
“No comment.” I sure as hell remembered the living breathing Ken doll unanimously hated by everyone in the band. Always sniffing around looking for controversy, Carter Besille was a parasite of the worst sort. I brushed past him. He might be universally revered by his fans but that was only because they had no fucking clue what a complete douche he was. I pressed the unlock button on my Hummer.
The Complete Tempest World Box Set Page 178