by Amity Cross
There was nothing I could do, so I nodded. I was trapped in a nightmare, unable to go outside without looking over my shoulder. The message was clear. Shadows were lurking around every corner, waiting for the chance to tear out my beating heart.
As Sebastian took out his phone, I was far too amped up to sleep, so I padded out of the bathroom to the window and stared at the Los Angeles skyline. The mass of lights dimmed the stars overhead until only the brightest were able to break through. I supposed it was a metaphor, but I was too shaken to dwell on it.
Instead, I asked myself the million-dollar question.
Why me?
13
Juniper
The hotel room was empty without Sebastian in it. I could hear the dull thud of people moving around in other parts of the building and the low hum of a television next door.
I leaned back in the armchair and stared at the bed, images of what I’d seen last night flashing through my mind—torn sheets and a cardboard box smeared with red—and questions I didn’t have any answers to. Why me?
Beneath had one last appearance today, then the rest of their schedule had been cancelled. They were only missing two interviews, so Sebastian wasn’t worried. Vix had been especially kind considering her afterhours’ activities. It wasn’t only me that was being threatened, but Beneath.
“Miss Rowe?”
I looked up at the sound of Shades’ voice. He was lingering just inside the door, waiting.
After the police had left last night, he’d moved us from his room, with the help of the hotel management, to a different suite on a lower floor of the building. Ever since, he’d been standing vigil in the hallway. He was going all out and I think he felt a little responsible for what’d happened. He was a man who took pride in his work, which seemed to be a strange thing to say when his line of employment involved protecting people from outside threats.
“Yes?” I asked, my voice sounding tight and a little far away.
He paused for a moment, as if he was assessing my state of mind, before saying, “Harry Jones is here to see you.”
“Oh…” I nodded. “He’s our personal assistant. He can come in.”
In all the chaos with Mallory and now the stalker, I’d hardly had time to worry about our mission to take down Vix. Thank God for Harry and his covert information gathering mission.
Unfurling myself from the chair, I attempted a smile as Harry walked in. He gave a curious look at Statfield before the bodyguard closed us in the room.
“What’s going on with the guy at the door?” He stuck his thumb out and pointed towards the door.
“There was an… incident last night,” I said haltingly. “Someone has been sending me fucked-up packages and trespassing at Sebastian’s house in Sydney.”
“No fucking way!” Harry looked shocked at the news and stepped forward to embrace me.
“They were in our room last night,” I said, voicing the reality I’d been too scared to face. “They got past security and got into our room.”
Harry pulled back, but his hands didn’t leave my shoulders. “Do they know how they got in?”
I shook my head, my hair falling forward. I hadn’t had the courage to ask, because if they could get in the hotel that easily, then what was stopping them from getting in here or the McMansion? What if all the security and bodyguards in the world weren’t enough?
I didn’t want to dwell on it, especially when Sebastian wasn’t here.
“Have you called Vanessa?” Harry asked, looking concerned.
“I don’t want to worry her. There isn’t anything she can do all the way in Point Mambie. She’ll only fret.” Unless the press got a hold of what’d been happening and ran a story, which I wouldn’t put it past them, considering the glee they displayed when Mallory leaked the sex tape.
“Is there anything I can do?”
“There isn’t anything to do, that’s what worries me the most. I just have to wait for the police to catch them.”
“I’m so sorry, Juniper. I…” he trailed off with a frown. There wasn’t anything else he could say, but I appreciated his words anyway.
“What’ve you found out in regards to our secret mission?” I asked, gesturing for him to sit. “Anything to take my mind off all the crazy shit going on in my life.”
“And this Vix thing isn’t crazy enough?”
I snorted and rubbed my eyes. “There’s a new high score.”
Harry frowned, but he sat on the end of the bed and rifled through his bag. “Well, everyone I’ve spoken to so far has had a lot to say about her bullying and intimidation tactics, but not too much about her money laundering side-hustle.”
“It’s sucks what she put them through, but we’re not prosecuting her for bullying,” I said. “Though I’d love to see her get called out on that too.”
“If only it carried a life sentence then we’d be set,” he quipped. “They were all more than happy to talk to me, but mostly they were assistants who never rose high enough to be in Vix’s inner circle. A few people mentioned they’d been sent out to make personal purchases using a credit card from a bank they’d never heard of before, though. It was enough of a flag for me to look into it, but apart from finding out the bank is located in a tax haven country, there wasn’t much else I could get without being a cop with a warrant.”
“That’s speculation,” I said with a sigh. “Without proof, we can’t use it.”
“I know, but so far, I haven’t been able to talk to anyone who she trusted with personal stuff. Getting coffee is one thing, but anything deeper than that has been impossible to crack.”
“The more I learn about her little network of minions, the more it sounds like a cult.” I snorted and curled up in the armchair. “What a rude awakening she’ll get when she realises money can’t buy everything.” Sebastian had learned that lesson the hard way, but it wouldn’t be nearly as fucked-up as things would get for Vix. “Is there anything we can work with?” I was starting to believe that we’d never catch her at this rate.
“One name kept cropping up,” Harry said. “Annalise.”
I frowned. “Who’s that?”
“She’s one of Vix’s former assistants. Apparently, they were quite close for five years or so… before they had a falling out and she was fired.”
“Maybe Sebastian knows her.”
“More than likely. She was her right-hand woman.”
“We have to go speak to her,” I said. “If they were as close as people say, then she might know something. Do you know how to get into contact with her?”
“I’m working on it. Apparently, she lives in Sydney.”
“That’s convenient. I’m more than ready to go home.” If there was bad blood between them, then she might be willing to give evidence.
“And if we don’t find anything?” he asked. “What then?”
I shrugged. If we didn’t have any evidence, then Vix would get away with it. I knew this was serious, but so was having a bloody butchered heart left on the end of the bed.
“We’re talking about millions of dollars,” Harry argued, “not to mention laundering it into offshore accounts, blackmail, and who knows what else. You have to contact the federal police.”
“That’s something I’ll have to discuss with Sebastian. Let’s find this Annalise sheila first.”
“You want to come?”
“If she was as close as all these people reckon, then she probably won’t want to talk. I know I wouldn’t have.” Suddenly, I was back at the cliff, peering over the edge at the heaving ocean below. Jagged rocks and white foam swirled in a chaotic vacuum of destruction, and I knew that one false step would send me careening over the precipice. “We have something in common.”
“When are you going home?”
“Tonight,” I replied. “With what happened last night, I just want to go home. After today, the rest of Beneath’s schedule has been cancelled.”
“Wow, really? Vix okayed it?” He seemed su
rprised, but I’d had much the same reaction when Sebastian told me.
“I’ll say this about her… when something serious crops up, she doesn’t fuck around. Even if she’s only trying to protect the band, I’m kind of glad she’s keeping it out of the press.”
Harry wiggled his eyebrows. “Trying to find redeeming qualities in the villain of the story, huh?”
I groaned and buried my face against my hands. “I’m too delicate for this world!”
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic!” Harry exclaimed with a chuckle. “If you can show empathy for a piece of work like Vix, then there’s hope for the world yet. What time’s your flight?”
“Midnight. I’ll make sure you’re on a flight back ASAP. Then we’ll go and see this Annalise person.”
“Are you sure you’re up to it?”
I got his concern, but I wasn’t about to let some stalker lock me in a cage of fear while someone like Vix was destroying the life of the man I loved. Sebastian was looking out for me and I needed to help him in return. Besides, I had a burly security detail to watch my back. I knew I’d be okay with Statfield.
I told Harry as much and he nodded.
“I haven’t properly introduced you to Shades,” I said, unfurling from the armchair.
He cocked his head to the side. “Shades?”
“Statfield.” I nodded towards the door. “My bodyguard.”
“That handsome hunk of man-meat?” He fanned himself and I laughed, the shock of last night finally easing up a little.
“Can you believe I’ve got a bodyguard?” I mused. “Me? The small-town ginger?”
Harry smirked and gave me a look that said it all. “You’re not a small-town girl anymore, Juniper Rowe. You’re the first lady of rock ‘n’ roll.”
14
Sebastian
All I wanted to do was get back to the hotel and be with Juniper.
Trying to be professional and act like nothing was happening was hard fucking work. Daytime TV interviews were always the same—idle chit-chat about the album, my personal life, teasing about me taking my shirt off so women could ogle my abs, talking up the latest tour dates, and hosting giveaways for the studio audience. Sometimes—like today—we even played a song.
It was all I could do to hold on. Juniper and I were under assault on all sides and the moment I looked to one problem, another reared its ugly head and struck.
Vix’s hatred of Juniper. Vix’s embezzlement. Juniper’s stalker. Mallory’s mean girl manipulations. Something had to give, and I wanted Juniper to be protected when whatever it was finally gave way.
“You did good today,” Vix said as we walked through the studio on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, “all things considering.”
“We’ll have extra security at the airport tonight?” I asked, unhooking my sunglasses from the front of my T-shirt. I slid them on as a production assistant from the show opened the side door for us. Sunlight spilled into the hallway and I nodded my thanks to the girl, who flushed and disappeared inside.
“Double detail,” Vix confirmed. “No one is getting past.”
The sun was hot against my back as we lingered in the lot, waiting for the others to join us. Thankfully, the security in this place was top notch. All we had to worry about were the little carts driving around with tourists on studio tours. Statfield had sent one of his off-siders with me today, and he was currently lingering just out of earshot, scanning the area for potential threats.
Fuck, I hated having to watch my back like this, but I hated myself more. I’d inadvertently put Juniper in danger, simply by being who I am.
“And Juniper?” I prodded, knowing that I was playing with fire.
“I don’t like her, but I’m not about to let a stalker get to her.” She smiled and punched me lightly on the chest. “I don’t want you to go down as collateral damage.”
“Just when I thought you might have some redeeming qualities, you go and destroy all my hope,” I drawled, leaning against the wall.
Behind us, the studio door opened and Josh appeared. When he saw Vix, her turned on the swagger and came over. He smirked at her and to my complete and utter surprise, her cheeks flushed. I glanced at Josh, but he was too busy playing his part.
The first of three sleek town cars pulled up in front of us, and I stepped forward to claim it before the others arrived and I was forced to ride with Vix. She usually liked to rile me up for as long as possible, and we did have a lot to talk about—the upcoming tour, the rise in security, the packages and letters Juniper had been receiving, and then some—but I wasn’t in the mood.
“Josh, ride with me,” I said, opening the door. “I wanna talk to you about something.”
“I’m in trouble,” he said winking at Vix. “I’ll see you later.” Oh, I bet he would.
I climbed in the back, holding onto the vomit that was threatening to rise, and settled in the far seat as Josh slid in beside me. The bodyguard got in the front and checked the partition before closing it. Then we were moving away from the others and Vix.
“You’re either playing your part extremely well, or you’re really into her,” I quipped as we drove through the checkpoint and merged into traffic.
“I’m a player, Seb,” he replied. “I know how to play the game and get what I want.”
“And how is that going?” I raised my eyebrows, hoping he had some good news to report. “I’m on the precipice of something here, mate. I don’t know if I’m going to…” I shrugged. I hated talking about my feelings, except with Juniper. I could talk about anything and everything with her and not feel like a total moron.
“I don’t exactly like fucking a woman who’s stolen millions of my hard-earned cash, either. I know I said I’d take one for the team, but I never knew the price was going to be so high.” He shook his head, betraying the fact he had a heart and wasn’t all cock all the time.
“You’re a good guy,” I said.
He snorted. “I’m a good guy for considering the feelings of a criminal?”
“No, you’re a good guy because you consider your actions in the first place.”
“Tell that to all the women I’ve fucked, then we’ll see how nice I really am.”
“I can’t say what you do with every woman you mess around with, but we were always straight,” I replied. “They all knew the score from the beginning.”
He grunted and fished around in his pocket. “Here.”
I took the USB drive from him and wondered if this was how Juniper felt last night. Now was not the time to have doubts. Mallory had her faults, but she wasn’t committing any grand felonies.
“What’s this?” I asked, giving Josh a look.
“A smoking gun.”
“I hope this isn’t hers because we can’t use stolen evidence.”
“I bought my own USB. I’m not fucking dumb, you know.” Josh rolled his eyes. “When the cops seize her shit, they’ll find all this on her laptop. It’ll all be above board, don’t worry. That is the proof you need to show it was Vix the whole time. The rest is up to you.”
“Up to me?”
“My dick took a beating for the band. Besides, I don’t know shit about the legal system. All I know is guilty or not guilty.” He waved a hand at me.
“Thanks,” I said, “I’ll make sure this gets sorted.”
“I know you will. You’ve always been the leading man, Seb.” Josh sunk back against the leather seat and pushed his sunglasses up his nose. “If it wasn’t for you, we’d still be playing dive bars for beer money.”
“Or working soulless corporate jobs and dreaming of the band we used to play in.”
“Or homeless, alcoholic bums.”
“It was all of us together,” I added. “I’m only one quarter of Beneath.”
“It was you,” he corrected. “We all dreamed of making it big, but none of us knew how to get from point A to point B. But you did, Seb. It was your songs, your drive… Fuck, your mum was dying, and you were working two jobs
outside of uni, and you still made the big time happen for us. I was just a bum sleeping on a mate’s couch collecting unemployment handouts. I had all the time in the world.”
“Where’s this coming from?” I asked, frowning.
“I guess I’m either having an existential crisis, or I’ve got the kind of STD that gets into the brain and makes you go crazy.”
I snorted. “Yeah, well, either way, don’t talk to me like that, okay? We made it together.”
He grunted and turned towards the window. I didn’t know what was going on with him, but it wasn’t like him to get all down on himself like that. I had a feeling seducing Vix wasn’t exactly what he’d envisioned.
“Do you want to settle down?” I asked voicing my suspicions. “Do you want more with someone?”
“Shut the fuck up.”
I hid a smile and took out my phone and texted Juniper, telling her we were on our way back to the hotel.
“Vix knows what Juniper did for Mallory,” Josh said after a moment. “I think it’s gone a long way.”
“What was even on that USB?” I asked. The drive Josh had given me was burning a hole in my palm. “I know I’m being an arsehole by asking, but something that could destroy Mallory?” I raised my eyebrows.
“The squeaky-clean pop princess was snorting coke,” Josh replied with a shrug. “Victoria probably recorded it and put it in her spank bank for when she wanted to get back at Mallory for something.”
“It’s gotta be a big something.”
“Fuck, yeah.”
“I wouldn’t want to be her right now.” Mallory had a way of tearing down her so-called enemies with nothing more than flick of her wrist, but Victoria knew that. Whatever was going on was obviously a long time coming.
“Whatever those two have got going on, I don’t give two flying fucks,” Josh declared. “I’ll read about it in the tabloids, from a safe distance.”
I grunted and turned my attention back onto the city. The USB drive was a heavy weight, but a welcomed one. We had to play this smarter than ever before. We had to gather as many witnesses and statements as we could—Harry was helping with that part—then, when we had everything in place, we needed to go to Galaxy without Vix knowing, get the police involved, then strike… all while fighting an unknown assailant with a dangerous fixation on Juniper.