CHAPTER NINETEEN
I was two blocks from work when I saw Reece walking toward me through the early morning crowd. His face was set in hard lines. Five minutes late. Five. Okay, seven (max) and he came looking for me? I’d even skipped my morning coffee fix to hurry things along. Excuses ran through my mind, backed up by all the times I’d stayed late to close because he had a date. I should have kept actual figures. They would have been so helpful right now.
“Reece, I–”
“About-face.” He hooked my arm with his and spun me around to face the way I’d come. “Keep walking. You don’t want to go to the shop.”
“What’s going on?” My cell buzzed in my handbag. Mal’s name flashed up on screen. “Mal?”
“Ah, hey. Got good news and bad news. What do you want first?”
“Does this have to do with Reece keeping me from my place of employment?”
“Yeah, he called here a few minutes ago.” He made a pained noise. “Listen, photos of us at the restaurant last night got around. Someone recognized you and told a reporter who is currently hanging around the shop waiting to get the inside scoop on our lurve.”
“Right.” Mind officially boggled. Reece rushed me across a road and down another block. “What’s the good news?”
“Everyone knows about us now. We don’t have to hide.”
“We weren’t hiding anyway.”
“Good point. Sorry, pumpkin, there is no good news. Things are going to be painful for a while.”
“You’re lucky I’m extremely fond of you. What happens next?” We turned into the entry of a café. A table was available in the corner and Reece and I walked toward it.
“Reporters will probably just scrounge whatever information they can on you or make shit up, enough to have a story to run with. They’ll wanna get it out fast, news’ll spread, and there’ll be more people digging into your life. It shouldn’t be anything like what happened with Ev ‘cause we haven’t done anything crazy stupid like getting married in Vegas.” He took a breath. “You don’t do anything else too newsworthy, they’ll lose interest. Meanwhile, how do you feel about us staying at a hotel?”
“What about work?” I asked him, then shook my head and turned to Reece. It was really a question for the boss. I turned to Reece. “What about work?”
Reece raised his eyebrows in question while Mal cleared his throat. “Well, I figured you’d want to talk to him about that,” said Mal.
“Yes, I do.”
“But, Anne, for once don’t worry about the money, okay? I’ve got you covered.”
Hmm. I didn’t know about that. Realistically, though, if I was with Mal, I’d be crashing in his hotel room. My rent was paid up. Apart from the occasional meal, I shouldn’t need much.
“Okay. Just give me a minute please, Mal.” I moved the cell back a bit. “Sorry. Reece?”
“We talked,” Reece said. “He said it’ll probably be crazy for the next week or so, but then it should calm down.”
“I’m sorry about the reporter. But I was hoping to ask if I could take some time off anyway? I realize this is short notice, but given the circumstances … ”
Reece flinched and panic rose up like a tidal wave. He didn’t seem angry last night, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t holding a grudge, or he might well decide he’d had enough and fire me. Things could get screwed up pretty fast here.
But he sighed and relaxed once more. “You’re going on tour with him?”
“I’d like to. Just for a while. It would give this a chance to blow over.”
“I guess it makes sense. Though if you stick with him, this shit could be ongoing. Have you thought of that?”
“Are you asking for my resignation?”
“Of course not.”
“I’m not giving him up, Reece.”
He looked away. “I can cover you for a week, Anne. With such short notice, I don’t think I can do more.”
“No, a week would be great. Thank you.”
“You’re overdue for vacation. And I can’t have reporters hanging around, scaring the customers. I’ll rearrange the shifts with Tara and Alex.”
“I really appreciate it.”
He grimaced.
“You’re an awesome friend.”
“I’m awesome,” said Mal in my ear. “I’m so much more awesome than him, I can’t even … there’s no comparison. Why would you even use that word in reference to him?”
“Hush,” I told him.
“Be back in time for your birthday, okay?” asked Reece with a hesitant smile. “We’re still going to dinner, right?”
“God, I hadn’t even thought about it. I’ll be back then.” We always went out to dinner on each other’s birthdays. It was our tradition. Mal would still be on the road, so I could celebrate with him early. This would be a nice chance to mend bridges with Reece, going out as just friends. “I’d like that.”
“What?” asked Mal. “When’s your birthday? Pumpkin?”
“Take care,” said Reece. “You need anything, call me.”
“Thanks. Really, I … you’re a great friend.”
“A great friend … right,” he said dryly. Then he leaned in, kissing me on the cheek. “Bye.”
“Did he just kiss you?” Mal yelled in my ear, making it ring.
I winced, pulling the cell back. “Whoa. Noise levels, buddy.”
Reece moved through the crowd and out the door. Maybe we were going to survive this after all. Last night, I hadn’t been so sure.
“When is your birthday?” Mal asked.
“Twenty-eighth of October.”
“A week and a half away. I’ll have to get something sorted for you.”
“Just you will do. We’ll have to celebrate it early, though. I’ve only got a week and I was probably damn lucky to get that what with the giving five minutes’ notice.”
“Can’t believe he kissed you. Ballsy, but still, he’s dead.” He mumbled some more of what I presumed to be idle threats. “Don’t come back here, just in case. I’ll ask Lauren to help me pack a couple of bags for you. You head to The Benson, okay? There’ll be a room ready by the time you get there.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re not mad about me turning your life upside down?”
“I’m a big girl, Mal. I knew who you were going into this and I saw what went down with Ev. There was always a chance this could happen.”
“And if it keeps happening, you gonna get sick of it and leave me?”
My heart rebelled at the thought. “No. We’ll work something out.”
“Yeah, we will,” he agreed. “You’re pretty mellow after a night of hot sex. I’m keeping a note of that.”
“You do that, my friend.”
He chuckled. “See you in an hour or two. We’ll break in the hotel mattress, order some room service, and hang out, okay?”
“Sounds great.” With a grin, I slumped down in the chair. I was officially on vacation. The last vacation I went on was to Florida with Mom, Dad, and Lizzy. I’d been fourteen years old, the year before everything went to shit. And no way did I need to be dwelling on the past.
Life here and now with Mal was a roller coaster. Scary and elating. No matter how strange the circumstances, I was going to enjoy this time.
***
The dinner with the band and his parents was lovely.
Afterward, we headed for a dive bar on the edge of Chinatown. It was located down a narrow staircase, underground. Not too clean but not too dirty. There were pinball machines and a pool table, a jukebox blasting out Joy Division. The crowd had the market on slacker-hipster style cornered. Apart from a few double takes, nobody got excited when we came in. I guess they were all too cool to freak out over some boring old rock stars.
Though Sam the body guard was along, just in case.
My cell had been ringing on and off due to my newfound fame. Plenty of messages had been received, but I’d checked in with Lizzy and she was fine. There wasn’t really anyone else I needed to talk to. Ev had given me a pep talk about dealing with all the attention. To keep my head down and not feed the monster. Eventually, they’d lose interest and move on.
At the hotel, Mal and I had watched movies and taken it easy. It’d been great. Lori had invited me down to the lobby bar for a drink before dinner. She seemed more concerned about the media attention than I was. Though I’d managed to pretty successfully hide from it so far. I assured her that her son and I were doing fine. Real fine.
It had, all in all, been a great day. And this dive bar was cool and relaxed and all that it should be. We’d spread out around a table against the far wall. With a nod to one of the bartenders, Ben had ordered pitchers of beer (water for Jimmy and Lena).
“Owner’s a friend. We come here to play pool sometimes during the day,” Mal said, pulling my chair closer to his. He seemed wired, beating out a rhythm on the tabletop with the palm of his hand. The mood was infectious, keeping me on edge too.
I don’t think I’d understood how tight-knit the band and their families were. During the dinner, David and Jimmy had doted on Lori. They pretty much treated her as if she were their own mother out for a visit. Even Ben had demonstrated a subdued sort of affection. And they all seemed to respect the mostly silent Neil, Mal’s dad. Father and son had kept a close eye on Lori again throughout the evening. They practically hovered at her side. Lori had gotten tired again and Neil had taken her back to the hotel.
Yes, I had suspicions aplenty about what was stressing Mal out and keeping him up at night. But we were getting along so well. He’d asked me not to question him. Not yet. And I wasn’t ready to provide him with answers on my issues either. So I kept my concerns to myself for the time being. But judgment day was coming for both of us. I could feel it.
Only a few days out from the start of the tour, everyone seemed too restless to call it a night once Lori and Neil left. It was too early, only just past nine.
Strange looks were being passed between David and Jimmy. They’d give Mal curious glances and then talk amongst themselves. I had a feeling Mal was very much aware of it, the way he was turned away, giving the pair the cold shoulder.
“Hey,” Mal said, his smile twitchy. “Let’s go back to the apartment and break the bed some more.”
“We just got here.”
“Yeah, I changed my mind. I wanna be alone with you.” His foot started tapping out a hyper beat against the ground. “What do you say? We’ll just get naked and see what happens after that.”
“Sounds like a great experiment. Can I just finish this drink and then we’ll go? Be rude to take off right away.”
“Pfft. How often do Davie and Ev disappear at things?”
“I’ll drink fast,” I promised, before proceeding to gulp half of my glass of beer. Only a little dribbled down my chin and wet my tight green sweater. Rushing might not have been ladylike, it’s true. But with Mal wanting to get naked and dirty, can you blame me?
Hell no.
With all the whispering of wicked things stirring up my hormones, I hadn’t noticed the Ferris brother’s heated conversation. Down the other end of the table, they were all but growling at each other.
Jimmy thumped the table, making the beer glasses shake and drawing the attention of surrounding patrons. “F*ck’s sake, Dave. Just ask him.”
“I said leave it for now,” his brother answered.
Ben sat back in his chair and crossed his thick arms, saying nothing, watching everything. A new song came on, the opening chords ear-shatteringly loud.
“Yeah!” yelled one of the long-haired, heavily tattooed men behind the bar. Glad someone was having a good time. The atmosphere around the table had turned decidedly dark.
A muscle started ticking in Mal’s neck. He looked back at the Ferris brothers, his face like thunder. “What?”
“You know what,” said Jimmy, yelling to be heard over the music.
Mal spread his hands expansively. “Jimbo, I’m a man of many, many talents, but reading your f*cking mind ain’t one of them.”
“What’s going on with Lori?”
Ev’s gaze darted to mine. I didn’t know any more than she did. Still.
“You on something, Jimbo?” asked Mal, sitting forward in his seat. “Tell the truth now.”
“Don’t be an a*shole.” David leaned his elbows on the table, staring furiously at Mal. “We care about her. She’s lost a shitload of weight. Looks like a breeze could blow her away. You and Neil never take your eyes off her. You know exactly what Jimmy’s talking about.”
I could almost hear Mal grinding his teeth.
“We have a right to know,” said Jimmy.
David sucked in his cheeks. “C’mon, man. Just tell us.”
Shit. Mal went rigid in his seat beside me and then he started rocking. We needed to leave.
I placed my hand on his arm. He vibrated with tension. I didn’t know how to comfort him, but I had to try. “Mal?”
He shook me off without so much as a glance.
“She had a flu or something,” said Mal. “That’s all. Don’t make a big deal out of it.”
Jimmy shot forward in his seat. “It’s more than that. Don’t you f*cking lie.”
“This is what’s been messing with your head, isn’t it?” asked David. “Lori’s sick. Real sick.”
“I don’t know what you two are talking about.” Mal’s laughter was a horrible thing. “This is ridiculous. Jimmy here’s probably back to f*cking freebasing, but what’s your excuse, Davie?”
Lena pushed out of her seat. She grabbed the remaining half-full pitcher of beer and threw it in Mal’s face. Foamy cold liquid splashed me, and Mal snapped back in surprise.
“What the f*ck?” he roared, rising quickly out of the chair.
Across from him, Jimmy shot to his feet as well, shoving a belligerent Lena behind him. Everyone stopped, all conversation in the bar falling silent. The few quiet drinks plan had clearly fallen to shit.
“Don’t you yell at her,” said Jimmy, hands curled into fists.
Mal’s shoulders heaved. The two men faced off across the table, both clearly furious. Slowly, Ben and David got to their feet. This was all going to hell in a handbasket.
“Mal, let’s go,” I said. “Give everyone a chance to cool off.”
Again, he ignored me.
“Walk away, bro,” said Ben, voice eerily calm.
Beer dripped from Mal’s hair. The front of his shirt was soaked. From behind us came a flash of light. A guy stood with his phone, taking pictures. A*shole.
Without another word, Mal turned and bolted for the stairs, almost sending a girl carrying a bottle of something flying. I just stood there stunned for a moment, useless and stinking of beer. Ben and Sam took off after him.
“Anne, let us handle it,” said David.
David and Jimmy both left too, jogging up the small, dark stairwell. Like hell I was doing as I was told.
Mal had left his jacket over the back of his seat. He’d freeze out there. I picked it up and a hand grabbed my wrist. Ev’s hand.
“Please, give them a chance to talk,” she said, getting in my face. “Those guys have been together a long time.”
I picked up my purse and held his jacket to my chest. “No.”
“But–”
I didn’t have time for this shit. What I needed to do was to find Mal and see if he was all right.
I rushed up the stairs, past the ground-floor bar and out the door. The cold night air chilled me, courtesy of the wet patches on my sweater and jeans. My heart beat double-time. Shit. There was no sign of any of them in either direction. His black Jeep was gone from across the street. They could be f*cking anywhere by now.
“Shit.”
What to do? Where to go? Maybe he’d headed back to the hotel. Yes, of course. A cab cruised by and I held out my arm. Far too damn slowly, it pulled to a stop.
I threw open the back door and climbed in. “The Benson, please.”
I’d find him.