I nodded and got out of the car, making sure that a large sign for Salinas was in the background. I looked in at Kade, who nodded and gave me a thumbs up. Time to go to work.
I’m not much of an actress, one of the reasons I never went in that direction, but it wasn’t hard to work up some tears and anger in my voice. After all, the bastard had blackmailed me, hit me, cheated on me, tried to either kill or rape me, and had certainly tried to kill Kade. When I was ready, I hit the record button on the phone.
“Syd, I tracked you down. You ruined my life, you son of a bitch, and I can’t take it anymore. Kade’s left me, my Mom hates me, I can’t work any longer . . . motherfucker, I can’t do it anymore. So, you win. You have my phone number, call me. Tell me how much it will take to get you off my back forever, get those files deleted, and get a new start on my life. Please, Syd.”
I shut off the camera and wiped at my eyes, quickly getting back into the car. Rita handed me a couple of tissues, and I blew my nose noisily. “Well, that’s certainly not dainty.”
“Can it, Vince,” Rita said, not even lifting her eyes from her computer as she typed. “Just make sure your boys are ready when Syd calls to set something up. He’s too arrogant not to.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Rita grinned and tapped the touchpad on the laptop. “Good boy. Now we wait.”
We didn’t have to wait long, Sydney must have had a phone notification or something set up on his email. My phone rang, and I looked. Syd. “Hello, Sydney.”
“So Alix, coming to your senses, are you?”
“I’m still not coming back to you, Sydney. I’d rather jump into the Pacific off Big Sur.”
Sydney’s evil laugh chilled me, and I had to resist hanging up right then. I wondered again, for perhaps the millionth time, how I could have fallen for Sydney. “Alix, I don’t want a relationship with you anymore. I just want money, and perhaps some sugar. You think you can do that?”
“You still want to fuck me,” I said, a quick grin flashing across my features as Kade’s fists tightened in his lap in the front seat. “Fine. What the fuck ever. Get your fucking rocks off, as long as you delete the damn files. I want them all deleted, Syd. And you take down the videos of me and Kade from the websites you put them up on.”
“You know that won’t ensure they won’t pop up in the future.”
“It’s a start,” I said, letting him think I was deluded. It’s the Internet, once something hits it, it almost never comes off. I knew that very clearly. I grew up in modeling and in the Los Angeles area. “Where and when?”
“There’s a motel, just north of the Northridge Mall on Main Street. The Bluebird of Happiness. Meet me there in forty-five minutes. No car, you walk up and I’ll meet you in the parking lot. We can talk money and sugar then.”
The phone went dead in my ear, and I pulled it away, wiping at my ear like his words were some sort of infectious disease that I had to clean away. “Bluebird of Happiness motel, forty-five minutes from now,” I informed them, “and I’m supposed to be alone, no car.”
“Not a problem,” Vince said. “That sort of thing can be dealt with. Sydney will be looking for Kade, your BMW, stuff like that. A couple of guys hanging around will barely register on his radar. He’s a photographer, for crying out loud.”
“Good point,” Kade said. “Come on, let’s go.”
As it was, the motel was only about two blocks from the mall, so we decided to park there. On the way, Vince called his contact, informing him of the conversation between Syd and myself. He spoke quickly, then hung up. “They’re going to meet us in the Disney Store of the mall with time to spare.”
“Disney store? Really?” I asked. “What the hell for, someone needs a pair of Winnie-the-Pooh pajamas?”
“Probably because they don’t think Sydney would have anyone there who would tip him off,” Rita said.
“Yes, ma’am,” Vince said, glancing in the rearview mirror.
“Okay, so what now?” I asked.
Kade grabbed a hat and pair of non-prescription eyeglasses, slipping them on. It didn’t take away much from his physical presence, but it did obscure his face. “Let’s go. Sydney doesn’t know Vince or Rita, so you two can follow behind more closely than I can. I’ll be in the mall, maybe a store or two away. You guys can call me if you need help.”
We split up, taking different routes into the mall. I saw Rita and Vince holding hands and looking like any other young couple when I turned around on the escalator like I was looking around, although I wondered if Vince was able to focus as much as Kade would have wanted. His face wore such a stupidly happy look. Then again, I guessed I wore the same expression a lot, based off of the way Mom looked at me the night before at dinner.