by Tori Fox
“He knows you do, Anna.”
I can’t believe I am going to say this. “Play him the video.”
“You sure?” Mason sounds stunned.
“Yeah. And let me know when you do.”
“You are an incredible woman, Anna May.”
I don’t know how to respond to that so I just smile. “Goodnight Mason.”
“Night.”
I hang up the phone and hold it against my chest. My anxiety creeping up on me. I have no idea when Mason is going to play him the video and I only hope Noah understands where I am coming from with that song.
22
Noah
I climb into my SUV and yawn. It’s after seven in the morning. My body quickly adapted back to normal hours after my promotion. But there was a brutal crime tonight and I had to be at the scene. We got called in around four this morning and with my lack of sleep over Anna, I got about an hour and a half before my phone rang.
Both my partner and I think it might be related to the serial rapist but we can’t be sure until we process more evidence. He’s never killed anyone before but from all my studying and fifteen years on the police force I know that MOs can change.
I pull into my driveway and grab the coffee out of the center console. I don’t need to go into the office until later but I know I won’t sleep after this. I need to figure out as much as I can about this case. Find some connection in all the evidence.
I’m so busy looking at my phone when I reach my front step that I don’t even notice Claire sitting in a chair, slumped over asleep.
I haven’t seen or heard from her since I had to sneak out of my house five days ago. She hasn’t contacted my brother either. His P.I. was at a dead end up until Mason and I gave him that extra information we thought of. And Mason might be on the right path because Carson’s P.I. can’t find a Claire Taylor anywhere not since she left Asheville five years ago. He even checked under the name he found her using when we filed for divorce, her mother’s maiden name but nothing is popping up under Claire Dune either.
I sigh and rub my hand over my face as I set my coffee cup down on the rail of the porch and lean against it. As she sleeps she looks innocent. Like the woman I fell in love with fifteen years ago. The woman I thought was my happily ever after.
She looks nothing like the woman who showed up on my doorstep ten days ago. Her hair is piled on her head in a messy bun. She traded in her designer threads for sweats. Her face is fresh making her look younger than she does when it’s covered in makeup.
I contemplate waking her up or going inside my house and leaving her there. I can hear Brutus prancing on the other side of the door waiting for me to come in. I take a sip of my coffee hoping to find an answer in it. I am about to walk inside when she finally blinks her eyes awake.
“Noah, you’re here.” She looks around as if she’s confused about how she got there. “How long have you been standing there?”
“How long have you been asleep on my porch?”
She looks down into her lap and grips her hands together. “I—look I’m sorry about showing up like this. But I have a favor to ask you.”
I clench my jaw, annoyed that she didn’t answer my question. Even more annoyed by her response. “You have a favor to ask me?”
She nods. Her head still down. “Noah, I need somewhere to stay.”
I scoff at that. “Go to your parents’.”
“I told you they moved.”
I cross my arms over my chest. I cannot believe she is asking me to stay here. “Well go stay with other family. One of your sisters, your brother. I don’t care who.”
She shakes her head and sniffles. “None of them want to talk to me.”
“Because you left them just like you left me?” I accuse. “I looked for you for a year, Claire. I exhausted every resource I had. And so did your family. No one knew where you were. And now you just expect to pick up where you left off?”
“It’s not like that, Noah.”
“Bullshit. If it wasn’t like that you wouldn’t just show up out of nowhere expecting your life back and ruining the lives of everyone else.”
She peeks her eyes up at me. “I didn’t think you moved on.”
“It’s been five fucking years. How many times do I need to remind you?”
She stands up and grips my hands before I can pull away. “Noah, you are the most loyal person I know. I love you and I know you love me too.” Her palm touches my chest. “This heart will never stop beating for me, Noah. I know you too well.”
I push her off me, rage boiling in my veins. “I may have loved you back then, Claire. But the love I had is gone.” She doesn’t deserve to know how long it took me to get over her. To stop feeling loyalty to her. Those feelings I once had are gone and I don’t even know if they were ever real to begin with or just her ghost haunting me.
“Noah.” I see a hint of malice flash across her eyes but it’s gone before I can search for it again. Her tone turns solemn. “Please, I have nowhere to go.”
“I told you to stay at a hotel.”
I stare at her as she wraps her arms around her middle. “I ran out of cash.”
I grip my hair with my fingers. “Unbelievable,” I mutter.
She tries to reach for me again but I pull back fast enough this time. “I wouldn’t be here if I had somewhere else to go.”
I don’t want to take pity on her but that look in her eyes is giving me a seed of doubt. Maybe she really is telling the truth. “I need to call my lawyer.”
I turn to head into the house and I feel her behind me. “You stay here,” I demand.
I slam the door behind me as Brutus jumps on me, welcoming me home. “Fuck,” I yell at no one causing Brutus to scoot away.
“Hey buddy.” I squat down. “I’m not mad at you.”
He slowly approaches me and licks my face and I know he accepts my truce. I walk to the back door and let him out. It’s only seven thirty in the morning but I could use a beer right now. Anything to keep my mind off that train wreck on my porch. I need to talk to Carson.
Me: Asshole I need you to call me. 911.
I let Brutus in and lock the door behind him. I don’t trust Claire. And with the psychotic way she acted last week I wouldn’t put it past her to find a way into my house.
I look at my phone and Carson hasn’t seen my message. It’s only been a few minutes but he is usually awake at five and to the office by seven or seven thirty.
Fuck it.
I crack open a beer and slam the entire thing. This whole situation is turning me into an alcoholic. I swore I wouldn’t have another drink after Mason’s party on Friday since I had the worst two-day hangover in the world but every day without hearing a peep from Anna and the pressure of this case, I find myself having a few drinks every night.
My phone rings and I answer it just as I pop open another beer.
“A little early to be drinking, brother.”
“Fuck off, Car. If you were present for the conversation I just had, you would be drinking too.”
I hear him shuffling papers around on his desk before he talks. “Alright lay it on me.”
“Claire is outside.”
“Shit, do I need to stage another escape?”
I snort at that. “Nah.”
“Then what’s going on?”
I head up the stairs to my room and sit on the edge of my bed. “She says she needs somewhere to stay. Says she has no money.”
“Maybe she should sell her Range Rover,” Carson says sarcastically.
“Not helping, man.”
“I’m kidding. What about her family? Can she go to them?” he asks sincerely.
I take another sip of my beer. “They have all shut her out.”
“She deserves it,” he exhales into the phone. “Let me guess, she did what she always used to do and gave you the pity eyes and the ‘Noah I need you’ speech.”
I grip the back of my neck and start to pace my room.
<
br /> “From your silence I will take that as a yes.”
The truth is I never realized she did that until just now when Carson brought it up. But as I think back to all the times I gave in to her or we had an argument, it always came down to that. “Fuck.”
I hear Carson fumbling with something in the background. “Sorry man. I didn’t mean to bring it up that way.”
I pace my room as I clench my fist. “I’m such an idiot.”
“Look, Noah. You’re not an idiot. You loved that woman but she had you wrapped around her finger. And she is trying to weave her way back into your life once again.”
“What the hell am I supposed to do?”
Carson clears his throat, his telltale sign for having an idea I am not going to like. “I think you should let her move in.”
“What? Are you crazy? And throw my entire relationship with Anna away?”
“Ugh no. Because you need that woman.”
“Then what the hell are you talking about?” I yell into the phone.
“We use this to our advantage.”
“How is this advantageous?”
He chuckles. “How did you pass your detective exam?” He pauses. “This is like undercover.”
“How?”
I can almost hear his smile through the phone. “You let her live with you. Then you have access to all her things. Her purse, her phone, her car. We might be able to find out what the hell she is really here for.”
Carson’s plan makes a helluva lot of sense but I am struggling with what Anna is going to think about this. Because I know she will be pissed as hell. “What about Anna?”
“I’ll take care of Anna.”
I grip the back of my neck and finally stop pacing. “You think this will work?”
“It’s the best shot we got. Anything to find a way out of releasing those papers.”
I nod even though he can’t see me. “Okay. I get it. From the investigative side of things, this makes sense.”
“I’m glad we are on the same page.”
“But I am not letting her sleep in my bed.”
Carson laughs hard into the phone. “Dude, you have a guest bedroom. I never would have suggested this if you didn’t.”
“And you’ll tell Anna?”
“Yes. I’ll find a way to get in touch with her. Let her know this is just so we can find a way out of this mess.”
“I haven’t told her about the papers.”
“I sure as hell hope not.”
“Carson, you can get in a lot of trouble for this.”
He exhales loudly and I can picture him leaning his face over his desk. With a sound of defeat, he responds, “I know.”
Those two words tell me a whole lot more than I think he knows. “This isn’t the first time, is it?”
Something crashes in the background, maybe a glass falling off his desk. “What? Are you accusing me of something?”
I can tell by his defensive attitude this whole thing could put him into a shit ton of trouble. “Nah, man. I was just curious.”
There is an awkward silence over the phone. “I need to go. I have an appointment in a few minutes.” He pauses. “Just let her stay there. Do what you can to find anything out. And I’ll get my P.I. on your house too.”
I don’t like the idea of someone staking out my house but if it gives us answers I’ll deal with it. “Okay, Car.”
He hangs up without a goodbye. My mind turning at the thoughts I shouldn’t be thinking about him. Is he corrupt? Has he gained all his success through lying and cheating?
I sure as hell hope not.
I grab my beer and head downstairs. I dump the rest of it in the sink before tossing it in the recycle bin.
I take a deep breath as I head to my front door.
I cannot believe I am going to do this.
I pull it open and see Claire leaning against the rail smoking a cigarette. “When did you start smoking?”
She looks at me and then the cigarette before she taps it out on the rail and tosses it into my bushes. “Oh umm recently. Stress and all.”
I point to where she threw the butt. “Clean that up. And there is no smoking in my house. You can do it in the back yard by the back of the fence.”
Her face turns into a smirk. “Does this mean you are letting me stay here?”
“Unfortunately yes.”
“Don’t be so sad, stud. This is going to be so good for us.”
“Unlikely,” I mutter.
She pats me on the cheek. “Let me grab my bag.”
I watch as she struts to her car in the street. I have no idea why I agreed to this. What my crazy, asshole brother was thinking but maybe this is what I must do to make this all right.
She heads toward me and hands her bag off to me. I reluctantly take it as I shut the front door behind us. I watch her as she takes in the house. It’s not like she hasn’t been in here before.
I head down the hall to the guest room as she says, “This doesn’t seem like you.”
“What?” I ask as I step into the guest bedroom.
“The house doesn’t have your vibe to it. It feels kind of bohemian and trendy. Plants, rugs, throw pillows.”
“Anna decorated it.”
“Hmm,” is all she says as she sets her designer purse on the bed. “Do you still sleep on the left side of the bed?”
I look at her quizzically and then realize she thought we were sharing a room. “It doesn’t matter what side I sleep on.”
“That’s sweet of you, stud,” she says as she approaches me.
I back away. “Your bathroom is right outside, first door to your right. There should be clean towels in the cabinet in there.”
“You mean this isn’t your room?”
I scrub my hands over my face. “Look, Claire. It took a lot for me to agree for you to stay here. Don’t push it. You know there is no way we are staying in the same room. We aren’t a couple, we aren’t married. This is me doing you a favor.”
She gives me that pouty face again and I think back to my conversation with Carson. “Now I need to get some work done. There is food in the kitchen. If you make something please clean up after.”
“Fine,” she states matter-of-factly.
“I need to get some work done before I head into the office.”
“Want me to make us dinner tonight?”
I pinch my eyes shut, she clearly doesn’t get the picture or she is trying to work her way into my life. “I have to work late.”
“Maybe tomorrow then?”
“We’ll see.” That answer seems to be enough for her to leave me alone.
I head back upstairs and to my bedroom. I change into workout clothes and lock the door behind me.
I might have let Claire into my house but I am not letting her into my life. And she sure as hell isn’t allowed in my bedroom.
I head to the basement and get a workout in. I could use a nap but there is no way I am going to get any sleep with her around.
23
Anna
The last three days have been crazy. I’ve been getting up at six a.m. to do yoga, relax and rebalance before heading into the studio by eight in the morning. I spend ten hours a day working on music before I get whisked away to record companies, small venues, hell, even houses to showcase my songs.
Austin asked me this morning if I could stay another week. Let me know I could crash at his house just so I could get more exposure and not run myself down the last few days of the workshop.
I told him I would think about it. But I don’t know if I want to stay. I love Nashville. It feels like a second home. But that’s the thing, it’s second. My heart belongs in Asheville.
I need to talk to Noah but I am still scared to call him to find out what is going on between him and Claire. Mason assures me everything is fine but I still worry. Even though I know I shouldn’t. I didn’t ask Mason if he showed Noah the video. I can only assume he hasn’t because I know Noah would be calling me
the second he heard the song. I should apologize to his face but he knows I express my words better through lyrics.
I slouch down into a chair outside one of the practice rooms. Austin and a few of the other mentors want me to write and record a new song today. They want me to show the big five labels how quickly I can write a song. I think it’s stupid. I could write ten songs in a day but that doesn’t mean any of them are good.
The ones I spend time on are the ones that make you feel. I know I can write one of those songs in a day but I need to be in the mood. I need the inspiration. I need to feel the music in my bones.
I scratch out lyrics and flip to a new page in my notebook. I’ve already gone through five pages of scratched out nonsense. Nothing seems to be hitting me in the gut with the words I put on paper.
I reach over for my coffee, the one lifeline I have had the last few days and find my cup empty. I groan and pull myself out of my chair. Might as well get some more if I am going to get this done today. I have six hours and forty-two minutes to write and record a song. My future is grim.
I walk down the hall of the studio we are in. It’s huge and owned by one of the best producers in Nashville. There are six separate rooms to record, three practice rooms, a conference room, a large kitchen, and an enormous lounge. It’s the kind of studio I wouldn’t mind being in all day every day.
I reach the kitchen and slam my mug down when I notice the pot of coffee is empty. The rule is if you take the last cup, you make a new pot. It’s even written on a note above the machine and on a note taped to the cabinet with the mugs.
I pull out the coffee grounds and start brewing a new pot when my phone rings. I pull it out of my pocket and answer without even looking at it. “Hello?”
“Anna? It’s Carson.”
Why the hell is Carson calling me? Unless something happened to Noah.
“Noah. Is he okay?” I ask slightly panicked.
“Yeah he’s fine.”
I lean against the counter drawing imaginary circles on the floor with my shoe. I wish it was Noah calling me and not his brother. Carson and Noah have similar voices and the sound of his voice sends a bolt of need through my body. “Why are you calling then?”
