by K E Osborn
Lyri’s gorgeous like always. She’s wearing a short flowing dress.
My chest swarms. I like her in dresses.
Wait! Lyri looks angry. More than angry. She’s downright fuming as Jase walks behind her sporting a black eye.
My eyes widen as I rush over to them.
Lyri spots me. “Ha! Should’ve known you’d take me against my will. Lying, kidnapping, anything else you want to do to me, Eddie?” she snaps, her voice full of pure venom.
I glare at Jase. “What the fuck, Jase?”
He groans. “Woman’s got a mean right hook, but I swear she’s as stubborn as an ox. Wouldn’t come with me, so I had to use a little… persuasive force.”
My eyes widen as she folds her arms over her chest in defiance. “Persuasive force? What the hell does that mean?”
She throws her hands in the air in frustration. “It means… he said if I didn’t go with him, he was going to release a recording he made of me that night singing at the karaoke bar to the press. So, I punched him in the face, then let him drag me to this place. Which, I’m guessing, is yours?”
I glare at Jase, and he shrugs. “It is my place, and I’m so happy to finally have you here.”
“In my defense, I was lying about the tape. I didn’t record you, Lyric. I just said that to get you here.”
We both turn to glare at Jase to shut him up as I step closer to Lyri.
She takes a step back.
I exhale. “You already know I’m sorry. But if you’d just let me explain what happened, why I did what I di—”
“You’ve dragged me here against my will just to explain yourself?” she interrupts.
I nod, which makes her groan. “Fine! But first, you better get me a drink. A strong one.”
My woman always was a feisty firecracker. I try to hide my excitement.
With a flick of the wrist, I gesture my hand toward the living room where surprise number one is located. She takes off in front of me.
Jase knows when to call it. I dip my head at him in thanks. He looks at me with a go-get-‘em-tiger stare and heads upstairs to leave us alone. I turn and follow Lyri toward the living room, stepping in behind her and her sweet-smelling perfume.
She stops at the top of the stairs as she gazes down on the room. Her mouth hangs wide open as she takes in the sight before her. Every surface has vase upon vase filled with various colors, shapes, and sizes of dahlias—her favorite flower. Her hand clasps to her chest like she’s having trouble believing what she’s seeing as I move in next to her, so close I feel the tension and chemistry between us, but far enough away, so we don’t touch. Even though all I want to do is reach out and wrap my arms around her, I don’t want to push her.
Now it’s time to help her relax, not feel more tense. I gesture for us to head for the sofa, and she steps down into the sunken living room.
She shakes her head. “How did you do this?”
“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, Lyri.”
Her eyes meet mine. She exhales, dropping down on the sofa, then leans across to the coffee table, smelling the flowers in front of her.
I move in, sitting next to her.
“Why did you get Jase to bring me here, Eddie? You know how I feel about you!”
Crap.
“I do… you love me. No matter how hard you fight against it, Lyri, you still love m—”
“That’s so not what I meant.”
“No… but it’s true, though, right?”
She turns away from me slightly. “It’s irrelevant, Eddie. I don’t trust you.”
There’s a knock at the front door. My chest squeezes knowing her second and biggest surprise has arrived.
“I’ll get it,” Jase hollers.
I reach out, grabbing her hands. She turns to face me, narrowing her eyes, but she doesn’t pull her hands away. This is a good sign. “Lyri, I want you to know I did this out of love. I hope you like your surprise.”
She tilts her head as her eyes widen a little like I’m scaring her. I guess she never knows what she’s going to get with me.
“Lyric,” a deep voice rings through the living room.
We both turn to see a man with long tatty hair wearing a brown leather jacket and ripped jeans. He’s obviously lived a really good but hard life. His tattooed guy-liner eyes are watering as he takes in Lyric sitting on the sofa. My chest warms as Lyric gasps. Her hand rushes to her mouth. “Daddy?” she whispers.
He takes a step closer. “Yeah, baby girl, it’s me. Sorry, I’ve been away for far too long, but I heard you needed me. And if my girl needs me, I’m gonna be right here.”
She bursts into a river of tears as she lets me go, bounding up off the seat and into her father’s arms. They embrace like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It’s like watching a five-year-old hugging her father when he comes home from work. I think when it comes to Lyric, she’s missed out on so many years with her father, she’s like a young girl screaming for her father just to be there. To just be present.
Stylo Griffin, 80’s rock legend, stands before me and his eyes shift to take me in. His head dips once. I nod back at him as he embraces his baby girl while she cries in his arms.
He softly strokes her hair as he pulls back and assesses her face. “You’ve lost weight, Lyric. I know what’s happened between Eddie and you is not good, baby girl, but you gotta keep your health up.”
She sniffles. “It’s been so hard, Dad,” she whimpers. The sound breaks my fucking heart.
He wipes the tears from her face with his thumbs, peering right in her eyes. “I know. I know all about it. Eddie’s told me everything. It’s why I’m here… hopefully to help.”
Lyri turns back to me. There’s something in her eyes, but I’m not quite sure what it is.
Maybe a thank you for bringing her father to her.
Maybe curiosity as to why I’ve brought her father to her.
Maybe understanding.
Lyri’s so emotional right now, she’s hard to read. Either way, the only thing I do know is her father might just be the only person who can make her see the light in this fucked-up situation I’ve caused. Stylo Griffin might just be my only hope.
“Let’s have a seat. This could take a while,” Stylo instructs Lyri.
She grips onto her father’s arm as he leads her back to the sofa.
I walk with them. They sit close to one another. I sit next to Lyri, but a few feet away, giving her the space she needs. She won’t listen to me to hear my side of the story, but maybe, just maybe, she will listen to her father.
“Now, Lyric, before I start, I want you to know this is a safe place. No one’s here to put pressure on you, gang up on you, or make you do anything you don’t want to. Okay?” her father tells her. She nods. “In saying that, I think you need to hear everything I have to say without passing judgment. Once you’ve heard it all, then you can say your piece.”
Her eyes briefly meet mine, then she turns back to her father. “Okay.”
Stylo clears his throat, glancing at me, then focusing on his daughter, his pride and joy, once more. “I’ve known Eddie for a long time. As you know, Savage Lies has gone through many production teams, many agents… we’ve had a lot. Working with Eddie and Edward Senior was actually one of the easier parts of my career. But as always, we parted ways after a couple of years because our guitarist, Lenny, didn’t like the way Edward Senior ran things. He felt Edward Senior was shifty with the royalties.” He shrugs, and I grimace. “It’s just how it was. Lenny runs the show, and it’s why we go through so many production companies. Lenny’s a tightass. Probably not the best way to run business, but it is what it is, and to be honest, I don’t care. As long as Lenny’s fucking happy, then my life is easy.”
I tilt my head at him, letting him know there’s no hard feelings for them letting us go. It was warranted in the end.
“Anyway, that’s how I know Eddie. After our time together, we saw each other at various events and stayed amicable, never thi
nking we would have to rely on each other for mutual gain.” He exhales. “You see, Lyri, when Eddie realized you were my daughter, it made him a little uncomfortable, and it’s why he left so abruptly after your kiss.” Her eyes snap around to look at me. “But he couldn’t stand to be away from you… that’s the kind of pull you have on him.”
Her eyes water, and I dip my head with a single nod.
“So, once he knew who your family was, and you weren’t interested in singing, he believed if he told you who he was, what he did for a living, you would assume Eddie only wanted to be around you to get you to sign with his business. Which is the exact assumption you made.”
She gnaws on her bottom lip. I can see the cogs turning in her mind—I just have no idea what she’s actually thinking.
Stylo continues, “He also kept you from his family and friends because if they knew you and realized your singing capabilities, they would want to sign you. This is where Jase comes in.” Her eyes widen in curiosity. “Jase is Eddie’s long-time best friend. He’s been there for Eddie more than you could possibly ever imagine. But that night at the karaoke bar, it was Jase who told Edward Senior you were there and such a good singer. Not Eddie.”
Her head snaps around to me again like she’s confused, like she knows she’s been assuming wrong this whole time.
“The thing is, baby girl, Eddie’s been in your corner from the very beginning. He’s been hiding that part of his life from you, so this very thing wouldn’t happen. So, you wouldn’t feel pressured into signing, which is something people have been trying to get you to do your entire life…” he drops his shoulders a little, “… even me. Eddie’s the only person who’s actually listened to your needs when it comes to your choice about music.” Lyri’s eyes water as her bottom lip quivers. “There’s more, Lyri,” her father adds.
This is the part that terrifies me. This is the part which could make her run for good. I need to be the man to tell her, I just hope she will listen to me. But I’m right here beside her, helping her through hearing this, and I’ll be here to answer any questions she might have about what’s coming.
Taking a deep breath, I clear my throat. “Remember Chance?”
She furrows her brows, turning to face me, then nods. “Pixy’s dad… of course.”
I take a deep breath as I tense all over. Stylo looks at me, gives me a nod encouraging me to keep going. He knows where this is heading.
She needs to know.
She needs to know everything.
“I didn’t share a house with him. We weren’t roommates.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lyri glares at me like she’s angry again.
It’s only going to get worse.
“You lied about that, too?”
“Just listen, Lyric…” Stylo urges as she stares at him.
Her breathing is shallow as I continue. “I was in jail for a Class B felony for embezzlement and grand theft against Ego Star Recordings.”
Her head snaps around so fast it reminds me of something from The Exorcist. She stares at me like she’s trying to see me as someone different like she has no idea who I am right now, and that thought fucking kills me.
“You were in jail?” she asks me directly this time, but her tone is laced with bitterness.
My chest squeezes. “Yes.”
Her entire body slumps as she places her head in her hands. “Oh my God... for how long?”
I hesitate, but then she looks at me like she’s dying inside, and I can’t hold anything else back from her. “Five years.”
“Holy fuck! Who the hell are you, Eddie?” she blurts out as I begin to wonder if this was such a good idea after all.
“Baby girl, listen to the whole story,” Stylo offers.
She sits taller, her watering eyes now focused right on me. She’s ready to hear me talk. That’s got to count for something, so I reach out, grabbing her hand. She lets me.
I stare right in her beautiful big doe eyes. “Lyri, the thing about my family is we’re close. Mom, Dad, and me. We’re all we’ve got. I don’t have siblings, and Ego Star is what defines the Covingtons.”
She narrows her eyes on me. “That doesn’t explain anything, Eddie.”
“Years ago, the company was run by two presidents. My father and Howie Rockmann. Howie was the more flamboyant, easy-going member of the pair, where Dad was strait-laced. He had the ‘get shit done’ attitude. Howie was more of the playboy, and clients loved his party antics. They were a killer team who attracted artists from all around the world, including Savage Lies.”
Her eyes narrow. “Okaaay?”
I exhale. “Howie noticed someone was embezzling money from company funds and vowed to make the perpetrator pay. He wouldn’t stand for that kind of bullshit. With a ton of employees in Ego Star, he was going to flush out the culprit and make them suffer.” I take a deep breath. “I had no idea what was going on until I found my father, Edward Senior, online gambling one night late in the office... I quickly figured out from there, it was my father who was embezzling the money from his own company to fund his gambling habits.”
Her eyes widen toward her father. “So, he did take from the bands… for his gambling?”
Stylo gestures for her to keep listening.
I shift a little closer, and she lets me. “Dad took from multiple bands and the business, but I knew if Howie found out it was my father, his business partner, he would take Ego Star from us all. Dad would go to prison. My family would end up broke…” I break eye contact for a moment, trying to think of how to word my next sentence. “The thing you have to realize is… I didn’t want my parents to be homeless. I couldn’t do it to my mother. So, I took the fall, saying I’d embezzled the money.”
She gasps, her hand racing to her mouth. Her eyes flood with tears.
I decide to push on. “The bands never found out what happened. Thought it was an accounting error. Everyone was paid back, in full, from my own pocket. The business was also paid back everything Dad owed, but it wasn’t enough.”
She narrows her eyes. “What do you mean?”
Flaring my nostrils at the memory, I exhale. “I was charged. Went to prison for three years before I met Chance. We were cellmates for two years before he left. Then I left not long after him. Before I went into prison, I made a vow to get my father help for his gambling addiction. We told my mother, so she could help while I was gone… keep him on the straight and narrow. I installed tracking systems on all of Dad’s bank accounts and his tech devices to make sure. Our family bonded together and kept our dirty little secret, so we could keep our stake in the company.”
She sniffles, wiping away a stray tear falling down her cheek.
I want to be the one to stop her tears.
I just don’t know how she will react if I do.
So, I continue to tell her my story. “While I was locked up, Howie died of a massive heart attack. Too much alcohol and partying. The entire company was left to Dad. Once I got out, Dad took me back without hesitation. The company was now ours to run, but on my return, a few of the employees, still believing I was the one responsible for the embezzlement, were outraged my father had brought me back in so easily.” I grimace. “Some left. Some sucked it up. I had to gain their respect by keeping my head down and working my ass off, all while Dad looked like a hero bringing his deadbeat son back into the fold.” I run my fingers through my hair in frustration. “I did the time for my father while he was recovering from his addiction, and business boomed.” I grit my teeth, still feeling the pang of resentment I hold. “He got to live his life while I got five years in prison and a felony charge next to my name.” I shrug as she sniffles again, wiping away another tear. “But it’s what you do for family… right?”
Her bottom lip quivers as her hand comes up, caressing the side of my face. The touch of her hand sends warmth through me—a heat, a spark. I haven’t felt her soothing touch for so long I’m like a junkie getting a fix.
“You d
id all that? You took the fall just to protect those you love?”
“I’d do anything to protect those I love. It’s what I was trying to do with you, Lyri. I just went about it all wrong. I thought by keeping my producer life and you separate that I was protecting you, but it just made everything so fucked up.”
“And I jumped the gun… went straight to not trusting you. I’m so sorry, Eddie. I should have given you a chance to tell me the truth. Instead, I acted so damn selfishly. God, you must hate me.” Her head falls as she looks down.
I grab her hands squeezing them, making her eyes shift back up to mine. “I could never hate you, Lyric Griffin. I love you. More than I’ve loved anyone or anything. That’s why I’ve been fighting to get you back. Because even though you didn’t know the full story, I was hoping once you did, you would be willing to let my misgivings go and trust I was only trying to do what I thought was the right thing. I swear, I wasn’t trying to hurt you. Though, I know now I went about it completely the wrong way. I hope you can forgive me?”
Her bottom lip trembles again. “I’m the one who needs to ask for forgiveness, Eddie. I’m the silly little girl who reacted and judged without thinking it through. If anyone isn’t worthy of the other, it’s me of you.”
I scoff, shaking my head. “You’re perfect as you are. We both messed up. We own it. The question is… can we move past it?”
Her hand comes up, caressing my face again, sending a shudder down my spine. I love how much a small touch from her can affect me.
“I love you, Eddie. My world doesn’t revolve if you’re not in it.”
My chest squeezes in utter fucking joy. I honestly never thought I would hear her say words I wrote in one of my notes in return. I run my hand into the back of her hair, pulling her face to mine, forcefully. I should go for the slow, passionate kiss. It should be tender. Loving. But right now, I just need to taste her, to make up for all the lost time we’ve missed out on. Her lips crash against mine, her hands snaking up around my neck as her mouth opens, and my tongue collides with hers in a flurry of desire. Kissing her feels like everything I remember—only fucking ten times better.
