Hearts Collide (Infinity Prism Series Book 1)

by Kylie Walker

  Asher gave a thumbs up. “He said all we have to do is fax over the paperwork. I can have Burt on it in less than an hour.”

  Trevor nodded his approval. “Fantastic.”

  He wrapped up the meeting, leaving him and Roman behind. Trevor sat on the edge of the table with his palms flat on the surface behind him. Roman crossed his arms and took a relaxed, wide-legged stance.

  “You going to tell me what’s really up now that the rest of them are gone?”

  Trevor looked to the floor. “Yeah. I should have confided in you before.”

  He knew he wasn’t going to tell Roman the truth. No one could know. Chances were, Grant would never be able to uncover anything damning about that night. But the fear, the absolute fear that someone would somehow find out, ripped through him.

  “Look, I did hang out with that gang, you know that. But only for a short time, and only because we thought we might get a drummer out of it.”

  Roman took a breath. “Did something bad happen? Something you don’t want the press to know about?”

  Trevor spread his hands. “Dude, you’d know about it, right? Everyone would know about it. But I was never arrested for anything. Never involved in anything. It’s just, having my name tied to those guys is damaging. And you never know what lies might be made up to make a good tabloid story.”

  Roman made a face as if he didn’t quite believe what Trevor was saying. “Trev, your face says you’re a little more worried than you probably would be if there was nothing for the tabloids to get ahold of. Is there more going on here?”

  “No. I told you.”

  “Okay, okay. I just want to have your back, that’s all. If there’s something, I should know...”

  “We have to keep an eye on that little asshole, that’s all. I stepped in where I probably shouldn’t have with his relationship, she broke up with him, and now he’s on the warpath.”

  Roman nodded in agreement. “Can’t argue with that. How’s Emelia doing, anyway?”

  “Fine. I’m going to offer her to stay on with us for the rest of the tour. Chloe, too. Do some marketing stuff that Burt can pass their way. No reason she should suffer because of Grant.”

  “Yeah, you do what you think is best.” Roman turned to go but paused. He gave Trevor a long, steady look that seemed a little too knowing.

  “Why are you staring at me?”

  “We’ve never lied to each other, Trev. Have we?”

  Trevor gave a loose shake of his head. “No, man.”

  “Good. Let’s not start now.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Emelia had been calling Grant’s cell phone for hours.

  She’d let herself into their hotel room. His things were still there, but he was nowhere to be found. The bus was leaving soon, and he wasn’t ready to go.

  She started to toss his things into the suitcase but stopped herself. This wasn’t her responsibility anymore. To be honest, she felt numb about the whole thing. Numb and relieved. She had known in her heart that their relationship was doomed, but her optimism had won her over, allowing her to hope for the best. Once she’d tiptoed into nearly crossing a line with Trevor, even praying for the best had started to fade.

  Yes, Grant had crossed that line altogether. The thought made her sick. But, she wasn’t going to judge him. She wasn’t going to dwell on bad feelings. Not when she had been a breath away from maybe crossing that line herself. Obviously, things weren’t right between them enough if each of them had turned their attention to someone else.

  It didn’t erase that they had history, and that would take time to fade.

  Where could he be?

  There was a microscopic chance that he might have gone back to the venue for something. Could he have forgotten a piece of vital equipment that he would need to run back for? The idea was practical. If he wasn’t going to answer the phone, then she had no choice but to try and search for him. Surely, she’d be able to hunt him down eventually. She knew it was probably in her best interest to stay put in one place, remaining in a designated spot that he was certain to return to. That place was the hotel room, but something told her to look elsewhere.

  She picked up her cell phone and dialed Chloe. She would need to let someone know where she was in case something happened.

  “Hey,” she breathed impatiently into the phone when Chloe picked up after the second ring.

  “What’s up?” Chloe chimed cheerily into the phone.

  “I have a small errand to run,” Emelia said.

  “Really?” Chloe sounded surprised. “We’re leaving in a couple of hours.”

  “I know, and I’ll be back,” she reassured. “I just need to pick something up for Grant at the venue. Madison Square Garden.”

  Chloe laughed. “Why can’t he go himself?”

  “He’s...busy.” Emelia made up the lie. She hated being dishonest to her best friend, but she didn’t want her to get involved in this little Sherlock Holmes detective event yet. She’d only try and talk her out of it. Besides, she’s the reason Grant was upset and distracted, so it was only right that she try and help him out a little.

  “Okay, well let me know if you need any help,” Chloe said.

  “Thanks.” Emelia knew that if she let on that anything was wrong, then Chloe would undoubtedly want to trail along.

  Her phone buzzed with a text from Trevor. Her pulse picked up. Where are you?

  At Madison Square Garden looking for Grant. Have you heard from him?

  No. Emelia, this isn’t a good idea.

  She didn’t respond as the taxi pulled into the center.

  She knew the backstage area would be locked, so she scoped the area as she walked around, combing around to find a security guard or a venue employee to talk to. If she could just explain to them with her tour pass that she needed to get inside the backstage area, then maybe she would be one step closer to finding Grant.

  He had never left her this long before without telling her where he was. His phone appeared to be off. When she tried to call him, it cut straight to voice mail.

  Emelia was growing more frustrated with him by the minute, hoping he was okay. After half an hour of looking, she was ready to give up. He obviously wasn’t here.

  “Emelia?”

  She quickly spun around at the sound of her name. Her mouth gaped open in surprise at who she saw rapidly approaching her.

  “Trevor? What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be getting ready to leave?” She shouldn’t worry. He was a rock star, and he could do whatever he wanted.

  He still had that stone face of anxiety etched across his face. His lips were pencil thin. He didn’t smile, and he was as white as a sheet drying in the sun.

  “What is wrong?” The words tumbled from her mouth.

  “I need to talk to you,” he whispered gently. His features softened as he walked up to meet her.

  “What is it?” She was becoming more concerned as Trevor remained aloof and slightly apprehensive.

  “Not here. Let’s go to the café down the street.”

  He took her hand, placed it in the crook of his arm and lead her across the street to the sidewalk.

  “I can’t find Grant,” she said as they reached the café. “I know I should worry, but he won’t answer his phone, and he never packed any of his things. I thought he might have forgotten something on stage.”

  They took seats at an outside table. Trevor ordered them lemon water and leaned on his forearms over the table.

  Emelia knew she was slightly rambling, but she didn’t care. In her mind, something horrible had happened. She didn’t want it to be her fault.

  “About Grant. I’m worried about him, too. But not in the same way you are.” His voice was even and firm, devoid of emotion.

  “What is it?” She leaned forward too. Usually, her heart fluttered when she was near Trevor, but she was getting a strange and eerie vibe from him that was slightly unsettling.

  “Emelia...” he trailed off in a hushed
whisper. The guilt swimming in his eyes robbed her of breath. He glanced at her as if he were getting ready to tell her that her beloved pet had been hit by a car or something.

  “I’m afraid he’s going to do something violent or aggressive. I’m worried about your safety.” Trevor stated gently as if he were afraid of ripping her to shreds emotionally with his words.

  “You...what?” She shook her head in disbelief.

  “He punched me after the charity speech; then he tried to blackmail me. Or whatever you want to call it. It was a pathetic attempt at a threat.”

  “Oh my God, what?” Emelia rubbed her temples as she continued to stare at Trevor as if he were speaking a foreign language that she didn’t understand.

  “He showed up at the charity event. Cornered me in the back after I was done talking to some board member. He pulled back and clocked me on the chin before I could blink. So I took him down, and he started spouting some threatening nonsense. He’s insane.”

  Trevor tenderly cupped his hands over hers.

  “Don’t,” she said, suddenly feeling like the walls were closing in on her. She didn’t know if the whole arena would collapse on her. The air she tried to breathe into her lungs was stale and stifled.

  “I’m so sorry,” he stated gently. “Look, I want you to be careful around him. As soon as you told me what you were up to, I had to come. To make sure you’re okay.”

  “You really think he would hurt me?” She asked and shook her head, even knowing that it was a possibility. He had been aggressive with her in the past, hadn’t he? She couldn’t deny he’d been creepy as hell at the charity event.

  “I’m sorry he did that to you,” she murmured because she was having trouble speaking.

  “Look, I’m letting Grant go as soon as the ink is dry on a contract with another company,” he confessed. “But we want you and Chloe to stay on with us. Burt is more than happy to pass off a ton of social marketing tasks that can be done right from the tour bus.”

  “Seriously?” Emelia raised an eyebrow. This entire conversation was surreal.

  “Yes,” Trevor nodded. “Absolutely. Burt will send over an outline of the job description and duties, and if you agree, you stay. If you choose not to stay, you’re free to head out anytime. It’s up to you.”

  “Okay...” Emelia trailed off, wondering if he was about to say something else. “It’s a no-brainer that we’ll stay on. I don’t really have anything in Chicago to go back to except to clean out my stuff from Grant’s and... take it from there.”

  “We’ll get it taken care of. Don’t worry.”

  Hot tears stung in Emelia’s eyes and blurred her vision. “We?”

  Trevor took her hands, and she didn’t pull away. “Do you want there to be a, we?”

  She nodded. There was no sense in being sheepish about this. She wanted that more than anything.

  “Yes, of course, I do.”

  His smile lit the room. She couldn’t believe it. She had her Rock God sitting across from her, professing his interest in her. All those little fantasies in her head all these weeks were finally coming to fruition. She just had to ride this out, go with the flow and let all the kinks work themselves out. They could have a happily ever after once things had time to heal.

  They needed time to get to know each other. To become intimate with one another.

  Trevor reached into his pocket and pulled out a credit card. He handed it to her. Her name was written on it.

  “I want this thing between us to work, Em. I want to give it the best chance. I don’t mind at all having you stay with me, but I want you to take this. You decide if you want your own room, your own space for just you and Chloe, then you can have it. This card is your freedom. Your choice. Okay?”

  She fingered the card, flipped it over. Trevor was giving her the opportunity for space and independence while they let their relationship grow. Her chest filled with joy. He was going to be so good for her! And she was going to do everything possible to be good for him, too.

  Trevor’s phone rang. He answered, his facial expressions showing the conversation wasn’t good. After clicking off, he frowned and sighed.

  “Looks like Grant grabbed his things and bailed. The new company is going to fly in tomorrow morning for the next show.”

  “He... just left?”

  She couldn’t wait for time to heal, for all these kinks to work out.

  Then there wouldn’t be anything standing in their way.

  Chapter Twenty One

  “Welcome, Mr. Jameson.” The enthusiastic talk show host for the local Boston area pumped Trevor’s hand with a beaming smile and a perfect set of pearly white, straight teeth.

  “Please call me Trevor.”

  “Thank you.” The talk show host seemed prideful that a rock star like Trevor would be engaging enough to allow any sort of friendly banter backstage before the interview.

  Trevor was flying solo for this interview, which was uncommon. Typically, he didn’t enjoy doing press without the rest of his guys, but they were all busy today on their day off from the show.

  They had arrived in Boston overnight, and Burt had already lined up this interview at least a month ago. Trevor didn’t mind the distraction. He needed to take a breather and reassess everything. The new sound company had arrived this morning and were already hard at work helping the stage crew. He had a good feeling about this. If anything went wrong, well, they’d go with the flow. There wasn’t another option.

  He was happy to be in Boston. They were in a new city, and they had a chance to have a fresh start in a new location for now. The show must go on, as the famous quote always went.

  “Where do we go from here?” Trevor asked casually, making polite conversation to the gracious talk show host.

  His name was Eddie Falcon. He was born and raised in Boston, or so he explained to Trevor upon introductions. He had a Bachelor's Degree in broadcasting and had started out as a reporter for a local TV station in the area.

  Long story short, as Eddie had detailed, he hired an agent and bam! He found himself landing the most epically local Boston TV show that the community had seen in years. The original host had retired. In walked Eddie, seemingly perfect timing as he had described it. He entertained celebrities, hosted cooking segments and a plethora of other engagements that impressed Trevor in the way that Eddie described his work.

  “Do you need anything to drink?” Eddie chimed. “We have water, soda, tap water, champagne, nuts, grapes, orange juice, regular juice, crackers, biscuits, scones,—-”

  Trevor cut him off with a gesture of his hand. “I’m fine. I just mean, when is the interview supposed to start?” He didn’t need to hear about every single tasty treat they had for the talent that they hosted.

  “Three minutes until go time.”

  One of the cameramen approached Eddie. “We need to get everyone in position.” He wore an oversized headset and a sloppy white t-shirt. “The sponsor commercials are over in two minutes.”

  Eddie turned to Trevor with a zesty smile and a raise of his eyebrows. “Well, I suppose we need to get into position then.”

  He clapped his hands together with a loud smack. He adjusted the pastel pink tie and the jacket of his gray suit. His vivacious energy was infectious and rubbed off on Trevor.

  “I’ll follow you.” Trevor gestured for Eddie to lead the way onto the little makeshift stage in the studio.

  The Production Manager came up behind Trevor and gently placed the microphone on his black t-shirt and tucked the battery pack onto his jeans in the back. “You’re all set.”

  The cameraman gave them a ten-second countdown both out loud and with his fingers. Trevor took a deep breath and adjusted himself in the seat. He was calm and charismatic on camera. This wasn’t his first press interview, and it certainly wouldn’t be his last.

  Trevor shifted in his seat. It was little unnerving to be here without the rest of the band. He knew he would pull it off without a hitch, but he was
used to the comfort of having his best friends at his side.

  As soon as the cameras began rolling, Eddie went into full-on professional mode. He leaned over to seem more approachable and engaging with Trevor.

  “Tell us, Trevor, what do you like to do for fun. The world wants to know.” Eddie cackled with amusement.

  Trevor smiled and glanced up at the bright lights warming him in his seat from above. “Well, I love to work with foster kids,” he admitted. “I don’t get much spare time honestly. The tour is a whirlwind. I feel like my days are swamped with activities from the moment I get up to the moment I crash on a hotel pillow when I get home.”

  “I’m sure the traveling does take its toll.”

  “Of course.” Trevor rubbed his palms on his jeans and cleared his throat. “After all, I’m still only human.”

  Eddie slapped the top of his thigh. “Tell that to the swooning teenage girls flocking to the front row of your concerts night after night.”

  Trevor nodded and laughed. “I am truly grateful to each and every one of them.” He clamped his hands together like a gratitude prayer and stared deep into the eyes of the camera lens.

  “What’s it like being a rock star?” Eddie asked.

  Trevor shrugged. “To be honest, I’m just a normal guy. Just like everybody else.”

  His mind drifted back to Emelia and how much fun they’d had together. He didn’t want those epic nights of laughter and excitement to ever end.

  “We wish the rest of the band could be here today, but we are honored to have you.” There was a twinkle in Eddie’s eye as he spoke. It was borderline fake, but he teetered right on the cusp of genuinely, so Trevor let him slide.

  Eddie was easy to talk to. The conversation flowed naturally, and there was never a lag in between. Eddie was the kind of guy who roped people into talking to him and making them feel like they were the most important person in the room. The role of talk show host was perfect for him.

  They discussed everything from Trevor’s favorite foods, to any pre-show rituals. Once the allotted thirty-minute time slot had ended, Trevor couldn’t believe it was over so quickly.