Still Her (Turn it Up Book 2)

by Natalie Parker

  Josh is standing by the door but I have no idea what kind of facial expression he’s wearing. When I finally get a grip, I choke out just a few words so that I don’t leave these two hanging.

  “Eli… locked me in here with him,” I finish with a hiccup.

  Jack stiffens. I can feel by his frame that he’s trying not to knee-jerk, to just focus on me. After I feel him take a few deep breaths, he gently leans arm-length away, but doesn’t let go of me. I steal a glance at Josh who is looking between the two of us in confusion. When Jack looks down at me, I can see the war in his eyes. Fury is battling it out with worry and concern.

  “Did he… what did he do to you?”

  “He didn’t do anything,” I say, shaking my head. “But he wants to…”

  “Josh, stay here with her while I go fucking kill our agent,” Jack growls with clenched teeth, shifting his weight in the direction of the door.

  “No! No, Jack you can’t. He can’t know I told you. He’s going to ruin you guys!” I grab on to his jacket.

  “Mayzie, what are you talking about?” Josh takes a step forward.

  “Eli locked me in here with him, and he said some things. He didn’t touch me but he kept looking at me with that look, and telling me he wanted us to get closer; that he wanted me to feel good with him. And then he said that if I wanted what’s best for the band, I wouldn’t say anything to you,” I finish, looking back to Jack.

  “Josh,” Jack rumbles, his jaw still clenched, “can you go upstairs and get Ron? And lay eyes on that fuck-rag?

  “On it,” Josh disappears around the door, and Jack takes me back in his arms.

  “It’s going to be okay, sweetheart,” he says kissing my cheek and wrapping me in a hug.

  I nod and sigh into his chest.

  Ten minutes later, Josh returns with Ron, and my handbag. While we had waited, Jack told me how he ran into Eli just before finding me and how he’d put on a hell of a show, acting like he had no idea where I could be. According to Ron, he had taken off to get on his jet back to L.A, mentioning something about meetings in the morning which means he had to have left right after talking to Jack. Fucking convenient, and fucking cowardly.

  As the three of them deliberate what to do, I zone out, with my cheek resting against Jack’s chest while he keeps his arms around me, locked at the wrist behind my back. Their voices sound like I’m hearing them from underwater, and I pick up only pieces of the conversation.

  I don’t care what he said to her, we should call the police.

  Can they even do anything? You heard what she said; he gave her nothing to file against him.

  Alright guys, think. Is there anyone that we know that could tell us what to do and not run their mouth?

  My sister’s husband. He’s a lawyer. Hardcore.

  Get him on the phone.

  I feel one of Jack’s arms leave my body to reach in his back pocket, bringing me out of my oblivious bubble. He calls Mike, Sarah’s husband, and asks what steps we should take. He double majored in criminal justice and pre-law before becoming a corporate lawyer, so he would be the first person Jack thought of. Mike tells us that despite what Eli said to me, to go to the police anyway and file a report so that it’s at the very least on record, and then to call him when we finish there. Ron, Jack and I leave and meet an SUV by the back entrance, and head to the nearest police station. Ron walks in with a briefcase full of NDA’s, and persuades an officer to let us go in through the back.

  We sit in three chairs opposite of the hottest female cop I’ve ever seen. Her dark hair is shorn close to her head on both sides but long on top with bangs that sweep across her forehead, drawing attention to piercing blue eyes behind thick black lashes and beautiful bright white teeth. She looks as if she’d have no problem putting Eli in a choke hold if he were in front of her right now, and that thought inspires me. I feel better as I talk to her, telling her everything he said and how I felt. She makes me want to reach inside myself and pull out the tough as nails version of me I know is in there somewhere.

  As suspected, there wasn’t much they could do. It was a one-on-one encounter with no witnesses, and Eli chose his words so carefully that they could’ve fallen under more than one context. Sick, twisted, manipulative douchebag.

  “Oh yeah, I can see what he’s doing,” she says in an affirming tone as she stops writing to nod her head and look around at the three of us, “but a report on paper can’t account for innuendos, or just plain putting out a vibe that makes a person feel threatened.”

  But we all know what the fuck he’s doing, and I think the beautiful, no-nonsense Officer Collins does too, because she hands me her card before we leave.

  “I’ve never known such behavior to come from Eli, but it’s not unheard of for some of the bigwigs in the industry to engage in shit like this,” Ron fumes as he looks out of the window of the SUV. “They get so rich and successful that they tend to think the rules don’t apply to them. They can buy their way out of trouble, they can buy silence, or make anyone bend to their will by reminding them of what they can do to them or their careers in the industry.”

  A breath blows out of him like a typhoon before he turns to look at us. “If I knew, I swear, I would’ve never –,”

  “We know, Ron,” Jack assures him, his head resting against his hand, his other arm around my shoulders. “It’s alright. But maybe we should meet with the other guys in the morning?”

  “You got it,” Ron agrees, turning back around.

  When we get back to the hotel, the dogs greet us in our room. Jack takes out his cell and calls Mike again to fill him in on what happened at the police station, while I go into the bathroom, ditching my adorable yet killer shoes on the way. I’ve calmed down quite a bit since Eli cornered me. I’ve reached some combined state of tired, freaked out, and calm.

  I come out to find Jack still on the phone, and pouring a shot of scotch into two tumblers.

  “We head to Charleston next, and then Atlanta,” he tells Mike. “Yeah… two shows in Atlanta and then a night off. Are you sure? I hate to make you do that, but… we seriously don’t know what to do. He knows what he’s doing as far as not getting caught…”

  I hang on to the words of Jack’s side of the conversation as I take off my jewelry, dropping each piece onto the dresser.

  “Do you know anyone? Someone that can look up his history? I just want to take care of this now, this second. He harassed my wife in a bathroom for fucks sake, and he’s telling her he’s going to pull this shit again soon. Alright, alright, fine. We’ll see you in a couple days. Thanks, man. Hug Sarah for us. Bye.”

  He disconnects the call and tosses his phone down on the wet bar. He picks up both tumblers and makes his way over, holding one out to me.

  “Thanks,” I say, letting out a breath and taking it from him. We’re not usually the night-cap type, but we’ve been known to have a drink if it’s been an exceptionally long or stressful day. He pounds his while I sip mine, letting the burn in my chest singe the anxiety. I sit down on the bed and rub Penny’s head when she puts it in my lap. Jack stays standing and shrugs out of his sport coat, tossing it on a nearby chair.

  “How are you doing, baby?”

  I nod, as I sip my drink. “Better. I don’t know how much sleep I’ll get tonight, but…” I shrug, trailing off for a second. “I’m doing okay.”

  “That’s good,” he acknowledges as I stand up and turn my back to him, pulling my hair over to one side. He responds to my signal and helps me with the zipper on the back of my dress. Normally, the sexy act would lead to other things, but we’ve both got a serious weight on our minds. I can tell that Jack is keeping his composure for my benefit, but his blood is boiling. The set of his jaw gives it away when I turn back around to face him.

  I finish the last little bit of my drink and walk over to set the glass down on the dresser.

  “So, Mike is coming out to meet us in Atlanta,” he tells me as he unbuttons the cuffs of his shirt.<
br />
  “Are you serious?” I whirl towards him as I peel my dress off and push it down before stepping out of it.

  “Yeah, he’s going to help us strategize what to do about this, and in the meantime, he’s going to look up a couple of old contacts to see if any of them can help.” He says all of this as he unbuttons the rest of his shirt and pulls it off of his shoulders.

  “That… makes me feel really good, actually. I’m glad he’s coming.”

  “Me too,” he agrees, tossing his shirt aside before walking over to me in his black slacks and bare chest. He takes my face in his hands so that he can level me with the solemn look in his eyes. “He’s not going to get away with this shit, Maze.”

  “I know…” I blow out a breath. “But he owns the agency, and if you guys try to break your contract or retaliate, he’ll screw you nine ways to Sunday because we don’t have any substantial proof of what he’s doing. All anyone has to go on, is my word.”

  “That’s what Mike can hopefully help us with, baby. But I’ll tell you what we’re not going to do. We’re not going to play his game. No matter what the cost, I’m not letting him continue to do this,” he stoops to keep his eyes level with mine when I try to look down. “No matter the cost. Okay?”

  I nod, looking up at him and trying to tell him the million ways I love him with my eyes. How much I adore him, how thankful I am for him. “Okay,” I quietly concede, and he kisses my mouth, but when he pulls back, his face is full of questions.

  “You are so worried about what he’ll do to the band, but I’m only worried about how this affects you. Baby you are always putting the band first, why?”

  My mouth hangs open, and I look at him and slowly shake my head, trying to find the answer. “I don’t know, I just… it’s your life. Your livelihood. They’ve been part of your life for so much longer than I have, if you didn’t have that anymore… would you be able to be happy?”

  He closes his eyes and looks down, his hair falling in his face. “If you don’t know the answer to that, then I haven’t been doing my job as your husband. The guys and I have always known the band was not going to be forever. Hell, I was still eighteen when we formed. We all knew life was going to happen at some point for each of us, and we never expected to get this far. Baby, all this,” he gazes around the room, as if trying to indicate the whole rock life we live, “can’t compete with you. Not the other way around. If it all ended tomorrow, I’d still be the happiest man in the world because I’d still have you. And that’s why I’ll stop at nothing -,” he’s cut off when I stand up on my toes to cup his face and kiss the hell out of him. He lets me. His hands are still gripping my back when I gently pull away, and he asks, “What was that for?”

  “For saying all of that.”

  “It’s the honest fucking truth,” he says, shaking his head down at me.

  “I know,” I concede. I know by now how limitless his love for me is. “But like you said, this thing with the band was always going to be fleeting. I just want you to have it as long as you can.”

  “I know,” he kisses me again.

  After the usual nighttime routines, we strip the rest of the way down and climb into bed. After he turns out the lights, I immediately scooch over to him and snuggle into his waiting arms. They’re so strong and warm, and just what I need right now. The scotch has numbed just enough of the after effect from tonight’s events that I can just focus on enjoying this feeling.

  “I feel so safe like this,” I sigh contentedly into his warm, solid chest, letting my finger trace the lines of the tattoo there.

  “Sweetheart, I’m always going to keep you safe,” he replies, intertwining our legs. “And I promise I’m going to make this go away.”

  Despite what I thought earlier, I actually sleep like a brick.

  10

  Jack

  The next morning, I’m awakened by the sound of a cell phone buzzing on the side table, alternating with a soft purring sound on my other side. When Mayzie is exceptionally tired and sleeping hard, she tends to emit an adorably gentle snore. The fact that she’s doing that now is a good sign; it means she’s sleeping really well. Not wanting to disrupt that, I turn over and reach for the cell. We have matching phones, but being that its Annie’s name flashing across the screen I know it’s Mayzie’s. I’m not awake enough to realize that I could just send it to voicemail, and instead pick up.

  “Hey Annie,” I mumble into the phone.

  “Jack. Shit. I woke you. I’m sorry,” I pick up just a hint of urgency in her voice. Then again, if there’s a change in the weather, these two trip over themselves to call one another.

  “It’s alright,” I squint my eyes at the digital clock, “the alarm’s going to go off soon anyway. Everything okay?”

  “Uh… yeah. Yeah, I just had to tell Mayzie something,” Her voice starts off hesitant at first and then picks up a more upbeat tone.

  “Alright. Well she’s still asleep…” I look over at Mayzie who is flat on her stomach, eyes still closed and her motor still going to confirm I’m right. “And I want to let her be… we… had kind of a night last night.”

  “Oh, okay. No problem,” Annie responds, again sounding hesitant, but she’s letting it go. “Can you just have her call me when she wakes up?”

  “You bet.”

  We say goodbye and end the call. I slide out of bed and head over to my duffel and grab a pair of boxer briefs and running pants. I pick my phone up off the wet bar and text Kelly, asking if she can come to our room and take the dogs out. I find a group text on my phone, asking the whole band to meet in Ron’s suite in less than half an hour. I throw my hoodie on and leash up the dogs, handing them off to Kelly when she gently knocks on our door.

  By now, Mayzie has begun to stir, so I head over to the Keurig. Once I’ve made her coffee, I walk over to the bed, set it on the side table and crawl over to her.

  “Thank you,” she blinks up at me.

  “Hey,” I smile back down at her. “We have to go meet in Ron’s room in a few minutes, baby.”

  Her smile falls a little and she nibbles her bottom lip. “Mind going without me?”

  I take in a breath and slowly let it out while I ponder this. This largely concerns her, and while I feel like she should be part of the conversation, I can also see how it might stress her out right now. Plus, it might give me a chance to let go and vent in the way I want and need to, in the company of the guys. I’m still fired up beyond belief, but I’ve been restraining myself. I couldn’t go off in front of Mayzie last night when she needed me so badly, and I seriously need to let some of it out. With what she went through with my piece of shit agent last night, I figured she didn’t need me flying off the handle in front of her.

  “Okay,” I concede, and her smile lifts again as she reaches up and pulls me down to lay on top of her. I melt into her, remembering she’s still naked under the covers. She presses up into me, making me lose my mind, my control quickly following it. My hoodie zipper is still open and she runs her hands up my chest while she presses a kiss to my neck. “Whoa, baby. What are you doing? We talked about this. No seducing me when I’ve got somewhere to be; you know I can’t control myself,” I groan, not making any move to stop her, in fact, I lean down and start making out with her neck. My cock hardens at the moan she makes in response.

  She drops her arms and her hands fall on either side of her head. “Okay, fine. I thought you could just use a release. We both could…” She’s still smiling, and there’s a hint of mischief to it now. I’m glad to see this isn’t bringing her down enough to not carry on like she usually would.

  “You’re right about that,” I arch an eyebrow at her and give her a flirty smile before dropping a kiss to her lips and easing up off of her. “And I think we should definitely take each other up on that, so I’m going to go get this over with.” I make my own cup of coffee and cram my feet into my sneakers. I can’t resist leaning down and giving her one more kiss as she props herself up on he
r elbows, hoping it will keep her in that frame of mind. “Don’t you dare get dressed while I’m gone,” I wink at her.

  I’m almost out the door when I remember, “Oh, Annie called you, baby. She wants you to call her back.”

  “Okay,” she smiles faintly and reaches for her coffee.

  I walk down the empty hallway of doors to the elevator. Once I’m inside, I reach down to adjust my raging hard-on as I ride up one floor to Ron’s suite. When I’m let inside, I see everyone is already here, dressed pretty much the same way I am. Except for Ron, ever the professional, who has clearly already showered, shaved and dressed.

  I help myself to more coffee from his Keurig, and sit down on one of the chairs in the sitting area.

  “Alright guys,” Ron begins, “we have an issue with Eli we need to address.”

  “What issue?” Chris asks from his slouched position in the corner of the couch. He’s in sweats, his hair all rumpled and his eyes are barely open.

  I take a sip of my steaming mug of black before answering. “He seems to think that because he’s our agent, he can help himself to my wife.”

  Chris’s eyes widen at my statement as Matt’s slowly close with the realization that something else has happened. He’s the only one I confided in when this first became an issue. Josh found out last night, leaving Chris the only one coming out of the dark right now.

  “How are you holding up, Jack?” Ron turns his head towards me.