Rampage (A Night Fire Novel Book 4)

by Watkins, TM

  Chapter Fourteen

  I woke to the sounds of an acoustic guitar being played quietly. As I sat up I saw a soft light that lit up the corridor. Finding my dressing gown, I wrapped the soft silk around me and followed the sound. When I heard Fraser laugh I was grateful I had decided to dress rather than roaming the house naked.

  Standing at the doorway I watched them as they sat and drank beer. Evan was playing the guitar and Fraser was writing something on a note pad.

  Evan looked up and saw me, with a grin he shifted over on the lounge for me.

  “What are you two up to?”

  “Just chillin', bit of writing. You know, what everyone does at three am in the morning.”

  I nodded a little shocked.

  “Instead of being in bed with their wives?”

  “Fraser's in the dog house again. Eden keeps threatening to cut his dick off every time the baby does something.”

  The man huffed as he took a sip from his beer can.

  “If it's not indigestion, it's that the baby keeps making her go to the bathroom. Or she thinks that he's trying to crack her ribs. Yesterday she was adamant that the baby had bruised her organs because he was kicking so much.”

  “You know there is a solution to your problems.” I offered as I leaned back into the chair.

  His eyes raised to me as if I had some magic solution.

  “Stop having sex.”

  “Yeah right. Then I'd be in more trouble. You wait until you're pregnant and see how difficult it is. You'll want to kick his ass into the next week for it but you'll also want him tied to the bed, ready to go. Hormones will make you a weepy woman one minute, happy the next and the entire time you'll be mentally undressing him.”

  Gee, I can't wait. It sounds like such fun. Where is the warning with this? Having a child should come with some kind of health warning.

  “Then the kid comes out and they're never the same. Sahara was a breeze, she was quiet and easy to deal with. Hudson screamed from the minute he came out, leaving us walking around the house like a pair of zombies until he was five weeks old.”

  “So are you going to stop after this one?”

  “No way. There is something so beautiful about a pregnant woman. She might call you a freak because she wakes in the middle of the night and finds you talking to her giant stomach but that doesn't matter.”

  “Is that why you're here?”

  He nodded with a slight chuckle.

  “I was just telling him he was making life hell for his father and he should behave himself. Eden woke up and told me to go back to sleep or make myself useful. So I came here.”

  On the off chance that Evan was awake? Pretty sure it wasn't what Eden meant. I hardly knew the woman and I didn't think that annoying other people at three am was her idea of being useful.

  “He messaged me.” the mind reader beside me offered. “I was already awake and doing a bit of writing so I told him to come over.”

  “Oh okay.” I nodded, over thinking things again. “You're not planning on driving after that, are you?”

  “Nah. We'll just hang out here until the meeting.”

  The meeting that's hours away? Eden must be such an understanding wife. Not sure what I'd do if Evan disappeared for several hours, leaving me to care for two kids while heavily pregnant.

  “You won't be in more trouble for not being there at breakfast?”

  Fraser paused for a moment with a frown.

  “I'll go and get dressed. When you're ready to leave, come find me.”

  With a soft kiss on his cheek, I smiled at Evan and stood from the lounge. I closed the door and searched out clothes to put on, suddenly remembering the message that Seph had sent me. Once I was dressed I found my phone on the bedside and sat on the edge of the bed.

  The light wasn't flashing. I glanced up to the closed door and wondered if Evan had read them.

  If that was the case, did he do it for a valid reason or was it because he didn't trust me? We hardly knew each other, I couldn't berate him for distrust. But it was a valid subject to bring up with him.

  I sighed, unsure of what to do. Well I suppose reading Seph's message was a good start.

  Seph: Going home, it's over. Not that it ever really started.

  Well doesn't that make life fun now. Every time Evan and I do something with family and friends, those two are going to have to face each other.

  With a mighty groan I dumped the phone back onto the table and flopped back onto the bed. Damn Seph and damn Jaxon. I closed my eyes and hoped for a moments peace, trying to find some kind of tranquility.

  “Hey.” a soft voice cooed. “Wake up.”

  Muted light appeared as I opened my eyes, the vision of Evan hovering over me was bleary. I rubbed my eyes with a yawn as he straddled my hips.

  “What time is it?”

  “Six am. Fraser's ready to go home. Said the brats will be up by now so Eden will be getting angry if he doesn't turn up.”

  He climbed off me and helped me to my feet.

  “Great. Can we get coffee on the way?” I asked as I yawned again.

  “Only if you finish it before we get there. Eden gives up coffee while she's pregnant and it's probably not fair if we walk in there with them, all steaming hot and delicious.”

  “Sure.” I grumbled, leaning on him as we walked out of the room.

  Fraser was by the front door looking like he was late for an important meeting.

  “Tic toc. Gotta get to the juice hut.”

  “Why?” I asked, rather sleepily.

  “Cuz I can juice my way out of the dog house, hurry up.”

  Five minutes later I was sitting in the parking lot of a little set of shops, Fraser and Evan were in the juice place that was really called the juice hut. It was done up with fake grass and made to look like, well I guess it looked like a grass hut.

  The two of them came out carrying their juices. Evan had one each for the two of us and Fraser had two large ones and two little ones. The little ones were cute, done in plastic cups that had bright green lids with wood masks printed around the cup.

  Ten minutes after that we were at the front door of a quaint suburban house, one that was almost the same as every other house on the street. Evan nodded to the one across the road.

  “That's where I grew up, Curtis on the right.”

  I surveyed the little brick house then to the one next to it. They were both rather nondescript. Brick walls, tiled roof, yards that were struggling.

  Behind me the security door creaked open, the sound children that were awake came from within the depths.

  “Hey baby. I brought juice.”

  “Lucky for you.”

  I turned and saw a rather tired Eden, wrapped in a black silk robe that was barely covering the large stomach. She sucked on the straw as she looked from Evan to me.

  “You two can feed him.”

  Eden turned into the house leaving me a little bewildered.

  “Feed who?” I whispered to Evan as we walked into the house.

  He shrugged as he shut and locked the door, taking my hand and leading me through to the kitchen area. It was a long room that had the informal dining room at the end that we were at, a play area that was filled with toys at the other and the outdated kitchen in between.

  Fraser and Eden lived in a small house, one that would become too small if they didn't stop breeding. I turned to watch Fraser kiss Sahara on her head as he gave her the drink. He was about to do the same for Hudson, that was until the kid put the bowl of cereal on his head. Milk ran down his head and body, splashing everywhere. Little bits of cereal dropped with splotches onto the floor and table.

  “And clean up after him.”

  I gasped and turned to see Eden behind me, she sucked on the juice again with a humorous smile.

  “Make sure you check his ears and nose. I found a cheerio up there yesterday. Tweezers are on the window sill.”

  Then she waddled through the room and climbed up o
nto the stool at the breakfast bar.

  “It's called practice and lucky for you two, you get to experience it this morning.”

  Fraser grinned as he held out the paper towels. I took them without complaint after all, Evan and I wanted children. This was our future, cleaning up after them when they put their breakfast all over themselves. Or put cereal up their nose.

  “Hey.” I softly chided Hudson. “Don't be doing that.”

  I quickly cleaned all of the bits of cereal away from him, ignoring the giggles from Sahara.

  “I saw'd you on the television.”

  “Did you?”

  She nodded rather proudly.

  “You were on uncle Evan's shoulder. I saw'd up your dress. Daddy turned the channel over. He was very angry at the television.”

  “Yeah.” I sighed.

  I began to mop up the milk on the wet child and the surrounding areas, always under the careful scrutiny of a child who I knew was far too intelligent for her own good.

  “Did you get married?”

  “We did.”

  “Are you going to have babies? Mommy’s going to have a baby soon. I want a sister buy daddy said it's a boy.”

  Her eyes darted to her wet brother.

  “I don't want another brother.”

  “Well we don't get a choice but brothers are cool, I have two of them.”

  Sahara's eyes widened with a slight smile.

  “Like me.”

  I nodded and sat at the table, Evan had a fresh bowl of cereal for Hudson. He put it in front of him and sat on the seat beside Sahara.

  “I'm watching you mister.”

  Hudson grinned at me and all I could think was how adorable he was. I realized that no matter how many upturned bowls of cereal there were in my future, I would never be upset or regret having children. They were inquisitive, cheeky, adorable, lots of fun and way too cute.

  I was engrossed in watching Hudson, ensuring he didn't try and play hide the bits of cereal again. Sahara had finished her breakfast and had slipped away from the table, quietly leaving the room without me knowing.

  “Is this you?”

  I gasped and looked down at the small child, she held out a DVD. It wasn't a movie that was overly child friendly but I suppose she could watch it. I would imagine that the innuendo would go over her head and she wouldn't understand what she was watching.

  “It is, did you watch it?”

  “Mommy said I'm too young. I am a big girl, can I watch it?”

  “Not if mommy said no.”

  Sahara pouted and walked away rather dejectedly. I felt like such a bitch. I was about to say something to her when I heard laughing. Eden was leaning on the edge of the bench, watching the whole thing.

  “Well done. She likes to try the ol' guilt card.”

  I turned to the child who had been slowly walking away, her head turned with the biggest and saddest eyes I'd ever seen. She looked like she was about to burst into tears. I offered a sympathetic smile and when she realized she wasn't going to win, she frowned and stomped her feet as she walked into the next room.

  “You gotta be strong Harmony.” Eden said with wide eyes and an even wider grin. “How can I trust you to babysit if she thinks that she can walk all over you?”

  “I can babysit?” I frowned as the words slipped out.

  “You can? That's great. You should be here tonight at six.”

  Then she chuckled and walked away. Damn it, I think I just got played.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Devlin had arrived about ten minutes after us. Everything was going well, the studio heads had agreed to his changes and were arriving for an early lunch meeting. We were in the boardroom, Evan, Devlin and myself. The other band members were on the second floor, still in song writing mode. Eden was in a flap as she tried to organize something for lunch. I had no idea where Kaylee was, I had seen her for a few minutes this morning and then nothing. Abbey was sitting at her desk, answering the phone which I found a little odd.

  I didn't want to over think it, it was likely that she was out doing stuff for her birthday party on the weekend. The thought reminded me about the dress, I quickly pulled out my phone and added it to my to-do list.

  I was going to get lost in this town, I knew it. Evan wouldn't want to go dress shopping and with Seph out of the state now, I knew that my options were dwindling.

  I looked through the glass wall to the two women in the reception area. There was a choice of those two, Frankie or Kaylee. Frankie had a lot on her plate with five kids, Kaylee was probably busy with the preparations. So it was definitely down to those two out there. Maybe I could convince Eden to take me somewhere. It could be payment for conning me into babysitting her children tonight.

  “Would you excuse me?”

  Devlin and Evan lifted their heads, a little curious to my sudden need to depart the meeting. It wasn't as if I was needed at the moment, Devlin was talking about Evan's contract. As I opened the door Jerry was passing by. With a bright and happy nod, he passed me and walked into the boardroom. He should have been in there the whole time after all, he is Evan's manager. Well, music manager I suppose.

  “I don't have twenty-four hours.”

  Eden's tone was one of defeat, like she had a hundred Hudson's in the room with her and all of them were covered in milk and shoving cheerios up their noses. She was sitting at her desk, stretched back with that mound protruding out. The poor thing looked tired.

  “They want twenty-four hours' notice.” Abbey whispered. “She can't find anyone that will cater the lunch.”

  I examined the lunch menu that Abbey offered, the meals seemed simple and all I could think was there was some snot nosed teenager who was too busy scratching his ass and couldn't be bothered to make the order. With a lot of determination I walked to her desk and took the phone off her.

  “Hello?”

  “Uh, hello. Who is this?”

  “Harmony Roberts. Who is this?”

  There was silence. Nothing ever changed. Well I suppose if I said Harmony Cooper they might say who?

  “Uh Jared.” he said softly. “You're not serious, are you?”

  “Of course I am and if you deliver Eden's order, you'll get to find out. Won't you?”

  “Really?”

  He actually sounded surprised.

  “Of course. If you fill her order and deliver it on time then you can have some photos, I'll sign some autographs. Did she tell you where you would be delivering the order to?”

  “Uh not yet. Cuz I said that we needed...”

  “I know.” I feigned a pout, wondering if the tone was right. “You can't do it because you need twenty-four hours' notice. It's a shame we won't get to meet Jared. You could have met my new husband too.”

  He whimpered. The kid actually whimpered.

  “You know who he is... right?”

  “Yes.” he squeaked.

  It sounded like his voice cracked. How old was this kid?

  “Because they're all here.” I whispered down the phone. “Do you want to meet them too?”

  Eden rummaged through her draw, pulling out something plastic on a lanyard.

  “Oh and look, I'm holding an all access pass. Shame I can't give this away to someone.”

  I took the next thing she offered.

  “Club membership.”

  “That's so rare.” he whispered. “They don't give them out to just anyone.”

  “But you're not just anyone, are you Jared? You're the guy that is going to deliver the lunch order and have a great afternoon hanging out with us, right Jared?”

  “I can't.” he whispered “I'll get fired. That's the thing, my boss is really strict.”

  Like Eden, I wanted to sigh with defeat. But I wasn't going to back down, there was always an answer.

  “Put your boss on the phone Jared.”

  “Lady, I've got a dozen lunch orders on the go.” the man started.

  “I'm sure you do.” I purred with a soft, sult
ry tone.

  It was met with silence. Over the phone was difficult, it was hard to read a person without seeing them.

  “All we require is enough lunch to feed a few Hollywood studio heads and a few famous people. Maybe there's something that you might want in addition to getting paid.”

  “I doubt it.” he huffed with a mocking tone.

  “Well you know, they are about to start filming a movie in Vegas real soon. Maybe if they found a nice place to eat, they'd frequent the place on a daily basis. Maybe they might even film a few scenes that showed off this nice place to eat. Product placement can include shop fronts as well, you know.”

  There was silence again, I waited with bated breath. When he sighed I grinned at Eden.

  “Fine.”

  “Oh you are a gem. Make sure Jared delivers it by twelve and give the darling the afternoon off so he can hang out with his idols.”

  “That's going to cost you.” he grumbled.

  “Of course darling. Back to Eden you go.”

  I handed the phone over with a big smile, Eden's was bigger. As she finished off the details I sat on the lounge and waited. Abbey was beside me, assessing the rock on my finger.

  Eden hung up the phone and narrowed her eyes at me.

  “Okay, how much is this going to cost me and no you can't get out of tonight. We have reservations.”

  “Tonight's fine. I need a dress for the party and I don't really know this town.”

  “Oh you should have gone with El and Kaylee.” Abbey sighed. “You should have said something.”

  I frowned at her, finding the statement a little curious.

  “Its days away from her birthday and she's only getting a dress now?”

  Abbey shrugged, her eyes darting to Eden who offered nothing but a stoic gaze.

  “Kaylee doesn't like money being thrown around. Well none of us do but her more so.”

  I had to agree with her on that one, I had lots of money but I was never one to buy something without good reason.

  Jared was at the gate, right on twelve. He was eager to impress and had an over the top exuberance that I knew came from being way too excited. Abbey took the lunch order and left me to deal with the extremely happy Jared.