Quid Pro Quo

by Sherryl Hancock

  It was as simple as that. Kai got the documents signed, and she wired a check for sixty thousand dollars. It had been a stretch, since much of her money was tied up in investments, but it was worth every penny to get Terra out of Cassiana’s life forever, and Kai had made sure the documents Terra signed ensured that. She was never to contact Kai, Cassiana, Marou, or any member of the Temple family again. If Cassiana decided later that she wanted contact with her mother, she had that option.

  Three nights later, Kai escorted Finley to her mother’s fundraiser, wearing a very well-tailored tuxedo with a burgundy tie that matched Finley’s dress. Kai’s appearance left Finley absolutely verklempt and speechless.

  “Oh my God,” Finley said, reaching up to put her hands on Kai’s shoulders. “You look so handsome.”

  “No, you need to just stand there and let me look at you,” Kai said, stepping back from Finley, her dark eyes sparkling. “Fin… God, you are so beautiful.” She touched Finley’s cheek. “You are literally the most beautiful woman I have ever seen… and I love you.”

  “Thank you. I love you,” she said, smiling brightly up at Kai.

  They made quite a stir at the fundraiser, an extremely beautiful couple with Kai’s dark looks and Finley the classic California blonde in her incredible dress.

  At one point they slow-danced to Adele’s “Lovesong.” Finley sang the words to the first verse to Kai.

  Kai leaned down, kissing Finley’s lips, and proceeded to sing the chorus to her.

  “I will always love you,” Kai said, mimicking the chorus.

  Finley hugged Kai close, not sure how she’d gotten so lucky to have found her, lost her, and gotten her back—but she knew she would hold on to this woman forever, come what may.

  Epilogue

  Kai and Finley were asleep when Cassiana knocked on their door.

  Kai groaned, glancing at the clock on the nightstand. It was 6 a.m.; normally she’d be awake, but they’d gone out the night before, staying out late.

  “Yeah?” Kai called, after checking to make sure she and Finley were covered.

  Cassiana stuck her head in the door. “I’m sorry to wake you, but Fin’s mom’s here…”

  “What?” Finley said, having heard. “Why is my mom here?” she queried to no one in particular.

  “She said she needs to talk to Kai,” Cassiana said.

  Kai and Finley looked at each other. “Okay, Cass, I’ll be out in a minute,” Kai said.

  Cassiana nodded, closing the door. She walked back down the hall, doing her best not to be completely dazzled by the Academy Award–winning actress standing in the foyer, but it was really hard. Even without makeup and in jeans and a sweater, Riley Taylor was amazingly beautiful.

  “Kai’ll be out in a minute,” Cassie said, staring at the actress.

  “Great, thank you,” Riley said, smiling her dazzling movie star smile.

  “Um, did you want some coffee or something?”

  Riley nodded. “Sure.”

  “Okay,” Cassiana said, and led the way to the kitchen.

  She carefully poured for Riley, handing her the coffee without spilling any, even though her hands were shaking. She’d never met a movie star before. Sure, she’d met Xandy Blue and Wynter, but she knew them now, and they weren’t as famous as Riley Taylor. Riley Taylor had been in movies forever! Cassiana had grown up watching her movies and loving her to death. She was still so beautiful it was crazy.

  Riley looked at Cassiana, seeing the way the girl was staring at her. She was used to it; people stared at her all the time.

  “So you’re Kai’s baby sister, right?” she asked.

  Cassiana nodded. “Only sister.”

  “But she’s your guardian?”

  “Right. ’Cause my parents suck. Oh!” She grimaced. “I’m sorry.”

  Riley laughed. “It’s okay, lots of parents suck. I think my daughter probably says I suck all the time.”

  “I do not,” Finley said, walking into the kitchen. “Okay, I have a couple of times, but you’re starting to grow on me,” she added with a wink.

  Kai walked in behind Finley, reaching over to hug Riley.

  “Good morning,” Kai said, looking for coffee mugs for her and Finley and pouring for them both.

  “Hi, sorry to get you out of bed,” Riley said, grimacing. “I thought you always got up early—at least, that’s what Finley told me.”

  “I usually do. We stayed out late last night,” Kai said, winking at Finley.

  Riley smiled. “Oh, I see…”

  “Let’s sit,” Kai said, gesturing to the kitchen table. The three of them sat down, Cassiana hovering near the kitchen counter.

  “So what’s up?” Finley asked her mother. “Why’d you want to see Kai?”

  “I need her help,” Riley said, looking from Finley to Kai. “And I’m begging here, and I’ll pay you anything you want.”

  Kai grinned. “Tell me what we’re talking about first.”

  “I need you to train me,” Riley said, holding up her hand as Finley started to shake her head.

  “Mom, Kai’s got a waiting list a mile long,” Finley said, “and it’s only getting longer every time someone sees BJ Sparks on stage and hears that she trained him for this tour.”

  Riley nodded. “I know, I know. But this is really important to me—it’s not just vanity now.”

  “Tell me what’s up,” Kai said, putting her hand on Finley’s to silence her defense.

  “There’s a part that I want more than any part I’ve wanted in more years than I can even count at this point, but I need to be in top shape to even try for it.”

  “What’s the part?” Finley asked, not having heard her mother this excited about a role in a while now.

  “It’s a part in the first movie that Legend Azaria has written and is now directing.”

  “Legend Azaria?” Finley asked, having heard the name a few times over the years.

  “Yes.” Riley nodded excitedly. “She’s the hottest director in Hollywood right now, and everyone is dying to get into this movie. I need this part!”

  Kai looked between the two women. “Who’s Legend Azaria?” she asked. “Apart from being ‘the hottest director,’ blah, blah, blah,” she said, rolling her eyes. She was never impressed with Hollywood all that much.

  “You’d like her, babe,” Finley said, grinning. “She was a Marine.”

  “I don’t automatically like someone because they were a Marine,” Kai said, giving Finley a narrowed look.

  Finley pressed her lips together, grinning. “She’s gay too. And very, very butch.”

  Kai gave Finley a deadpan look. “Really?” she said, her tone indicating that Finley was being far too general.

  “Look, that’s what the movie is about,” Riley said. “It’s kind of autobiographical, and that’s why it’s literally the hottest property in town right now. I have got to get on this film! But she’s never even going to look at me if I don’t have something to offer. So…”

  “So you want me to train you,” Kai said.

  Riley suddenly looked hesitant. “Not just train me…”

  “Then what?” Kai asked, perplexed.

  “I need you to teach me to be a Marine.”

  Kai laughed loudly, shaking her head. Riley Taylor was the quintessential movie star, with her long, painted nails, makeup, long hair curled just so, perfect tan—she wasn’t even the beginning of a Marine. Suddenly she realized that both Riley and Finley were looking at her very seriously.

  “You’re kidding me, right?” Kai said, holding up her hands.

  “No,” Riley said, shaking her head. “I’m as serious as a heart attack right now.”

  “And a heart attack is likely what you’ll have if I train you.”

  Riley reached out, taking Kai’s hands, feeling the strength in them just from her grip. “Kai, please. You’re the only one that can get me ready for this. Please!”

  Kai shook her head, her expression indicating
that she thought Riley was crazy. “I can’t train you to be a Marine, Riley. It’s not something that happens overnight.”

  “I have six weeks,” Riley said.

  Kai laughed again, shaking her head. “Impossible.”

  “I don’t know…” Finley said, giving Kai a pointed look. “I’ve seen my mom throw herself into a part before, and it’s pretty amazing. She might be able to do it.”

  Kai looked cynically from Finley to Riley, then started to shake her head again.

  “I’ll pay you whatever you ask,” Riley said.

  “Riley, it’s not about the money. No offense, but you’re fifty years old, and far from in the shape you’d need to be for a Marine.”

  “She doesn’t have to be a Marine, babe—she just has to play one on screen,” Finley said, grinning.

  Kai pursed her lips, her gaze surveying Riley’s body.

  “You could do it, Kai,” Finley said, catching her mother’s excitement now. “And just think, if you trained her for this part… It’s a Legend Azaria film—it’s likely to win multiple Academy Awards, and everything that woman touches turns to gold. You’d be responsible for training the woman that won an Academy Award.”

  Kai narrowed her eyes at Finley. “You aren’t helping…”

  “Kai, I will do whatever you say,” Riley pleaded. “I will work my ass off, I promise you that. I can do this, I know I can!”

  “Six weeks,” Kai said.

  “Yeah,” Riley said. “That’s when she’s going to start casting, and I have to be ready to show her what I can do.”

  “You’d have to commit at least four hours a day. And you’d have to eat completely clean, no garbage, no alcohol, no smoking…”

  Riley nodded excitedly. “Anything you say. Anything.”

  Kai’s expression was deadly serious. “Just remember you said that.”

  Follow the author and find out more about her series here:

  Website: www.sherrylhancock.com

  Facebook: @SherrylDHancock

  Twitter: @Sherryl_Hancock

  Also by Sherryl D. Hancock:

  The MidKnight Blue series. Dive into the world of Midnight Chevalier and as we follow her transformation from gang leader to cop from the very beginning.

  www.vulpine-press.com/midknight-blue-series

  The Wild Irish Silence series. Escape into the world of BJ Sparks and discover how he went from the small-town boy to the world-famous rock star.

  www.vulpine-press.com/wild-irish-silence-series