Keatyn Unscripted (The Keatyn Chronicles Book 8)

by Jillian Dodd

  “Tell me your plan.”

  My plan.

  The plan that has been simmering since I left school and, this morning, as I watched a yacht drift off into the distance, finally became concrete.

  “I have to get my friends to the airport. Would it be okay if I call you after they leave?”

  Please say yes. Please say yes.

  “No,” he says firmly. “Because if I don't like your plan, you’ll be going with them.”

  “They can't make me.”

  “Yes, they can. And they will. You can’t fight them both.”

  No, but I can run. Right now, when they're least expecting it.

  What Tommy doesn’t know is that before I came here, I moved money to various bank accounts in the Caribbean. Of course, it was in case I had to run from Vincent, not my own security team.

  “Garrett knows about the money, Keatyn,” Tommy says, reading my mind.

  Fuck.

  “I think Garrett and Mom have been keeping information from you,” I tell him. I’ve been suspecting this for a while, but have yet to mention it.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I think Vincent is still sending stuff to Mom and threatening her. Or, worse, threatening you and the girls. And lying to you is killing her. I think that’s why she’s getting so thin. Why she was so freaked out when I showed up for Gracie’s birthday.”

  Tommy doesn’t answer for a few seconds. “Fucking Garrett,” he finally says. “I knew she was keeping something from me. Not only is she hurting herself, she’s killing our relationship.”

  “What?! No, Tommy! Don’t let that happen!”

  “I’m trying not to. You know how much I love your Mom and our family.”

  “I know.” Tommy has given me so much love and support and never ever asked for anything in return. Ever.

  And even though I don’t want to do this, even though it’s totally going to ruin my plans, I have to do this.

  For him.

  “How about you focus on getting Mom and the girls to France. Once she feels safe, things will get better. I know they will. Let me deal with Garrett.”

  “Does that mean you’ll go back to school?”

  “Yes.”

  The nanny lets out a scream, and the girls come running in the house crying.

  “What’s wrong?” Abby asks, hugging them tightly, praying everything is okay. She yells at James. “What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know,” he says. “Take the girls. Go to your room and lock the door.”

  Abby whisks the girls into her room, locking the door and then pushing a chair in front of the door. Vincent is here. She knows it. His letters have gotten progressively worse. He’s very mad at her for hiding Keatyn away. Says they are star-crossed lovers who can’t be kept apart. He’s been threatening everyone she loves. Every single person. Tommy. Gracie. Grandpa and Grandma Douglas. The triplets. The nanny. Even the dog.

  Could he have hurt the dog?

  She soothes the girls and takes them into the bathroom, putting one more door between them and Vincent. She pulls out the stash of suckers in her bathroom for when she needs the girls to behave while she’s trying to get ready. She gives them to the girls and asks them to stay in the bathroom for a minute.

  “Mommy will be right back,” she says, locking them in.

  She goes to her nightstand and pulls open the drawer, hits a combination in a lock, and is rewarded with the loaded gun she recently bought. She has to be able to protect them. Keatyn’s father grew up on a ranch in Texas and taught her to shoot many years ago. It’s been awhile, but she will protect her babies at all costs. She takes the gun and moves to the window stealthily.

  Could it be Tommy? She checks her phone. He had an early call time this morning. They have an agreement that they text each other when they arrive on set. Garrett told them at their home they are safe, but they have to be careful when traveling, that they are vulnerable.

  She notes that Tommy hasn’t texted, and he should have arrived at his destination at least two hours ago.

  Is that why the nanny screamed? Are her worst nightmares coming true? Is Tommy dead? Left in the backyard for her and the girls to find? So she’d know what’s next?

  She peeks out the window and sees James on the phone, pacing.

  That’s not good.

  But she assumes if Vincent were here, James would not be pacing in the backyard. He’d be up here protecting her and the girls. She’s moving to put the gun away when she notices them. On top of the slide in the children’s play set.

  Black roses.

  Four of them.

  Vincent telling her that the nanny could have found four dead bodies instead of the roses. That he’s coming after them.

  The gun shakes in her hand. She puts it away and then sits on the bed, tears streaming down her face.

  She picks up the phone, calls her liaison at the studio, and asks her to schedule another event. A private early screening in Los Angeles of To Maddie, with Love. She even tells her who all she wants invited.

  And the most important name on the guest list is Vincent Sharpe.

  Back at Eastbrooke under protest, Keatyn tells Cooper her plan.

  I’m meeting with Cooper, laying out my plan.

  He listens to the whole thing without interruption.

  “So, what do you think?”

  “If your life weren’t on the line, it’d be a great plan.”

  “Well, that’s where you come in. I’d like you to quit working for Garrett and work for me.”

  “Oh, really?”

  “Yeah. Whatever he’s paying you, I’ll double it.”

  He raises an eyebrow at me.

  “Fine. I’ll triple it.”

  “You suck at negotiation,” he laughs.

  “That’s what agents are for,” I laugh in reply.

  “Why do you want me to work for you?” He looks at me intently as he leans on his forearms.

  “Because I already almost got you fired. And . . . I’m probably going to ask you to help me with some things Garrett may not approve of.”

  “You’ve asked me a lot of questions regarding pushing Vincent. Is that part of your plan?”

  “Yes.”

  “And how do you think that will end?”

  I fiddle with the string on Aiden’s hoodie, the one he pulled over my head as I was leaving, hoping Cooper will forget the question.

  “Answer me,” he says firmly.

  “How do you think it will end?” I whisper.

  “With one of you dead.”

  I nod. “That’s what I think too. And, either way, it’s a win.”

  “How is you ending up dead a win?”

  “Because if he kills me, I know you’ll get the evidence we need to put him away for life. Which means my family will be free of him. That’s all I want. If I survive, I’ll give you a really big bonus.”

  “I don’t want your money, Keatyn. I’d do this for free.”

  “I know you would, but your life will be in danger too.”

  He says softly, “I won’t let him win.”

  “There are a lot of ways it could go down. Lots of different endings to the script.”

  “Like what?”

  “He kidnaps me, you come get me, and he goes to prison. Or, he kidnaps me, you can’t find me, I escape, and then he goes to prison. Or, he kidnaps me, kills me, and you make sure he either goes to prison for life. Or . . .”

  “Or what?”

  “I’m going to update my will this week.”

  He squints at me. “Once I get over the shock of a seventeen-year-old even having a will, I’m going to ask you why.”

  “If I’m murdered, there will be a provision giving you a large sum of money. I want you to use the money to move your family somewhere there’s no extradition. Then I want you to hire a professional to kill him.”

  Cooper shuts his eyes tightly. “Is there a happier ending? One where you aren’t kidnapped or dead?”
/>   I sigh and tell him the rest of my plan.

  “When the time is right, we’re going to let him kidnap me.”

  “Are you nuts?”

  “Probably. We’ll worry about that later. For now, you’ll only have to worry when we start baiting him.”

  “Baiting him?”

  “Cooper, I understand why your sister didn’t want to change her life when she was being stalked. I get it, probably more than anyone. But the difference is she wasn’t ready for him. We will be.”

  He still doesn’t look convinced.

  I jut my chin out and add, “It’s either that, or I go back to Malibu by myself.”

  He closes his eyes and shakes his head. “I’ll give you an answer regarding my employment in the morning. Go get some sleep.”

  The next morning when I get to the diner, Garrett and Cooper are already sitting at a booth in the back. I skip the hostess stand and join them.

  “Hey, Garrett,” I say coolly, taking a seat. Be strong, Keatyn. It’s time for you to take charge.

  “Good morning,” he replies.

  Cooper rolls tired eyes at me by way of a greeting.

  “So, let’s hear this plan of yours,” Garrett says, cutting to the chase.

  “My plan got blown up the second you made me leave the island. Look. I want to preface what I’m about to say with a thank you. I sincerely appreciate what you’ve done thus far in keeping me and my family safe. And you’ve been especially kind to me.” I sigh. “But, when you threatened me—no, worse: when you made Tommy threaten me—it forced me to take a long look at things. You’ve purposely divided us. And I understand that we shouldn’t be in the same location, but what I don’t understand is why you haven’t been forthcoming about all that’s been going on. It’s tearing my family apart, Garrett, and I won’t allow it anymore. So, starting now, everything goes through me. All bills. All plans.”

  Garrett says, “I have a separate agreement with your mom.”

  “She’ll be calling you to void that later today. I don’t want to argue with you. I want to partner with you. And we’re going to begin this partnership with you telling me what’s been going on with her.”

  Cooper gives me a little smile over the top of his coffee cup.

  “Fine,” Garrett says. “You know that everything I do is in all of your best interests. The threatening letters didn’t stop when your mother moved to Vancouver. In fact, they have become increasingly worse. Then, there was a small breach at the Vancouver property.”

  “Breach?”

  “The fence surrounding the property was slashed and black roses were left on the swing set.”

  My heart drops into my stomach.

  “You and your mother are a lot alike, Keatyn. She’s trying to bear the weight of it.”

  “Surely, you can see the physical toll it’s taken on her?”

  “Yes.”

  “But she won’t listen to you, right?”

  “Yeah, kinda like when I had to have your bags packed.”

  “Touché.” I blink slowly, then continue. “So, basically, the original plan hasn’t worked. You said that if he couldn’t find me, he’d lose interest. But the opposite has happened. It’s getting worse for my family because he can’t find me.”

  Garrett nods. “I’d say that’s an accurate assessment.”

  “Do you think he wants us both?”

  “Based on the letters, he only wants you.”

  “So he’s threatening to hurt everyone Mom loves if I don’t come out of hiding? Is that it?”

  I know by the look on Garrett’s face that it is.

  “Shit,” I say. “That’s why she doesn’t call me. That’s why she was freaked out when I showed up at their house. She was afraid.”

  “She’s pushing you away to keep you safe.”

  My eyes fill with tears. “But what about the girls? She’d want to . . .” And then it hits me. What she’s been doing. “Oh my god.”

  “What?”

  “Mom’s plan is just like mine. Only she’s using the press to help her.”

  “I’m not following,” Garrett says. His and Cooper’s faces are mirrors of confusion.

  “The stories in the press. The rumors of the affair with her bodyguard. Tommy and Millie cheating. She’s setting it up so that when she leaves Tommy, people will expect it.”

  “She’s leaving Tommy?”

  “I think so. Remember when you told me that for witness protection sometimes you make the family believe that the witness is dead? Same thing. I don’t think Tommy has a clue. She wants his reaction to be real.”

  “Why would she leave Tommy?” Cooper asks. “And how would it change what’s going on with Vincent?”

  “She can’t pretend to be dead, so she’s doing the only other thing she can. She’s leaving them. She’ll get the girls to France and then leave them with James. Think about it. She’s scary skinny. Tommy’s affair is driving her to drink or do drugs. She’s not stable. She’s leaving Tommy and he’ll get custody of the girls.”

  “Shit,” Garrett mutters as he quickly recovers from the shock of it. “I knew she agreed to France too easily.”

  “She wants them safe. But then what?” I ask. “She checks into rehab? Lives by herself? Or maybe even something bolder. Like, maybe she didn’t really cancel the To Maddie, with Love press tour.” I’m thinking out loud, now.

  Garrett shakes his head. “I was under the impression she cancelled the tour. If she’s going, she won’t have security.”

  “And maybe that’s what she wants. She told me it was all her fault. If she wasn’t who she is, then her children wouldn’t be in danger.” I stop and look Garrett dead in the eyes. “I asked Cooper this question, but I’d like your opinion. What do you think would happen if I walked into Vincent’s production office and asked to audition for the role?”

  Garrett winces. “I really don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “I know, but why? What could he do? Give me the role?”

  “Well, if he’s caught off guard by it, there’s no telling what he would do. Sociopaths like to plan. They are obsessive in their planning.”

  “Right, but what happens when things don’t go according to their plan?”

  “They become more unhinged, mentally.”

  “Would it cause Vincent to just react? And more importantly, if he couldn’t plan, would he start making mistakes?”

  Garrett nods. “Their behavior becomes unpredictable. Which is bad. But, yes, if pushed, one would assume he wouldn’t be as careful.”

  “That’s exactly what I want. And I’m pretty sure it’s what Mom wants.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I want him to start making mistakes, so we can send him to jail. And I think Mom wants him to kidnap her for the same reason.”

  Garrett holds his head like he has a headache. “I thought my job was to keep you both safe.”

  “I know what I’m planning to do is risky. I’m hoping you and Cooper will help to contain that risk.”

  “So tell me this plan.”

  “Well, assuming that I’m probably right about Mom, the first thing we need to do is convince her to stay in France. You just can’t tell her the part about me.”

  “What is it with you two?” Garrett says, shaking his head. “I thought you wanted everything out in the open?”

  I smirk at him. “Well, maybe not everything. So, I have a three-pronged approach. I want to attack Vincent from all sides. He needs to know what it feels like to start losing the things he loves. First, his business. Brooklyn and I are going to work with someone his dad knows to start a hostile takeover of his production company. We’ll form a bunch of shell corporations—probably foreign, so that Vincent doesn’t know who’s behind them. We recently discovered that he’s heavily leveraged. And, more importantly, so is his company.”

  “What will buying his company accomplish?”

  “Do you know why he’s heavily leveraged?”

  �
�No.”

  “Because he’s personally financing a large portion of the remake of A Day at the Lake.”

  “Your mom’s movie,” Cooper states.

  “But he doesn’t personally own the options. The production company does.”

  “And if he loses his company—” Cooper says, as Garrett finishes his thought. “He loses the movie.”

  “Exactly.”

  Garrett nods. “I like that, actually. It will give him something else to focus on.”

  “While we focus on him.”

  “How?”

  “I know you used to follow him, but I want more. I want inside knowledge. So, I looked at his company website last night and I have an idea. His personal assistant is in her mid-twenties and single. Based on her social media, she’s a regular at a bar called Reggae. I was thinking you might have another employee like Cooper. Young. Good-looking. They become friends. She talks about her job. About her boss.”

  “Inside information is always good.”

  “What we learn from her will help me decide how to proceed on the third prong of the attack. Garrett, are you absolutely positive that there won’t be any breaches in security at the house in France?”

  “We’ve fenced the perimeter of the property. 24-hour camera surveillance. Armed guards. It’s like Eastbrooke, only better.”

  “Good, because the second prong of the attack will happen organically. The To Maddie, with Love publicity tour. The worldwide premieres. It all kicks off with the extend trailer premiere during the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.”

  “We assumed that’s part of what sent him over the edge to begin with,” Garrett tells Cooper. He turns to me and says, “So what’s the third prong?”

  “Me.”

  “No.”

  “Yes. We’re going to let him see me. Everywhere. When the time is right.”

  “When will the time be right?”

  “I’m going to audition for a role in Tommy’s next movie and, if I get it, I’ll be filming some scenes in New York City over Christmas break. They can make the crew sign non-disclosure agreements, so no one talks about my role until we’re ready. They start filming the big action scenes that I would be a part of in March, so I thought that’s when we’d announce it. Do a big press release. Flood the tabloids with pictures of me. I’ll become a wild child in the eyes of the press, but it will all be carefully orchestrated. It’ll look like I’m out and about all the time. Different guy on my arm in every picture. Drunk coming out of the club. Smoking pot. Skanky photos. Anything to get on the cover of a magazine. But all Vincent will know is where I was last night. Not where I actually am.”