by Amy Brent
There was not much I could do about it now, though—except to ensure that when his parole hearing came around, I was there to make sure he didn’t get out.
My foot tapped silently to the song as I watched the band through the big open glass window between the sound booth and the recording studio. My gaze went to Alice first. I still almost couldn’t believe her bombshell announcement. Pregnant!
I could tell though, by the rosy glow in her cheeks and the smile that always seemed to be hovering just a second away, that she was truly ecstatic about the new life she was bringing into the world. And it was obvious Connor was just as smitten.
His band, Obsidian, was practicing for local shows over the next few months because Connor didn’t want to be away from Alice and the baby. He popped into the studio at least once or twice a week to see how she was doing. It was all rather…sweet actually. It was as sweet as it was unexpected from the once bad boy of the Seattle music scene.
Casey was lost in the rhythm of the pounding drumbeat that carried the song, and as always when I watched him play, I could sense for just a moment that I was truly seeing him, not just the facade he normally carried around like a suit of armor.
The drummer presented himself as a goofy, lovable, open book of a man, but I could glimpse, in moments like these, the brittle core of him. He’d just learned to use a grin like a bandage, covering up what was really going on.
The music washed over me once more, drawing me even deeper under its spell. Even though it was a slightly softer sound, there was still an edge to the song. It was even more pronounced by the pared down instrumental lead by Sam on the guitar.
Despite my best intentions, my gaze slid toward him. I couldn’t look away. All I could do was stare as he played a sultry, bluesy solo. I’d always secretly loved watching him play music. It was exactly like how he made love: with all of his heart and soul. He put every inch of himself into the music, and it was completely mesmerizing to watch.
With his eyes squeezed shut, he bit his lip at the effort as his fingers teased over the strings, and it was all too easy to imagine those fingers teasing over my skin instead, to feel that intensity focused all on me. I’d felt it once before.
I had to look away, battling the heat that threatened to flood my cheeks as the band wrapped on the recording and slowly shuffled out of the recording studio.
I forced a grin onto my face as they walked closer.
“Congrats, guys. That was amazing!” I said, encouraging them, but even still I meant every word. This album was going to be a best seller. Casey shot me a grin, but I couldn’t make myself meet Sam’s eyes, not after what had happened at my apartment. The kiss.
At the thought, the blush started to rise again, and I determinately turned toward Alice.
“That was great, Alice. You nailed it.”
The lead singer just shrugged.
“I think we need to tweak the timing on the bridge after the second chorus. It moves a little too slow and kills the tension of the song.” There was a surly edge to her voice, and Sam elbowed Alice gently in the side.
“Someone’s grumpy today.”
Alice shot him a grimace.
“I’m not grumpy. I’m hungry. Starving!”
“Why don’t I go get you guys something to eat,” I said, smoothing the waters as always. “You’ve been at it all morning without a break. I’m sure you could all use some sustenance.”
“Ooh, can you get me a burger? With extra fries?” Casey said from the back. Alice grinned.
“Yeah. Double that order. With bacon, too.”
“Oh, yeah. Bacon.”
I nodded, fighting back a smile, and then forced myself to meet Sam’s waiting gaze, raising an eyebrow in question. “What about you? You want the same thing?”
“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” Sam said, staring at me intensely. “You shouldn’t go out on your own.”
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t go, Faye. You know why you shouldn’t.”
“No one tells me what to do, Sam,” I shot back, forgetting to keep my voice down, forgetting the rest of the band was watching on curiously. “Not you. Not some psycho. No one.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! You can’t seriously be thinking that—”
“It’s none of your business what I think, Sam! Or what I do!”
“But after what happened with the photo, with the threats! Faye, someone wants to hurt you.”
I scoffed. “You don’t know that.” I had to scoff. If I didn’t, I was afraid I would start crying then and there, and that would really ruin my argument. “The cops didn’t even know—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Threat?” Alice said, interrupting me as she took as step forward. “Cops? What the hell are you talking about? Faye, someone tried to hurt you?”
I shot Sam a glare, but it was useless. It just rolled off him like water on oil. With a sigh, I turned toward Alice.
“It was nothing, really. A few days ago, someone left a photograph of me on my car. And then the day after there was… Well, someone left another surprise for me in front of my door. It was not a nice surprise. Let’s just leave it at that.”
“No, I will not leave it at that, Faye,” Sam said. He turned to rummage through a canvas bag as he continued. “It wasn’t just a surprise. Someone put a goddamned dead bird with a message threatening you in a box in front of your door. And this? This isn’t just a photograph, either. Someone is really trying to mess with you!”
Sam pulled out the printout of the photograph and waved it around violently. I could see the anger in the lines of his face, and his dark eyes were on fire with the same emotion.
It was goddamned annoying. That was what it was. So why did I feel a sudden warmth spread through me at the thought of Sam getting riled on my behalf? At Sam wanting to protect me and keep me safe?
I shook off the thought, stepping forward to grab the photo, but he held it out of reach.
“No, Faye! This is stupid! You don’t need to risk yourself just for a fucking burger!”
“No, you are being stupid! It’s my life, and I’m not going to let anyone dictate my actions, Sam.” I ground out the words, trying to reach for the photo again, but he had a good eight inches on me. I didn’t stand a chance. I knew it was a dirty move, but it didn’t stop me from drawing my leg back and letting the toe of my heel whack him in the shin.
“Ow! Damn it, Faye! What was that for?”
“Give me that thing, now. I should have just thrown it away the second I got it.”
“It’s evidence.”
I jumped, reaching for it again. Sam stumbled backward, and a second later we were tumbling to the floor in a tangle of arms and legs.
“What the hell is going on in here? I can hear you guys all the way from my office.” Archer’s smooth voice cut straight through my anger, and this time there was no stopping the heat from staining my cheeks as I got to my feet with as much dignity as I could muster.
“It’s nothing,” I started to say as calmly as I could, but Sam jumped up next to me, already talking over me.
“It’s not nothing, Faye.” He shot me a look. I shook my head, silently pleading with him, but I could tell he wasn’t going to let this go. “Faye found this on her car the other day when it was parked out front in the parking lot.” Sam handed Archer the photo. “The next day someone left a box outside her apartment door. There was another photo with a note and a…a dead bird inside it.”
“Shit.” Archer bit off the curse sharply, and it made me look at him. He looked angry and worried and regretful, but he didn’t look surprised. My suspicions were confirmed a moment later when he opened his mouth again, still looking at the photo he held. “I know who’s behind this.”
“What?” I said. Sam looked as shocked as I felt. Alice and Casey were both looking from me to Archer to Sam and back again with wide-eyed stares. Archer just shrugged and gave me another look full
of regret.
“It’s my ex-girlfriend, Penny.” He sighed, handing the photo back. Sam took it before I could reach for it, not that it mattered now anyway. That whole spilled milk thing. “We dated about a year ago for a few weeks. But shortly after we started seeing each other I knew something was…off with her.”
Archer took a seat on the couch but no one else moved as he spoke. “She started getting jealous, like crazy jealous. I couldn’t even talk to anyone without her blowing it out of proportion, accusing me of cheating. She, uh…she’s done something similar before—to a model I went out with on a date.”
“And?” I asked, prompting him on when he grew silent.
“And nothing. Penny got slapped with a restraining order and told not to do it again. It was the same thing, the photos, the notes. Not the dead bird, though. That one’s new.”
“Well, great. You know who’s behind it. You can go to the cops and tell them and they can arrest her.”
Archer was already shaking his head. “Even with knowing who it is, they can’t actually prove it’s her leaving the notes. The most they could do is level another restraining order against her, unless there’s real evidence she’s behind it.”
“But you know she is,” Sam said, his face growing stony. “You can stop her.”
“I can’t go within five hundred feet of her,” Archer said, shrugging. “And she can’t come within five hundred feet of me.”
“So what are we supposed to do? Just let some crazy bitch keep terrorizing Faye?”
Archer shrugged again. “Until there’s solid evidence or Penny does something to actually hurt Faye, then…yes. There isn’t anything else we can do.”
“That’s bullshit!”
“I can keep a protective detail on her at all times in the recording studio,” Archer offered, but it made me feel sick to my stomach. The last thing I wanted was a macho babysitter.
“No.”
“Faye,” Sam said, turning to me, “you don’t know what she’s going to do. I can’t…we can’t just wait around until she hurts you to do something about it.”
“But I’m not even involved with Archer! It was just a business dinner!”
“She won’t see it that way.” Archer sighed, shaking his head. “Penny is…”
“Batshit crazy? Off her rocker? Belonging in a loony bin?” Sam cut in, and all Archer could do was shrug again.
“I’m sorry, Faye. I will do everything in my considerable power to keep you safe until this blows over.”
“And how long will that be? A week? A month?”
Archer couldn’t answer Sam’s stinging question. The guitarist jabbed a finger at Archer.
“You are the reason for this shit in the first place.” Sam growled the words, glaring at the owner. “You just stay the hell away from Faye. Stay the hell away from her.”
All I could do was watch helplessly as Sam turned sharply and stalked out of the room.
Chapter 7
Sam
Fury filled me up until I felt like there was no room left to draw in a breath, no room for oxygen. I was furious with Archer for getting Faye into this mess. I was furious with Faye for brushing it off like it was no big deal. And I was furious with myself because I wanted to protect her and I…I couldn’t.
I was so worried for her, I didn’t know what to do with myself, and Faye acted like being sent threating messages and photos of herself was an everyday occurrence. It wasn’t, and she needed to realize it. She needed to realize she could be in real danger and take that seriously, not brush it off or make a joke out of it.
I had to force my jaw to relax. I was gritting my teeth so hard I could hear them grinding in my ear as I stormed down the hall. I didn’t stop until I slammed through a door at the end and into one of the reserved practice spaces.
The whole thing made me feel sick to my stomach. Even though we knew now who was behind everything, the cops couldn’t do a damned thing about it. Not without some sort of proof. And there wasn’t anything to pin it on Archer’s crazy ex-girlfriend.
There was no one in the gray-walled room when I walked in, and I headed straight for the guitars that sat in a neat row on stands against the far wall. I picked one at random, lifting the acoustic guitar from its stand and tossing the strap around my neck. I strummed the instrument once to check that it was in tune before playing out my frustration and anger and—I hated to admit it—fear.
Fury still flowed through me, making my fingers tremble as I swept them over the strings of the guitar, but what bothered me even more was the feeling of helplessness. I just couldn’t believe that Archer would ever endanger Faye like that. I couldn’t help but blame the man. If he had known his crazy ex-girlfriend was going to go psycho on any woman she saw him with, then he should have stayed the hell away from Faye. He would from now on. I would make goddamned sure of it.
Even though they’re working together? Even though they are in the same building every single day? The doubts ran through my mind, and I strummed the strings even harder, banging out the loud, discordant melody.
Maybe Faye would consider working from home until this thing—whatever it was—passed. But I was already discarding the idea even as if occurred to me. How long would that be? And what if it didn’t just pass? What if it got worse? Then she would be all alone, by herself, with Archer’s crazy ex-girlfriend Penny already knowing where Faye lived.
But I had to do something. I couldn’t just sit idly on the sidelines while this woman tormented Faye. I had seen the fear and worry in Faye’s dark gaze. I had seen the moment of panic. Hell, the fact that she’d given in enough to let me comfort her at all was enough to tell me how much this had rattled her. And that worried me even more. Nothing rattled Faye. She would have faced down a herd of charging bulls and raised that eyebrow of hers and expected them to stop for her. And they would have damn it.
I shook my head, flung the guitar strap off, and rested the instrument back on its stand. I was so frustrated that not even music could smooth out the ragged edges inside. I started to pace, my thoughts swirling in my head with every step, but I couldn’t seem to get anywhere. What could I do? What could Faye do?
Archer’s ex seemed to believe Faye was somehow trying to steel him away, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. So how to prove it? How to make this Penny woman believe Faye had no interest in Archer at all? How to make her believe Faye…?
I froze mid-step. The idea struck me like lightning. It was impossible. It was crazy. I knew it was crazy even as it formed in my mind, but that didn’t stop me from thinking it through. How could we make everyone believe Faye wasn’t interested in Archer? Well, we just had to make sure everyone believed she was interested in someone else. More than interested. Madly in love with.
It was a wild idea, still half-formed, and I had no doubt Faye never would have agreed to it before, but I also knew it could keep her safe.
My mind was still whirring when the door opened and none other than the lady in my thoughts poked her head through the doorway.
“Hey, I thought I would find you in here. I heard music…”
I didn’t let myself stop and think through what I was doing as I turned and started walking toward her. How the hell was she going to react? Well, I already knew that. She was going to flat out refuse. But I would figure out a way to convince her. It was the only way to keep her safe, and that was the most important thing in the world to me. I would have done anything to keep her safe.
Her eyes widen in confusion and then narrowed a moment later as I got down on one knee in front of her.
“Sam, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m not thinking. I mean, I am, but… Damn it, Faye, will you marry me?”
She stared at me in silence for so long that I was afraid she hadn’t heard the question, and I wasn’t brave enough to repeat it. But a moment later, she scoffed. No, it was more than that. She threw her head back and
let out a long, loud, belly laugh. When she looked at me again, she was wiping tears from her eyes.
“No.”
I had expected that. Well, maybe not the laughter, but I’d expected the rejection. I wasn’t going to give up that easily thought. Not on her. Not on Faye’s safety.
“Just hear me out,” I said hastily as I jumbled back up to my feet.
“What is there to hear?” She snorted, shaking her head, but I wasn’t going to back down now.
“Wait, Faye. I’m serious.” I said, grabbing her hand when she turned to walk away. She stooped, giving me that look of hers with the arched eyebrow. Too bad. I wasn’t stopping. “It’s the perfect way to keep you safe. With all the press the band’s been getting lately, it’ll be easy to make a big story of it and get it publicized. Then, after the recording contract is up, we can break up.” I used air quotes around the words, talking fast. “It would be a fake married, Faye. But it would be enough to get Archer’s crazy ex off your back. We can make everyone believe you’re not interested in him.”
“I’m not interested in him,” she muttered, and I tried to stuff down the flutter of joy at her words. I couldn’t let up now.
“I know that, but she doesn’t. This is the perfect way to keep you safe. Unless you have any better options?”
“It could be nothing, Sam. Just a one-off. I’ll probably never get anything from her again.”
“But what if you do? You’re here every day at the studio, at Archer’s business. You’re going to be seen with him again. Then what? Just spend the rest of the contract looking over your shoulder?” It was a bit of a low move. I knew she would hate the idea of it, and I was right. I could tell by the way her brow furrowed in consideration.
“Fake marriage?” Faye murmured, but then a moment later she was shaking her head again. “No, I don’t think so. It’s too drastic, and we don’t even know if it’s going to continue. She’s probably already moved on.”
“Just promise me you’ll think about it, all right?” I pleaded.
“All right.”
