by Ali Parker
"Hey. Did you need something?" She gave me a quick smile and pulled the door close to her back.
"Oh, sorry. I had dinner with Ethan earlier and I left my dish here. I can get it tomorrow though."
The sound of him moaning loudly as if in the throes of orgasm shoved a spear of desire right through the center of me. Realization dawned on me and I couldn't ever remember feeling more rejected. More unwanted.
"That would be great." She smiled and opened the door, slipping back inside as I moved up and pressed my ear to it to hear him cry out again.
I barely made it to the bushes beside me before I emptied my stomach of everything we'd shared at dinner.
Not enough. Never enough.
*
I drove to the studio in silence, trying to decide if my dreams of being someone important were great enough to overcome the truth that I wasn't important at all. I didn’t know if I could handle that truth, much less have it shoved in my face for the next year.
After parking and sitting in the lot for a few minutes, I gathered my courage and opened the door, pulling my jacket from the backseat and wrapping it around myself. My long gray skirt danced around my legs, whipping me around as if I weighed nothing.
"Slip into character. You're a young film student with a handsome boyfriend who loves you like you can't imagine a man loving a woman. Your dreams are finally coming true, and you've been offered the starring role in the biggest movie of the year. You're not passing this up. Just hold your head high and make them believe that you're okay. That you're strong. Sexy. Sassy as fuck." I forced myself into the part though tears burned my gaze.
Deza moved up beside me and smiled. "Hey you. I sure am praying that you've changed your mind, or maybe I’m reading too much into all of this."
I readjusted the sunglasses on my face and gave Deza a big smile. "Hey. Thanks for being so patient with me."
"Of course." She reached over and stopped me, turning me to face her. "You never told me what happened. I texted ten times. I almost feel like a stalker."
"I know, forgive me. I'm not a very open person." I smirked. "Just comes with the territory, right?"
"Riley." Ethan moved up beside me and touched my arm. "Can I talk to you for a few minutes?"
"You bet." I turned and nodded toward the picnic bench by the snack table. "You wanna grab a Twinkie? It’s the breakfast of champs."
Deza let out a strained laugh and pointed to a hallway. "I'll be in here with Frank and the movie producers. You guys join us when you're ready."
"Will do." I turned and walked toward the table as I swallowed the torrent of emotions raging through me. If I could just get the sound of him moaning out of my head. That and the desire to be the one making him moan like that. Who was she? Did she matter, or was she his Jace?
"Riley." He gripped my arm softly. "Whatever I did to upset you, I didn't mean to, honestly."
"What?" I turned toward him and pulled my sunglasses off, having finally gained control of myself. "You didn't do anything. You were great last night. You answered all of my questions and kept everything perfectly professional. It was a test of your character, and you passed it beautifully."
"It was what?" He lifted his eyebrow as something like hurt brushed across his gaze.
"I thought maybe you figured me to be like the other women in your life. You know, show up, open my legs for you and then you take complete advantage of me and we start this odd power struggle, but when I tested you with the kiss, you denied me." I laughed warmly. "I'm honestly thrilled to know that we can be co-workers, maybe even friends, but that you understand that that's all we'll ever be."
"You tested me last night?" He turned to the snack table and grabbed a bag of peanut M&Ms. "Why didn't you just lay down the law? You didn't need to see if I was a sleaze bag."
"Sure I did." I picked up a Twinkie and licked at the end of it as he turned to face me. "I read about all the women you've taken advantage of. Not that I believe all of it, but some of them knew rather intimate things about you. I just wanted to ensure that I was getting this opportunity as a good actress and not someone you thought would prove to be a convenient fuck buddy while you were away from Trish."
"Trish?" He was either insanely confused or playing it off well.
I patted his chest and walked toward the room. "Come on, let's go sign this contract so I can start living my life. A million men willing to do anything to please me. I can't imagine the power." I stopped and turned back as he stopped and slipped his hands in his pockets, his face having lost color.
His voice was nothing more than a whisper, and where victory should have been mine, it wasn't. Devastation at playing the game to the point of hurting him drove through me.
"It's a fun ride. Congratulations on getting the golden ticket. I'll protect you the whole time we're flying through it together. You'll protect me too, right, Riley?"
"Of course." I turned and slipped on my sunglasses, taking a detour to the restroom to empty my stomach and decide what mattered most in life.
Fame or commonality?
Lust or love?
The bright lights of Hollywood or saving myself from possibly the greatest heartache I might ever encounter?
I wiped my mouth and stared at myself in the mirror as worry, disgust and self-hate ripped through me. I was a good person. Not the type that would play games with another's heart. Ethan was the game player... right?
"Hey, you coming?" Deza stuck her head in the bathroom and gave me a warm smile. "You've changed your mind, right?"
"Yeah... I'm coming." I walked numbly behind her, turning to look for Ethan and finding him nowhere. How had we gone from something insanely passionate to awkward coldness?
It was the difference between fantasy and reality.
A group of white-haired men glanced up and stood as I walked into the room.
Frank walked around and gave me a big hug, smiling brightly.
"So proud of you, kiddo." He introduced me to the others in the room, but I didn't catch anyone's name. I needed to know where Ethan was. To apologize for being so crass with his feelings.
I'd tested him? What the fuck was that?
Protection.
"Here we are, Riley. You just need to sign on the dotted line and we'll start filming in two weeks." Frank touched the small of my back as I leaned over and let out a shaky breath.
I glanced toward the door as my eyes met Ethan's. He nodded and gave me a curt smile.
I had to right this even though it was silly to want to. We were nothing and yet something told me that we could be everything to one another one day. Charlotte was right. I had to find a way to keep him close enough to me to have the chance to truly seduce him, or maybe just gently love him from a distance. As a friend, a co-worker, a lover.
I signed the paper and handed it to Frank as the people in the room clapped and Deza moved in to hug me. "This will prove to be the best decision you've ever made."
"Yes it is, kiddo." Frank reached out and squeezed my hand. "Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life. Welcome to the bright lights of Hollywood."
To Be Continued…
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Chapter 1
Kate
The club was far busier than she had expected. Never in a million years had she planned to reopen the place and have it the hot spot in the center of the city within eleven months. Her father hadn't been able to do anything with it in the six years he owned the place.
Grateful, but worn out, Kate pushed through the bodies crowding around the edge of the dance floor and made her way to the bar.
Marcus looked up, his hands busy wiping steaming hot glasses from the back. Three bartenders whipped around him, their expressions frantic at best.
"What's up? You look like someone kicked your grandmother." He sno
rted and laughed.
"I don't feel right." She turned and looked around the bar, a sense of trepidation sitting heavy on her shoulders. Having lived far too long on the street, she knew when things were about to go south. She glanced back toward Marcus. "Just keep your eyes open."
"Always do, boss." He reached up and rubbed his bald head, his eyes dark and almost menacing. He had been with her since she opened the doors. Whether he liked it or not, he was her closest friend, if not the only one.
"I'm going to check the alley out back."
"I don't like the sound of that. Let me do it."
"No. I got this. I'm as tough as you, if not more so, and I have the element of surprise on my side."
"How so?" He smirked and tilted his head.
"I look small and rather frail. No one would expect that I pack a punch." She shrugged, her eyes moving across the well-defined muscles of his large chest and abs. His black t-shirt was tight, his slacks fitting perfectly. He was a looker, but they had defined their relationship in the beginning with the business in mind, sex the occasional release, but nothing more. It would stay professional, no matter how much either of them might want something else.
"Frail isn't at all the word I would use for you."
"I don't want to hear you talk dirty to me. I'll be back. If you don't see me in ten minutes, come rescue me."
"Nothing else I'd like to be doing on a Friday night. I get a kiss if I do, right?"
Kate rolled her eyes, walking from the bar and tapping a thin woman on the shoulder. The chick was screaming loudly at the guy in front of her, the atmosphere of the bar disrupted by her loudness.
"Shut the fuck up or take it outside." Kate leaned in, narrowing her eyes.
The woman's eyes widened, her messy red hair doing nothing for her appearance. Blush colored her cheeks as she pressed her hand to her hip and cocked her shoulder.
"And just who the fuck do you think you are?"
"I own this club and you've been warned. Take your drama out in the street and come back in when you're ready to remember that you're not the only one in here."
"Whatever..."
Kate glanced toward the sickly looking guy she was with. "Control your bitch or take her outside. I only give one warning."
The girl huffed and marched to the front, the guy smiling shyly toward Kate before following her. Turning and moving fast toward the back, she heard the first gun shot, but just barely.
"Fuck..." She picked up her walk to a run, looking over her shoulder to see if she could catch Marcus's eyes. He was flirting with someone by the looks of things. No time to deal with him.
Kate pulled her glock from the back of her jeans and stopped by the back door. Reaching up to open the door slowly, she jerked back as someone began screaming and pounding on the door.
She knew that voice.
"Adam?"
Frantic to get the door open, she tucked her gun back in her pants and pulled the four bolts that held the door closed. The scene before her was nothing new, but the poor boy bleeding and crying was too young to die. She moved into the alley as he hit the ground. Looking quickly to her right and left, she noticed that no one seemed to be around. The screech of a car gave attestation to the fact that whoever had shot the boy was gone.
She knelt beside him, her hand pressing to his chest softly. "It’s okay, Adam. Let me call the cops. I'll get an ambulance."
"Kate," he whispered, reaching out and grabbing her with bloody fingers. "Don't... don't go."
"I have to." She stood and moved to the door as he groaned loudly. She glanced over her shoulder, cursing at the situation. She moved back to him and squatted beside him, pulling out her cell phone and calling the police.
"Stay with me..." He reached up, and she hit her knees, scooting close to him and holding his hand as she tilted her head, trapping the phone between her ear and her shoulder.
"9-1-1. What's your emergency."
"This is Kate Jarret. I'm the owner of Expulsion on Twenty-second and Johnson Avenue. There's been a shooting behind my club and the boy is bleeding out."
"All right. Calm down ma'am. I'm going to need you to stay on the phone with me. Do you understand?"
Adam mumbled, blood seeping from his mouth, his eyes wide with fear. Kate mumbled yes to the operator and leaned over, one hand brushing through his hair as she used the other to try and get his shirt open. Frustrated and tired of the lady barking instructions to her, she jerked the phone from her ear.
"Just fucking get someone here. I'm not talking to you while he needs my help. I'm hanging up. Get someone here now!"
She dropped the phone and leaned over the teenager, ripping at his t-shirt as her eyes filled with tears. Five large bullet holes oozed blood. There was no way they were going to make it in time.
"It's okay... just hold my hand, Katie." He reached up, his fingers shaking as she slid her hand into his. She moved toward his head and closed her eyes, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Who did this to you, Adam? I'll find him."
"Don't get involved." He coughed, spraying himself and her with blood. She moved toward his head, pulling it carefully into her lap as she brushed her fingers through his hair. The scream of the siren lifted in the night and Kate sighed with relief.
"They're almost here. Hold on, kid. Hold on and it's going to be okay."
"No. I can't. I'm tired of running. Find my brother and tell him not to look into me."
"What? No. Hush and save your energy."
"No. Find him. Officer..." His words slurred, his eyes closing.
"Adam. Adam. What's his name?" She looked up as the ambulance stopped at the opening of the alley. Three men ran toward her.
"Hurry. He's going to bleed out. He's just a kid. Fucking run faster."
They moved in, one of them carefully pulling her to her feet as she choked on a sob.
"Don't go anywhere, Miss. The cops are almost here and will want to get a statement from you."
"I'm not, just save him. He's just a kid."
"Move back and get out of the way." One of the EMS guys looked up, his expression less than kind.
Kate wrapped her arms around herself and pressed her back to the wall of the club. She slipped her phone from her pocket and texted Marcus that she needed him out back.
The door to the club opened a few minutes later, Marcus barreling out as if he were ready to take down the whole city.
"What the fuck?" He looked at Kate, moving toward her fast. He brushed his hands along her arms and pulled her against him, his thick arms trapping her. "Are you hurt? Did someone hurt you?"
"No. It's the kid's blood." She shivered and pressed into his hold.
Two of the EMS guys ran toward the truck with Adam on a gurney, the boy not responding to anything. The other looked over at Kate.
"Did you see anything?"
"No. When I got out here he was on the ground. I tore his shirt off of him and called 911."
The sound of the siren just behind them caused her to sag against Marcus. Talking to the police was never a good thing for her. With a record long enough to stay forever attached to her, they never listened.
"The cops are here. I'm headed to the hospital." The guy turned and jogged off as Kate pulled from Marcus's hold.
"Don't talk to them without an attorney, Kate."
"I didn't do anything. I called the ambulance. I was holding the boy as he was dying. Why would they even consider me a suspect?" She looked back toward him as the sound of shoes clipping along the pavement drew her attention away.
"You have a past. They could care less about the rest."
"Whatever." She sighed and turned to face them.
"Kate Jarret?"
"That's me."
"We're going to need you to come with us." The bigger of the two men moved toward her as Marcus moved up beside her.
"Why? Take her statement here." He moved in front of her. Kate reached up and pushed him a little to the side, Marcus not giving he
r much option but to move around him.
"That's none of your concern, Sir."
"I'll go. I don't see why this is necessary, but if it will help Adam, then let's go." She moved toward them, looking over her shoulder at Marcus. "Just hold down the fort and I'll be back in a little while."
"I'm calling Paul."
"No. I didn't do anything but try and help. No need to get anyone involved."
"If Paul is your attorney, that might be a good idea." The older cop to her left spoke softly, his eyes more kind and accepting.
"What? Why? That's fucking ridiculous." She shrugged and turned to walk toward their car, keeping the rest of her thoughts to herself.
"I'm calling Paul." Marcus's voice followed her out of the alley and into the busy street.
She lifted her hand in the air and tucked her head before turning to get in the car. "I have a weapon on me. Do you want it?"
"Why are you carrying a weapon?" The younger cop moved toward her aggressively.
"Because I own a club and have a few enemies." She turned her back to him, lifting her hands so that he could get it himself. This wasn't her first rodeo. Any sudden movements and the cops were likely to make an example of her. His hand touched her back, walking her to the back of the car. She jerked from him.
"Unless you're arresting me, get your hands off of me."
"Should we be?"
She turned and looked at him over her shoulder before getting into the backseat. "That's ridiculous. I have no motive to hurt the boy."
"We'll see what the evidence says."
"Yeah... we will." She got in and flipped him off behind his back.
Once a criminal, always a criminal.
Chapter 2
Jon
"Where the fuck is she?" Jon walked into the station, his heart pounding in his chest. He worked hard at staying focused on not losing his shit and letting the whole place know how fucked up he was. He narrowed his eyes on his partner Seth, his voice gravelly as he asked again, "Where the fuck is she, Seth?"
