In Her Sights (The Thousand Words Series Book 2)

by Brooks, Tori

  Seeing that what she wanted was actually good for Dev and his band, and that was great and all, but it didn’t solve Erika’s problem. She stared at the sheet music in front of her and played a few bars. It was late and her heart wasn’t in it, but she persisted. Erika tried again.

  The Thousand Words song playing lightly took a moment to register before she stopped and realized it was the ringtone she had set for Dev. Dev was calling her?

  Erika spilled her appletini when she hurried to stand and swore as the sticky green liquid spread across the shiny white laminate of her baby grand. She turned her back on the mess and fumbled in her pocket, pulling out her phone and swiping her finger across the screen to answer.

  “Hello?” Erika tried to sound casual but was sure she failed.

  “I hope I didn’t interrupt something.” An amused woman on the other end of the line said. Erika’s brow pulled together as she held the phone away from her ear and checked the caller-ID again: Dev’s face smiled back at her from the screen.

  “No. I was just ... never mind. No, not busy. Who is this?” Erika asked, unsure of what was going on, but unwilling to play games with whoever had Dev’s phone.

  The woman paused and Erika’s anxiety grew. Who would have Dev’s phone and call her? Who would want to? Who would have the nerve? Erika sat down on the piano bench, flinching as she noticed the mess the spilled appletini made. Righting the glass, she saw the sheet music was wet as well.

  Lindsay. She could certainly get Dev’s phone and might conceivably call her. But why? Erika asked herself. Because Erika was making a play for Dev. Of course it hadn’t been going very well.

  “Lindsay?” Erika asked, her voice barely a whisper, and she prayed the younger woman didn’t think she was actually afraid of her. She wasn’t. Only that she’d clue Dev in on what she was up to, Erika admitted to herself.

  “Good guess. Guilty conscience?” Lindsay asked.

  “What?” Erika asked, almost breathless. She knew. Of course she knew, how could she not?

  “You and Dev,” Lindsay said and Erika’s eyes flicked to the picture of Erika and Dev at the beach, of Dev smiling at Erika instead of Lindsay. Erika knew that one smile, of the hundreds in pictures they’d posted, was the only one that was genuine. Didn’t Lindsay see?

  Erika saw a recent copy of Shining Starz magazine Mark left for her with a picture of her and Dev on the front. He didn’t like that she now shared cover time with Dev using low-quality paparazzi pictures instead of professional pictures of just her, but that didn’t matter to Erika. What did matter was that Dev’s cute little half smile was the same as his smile in the photo with her at the beach. Erika knew the one at the beach was genuine because she was there, she saw it in context, but no one else would see it.

  Lindsay didn’t know he was faking it, Erika realized. She had to; Kenny said Dev told her about the PR dating scheme and Dev confirmed it later.

  Lindsay cleared her throat. “Are you planning on answering?” she asked.

  Lindsay didn’t know.

  “What about me and Dev?” Erika asked, wondering how to turn this to her advantage. Lindsay was told, but she must not believe it. Why not? What changed?

  “Tell me what you’re doing with my boyfriend.”

  Erika paused, partially to give herself time to think, and partially for dramatic effect. Lindsay was jumping at shadows. If Erika could push her a buttons a little ... No, it was unlikely anyone high-strung would catch and hold Dev for four years. Lindsay wasn’t going to jump to the wrong conclusions all on her own, Erika would have to commit. How far was she willing to go?

  “We’ve done four singles. They’ve all done very well, I think you know that. I think part of the reason is that we both bring large fan-bases to the party, and our voices and styles meld well together. The first song proved that and Kenny’s a genius at –”

  “That’s not what I meant and you know it,” Lindsay interrupted. “I don’t give a damn about music.”

  “Then why are you dating one of the hottest musicians of our generation?” Erika asked, choosing her words to deliberately irritate Lindsay.

  “He’s more than a musician,” Lindsay snapped and paused. “You’ve been out here to Cambridge. Actually, I haven’t seen pictures of the two of you taken at his place.”

  “The paparazzi follow me,” Erika quickly interrupted to stop Lindsay from realizing she and Dev weren’t as close as she assumed they were. “When they do, I have to be extremely careful just where I can ambush him, sweetie. He’s shy, you know that. He values his privacy. I’d hate to lead them to his doorstep.”

  “Does he talk about school?”

  “More than I’d like,” Erika sighed. Then she giggled as if she were joking. “It’s important to him.”

  “Did he tell you why?” Lindsay pressed.

  Erika felt she was being interviewed to see if she was worthy of being a threat. Pulling the phone away from her ear she stared at it, mouth gaping and eyes burning in hatred.

  “I think he mentioned it, but it was a while ago and I honestly was thinking more about how to ... something else,” Erika dodged the question. “Now, I hate to be rude to my partner’s high school sweetheart, but I don’t usually grant interviews over the phone. Turnabout is fair play, however, don’t you think?”

  Erika heard Lindsay fidget on the other end of the line and could only hope it was in discomfort.

  “You called me to ask what’s going on between me and Dev. You already knew about the publicity relationship and didn’t say anything when that started. Why call now? What changed?”

  “Long story.”

  “Start talking.”

  “I don’t have all night. Dev will notice eventually his phone is missing,” Lindsay said.

  “How’d you get it away from him?” Erika asked. In her experience, Dev and his phone were inseparable. She suspected he slept with it.

  “Stole it after he fell asleep. But it doubles as his nightstand clock so he’s going to notice the first time he wakes up and rolls over to check the time. Then he’ll notice –”

  “You’re not there,” Erika finished for her.

  “Yeah. He can make the leap from there. Probably not that I called you, just that I’m up to something.”

  “So he clearly trusts you as much as you trust him. Great foundation you built your relationship on.”

  “Our relationship is built on something else, this isn’t a trust issue as much as experience.” Lindsay refused to rise to the bait and Erika grudgingly gave her credit for it.

  “Experience with him cheating on you? Or would that be you cheating on him?” Some of the secrets Jess referenced started to take shape.

  “Our past isn’t your concern. Your present is my concern.”

  “And if you’re concerned about it, have you talked to Dev? Or did you skip over Mr. Innocent and go straight to me?”

  “I’d rather hear it from you,” Lindsay said.

  Erika froze. The mess she’d made of the piano lay before her, reminding her of the train wreck Lindsay was slowly making of A Thousand Words. Erika wanted Dev, that was true, she’d admit it and it was selfish. She might lose any chance with him for this.

  “What do you want to hear, Lindsay? Do you just want me to say what you want to hear so you can go back to bed and feel good about doing your job? Or do you want the truth? And why? So you can just go throw it back at him? What good is that going to do? Would you really make him beg? Forgive him? Sweetheart, high school romances aren’t supposed to last.”

  “You don’t understand him,” Lindsay said, her voice was low with emotion. Erika had her.

  “I understand him differently, that’s all.”

  “Dev wants to marry me. You’re just a detour.”

  “Dev wanted to marry you on your first date,” Erika confirmed.

  “He told you that?” Lindsay asked, her disbelief was a reward to Erika.

  “The thing is, you’re nineteen now. Bryan a
nd Brenda got married at eighteen. You’re not even living together, and you’re letting your boyfriend, in theory, carry on with me.” Erika didn’t want to point out Lindsay and Dev weren’t engaged. Jess did, but for all she knew, they could be and kept it a secret.

  Lindsay was silent and Erika let her think that over, but not too long.

  “We don’t really need to talk about what you’re doing to the band, do we? You may not care about music, but Dev chose to.”

  “Yeah, the music card doesn’t play as well as you’d think,” Lindsay said, a bit of attitude in her voice. Erika would love to reach through the line and slap her. “And Kenny and Jess may not like me, but they can handle themselves. Tell Jess to man-up and fight is own battles. I doubt Kenny’s whining to you, he knows better.”

  Erika didn’t answer. There wasn’t anything to say.

  “So Erika, you asked if I wanted you to just tell me what I wanted to hear. No. I want the truth. Did you manage to get Dev in bed with you? No philosophical debate about what it meant, or was it right or wrong, or was it a bed. Just sex: yes or no?”

  Erika closed her eyes as Lindsay made her request, waiting for her to finish. She’d already crossed a line. This was more. This wouldn’t be a misunderstanding. This would be something simple Lindsay could confront him with and it was a possibility she might. And Dev would certainly come back to Erika and demand an explanation if Lindsay did. Was it worth it?

  Her eye caught the picture of her and Dev at the beach again. Three years she’d been trying to get anywhere with him, and failing. Sometimes you have to take a chance. If he found out and hated her for it, at least she’d know.

  “Yes,” she whispered. “I’m sorry,” Erika added, partially for the lie, but mostly because she thought she should.

  “Thank you,” Lindsay said and hung up.

  Chapter Seven

  Lindsay sat in the living room while she considered her conversation with Erika. She couldn’t think clearly enough to put words to what buzzed in her mind. She felt hollow yet somehow filled with so many emotions she could explode. Or scream.

  It wasn’t until the coolness of the moisture on her arm caught her attention that Lindsay realized she was crying. She couldn’t face Dev. Not like this. Wiping the tears from her face, she stood and paced to work off her nervous energy. Stopping at the foot of the stairs, she looked up at the dimly lit hallway above, then back at Dev’s phone in her hand. She turned it over and pressed the button to light the screen and erased the call from the history. The power was nearly drained, but it wasn’t as late as she’d thought it’d be. It seemed it didn’t take long to ruin a life.

  She put the phone in airplane mode to stop Erika from calling in before she was ready, not that Lindsay knew exactly what she was going to do yet.

  Climbing the stairs, Lindsay replaced the phone on Dev’s nightstand, letting it charge and giving him his damn clock when he woke up. She stood there for a moment, watching him as he slept.

  The thing about Dev, Lindsay decided, was he always looked innocent. Even when he looked guilty, he had a natural innocence to him that made you think he couldn’t really be guilty.

  He was a hacker, for crying out loud. He wrote computer viruses and was one of the best in the world at breaking through security systems into computers he shouldn’t be able to tiptoe through. Of course she wasn’t supposed to know that. The FBI, or CIA, or some other acronym, would kill to know what she did, probably literally. And all the while her little cutie sat there lazily watching his computer screen – typing a command every minute or two – he looked as innocent as a kid playing a video game.

  Olly was right, she couldn’t confront him. Lindsay walked around the bed, intent on getting her overnight bag and packing.

  “Hey, baby,” Dev’s voice made Lindsay freeze. “What are you doing up?” He propped himself up on one elbow and checked the time on his phone. Nothing like predictability, Lindsay thought.

  “Bathroom,” she said, continuing around the bed to her side and sat down. She should just tell him and get it over with, but knew she wouldn’t. She had no idea how yet. There was no way she’d be able to sleep next to him tonight though.

  “Oh.” Dev fell back to the bed and rolled over to face her. “Lie down.” He patted her place.

  Lindsay clenched her teeth and snuggled back into his arms, letting Dev cuddle up next to her like they did every night they spent together.

  “Dev?” Lindsay asked. She should ask him, give him a chance to explain. It wasn’t fair to be this hurt, this angry. He wouldn’t do this to her. He wouldn’t go behind her back like she did.

  “Hmmm?” Dev mumbled.

  “Those singles and videos you did with Erika,” Lindsay said, wondering if Dev would react to her name. She remembered Randy’s words: See how calm he is instead of how guilty. Dev didn’t flinch, damn him. Lindsay was equally angry with Randy for the suggestion.

  “Anyway, they’re suggestive,” Lindsay finished.

  “Yeah,” Dev sighed. Lindsay noticed he didn’t sound bothered by it. Come to think of it, he told her there would be another video, like he always did, but he didn’t warn her about the content. He always told her about anything that might upset her, usually the announcement came with flowers.

  “And this whole PR fake relationship thing?” Lindsay asked.

  “Yeah?” Dev asked hazily, burying his face in her hair.

  “You see her a lot for that, right?”

  Dev didn’t answer.

  “Dev? You see Erika a lot for those publicity shots?”

  “Yeah.” He sighed. His arms slackened slightly around her waist.

  “So are you sleeping with her?” Lindsay asked, tired of beating around the bush. She squeezed her eyes closed, waiting to feel him stiffen with the insult of the accusation. He took a breath and Lindsay flinched in preparation for his outburst. She’d feel better if he did get angry. He should.

  Dev exhaled softly.

  Lindsay opened her eyes as no yelling came. “Dev? Are you sleeping with her?”

  “Yeah,” he said softly, releasing her and rolling over to face the other direction.

  Sitting up, Lindsay stared at the man sleeping beside her. He admitted to sleeping with another woman, then rolled over and went back to sleep? Really? Shaking her head in disbelief, Lindsay got up, careful not to disturb the traitorous bastard.

  She found her overnight bag and quietly collected her clothes, not getting dressed yet, lest Dev wake again before she was done. Thinking as she went, she found the few things she’d brought over the past year and packed those as well, then crept into the bathroom to change. She double checked she had everything, cursing she’d be stuck at the airport most of the night before she’d be able to make her way west. Maybe she’d hang out at a coffee shop instead.

  Downstairs, Lindsay waffled, should she leave a letter? No, she couldn’t risk the delay. He might wake up and she couldn’t face him again. Calling a cab, Lindsay looked around for anything downstairs she might have left. Dev had pictures of them, and she was tempted to take them, but they weren’t technically hers. He deserved the memory of what he screwed up.

  Watching at the window for the cab, she locked the doorknob – making extra sure she had her purse, wallet, and overnight bag before she closed it behind herself.

  Lindsay spent the rest of the night at a coffee shop near the airport working on what she was going to say when Dev woke in the morning and found her gone. She was in tears and the waitress kept her supplied in paper napkins, coffee, and slices of chocolate pie. By 5:30, Lindsay was on a flight home, produced her fake ID for the flight attendant to serve her alcohol, and was nicely toasted by the time the plane landed in Seattle.

  ○ ○ ○

  Dev woke to his alarm and hurried to turn it off before it woke Lindsay. She wasn’t used to getting up at six, let alone six a.m. Eastern Time. He rolled back over to make sure he didn’t disturb her, only to find Lindsay’s side empty. A cold
feeling tugged at Dev’s gut and he pushed it aside as he slid out of bed. It was probably nothing.

  Walking into the bathroom, the uneasy feeling persisted. Everything seemed in order, but ... Dev looked again. Everything was in order. Lindsay’s things were usually scattered all over the counter even though she had a whole set of drawers of her own.

  Closing the door, Dev hesitated, then opened one of Lindsay’s drawers: it was empty. He opened another, and another. All were completely empty, not that she ever had much in them to begin with.

  Leaving the bathroom, Dev went to the dresser, opening Lindsay’s drawers one after another, knowing already what he’d find. Checking the closet, he confirmed her overnight bag was gone.

  Grabbing his phone instinctively, Dev headed downstairs, glancing around and noticing the deadbolt for the front door wasn’t latched. He sighed and looked around for a note, but didn’t see anything. He pulled up his email, and there wasn’t anything from her either.

  “Fine,” Dev said and tried to dial Lindsay, but his phone refused. He took it out of airplane mode and tried again. It went straight to voicemail. She was either blocking his calls or her phone was off.

  Dev hesitated, considering his options. Lindsay knew who he was and what he could do. How pissed was she going to be if he used his distinctive skills to track her down? She’d expect it, Dev decided.

  He sat down at his waiting laptop on the dining room table and brought up a program to track Lindsay’s phone.

  It wasn’t unlike the programs available to the users themselves to track their own phones when they lost them or share information between friends, Dev reasoned. It was just much more accurate, he frowned as it told him Lindsay’s phone couldn’t currently be found and he asked for her GPS history instead. Okay, so the program was a little more invasive, he realized. He saw she’d left his house in the middle of the night and spent hours at a cafe near the airport. He took note of the time she turned ‘off’ her phone. No flights to Seattle left Logan International at three in morning, he’d tried that before.