by Mira Bailee
No, it’s our battle.
“Where’d Devon go?”
Maddie and I sit in the living room, feeling about as useless as we can with this whole Nat ordeal.
“He went to meet up with his security guys. The ones who are supposed to be catching Nat. Between you and me, I doubt their competence.”
She laughs, and the bathroom door opens to reveal Lex. She’s wearing nothing but her black tank top and underwear, but she has something in her hand. Her pants lay on the floor by the couch she’s been sleeping on, and she tucks her mystery item into one of the pockets while sniffing loudly and repeatedly. Without a word to us, she collapses onto the other couch and stares at the spinning ceiling fan.
Maddie and I give each other a frustrated glare. It’s not like Lex is good at concealing her drug use, and now we get to watch her doped-up antics while we twiddle our thumbs.
“You know what’s bothering me?” I ask the room.
Maddie’s eyes go wide as though she expects me to tell off Lex, but that’s not it at all.
“Nat got to me through the YOUTHelp Foundation. How can somebody so awful be a part of something so beneficial? And if the foundation is a fake, that means everyone else who works there is just as bad…”
It’s sickening to think about it—that they’d exploit real victims for their own pleasure.
“Then let’s find out.” Maddie stands up. “Devon’s off doing his part. We can do ours.”
With everything Devon’s going through? I don’t want to do anything to upset him, and he asked me to stay out of it. “I can’t. I agreed I wouldn’t go after Nat.”
“Who said anything about her? No, we have every right to check on the foundation itself. Who’s that woman in charge of it?”
“Rhyanne?”
“Yeah, her. Let’s go have a chat with her.”
An hour later, Maddie and I are sitting across from the founder herself. Rhyanne Phoenix had been so kind when I met her at the gala. It had seemed like the foundation really mattered to her. I don’t know what I’ll do if she knew the truth about Nat all along.
“You have an employee here, Natalia Vorhees.”
“I do,” Rhyanne beams. “She’s one of my newer assistants, but she’s fabulous. Why do you ask?”
I try to speak, but choke on my own words.
Maddie does it for me. “Her real name is Natasha, and she’s certifiably insane.”
Rhyanne laughs.
Oh no, she does know the truth. I can’t handle this.
“I’m sorry, girls. Maybe you should start over. Why are you here?” Rhyanne leans back in her chair. I look around at the walls and shelves covered in awards, certificates, and photos from charity events.
I find my voice this time. “Natasha has a restraining order against her due to stalking charges from a couple years ago. She’s been following me to get to Devon Stone. After the gala, she…she attacked me. She knocked me unconscious, and when Devon found out what happened, she fled. Since then, she’s sent threatening messages, she caused me to wreck my car, and she set her workplace on fire.” I point to Maddie. “I know this sounds crazy, but I can show you proof.”
And I do. I show her the messages, play the voicemail from the mechanic, and I pull up a news article about the fire at Brecken’s.
“But this doesn’t make sense,” Rhyanne says. Her voice is quieter, and she holds her hand to her mouth. “This doesn’t sound like the girl I hired at all.”
“She had me fooled too. And she’s really clever. There were a handful of times she was in the same place as Devon, and if he’d seen her for even a second, none of this would’ve happened. But she’s sneaky and puts on a believable act. All the trouble she went through just to get me to the gala, making me believe my brother’s death mattered—”
“Oh honey. His death does matter. Don’t doubt that for one second. Natalia may be leading a deceptive double life, but the rest of us? This foundation? We’re here to make sure you know what happened to your brother matters.”
I can’t stop the tears once they start. An enormous weight lifts as I hear her speak.
“When we hire people here, we go through a thorough review. We’ve had several in the past try to bring us down from the inside. There are awful people out there who don’t agree with our values or who have a problem with social equality or a problem with,” she smiles, “me. I thought we’d found a foolproof application process, but I guess not. It’s a shame, but maybe there’s a bright side.”
“Like what?”
“Like…we have a charity party tomorrow night. Natalia’s been one of the head coordinators, which means there’s no reason she won’t be attending.”
What sort of stealthy, investigative scheme is this? Rhyanne gives us the details where and when the party is taking place. It’s a celebrity thing, so we have to be careful to not bring attention to ourselves. But if we can be discreet, we can catch Nat.
Sounds like we have a plan.
“I specifically asked you not to do anything. How can I keep you safe if you keep intentionally putting yourself out there?” Devon paces through the living room.
Maddie and I are both amped up now that we have information that can put an end to all this. Unfortunately, Devon doesn’t share our enthusiasm, and Lex…Well, Lex found a second to put her pants on while we were gone, but she’s still camped out on the couch as though there’s nothing else to do with her life.
Oh well, her issues are on the back burner for now. We have a solution to the Nat problem, and I’m not letting Devon talk us out of it.
“It’s safe, and it’s a guarantee. Have your guys found her yet? Because you’d think it wouldn’t be that hard, but apparently she’s smart enough to live a double life without getting caught.”
Devon thinks for a second, stopping his manic pacing and running his hands through his hair. “It’s not a guarantee. She’s been watching us. She’ll see you coming. She’ll see me coming.”
“Then we call the police. We tell them everything and have them go pick her up.”
Devon laughs, shaking his head. “No way in hell am I making this a public spectacle. My guys can keep it discreet. The LAPD? The media would know in a heartbeat. The Stone family doesn’t need more scandal.”
“I’ll do it.”
We all turn to the sound of her voice. Lex, lounging on the couch, is watching us with interest.
“Right,” Devon says, “and all this can come down to us relying on you? No thanks. Tell me, when was your last hit? Judging by the glazed look in your eyes and your slow speech, it’s probably about time for another line, right—to amp you back up?”
“Apparently, you know as well as I do. But you said you need help. I’ll help.”
Before Devon berates her, I stand up. “It’s okay, Lex. We can take care of this.”
“Whatever,” she says, her voice lacking inflection. Does she think this is all a game? “She’s not watching me though, that chick you’re talking about. Unless she’s been staring through that window.” She points to the window next to the front door.
“She’s got a point,” I tell Devon. “We have proof she’s been following me and you and Maddie. But Lex. No one knows Lex.”
“You’re right. We hardly know Lex. She’s unreliable. She’ll fuck everything up.”
Lex gets up and storms out of the apartment.
I glare at Devon. “Come on. I get you’re angry about us going to Rhyanne, but don’t take it out on her.”
“It’s not about that,” he says through clenched teeth.
And then I get it.
He’s trying to give up drugs, and Lex is…She’s the mirror version of him if he wasn’t stopping.
Devon retreats to my room, and I follow.
“You want to get out of here?” I ask him. “I know it can’t help you to be around Lex, especially when she’s…” I won’t point it out. He knows.
“She can help. I guess it’s our best option.” He l
aughs at how ridiculous this is—that the most unstable of us all is our best bet. “But after, she’s got to get out of here. I’m going to lose my damn mind if I have to be that close to…you know.”
It’s become the darkness we cannot speak of. Is that a healthy way to get clean?
“We’ll talk to her after tomorrow. One thing at a time, alright?”
“Tell me the plan one more time,” Devon demands.
All four of us are piled in the back of the black Escalade that belongs to Devon’s security detail. His two guards sit up front waiting for our cue. Outside, the hotel across the street is crowded with a line of cars waiting for valet, a red carpet lined with media, and groups of fans waiting to see their favorite celebrities. My heart pounds in my chest. This is it.
It’s all up to Lex who’s getting more defensive every time Devon speaks to her. “I know the plan. I’m not an infant.”
She’s dressed in the red Calypso Day gown Maddie was given. Her hair is styled and smoothed with spray, and she wears a simple gold necklace around her neck. The only one in heels, she swears she can pull this stunt off without tripping. All we need is for her to act natural.
“Amuse me.” Devon glares at her until she gives in.
“Fine. I’m heading toward the red carpet. I’ve got the cell in my purse, and you’ll be on speakerphone. The woman on the…” She squints out the window, making sure she has the details right. “The one on the left with the clipboard. Rhyanne told her to expect me. So I go to her. Give her the name Alexandria Rogue, and she’ll let me in through the staff entrance. From there, I find your crazy stalker lady, I follow her without her noticing, and once she’s somewhere easily accessible and discreet, I give the secret code to unleash the guards.”
“There’s no secret code, Lex.” Devon won’t take a joke to save his life right now.
“I think there should be one. This is like some action movie or something. There should definitely be a secret code.” She thinks for a second. “The donut shop is open.”
“The what?” Maddie asks. “That’s far more suspicious than, We’re ready. Come and get her.”
“I don’t know,” Lex says. “I’m hungry. But now we have our secret code.”
Devon shakes his head, irritated. “Just get out there.”
She double checks to make sure the phone she has—Devon’s—is connected to the one we have—mine. All that’s left to do is cross our fingers and hope this works.
Lex opens the door and climbs out as I whisper a good luck. Once the door’s closed behind her, Maddie, Devon, and I glue our eyes to the window, watching Lex until she’s lost in the crowd.
I nervously tap my fingers against Devon’s leg, waiting for her to say something. So far, the only noise we hear is the muffled sounds of the crowd and a shuffling from the phone being pressed against the inside of her clutch.
I’m still tapping my fingers, when Devon’s hand slides over mine and squeezes. “Everything’s fine. Calm down.”
But I can’t. This is really it. If we fail…how will Nat retaliate? “What if it doesn’t work? She came after Maddie over a voicemail. What will she do to us over this?”
“Don’t worry about that right now.”
I raise my eyebrows. Does he know who he just told not to worry?
“How about this,” I offer. “I’ll stop worrying if you agree that if this all goes wrong, we contact the police.”
“You know I don’t want—”
“And I don’t want to wake up to a stalker hovering over me with a knife.”
Devon sighs. “Fine. I’ll consider talking about maybe going to the police, but only—”
“…Alexandria Rogue…” we hear from the phone. Lex is using some ridiculous fake accent. We all freeze and stare at the phone sitting in my lap.
“Right this way,” a woman says.
“She’s going in.” I know, I know. Miss Obvious, here. I bite my lip and listen. Focus, O.
More shuffling, and then we hear Lex say, “Thank you, darling. I’ve got it from here.” Only, because of her stupid accent, it sounds like, “Thank you, dahhhling…”
Then a loud scuffling noise makes us all cringe before we hear, “Hey. You guys there? I’m in.”
She’s going to blow her cover in two seconds.
“Great,” I say. “But we need you to not be so suspicious.”
“What are you talking about?” The accent’s back. “Right now, I’m a very important Hollywood star taking a very important phone call.” Vahry impwahtant phu-one call, it sounds like.
Devon pinches the bridge of his nose, and Maddie giggles.
“Just find what we’re looking for, Lex,” Devon pleads.
“Say what? I don’t understand that code. Try again.”
Devon looks up and clenches a fist like he’s going to punch the phone.
I throw my hand up to wave him off and tell Lex, “Find the damn donut, okay?”
“On it,” she says with a cheery voice. “This place is all decked out. Can I stop at the bar first?”
“No!” we all yell in unison.
“You guys are so boring. Alright,” she lowers her voice. “Judging by the photo Devon showed me off the old police report, I’m looking for a hot Russian chick. Dark hair… Oh wait. I think I see her. Just a sec.”
We here movement, and then my phone beeps.
“Did she just text you?” Maddie asks.
And she has. She’s just sent us a photo. She took a photo of Nat.
“Is this her?” Lex asks.
“Yes, but what the hell are you doing?” I can’t believe how bad she is at this. “You can’t go snapping pictures of her. Be discreet. Discreet!”
“You can see for yourself she wasn’t looking at me. Chill out.”
None of us speak. She needs to stick to the plan. It’s only a matter of minutes before Nat will have gone somewhere less obvious. And at that point, we can step in and take care of the rest.
An eternity seems to pass with Lex offering occasional commentary about which celebrities are walking in and what food’s being served. We keep reminding her to stay quiet, and finally she gets it and puts the phone back in her purse.
Relief washes over us all now that she can easily blend in with the guests. And about two minutes later, we hear her on the move.
“This could be it,” I say, again stating the obvious.
We sit up straighter, anticipating our cue.
More shuffling.
A strange yelping noise.
Something falling.
My eyes go wide. Something’s not right about this unless, maybe, Lex just dropped her purse in the toilet or threw it across the room.
“Shit guys. The donuts aren’t cooking!” Lex yells.
“What the hell does that mean?” Devon’s voice has that sexy powerful tone to it, but this is no time to admire my boyfriend.
“The donuts have left the bakery.”
“What are you saying, Lex. Dammit. Where’s Nat?” I can’t take the games anymore.
“She’s gone. She just shoved me into Ethan Beckham and ran. I can’t say I’m mad though. He’s hot.”
We jump out of the SUV as though we’ve found a bomb. The guards get out with us.
“She ran,” Devon tells them. “We can’t let her leave.”
We can’t race into the party and cause a scene. Instead, we walk around the side and push through to the staff entrance, ignoring the woman with the clipboard demanding we stop.
“You and Maddie stay near the doors. The guys and I will split up and search. Be careful, okay?” He kisses me hard before running down a hallway.
“We can’t just stand here. He knows that right?” Maddie surveys the main floor of the hotel. “If we split up, one of us can check the rooms down here. And one can go upstairs.”
“And one of us can check outside.” Lex has found us and is ready with new ideas.
I’m not sure we can afford to have her help more, but what
else can we do?
“Fine,” I say. “Lex goes outside, Maddie upstairs, and I’ll search down here.” I pat at my pockets and pull out my phone. “Call me if you find her. Do whatever it takes to stop her. Just,” I look around at the well-dressed guests who are completely clueless to what’s happening, “try not to cause a scene.”
We rush off our respective ways. The guys each took a hallway, so I start with the kitchen. Chefs and servers eye me suspiciously as I search under counters and in the walk-in pantry. That crazy bitch can be anywhere. But she’s not here. I go back out and check in closets and offices.
“Can we help you?” a check-in receptionist asks.
“I’m fine.” And I don’t need to be interrupted. I slam the door open for the women’s bathroom and check in each of the stalls. It’s empty.
“I need to see your credentials.” The receptionist is following behind me, growing more impatient by the second. “All the staff tonight’s required to have a name tag. Security reasons.”
I stop and stare at her. “I can’t deal with you right now. Everything’s fine, but…but this is important. Go back to your desk and make it look like everything’s normal, okay?”
She does, but on her way to the desk, she calls to the other receptionist. “Pearl, I need you to call security. I think we have a problem.”
Dammit! I need to hurry and get out of the lobby. Party guests are still arriving in their gowns and excessive diamonds. As they work their way back to the ballroom, a few notice me but merely raise an eyebrow. I clearly look out of place wearing jeans, and the curiosity in their glances is as though they’re wondering whether or not I’m really Olivia Margot or just some ordinary woman who looks like her. Great. Tonight, let me pass for ordinary. It’ll make things easier.
On the other side of the lobby, I push open the door for the men’s bathroom.
It’s not empty. Ethan Beckham stands at a urinal…doing his business.
