by Lewis, Anna
I had dreamed wild things last night, mostly about him, but there was only one image that was sticking firmly in my mind. It was me, as his bride, as a dragon hybrid. That wasn't anything that I'd ever considered before. I was perfectly happy being human thank you very much. I wasn't one of those girls who aimed to become a hybrid, but somehow, with Hex that thought wasn't so scary after all.
As a dragon hybrid, I would look a little different, more dragon-like, and I would be stronger too. I wouldn't have all the dragon abilities. I wouldn't be able to fly or change shape or anything, but it would give me the expanded life span of a shapeshifter. And I would be able to get pregnant by a dragon, too.
Not that I was thinking about having babies anytime soon, not while I was in the beginning-middle of my career. Although dragon babies would be pretty cute…
“Right, we're here,” Mouse interrupted my thought patterns, making me jump out of my skin. “Go on, hurry off to wardrobe, we're already late.”
I raced off, forcing myself not to look backwards at Hex for fear of turning bright red, and I quickly found myself in the whirlwind of being made TV-presentable. I had clothes placed on me, my hair twisted and styled in all kinds of ways, and makeup plastered thickly on my face.
I was back to the Kayla that I usually presented to the world – the strong, confident, charismatic woman. Hidden was the truth of me, that I felt insecure, that I occasionally felt like a fraud, that the life had been handed to me by mistake. I needed to keep her pushed down because as soon as the world sensed that weakness within me they would leap upon that like a vulture.
I stepped out onto the stage to a booming round of applause from the audience. I'd been here before, I had done plenty of things like this, but it always blew me away a bit. I always felt a little like a deer caught in the headlights, especially under the burning, white TV lights.
“Hello there, Kayla,” the presenter greeted me. I shook her hand, but even as I stared at her, her name escaped me. I should have known her, she was pretty famous herself, but my head was not in the game today. “So how are you doing?” she grinned, brushing past my silence, ever the professional.
“I'm good, thank you for having me.” I sat in the couch, trying to relax, but I felt all on edge. Worse than normal.
“So, you're here today to tell us about your new single which is coming out next month, am I right?”
I started to tell her about my next song, acting like I had written it in the way that I was trained to do. I always felt bad for the real writers, even though I never explicitly took credit, but Mouse always said that it made it seem like I was more connected to the lyrics, like they had come from somewhere deep inside my soul. The presenter was smiling, as if she was drinking it all in, but that didn't make me feel any better. I still felt like a fraud.
“That's great,” she replied when I finished. “Now, I would like to discuss something with you,” her tone turned more playful and she sent me a wink. “I have heard through the grapevine that you are dating…”
Dating? Shit! I sat up straighter, panic icing up my veins.
“The Hollywood actor, Ben Lindt.”
Oh, thank God! “Erm… no I haven't heard the rumor.” I told her seriously. “I don't even think I've met him.”
But of course that wasn't the end of it, she had a picture of me and Ben, looking like we were kissing. I knew the truth of it though. Ben had asked me to flirt with him to make someone else jealous. I went along with it because I was tipsy, and I didn't even know who he was.
I could have just explained that, but it seemed easily to play it coyly. It was better than the truth anyway, that mostly I was boring, except for one illicit kiss with my bodyguard the previous night.
“Oh well,” I flickered my eyelashes and giggled lightly. “No comment then.”
“But you have met him?” she persisted, winding me up. “You clearly know him.”
“Clearly,” I replied through gritted teeth. “Yes, I know him. That's all I want to say for now.”
As the subject changed again, and the interview eventually got wrapped up, I started to wonder if Hex was watching. What the hell would he think of me and that dumb comment if he had? He would assume that I was slutty, that I went around kissing everyone. He probably assumed that I really was the one night stand type.
All of a sudden, my clever put-down didn't seem quite so smart after all…
As I walked back to the dressing room, my eyes scanned everywhere trying to find him, but he was nowhere to be seen. For someone that was supposed to be my body guard, that wasn't great. He was supposed to be everywhere, watching me the whole time, keeping my stalker away from me. Surely he couldn't be jealous?
I vowed to myself that I would explain myself to him when I saw him, however embarrassing it was. I would just have to suck it up and tell him that I'd lied about Ben Lindt, just to save face on TV, which might have revealed my feelings more than I wanted to, but it was much better than the alternative.
It sure as hell beat losing him.
Chapter 10 – Hex
“Oh well. No comment then.” Those words, combined with the picture of Kayla kissing some other guy, some super hot, famous actor sent daggers into my chest. It hurt far more than it should have done, especially as I shouldn't have been feeling that way anyway. I was supposed to be a professional.
Just watching her, knowing that she gave away her kisses far too readily, hurt like hell.
“Mouse,” I grabbed his arm and got his attention. “I have some… family issues tonight,” I lied through my teeth, but luckily he didn't seem like a very perceptive man. “I need to take a night off. Do you mind if I get another bodyguard from the agency in tonight?”
“No, sure, you do what you need to do,” he slurred slightly. He'd been drinking. I had to resist rolling my eyes at him. I was trying to see him in a good light, but actually he was an asshole. He was self-obsessed, and always put himself first. Kayla really needed a brand new manager. “As long as someone is watching her, I don't mind.”
He turned away from me, proving that he was going to continue on drinking, so I shook my head and made my way out into the hallway for some privacy. I needed someone to come now, before I had to face Kayla again, I didn't think that I could do it. I didn't want to see her pretty face, to know that I'd been agonizing over her when I was so sure I meant absolutely nothing to her.
I needed some time alone. I had the incredible urge to turn into a dragon, to fly away… just for a little bit. This wasn't me escaping like last time, running away and moving around until I felt settled, this was just me taking a step back to give myself the time to think. I needed to get my head screwed on straight, I needed my thoughts to be in order or I wouldn't be any good to anyone. I couldn't protect Kayla if my brain was foggy and I was getting unprofessional, which made this even more important.
“Hey Burt,” I said to the agency guy as he answered the phone. “I know this sucks and is short notice, but a family emergency has arisen and I need to go home.” Please don't ask what it is! “So is there any chance of cover?”
“Let me look.” While he searched, I internally prayed. I might have only been on the job for a short time, but too much had happened, it had been a crazy roller coaster, and I needed a time out. I was aware that Kayla would probably be hurt, just because she'd begged me to look out for her, but I had to protect my heart too. I didn't think that I could survive another heart break. “Yes, Fuller can be over in the next two hours.”
Two hours?!
My heart sank, but I had to agree. It was better than nothing. All I had to do now was ride in the car with her back to the hotel. I could handle that, couldn't I?
“Okay, thanks Burt. Speak to you later.”
I sucked in a few deep breaths and set about looking for Kayla. I needed to get out of here, I needed to get the hell away.
***
The car ride back was awful, worse than I'd been expecting and it made me want to scream
with frustration. What the hell was going on with Kayla? She wasn't the one who had been made a fool of, she wasn't the one who had allowed herself to be vulnerable, just to be crushed once more. That had been me. I was the idiot.
“Right,” I said stiffly, when we got to her hotel room. “I have arranged cover for tonight. Something has come up, and I need to go away, but it'll probably only be for one night.”
“What? Why?” she gasped, clearly in shock. Could she not see what she was doing to me? Did she think that any of this was easy for me? “Who is going to come in your place? What if the stalker comes?”
That made me feel so bad that I almost backtracked on my plan. But then I recalled that secret smile as she talked about Ben during the TV interview, and my heart hardened once more.
“He won't come, I think he'll back off scared for a while. Plus the new guy, Fuller, is good. He won't let anything happen to you. I just… I need to go.”
I turned to walk away, to wait outside the door until Fuller came, but then she blurted something out as if she could sense what was going on inside.
“It isn't true, you know.” I looked at her curiously and she blushed brightly. “Ben… the whole thing. It isn't what it looks like.”
“Right,” I replied flatly. I wanted to know more, desperately, but I was far too scared to allow that to show. “Well I'm going to go, okay.”
“Please don't,” she begged in a whisper, her expression gutted as if she was falling apart. “Please stay.”
My heart bled, and that was the exact reason I couldn't stay. “I can't… I need some space. I need to go.”
With that I spun on my heels and moved to the door. I rushed, because I had tears threatening to spill down my face, and I really didn't want her to see that. Once I was outside and by myself, I brushed the wetness angrily away. This was stupid, a total nightmare. I needed it over.
Maybe it would be best for me to stay away completely. Maybe I needed to avoid this for good. It might cost me my job at the agency, but it was better to protect myself first. I had been through enough, and as selfish as that would probably be to someone else, I needed to do what was right for me.
Chapter 11 – Kayla
What the fuck is going on? Who the hell is this?
My sleep-addled mind couldn't put two and two together as I found myself dragged from the room. At first I felt like I was dreaming, so I didn't even bother to put up a fight as the room went black and I felt myself being moved. I just lay there and let it happen.
Not anymore though. Now I was kicking and screaming like there was no tomorrow!
“Let me go,” I yelled out pathetically, but obviously no one could hear me as every sound was muffled by the bag over my head. “What’s going on?”
The stalker had kidnapped me. At least, I presume it was him.
I'd been so wrapped up in my misery and hurt, so sucked in by Hex's words as he left me that I hadn't even been thinking about my stalker. The new bodyguard came, but I didn't care. I just greeted him miserably and climbed into bed. But the new bodyguard had obviously let me down. Somehow the stalker had gotten through.
Without Hex, I was screwed this time. Probably no one had followed me. That meant that no one would know how to find me. I would disappear, dead. And who would care… really? Mouse, maybe, for a while. Until he realized that he could make a quick buck out of the story. He would probably write a book about the dead pop star that he used to manage. Then there was my parents. They didn't see me much anyway. How much would my death affect them? Probably not much, I thought despairingly.
Hex… no, not Hex. Hex hated me. He probably wouldn't even come back to work so he wouldn't notice that I'd gone. He might one day see me in the papers, but he would likely just shrug and assume that I deserved it.
Shit, this was the end for me.
Eventually I heard the outside noises change, which suggested to me that we were now indoors. That made everything inside of me tense up. My stomach knotted, my throat went dry, and everything ached.
Whatever this guy wanted, whatever he thought about me, whatever he wanted to do to me, I was about to find out.
I didn't want to die. I really, really wanted to live. How the hell was I going to get myself out of this one?
I felt my body slam on the ground, which made cry out in agony without even meaning to. “Argh, shit! What are you doing to me?”
“If you had just come easily, then none of this would have happened,” his voice drawled, confirming my suspicions. It was my stalker. He had me now.
“Well, I…” How was I supposed to answer that? Shit, I needed words, any words, words to get me the fuck out of here. “Please, don't do this to me.”
He moved closer to me. I strained to try and see his face but he had a hood covering it, and the room was so dark that all I could see was shadows crossing his face. I scooted backwards, trying to shrink in on myself, but I could still smell him really strongly.
“But, sweetheart,” he cooed, as if her were speaking to a child. He tried to take my hands in his but I snatched them back rapidly. “All I want is for you to see the truth. I thought that you knew it, but it's clear now you don't.”
“Wh… what are you talking about?” I stammered, racking my brain. Did this guy actually know something that I didn't? Was it possible that he actually had information about me that I didn't know about? Hex certainly had, so I knew it was possible.
“You don't see it yet, but you will. You'll soon understand that we're supposed to be together.”
Was that it? Did he just have some crazy notion that we were supposed to be?
“How can that be?” I asked a little firmer this time. “How can you assume that when I don't even know who you are? You might know a lot about me but I don't even know what your face is like. You must be able to see how crazy this all is?”
“But you do know me!” he insisted, sounding a little shocked.
“I do?”
He stepped backwards into the light, and slowly tugged his hood down, revealing some dark features to me. I expected to get a rush of emotions, a realization to who was torturing me, but me brain gave me nothing.
He had high cheekbones, blackened eyes, a slightly crooked nose, and a really twisted smile. He was so distinctive, I was sure that I would have recognized him if I'd ever met him before. No, this man was a stranger to me.
“You see?” he said, shrugging his shoulders as if this was the most normal conversation that he'd ever had. “It's me.”
“Who… who are you?” There was no pretending that I knew this guy, it would only lead to trouble. More than I was already in.
“What do you mean?” he glowered, his entire body suddenly becoming threatening. “Of course you know me. It's Charlie, Charlie Thurston.”
Charlie Thurston? That name rang a bell. I knew it from somewhere but I couldn't work out where. I furiously racked my brain, but nothing was coming to the forefront of my mind.
“You're getting it now aren't you?” he sneered. “I can see it on your face. So… now that you belong to me, what do you want to do first?”
“I don't belong to you,” I gasped in a panic. “I don't belong to anyone. I have to get back to the hotel… I have work to do tomorrow. People will be looking for me, everyone knows my name.”
“Oh you don't need to worry about that,” he said in an innocent sounding tone of voice. “No one will ever find us here. I made damn sure of that.”
He was so serious, so sinister, it made my heart sink. Maybe no one would find me, maybe I would never be able to escape. Maybe this was going to be my life forever.
I'm sorry, Hex, I thought to myself miserably. I didn't mean to hurt you. Now I'll never get the chance to explain.
Chapter 12 – Hex
When my phone went off at 2.20 am I knew that something was wrong, and I had the strong sense that I was to blame. I had been awake anyway, and uneasy so it wasn't actually a surprise.
If I had thought that goi
ng out for a flight would make me feel better, then I was very wrong. I came back just as miserable and sad as before. The text read, I'm sorry, dude. She's gone.
'She' could only be one person, and the fact that she was gone meant that the stalker had gotten her. I had taken a few hours off, and the stalker had leapt in and taken advantage of that. I hadn't scared him off at all; if anything I had motivated him.
“Fuck,” I yelled out in frustration. “Fucking hell. Shit!”
Why had I allowed my emotions to get the better of me? Why hadn't I been stronger and better? Just because I'd shared a kiss with Kayla, didn't mean I had to go and develop feelings for her. Just because I felt something, didn't mean I had to freak out by learning that she had a past.
I was weak and pathetic, and now I was having to pay the price for that. Or Kayla was.
I hopped into my car and sped across to the hotel as quickly as the car would go, not at all caring about the law or limits, I needed to get to Kayla and nothing was going to get in my way.
I raced through the hotel at the speed of light, thundering up the stairs, just to find Fuller collapsed in a heap on the ground. He was conscious enough to have texted me, but he still looked really dazed and confused. Whoever did this to him had really done a number on him.
“Shit, dude, are you okay?” I asked, pulling him upwards. “Do you need a doctor or something?”
“I… I don't think so,” he stammered, his eyes flickering everywhere. “You need to find that guy,” he whispered, really freaked out. “He means business. Whatever he has planned for Kayla, it cannot be good.”
“Contact the police,” I said, knowing that he could make a statement and be looked after all in one go. “I'm going to see what I can do. If I can pick up this guy's trail, then I'll have her back by morning.”
***
