Thank god.
‘Hey, you two.’ Pete carried a fistful of beer bottles over to their table and sat down, passing out the drinks. They were in Hank’s bar, waiting for the others to arrive.
Pete Espinoza and his husband had started this bar together years ago, just after they’d met at Seattle pride a decade ago. It sat Downtown and Hank had been adamant that it was a safe space for all sexualities, not just the gay scene. It became a popular hangout thanks mostly to Hank’s open friendly manner and his policy of inclusion. When Pete, a qualified teacher had moved onto teaching, Hank had taken over the running of the bar full time, but since Bay’s shooting and the band’s hiatus, Pete had been back to help out.
Quartet had helped out, of course, during Bay’s recovery. Emily, Dash, and the couple had become close, working out showcase evenings for Quartet acts, which meant, in turn, more publicity for the bar. As a result, Hank had offered them the place whenever they wanted for whatever they wanted.
Hank, a towering figure of a man who matched Pete’s height of six seven and was about as broad across the shoulders, joined them. ‘Just waiting for the kids now?’
Emily grinned at him. She adored Pete and Hank; they felt like the big brothers she’d never had and Emily knew Bay felt the same way about them. There was something so steady, so reassuring about their presence in this family; they gave her hope that everything would be okay.
‘God, it will good to go back into the studio,’ Pete said, twisting the cap of another bottle and handing it to Hank.
‘Well, this is a good start,’ Dash said, ‘all the band in one place for the first time in months. Once we get through today, Ems and I thought we’d sit down with you, figure out next steps.’
Pete opened his mouth to speak then looked over at the door as Bay and Tom came in. ‘Hey, girl.’
Pete hugged his friend. ‘Looking good, Miss T.’
‘Same to you, hi guys.’ Bay did look good, Emily thought, glowing skin, excitement in her eyes. She smiled at her.
‘Pete’s excited and I can see you are too. I know we should wait for Kym to get here but in the meantime, I’ve just had a thought. Come back show at the Paramount?’
Bay nodded. ‘Absolutely, that’s the perfect way to start things off, Pete?’
Soon they were deep into discussing plans, not noticing the time until Roman came in. His face was rigid with anger, his entire posture fraught with annoyance. ‘I went to pick Kym up. She’s not there. Look, I’m on my way to the airport. If she’s at the apartment in San Diego, I’ll haul her ass back.’
Bay stood and went to him. ‘Don’t be angry with her, Roman, please. If you see her, tell her not to be scared about seeing us. It’s okay.’
Tom interrupted them, staring at his phone. ‘We’ll soon see.’ He looked up at Bay. ‘Jury’s back in. They have a verdict.’
Bay thought she might throw up as they all stood for the judge. Stuart Lawson stood, ramrod straight at his defense table, his eyes locked on the jury members who had come in. The judge ran through some preamble then asked the foreman if the jury had reached a unanimous verdict. The foreman gave the verdict to the clerk of the court.
‘We, the jury, in the case of the state of King County, Washington versus Stuart Roger Lawson, on the charge of first-degree attempted murder, find the defendant guilty as charged.’
The court exploded and the judge had to silence them as each charge and verdict was read out. Every single one: guilty as charged.
Bay felt her legs wobble and she had to lean against Tom. He wrapped his arm around her waist, kissed her forehead. ‘It’s all over now, beautiful.’
Stu looked green, pale and sweating. He glanced around at Bay and narrowed his eyes at her. She met his gaze without blinking until he looked away. That’s right, you bastard. You got yours.
The judge was efficient and cold. ‘I see no reason to delay sentencing in this matter. Mr. Lawson, you are hereby sentenced to four life terms to be served consecutively for the attempted murder, use of a deadly weapon with intent to kill, kidnapping and actual bodily harm.’
The judge went on but the meaning was clear: Stu Lawson would never be free again.
‘He’ll appeal, of course, but no sane judge or jury would let him out.’ Tom said to Bay afterward.
She looked at him. ‘Now we can move on.’
He kissed her. ‘Hell yes. Look, once Roman finds Kym, we can start to plan, It’ll take Emily and Dash a while to set everything up and I know you’re keen to get back in the studio but still, you promised me a vacation first.’
Bay laughed, her violet eyes shining. ‘Try and stop me, Meir.’
‘Also,’ he went on, taking her in his arms, ‘there’s that little matter of you marrying me.’
Her smile faded a little. ‘Baby…you know I want to marry you more than anything, right?’
‘Okay,’ he said, but he frowned. ‘But?’
‘But I want a lot of distance between this court case and us getting married. When we do it, I want it to be for us, not as a ‘fuck you’ to Stu Lawson. I admit, at first, that appealed but, Tomas Meir, I truly don’t want it to be about that. Can we wait, can you wait? Let me do this thing with the band, get established, earn enough to have some sort of financial parity with you?’
She grinned as he rolled his eyes. ‘I know you don’t care about that, but I do. What do you think?’
Tom nodded, considering. ‘I get that, I do. I’ll just have to be patient.’
‘Yeah but patient with a lot of dirty sex,’ Bay kissed him, smiling, ‘and when we get to this island, I’ll show you just how dirty…’
‘Then you have a deal, Miss Tambe.’
‘Will you take my name?’ She was laughing now and Tom looked askance.
‘And be Tom Tambe? Hell, no. You’ll have to be Bay Meir.’
‘That sounds like an old folk’s home,’ she grumbled but they were both laughing. Tom’s phone buzzed and, still laughing, he answered the call. He mouthed ‘Roman’ at Bay, who nodded. Tom switched to speaker phone.
‘Say that again, Rome, Bay’s listening.’
‘I got to San Diego; the apartment is empty, cleared out. She left a note.’
‘Which says?’
Roman sighed. ‘Don’t try to follow me; I won’t be where you can find me. Tell Bay and Pete I’m sorry and I love them. I just can’t do it. Thank you for everything. Kym.’
Tom cursed and Bay’s shoulders slumped. ‘Is that it? After everything, that’s happened?’
Roman’s voice was softer. ‘I’m so sorry, honey, but I think it’s time we all moved on. You and Pete are the band, we’ll find someone else to play guitar. But you need to accept it. Kym’s gone, sweetheart, she’s in the wind.’
Bay closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath. Roman was right.
Let it go. Move on. Look to the future.
Kym was gone.
Part Two
New Orleans
Kym heaved the keg up into her arms and stomped upstairs to help Cal. He looked impressed as she rolled the keg into place at the bar.
‘Damn, girl, you got some upper body strength.’
She grinned at him. It had been four months and six days since she’d left Seattle, picked out one of the few places she had no ties to but was still pretty exciting to her. New Orleans was hot and sweaty and crowded – and she loved it.
Those last days in Seattle and San Diego as she had planned out her disappearance had been full. She’d sold everything she didn’t need – that had belonged to her and not Quartet of course – dyed her blonde hair a creamy shade of caramel, chopped off a few good inches, stuck some glasses on her face and had gotten on a Greyhound bus with just a suitcase. Her beloved Les Paul she’d put in storage, unable to part with it entirely. Her other guitars were all at pawn shops around San Diego. When she got to New Orleans, the heat was almost suffocating but the motel she checked into was cheap and within three days, she’d scored bar work. After a
month at the motel, she’d found a one-bed place near the French Quarter. The bar, Hot Tin Roof, was busy all week, with its blend of jazz and contemporary music, and good beer making it a hang-out for tourists and locals alike.
Cal, her boss, a slim-hipped African American, had quickly become a friend, and she’d confided her past to him, telling him that she wanted a new life.
‘Got it, sugar,’ he’d told her, ‘we all need a do-over once in a while.’
She had toyed with changing her name but decided against it. Instead, she substituted out her last name for her middle name, Mason. She didn’t think anyone would find her but just to be sure, she kept an eye on what her parents were doing, what Quartet had said about her departure. What The 9th & Pine were doing.
Because four months after she’d left, the band was on its way to being a huge deal. A huge deal. Emily and Dash had coordinated their re-emergence perfectly. A high profile ‘comeback gig’ (that a concert goer had helpfully videoed and put up on YouTube) hit the headlines. Follow that with a new single – Missing You – and a myriad of interviews where they discussed Kym’s departure as a ‘huge sadness but she needs to do her own thing and we respect that.’
Well-rehearsed lines. To torture herself, Kym would watch the interviews over and over, searching Bay and Pete’s faces for clues to how they were really feeling. It wasn’t hard to find. The way Bay would look down at her hands as soon as Kym was mentioned, the slump in Pete’s shoulders. I’m sorry I let you down…again.
She would watch the concert and see how often Bay would glance over to where Kym used to stand then look away quickly when she remembered her friend wasn’t there. It haunted her.
Now, as she cleaned the bar ready for opening at lunchtime, she remonstrated with herself. She had a good life now, a happy life. You walked away, own it. She would, she would own it. She was thinking about applying to go back to school. She could work and study, find a new career path. She had always been good at art maybe that was something she could do.
A wet cloth hit the back of her head and she spun around grinning. Lee Calhoun, her colleague, and new friend grinned at her. ‘’Sup bitch?’
Kym stuck her tongue out at him. ‘Some of us are working,’ she said snootily, stick her nose in the air and trying not to smile.
‘Some of us are too beautiful to work,’ he replied. Lee was tall, broad and had the longest beard she’d ever seen on a man. He had the kind of old school cowboy charm and was desperately in love with his new wife, Ellen, who had cooked Kym some out of this world meals since she’d been in New Orleans. Add that to the fact that Ellen was also Professor of Law at one of the State’s most prestigious colleges and Kym was well on the way to having a full-blown crush on her too.
‘Gonna be busy today,’ Cal high-fived both of them as he unlocked the doors to the bar. The scent of the city blew in with the breeze, and Kym was grateful for the air-conditioning as she caught a wave of the building heat of the day.
Cal was right it was busy, so busy in fact that Kym didn’t see him until she was bending down, trying to unblock a line from one of the pumps and she heard his voice.
‘Soda water, please.’
No. No. Her heart began to thump against her ribs. Please, not him. Not now. She stood and turned.
Roman Ford smiled at her, a wide, friendly grin of triumph. ‘With a slice of lemon too, if that’s okay, please. Hey Kym, how’s it going?’
New York. No. Miami? Definitely not, too cold. Vancouver, yes that was it. Bay stared up at the ceiling of her hotel room. The press tour was almost over, thank god. Even Pete, with his usually boundless energy, was exhausted. It wasn’t like touring to play gigs – which they could handle; it was just the endless, repetitive interviews, the same old questions – less about the music, more about salacious details. What was it like being shot? Why wasn’t Kym in the band? Had she been fired? What was the story there?
She and Pete, frustrated, had talked to Emily about it but she merely shook her head. ‘You have to expect this at first, especially when we still don’t have a replacement for Kym.’
Bay rubbed her eyes, and Pete sighed. ‘We just haven’t found the right fit.’
Emily nodded. ‘Maybe you’re just looking for too much too soon. You’re not giving these people a chance to settle in.’
Both Bay and Pete had grumbled under their breaths at that one but now Bay sighed to herself. Emily had been right, of course. All the guitarists had been great – well, almost all, there had been that one who had hit on Bay immediately and was swiftly kicked to the curb. They just weren’t Kym.
Bay rolled over on her bed. Five-forty-five in the evening. She was too exhausted to go out and toyed with the idea of room service. Pizza? She considered for a long moment. No. Chinese food and t.v. in bed. Perfect. But first…
Tom answered on the first ring. ‘Hey, beautiful.’
‘Hey Tommy, how’s your day been?’
‘I never thought I’d be bored in this business but talking money with our accountants all day is making me rethink my life choices.’
Bay laughed. ‘Isn’t that Roman’s job?’
She didn’t catch the slight hesitation in his voice. ‘He’s actually taking some time away.’
‘Wow.’ Bay was actually floored. Roman was a workaholic, even more so than Tom.
‘Yep... Anyway, gorgeous, only Portland left and then…’
‘Home! I cannot wait, but I’m looking forward to seeing Shae and Otis tomorrow after the interviews.’
‘Want some company? I was thinking about flying down to meet you.’
Bay groaned. ‘God, yes, please! I need you, and that also means you get Otis and I can steal Shae away.’
Tom laughed. ‘Damn, I didn’t think of that…but, yeah, I’m thinking about you too.’
Bay sighed. ‘It’s really inconvenient of you not to have a private jet. You could be here, now, it’s only a hundred miles.’
‘A hundred and fifty, and think about the planet.’
‘I’m thinking about your cock…’
‘Dirty girl.’
‘Your cock getting all big and hard and…’
‘Bay, I’m still in the office…’
‘And it pushing into me so, so deep, my thighs clamped around you…’ Bay was grinning, knowing the effect her words would have on him. She heard his breathing become ragged.
‘Jesus…’
She dropped her voice lower. ‘I am so wet for you, baby…can you feel it? I’m so ready for you…’
With a grin, she heard Tom covered the mouthpiece. ‘Maggie, could you find out when the next flight to Vancouver is? Yes, tonight. Yes as soon as possible.’ There was a pause while Tom waited for Maggie to leave them room. ‘Could you close the door? Thanks.’ Then he was back on the phone, his voice a low growl. ‘Baijayanthi Tambe, you better be naked and hot and wet and ready for me.’
Bay smiled in victory. ‘And why is that, Mr Meir?’
‘Because I’m going to fuck you all night long, woman, in every way we can think of.’
‘And we can think of quite a few ways…’
‘Be ready.’
‘Oh, I will…’
The bar stayed open until three a.m. and so far, Kym had managed to avoid Roman all day. Yes, he’d been in the bar, all day, not drinking alcohol, just soda water, but had enjoyed the food on offer: their signature Bourbon burger for one – a half-pound patty with blue cheese, fried onions and a sticky barbecue sauce made with local bourbon compete with regular skin-on and sweet potato fries…Kym’s mouth watered. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast and she was starving. As she cleaned up, she wondered if she could bribe Acadia, their chef, to make her one before she went home. She went to the kitchen to find her and when she couldn’t she stuck her head out of the back door where Cal was sneaking a smoke. He grinned at her.
‘Acadia gone?’ She asked and Cal nodded. ‘Damn.’
‘Hungry?’
‘Starved but never mind,
I’ll grab something at home.’
‘All done in there?’
‘Almost.’
‘Leave the rest, sugar lump. Thanks for today. Get home safe, okay?’
Kym went to grab her back and let herself out of the front door, locking it behind her. She now had a blissful forty-eight hours to herself. She breathed in the late night Louisiana air, cooler now the sun had set and the heat had had a chance to dissipate – slightly, she grinned to herself. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been cold.
‘Still hungry?’
Kym started violently, skittering away from the voice. His voice. Of course.
‘What the fuck, Roman? Are you stalking me?’
Roman smiled and suddenly she noticed how unlike himself he looked. No exquisitely tailored suit, just jeans and a t-shirt, his dark hair curl down below his ears. He looked…relaxed.
‘Oh, yes,’ he said to her question. ‘I’m on vacation and who should I run into? My friend, Kym.’
Kym gritted her teeth. ‘We are not friends, Roman.’ But he just grinned again. It was infuriating how that made his darkly handsome face light up.
‘Yeah, yeah we are. How do fried catfish and mac and cheese sound?’
Oh, fuck it. Her mouth watered almost uncontrollably and her stomach made a wrenching, growling sound that echoed down the dark street. Roman laughed. ‘Yes,’ he addressed her belly, ‘I agree. That does sound good. Come on.’
Kym hesitated for a brief second then hunger won out. ‘Just this once. And you can tell me what the hell you are doing here.’
The restaurant down on Royal was famed for its late night food but still Kym was surprised by how many people were there at three-thirty in the morning. Both she and Roman ordered and while they waited, she studied him.
‘I’m not coming back.’
He shrugged. ‘I wasn’t asking.’
She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘Then why are you here?’
Quartet Complete Series: Billionaire Romance Box Set (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) Page 23
