Click (A Night Fire Novel Book 2) (7 page)

Chapter Ten

The thumping on the door was like thunder, over and over again he called my name. He called out to Monique. He begged us to open the door. He threatened to get Hal to open it for us. Monique rang the front desk and told them that there was a mad man at our door and if security didn't get rid of him, she'd sue them. Then the yelling started, I heard sounds of a scuffle and possible a few punches thrown. I could have sworn I heard Barney's voice, though I couldn't be sure. It had been one conversation, his voice was deep and gravelly but it could have been the pain relief messing with me again.

I was numb all over, not just from the medication but from the whole mess surrounding Austin. His thumping on the door had given me a headache, he had persisted for some time. Now it was quiet, nothing but the sound of normal life carrying on around us. I could hear people laughing and frolicking in the pool, a soft rap on the door. My body bolted upright off the bed before my mind could even catch up. Monique had been sitting on the floor in my room, her head in her hands and propped on her knees. It had been a maddening afternoon.

Warily she got up from the floor and padded softly across the floor to the main door.

“Miss Marshall, Miss Ellis?”

Monique looked back at me as I stood at my bedroom doorway, the voice was a new one.

“I'm the day manager, Ross Selwood. Can I have a moment of your time please?”

Her face hardened at the door, neither of us knew what was waiting on the other side.

“Mister Gibson is not here, you have my word that this is not a trick to get you to open the door.”

I shrugged at Monique when she looked at me. She opened the door a fraction and peeked through the long crack.

For a brief moment her gaze turned to me, returning to the view outside as she opened the door to let the manager in. The thin man walked in, looking rather flustered. He settled at the table after Monique gestured to it, I sat opposite him. His hands folded into each other, wiping and washing them, clearly a nervous gesture.

“Okay, so I'll cut to the chase here ladies. As much as I'd like to ensure that your stay here is free from such events in the future, I can't... unfortunately.”

Monique narrowed her eyes and her nose twitched with derision. She was about to let rip until he raised his hand to placate her.

“Please, let me finish.” he gulped as he pulled at the neckline of his shirt. “Mister Gibson... Austin... he's the son of the owners of this hotel.”

“Shit.” Monique groaned.

Shit was right.

“I've asked that he leave to cool off and return when he isn't so...” his hand rolled in a circle, as if it would help him find the right word.

“Angry?” Monique offered a little snidely. “Being a jerk?”

No response. Of course not, what sane person would agree with calling the boss's son a jerk?

“Please, Miss...”

“Ellis. Monique Ellis.

He nodded, momentarily looking at me.

“I can't stop him from returning, this is his home.”

“Fine, we're leaving and we expect a refund on the days that we aren't staying.”

Monique stood from the seat, the chair legs scraped over the wood floor rather loudly.

“Organize a taxi and transportation back to the mainland and so help me, it had better be on the down low or I will kick your ass.”

She flicked her head at me, telling me to get going on the packing. I watched as Ross walked out of the villa, looking at me again. It was like he wanted to say more, like he had some hidden message that he wanted to relay to me but couldn't. I was missing something. No matter how hard and direct Monique was, it wasn't as if he couldn't say something. She had let him speak, she had listened to him. So what was I missing here?

“Mister Selwood, is there something you aren't telling us?”

He paused at the doorway and turned back, a bitter sweet smile offered as he shook his head.

“No miss, nothing that I am permitted to tell you. I'll organize your departure without anyone knowing of it.”

Monique closed the door and leaned on it as she looked at me. Her head was turned to listen through the door, a deeply concerned look crossed her face.

“Pack your stuff Ab, we are out of here.”

I nodded and set out to pack everything, even if I wasn't sure it was the right thing to do. Something was wrong, something that we weren't being told. The revelation that his parents owned this damned hotel was a little shocking. No wonder he was so friendly and casual with Hal.

My mind washed with an odd thought, Hal. He said not to let go. What did he know? I quietly closed the door to my room and picked up the phone, dialing reception.

“Reception, Hal speaking.”

“Hey Hal, it's Abigail.”

Silence, pure silence on the other end of the line.

“Are you there?”

“Yeah Abigail, I'm here. How can I help?”

I took a deep breath as I pulled the edge of the curtain back, looking outside. The view of the world was different now. It looked like everyone was a spy for Austin. Everyone would report back to him, every little detail about every little thing I did.

“The day manager visited us, has he come back yet?”

“Not as yet.”

No surprises there. He was probably off reporting to Austin who was probably hiding in the shadows somewhere, watching and waiting.

“We're leaving.”

“What?”

He nearly yelled it. Far out, this was crazy.

“Abigail, please don't do this. I've never seen him so torn up.”

“Tell me what I missing Hal. I saw him in town with other women, so why wouldn't I want to leave? What's going on?”

“Abigail.” he sighed with a lot of pain in his voice. “I'm sorry, I can't. I've signed a confidentiality agreement. I can't tell you anything.”

“Sure. Okay.” I whispered.

Then I hung up the phone, returning to packing my bag.

The taxi raced toward the jetty, the last boat was leaving in ten minutes and we were barely going to make it. As it was Ross said he would have to ring them and ask them to wait. It had been hard to get past Hal, he was at my side in a second to help me with my one and only bag that wasn't really heavy. He was trying to stop me but he didn't win. His pleading had been ignored, with tears in my eyes I said that I couldn't handle the secrets and the lies but they paled in comparison to the view of him draped over another woman.

To be fair, Austin had warned me off him. He was right, he and I didn't inhabit the same worlds. The only problem was that I didn't know what his world was. Secrets and lies, that was as much as I had seen of his world. But then there was the amazing side, he was a little cheeky, funny, so damned gorgeous it was crazy. He was a dark soul that was incredibly protective of everything that was important to him. Like that damned black book of drawings, now I will never get to see what was in the book.

Monique wrapped an arm around me, pulling me to her.

“Screw him Ab. If he can't be honest about what's going on his life then he's not the one for you.”

I nodded, though it lacked commitment.

The driver stopped abruptly, tooting his horn at the captain who was unravelling the rope from the jetty. He gestured for the two of us to hurry up. Monique threw a great wad of cash at the driver, thanking him for his hasty driving skills. The man’s eyes lit up with delight, god only knows how much money she just gave him. With our bags hitched over heads, we ran to the boat.

The boat was almost empty, an elderly couple sat at the top of rows of seats. There was a young fellow with his leg in a temporary cast. He tipped his chin at us with a grin to which Monique giggled. She grabbed my hand and sat us down in seats near him but not too close.

“That's one of my uh... friends. Guess his spring break is over too.”

“Monique, if you want to say hello then do it. Don't let me and my sad state of affairs stop you from getting round two.”

Her shoulders sagged as she looked at me with a genuine pout.

“You didn't even get laid, did you?”

I ignored her with an almost eye roll.

“Worst holiday ever.” she sighed.

Yep, I could easily agree with that one.

Monique slid across the seat to chat with her broken friend, leaving me to think about things. I decided that once I got home I would search the internet for the owners of Paradiso Cove Hotel. Or maybe just their son. Whichever. Guess it depends on how drunk I am.

We had decided to spend spring break in Florida, mostly due to money or rather the lack of it. I had wanted to go to Vegas, but the gambler in me thought that I wasn't rich enough for it yet. That would come with a little time. So the grand plan had been Miami, now it wasn't so grand. Monique had made all of the plans, all of the bookings. She booked us into the little hotel on a little island, one that only had two hotels on it, so there was no chance of the place becoming overcrowded.

It's quaint, she had said. It's a few spring breakers and the locals, she had offered. Nowhere did she say that I would end up with a broken heart.

Okay, so it was wrong to blame Monique, her intentions had been good ones. It was me picking the wrong bad boy to chase after. I should have stuck with Brody. At least there was no attachment there. I knew he was unattainable.

The water taxi chugged it's way to the jetty, I grinned as Monique helped her broken friend to his feet and took his bag for him as he walked on the crutches. She was a sucker for the broken soul, almost like me now really. Once the friend was on his way to the hospital she would return her attention to this poor and sorry for herself soul.

Paramedics waited for him, helping him out and into the waiting ambulance. Monique tried to hide the smile as we walked along the jetty.

“Go on, tell me you got his number.”

“Not at this time Ab, I don't want to be talking like that when you're down about a douche bag.”

“He's not.” I murmured, my voice filling with pain.

“Sorry to say it Ab but he is. If he's so into you, there shouldn't be any secrets. And I'm right when I say that there is something huge about this guy, something that I just can pin down.”

She huffed as she pressed her lips shut tight, shaking her head.

“Something is amiss.”

Her hand stretched out to the cab door, the fellow nodding at us as he put our bags into the boot.

“Where to ladies?”

“Airport please.”

As I pulled the door shut, I took one last look at the boat. I wished that it held more than just a few passengers, I wished that it held one more. That he would stride out full of determination and tell me every little thing about his life without holding back. I didn't want to pry but I knew that it was important, it held value in his life. I also wished that he would tell me that I had misinterpreted the scene at the shops, that he wasn't flirting with those girls. That he didn't really have his arms over them, that my eyes had deceived me. But they hadn't.

Chapter Eleven

The cab ride and subsequent flight home had been rather uneventful. Except for sitting for at the airport waiting an hour for a flight. We were lucky in the fact that we were able to move our flights, I didn't like the thought of having to pay for another one. There were a lot of photographers around, Monique searched for the obvious indicators of someone famous in our general vicinity. But there were no oversized glasses or hats, no security personnel or an entourage.

Home was Boston, Massachusetts. No, our temporary home was Boston. I had a few more years of hiding here, then I would have to face my parents disappointed faces.

Night was slowly slipping across the land. I wanted to find my bed and sleep away the hours. But it was unlikely. The truth would be that I would cry until I looked like some bloated puffer fish and slowly slip into an uneasy sleep.

Monique and I made our way through the crowd, seeing our ride home waiting for us. Benny looked panicked, it was a little concerning because crowds didn't bother him. The last time he looked this nervous was when the health department did their inspection. Not that the clean freak had anything to worry about. Benny had a thing against dirt, pests, almost anything remotely gross. Every time we walked in for our shift he would check us over, no dirt under the nails, hair neat and tidy and clothes the cleanest they could be. Otherwise we were made to fix it or go home. Benny really was a freak.

As we drew closer he scraped his fingers through his blonde fringe, pulling it back over his head. His head turned to the side, pointing a finger with excitement.

“Oh my god, is that Erin Dunlop?”

Suddenly the crowd shifted en masse, turning to the direction he pointed to. Cameras started clicking up a frenzy as the crowd started to go wild with excitement.

“Come on.” he hissed his panic. “I've got a cab double parked.”

We were running through the airport, the doors were just a short distance before Benny stopped.

“What the hell is going on Ben?” Monique puffed as she clutched her side.

“You two don't know?” he frowned.

“Abigail!” a man screeched my name at the top of his voice and I turned to it.

Suddenly I was hit with a wall of flashing light, the sounds of a thousand cameras clicking at us.

“Damn it.” Benny snarled. “Come on.”

He grabbed my hand and pulled me through the doors, getting into the first cab available.

“Hey!” a woman hissed at him.

“Not now.”

Benny pushed us into the back seats, throwing our bags in as he shut the door, climbing in the front with the driver.

“Go, now!”

“What happened to the double parked cab?” Monique yelled as the cab lurched forward, throwing us back against the seat.

“Oh, he was moved on.” the driver informed us. “Cannot double park, blocks the road.”

“Benny?”

He turned in his seat and a frown deepened over his pretty watery blue eyes.

“Was wondering if you knew, you kind of looked a little oblivious. Lucky for you, I brought the tabloids that have been circulating the past couple of days. You my darling are an internet hit.”

In his hand was three tabloid magazines, Monique snatched them out of his hands. She took one and dumped the other two onto my lap.

On the front cover was Austin and I in Oz's diner, two words across the banner.
Island Love.

Frantically I turned to the article, pages of images of the two of us, Monique and I, even a few photos with Brody. I'd been labeled a heart breaker, that I had courted many men over the few days that I had been there and that Austin was devastated. I turned the page to images of the real Austin, a singer for a band called Night Fire.

“Damn it.” Monique groaned. “Do you like that band Ben?”

“Nuh, not into anything other than techno.”

“I've been labeled as a slut. I didn't even have sex with anyone.”

Monique snorted as she tossed the magazine onto my lap, taking the other one.

“A woman has sex with a few men and she's a slut. A man has sex with a few women and he's a stud. This world is so bloody sexist it's not funny.”

“Mon, I didn't even do it with him. This is saying that we're almost married.”

Benny huffed with a laugh, turning to the driver who was nodding with a grin.

“Honey, that isn't half of what they are saying. I'm looking forward to becoming an honorary uncle, if it's a boy are you going to name him after me?”

“Not pregnant Benny. Kind of need to have sex for that one.”

“Apparently you went to the island to meet his parents.”

“I didn't even know they were there until today. He said they were always around and came and went as they pleased.”

He shrugged, looking as Monique held up a picture of the fight in the bar. The one sided fight. His whole quiet life on that island had just been shot to pieces.

“You can't go back to the apartment, ever since the news broke it's been chaos. Can't go to the ol' Benster's house either. Lucky for you I've got a nice hidey hole that you can stay at while until they lose interest. On a positive note, you don't need to hide your dropping out of the degree from your parents anymore.”

Benny flashed his pearly white teeth at me with his award winning, panty dropping smile.

“Shit.” I groaned.

“Don't stress Ab, I smoothed it over for you. As payment you're doing your next shift for free.”

“How generous of you.” Monique snipped.

“It is.” he retorted, almost offended. “Her father was on the phone, yelling at me that I was to blame for making her work too many hours. So I told him exactly what I knew. She wasn't right for it, she didn't want to do it. I might have mentioned that you passed out when they showed pictures. I didn't tell him about the throwing up.”

I groaned again, flopping my head onto the seat.

“As a bonus, the shop has never been busier. I gotta say Ab, you need to go on more holidays, this is awesome.”

Thanks to the media, I now knew the true Austin. He was a god in the world of hard rock music. The band was legendary. His band released an album and the world sat up and took notice. They went on tour and they were sold out within a few hours of the sale starting. Nothing could stop their rise to world domination. Except one little thing of course. Me.

Speculation was rife, estimating that the end of Night Fire was going to happen at any moment. Some media outlets said that I was causing a rift between the members, that Austin had gone to his parents to escape the doom and gloom of his world.

Austin was right when he said that I didn't know what I was getting myself in for. Maybe if he had actually bothered to tell me I wouldn't be so clueless. Part of me could understand why he wouldn't want to tell me, he probably wanted a quiet holiday.

“Oh my god, you are a tart Ab.” Monique giggled.

I lifted my head from the window pane, sick of the view of the night sky anyway. The hotel room Benny had rented for us under his name was doing well to hide me. Monique was searching out everything related to Night Fire. For an hour now I had been drowned in their music, listening to Austin sing up a storm. His voice was incredible and I could understand why they were famous.

Monique turned Benny's laptop, the image was of Austin and I at the lagoon. I had no god damned top on.

“Shit.”

Aside from my oversized breasts out there for the world to see, it was a pretty nice photo. I had to give the photographer some merit for it.

She chuckled and turned it back to continue her internet stalking. Her mouth opened with a wicked smirk, about to tell me something.

“I don't want to hear it Monique. I'm going to bed.”

I grabbed my bag, pulling it into my bedroom. As I rummaged through the hastily packed clothes I found my camera. It was torturous but I looked through the photos. The last few photos weren't taken by me, Austin must have gotten hold of the camera again.

I was on my stomach, my bare back with a slick of the cream glistening from the light above. Envy washed through me, the bastard took a pretty good photo. I paused at a photo that was my back, completely covered in white cream, written onto my back was three words,
You said that.
I flicked to the next image, the cream had been wiped over and new words were written,
you love me.

“Oh crap.” I whispered.

Next image had another message,
well Abigail...

My heart sunk hard, my hand was shaking as I pressed the button to change to the next image.

I love you too
.

I choked back a sob, Monique was at the door in an instant. She took the camera, flicking through the images as she hugged me with her free arm.

“Shit.” she groaned, flicking through the images that I hadn't seen.

Outside I am...

Famous.

Wealthy.

Loved by too many.

Inside I am...

Quiet.

Lost.

Until I met you.

You make me...

Happy.

Relaxed.

Grateful to be alive.

Monique's phone started ringing, frightening the life out me. She rushed out of the room, leaving me a mess of tears. I flicked the button again and laughed, in spite of the tears. The bastard had drawn a cream mustache on my face. After that the images were of the rock face that morning I had met him. I turned the camera off and put it on the bedside, frowning at the hotel phone that was ringing loudly.

Not sure who Monique was talking to but it was all in hushed tones at the entrance of her bedroom. I picked up the phone with a wary greeting.

“A package has arrived for a Miss Marshall, a staff member will be delivering it to your room within the minute.”

“Uh okay, thanks.”

“No problem. Have a good evening.”

“You too.” I whispered and hung up the phone.

What was Benny having sent here and why the hell couldn't he just bring it here himself?

Barely a few seconds had passed before there was a knock at the door. Monique turned to it with a frown, still talking on the phone. I shrugged at her and opened the door a sliver.

The impeccably dressed man held out the white box. If he was a staff member I wouldn't know, he was in a plain suit with no name tag or anything to identify him with.

Even though I shouldn't, I gave him a good once over. He offered a cheeky smirk, dirty blonde hair pulled to one side in an attempt to look professional. It hadn't fooled me, it was a finger scraping not a brushed effort. A tattoo was peeking over the edge of his shirt collar and instantly I was suspicious.

“Package for Miss Marshall.”

It was wrapped in a black silk ribbon, the bow looked like it had been tied with precision.

“Who is it from?”

“I am not sure miss, do you want to refuse delivery?”

“No.” I sighed, pushing the door open to take it.

I rummaged through my pocket, finding a ten dollar note.

“Sorry, it's all I've got left.”

“It's alright miss, my tip has been paid for.”

With a nod he turned on his heels and walked back to the elevator. He wasn't a staff member, I couldn't imagine this hotel allowing their staff to wear dirty red converse boots.

I closed the door and pulled on the ribbon, sitting on the lounge as I lifted the lid. Monique was still talking to someone, by the angst in her voice it sounded like her mother.

The box was a glossy white rectangle thing that looked like it cost too much money. Inside the box was a black leather bound book. Not just any black leather book,
the
black leather book.

He knew where I was and not just that, he had sent the book that I didn't think he would ever show me. I pulled the book out of the box, a note fell out onto my lap.

I gulped hard as I picked up the piece of paper, it had been torn from the book and folded over once. 

Abigail,

Last night you offered so much of what you hide in that mind of yours, the barriers came down even if you were off in pixie land because of the medication. You might have been talking to a cat that did not exist but I still believed you when you said that you loved me.

Which leaves me wondering why you ran away without allowing me to explain what you saw. I had planned on telling you everything at dinner tonight, that's why I was at the store. After I told you every little detail about my world, I was going to introduce you to my family. Not just my parents but my extended family. They are my world, they are my life. When I said that you didn't know what you were getting yourself into, I was right but I didn't know how to tell you and for that I'm sorry. What we had right then was so perfect and not marred by the reality of my life. But you've probably seen my reality by now.

Those girls at the store were fans, by bringing the rest of the band to the island I had inadvertently alerted the world to where I was hiding. So I did my duty and gave my fans what they wanted, photos with their idol. I'm sorry if you misinterpreted the situation, again if I had told you then you would have understood. I can't change the past but I can change the future. Instead of meeting my family at dinner tonight you can meet them through my work.