Stand (Black Addiction Book 3) (24 page)

I’d never been so
angry in my life.

Even after all the shit Phil had put us through. The fucking trouble with the police, multiple girlfriends, and the shit with Alison. Nothing came close to the rage I felt when I thought about that smug piece of shit doing this for no other reason than to hurt her.

I wanted to hunt him down and strangle him, watch the breath leave his body as he looked into my eyes so he knew I was the cause. That he could never mess with what was mine.

But I’d said I wouldn’t touch him, and I’d sooner strangle myself than go back on my word.

I hated it. Being motherfucking useless while the feeling moved across my skin like a rash. One way or another, I was going to need to find a loophole. That asshole was going to get what was coming, and his fifteen minutes of fame wasn’t it.

“Okay Beth, this is just a contract stating you are retaining me as your lawyer.” Rebecca, Black Addiction’s flashy new legal eagle, laid out the pages on my dining room table. “I’ve already got my secretary on the phone setting up a call to the paper’s legal team. The Times won’t go to the presses until after eleven p.m. That gives me a few hours to convince them how bad an idea it will be if they run it.”

Unlike the POS who was our first lawyer, Rebecca Cardwell was brilliant. Smart woman who was absolutely fearless, and didn’t bat her heavily made-up eyes when I told her the deal. Nope, just got into her fancy BMW and met us up in my apartment, her iPhone glued to her ear as she walked in the door.

“Do you really think you can stop them?” Beth looked over the papers before putting her autograph where it mattered. “They don’t seem too interested in my side of the story. No one has called for a comment.”

“I’m sure as hell going to try.” She barely took a breath as she gave us the rundown in her thick Brooklyn accent. “And they’re not interested in your comment because it gives them plausible deniability. This isn’t a court hearing, so the burden is different. If presented with a story that is supported by evidence, even if the evidence is bullshit, they can turn around and print a retraction slash apology later. They still moved units and who the hell cares about the mea culpa on page three, two days later. It’s in the gossip section; their reporters are bottom feeders. They aren’t going to be winning critical acclaim, so they will go for sensationalism every time.”

Like I said, barely took a breath.

“Okay.” Beth nodded, putting not only her faith but her future in the hands of a stranger. “Let’s do whatever we need to do.”

What we needed to do was put the asshole six feet under, but
apparently
that wasn’t an option. So, while Rebecca C was going the legal route, I hadn’t given up the hope of exacting some old school justice of my own.

The dickless wonder
was going to find out first hand exactly what happened when he went after what was mine. A bruised ego was going to be the least of his problems.

“What are you thinking about?” Beth’s fingers moved against my arm, Rebecca double barreling with a cell phone on each ear.

“Nothing. I don’t want you to worry, okay?” And wasn’t that the fucking truth. I was going to do whatever I needed to so I never saw her like that again.

My day had been textbook standard. In the studio, laying bass tracks down and working on the album. The reward for my efforts was going to be what it always was.

Beth.

So when Jules called me, bull-in-china-shop hysterical, I had my ass in a car heading Bethbound before the reverb had fully rung out on my deserted E string.

Lots of deep breathing, new age positive thinking BS had transpired on that ride, not to mention a few broken traffic laws as well. My mind absolutely exploded with worst-case scenarios. And make no mistake, seeing her like that on the floor when I kicked open her door destroyed me even more.

She hadn’t said the words, but the heat that was on her was partly my doing. Not intentionally of course, but that didn’t make it any better.

One of the
perks
of dating me. Not only did you get the relationship, but you get the bonus commentary from an asshole with a zoom lens. That POS who’d dated her, never would have come after her if it hadn’t been for me. And whether it was because she’d given him the cold shoulder and his delicate sensibilities were hurt, or he was looking to line his pockets with green, I’d put that target on her back.

She was so quiet. Her hands pressed between her knees as she sat at the table like a living corpse. Her eyes so vacant it scared the fuck out of me.

“Alrighty.” Rebecca lowered both her phones, giving us a tight smile. “Seems The Times aren’t as attached to the story as first thought, imagine that. Article is dead in the water. That’s not to say he isn’t going to try and shop it elsewhere, but we’ve got some time to work on our offensive. You would be surprised how persuasive a defamation case can be, and if it doesn’t, I’ll have him in court so often his favorite color is going to be legal-pad yellow.” Each sentence shot out with barely a breath in between, it always astounded me she didn’t pass out when she spoke. Rapid-fire dialogue aside, she was damn good at her job. Case in point, Beth was no longer tomorrow’s click bait.

“Thanks, Rebecca.” I stuck my hand out, the words not conveying half the gratitude I was feeling. “You’re awesome.”

“No need to thank me, that’s what your billables are for. We’re not completely out of the woods, but his hand is off the trigger for now.” She gathered her notes, shoving everything into an oversized bag that probably cost as much as my car. “I’ll keep you both posted.”

“Thank you. Really, thank you.” Beth nodded, her feet unsteady as she stood.

“Don’t mention it, it was a low blow and I hate assholes.” Rebecca gave Beth a nod as she got ready to leave.

Beth stayed on her feet as I walked Rebecca out. The goodbyes at the door were as quick and efficient as most of her meetings, her exit happening a few moments later.

“I love you.” I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. The words weren’t new, but I needed her to hear and believe them. No matter what happened, that wasn’t changing.

“I love you too,” she mumbled into my chest, it sounding too much like a goodbye for my liking.

“If you are thinking about running, you need to forget it.” I lifted her chin, her dark eyes still glassy from earlier tears. “I’m not letting you this time.”

There were some things that were non-negotiable. Her walking out of my life was one of those things and I wasn’t going to let her give up on us either so best she knew that now.

“I don’t know what to think.” She shook her head, her mind clearly having considered it.

“That’s fine,” my thumbs mopped the edges of her eyes, “you don’t have to
know
right now, as long as it’s not running.”

“I could still lose my job. Everything I’ve worked so hard for.” She conveniently sidestepped, avoiding the subject.

“And you’re wondering if it’s worth it. Being with me.” I couldn’t help but lay it on the table.

Fuck, I didn’t blame her if she thought it was too much trouble. Hell, I’d probably want to bail on all of this too if I was her. Didn’t change the fact I wasn’t going to let her. Or give her an alternative that I wasn’t part of.

“Come on, Max.” She pulled back and I hated the distance she was trying to create. “You have to at least entertain the idea that maybe there was a reason we could never stay together.”

If it had been any other girl I might have agreed with her. Cut my losses and bailed. It would probably be easier and a lot less heartache for her. But not
this
time, not
this
girl—she was wrong and together was absolutely the only way we needed to be.

“You know what, there was a reason and it had nothing to do with fate.” My fingers curled around her waist. “We didn’t fight for it, Beth. And I’m fighting for you now. I’m fighting for us now.”

If I believed for a second that she seriously wanted out, I
may
have been able to walk away. I say
may
because it still would have been a shit fight. But assuming we agreed it was for the best and it would make her happy, I would have walked out the door even knowing there was a piece of my heart that forever would be missing. But I knew she didn’t feel that way, and her words might have said she was confused, but her eyes told me different. She loved me, she wanted to be with me and the only reason she was considering something else was because she was scared.

“I just need time to think.” Her hands raked through her long brown hair, keeping up with her avoid.

“You can have all the time you want, but it will be with me by your side.” It was killing me to be this close and feel the distance between us. It’s like what we worked towards was eroding and I was digging in with both hands trying to keep it together. “You’re my past, present and future, Beth. So if you’re out, then I don’t have anything left.”

“I love you.” The tears she’d been fighting pooled to the surface.

“Then that’s all I need to hear right now.”

I wasn’t delusional. And I knew that
I love you
wasn’t a commitment to stay. Or that everything would be okay from here on out.

But for tonight it was enough.

***

“You sure about this?” Joey jumped into the passenger side of my car, his hand tapping on his knee as I started the ignition.

“You know I am.”

If I’d have told you the only thing that had been on my mind last night was Beth, then I would be lying. And while I’d spent most of the time watching her while she tossed and turned in my arms, I hated that anyone would even think to hurt her. I promised her she wouldn’t have to worry, and I meant every word.

“If you’ve changed your mind, I can do this alone. No hard feelings.” My hand hesitated on the gear stick, knowing how quickly it could all go bad.

Joey had a wife and a kid; that alone should have been enough of a reason to sit this one out. But when he heard what went down, he’d been the first one to ask me what did I need. The man beside me more of a brother than the biological one who shared my last name ever was.

“Don’t get soft on me, dude.” Joey smiled, tipping his head to the windshield. “You know you aren’t doing jack alone so put your foot on the gas and let’s do this.”

My first instinct had been to track the son of bitch down and beat the living shit out of him. It had been my second and third instinct too. Actually, it had been the only plan that seemed to make sense, letting it go, wasn’t happening. The not killing him promise I’d locked myself into caused a problem, which meant I’d have to get creative.

So while Beth slept, my iPhone and I got comfortable. A few well-spent hours were all I needed to lay down the framework, the asshole proving to be completely stupid as well as having no sack. Awesome. Thanks a lot, douchebag; you saved me a whole heap of trouble.

It had killed me to leave her in my bed. Her eyes barely opened as I kissed her goodbye, nodding her head as I promised I would see her soon. Then I had gotten into my car and driven to Joey’s. He knew what I was doing and also knew why, and it had been his idea to ride shotgun. It was more than I’d be willing to ask, but in the end I didn’t need to, and for that I honestly loved the guy.

Angie and Rus were aware of the situation. I’d given them both the rundown as well as making it clear that as much as I loved the band, my first priority was Beth. I’d gotten no resistance from either of them, both of them at my back if I needed. Because that’s the way it had always been, and no amount of fame and money was going to change that.

“You think he’s going to show?” Joey stared out the window as we pulled up to the gym.

“Yep.” My thumb tapped impatiently on the steering wheel. “He’s predictable and not smart, so I’d say we’re going to have no problems.”

Mike Warren—or piece of shit, as I liked to call him—was a creature of habit. He liked to get a green juice from
Beets
around the corner, and then spend a couple of hours in the gym.

And as much as I would have liked to pretend the CSI had been difficult, I’d gotten his daily routine with zero effort courtesy of his Twitter account. Every check-in and Twit-pic of his boring existence was just waiting for me to see. But it wasn’t just his fucktard poser gym photos that were featured. Nope, there were links to his family, where he worked—every single detail of the moron’s life hashtagged for convenience. @Asshole #YouAreADumbFuck.