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"It had to seem believable. Get her up, Clive."
"Don't touch me," I growl, whipping my head in Clive's direction. "I can get myself up."
He nods, waiting for me to drag myself to my feet.
"What do you mean, it had to seem believable?" I ask John. If he's going to kill me, the least he can do is tell me everything first.
"You were supposed to go the police like I suggested, Kenna. They were supposed to splash your name all over the fucking news. The whole world would have been watching that concert tomorrow, waiting to see what happened. And when someone took a shot at you, the whole world would have been on your side." His lip curls in disgust. "But you can't even fucking follow directions."
"You're insane!" I cry. "Someone was going to figure out it was you, eventually. The police would have figured it out, John."
"They can't track anything back to me." He smirks, his icy eyes cold. "You think this is my first time in the saddle? We've been turning bitches like you into stars for years, Kenna. All of the evidence points to one of your little fanboys. Once the police found the gun we stole from his collection, it wouldn't have taken them long to find everything else we've set up to ensure he's the one who takes the fall."
I gape at him, horrified. He moves people around the board like chess pieces. We aren't human to him. We're just pawns. Kane was right. He is a horrible person. One of the worst I've ever met. Because this isn't the first time he's done something like this from the sounds of it. He's been manipulating people and playing games with their lives for God only knows how long.
I can't believe I ever trusted him. I can't believe I was ever that naïve. He isn't a manager. He's a monster.
"Your plan will never work. I'll never go along with it, John. I'm not going to let you ruin someone else's life just to make me famous," I say, drawing a line in the sand. I realize that puts me at risk when my hands are tied, and it's two against one. But sometimes, you have to do what is right even when it's not what's easy. Even when it means risking everything.
"The plan has changed, Kenz." He smirks again, striding toward me. "I told you that you couldn't afford to pay what you'd owe if you fired me. You fired me anyway and replaced me with Riley Jamison."
"W-what's the new plan?"
"Everything you wanted is about to disappear. You're going to confess to hiring our little scapegoat to stalk you. And then the guilt is going to become too much." He reaches into his pocket, rattling what sounds like a pill bottle. "You're smart enough to work it out from there."
My god. He's going to kill me and try to make it look like I did it to myself. That's his big plan. That's his punishment. Everything he's done since I fired him was just to keep us busy. He had no intention of following through on his threats about tomorrow. He's just been waiting for an opening, terrorizing me in the meantime just because he can.
"You're insane," I breathe again.
He strides toward me, reaching out to touch my cheek. I rear back, refusing to let him put his hands on me. He doesn't get to touch me. Not now. Not ever. I'll fight like hell before I let him put a single freaking finger on me.
"It's really a shame you started whoring yourself for your bodyguard," he mutters, his upper lip curled. "When I saved you tomorrow, you would have fucking loved me."
My stomach churns at the thought of ever loving this man. My mind spins at the realization that he knows who Gideon is…and at the confirmation that he does want to sleep with me. He's wanted it all along. He was just playing the long game, hoping I'd fall into his arms after all of this was said and done.
"Never," I say, my voice firm. "Even if I didn't love Gideon, I could never love you, John. The thought of your hands on me makes me skin crawl. It did before I met Gideon. It certainly does now."
Hatred boils in his eyes, the first true emotion I think I've seen from him since the night I pulled Gideon onto the stage. As a matter of fact, I think hatred is the only true emotion I've ever seen from him. He hates that I don't belong to him and never will. Not because he loves me but because I'm a shiny new toy to him. Something for him to play with until the next shiny new toy captures his attention.
He doesn't love. He doesn't know how. He wants to sleep with me only because he thinks he has that right. It's not true desire and it doesn't even have anything to do with me, not really. I could be anyone, and he'd want the same thing. It's about control and power. He wants it. And he hates that he doesn't have it.
"You've always been a heartless, mouthy bitch."
"You should know all about being heartless, John. You wrote the freaking book."
He lifts his hand as if he's going to strike me. I throw myself backward, out of harm's way. He grabs for my arm…and all hell breaks loose.
The windows shatter and the front door splinters. People flood into the house, coming from every side. I only have eyes for one of them, though.
"Kenna!" Gideon roars, running straight for me as Clive drops the knife in his hands and tries to make a run for it.
John grabs for me again, wrapping his hand around my upper arm.
Gideon sees him with his hand on me and launches himself at him. Within seconds, John is on his back with Gideon on top of him.
"You son of bitch!" Gideon roars, slamming his fist into John's face. "Don't put your fucking hands on her!"
John doesn't stand a chance of getting Gideon off of him. He's a foot shorter and a hundred pounds lighter. He's soft where Gideon is unyielding. My former Marine is a beast. My former manager might as well be a kitten in his grasp.
