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The color drained from Carl’s face momentarily, only to be replaced just as quickly by a furious crimson. “What the fuck did you just say?” he roared.
“You heard me. Pack. Your. Shit. You and I are done.”
Surprisingly, a sense of calm washed over me, in stark contrast to my earlier rage. I felt empowered, wondering why I had been so weak to allow Carl to manipulate me for so long. It was even more satisfying to witness the meticulously crafted facade of control around Carl begin to unravel.
“Like hell we are. You forget, you ungrateful little shit, I own you. You’re nothing without me!” he spat back venomously.
“You see, that’s funny because last time I checked, you work for me. And now you don’t,” I said coolly.
“I think you’re forgetting all the little secrets I know about you, Colton. It would be a shame if they happened to be released to the media.”
Carl’s threat hung in the air like a poisonous cloud, and I knew he wasn’t bluffing. He would use all the knowledge he had of my secrets, unleashing them along with as many that he could fabricate, to even the score if I dared to defy him.
Well fuck him, because he’d finally pushed me too far.
“I’m sure you can try, but considering no one will print a word you say, I doubt it will gain much traction. And if it does, I don’t care anymore. The only reason my marriage is even a secret in the first place is because of you,” I shot back.
A smug grin spread across Carl’s face. “I did you a favor, you brat. You think you would be anything without me? You’d still be stuck in bumfuck nowhere without a penny to your name. You think you can just fire me? You’re forgetting that I made you, and I can take you down with me just as easily.”
“No, Carl. I made me. And you may have had power over me, but make no mistake, that’s because I allowed it. I’ve always known what a snake you are, but I let it slide because you made things happen. But now, you’ve crossed a fucking line. If you think you can file a restraining order against Gray without me finding out, you’re out of your mind.”
“Ha! That nobody? You think you would have amounted to anything with him by your side? He would have dragged you down and you were too naive to see it,” Carl sneered.
“No, what you really mean is that he would have made sure you couldn’t manipulate me into doing your bidding. You know he would have convinced me to fire you after my very first album.”
Carl’s expression twisted with fury, looking like he wanted to strangle me. “If you fire me, I’ll make sure you regret it,” he hissed.
“What part of this aren’t you understanding?” I chuckled dryly. “There’s no “if.” You’re already fired. Your access to my accounts has already been frozen, and as we speak, Gabrielle is drawing up the lawsuit to reclaim all the funds you’ve stolen from me over the years. I’ll see you in court,” I announced as I turned to leave.
“Oh, and by the way,” I added, pausing for dramatic effect, snapping my fingers like I’d just remembered another piece of information, instead of delivering a carefully planned final parting blow. “I made a few calls, and you’re as good as blacklisted from the industry. You see, it really wasn’t your brightest idea to take me on. You seem to have forgotten that I have more sway than just about anyone. People will bend over backwards if I tell them to, and they were all too eager to cut all ties with you in exchange for me continuing to work with them.”
The world tilted as I found myself sprawled on my back, Carl’s grip tightening around my throat. The women on the couch, previously silent and watching our argument with dazed fascination, erupted into screams as Carl’s sweat dripped onto my face. His foul breath reached my nostrils as he panted above me and I would have gagged if I’d been able to take in any oxygen.
“I’m going to kill you, you little shit!” he snarled. “You fucking owe everything to me, and this is how you repay me?”
My first instinct was to panic, as Carl’s weight bore down on me like a vice, and my vision started to fade into a blur of spots. He easily had a hundred pounds on me and there should be no hope of me throwing him off.
Luckily though, years ago when Willy had been assaulted by a client, I had approached Santi, asking him to help Willy learn self-defense. After watching one of their training sessions in action, I decided I should equip myself with those skills as well. Now, I tapped into my training, allowing muscle memory to take over. I focused all my strength and threw as much of my body weight into driving my knee directly into Carl’s groin.
As the pain registered on his face, Carl’s grip loosened, and I seized the opportunity to suck in a much-needed breath. Taking advantage of his distraction, I pulled back my elbow where it collided with his nose with a sickening crunch. Carl rolled off of me, cursing and bleeding, just in time for me to witness Santi kicking open the hotel room door.
He swiftly took control, tackling Carl and placing him in a headlock, while Steve was pulling out his phone to call in reinforcements.
As luck would have it, one of the women had her phone out, recording. Excellent. I’d like to see Carl try to weasel his way out of threatening my life and attacking me on video.
Ten minutes later, I was treated to the beautiful sight of Carl being led away in handcuffs.
34. “Bad Habits”
Colt
3 months later
I had wanted to cancel my St. Louis show more than anything, the proximity to a certain someone proving too much to bear. The only thing keeping me from faking the plague was the secret hope he might show up. Yes, I was a stunning mess of contradictions these days, and I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry about the fact Gray still hadn’t so much as texted to tell me he was okay.
If I hadn’t received semi-regular updates from Remy detailing Gray’s recovery, I would have jumped on a plane long before now. I had to keep reminding myself that Gray didn’t actually want me there.
Unable to listen to the noise of the crowd begging for an encore any longer, I turned on my heel and made a beeline for my dressing room. Hiding like a coward also seemed to be my new MO, but at least the fans might finally get the message that it was time to pack up and head home.
