I clutched the phone a little too hard, and the plastic case made a tiny cracking noise. It wouldn’t be the first time I crushed a phone in my hand. Fucking toys. I’d need some kind of heavy-duty military casing if people kept bugging me with shit like this.
“I adhered to the speed limit despite being followed by a lunatic,” I enunciated, barely withholding a proper dragon snarl.
“I know that, but the public doesn’t,” Carlos said slowly, as if explaining something to a child. My phone cracked a bit louder, so I hit speaker mode and dropped it on the bed. “We need to take control of the narrative, or you’ll go from hero to villain so fast your head will spin.”
I could feel my anger seething, my blood turning to lava. With my jaw clenched, I glanced at Terry.
And as easy as that, I could breathe again.
My life was a shit show, and now he was stuck in it with me. But my brilliant mate brushed a few strands of hair from my forehead. He looked determined and focused. Could I have this man on my side? No way did I deserve that, but I wasn’t foolish enough to throw a tantrum and jeopardize my luck. I blew out a heavy breath. I needed to deal with this bullshit like an adult so I could bond with Terry in peace and show him we could be good together.
“Okay. What do I do?”
Carlos paused for a heartbeat. He wasn’t used to me cooperating this fast. “Do you have any visible bruises?” he asked cautiously. “A cut on your eyebrow? Anything.”
“A few scratches on my arms.” Which were healing a bit too fast for a mere human.
“I’ll invite the press onto your lawn this evening. Wear short sleeves. I’ll write you a neat little speech about how you were attacked. Instead of showing the asshole what you’re made of, you drove like a grandpa, making sure nobody was hurt even as you were in danger yourself. Don’t you have footage from your bodyguard’s dashboard camera?”
“The police have it.”
“Awesome. I’m getting an official statement from them. Basically, you were a saint but got pushed off the road. That’s the story we’re sticking to.”
“That’s not the story. That’s what actually happened.”
I heard banging and rustling noises in the background, then the beep of an opening car. “Great. Then you don’t even have to lie.”
I rolled my eyes toward the ceiling, defeated. “When?”
“I’m on my way with our team and can have a crowd at your place in an hour. Gotta go now. I have people I need to call.”
“Wonderful.” My voice dripped with sarcasm, but Carlos was used to it.
I flopped on the bed, closing my eyes.
“Sorry,” I mumbled.
“What are you apologizing for now?” Terry asked quietly. His fingers combed through my hair. Nope. I did not deserve this man.
I blinked up at him. “I was about to ask you to use my body however you wanted.”
The corners of his mouth curved up. “Later. We’ll deal with this nonsense first.”
He grabbed my hand and squeezed.
TERRANCE
Carlos, Lothair’s manager, arrived with a couple of frazzled assistants and a hands-free device in his ear, making one call after another. He issued his commands by signing and pointing, his facial expressions completely detached from what he was saying on the phone.
Scowling murderously, he directed one assistant to rearrange the patio furniture. Simultaneously, he all but sang in a syrupy voice, “Liam, darling, how are you? I’m not disturbing you, am I? And how’s my favorite puppy? Listen, sweetie, I have a fantastic story for you. You’re gonna lose your shit over this, but you need to be in Brentwood in thirty…”
I’d been bubbling with fury since the moment I heard Carlos on the phone, but I tried not to let my anger show now, for Lothair’s sake. The other assistant was still fussing with his hair, having spent fifteen minutes making it look as if Lothair had just been in a life-threatening traffic collision. Surprisingly, it was starting to appearrealistic. Then he applied some cream to Lothair’s face instead of makeup, which created a sickly, pale sheen on his skin.
The first cars stood parked in the driveway, the visitors getting rigorously vetted by our security. Lothair waited, dressed in a short-sleeved light-blue shirt that seemed like something he threw on in a hurry but had been carefully chosen and compared to five others. He looked haggard, which was more the effect of the show Carlos was staging than due to the stress from the car crash, but it was believable and appropriate, and that was what mattered today.
The small crowd gathered with their cameras and microphones on the lawn in front of the patio. Lothair said all the right things, appearing grave and composed. I loomed behind him in my dark shades and a suit, keeping my expression neutral. My attention was on the group of strangers. The mess of devices could make it difficult to spot a weapon—not that I didn’t trust our security. Just standing behind Lothair with people in front of him made me antsy as fuck.
As soon as Lothair finished his short statement, one reporter asked, “What do you say about the accusations online?”
