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Myheelsclickedangrilyover the pavement before I got to Thorne’s car and slid inside. I waited until he joined me, and the moment he got in beside me, I turned on him. “What the hell was that?”
I had no idea what was going on, only that there was clearly no love lost between Thorne and Davis Walker. But what I didn’t understand was why. Thorne went from zero to three-sixty. And somehow I was wedged in the middle of it.
“I didn’t like the way he spoke about you,” Thorne snapped.
“It’s not your job to defend me,” I spat back.
“No?” His eyes widened. “I promised your parents I would keep you safe. And you don’t know him like I do.”
“I was fine. And you almost punched him, not to mention the hand you planted around his throat. Do you know how that would’ve looked to the press had he gone back into the party with a broken nose? It would’ve been all over the tabloids tomorrow.” I stared at him, irritation pricking under the surface of my skin. He’d almost blown the last few weeks of work for some jerk with an attitude.
“At least I would’ve felt better,” Thorne mumbled.
“Is that what you do? You just go around doing whatever feels good?”
For the first time, he turned to me. Anger darkened his eyes. “No, Scarlett. I don’t. Because had I done what felt good, I would’ve popped him the moment I realized who it was standing there with you.”
I shook my head and turned away from him to stare out the window. “You almost ruined all the good we’ve done these last weeks.”
To my surprise, his cheeks bloomed scarlet in the darkened interior of the car before he said, “I’m sorry it’s been so trying for you. And I’m sorry spending time with me is such a chore.”
I pressed my lips together, saying nothing. Instead, I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath to decipher the note of hurt in his voice while the car started, and the soft purr of the engine soothed my nerves.
But all I could think about was what he would’ve done had I not been there to stop him. Something told me what happened with Davis wasn’t about me at all, but something much bigger.
After a few minutes, I risked a peek at him. Shadows played across his face as he directed the driver to go. I’m not sure how much time elapsed as the world zoomed by. We drove past people walking along the sidewalks, hotels, and shops. Businesses began shuttering their doors for the night, their lights flickering off.
And still, I waited. For him to tell me what this thing with Davis was really about. Giving our spat air to breathe in the hopes he’d open up and share.
But the tight set of his mouth and the strain in his shoulders told me he was far from talking, and I couldn’t wait any longer. Whatever bad blood was between them was no small thing. I could sense it. Just like I sensed it wasn’t simply some kind of rivalry or competitive drive. Cutthroat industry or not, it was more than that.
“Do you want to tell me what really happened back there?” I asked into the silence.
A muscle jumped in his jaw, and another minute inched by until I thought he’d never answer.
“Remember when I told you about the kid I got started with at Treemont High? The one I was friends with?”
I nodded.
He turned to me then, and his green eyes blazed in the darkness. “It was Davis Walker.”
I swallowed. “He set you up? Made you take the rap for the drugs.”
He nodded.
“But that wasn’t the whole story. At the time, I was set to star in the new Thunder Man movie, the teenage superhero one. It would’ve been my biggest role at that point. My agent worked so hard to get it for me. Anyhow, after I got in trouble, I was in hot water, and my lawyers were hard at work, trying to get the charges dropped. So Davis seized the opportunity and slept with the producer's wife.”
My limbs went numb, and my heart grew heavy as understanding washed over me. “He convinced her to replace you?”
“Yep. The papers were about to be signed. All I had to do was get the drug charges cleared and the role was mine.”
I exhaled, thinking of the way he’d charmed me before Thorne found us. Not that I ever would’ve entertained hooking up with him, but he was charismatic in a way that I could totally understand how he’d managed to manipulate people into doing his bidding.
I stared down at the clasped hands in my lap, thinking about how terrible it must’ve been for Thorne to hear that he would be star alongside him. How he’d have to share a set and lines and everything that came along with the intimacy of working on a film together. The look of shock I’d seen made perfect sense now, and I’d wished I’d been intuitive enough to pull him away from Davis sooner.
“Oh, Thorne, I’m so sorry,” I breathed. Reaching out, I took his fist in my hand, the one that had grazed Davis’ jaw, surprised to see he struck him hard enough that one of his knuckles was red. Tentatively, I touched it. “Does it hurt?”
“Yes,” he said, eyes steady on my face, and for reasons I couldn’t explain, I didn’t think he was talking about his hand.
