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“Move.” With more aggression than needed, I push away the cameraman responsible for cutting her off, before dropping my lips to the shell of Nicole’s ear. “We’ll have plenty of time to talk once I’ve ensured you’re safe. Can’t call myself your bodyguard if I don’t put your safety first.”
When I make a break through the crowd by shoving more than using my manners, Nicole says, “That’s one of the things I want to talk to you about. I don’t think you should be my bodyguard anymore. I want you to—” Her words shift to a wince when a member of the public tries to execute the same pluck and yank routine the brute mastered earlier today.
Their bid is unsuccessful this time around.
Nicole only leaves my side when I place her into the back of the limousine and I’m yanked back into the surge of the crowd.
“Get the fuck back!”
Before my fist can send the grabby perp flying onto his ass, Dallas drags him back by the collar of his shirt and punishes his ribs with a quick one-two jab.
When the crowd thins, uneager to be served Dallas’s style of justice, Knox uses the opportunity to slip into the back of the limousine with Nicole.
I’m about to follow him inside, but he blocks my entrance. “Jump into the SUV with the crew.” He nudges his head to the tinted Escalade behind the stretched town car he’s hogging like it only has two seats. “It’s going to the same place.” Nicole’s eyes lock with mine a second before Knox slams the door shut, only just drowning out his mumbled, “I want some alone time with my girl so we can make a ton of memories.”
25
NICOLE
“Why did you do that? Why are you insinuatingthisis more than it is?” I thrust my hand between Knox and me as I say the word “this.”
Knox scoffs at me. “What are you talking about? I’m notinsinuatinganything.”
My chest's erratic rise and fall is highlighted when I fold my arms under my breasts. “You asked Laken to follow us in the road crew SUV so you can ‘make a ton of memories with your girl.’” I mock his impish tone during the quoted part of my reply.
A lack of sleep isn’t solely to blame for my bitchy attitude. It is mainly because of the distance Knox forced between Laken and me today. Between makeup and a two-hour appointment with a stylist, I haven’t seen hide nor hair of Laken all morning, so he’s none the wiser that the kiss he witnessed wasn’t close to romantic.
“Yeah? And?” Knox murmurs like he can’t understand what has me so worked up. “Are we not doing that?” He waves his hand to the craziness Laken just walked me through unscathed. The paparazzi are so eager for the perfect shot that they squash their cameras against the tinted glass of the stretched limo while jogging alongside it. “You’re mymaingirl, Nicole, theonlyartist I personally represent. That’s how much I believe in your talent and what I meant about making memories. I want to cherish every moment of your successwithyou because I’ve been there since the start.”
“Oh…” The one time I want an interruption, I’m not granted one. It’s what I get for acting so pretentious I assume every man wants to be romantically linked with me. “I thought you meant something else, which is understandable since Laken thinks we’re together.” I watch Knox for any signs of shock. When I fail to get a single smidge of surprise, I say, “Which is even more peculiar considering you’re his best friend, so he could have only gotten that assumption from you.”
“Best friend?” He chuckles while scrubbing at the stubble on his chin. “That’s a stretch on our association.”
Although there are thousands of truths in my head to call out his lie, I use his instead.“Family looks out for family. They have your back no matter what.”
“Laken said that, not me,” he denies, forcing me to delve deeper into memories of that day.
“I’ll do anything for you, man. You know that.”
Now I have him over the barrel, and he knows it.
He’s so stumped he takes almost a minute to reply. “River is like a brother to me, has been since his first foster placement with my family when he was ten. But I don’t know Laken as well as I do his little brother.” He licks his dry lips while continuing to try to pull the wool over my eyes like the walls in his office aren’t paper-thin. “I was already annoyed at how many times River went in and out of care, and I’ve never gotten over the fact Laken dumped his brother for good for a couple of ounces of cocaine.”
“What?” That’s as much as my disbelief will allow me to speak. Laken kicked out two road crew members during rehearsals last week for snorting lines in the dancers' bathroom, unaware that the man who hired them founded their addiction.
Knox kept his cocaine addiction well hidden until our days at the recording studio stretched well into the night. His coping mechanisms aren’t ones I’ve handled before, but Apollo made out it is a standard practice in the music industry.
“Do you not find it strange that Laken left town for almost a decade before showing back up the week River got a promotion?” Knox leans forward until his elbows balance on his knees. “They’ve been estranged for some time. I swear River told you about it the first week you met.”
“He said no such thing.Youtold me he wasyourbrother.”
“Cut me some slack, Nicole. I said he’slikea brother to me. It isn’t my fault you misheard what I said.” I didn’t mishear anything, but he continues talking before I can defend myself, foiling my chance. “I guarantee Laken is only sniffing around now because he heard River’s salary includes a percentage of your royalties. He knows he’s about to hit the big time and wants a share of the pie he doesn’t deserve.”
I hardly know Laken, but I’m confident many points of Knox’s story are as fabricated as the songs he wants me to sing. There’s no truth to them. No heart. They’re manufactured to tell a story no one has ever lived.
“Even when he ordered more tacos than his stomach could handle, Laken wouldn’t let River pay for his meal.” Knox’s glare turns evil when I say, “However, you were adamant River had to reimburse you for the items he took from the minibar at our last hotel.” I return his watch to ensure he knows I’m not the wallflower he thinks I am. “They’re complimentary in the presidential suite. The ‘perks’ he deserves didn’t cost you a single cent.” I return his earlier scoff. “And neither did the room since I picked up the tab.”
“I said I’d pay you back. I had some issues with my card.” He’s back on the edge of his chair, his expression no longer stern. “Why are you making it out to be such a big deal? Payment processing errors occur all the time.”
