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“Because you’re making out that Laken is only here for money. Money you supposedly don’t have.”
“I have money. I just couldn’t access it when we were checking in. The banks were closed.” He glances around at the buildings we’re bypassing before shifting his eyes to the driver. “We need to make a detour.”
“Where?” the driver asks, put off by the inconvenience, particularly since we’ve not yet lost the media tail scratching the paintwork of his pricy ride.
He tosses a bunch of metal credit cards over the privacy partition while saying, “Anywhere with an automatic teller. I wasn’t aware myloanhad a maximum seven-day repayment term attached to the offer.”
“You’re being ridiculous.”
Knox’s eyes snap to mine. “I’m being ridiculous? You’re the one who has her panties in a twist about a guy she hardly knows.” He stuffs his empty wallet into his trousers before sinking low in his seat with a frustrated headshake. “I should have never hired him. I just figured a job might keep him around a little longer this time.” He peers past my shoulder like the crew's SUV is only feet behind us. I realize it is when its frame reflects in his massively dilated eyes. “River seems to enjoy his company.”
“He does,” I agree. “Heloveshis brother.”
“As I do my mother, but that doesn’t mean she won’t try to fuck up my life at any available opportunity.” His sigh ruffles the strands of hair Bonnie left down to frame my face. “I was stupid to hire him. I should have never let him back into River’s life until he proved he had earned it.” My heart sinks to my feet when he says, “I’ll fix my mistake during your first interview. I’ll let him off gently and promote Dallas to his spot.”
“No,” I shout, my fury unmissable when I realize the last words I spoke with Laken make it seem as if I want exactly this. “That isn’t what I want.”
“Then what do you want, Nicole?” His tone is higher and angrier than I’ve ever experienced. “You wanted me to hire River, so I hired River. You wanted to do your first tour on the opposite side of the country, so I booked your tour on the other side of the country. What more can I fucking do to make this easier for you?” He puts air quotes around “easier.”
His question is rhetorical, but I refuse to let him guilt-trip me the way he tried to guilt-trip Laken this morning in his office. “I asked you to stop making yourbrotherclean toilets he didn’t mess.” I spit out “brother” in a way he can’t ignore. That might have been the first time I caught him in a lie, but I doubt it will be the last. “And I want you to stop squashing my voice. This ismycareer, songs, and life, so although you can have input, you will never have all the control. No one but me controls my destiny, and it’s time you learn that.”
26
LAKEN
“Is he trying to get her trampled?”
My heart lodges in my throat when my eyes sling in the direction River is looking. Instead of waiting for the road crew's SUV, Knox has taken it upon himself to guide Nicole into the building hosting her first live radio interview.
Even if she doesn’t want me to be a part of her protective detail anymore, I can’t sit by and watch her get hurt.
“Enter via the back entrance with the crew,” I tell River a second after tossing off my belt and slipping out the back of the SUV.
I don’t want to be forced to pick between saving Nicole or him because I honestly don’t know who I’d race for first.
That’s fucked to admit since River is my blood, but there’s something about Nicole that brings out my protective side. Even if I weren’t her bodyguard, I’d still protect her.
I also want to save her from experiencing a hurt I’m reasonably sure she’s already experienced. Her lyrics hint that she’s been hurt in the past, not to mention the little glimmers of sadness her eyes get when she takes a moment to reflect.
“Get back. Move!”
Nicole exhales in relief when I pull Knox’s hand from her back and tug her into my chest. I shelter her with my body, ensuring it takes all the bumps and grazes of our short walk, but my gallantry seems pointless when I spot wetness in Nicole’s eyes as we enter the foyer of the 92.1 LA Daily building.
“Are you all right? Are you hurt? Did they get you?”
She stops me from searching her body for injuries before blocking my line of sight with her classically elegant face.
Once she has the focus of my wandering gaze, she assures me, “I’m fine.”
“But—”
She flattens her finger to my lips, grinning when her briefest contact causes the hair on my arms to stand to attention. “Now is not the time to squash my voice, Laken. Not just as it’s about to be heard.” Her tone is neither stern nor playful. It is more confident than anything.
When I nod, conscious that she’s right—we’re minutes from her first press conference; now is not the time foranyneuroses to be aired—Nicole looks set to say more, but a lady with a clipboard and blunt bangs who’s been endeavoring to interrupt us since we got here can’t hold back a second longer. “We have twenty minutes until we’re due on air.”
Nicole gulps back the nerves the lady’s snarky comment lodged in her throat before straying her eyes to me. “What I said on the way to the limousine isn’t as it seems.” The production assistant taps her foot, hurrying her along. “I don’t have time to explain all the details right now. They’re still a mess in my head, but once I have everything sorted, I will update you at the first opportunity.”
“Now nineteen minutes.”
