Tease (14 page)

Beth and I made our way down to the foyer in silence. Just as we were turning the corner, she yanked me behind a large plant.

“What?” I asked. I followed her finger and saw what she was pointing at.

Shit.
Gathered outside the front of the hotel were at least twenty photographers.

“Fuck,” I cursed.

“It’s okay. Come this way.” She grabbed my hand and walked back past the elevators. “There is a service entrance out this way that exits down the alley behind the hotel. That alley also connects with Eighth Street.”

I raised my eyebrows at her.

“What? When everyone knows who you are, you need an escape route for everywhere,” she said defensively. She grabbed hold of my arm and dragged me out the door.

This is insane. I’m running away from one disaster and into another.

Anyone who saw Beth just then would have known right away who she was. With no disguise, she was every bit the pop starlet that featured in all the gossip pages.

We pushed open the emergency exit door, and, upon noting the coast was clear, darted up the alleyway toward a little café just off Eighth. We sat down at a table in the far corner of the almost-empty shop.

“So,” Beth began, digging through her purse and pulling out a scarf. She twisted her hair up into a bun and tied the scarf around it. “Do you wanna tell me what the hell is going on?”

“Not really,” I mumbled.

She narrowed her eyes at me.

“
Okay,”
I replied. “That, up there, lying dead on the bed, was Melinda Diveno.”

Beth’s eyes bulged in shock.

I nodded grimly. “I fucked her to death, Beth! I think she had a heart attack. One minute we were laughing, and the next, she was . . . gone.”

“Holy fuck-stains,” Beth muttered, shaking her head slowly. “Shit, shit,
shit
.” She glanced at me. “What did the cops say?”

I shrugged. “That they believe it was a heart attack, they just need the coroner to confirm.”

“There you are, then,” Beth said, relief filling her face. “You’ll be fine.”

“But it’s not that simple,” I argued. “You saw those photographers. They have to know she’s dead, and they probably know
how
she died. How often does a scandal like this come along?”

Beth nodded, finally getting it. She pulled out her phone and began to click away. “Okay, so
yes
, you are correct. The top story is Melinda’s death, and yes, they do mention the presence of a sex worker. But there is no mention of
you
,” she added, hopefully.

“Not yet.” I ran my hands through my hair, pissed off with myself. “I’m so cautious about protecting my clients, Beth, but we’re talking about six years of this shit. There is bound to be someone who is going to leak this. Someone will want the money badly enough.”

Beth reached out to me, her hand covering mine.

“Relax, Coop. That might not happen. If it does, you’ll deal with it.”

“I have to tell my family,” I said. I caught Beth’s frown. “If they found out through the media . . . “

“So tell them, and then just let all this die down.” Beth was quiet for a moment. “What about your mystery girl?”

“What?” I had no idea what she was talking about.

“The one you like.”

Shit. Mia. Fuck. Oh, god.

I groaned loudly, burying my face in my hands. What was I going to do? If Mia found out, then any chance we had of a relationship was gone.

“Tell me about her, Coop. She is obviously very special to you.” Beth smiled at me, her eyes showing a twinge of sadness.

“She is. I can’t even explain how I feel about her, Beth. She is amazing, caring, sweet, funny . . . I think you would really like her.”

Beth’s eyebrows
raised
as she waited for me to continue.

“When I’m not with her, I’m thinking about her. I notice every little thing about her, like the way she sticks her tongue out a little when she giggles, or when she gets passionate about something, her eyes go such a deep, deep green that they’re almost black . . . and it’s crazy, but I enjoy our long chats about nothing just as much as I do being physical with her.” I stopped, embarrassed. Beth didn’t need to hear all this.

“I think it’s sweet,” Beth said wistfully, “that you’ve found someone you feel that way about.”

“You’ll find it, too,” I said, sensing her sadness. “You’re so young, there is so much you have yet to experience. Don’t rush it, Beth. Enjoy being young. Don’t look back on your life in ten years and wish you’d done it differently.”

Beth shook her head and laughed. “Well, this conversation suddenly got very deep and serious,” she joked. “Come on, we should be okay to leave now.” She pushed back her chair and smiled at me, the smile not quite reaching her eyes.

Parking the car out the front of
Nic’s
house, I sat there for a moment, running through exactly what I was going to say.
Fuck
. I felt sick. After the day I’d had, the last thing I wanted to have was this conversation, but the risk of my name being leaked was too real for me to ignore.

I walked up the path to the front door and knocked. Jake opened it a few moments later, looking surprised to see me. He stood aside. “Coop! Come in, man. I didn’t know you were coming over.”

“Yeah, I didn’t even know myself,” I said, forcing a smile. “Nic home?”

Jake nodded. “In the living room.”

I walked through the kitchen to the living room. Nic was curled up on the sofa, her eyes glued to the TV. I glanced at it and groaned. A full picture of Melinda at the previous year’s Academy Awards was on the screen.

“Hey, Nic,” I mumbled, sitting down.

“Hey,
asshat
,” she said, grinning, looking as surprised to see me as Jake had been. “Can you believe this? They said she died while fucking a hooker in a hotel room.” She looked at me, her eyes huge with disbelief.

Fucking great.

“Yeah. Hey, I need to talk to you guys,” I said.

Nic nodded, and muted the TV.

“Uh, can you turn that off?” I asked, my voice weak.

Having her picture right there in fifty-inch high definition definitely wasn’t making things any easier. Jake walked into the room and passed me a beer, and sat down next to Nic, his arm draping over her shoulder.

“What’s up?” Nic asked nervously, clicking the TV off. “It’s not about Mom, is it?”

“God, no.” I didn’t even think about that. Of course her mind would go right there. “Mom’s fine,” I assured her. I paused. “Are the kids in bed?”

“Yes. What is it?” Nic pressed.

Okay, just say it. Get it over with.

“I have no idea how to tell you this, and I just want to say first I’m so sorry about lying to you. Fuck, this is hard.” I shook my head. This was up there as one of the worst conversations of my life
—
right alongside the talk with Mom, when I was eleven, about how masturbation was normal.

“Liam, you’re scaring me,” Nic said, her voice shrill. She sat forward, her body tense, as if she was waiting for bad news. “Are you sick?”

“I’m not sick.” I sighed, wiping the sweat that had accumulated on my forehead. “Okay, I’m just going to say it. I don’t work in insurance. Never have. Wouldn’t know the first thing about it.”

Both Nic and Jake looked at me as though I’d grown an extra head.

“What . . . wait, are you mixed up in something illegal?” Jake asked. Nic stared at me, alarmed, her eyes wide with fear and anxiety.

“No. Nothing illegal.”
God, just tell them already.
“Since college I’ve been working as an escort . . . I sleep with women for money.”

“An escort?” Nic sputtered, her eyebrows shooting up.

“Yes. An escort. I started after Kara left me. A professor kind of took me under her wing, and now I have several very high-profile clients.
Very
high profile,” I repeated slowly, hoping I wouldn’t need to spell it out.

Nic’s
mouth dropped open as she began to understand what I was trying to say. She clicked the TV back on.

“God no. You didn’t . . .” Her voice trailed off as I nodded. She looked from the TV to me, and back to the TV. “That was
you
?” she said incredulously. “What . . . are you in trouble? What
happened
?”

“We had an appointment, just like usual. We met every week, almost. For the past four years,” I added.

“You’ve been fucking Melinda Diveno for
four
years
?” Nic squeaked. “Holy shit, Liam.” She jumped up suddenly, and disappeared into the kitchen.

I glanced at Jake, who shrugged.

Nic reentered the room, carrying a bottle of vodka. “I need a drink,” she muttered, unscrewing the top and throwing back a mouthful. She made a face and then sat back down. “Okay. Continue.”

“What, from the start?” I asked, confused.

Nic rolled her eyes. “From
anywhere
, Liam. Just start fucking talking.”

“Right, so today was no different from any other time. We met in the hotel room, we started . . . well, you know what we were doing, and the next thing she was dead.”

“And you called the police?” she demanded.

“I called 911. The police and the ambulance came. There was nothing they could do. They think it was a heart attack.”

Nic shook her head, struggling to comprehend what I was telling her. “
Why
? I mean, why
do . . . that
? Why pimp yourself out? Where is your self-respect? Don’t you think you’re worth more than a quick fuck for thirty dollars?”

I laughed incredulously. “Nic, how the fuck do you think I could afford Mom’s care? Without my job there’d be no trial, no treatment. Don’t you sit there and judge me when all I’ve done is care for our family.” My voice was hard.

I’d never spoken to Nic like that.
Ever
.

“I’m not judging you,” she said quietly. “I’m just trying to understand.”

“If it wasn’t for Mom, I probably would’ve quit years ago. I’m not going to lie and say I don’t enjoy my job, but you think I don’t want a life? You don’t think I’d give it all up for a chance at happiness?”

Nic slumped back against Jake. “I don’t know what to say.” She shook her head. “Mind-blown.” She threw up her arms. “Have you told Mia?”

I glared at her. “Why the fuck would I do that?”

Nic blushed and glanced away, looking like she’d just said something she shouldn’t have.

“Nic. What are you hiding from me? Did she say something to you?” I demanded.

Nic averted her eyes, embarrassed.

“Nicole,” I said, using her full name. She knew that meant I was pissed.

“Okay!” she said, exasperated. “She told me you guys slept together.”

She what? Fuck.
I clasped my hands behind my head.

“And she told me she likes you. A
lot
. Like a
lot
, Liam.”

I sighed. Any other time hearing those words would be good news, but right then, all they did was add to the complexity of the situation.

“I
gotta
get out of here,” I muttered. “I don’t expect you guys to say anything right now, I just didn’t want you finding out through the media.” I stood up. “Look, it’s been a hell of a day. I’m just going to go home and get some rest. I’ll call you tomorrow. Love you, Nic.”

Nic turned to me, tears in her eyes. “I love you, too.”

Jake stood up. “I’ll walk you out,” he said.

He followed me outside, shutting the door behind him. “Did you get the name of the officer you were talking to?”

I handed him the card.

He nodded, shoving it in his pocket. “I’ll give them a call and see if I can find anything out for you.”

“Thanks,” I muttered.

“Coop? It’ll work out. Nic is just shocked. Give her a day or two to process what you’ve told her. Go home and get some rest. Call me if you need me.”

I nodded numbly and walked to my car.

I was surprised to find Mia on the sofa when I got home.

Last I’d heard, she was moving to a hotel. Had I known she was going to be there, I probably wouldn’t have come back. I couldn’t think straight around her.

She hadn’t even responded to my message, which left me feeling like a dickhead. But then, knowing that she
did
like me made me want her more than ever.

Shit. When did life get so confusing?

“Thought you were leaving,” I said bluntly.

She gawked at me, taken aback by my abrasiveness. “I . . . I thought about it and decided we were both adults, and we should talk about this.”

“Oh.
You
decided?”

“Hey,” she said, jumping to her feet. “If it’s that much of a problem having me here then all you had to do was say so,” she huffed, her eyes flashing with anger. “I’ll be out of your hair in ten minutes.” She stalked off to her room.

Fucking great.

Shaking my head, I went after her. I stood in the doorway and watched as she shoved things into her suitcase.

“I’m sorry, Mia. I had a hell of a day. I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”

She shot me a look, her eyes still full of anger.

“I’d like you to stay. Please.”

She stopped packing, and walked around the bed until she stood in front of me. Her arms crossed over her chest and she eyed me, weighing up her response.

“Fine. I’ll stay. But
dammit, Coop
,
don’t treat me like shit
. I got enough of that from my ex. You think you’re confused about us
—
well, I’m ten times
more
confused.”

I doubted that.

“I’m sorry.” I grabbed her hand and nodded toward the living room. “Come on. After the day I’ve had, I need a drink.”

She let me lead her to the kitchen, where I grabbed two sodas from the fridge and then led her over to the sofa.

“That’s what you consider a drink?” She smirked.

I glanced at the can and shrugged. Wasn’t it?

“The way you said it, I was expecting something harder.” She begrudgingly took the drink from me, and sat down, making sure there was a good few inches between us.

I grabbed the remote and flicked on the TV. Of course, it was on every single
fucking
channel. Between this and the text that still hadn’t been acknowledged, I was ready to give up.

“God, did you hear about that?” muttered Mia. “Poor woman. And her husband, how horrible must this be for him?”

“Yep.”

Mia turned to me. “What’s wrong? Maybe talking about it will help you feel better.”

I shook my head.
God, if she ever found out, any hope of us being together would be gone . . .

“How about a movie?” I jumped up and raced over to the bookshelf where I kept my stack of DVDs. “
The Professional
or
Usual Suspects
?”

Mia shrugged. Her green eyes tilted to the floor. “Whichever. I don’t mind,” she said sullenly.

She tried to hide the fact that she was upset I didn’t want to talk to her. But what the hell was I going to say?

Hey, yeah I was with Melinda when she died, and by the way, I’ve been an escort for the last eight years. By the way, why the
fuck
haven’t you mentioned my text message?

She made it clear she didn’t want complicated. I wasn’t just complicated
—
I was fucking impossible.