The Hardest Set (Willow Son #4/Brothers of Rock #19) (17 page)

Shutting the door on Mark had been
really hard. Shutting her phone off to ignore his texts and calls had been just
as hard. The worst part was not talking to Van. Not being able to get Van to
understand her position. Or not even hearing what happened to Van. The whole
rockstar and celebrity thing was real, but Natalie believed that could be
stripped away. Van had started to do it but pulled back and away.

She hated it.

The door popped open and Andrea
poked her head out.
“
All
good?
”

“
Great,
”
Natalie said.
“
I
’
m
on my way back in.
”

“
Good.
Remember how I said tonight was going to be really easy going?
”

“
Yeah.
”

“
I
sort of
…
uh
…
I could pay you for the full
night and you could split right now.
”

“
Why
would I do that?
”

“
This
is a business catered affair,
”
Andrea said.
“
I should have
put a few things together but I didn
’
t.
”

“
What
are you talking about?
”

“
They
’
re here.
”

“
Who
is they?
”

“
Oh,
Nat, I
’
m so sorry.
”

“
Andrea,
what the hell is going on?
”

“
Mark
and his wife
…
they
’
re both here.
”

13.

If this is how it has to be
…

“
So
be it,
”
Van said.

He ran a hand through his hair. A
tie was draped over the sink. There wasn
’
t
a snowball
’
s chance in hell
he
’
d ever put that goddamn
tie on. Bad enough he was in black dress pants, a white shirt, and a black suit
jacket. He ditched the rings and necklaces, keeping it as casual as possible.

There was one time he could
remember being this nervous.

The band had been standing at the
side of a large stage. They were getting a chance to prove themselves to the
industry. Harry had negotiated a deal for Willow Son to play. They were
unsigned. Their music had been handed out on demo CDs and spread across the
‘
net. Funny how they used to give
their music away with a sense of desperation and now there was a legal team
desperately fighting to keep the music from being spread due to piracy. When
the coin of life flips, she sometimes flips hard and fast.

Hard and fast.

That was the only way Van knew how
to live. So it all fit.

Brantley had called with an offer
that was almost too good to pass up. An offer to come out and party with some
celebrities. There weren
’
t
any names being dropped over the phone but it was pretty obvious that they were
A-list
celebrities looking for a little wild rockstar fun.

Van adjusted the top button of the
shirt.

He
’
d
turned that down for this. To get dressed up and go out
…
to walk right into the arms of trouble.

One of Van
’
s teachers in high school once told him that he
’
d never be satisfied until not
only had he dug his grave, but he
’
d
be resting in it, only to reach up and start pulling the dirt on top of him.

“
Dig,
my man, dig,
”
Van whispered
to the reflection in the mirror.

He grabbed the tie off the sink,
knowing he wasn
’
t going to
put it on. Then again, if
she
asked, he probably would. That
’
s how much he damn cared.

**

Natalie had to face the music. She
was not going to let the night get ruined by this. Mark was here? Good for him.
Of course he was here because of his wife. She was probably getting some
executive award. Good for her.

As Natalie walked with a tray of
drinks, she plastered a smile to her face. She strolled along the crowd,
knowing her eyes were waiting to catch sight of Mark. It didn
’
t take long for it to happen.
And when Mark saw her, his eyes went wide.

“
Excuse
me, can I get a drink?
”

Natalie turned and almost dropped
the tray.

It was Mark
’
s wife.

Tall, beautiful, a woman who oozed
a sense of power and a nasty attitude. A woman far too beautiful to be with a
sleaze ball like Mark. Then again, didn
’
t
Mark say she was cheating too? So maybe together they were just an image
couple. They enjoyed working, money, looking normal, but then they
’
d shut the doors and it was
anything but that.

“
Look
at this,
”
Angela whispered.
“
How perfect that you
’
re here to serve me. Seeing as
you
’
ve served my husband
for how long?
”

Natalie felt her mouth go bone dry.

Angela
’
s long fingers wrapped around a glass and she lifted
it to her lips. She drank a small sip and then smiled.

“
If
you need anything, don
’
t
hesitate to ask,
”
Natalie
said.

“
Oh,
I won
’
t,
”
Angela said.
“
I just hope I can keep tabs on
my husband. Then again, I
’
ll
just listen for your little mousey cries while he fucks you.
”

Natalie swallowed hard.
“
I
’
m
really sorry, okay? I don
’
t
think this is the time
…”

“
Or
the place, sure. I know. See, I can play the game. I run the game. I run Mark.
I can run you, easily. You don
’
t
think I was all that stupid, do you? I knew when he needed to go stray a
little. I was actually happy it was with you. Or someone like you.
”

“
Someone
like me?
”
Natalie asked.

“
Sure.
You
’
re
…
I don
’
t know how to say it. You
’
re a loser, basically. I mean, you
’
re serving drinks for a living.
What else did you do? Paint? I mean, there
’
s
no way Mark would leave me for that. I make more than him. I control him. And I
can fucking ruin your life.
”

“
Enjoy
your drink,
”
Natalie said.

Her throat started to tighten. She
tried to gracefully side step away. Her hands were shaking and she stumbled,
just enough to knock a glass over on the tray. She then had to hurry away and
to the back of the place to catch her breath. Or maybe throw up. Or maybe run
and hide under a rock for the next five years.

Natalie put the tray down and
started to clean it up. She needed a hug. Not a fake hug either. But a real
hug. Something that mattered. Something that had damn feeling to it.

She put the empty glass down and
refilled the tray.

“
Before
you pick that up, sweetie
…”

The voice penetrated her ears and
went straight to her heart. Natalie spun around, leaning against the table.

Van stood there.

Three feet away.

He was dressed up. Everything but a
tie that he looped through one of the belt loops, leaving it dangle there.
Always trying to be a rebel in some sense.

“
Van
…”

“
I
saw that,
”
he said.
“
That was her, right?
”

“
Yeah.
”

“
I
’
m so sorry, Natalie.
”

He stepped toward Natalie. She didn
’
t reply. All she wanted to do
was hug him. She wanted him to hug her. To lift her up, spin her around, and
tell her it was going to be okay. Then he could grab her hand and pull her
through the room, showing that she was the one who was lucky.

But this wasn
’
t some cheap movie.

When Van got close enough, Natalie
slapped him across the face.

And it felt really good.

Van moved to the right and grabbed
his cheek.

“
No,
”
she said.
“
You
’
re not doing this to me. I
’
m not some
…
thing
…
Van. I
’
m not a thing for anyone. Not
anymore. I can
’
t do this.
”

Natalie stepped forward and looked
out to the room. There was Angela, standing with an award in her hand, standing
on the small stage. She smiled big and cleared her throat.

“
I
never get like this,
”
she
said in a fake voice.
“
I
don
’
t like getting choked
up in front of people. I
’
m
supposed to be ruthless
…”

The crowd laughed a little.

She was playing them all.

And there was Mark. A hand at the
small of Angela
’
s back. He
stood there like the attentive husband he pretended to be. Like he was told to
do by his wife. So maybe, just maybe, for a split second, Mark had been being
honest when he came to the apartment. That was him trying to break away from
…

“
Natalie.
”

She looked back and Van was still
standing there. He was too sexy to look at. Everything about him screamed
gorgeous, but the outside shouldn
’
t
have mattered. It was about what was inside.

“
No,
”
Natalie said.

She pushed by Van and went outside.

A second later the door opened and
Van came out.

“
I
didn
’
t pay over a thousand
dollars for a ticket to this party to be slapped and then go home,
”
he said.

“
What
do you want? Want to call me names? Judge me some more? Ask me how many times I
slept with Mark?
”

“
No,
”
Van said.
“
I want to understand.
”

“
Understand
what?
”

“
Why
you
’
re so broken,
”
Van said.
“
And why I want to be the one to
put you back together. Because it doesn
’
t
make sense to me.
”

The words tugged at Natalie
’
s heart. He was being real now.
He was being honest.

“
I
’
m not your project,
”
Natalie said.
“
Go find someone else.
”

Van approached.
“
Listen
…”

“
Careful,
”
Natalie warned.
“
I will slap you again.
”

“
Go
ahead. I deserve it. Beat me up if it makes you feel better. But I need to know
what
’
s there.
”

He faced her. He closed in on her.
Natalie could smell his skin. She could see his eyes flickering. He was so
overpowering and so damn overwhelming.

“
Tell
me something,
”
he said.

“
Will
you hug me?
”

Van didn
’
t respond. He just slipped his arms around Natalie
and pulled her close. Natalie felt her eyes fill with tears and she didn
’
t fight them back. It wasn
’
t worth it now.

“
I
can
’
t believe he
’
s here,
”
Van whispered.
“
I
want to go fight him. Can I?
”

“
No.
Don
’
t bother. It doesn
’
t matter.
”

“
It
does to me, sweetie. I want to fix you.
”

“
Why?
”

“
Because
maybe that means I can fix myself.
”

Natalie looked up at Van.
“
So then tell me why you
’
re so broken. Everything, Van.
”

He broke away from Natalie and just
stared at her.
“
You ruined
everything for me. That
’
s
what has me pissed off.
”

“
Oh,
thanks.
”

“
I
was fine in my own little world. Then you gave a damn and I wanted to know
everything about you.
”

“
You
know it,
”
Natalie said.
“
You see it. This is my life. It
’
s a complete mess. You shouldn
’
t be here.
”