Page 64 of Beneath the Burn

“I’d like to see that.” She smiled, and the blissful feeling panicked her. How could she let herself want someone so unobtainable? He was a celebrity and she was on the run. He had some kind of fucked up tactile defensiveness and drug issues, and she didn’t have the background or expertise to deal with it. Yet, all the shitty circumstances faded away as he leaned in and took her mouth.

A vibration buzzed in her pocket. Creases bracketed his scowl as she slid off his lap and tugged out her phone. “It’s Nathan.” She gave him a shaky smile and hitAnswer. “Hey.”

“Everything okay? Tony said you haven’t left the car yet.”

Jay slipped his fingers into the neck of her shirt and caressed the outline of her collarbone. A chill raced up her spine and she sighed. “Are we in a hurry?”

“I’m packing our shit. I assumed you’d be helping.”

What? They were there to grab her tattoo supplies only. “You’re packing?”

“Yeah, Charlee. I’m packing. We’re going, if not to L.A., then somewhere. I just got the call. Photos of you and Laz have started popping up faster than my guys can delete them.”

The folly of the previous night flashed through her mind, suffocating her with replays of the restaurant, the cameras, and their overnight at the hotel. Roy controlled Craigs all over the country. She knew without a doubt he had thugs in New York. The photos linked her toThe Burn,and if Roy knew where the band stayed, Jay would not only be targeted…”We could’ve been followed from the hotel.”

“We watched for tails, didn’t see any. But, yeah, we could’ve been followed. I’d prefer you stay in the car. I just wanted to check on you.”

She didn’t want him in the apartment alone. Not with their whereabouts broadcasted all over the Internet. Damn. Double damn. That restaurant was only a few blocks away. She should’ve been up there with him, watching his back. “I’m on my way up.”

She hung up on him, pocketed the phone, and faced the deep dark night of Jay’s eyes. It was so fucking painful, having to distance herself from people she cared about to keep them safe. A familiar loneliness spread out around her, cold and harrowing. Pushing Jay away would propel her further into that cavernous pit. Her hatred for Roy tunneled through her like poison, seething in her gut, tightening muscles, and burning her eyes.

She met Jay by chance the first time. Destiny brought them together a second time. If one were to believe in such a thing, perhaps they would find each other again. She needed him alive for that to happen, and the best way to ensure that was to stay the hell away from him. She had to believe it wasn’t too late. If she separated herself from the band immediately, Roy would leave them alone.

Goddammit, this was going to hurt. “I’m heading up to meet Nathan.” A red hot burn seized her throat. “Alone.” She grabbed her messenger bag, slipped his sunglasses inside it, and opened the door.

He reached for her, crawling after her. “Wait. I’m coming—”

“Youare going back to the hotel, back to L.A.” She stepped away from the door and put as much toughness as she could gather into her glare. “That’smy decision.” All the yearning of their moments together swelled inside of her, weakening her knees, making her stumble.

“Bullshit.” Spit sprayed from his shout. He shoved his hand over and between the seats, searching for the glasses. “Something happened. Who followed us?” He punched the seat. “Tony!”

Tony jogged from around the car and stuck her head in the door. “Yes, Mr. Mayard?”

“What the fuck is going on?” His yell rolled across the lot.

Backing away, Charlee strapped the bag across her chest and reached under the flap where she’d moved her Bodyguard 380. She secured her fingers around the grip and trigger guard. Colson watched her from his post by the car, but didn’t follow.

A car motored by. Two young men exited a pizza shop across the street and walked the opposite direction. Rows of trees shaded the lot and furnished a living wall. They also provided an abundance of hiding spots.

“Colson,” Jay shouted. “Stay with her.”

The lot spread over what must’ve been two blocks. Charlee covered it as fast as she could run, flying over the concrete to the side of the building and putting the safety of its brick foundation at her back.

Four stories up, the roof was a stark flat horizon against the glaring sun. Heaps of leaves and garbage lined the back alley. There were so many places to lie in wait. The urge to run back to Jay’s car made her legs tremble.

The alcove for the back entrance to her apartment was around the corner. She side-stepped along the building, back to the wall, paranoia spiking her heart rate. Jay would come after her as soon as he found something to cover his face. What could she say to convince him to leave? Think, think, think.

34

Jay pushed off the seat, shouldered past Tony, and sprinted across the parking lot. The endless pavement, the streak of passing cars, and the gathering crowd dimmed away.

Charlee huddled with her back against the corner of the building, her eyes on the trees that lined the back fence.

Someone moved behind the building, just feet from where she stood, but the angle of the corner probably shielded the movement from her view.

Jay rubbed his eyes, his legs burning. The profile of a man shifted toward the corner where she lingered. The man’s walk seemed off, unnaturally stealthy, and too zeroed in on that damned corner.

“Charlee! Behind you.” Jay’s wig shifted sideways as he dodged a parked car.

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