Page 20 of Her Beastly Billionaire Rock Star
Looking over her shoulder, her eyebrows knitted together. “What?”
More flashes went off, blinding him, and he held his arm up to block them. His desire to give a show was dead. Yeah, he could keep the press close, but at what cost? “Come on. We need to get inside.”
Her head tilted as she stared at him. “What did you mean by ‘paparazzi I wanted here’?”
“Who’s the girl, Mal?” a male voice yelled out.
Another asked, “What’s her name? How about a kiss?”
More flashes began to light up the area, enough that they were beginning to blind Malakai. He held up his arm to block them from hitting him in the eyes. “We need to talk about this somewhere else. We’re about to be surrounded.”
“Surrounded?” She followed his line of sight, and it seemed the situation was finally hitting her. Her face paled, and she gasped. “Oh no.”
“We need to go.” Malakai grabbed her hand to help keep them together, but she took one step, stumbled, and fell to the ground. Great. Now how were they going to spin this? Grumbling to himself, he stooped and swept her into his arms, breaking into a run as he stood.
Malakai charged forward. “Open the door!” he yelled to Razor, the bouncer guarding the entrance.
The man’s eyes widened as he pushed the door open. “Happy is at the bar.”
Happy Gomez, the owner, was a personal friend of Malakai’s. When the man’s first bar burned down just after Crush was signed, Malakai had fronted the money to rebuild. Now, he was part owner of the place, but his profits were sent to a local outreach program where his grandpa lived. The place gave free health and dental care to the poor and homeless.
As Malakai approached Happy, they locked eyes, and the man nodded his head in the direction of his office. Following him, Malakai didn’t slow down until they were safely inside the soundproof office. He laid Charlotte on the couch and faced his friend.
“Hey,” Malakai said, smiling and shaking Happy’s hand. “Thanks.”
Grinning, Happy shrugged. “Half of it’s yours.” His gaze went to the couch. “Who is she?”
The one thing Malakai liked about Happy was that he went out of his way to avoid anything to do with gossip. “She’s my…outpatient jailer,” he said as Charlotte sat up but stayed seated.
“Outpatient? What? You don’t—”
Happy abruptly stopped when Malakai slightly shook his head. “—like jailers, so I thought we’d have a little fun tonight.”
“Oh…need a minute, then?”
Malakai glanced over his shoulder at Charlotte. “Uh, actually, you think you could get a car here? This isn’t really her scene.” He’d have his bike picked up and brought back to the house later.
Happy walked to the door, pausing as he opened it. “Yeah, I’ll let you know when it gets here.”
Once the door was shut, Malakai faced Charlotte. “Bet you’re sorry you wanted the paparazzi here.” Now that he was focused on her, she still seemed frazzled. “Please just stop with the act.”
She lifted her gaze to his. “What are you talking about?”
“I overheard you talking to your boss. The whole sneak-out thing?”
Charlotte palmed her forehead. “Octavia wanted me to get the paparazzi to follow us, but I was going to see if the house had a different entrance so we could avoid them. Or we could’ve at least told her we were going one way and then have you change directions. She knows I don’t like convertibles or crowds. That’s why she wanted me to do it.”
There was no mistaking what she’d said to her boss. “But I heard you. You told her you’d convince me and then text her where we were going.”
“Did you hear the part where I said we should talk to you? Ask you if you wanted to do it? You told your sister you’d do what Octavia told you to do. I knew if we asked, you’d hesitate but then go along with whatever she wanted.”
“You mean you weren’t in on it with her?”
Shaking her head, she touched her forehead to her knees. “No.” She took a few deep breaths. “I don’t feel good.”
Dragging his hand through his hair, Malakai struggled with what to believe. He walked to the mini fridge behind Happy’s desk, grabbed a soda, and walked back to Charlotte, cracking it open before sinking onto the couch beside her and handing it to her.
She straightened just enough to take it and sip it. A few deep breaths, and she sat up a little more. “I never want to ride on one of those again.”
