Page 87 of Reflex
His sickening grin didn’t waver.“Ah, come on, A.Allow me the kick I’m going to get out of hearing you say it.So I can then laugh at how fucking moronic you are.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Oh, come off it sis.Xane Geist, really?You can do way better than that.”
He thought she was here with Xane?
“What are you, one among the many?The man’s so slick, he’s slimy.”
“Well, thank you for sharing that opinion.I’m not here with Xane.”
“Don’t shitting play games, Alle.I know you had a monster crush on him all through college, and I saw all the texts you sent Flynn when you got to work on that re-release they did after their old drummer got toasted.Weren’t you supposed to work on their new album too, until you bowed out to please Dad?”
If his intention was to irritate the fuck out of her, then Marshall was succeeding.Of all of her brothers he’d always had the knack of it.Seething, she ground her teeth, refusing to give into her wrath.The reason she’d had to bow out of working with Black Halo on their album hadn’t so much been their dad’s fault, but rather the overwhelming lack of support she’d got from her siblings.If they’d pulled their weight, instead of bowing out of their responsibilities… But no, their careers, their difficult relationships with their father had taken priority over hers.They’d left her to singlehandedly manage his end of life care.And then the buggers had left her to nurse Ewan when he’d returned form the Arctic minus toes too.At least Ewan had apologised profusely, and tried to do something nice for her by financing this trip.
Of course, now wasn’t the moment to address all that.Instead the bitterness sat, swollen on her tongue.If she said even a word about it, that would be that.It’d all come pouring out, and she’d make a spectacle of them both.His boss would love that.She’d find a way to make it reflect badly on Black Halo.It’d have nothing to do with them, but Ava would find a way of twisting things.
“I’m going to walk away now, Marshall.”
“Wait,” he grasped her arm.“Come on, Princess, you know I’m just looking out for you.It’s what brothers do.I don’t want to see you hurt, and rock stars are bad news.”His fingers dug a little too hard into her arm.
“Not to me they’re not.I work with them every day.Sound engineer, remember.And in any case our relationship is purely professional.”
“Right.That’s good, because they treat women like shit.”
“You know fuck all about them, Marsh.”
“I probably know a fuck of a lot more than you do.Geist’s been in and out of rehab.Their former keyboardist’s a total fruit loop, and mister purer than pure is anything but saintly.Check outBang!Onlinetomorrow if you don’t believe me.There’s more than one woman who’s regretted her involvement with him.”
“According to who, Marsh?Your twisted bitch of a boss?Because every word out of her mouth is total gospel, right?”
“She’s not my boss.”
“No, but you do know who I mean.”
He sighed and relaxed his grip, taking a step back from her too.“Be careful, Alle.Seriously.We both know how blinkered you are when it comes to people’s faults.”
Was he seriously making another jibe at her over her looking out for their father?Sure, in many ways their dad had been an absolute git of a man, but leaving him to die alone in misery had never been on the cards.In any case, in some ways Marshall was every bit as big of a judgemental wanker.
“I think you need to piss off and mind your own business now, Marshall.”
He continued to smirk, as he sniffed loudly.“Certainly.See you around, Little Princess.Don’t say I didn’t warn you when you wind up getting hurt by that dick.”
The only dick out to hurt her was him.
“Fuck you,” she mouthed towards the back of his head.She watched him weave a path through the crowd.Then made a beeline for the ladies.As luck would have it, she bumped into Dani exiting.“Can you pass on a message please?I’ve run into someone and it’s best if I leave.Would you let Spook know I’ve gone back to the hotel?”
“Sure, but why don’t you just tell him?I’m sure he’d go with you.”
“No.It’s best if we’re not seen together, but don’t say that to him.Give me a minute or two to get out of here before you pass the message on.”
“All right,” Dani agreed.She was kind like that.“But I don’t understand.If there’s trouble brewing, isn’t it best to stick together?”
“It’s kind of complicated to explain.I just think this is for the best.”No way was she giving Marshall anything.No damned way.Let him think she was with Xane.Better that than being ammunition Ava and her diabolical cronies could level at Spook as proof that he was a fraud.He wasn’t.Admittedly, she had no way of proving that, but she believed him to be the kind, compassionate man she’d spoken to for months over the phone.If he’d hurt her because he’d run, it was only because he was afraid, not out of malice.
Truthfully, Spook Mortensen was a mystery, but he was one waiting to be unravelled.Already she’d peeled away layers just over the last few days.She could make him happy.They could make one another happy, she was certain of it.If only no one interfered.
Marshall had practically admitted that was his intention.
