felt helpless. Like when my father was arrested…I know it’s not the same but…”
Shit.
“And Peter. That weasel.” She squeezes her eyes shut and grits her teeth. “Not being able to trust anyone. I felt so…alone.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Mr. Paxton helped.”
“Yeah, I was impressed with him too.”
“I can’t believe your dad found him so fast.”
“All good criminals have a network of lawyers at their fingertips.”
“That’s not funny.”
I slap off the water. “I wasn’t kidding earlier, Mallory. I won’t lie to you. You’re smart enough to understand the club…my father’s business, like your father’s business takes a lot of risks.”
“And look where my father ended up.”
“He’s a smart man. He’ll do his time and come out the other side fine.”
“Well, that’s great for him.” She stares at me for several beats. “I need you.”
“I’ll always make sure you’re taken care of. My father and the club will take care of you. No matter what.”
“That’s nice but it’s not the same.” Her voice catches. “I need you with me.”
This was the wrong time and place to initiate this particular conversation. It needs to happen in the future, for sure. But not now. “It doesn’t matter. Right now, I’m just a rock star getting into regular rock star trouble.”
“Hmm.” She yanks a towel off the rack behind us and wraps it around her. “Go call your dad.”
I run my gaze over her damp legs. “I wasn’t finished with you.”
She whips another towel of the rack and whaps me with it. “Call your dad.”
Mallory
While Chaser’s on the phone with his father, I dry off and slip into a clean T-shirt.
The phone in the other living room seems to be a separate line, so I call my agent.
“Mallory! What have you gotten yourself into?”
“What are you talking about?”
“There are a bunch of reports about your boyfriend shooting someone over a fight about you. What the hell is going on?”
“That’s so stupid. Chaser was cleared. None of it had anything to do with me.”
She’s quiet but I can hear her fidgety nails tapping away at something on the other end of the line. “All right. I’ll get someone on it. Squash those stories. We don’t want your role on Shallow End jeopardized. You know they fancy themselves a family show.”
“With the amount of cleavage and bouncing boobs showcased every week, how can anyone say that with a straight face?”
She ignores my critique of the show. “When are you back in town?”
“Tomorrow. I need to be on set for the table read Tuesday.”
“Hmmm.” I can clearly picture her beating one of her many green and yellow pencils against her scarred desk. “I have an opportunity I want to discuss with you.”
“What kind of opportunity?”
“It’ll be easier to explain in person. It’s lucrative though.”
“As long as it’s not porn.”
“Not porn.”
“I’ll call you when I get in, Marilyn.
“Just stop by.”
“Okay.” I hang up without another word and suffer no guilt. She’s not usually big on goodbyes anyway.
From the other room, I make out Chaser’s deep voice. Still on the phone with his father.
Chaser’s on the edge of the bed, murmuring noises of agreement every few seconds. Deep into his conversation with his father, he only nods at me as I crawl into bed behind him. I rest my hands on his shoulders and knead my fingers into his muscles for a few seconds.
Without turning around, he reaches up and pats my hand. I’m probably being more annoying than helpful and I don’t want him to cut his call short.
Exhaustion hits me and I stretch out on the bed, keeping my back to his. His rough hand skates up and down my leg. It’s a soothing gesture. Between his touch and his low, rumbling voice, I end up falling asleep.
Chaser
“You feel like spending time in jail, I got plenty of stuff you can do for the club.” My father’s gruff voice can’t hide his concern.
“Trust me, it wasn’t how I planned to spend my night.”
“Mallory okay? She was pretty freaked out when she called but she handled it well.”
“She’s fine. I’m so fucking pissed. She has to fly back to L.A. tomorrow. Not how I wanted our visit to go.”
“I’m sure,” he answers in a dry tone. “Jesus Christ, the story was all over MTV. Half the girls were in the clubhouse crying their eyes out.”
“For fuck’s sake. The band needs the publicity but not like that.”
“Who is this stupid son of a bitch?”
“Jacob’s our singer.”
“No, the other one.”
“Andrew’s the drummer for the headlining band.”
“Does he have something going on with Mallory?” he