Backstage Pass: Last Call (The Backstage Pass Rock Star Romance Book 6) (6 page)

My hair was still damp from the shower, but Kerri had lent me a cute little skirt and sweater that she’d found in the back of her car, and I’d dressed for dinner even though I knew Jesse was still a ways out. Kerri had given me a few small tasks to keep me busy while I waited, but I was almost through with them and I wasn’t sure how I was going to spend the time until he got here.

I adjusted the centerpiece on the dining room table, twisting it half an inch to the left. It didn’t look any
different to me, but Kerri would probably have to change it back. I couldn’t keep my fingers from fidgeting with everything. We were going to have three whole days together. I hadn’t had that kind of a vacation since the accident. And we hadn’t had that much time together in more months than I could count.

I could have passed for the nervous bride on her wedding night cliché. I wandered into the kitchen, open and shut every single cabinet, then wiped the counters down again.
The moon cast a wide, bright shaft of light across the yard and I hadn’t been out there since it had stopped raining. I glanced at the oversized clock above the door. Only ten minutes had passed and a stroll around the yard would take me at least a few more minutes.

I kicked off the cute heels Kerri had forced on me. She
said they went with the outfit but my feet were already killing me. I’d spent too many months in running shoes and flip-flops and her dressy stuff was going to take some getting used to.

I slid the sliding glass door open and stepped out onto the freshly stained deck. It was still a little sticky since it hadn’t cured before the rain started and I really hoped that I wouldn
’t have to put another coat on, but I couldn’t tell in the moonlight.

From the
door, I could make out the paths as they curled away into the shadowy recesses of the yard, begging for exploration. I loved that. My chest puffed up with pride. I’d done that, and while I wanted to act all cocky that I knew it would look like this in the moonlight, it had been a complete stab in the proverbial dark. The sun was an easy one to gauge since it moved rather predictably, but moonlight was a little tougher. It was so soft and easily extinguished behind clouds. Both were a perfect metaphor for the relationship that was going to grow up in this house. By day, we were strong and undeniable, but by night, sometimes the insecurities crept in and covered the light of our love.

Maybe that was why I’d said no, because he’d asked me in the dark. I laughed at myself, thinking I was
being a bit melodramatic. How simple to just change the time of day to make everything seem so right.

I stepped off the porch and took the path to the right, knowing it curled almost all the way to the back property line before meeting up with the flagstone sitting area beside the pond in that farthest corner.
The new grass was cool against my bare feet and the water gurgled and rushed over the rocks as I got closer to the pond. I tried out the new iron bench and it fit my butt perfectly, curving around me and up my back. This would be an awesome place to sit and read or just curl up together. I could see myself doing a lot of homework back here. The house stood proud on the other side of the yard, lights aglow and welcoming.

I sighed and leaned back
into the bench. This really was my home. I’d built it perfectly for myself and as the ultimate gift to Jesse. The evidence was startlingly clear and spread over the entire property. This was where two people in love lived, and I liked it. I’d done our relationship proud and anyone who stepped on the property would be able to see it if they took a second to look.

Even without the thousands I’d spent on the yard, I would have been able to do the same thing with just a bag of seed and a couple flats of pansies, but this sure had made it
easier and way more fun. There was nothing quite as awesome as an endless budget and I wondered what it would be like to do this for a living. I doubted that I’d be able to pour my soul into each yard, but maybe if I had the luxury of hand-picking my clients—Jesse’s income sure made it seem possible—then I could find couples who wanted a yard like this, one that announced to the world how much they wanted each other, how badly they wanted to carve out an oasis away from all the crap that sought to drown out relationships, taint our feelings, and turn us against one another.

That could be kind of fun. Maybe after the tour I’d have to talk to Jesse about that. Based on the current plan for finishing school, I’d have my landscape architect stamp in six months, which would be a perfect time to start gathering clients and drawing up plans. I’d seriously need to get some better workers though. These guys would be lucky if they made it through this
job, let alone another one where they actually had to be on time and stuff.

I stood and bent over to check the fis
h. They were swimming lazily in the strip of moonlight, bubbling and gurgling through the water. Yes, this was definitely going to be my favorite place.

On the far edge of the property, a car engine
revved and I wondered who was speeding up the main road. I always got a chill when I thought about someone else getting hit by our driveway, but every time I’d gone in and out I still didn’t understand how we’d not seen the truck that night. It wasn’t a blind corner. Jesse must have just been distracted. In some ways that was good, because I didn’t want to be pulling dead bodies out of my driveway every weekend.

Lights flashed across the yard and I frowned. Jesse shouldn’t be here
yet, unless he did some serious speeding, but I couldn’t think of who else would be coming up my drive this late at night. My heart surged at the thought of Jesse being here so soon instead of having to be tortured while I watched the clock tick away the remaining minutes. Still, on the wave of thinking about our wreck, I was going to have to give him shit about speeding. I blew kisses to the fish and started down the other side of the path with its more direct route to the back patio. I wasn’t sure if he’d head to the front door or back, but I wanted to be there when he saw everything.

I hurried toward the house as the car pulled into the shadows. Briefly I wondered why he hadn’t pulled all the way up to the garage, but then I remembered the last time he’d snuck in early and
I almost laughed out loud. The headlights were bright and blinding me, but as I lifted my hand to shield my eyes, they clicked off.

I blinked and squinted, but
he was just a dark shape in my overexposed retinas. “Hey babe.”

“Not exactly
, you stupid bitch.”

My eyes adjusted a split second before Scout slapped me across the face and grabbed me by the hair, dragging me back into the dark shadows of the yard. I clamped my fingers over his and tried to free myself, but he had a grip of steel and I was pretty sure my hair was coming out in huge chunks.

“Scout! Stop! It’s me,
Sasha. What are you doing?”

He laughed and I could instantly tell he’d been drinking, maybe for days. His breath smelled beyond rotten and barely covered the stench of his unwashed body. I was amazed he’d managed to get the car here in one piece.
He yanked harder and my ankle twisted beneath me, sending a sharp pain up my leg and stealing my breath.

“I know who the fuck you are, you stupid cunt. You’re the reason I’m out of a job.”

“Scout, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Jesse will be here in a few hours. I don’t know anything about what’s been going on.”

“
Bullshit. You’ve been controlling him from the very beginning. I fucking hate you. I’ve always hated you. We could have had all the pussy and booze and screaming fans we wanted, but no, you had to get your clutches so deep into him that he couldn’t see how awesome we had it. Well, we’ll see what he thinks when you’re not around anymore.”

Cold drenched my entire body, freezing my limbs and making me forget about the pain in my scalp. He couldn’t be serious. What did he mean by that? Surely he
wasn’t going to do anything stupid. Obviously he wasn’t exactly in a great state of mind and I wasn’t sure how to reason with a drunk.

How the fuck was this
happening now? Just when we’d finally found a plateau above our crisis—fucking ridiculous. Fury and a rage like I’d never felt welled up in me. No fucking way was I going to let a drunk douche bag ruin my night or the life I’d just barely gotten righted.

I kicked out and caught him right below the kneecap. Pain radiated up my
foot straight into my shin and I was pretty sure I’d just broken my toe, but I didn’t care. I clawed at his arm, but he bent over and rubbed his knee, then yanked harder on my hair. “Oh, you like it rough, huh?”

I scraped my fingers down his arm and he yelped but didn’t let go. I kicked out one more time and caught him right in the
nut sack. He doubled over and I was surprised he hadn’t seen that coming. His grip on my head slipped just enough for me to break loose. One of the strands got wound around his fingers and I yanked, feeling the roots tear out, but I kept going. This might be my one chance to get away.

My feet slipped and slid on the damp grass, but I scrambled forward, trying to make it to the back door so I could get inside and call the cops.

He hit me hard from behind and we went down fast, tumbling and rolling in the flowerbed between the garage and deck. Mulch flew into my eyes, blinding me, and I tried to spit out the mouthful of dirt, but he mashed my face in harder. “Thought you could get away, huh? Well, I’m going to teach you that you can never run from me.”

His fingers slid down to my neck and he pinned me
face down to the dirt. I twisted and managed to carve a hole with my chin that gave me a tiny slice of space of air. My clothes were torn and I could feel blood dribbling down my shin. He was so heavy on top of me and I could barely breathe, even with the pocket beside my nose. I couldn’t pull any in through my mouth without choking on wood chips, so I tried to fight the panic and focus on not dying.

Then my skirt slid over my ass and I bucked hard against him, driving my face deep into the mulch again as I tried to get away.

“Let’s see what all the fuss is about. Maybe you are better than the thousand groupie pussies I’ve had.”

“
Noooo!” I screamed, but it was lost to the deep layer of perfection I’d made my workers give our new plants. My panties ripped and I fought like hell to get him off of me. He outweighed me by at least a hundred pounds and even with all my PT and running and working in the yard, my strength was ridiculously outmatched. I didn’t know it was possible to hate someone as much as I hated him right now and if that hatred would have been a superpower I’d have snapped his neck in two.

He pressed hard on my neck and slid his rough hand across my ass. I cried out and tried to keep my mouth shut so that wouldn’t spur him on. He slapped my cheek hard and I winced, but didn’t make a sound.

“No complaints on that one, huh? Guess he broke you in good.”

This was the worst moment of my life. I’d gone from the highest to the lowest in a matter of plunging seconds.
He fumbled with his pants and I heard the buckle of his belt and then the horrific slide of his zipper. This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening. Not in my yard. I surged up in a huge fit of anger, catching him off guard. He cussed and grabbed for me, catching the edge of my ankle and tripping me. I scrambled forward, but he was faster and meaner.

We fell again, this time on the grass, and me on my back
, but his hand was at my throat again and I could see the bloody claw marks that I’d left on his arm and face. I glared at him. “I’m glad Jesse fired you, you’re worthless. He’s better off without you.” Probably not the brightest idea to antagonize him but if he was going to rape me I wasn’t about to sit by idly without at least telling him what a useless fuck he was.

He
slapped me hard across the face just as another set of lights flashed across the yard. I craned my neck to see who it was, but we were still deep enough into the yard that we weren’t in a straight line to the driveway. Scout ducked down and pressed his horrid body over the top of me. I struggled, but it was no use and he twisted his hand, clamping it down over my mouth and nearly cutting off my airway.

“Shut up.”

I couldn’t tell who’d shown up but now it had to be Jesse. Please let it be Jesse.

Axel’s voice carried across the darkness of the yard to my straining ears. “
Who’s car is that?”

My heart leapt. Oh my god, please. Please come out here and find me. Just come around the corner
, Axel. Just a few more steps and you can see us, see what this monster is doing to me. Please.

Scout tightened his grip on my throat. “Don’t fucking move.” His breath was hot and sticky against my throat. I wanted to claw and tear at him, but I knew it wouldn
’t take much for him to squeeze a little tighter and it was all I could do to stay conscious. All I needed was for Axel to take one more step toward the yard instead of the house.

Just one more step.

“Shoot. Jesse must have rented one.” Kerri pulled Axel to a stop. “Maybe we should go. I thought we’d have time to stop by before he got here.”

“If they’re doing it they won’t answer the door, but maybe they’re on a break. I want to say hi to Jesse anyway.”

“No, Axel.” I could almost hear her tugging on him and dragging him back to the car. Tear streamed down my face. They were going to leave and Scout was going to finish this. Jesse would never be here in time. He’d never know who it was who did this to me. I wanted to scream, but I could barely breathe as it was and I was only going to get one chance at it.

Scout
pressed harder against my mouth, finally closing off the tiny space between his gross fingers and my nostrils. I couldn’t breathe and the more I struggled the harder he pressed. “I’m warning you, bitch. You better shut the fuck up or this is going to get a whole lot worse.

I didn’t see
how that was even possible, because I was out of options. They were never going to think to look out here, and Kerri was going to get her way and they were going to leave. Leave me here to Scout’s mercy. All I wanted right now was to breathe. My lungs were burning so bad and he didn’t care or notice that he’d cut off my air. He was staring hard at the direction of Axel and Kerri, body taught with anger and edge.

Just when my vision
was starting to fade, I lashed out with everything I had in a final ditch effort to get him off me and to scream for Kerri. As he slammed my head into the dirt, I thought I heard Axel scream something, but I was afraid he was too late.