Crossing Lines: A gripping psychological thriller (Behind Closed Doors Book 3) (8 page)

She’s swiftly followed by a tall guy in board shorts, a vest, and sneakers. He stands beside Mel, arms folded across his chest, muscles straining against the material of his vest. He doesn't look happy. But then again, her bodyguard, Rylan, never looks happy.

Krystal gasps. Tension crackles the atmosphere around us as the car pulls to a stop. She leaps out of the rear door. “What's wrong?”

“Wrong?” Mel glances nervously at me as I climb out of the car. “Nothing's wrong.” I recognize her voice. There are times when I have spoken to Mel more than I’ve spoken to Krystal. She’s a lot younger, and looks totally exhausted under her impeccably made-up face. “It's just that Julia wanted to see you the moment you arrived, but you're later than we had anticipated. Should I wake her?”

“We dropped Macaulay off at Angela's first.”
Angela? What happened to calling her “Mom”?
“I’ll see her first thing in the morning.” She turns to the bodyguard, her expression much less tense as she laughs. “And what's your excuse, Rylan?”

The bodyguard, who has been constantly at Krystal's side for over a year-and-a-half, scowls. I guess it’s because he wasn't there the previous night, to do what he'd been employed for.

“You've spent five days shopping in New York.” He shrugs and drops his arms, then brushes past us and heads for the car. “I'm surprised the wheels on my car lasted the trip from the airport.” He caresses the trunk before popping the button to open it. He frowns and looks at Krystal. “Are we expecting a container in the next few days?”

“You need a humor transplant,” she mutters, “and for that jibe you get to go to bed without supper.”

“And then I won't be big and strong, and won't be able to protect you from your crazy-assed fans when they mob you.” He picks up my suitcase and laptop bag from the trunk.

“I’ll get those.” I offer, but Rylan’s gaze rakes over me in a way that makes my skin crawl. I know, just from the way he dismisses me, I do not compare to whatever he’s measuring me up against.

He turns back to Krystal. “You know my job as head of security is to do just that.”

“Are you mad at me, Rylan?” She sends a wink and half smile my way as the head of security grunts his denial. “He is.” She grins. “He's mad at me for making him return from New York, when it was his weekend to have his kids. And he's mad at you for simply being here. But he knows I'd kill him if he dares show you just how pissed he really is.”

“You could try,” Rylan snaps. But he stops beside her, shifts the weight of my luggage onto one arm and with a now-freed hand gently assesses her eye.”I'm mad at you because of this,” he grumbles, gently turning her face in his hand. “You refused to have your security team stay with you and, against my better judgment, I let you stay alone!” He drops his hand abruptly as his disgusted glare turns to me, “Well, I suppose you weren't exactly alone, were you? But I know better. Your way and your safety don't always agree. Dex is going to kick my ass when he sees the state of that eye!”

“Rylan, I went to my old dojo. You know these things happen when I train with overly enthusiastic opponents. You can't protect me in a controlled combat environment.”

“Uh-huh,” Rylan mutters. “Old dojo.” He doesn't believe her. “Right.”

I watch the tender exchange, not quite sure of the dynamics between them. Is it possible that Rylan is responsible for more than her safety? It’s evident in the way he touches her that he cares a great deal more than duty requires. And despite Krystal’s embellishments of the truth and her rebellion, the affection is mutual.

“Therapy, AJ? Really?” He sends that disgusted scowl my way again. “You should have told me about the doctor before now. Dex is going to kick my ass when he finds out you've been stepping out on him with Hawthorne and I didn't tell him. “I didn't know” is hardly going to cut it, considering I'm supposed to know your every move.”
Ah, the real reason Rylan is annoyed, and with both of us.

“Then I'll kick his ass for you,” she threatens playfully, but he doesn't return the smile. Krystal stiffens. She meets his stare with a hard one of her own as she barks, “Discretion is part of your contractual agreement, Rylan.”

“You don't get it, do you?” Rylan sighs. “He's my big brother, and you messed him around for another guy last time. The very same guy you've allowed to live here for the past month.” I watch Krystal’s attention go to a window on the second floor. “AJ, you promised me you wouldn’t do this again. After you ran off at New Year’s and ended up in Dex’s hotel room, you promised me Sean wouldn't be a problem, and you wouldn't put me in this position. You promised me you wouldn't hurt him. You really fucked with his head last time, you know you did. Yet here were are, ten months later, and you’re doing it again. You have never, not once, invited him here, and that was okay because you have trust issues. Now you're giving the new guy free range to your sanctuary indefinitely? Nu-huh, AJ. That’s not on, so don’t expect me to be happy for you. How much more of this does Dex have to put up with before you accept that he loves you?”

“You're out of line, Rylan. You don't get—”

“Fuck you, AJ. I'm off duty,” he hisses. “He's my brother, and you're cheating on him. So don't even think about pulling that boss-employee bullshit with me, because I'll walk—you know I will. My brother comes first.” He turns away.

“Wait!” With lightning-fast reflexes, she grips his free arm. Surprisingly, she has the power to stop him in mid-stride, although I’m not sure if it's her strength or her words that accomplishes it. “You’re right,” she admits quietly, “and I’m sorry, Rylan. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that.” He looks back. “I didn't mean to put you in an awkward position. I'll talk to Dex tomorrow, and you have my word I'll tell him the truth.”

“Great.” He rolls his eyes and sighs, “I look forward to a week of listening to my bro whine about how my boss broke his heart. But consider yourself on a last warning. The next time I find out you’re preventing me from doing my job by lying to me, I walk!”

“Rylan!” She reaches for him again.

“No!” He spins on her. “This,” he waves a hand in front of her face, “was not an overzealous competitor, nor anything to do with training. Your stubborn pride won’t let you admit what’s actually going on. But
he
,” Rylan points at me, “is a blatant disregard of what you hired me for in the first place. How do you know your stalker is not
him
?”

“B-but,” her face visibly pales as she stammers, “y-you’ve cleared him.”

“I’ve cleared everyone!” he yells. "And I’m still no closer to finding the bastard. You know he’s fucking been here. You know this prick knows when I'm not with you. You
have
to start taking this guy seriously. You hired me for one reason and one reason alone, and you have to stop getting in my way. ‘Mad at you’ doesn’t even begin to cover how pissed I am right now!”

He walks away. Krystal calls after him, but he ignores her. He yanks open the door and disappears inside. “Rylan!”

At the same time, an aged golden retriever escapes the open door and comes bouncing down the half a dozen steps with the energy of a pup and its tail end wagging just as enthusiastically.

Krystal's eyes light up like a child on Christmas morning. “Luca!” She drops to the ground and coos and fusses over the fully grown dog like it was a child. “My baby!”

I lean against the rear side of the car and watch the ice queen melt into a puddle of soft gooey slush … over a dog? I file it away for a session when all this is over. But at the same time, I acknowledge there will be no more sessions with her after this. A line has been crossed, and it’s a step I can’t take back, which means that over the next couple of weeks I have to make the most of the limited time I have with Krystal.

“Mommy missed you so much!” Her nails scratch the dog's belly, “Yes, she did. Mommy hates leaving Luca behind.”

Melissa clears her throat. Krystal looks up and turns an interesting shade of crimson as she snaps her fingers. The dog instantly sits at attention, as though their moments of bonding had never happened. She doesn't move from her seat by Krystal's ankles as Krystal discusses her messages with her assistant, and discovers all of the other residents in the house have retired for the night. Mel looks nervously in my direction. “I'll leave you two alone.” She hovers awkwardly on her feet, as her gaze flickers between myself and Krystal. “I'm sorry, Dr. Hawthorne,” she says quietly, “that I was unable to make arrangements for you to travel with Krystal on her tour at the last minute.”

“Mel—”

As though Krystal senses my discomfort with lying to her assistant, she steps between us. “Don't worry about it. These things happen. Darryl will be fine on his own, won't you, D?” She sends a quick smile over her shoulder. “I'll only be gone for a few days. Besides, it will be good for him to see what our future together will be like, don’t you think?”

The assistant's jaw drops open and hangs loose for a few seconds before she composes herself. “Y-yes,” she stutters, “of course.”

I fight the urge to correct another lie. This sits more awkwardly with me than the conversation with Rylan about Krystal’s betrayal of Dex. There has to be an alternative to causing all this heartache. I don’t like her plan one bit, and I like the fact she expects me to join her in telling lies even less. But if I’m ever going to convince Krystal to find an alternative solution, I have to get rid of her super-efficient assistant. With the exception of Caleb, no one else is supposed to know our relationship isn't real.

“Mel,” I step forward, fighting to stop the discomfort from showing on my face as I wrap my arm around Krystal, holding her in an intimate embrace from behind that instantly feels wrong. She doesn’t belong there. But I push the discomfort further down in order to pull her to me; we touch from shoulder to thigh, and she sinks into the embrace as though it’s completely natural to her.

A deep growl rumbles at my heel. The dog bares her teeth at me, raising the hairs on my arms. But Krystal simply snaps her fingers again, wrapping her arms over mine to reinforce the embrace.

I swallow against the fear.
Where was I? Oh yes, getting rid of Mel.
“My time with Krystal is ticking away very quickly.” I continue turning my attention to Mel. “Do you have anything too important to wait until morning?” I ask. She looks from me to Krystal before shaking her head. “Then …” I rest my chin on Krystal's shoulder before meeting Mel's eyes again, “can I have her all to myself?”

The young personal assistant glows the same amusing shade of crimson that Krystal had. She directs her eyes in every other direction but ours. “Yes, of course. I'll tell you the rest in the morning.” She twists on her heel and runs up the stairs two at a time, calling over her shoulder. “Goodnight!”

Once she’s gone, I step away from Krystal. “Why do I get the feeling you told her to lie to me?”

“Because I did,” she replies simply. “And believe me, she wasn’t happy about doing so.”

“And let me guess, you pulled rank on her as her boss and made her do it?”

“Don’t,” she grimaces, “I know what I'm doing and I know it’s wrong, Darryl. I’m not proud of forcing the people I rely on to do my bidding. But this intervention has to be this way, and when you meet Julia you’ll understand why.” She steps toward the house. When she notices I haven’t moved, she turns around. “What?”

“You have a stalker too?” I ask.

“No. I have Wayne, pretending to be a stalker.”

“And you know this how?”

“I know Wayne. Now, would you like to come in?”

“Not really.” I settle back against the car again. She’s not being straight with me, and this whole thing will only work if I know everything there is to know. "I want to discuss this thing you have going on with Rylan's brother, because I'm not here to—”

“You don't think highly of me right now, do you?”

My gaze jumps up at her impatient snap. I meet her piercing stare. It’s the first time I see right through the 'I don't give a damn what you think' shield. She does care. It matters to her more than she’ll ever admit. Conflict seeps into my gut, twists with my need to be frank with her. No matter how much I know, she can take whatever I say; I know it won’t roll off her like she’d have me believe. She'll pretend it has. But I won’t, and I don't want to be that kind of honest with her because … she's the one person in this world who understands. It’s been thirteen years since Faith ran from her abusive husband, Calvin, and despite everything that’s happened since, Krystal is the only person who treats me like I’m still … well,
me
.

I keep my gaze on her expression. “You haven't given me a lot of reasons to think highly of you lately.”

A ripple of hurt shivers through her expression, but all she does is shrug. “That's alright, D. I don't like me much either.”
What?
My eyebrows shoot skywards and she hisses, “Don't look at me like that. Self-loathing comes with the job. If you lose a part, you weren't good enough. If you get a bad review, you weren't good enough. I'm a big girl. I can take it.”

“A conversation for another time, maybe?” I wait for her nod of agreement before moving on. “So, about Dex and the other guy living here. It’s Julia’s brother, right?”

“Don't be condescending, Darryl, you know very well where I stand on monogamy. It just happens there were one or two complications I didn't factor into this when I came to find you. But this is a need-to-know situation. I haven't discussed it with anyone but you, and Caleb.” Her eyes soften, and the hard mask slips as she adds, “Honestly D, I’m only thinking of Julia.”