Damaged In-Law (22 page)

I lose my balance and stumble across the space, crashing
hard against the trailer wall. My head strikes the immovable surface, and
bursts of light shoot across my field of vision. I sink down onto the floor,
trying to keep my mind sharp. But panic and rage are rushing in to blind me as
Rupert glares down at my fallen form. As he takes a swinging step forward, I
can feel in my bones that there’s no way to overpower him. No way out.

I’m sorry Ave,
I think. They’re the only words I can
conjure now.
I’m so, so sorry…

I flatten myself against the wall as something heavy slams
against the trailer door. Rupert turns away from me at the startling sound.
Furious fists pound against the locked door, and a ragged, irate voice sounds
out from beyond the barrier.

“
Open this fucking door!
”

A sob of relief rises from my chest as I recognize Jack’s
rich, full voice. Another slamming thud crashes against the door. And another.
He’s throwing his entire body against it.

“I will break this thing down if you don’t open up, Davies,”
he roars.

“Shit. Oh shit…” Rupert mutters, his eyes wide as they land
on me. In a rush of unthinking fury, he charges at me and grabs me by the
shoulders. My robe hangs down around my body, undone in the struggle. “You’re a
bad little girl,” he mutters maniacally, grabbing hold of my ass, “You got me
caught.”

I level my gaze at him, take a breath, and spit right into
his repulsive face.

“You got
yourself
caught,” I snarl as he reels away,
trying to wipe the saliva off his face.

Before Rupert can utter another word, the trailer door
clatters wide open. Jack’s made good on his promise to break the door down. His
eyes flick from Rupert’s unbuckled belt to my quaking, barely clothed body. He
doesn’t pause at the threshold like some conquering hero, or make a show of
rescuing me. No—he lets the momentum of his running start carry him across the
trailer, straight into the cowering body of Rupert Davies.

Jack’s powerful body slams into the director’s, leveling
him. In a heartbeat, Jack has the asshole pinned to the ground, squirming like
a worm on a hook. Jack’s face is frozen in a mask of fierce determination as he
brings his fist raining down. I hear the sickly crack as that fist collides
with Davie’s jaw, a trickle of blood appearing at the corner of his mouth.

The past comes swimming up to meet the present as I recall
the night of my parents’ disastrous party. Jack had come running when Daryl
Hellman cornered me in that coat room, intent on taking what wasn’t his. And
now, once again, Jack has arrived just in time. Only now, there are no
righteous parents to intervene, no one to stop him from beating the living shit
out of this monster who’s done so much harm.

Good
.

I scramble to my feet, and dash as I best I can out of the
trailer. In a daze, I stagger into the waiting arms of Penelope and Parker.
Their arms are the only thing holding me up as the sounds of Rupert’s beat down
go on and on.

“Callie, are you OK?!” Penelope breathes, taking my face in
her hands.

“We shouldn’t have left you. We never would have thought—”
Parker goes on, letting me lean heavily on his arm as Callie re-ties my robe.
The rest of the crew has started to assemble around us, drawn in by the
cacophony ringing out from the trailer.

I glance back at the open doorway and watch as Jack wails
mercilessly on Rupert. He’s begun to scream, his voice ragged and bloodthirsty.

“You thought you could get away with this, didn’t you?” Jack
roars, grabbing Rupert by the collar and slamming him hard against the trailer wall.
“You thought you could hurt the woman I love and just walk away? Well I’ve got
a better idea—”

My hearts leaps into my throat as Jack brings his knee up
into Rupert’s swollen stomach. Even in this brutal, terrifying moment, my heart
and mind rally around one little word. Did he just say
love
? The woman
he
loves
? He did. He absolutely did.

Jackson Cole loves me.

Parker and Penelope pull me out of the way as a duo of
security personnel storm past us into the trailer. Even though the two men are
burly in their own right, they can scarcely pull Jack away from Rupert. I steal
a glance at the scumbag director, barely conscious and cowering against the
wall. His nose is streaming blood, his eyes already turning black. I’m not a
violent person, and I’d never wish this on an innocent man. But knowing what he
did to Avery, what he’s capable of…I can’t help but feel satisfied, seeing him
in so much pain.

“Come on Mr. Cole,” one of the security guards says firmly,
grabbing Jack by the arm.

“Get your hands off me,” Jack growls, his chest heaving.

“We need to escort you off the premises,” says a second
guard, laying a heavy hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Studio’s orders.”

“You mean Miriam Blake’s orders,” Jack shoots back.

“Don’t make this any more difficult than it has to be,”
advises the first guard.

“What about him?” Jack says, glaring down at Rupert’s
barely-conscious form, “Does the studio plan on doing a goddamn thing about the
rapist they hired to direct their film?!”

“He’ll be dealt with, don’t you worry,” says the second
guard, “But right now, we need you to leave this lot immediately.”

Jack ignores the guards as his eyes fall on me. He brushes
off the mountainous men and rushes toward me. Stepping away from my friends, I
meet him halfway, throwing my arms around his shoulders. Only now that he’s
here with me does the full weight of what’s happened—what
might
have
happened—hit me.

“Cal, are you OK? Are you hurt?” he whispers, holding me
close to his chest.

“No…I mean I’m OK. I’m not hurt. You came just in time,” I
sob, pulling back to look up at his clear blue eyes. “What are you even doing
here? You weren’t called on set today. How did you know…?”

“I just had a feeling,” he says grimly, taking my face in
his hands, “When I saw your note this morning, I knew you’d be alone with that
fucker on set. It just felt so wrong. But I never thought he’d be capable of
this…I could kill him, I swear.”

“I think you almost did,” I breathe.

“Mr. Cole,” the first guard says, stepping up behind Jack.
“You need to go. Now.”

“I’m so sorry for the way I acted last night,” Jack says to
me, ignoring him, “Everything I said…It was so stupid. I don’t give a shit
about what the rest of the world thinks, or about my career, or any of it. All
I care about is you, Cal. That’s the truth.”

“It’s OK,” I tell him, “It's OK now, Jack.”

“Do we need to cuff you, Mr. Cole?” the second guard asks,
crossing his thick arms.

“Looks like I need to get a move on here,” Jack scowls,
holding me fast, “I don’t know what happens next here, Cal. But I’ll get back
to your side as soon as I can, I promise. Are you going to be alright?”

“I’ll be fine,” I tell him, laying my hands on his chest, “I
just…can’t believe you did this. For
me
.”

“It’s not like there isn’t precedent,” he says grimly.

“Right,” I breathe, thinking back to the last time Jack
leapt to my defense against a morally corrupt attacker. “Hey…You remember how
that night ended, all those years ago?” I go on, lacing my fingers behind his
neck.

“You kissed me for the first time,” Jack says, the corner of
his mouth lifting ever-so-slightly, “How could I ever forget that?”

“Well…since we already seem to be reliving the past,” I
whisper, “Do you mind if we keep going a little?”

“Sounds good to me,” Jack murmurs, wrapping his arms around
my waist and bringing his mouth to mine.

His kiss is positively shattering. It demolishes the fear,
the doubt, and the uncertainty. As our mouths move together, our tongues
twining, our hands searching, I know one thing for sure. This doesn’t have to
be the end for us after all. Whatever happens next, we can still find a way to
be together in it. As long as we’re willing to try like hell.

“Enough,” mutters the first guard, seizing Jack’s elbow

“Show’s over,” the second guard announces to the gathered
crew members.

They try to pull Jack away from me, but I’m determined not
to let him go.

“Ma’am, please…” sighs the first guard.

“Don’t
ma’am
me,” I shoot back, “Jack is the only
reason that scumbag didn’t get to force himself on me. Where were you when I
was being attacked, huh? What, did the studio pay you not to interrupt Mr.
Davies when he was assaulting women in hair and makeup? Did you see what he was
doing to my sister and turn a blind eye then, too?”

The men avert their eyes at my accusation. It’s all the
proof I need.

“What do you mean, about Avery?” Jack breathes, his eyes
going wide.

“Oh, Jack…” I say softly, laying a hand on his chest as if I
could stop his heart from breaking just by holding it in. “Jack, he got to her.
The whole time she was on set, he was…he…That was what set her off. Not the
attention, not the rumors. It was Rupert.”

Even the security guards don’t try to move Jack as this
truth sinks into his whirling mind. I expect him to break away and finish
Rupert Davies off right then and there, but instead he lifts his head
defiantly.

“We’ll make this right,” Jack assures me firmly, “I’ll be
fine. Let me go sort out my part in this, and stay safe until I get back.”

“OK,” I whisper, giving him one last swift kiss before the
guards haul him away. They only get a few paces before my voice bubbles up
again. “Hey,” I call after him.

“Yeah?” Jack calls back.

“Did you mean what you said back there, before?” I ask,
wrapping my arms around my waist, “About me…uh…being the woman you love? Or was
that just some crazy heat-of-the-moment thing?”

That grin I adore blooms across Jack’s face as he replies,
“I meant it, Cal.”

“Oh,” I breathe, smiling goofily back at him. “Well I mean
it too. That I love you, I mean. I…Goddammit. I’m really bad at big
pronouncements.”

“You’re perfect,” he laughs, shaking his head, “I’ll see you
soon.”

With that, the security guards spin Jack around and march
him out of the movie studio. And something tells me that this time, it’s for
good. I grimace as an on-set medical team descends on my attacker, closing the
trailer door to any prying eyes. So help me, I will make sure that Rupert
Davies is held accountable for what he’s done. Not just to me, and not just to
Avery, but to every woman he’s dared to assault along the way.

“Callie?” Penelope says from over my shoulder.

I turn back to her and Parker, drawing myself up as best I
can.

“Well,” I say, “I guess shooting’s done for today.”

“That’s the understatement of the century,” Parker smiles
sadly. “Honey, I’m so sorry you had to go through this.”

“And I’m sorry for what I’m about to tell you…” Penelope
says, biting her lip as she stares down at her phone.

“What is it?” I ask. Surely it couldn’t make this situation
any worse.

“It’s Miriam Blake,” Penelope replies, her eyes going wide.
“She’s sent Lionel to bring you directly to her office in Midtown. He’s waiting
for you outside.”

A hot coil of fury sparks in my gut as I think of that icy
woman. Probably, she wants to berate me for encouraging Rupert to make a pass.
Or else she wants to fire me. Or threaten me. Well, I’ve got a few choice words
for her too.

“Great,” I say shortly, turning on my heel, “Let me just
throw on something a little more comfortable, then I’ll be on my way.”

Miriam Blake may be one of the most powerful people in the entertainment
industry, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let her have the last word on this
one.

Chapter Eighteen

The elevator doors whisper open onto that long, white
corridor that I hoped I’d never see again. At the end of the pristine stretch,
the Apollo Pictures logo blazes like a beacon, drawing me forward. Squaring my
shoulders, I set off down the hall, ready to give Miriam Blake a piece of my
mind at long last.

Miriam’s beautiful assistant, Diana, is waiting for me just
beyond the glass doors. The cool, dismissive expression she wore last time we
met is gone from her face. In its place is a look of encouragement, of
solidarity even.

“Callie,” she says, looking like she wants to throw her arms
around me. “Thank you for coming so soon. I know you must not be in any mood to
talk business right now…”

“It’s OK Diana,” I say, laying a hand on her slender arm.

“I just can’t believe he’s still getting away with it,”
Diana mutters, shaking her head, “Everyone at Apollo knows about Mr. Davies’
track record. It’s just…It’s unconscionable.”

Her words only bolster my determination. “He didn’t ever try
anything with you, did he?” I ask her, as gently as I can.

Diana scoffs tearfully. “Of course he did. He’ll try to get
his hands on anything with two X chromosomes. He’s a monster.”

“And the studio knew about this?” I gasp, my heart breaking
for the woman in front of me. I can’t believe I was petty enough to feel
jealous of her, the first time we met. Already, that feels like years ago, but
really it’s been less than a month since I signed onto
City in Red.
It’s
amazing what you can learn about the world—and yourself—in just a month’s time.

“The entire industry knows about this,” she says, shaking
her head, “But no one’s ever been able to do a damn thing. That’s just the way
it is.”

“Was,” I correct her firmly, “That’s the way it
was
.”

I turn on my heel, take a deep breath, and march to the door
of Miriam Blake’s office. Without bothering to knock, I tug the door open and
step over the threshold. Though my stomach is knotting itself into anxious
snarls, I keep my head held high. Miriam Blake may be the most influential
woman in Hollywood today, but she’s still just a person. And I’m not leaving
this office until she hears me out.

The back of her head is what greets me as I enter, that
shock of white hair unmoving as ever. She’s standing before the wall of
windows, looking out across Midtown Manhattan. Though her frame is slight, she
looks like a master of the universe, silhouetted by all that chrome and neon
majesty. And she doesn’t even need to turn around to know that it’s little old
me who’s entered her office.

“My, my. A couple days of notoriety and all your manners
have gone out the window,” she says coolly, finally turning to face me across
the cavernous space. “What, have you forgotten how to knock?”

“I spent the morning fending off a depraved pervert and
watching my best friend get dragged away by your private security team,” I
respond dryly, “Excuse me if I’m not feeling super polite right now.”

“You can cut the dramatics,” Miriam replies, sitting down
behind her sleek desk. “There aren’t any swooning fans or slavering reporters
here. Just you and me. And we have a few things to discuss.”

“Oh, we most certainly do,” I shoot back, stepping up to her
desk but refusing to take the seat she offers.

“Let me cut right to the chase,” she says crisply, “
City
of Red
has been a bitch of a movie to get made. Every time we think we’ve
gotten the thing on track, something else goes wrong. If I had any sense, I’d
pull the plug. But Apollo Pictures feels that we’ve sunk too much money into
the damn thing to kill it now. We need to pick a solution and stick with it. So,
here’s the plan: It’s your movie now.”

OK…
I think to myself,
now I need to sit down…

“Wh-what?” I sputter, sinking into the chair opposite Miriam
Blake. “What are you talking about,
my
movie?”

“You’ve done an excellent job with the role so far,” Miriam
says frankly, “Your in-scene rewrites have been spot on. You’re actually
managing to make Rosalie Danes into a three-dimensional character, and the
press seems interested in, if not entirely fond of you. There’s no way in hell
I’m recasting
both
my leads, so—”

“You don’t mean you’re actually recasting Jack?” I cut her
off, “He made this movie happen. It’s his baby. He
is
Joel Brennan.”

“No. He’s the asshole who beat my director to a bloody pulp
this morning,” Miriam quips, “So he’s out.”

“You’re forgetting a pretty important plot point there, Ms.
Blake,” I seethe, “You know, the part where Jack intervened when Rupert Davies
was in the act of
assaulting
me?”

“I see no point in dwelling on something that never came to
pass,” Miriam says, waving away my words.

My jaw falls into my lap as I stare at the cold woman before
me. “That’s all you have to say about the fact that your director locked me in
a trailer and—?”

“You’d still get the million we agreed on,” she cuts me off,
leaning her elbows on her desk, “Rupert will keep his hands to himself for the
rest of the shoot, and you’ll still get to be a movie star. Everything will
work out for you in the end. All you have to do is keep quiet about what
happened today and let Jack walk. What do you say?”

“You’re trying to buy my silence,” I say, my voice hollow.

“Don’t act like a naïve little girl,” Miriam sniffs,
crossing her arms.

For a long moment, my mind is too numb with shock to
formulate a coherent thought. The proposition she’s put before me is brutal, unconscionable,
too twisted to comprehend. As I sit there, staring at Miriam, a single word
starts pulsing in my mind like a blaring, neon sign: Avery…Avery…
Avery
…

“Did you know what Rupert Davies was doing to my sister?” I
ask her, my voice quiet but strong.

“What’s that? Speak up,” Miriam scowls at me.

“Were you aware? That Rupert Davies. Was abusing my sister.
On the set of your movie?” I ask, my words quivering with ever-increasing rage.

Miriam doesn’t say a word, but her silence speaks volumes.
Of course she knew all about what Rupert was doing. And she didn’t give a
flying fuck about it.

“Were you also aware,” I press on, my fingers digging into
the arms of the chair, “That Avery was molested as a child? And that being
around that monster of a director sent into the tail spin that killed her?”

“That is just conjecture,” Miriam cuts in.

“
Shut up!
” I scream, leaping to my feet and towering
over her desk. It’s hard to believe that a few short weeks ago, I was standing
in the center of this room like a timid little animal, awed by the importance
and grace of Miriam Blake. But now, I see her clearly. She's just another wolf
in haute couture.

“
Keep your voice down
,” she snaps at me.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” I shoot back, “You’d love
to just buy me off, shut me up, and keep your precious job. I hate to break it
to you, Mims, but that’s not gonna happen.”

“Oh no?” she sneers, “What are you going to do now, bargain
with me? Take the million on the condition that I fire Rupert and let Jackson
Cole keep his precious pet project? Fine. I don’t really give a shit about the
specifics. State your terms, and we can put this ugly business behind us.”

“I need you to hear me loud and clear when I tell you this,”
I go on, leaning toward the despicable woman, “
I don’t want your money.
”

It’s then that the unthinkable happens. A tiny crease
appears between Miriam Blake’s perfectly tended eyebrows.

“That’s impossible,” she replies. “Everyone wants—”

“Not me,” I cut her off, “I don’t want a cent of your dirty
fucking hush money. I didn’t need my parents’ and I sure as fuck don’t need
yours. This is so much bigger than a million dollars, Miriam. This is about
Avery. And Diana. And every other woman who’s been silenced by ruthless
assholes like you along the way. There’s nothing you can do to stop me from
telling the world exactly what happened to us. Nothing.”

“But th-that’s career suicide,” she sputters, rising from
her desk, “You’ll never work on another film as long as you live.”

An honest to god laugh rings out from my chest as I take in
her desperate plea. “That’s the beautiful thing, Miriam!” I crow, clapping my
hands together in glee. “I don’t
have
a film career to kill! I’m just a
freelance writer from the Hudson Valley, for Christ’s sake. You can’t touch
me.”

“But surely—You must—You can’t just—” she blathers on.

“I
can
just,” I tell her, in no uncertain terms.
“Sorry Ms. Blake, but you have no control over me. Not anymore. You can keep
your film, and your hotel suite, and your money. I quit.”

With her stunned silence as my soundtrack, I spin around and
stride out of the corner office, my heart pounding. I feel lighter than I have
in weeks as the shackles of this project, this whole twisted industry, fall
away. As I let the door slam behind me, give Diana’s hand a supportive squeeze,
and set off down that white corridor for the final time, I know that I’ve made
the right decision. The only decision I could have made. I chose my integrity
over fame, a hard life over an easy one.

The only question that remains is, does choosing my old life
mean choosing a life without Jackson Cole?

Stepping back out onto the sidewalk where Lionel is waiting
with the car, I’m immediately subsumed by a sea of reporters. They scream their
questions at me, clamoring for a good shot. Among their flushed faces, I spot a
particularly familiar, and very orange visage: that of Garland Hayes. A grim
smile spreads across my face as I lock eyes with him. If there’s one sure fire
way to spread news fast, it’s feeding it straight to this man.

“Hello there, Miss Benson,” Garland smirks, “I hear your man
has roughed up someone
other
than me this morning. Care to spill the
details?”

“Oh, I do,” I tell him, pulling him gently aside and
lowering my voice. “But not here. I’ve just quit
City in Red
, you see.
Don’t want to be lingering in front of the Apollo offices. How about you sit
down for an exclusive interview with me and Jackson Cole in a couple days’
time? Think you can forgive him for that, and maybe drop whatever law suit
you’ve been cooking up?”

“I could forgive
anything
for an interview with you
two,” Garland yelps gleefully. “Count me in.”

“I’ll let you know when and where,” I assure him, “For now,
just let the world know that Jack and I have walked off the film. Let the rumor
mill do its worst. OK?”

“Whatever you say,” Garland replies, stepping out of my way.
“You’re the boss.”

“That’s right,” I smile, as Lionel opens the car door to me,
“I am.”

I settle back against the leather seats, feeling exhilarated.
Sure, I don’t know exactly what I’m doing. But my gut tells me that I’m doing
the right thing, here. And my gut has always been pretty on-point.

“Where are we headed, Miss Benson?” Lionel asks me from the
front seat, “Back to The Rouge, perhaps?”

I let out a wry little chuckle. Knowing Miriam Blake, my
suite is probably sealed off with cement and guarded by a team of attack dogs.
But it looks like Lionel’s car is still at my disposal, at least for the time
being. Seeing as I still have this ride for a little while longer, I figure
might as well make the most of it.

“Actually Lionel,” I reply, “I’ve got a slightly longer trip
in mind.”