Front & Center (Book 2 of the Back-Up Series) (17 page)

“Fuck.”
I groan as my legs almost fail me twice, causing me to stumble like a drunk. Oh wait…I am a drunk.

“Move. The guys are around
front hailing a cab.”

Catching a glimpse of the other bus sitting twenty yards away, my heart instantly pounds in my chest. Is she in there? Is she watching?

“Where is she?” I motion towards the bus.

Hunter stops to look at me. “She left in a cab
right after the show.”

“Alone? Fuck
, Hunter, she shouldn’t be going anywhere alone.”

“Jack, she
left with Dylan.”

Another twist of the knife.

“Whatever. Where are we going? I look like crap.”

“Who gives a fuck
what you look like?”



“Ugh, fuck me.” I groan pathetically. I have a killer headache, like someone jabbed an ice pick right through my temple. A soft groan causes my eyes to fly open. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“You invited me.”

Oh no. No. No. No. NO!

Fuck NO
!

“Oh G
od.”

“Ready to try again?
I’m extremely patient.” She sidles up beside me, her hands running down my body. “Well yay, it looks like you’re finally ready.”

“Don’t touch me.”

“You didn’t have a problem with me touching you last night, Jack. After you came in my mouth, you passed out. You owe me an orgasm.”

“You need to leave…now!”

I can’t even make myself look at her. I can’t remember her name, how she got here, or what the fuck we did last night. Frantically pulling on my jeans and t-shirt, I grab my phone and head for the bathroom. “Be gone when I get out.”

“
You’re a prick.”

Locking the door I dial Hunter’s phone. “What did I do?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Who is this chick and why is she in my room?”

“Oh, fuck. You were alone when we dropped you off. I shut the door behind you myself.”

“
I can’t remember anything. It’s like I blacked out. How the hell did she get here?”

“I haven’t a clue.
”

“Hunter, I’m so fucked.
I’ll never get her back now.” My anguish is clear in my words.

“I’ll be right there.”

Not even a minute later, there’s a knock on my door.

Hunter walks in and says,
“Hey, Jeannie. It’s time to go.”

“What the fuck is going on with him? He invites me
all the way over here, lets me in, lets me suck him off, passes out, and now kicks me out. I do not deserve to be treated like this.”

“Jeannie
, he was really drunk. He had no clue what he was doing last night.”

“He was in a coma last night. The only reason I stuck around was because I was hoping
to have some fun this morning.”

“
I’m sorry. You really need to go.”

“Fuck off!
” She screams, then the hotel room door slams shut with such force, it rattles the bathroom door.

“Jack,
open the door.”

When Hunter sees me, he shakes his head. “Jesus.”

I’m sweating profusely and shaking uncontrollably. I barely make the toilet before I become violently
ill.

“Jack, did you take something last night?”

“I don’t know. I can’t remember anything after we left the bar.”

“
I cut you off last night. This isn’t just from alcohol.”             

With that, I
throw up again for the second time. Hunter grabs a towel, drenching it with cold water and throws it at me. Using it on my face, I feel another wave of nausea rake through me.

“Feel better?”

“No.” Trying desperately to remember what happened last night, panic takes over. “Hunter, I feel like I lost an entire night of my life.”

Hunter tries to help fill in the blanks. “W
e were at the bar. Three chicks were hanging around with us. Jeannie and you were getting it on and I told her to leave you alone. I said you just had a bad breakup. She responded that she was just the thing you needed. Trey uncharacteristically lost his cool. He threw a fit claiming he was the best of us, because he doesn’t allow a chick to drag him through life by his balls. He then left with one of the other girls. We ordered another round, but I cut you off. You stumbled to the bathroom and came back claiming you were sleepy and needed to go back to the hotel. So Scott, you and me left. I put you in your room and you passed out on the bed.”

“I don’t remember leaving, calling her, or her showing up. It’s a total blank.”

“She claims nothing
really happened. That she only blew you and...”

“
Hunt, that’s bad. Plus, I almost fucked her.” I completely lose it, as I slink to the floor watching Hunter watch me lose my fucking mind.

He let
s me. He sits and waits.

When there’s nothing left, I lift my head to look at him.
“Hunt, I can’t do this. I can’t. I can’t go on tonight. We need to cancel the show.”

“Jack, we can’t cancel the show
,” he says, as he follows me out of the bathroom. “You need to snap out of it. She’s gone, man. You need to let her go.”

“No! I refuse to believe that.”

I crawl into bed, suddenly feeling exhausted. A bone crushing tired that takes hold of my entire body. I’ve never been this mentally or physically drained. The last thing I hear is, “Jack…Jack…”

The first vision that appears in my head as I close my eyes is of Leila
walking away.

“Lei…Lei, open up.”

I open the door a crack. “What do you want
, Hunter?”

“Let me in. I need to talk to you.”

“Not now.” I really can’t deal with Hunter right now. I’m spread too thin, and I’m about to crack at any moment. But the look on his face is hard to ignore.

“I need to talk to you.”

I open the door and he flies into my room.

“What’s wrong?”

“Sit.”

I sit
stiffly in a chair in the opposite corner of the room and wait for him to explain.

“Leila, he’s losing it.
He’s never acted this way, not even when he dropped out of school. He’s totally sabotaging himself.”

My emotions start to take control.
My heart falters in my chest. I quickly rein it in, letting logic take over. “Hunter, he’ll get over this. With time, he’ll realize this is for the best.”             

“For who
, Leila?”

I look away before responding.
“For both of us.”

“You’re lying.
Don’t lie to me.”

“I can’t be the reason he never sees his son.”

“Son?”

“She’s having a boy.”

“Who told you?”

“Hunter, I really don’t want to get into this. I’ve made my decision.”

“Leila, you need to tell me. I can’t sit back and watch the two of you torture each other or allow him to destroy himself.”

“It has to be this way.”

“Says who?” My silence fuels his suspicion. “I think you are doing this for the wrong reasons. That bitch somehow got into your head and you are killing him with this.”

“Hunter.”

“She threatened you, didn’t she? You broke his heart because she threatened you?”

“She didn’t threaten
me. She eluded that Jack is denying his child because of me.”

“She threatened you…t
hat fucking bitch. How could you allow her to do this to him?”

“Hunter, I had to. She needed to believe we were done. I needed it to be convincible. I needed her to drop her guard and trust me. It was necessary.”

“Why?”

“It’s complicate
d.”

“
I need to hear all of it.”

Sighing, I shake my head.
“No.”

“Leila, I’m not leaving until you tell me what the fuck caused you to break his heart.”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Jesus Christ
, Leila. Do you know what happened last night? I think he took something. I cut him off and I still had to practically carry him back to his room. This morning he called me in a panic. A chick, who had been hanging out with us at the bar, somehow came to his room and he slept with her. He’s a mess.”

I gasp and immediately well up with tears. I did this. I caused this. I cover my face with my hands, nausea taking hold.

“Leila, he doesn’t remember any of it. She claims he…”

Hunter stops abruptly and my heart stops beating. I look at him, waiting for him to continue. When he doesn’t, I beg, “Hunter, please tell me what happened.”

“She gave him a blow job.”

“Oh my God.”

“Lei, he passed out. They didn’t have sex but it came really close. I’ve never seen him like this. I worry he’s going to do something stupid. He doesn’t want to perform tonight. He wants to cancel the show.”

Dropping my head
back into my hands, I whisper more to myself than to Hunter, “I needed to protect him.”



As I sit on the edge of his bed, my heart breaks to see him like this. He looks awful. He looks like he’s been through hell, and I put him there.

Glancing
around the room, an unused condom lays on the floor near the bed. The bile rises at the thought of another woman touching him and he touching her. Her lips were on him, her mouth wrapped around him. And yet, even knowing this, I can’t feel any anger. My Jack wouldn’t do that to me. This Jack is someone I don’t know.

If this is the damage I caused after only one day, I can’t continue with my plan to be apart for a week. I had given myself a week to try and figure out what she was truly up to. I haven’t even scratched the surface. Hopefully, Jack’s reaction was enough to appease her. If that bitch follows through with her threat and I broke his heart unnecessarily, I’ll kill her.

Unable to resist the urge to touch him, I run my fingers through his hair. He stirs slightly, mumbling my name. Eventually, he opens his eyes. “Lei?”

“Ssh
, baby I’m here.”

“Am I dreaming?”

“No. I’m really here.”

“Why?”

“I have a lot to tell you.”



“Ev.” I can’t bear to say his name without breaking down.

“Lei? What’s wrong?”

“Jessa just called me. She’s claiming Jack forced himself on her and will play the victim unless I leave him.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I need to end it with him.”

“This
will kill him.”

“
I need her to believe I actually did it, and the only way
is
to actually do it. This will give me time to figure out what she’s up to.”

“He will never let you walk away. Look how he acted last tim
e.”

“I know…so I plan on telling him
the baby is only half of it. I’ll say you reminded me how I

gave up my dreams for him
and I feel that you are right.”             

“Well that isn’t a lie. I do feel that and I do believe that.”

“Evan…not now. Please.”

“So what is it you want from me?”

“He may call you. I need you to confirm that we spoke. Tell him you feel he’s toxic for me and it’s about time I listened. I’m calling Ace to get his help. I’ll fill you in after I speak to him.

“He’s going to hate me.”

“He’ll get over it. Please?”

“Fine. Lei, I hope you know what you are doing.”

“I do. It’s not going to be easy. But I need to do this. Don’t tell anyone.”

“Ok. Please be careful.”

“I will…I promise.”



“Ace, its Leila.”

“Hey,
sweet girl. How are you?”

“I’m ok. Congrats on that baby boy of yours. I hear he looks a lot like you.”

“Yeah, he’s a total mini me. What’s going on? Everything ok?”

“I need your help. I
don’t have much time to explain. I need you to investigate someone.”

“I’m all yours. Shoot.”




“Hi Lei, it’s Ace. My buddy Lee is on the case. He’s a really good Private Investigator who also runs a very successful security company.”

“Ace, I’ll totally compensate you
and Lee for all of this. I promise.”

“Leila, I don’t want your money. I want you safe. These two are trouble. We’l
l find out what they are up to.”

“Evan is up to speed?”

“Yeah, sweetheart. He is totally filled in.”

“
Thank you. I’ll call you in a day or so.”

“Lei, one more thing. Evan and I think you need to tell someone. Is there anyone traveling with you, that you can trust?”

“Um, yeah, Dylan. He’s our tour manager, but he’s also a friend.”

“Good. You need to fill him in,
as soon as possible…ok?”

“Yes. I will.
Thanks, Ace.”



“What do you want Jessa? Haven’t you done enough?”

“Just touching base. You’re a smart girl
, Leila. I knew you’d see this logically. You did the right thing. I was impressed you did it so soon.”             

“Have you bothered him? Please leave him alone.”

“I’m not an idiot. He needs to calm down a bit. Time…remember, it’s Jack’s best friend. He’ll come around. He’ll slowly warm to the idea he’s going to have a son, and you should be proud you helped him make the right choice.”



“Lei, it’s Ace. Lee saw her entering an apartment building on West Fourteenth Street. The address is listed as Danny Sorenson’s. She’s been there all day.”

“Oh my G
od.”

“Is it possible it’s not Jack’s baby? I know she had an official document, but maybe it’s a fraud?”

“I thought of that. The lab is legit.”

“I’ll keep you posted
.”

“Thanks
, Ace.”



“Hi
, Dylan.”

“Hey
, Leila.”

“
I need to talk to you. Can you and I grab a cup of coffee after the show tonight?”

“Sure. Is e
verything ok?”

“I’ll tell you tonight
. Please don’t tell anyone.”

“Ok…I’ve got to be honest, I’m a little worried.”




“Hi Ev. I can’t talk. I have to get to rehearsal.”

“
Real quick. Jack called me.”

“He did?”

“Yeah. I told him just what you asked me to. I had to do some damage control with Lizzy also.”

“Oh
, Ev. I’m so sorry. Please fill her in. I don’t want this harming your relationship.”

“I was hoping you would say that. I kind of already did.”

“I understand. I’m really sorry for dragging you into this.”

“Lei,
he’s a mess. You know I’d do anything to help you. I just hope you know what you’re doing. He truly sounds distraught. Lizzy thinks we should let her dad know what’s going on. We may need some legal advice with this mess.”

“Why?”

“Ace told me he saw Jessa coming out of Danny’s apartment. Maybe it’s not Jack’s baby. There are online services you can order paternity tests from. If Jessa used an online service, she could have sent in someone else’s DNA and claimed it was Jack’s.”

“I called the lab. It’s a legit place.”

“But no legit lab allows someone to walk in with a sperm sample to be tested. Jack would have to be present.”

“Really?”

“Yep. Most likely it was done over the Internet. If so, she could have submitted anyone’s sperm under Jack’s name.”

“But how would she have results from the New York Lab I called?”

“No clue. But something doesn’t add up. Jack would have to request his own test to be performed through a court order, but a judge would need a reason to order another test. Since she proved Jack is the father, what would Jack’s reason be?”

“I don’t know.”

“Mr. Lair may know a way around this.”

“
Hold on telling Mr. Lair. I need to make a phone call.”



“Can I please leave a message for Mr. Morrow? Can you have him call Leila Marino tomorrow on this number?”



“That was my last conversation last night, right before the show.”

“I’m going to kill her.”

“No, Jack, listen to me. We need to handle this the right way.”

“You know she’s lying, right? I did not force myself on her.”

“I know.”

He holds my chin to stare into my eyes. “Leila, I would never do that.”

“I know you wouldn’t.”

He
sits up, encircling me with his arms. “What the fuck?”

“
Baby, we need to continue with this. If she claims you forced yourself on her that could destroy you. Also, we aren’t even close to figuring out what she and Danny are up to. We can’t be together.”

“No, I’m not going back to that hell. I can’t.”

“We have to. You need to go on just as she thinks you will. She thinks you’ll self-destruct and go back to your old ways. You even need to act surprised when she tells you it’s a boy.”

He closes his eyes, leaning back against the headboard.

“Jack, how do you feel about that?”

“I don’t know.”

“Are you afraid to say you care?”

“I’m afraid to say I don’t.”

“Y
ou don’t mean that.”