Hunting Truth (2 page)

He listened patiently as I told him all
about the stranger who’d turned out to be Lucas’ brother and what
he’d said. When I told him about Lucas’ obvious guilt when I’d
confronted him about killing his own mother, I couldn’t hold back
my tears. Scott’s face showed his shock before being overtaken by
compassion as he put his arms around me and just held me until my
wracking sobs subsided.

It felt so good to be held in
big
, strong arms.
Obviously, because he was a drummer, his arms were very strong.
They felt comforting and safe. I relaxed into his chest and we just
sat there in silence for some time. It felt good to have my friend
Scott back after his recent odd behavior. I don’t know why, except
for the fact that I missed Angel, but I asked him to stroke my
hair. I thought it would soothe and relax me like it did when Angel
did it, but having a man do it reminded me of when Lucas did it. I
closed my eyes and tried to block out the ache in my chest caused
by the memory of his tenderness.

A not
-so-subtle cough made me jump. Scott and I jerked apart at
the sound. Chad was staring pointedly at Scott before reminding him
that the band had a practice session. Scott told him not to worry,
that there was plenty of time. With one last glare at Scott, Chad
turned and left the room.

“
What
’s wrong with him?” I asked, surprised at Chad’s apparent
moodiness.

“
Oh, ignore him. He’s been like this since
Angel ran off without a word. Plus, he’s worried about upsetting
Lucas the Great in case he withdraws his support for Denial. With
our impending tour he says we can’t afford to piss Lucas off when
he can do so much for our future. Well tough—you can stay here as
long as you need to.”

I hadn’t given the band a thought. I felt
so guilty. I realized that me being here was not good for relations
between Lucas and the guys. I didn’t want to spoil their chance at
making it big. They were too good for that and they were way too
nice.

“
Scott, I don’t want to mess this up for
you. If Lucas knows I’m here it could have repercussions for the
band. That would be unfair. I feel uncomfortable going back to my
apartment, well it’s Angel’s apartment, and she’s made it clear I’m
not welcome to stay there now. I’ll find somewhere.”

“
No way.
You’re staying here. If you’d rather Lucas didn’t
know then I won’t tell him. I take it all your things are still in
the apartment?”

I nodded ruefully
. “Well, except the things I’d taken to
Lucas’.”

“
Okay.
You’re welcome to come to our practice. It might take your
mind off things. I don’t think Lucas is going to be there. Or you
can stay here and relax. Once practice is over, I’ll take you to
your apartment and we’ll collect your things.”

I looked at this big bear of a man; his
unruly, wavy blond hair that tumbled over kind blue eyes, and felt
such a rush of affection. I threw my arms around him and hugged him
tightly. Typically, it was at that moment that Chad decided to
return to tell Scott it was time to leave for their
practice.

“
If you two don
’t mind, we’re going to be late. That won’t look
good if Lucas is there, will it? I’ll be in the van!” With that he
stomped off and I heard the front door slam.

Scott chuckled. “Do you see what I
mean?
I hope Angel comes
back soon because I don’t think I can take much more of him acting
like a lovesick puppy. He’s even worse now he knows that you and
Lucas have split. He probably thinks Lucas will dump
us.”

“
I haven’t told him yet, Scott.”

He caught my eye and began to guffaw
loudly. “Oh my God. No wonder he’s pissed. He must think you’re
here, cuddling up to me, cheating on Lucas. Oh crap—that’s
priceless. Why haven’t you told him?”

“
I haven’t really had a chance. When I
woke, I was disorientated and hung over and just needed coffee. I
was barely awake when I saw him earlier. I’ll stay here. You can
tell him in the van. I don’t mind.”

He grinned, a wicked glint in his eye. “No
way. After his moodiness, it’s payback time. I’m going to have me
some fun first. By the time we get to practice, I’ll have him
convinced that we’re having a hot illicit affair behind Lucas’
back. He’ll be beside himself!”

“
Oh, you are a torment. Go on then, have
your fun, but don’t let him think that I’ve got anything to do with
it when he finds out it’s a wind up.”

“
Don
’t worry, I won’t. Now make yourself at home. Feel free to
take a shower, although I’m not sure there are any clothes in my
wardrobe that will stay on your slim frame. You’ll probably have to
put your own clothes back on.”

“
I
’ll be fine. Go before Chad comes looking for
you.”

He kissed the top of my head and strolled
out the door, just as Chad impatiently blasted the horn.

I was glad that Scott was acting normally
again.
He’d got through
that weird phase that Lucas had thought was because he had feelings
for me. I smiled to myself thinking how last night and this morning
had proven that theory to be a fallacy. He definitely wouldn’t have
put me in his bed and slept on the sofa had he felt that way about
me. No, things were back to normal and any feelings Scott had for
me were purely platonic.

I made myself another
coffee
, then decided to
have a shower. I took my time, delighting in the luxury of just
standing under the hot jets of water and allowing them to wash away
my lethargy, and I began to feel more alert. But then my mind began
to think about Angel and those photographs of me and Chad having
sex that had proved to be fakes. I wished she’d stayed around long
enough to find that out. But then, almost immediately, I felt angry
that she hadn’t had enough trust in me or Chad to know we wouldn’t
do that to her.

I missed her so much and knew
she
’d not really been
herself at the time. Her dad’s health scare had really shaken her
up. I wondered how she was; whether she’d reconsidered her actions
and had any regrets. If she had, she’d chosen to do nothing about
it. That was very unlike Angel—she wasn’t usually stubborn. I began
to feel worried about her. And guilty that I’d been too wrapped up
in my own life with Lucas to be a better friend to her.

I dried myself off and put my clothes back
on.
Then I curled up on
the sofa, wondering how I could possibly make things right with
Angel. Her absence was obviously affecting Chad even worse than me.
I resolved to try to sort things out for all of us.

The next thing I knew, Scott was gently
shaking me awake.
I’d
dozed off on the sofa. I yawned and gave a full-body stretch. As I
opened my eyes, I noticed Scott’s eyes sweeping over my torso.
Fleetingly, Lucas’ words passed through my mind but then Scott
looked at me and smiled. There was no desire in his eyes, only
friendship. I smiled; he was just being a typical male!

Scott drove me to my apartment to collect
m
y things. As I walked
towards the entrance, James the doorman flew out of the
door—looking very pleased to see me.

“
Oh, Miss Prince, am I happy to see you!
You worried me yesterday. I didn’t think you’d be back. After Mr.
Hunter left, I did as you asked and made sure that the apartment
was secure.”

I smiled affectionately at him.
“I’m just dropping by to
collect my things.”

His face fell as he turned to escort us
into the building. As I was approaching the elevator, he spoke
again.

“
Miss Prince, forgive me if I’m speaking
out of turn but yesterday, when Mr. Hunter left, he looked like a
broken man. He looked dreadful and was so weak he could barely walk
to his car—not that he should have been driving in that state. I
don’t wish to interfere but I thought you should know.”

His words were like arrows in my heart. I
opened my mouth to thank him for his concern but my vision blurred.
Scott’s arms were around me in a flash and he held me to him as we
waited for the elevator. He then walked me inside, holding me
tightly. “It’ll be okay, Issy,” he whispered before kissing the top
of my head. I knew his words weren’t true but I appreciated the
gesture so I gently squeezed him.

Inside the apartment, things felt even
worse.
The events of the
day before seemed more real, as did Angel’s absence. Scott walked
me into my bedroom and chatted to me about irrelevant things like
the weather. I knew he was only trying to distract me, and it
worked to an extent. I packed some clothes and toiletries into a
couple of suitcases, then began to round up my work-related things.
Thankfully most of it was at my office. That triggered another
thought. I was going to have to find another office. There was no
way I could work in the Orion Building and risk seeing Lucas every
day.

I threw myself back on the bed and let out
a long sigh. Scott, who’d been making us a coffee, chose that
moment to walk back into the room. He put the coffees on my bedside
table and sat next to me. From nowhere, a lone tear trickled down
my face although I wasn’t aware that I was crying. He wiped it away
and lay next to me, taking me in his arms.

“
Tell me how I can help, Issy,” he
whispered.
“I hate
seeing you like this. It’s so far removed from the Issy that we all
know and love. Let me in. I might just be able to help.”

My heart swelled with affection for this
gentle giant of a man. “I need to make things right with Angel, and
I don’t know how to, but I miss her so much. It’s just not right
that she’s not here with Chad. And over something that was just
lies.”

“
Then find a way to tell her. I’m as
shocked as anyone that she’d believe that of you and Chad. But then
again, being confronted with photographic evidence . . . I guess it
must’ve cut her up pretty bad.”

I nodded.
“But how to find a way? Chad hasn’t managed it.
She’s ignoring all of my messages. Hell, I don’t even know for sure
where she is. Chad says she was with her parents but I don’t know
whether she’s still there. Neither of us have managed to speak with
her. And if I did get to speak with her, how can I prove that the
photograph was faked? I don’t have any physical
evidence.”

He chewed on his bottom lip.
“Hmmm. I know it’s not going to
be easy but you’ve got to find a way.”

I knew he was right. I just wished it
wasn’t so hopeless.

When we got back to the
boys
’ apartment, we
dropped my things in Scott’s room. He was adamant that I should
take his bed. He said he probably wouldn’t need it for the next
night or two anyway but wouldn’t elaborate when I asked him why. I
assumed he had plans of a romantic nature that meant he would
sleep, or whatever, elsewhere.

Then, during the afterno
on, he took off in the van. He just
shouted goodbye and was gone. I was left with Chad, who was a
little quiet and moody. I wanted to talk with him about Angel but
thought it might make his mood worse. I decided to distract him
instead and challenged him to a game of pool in the local
bar.

I changed my clothes and made myself
presentable and we set off on foot. As we turned a corner, I almost
walked straight into Daniel, Lucas’ assistant. As our eyes met, I
saw recognition and friendliness, much to my relief. Then I
realized that Lucas and I had only parted ways the day before and,
with it being a Saturday, Daniel probably hadn’t even seen
Lucas.

“
Hi
, Daniel.” I smiled. “How are you? Up to anything
interesting today?”

“
Work,” he said with a frown.
“I’ve just had He Who Must Be
Obeyed . . . oh crap, I mean Lucas.” He looked like he wanted to
crawl into the nearest hole.

I smiled at his mortified expression.
“It’s okay, Daniel. I know he can be a tyrant and his people skills
aren’t the best. What were you going to say?”

He visibly relaxed. “I’ve had Lucas on the
phone demanding that I come into work—late on a Saturday afternoon!
He sounded murderous. Do you know what’s with him?”

“
Um . . . no. Listen, Daniel. I hate to ask
you this, but could you arrange to have the contents of my office
boxed and shipped to an address that I’ll email to you? I need to
terminate my lease early. I’ll settle the financial
penalties.”

He looked momentarily stunned. “Ah,” he
said. “If I may be so bold, may I take it that his lordship’s foul
mood is related to this development?”

I frowned. “I haven’t actually told him. I
was hoping that he wouldn’t have to know until it was done.” I
realized my heartbeat was accelerating at the thought of Lucas
finding out.

He shook his head. “Oh
, today just gets better and better.” Then
he looked at me and must’ve registered my discomfort because he
appeared to soften. “Look, I’ll see what I can do. But I won’t hide
anything from him—I’d be without a job if he found out. If he asks,
I’ll have to tell him.”

I nodded.
“Thank you, Daniel. I appreciate it. Best that you
don’t mention that you’ve seen me. If you need to speak to me about
my lease, you have my cell number don’t you?”