Jordan, Olivia - Carly's Two-Stepping Temptations [Studio Seductions 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (15 page)

* * * *

Jared didn’t know where to go. His lovers had kicked him out, and Taletha had told him not to come within five hundred feet of the studio until further notice. He considered going back to his apartment, but it was still a mess from having his lovers over two nights prior. The sheets were still in a jumble on the bed. An empty bottle of lube was still sitting on the dresser. The dishes from the dinner he’d prepared were still in the sink, waiting to be washed. A few articles of clothing still littered the floor. Going back to his apartment would just remind him of the love that had collapsed right before his eyes.

Unfortunately for Jared, going to a coffee shop was not a much better idea than returning to his lonely home. Now that his photograph had been plastered on every news outlet in town, he was incapable of being anonymous. Everyone in the line at the coffee shop was staring at him, as though they were shocked that he had the nerve to go out in public after the accusations leveled against him. The shop was crowded, and he didn’t even manage to wait for a full minute before he realized that the stares were too much to handle.
I’m sure the barista will just spit in my drink anyway
, he thought as he turned to leave.

Jared resigned himself to going home and confronting his sad apartment. First, though, he decided to swing by the grocery store to buy coffee grounds. He wasn’t looking forward to the stares he knew he was going to receive, but he needed caffeine, and his fridge was almost empty. Braving the leers of the shoppers, he hurried through the aisles, picking up what he needed to survive. He avoided eye contact with the cashier, and thought he was safe, when all of a sudden someone spit in his direction as he was exiting through the automatic door. The phlegmy blob of liquid landed square on his shoe.

He looked up to see who it was, but realized the stranger who had spit on him meant absolutely nothing to him. Jared didn’t know the guy, and didn’t really care. Still, he wasn’t going to let himself get bullied.

Jared walked over to the stranger and set down his groceries. “Did you have something you wanted to say to me?” he asked in a low voice.

The stranger seemed shocked that Jared approached him. He swallowed hard. “No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, man, yeah.”

“Good. Because I have a lot to do today, and I really didn’t want to have to deal with people like you.”

Without another word, he picked up his bag of groceries and walked off.

At home, he put on a pot of coffee and began cleaning up the evidence of his nights with Carly and Heath. As much as it pained him, he even folded up the clothes and put them in a box, planning to mail them back to their owners. He decided it was best to simply assume that things were over between them. If Carly didn’t trust him, there was no point in even trying to go back to the love triangle they’d tried to make.

As Jared busied himself with cleaning, he found he dwelled less and less on his troubles. Soon, he moved on from picking up the remains of his love affair to deep-cleaning the entire place. He was scrubbing out the tub when he heard a knock at the door.

At first, he was tempted to ignore the visitor. With all the hostility he faced by everyone he encountered, he thought it would be best if he pretended to not be home.

The knock came again a few minutes later, and Jared still ignored it. When it happened a third time, though, he decided it might be important and hurried to check out the peephole.

Standing on the doorstep was a man who looked oddly familiar, but was not somebody that Jared actually recognized. The odd angle of the peephole further distorted the man’s features, so he didn’t get a good look at the visitor until he opened the door. The second he saw the cane, though, he knew that he had made a terrible mistake.

“You’re—you’re Carly’s old dance partner, aren’t you?”

“I prefer the word ‘former’ rather than ‘old,’ thank you very much. After all, I’m only thirty-five.”

“Strange, from what I’ve heard, you have a tendency to act like you’re fifteen.”

“You’re not one to talk about maturity. Don’t you have the decency to invite me in and offer me a seat? Standing isn’t exactly easy for me these days.”

“Sorry, I only invite people in that I trust. I don’t think you and I have anything to say to each other. Rumor has it that you don’t like me very much.”

“No, I don’t.”

Suddenly, Jared found himself looking down the barrel of a gun. His heart started pounding so hard that he was certain Jake could hear it, but he tried not to betray any fear. “For someone who claims to have trouble standing up, you sure do move fast. I didn’t even see that gun coming.”

“You don’t notice many things I do. For example, you weren’t really paying attention to me in the crowd the day that the mayor tried to kiss you. There were a lot of people taking pictures, but I happened to get a few nice ones.”

Jared felt himself starting to shake and gripped the doorframe to stay steady. “So your whole life involves spying on people you don’t like and taking incriminating photos?”

“Well, I have a job, but it was easy to get the time off from work, of course. Most of the people who work in the mayor’s office aren’t being very productive right now, and nobody really notices. Of course, my position in City Hall made me a credible source to all the newspapers looking for a good scoop on the story.”

“You decided you wanted to run me out of town by creating false allegations about me.”

“Not quite. I did want to ruin your reputation. But I also didn’t want to give you the chance to clear your name. Even if you left town, there was always the possibility that you would come back and manage to prove your innocence. We can’t have any of that. So now that I’ve ruined your reputation, I’m going to kill you. And disguise it as a suicide, of course.” He pulled back the hammer, and Jared felt sick as he heard the
click
. His mind raced as he tried to come up with a way to save himself without running the risk of getting shot. Talking his way out hadn’t worked, but he wasn’t sure that running into his closed-off apartment would be effective, either.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jared saw one of his neighbors step out of her apartment and freeze at the sight of Jake. Jared tried to gesture to her that he was fine, but she screamed before he could make eye contact. Jake jumped at the sound, and Jared’s heart stopped for a moment, worried that his attacker was going to pull the trigger out of surprise. Instead, Jake dropped the gun. Jared saw it fall and jumped forward to tackle Jake. The gun shot into the apartment, blasted the leg off of a chair, and then lay inert.

Jared barely had time to think before the cops started running through the hallway. The next thing he knew, someone had pulled him off Jake and both men were in handcuffs.

“Mr. Brooks, you are under arrest for obstruction of justice,” one of the officers said.

“No! I’m innocent! I swear! The guy you found holding a gun to my face framed me! He made up lies and then came to my apartment to shoot me in the face!”

The officer didn’t seem to care. “
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be held against you in the court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?”

Jared hung his head, realizing there was no point in trying to argue his way out of his predicament. “Yes, officer.”

A minute later, he found himself unceremoniously shoved into a squad car and on his way to the police station. Jake was receiving somewhat gentler treatment as he was placed into a separate vehicle. Jared leaned back and stared out at the town that vilified him, wishing he’d stayed in California.

* * * *

Heath had kept his eye on the news all day. He’d comforted Carly and allowed her to express her rage and frustration, but deep in his gut, he was sure something wasn’t right. Whenever he could snag a break at work, he was checking for news updates, hoping for any update that might give him more information. When he saw reports saying that Jared had been arrested and was in jail, he immediately sprang into action. Bailing him out would at least give him a chance to hear Jared’s side of the story without worrying about upsetting Carly.

Heath was at the police station within thirty minutes. “I’m here to post bail for Mr. Jared Brooks,” he said to the clerk.

“Bail has been set at ten thousand dollars, sir.”

Heath pulled out a credit card and tossed it in front of the clerk. “That should take care of it.”

The clerk raised an eyebrow. “Sir, most people typically pay with cash or a certified check.”

“Most people also don’t have cards with a fifty thousand dollar limit. Just run it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Do you know who I am?” Heath glared. He tried to avoid using his social status to get what he wanted, but this was an emergency, and he was going to pull out all the stops to get Jared free.

The clerk rolled her eyes. “No, but I’m sure if I don’t run this card, you’re going to make a big deal out of telling me.” She swiped the card and then handed him a stack of paperwork. “Fill all this out, and Mr. Brooks will be released to you soon.”

Heath paced around the station for another half an hour before Jared finally emerged. The television in the waiting room was on a local station, which was continually broadcasting developments on the impeachment hearings and Jared’s arrest. Heath stopped moving when he heard the news anchor say Jake’s name.

“We are now getting reports that one Jake Barrett is in custody and is being charged with making an attempt on Mr. Brooks’s life. Stay tuned for more updates after this commercial break.”

Just then, Jared emerged in the doorway, escorted by two officers.

Heath gestured toward the television screen. “How much of that did you see?”

“All of it.”

“I have the feeling that’s a little truer than the stuff they were blasting before I kicked you out this morning.”

Jared nodded. “I got a gun right to the face and everything.”

“I’m so sorry, man. I should have stuck up for you. But I wasn’t thinking rationally, wasn’t listening to my gut, and it just seemed like, I don’t know…” Heath trailed off, unable to come up with a remotely convincing explanation.

“It’s okay, man. I probably would have done the same in your situation. Let’s just get out of here and get me a lawyer. If Jake doesn’t confess, I’m going to need help clearing my name, and if he does confess, I’m going to need some help suing his ass for damages.”

As they left the station, Heath found himself suddenly face-to-face with Carly.

“I–I just saw the news,” she said, her lower lip trembling. “Oh my god, I’m so glad you’re okay.” She threw herself against Jared, who gave her a gentle hug.

“You believe me now?” he asked, a hint of irritation in his voice.

“Jake couldn’t hurt me anymore, so he decided to hurt you. I should have figured it out days ago. I even knew he worked for the mayor. I don’t know why that wasn’t the first thought that crossed my mind. I’m so sorry, Jared. Can you forgive me?”

Heath held his breath. He wanted Jared to forgive Carly so the three of them could go back to being happy together, but he also knew that Jared had every reason to continue feeling betrayed and angry.

To his relief, Jared broke into a smile. “I definitely forgive you. There’s no way I could stay angry at someone I love so much.”

Carly jumped up to give Jared a deep kiss, and then gave one to Heath as well.

“We need to celebrate you not getting killed,” she said. “We should get dinner somewhere fancy.”

“For now, though, let’s go have a meeting with my attorney,” Heath said. “Jared’s probably going to need a little legal help over the next few weeks.”