Love notes (6 page)

Something about Aiden’s
expression warned her to stop. Her blood chilled as it dawned on
her that he might actually be telling the truth. She swallowed
hard.

“All of your properties are
owned by a real estate company which, in turn, is owned by one of
Marty’s bogus investment firms,” Aiden went on, pulling up another
document to show a chain of companies leading back to Dalvyn
Investments.

“Maybe you’re wrong. It could be
a perfectly legitimate way of investing.”

“So why did Marty let you
believe they were in your name?”

“I…” There was no simple answer
and Erika searched for excuses. “Perhaps I misunderstood. Or you
might not have all the information.”

“Trust me – I know
everything.”

Erika knew instantly that the
problem lay right there.

Trust.

“How do I know you’re not
lying?” she asked, starting to panic. “You might have made all this
up to cause trouble between Marty and me.” Fear made her irrational
and she hit him unfairly below the belt. “You don’t exactly have a
great track record with the truth.”

To his credit, Aiden kept his
patience. “Then ask yourself when was the last time you saw a bank
statement? Or why did your tour lose money and you had to add on
extra dates? Why does Marty surround himself with an increasing
number of advisors?” He looked at her expectantly, waiting for an
answer but, when she couldn’t come up with one, he gave it for her.
“Erika Fenn Incorporated is a multi-million dollar, worldwide
business and Marty Cooper is systematically stripping you of every
asset.”

“You’re lying,” her mouth said
but her mind was telling her something else.

Erika couldn’t bring herself to
believe Aiden’s terrifying version of events but so much of it made
sense. Marty’s refusal to let her out of his sight. Her increasing
separation from the world. The arduous work schedule that allowed
her less and less downtime until she’d reached the point of
collapse.

And for what? She hadn’t paid a
bill or signed a cheque in three years and had been too exhausted
to worry where her money went. The world began spinning.

“Take me back to the hotel,” she
demanded, suddenly claustrophobic and needing to get out into the
fresh air. “I need to get out of here.”

Without waiting for Aiden, she
hurried outside, leaving him to throw some money down onto the
table and follow her into the car park. He found her leaning
against his car, bent double and drawing in deep breaths of icy
air, shaking so violently he put his arms around her to steady
her.

“Don’t touch me,” she warned,
pushing him away with a strength born out of fear. “How could you
do this to me?”

“I’m sorry. There was no easy
way to tell you.”

“Then why tell me at all? Why
turn up out of the blue and blow my life apart?”

“Because you need to know. And
you also need my help – whether you like it or not.”

Erika pushed him squarely in the
chest, almost knocking him off balance. “You have no idea what I
need. You lost the right to interfere in my life a long time
ago.”

“Listen to me.” Aiden shouted,
catching her wrists to stop her struggling and forcing her to
regain some control. “We may have broken up a long time ago but
that doesn’t stop me caring about you. Have you looked in the
mirror lately?”

“So?” She didn’t need Aiden
Almighty telling her she looked terrible.

“You’re exhausted. Seriously
underweight and fit to drop. You’re even in danger of losing your
voice.”

“Touring’s tough.”

“Marty’s working you to death
and you need to stop before it’s too late.” He raked his hand
through is hair in frustration and reached to pull her into his
arms, but stopped himself. “I’m worried sick about you. I can see
the way you’re heading and I don’t even want to think about where
you’ll end up.”

“I don’t see what you can do
about it.”

“I can break your contract.” He
made it sound inevitable. “I’ll make Marty hand back your money.
Give you the freedom to choose your own work.”

It was too tempting a prospect
to hold out in front of someone on the point of exhaustion. But
then Aiden would have considered that and used it to his
advantage.

“It’s no good. I can’t think
straight,” she told him. She needed to shut herself in her hotel
room and give herself time to think.

Putting some distance between
her and Aiden wouldn’t do any harm either. He stood far too close;
his powerful body overwhelming her, and stirring up too many
memories that she didn’t have the power to deal with right now.

“I want to go. I need space to
think.”

Seeing it was useless to argue,
Aiden unlocked the car and climbed in, turning up the heater to
ensure Erika kept warm. They drove back in virtual silence with
Erika flicking between the radio channels until she heard one of
her own songs and switched it off, cursing under her breath.

Instead she stared out of the
window, her breath fogging up the glass and the countryside passing
in a blur that mirrored the confusion inside her head.

Her world had shifted and turned
inside out in the space of a day, stranding her in unfamiliar
terrain with an uncertain travelling companion. She had no idea
whether it was safer to go forward or back – and no one she trusted
enough to ask.

At some point she drifted off to
sleep, lulled by the sound of the engine, a heavy lunch and far too
much fresh air for an adopted Californian to cope with. The car
slowing down to take the turn into the hotel gateway woke her and
she rubbed her eyes, yawning widely.

Aiden pulled into a parking bay
and turned off the engine before smiling uncertainly across at her.
“Feeling better?” he asked. “You’ve been out cold for over an hour.
I drove the long way round to let you sleep.”

“Thanks.” His kindness touched
her. “The jet lag’s hitting me harder than I thought.”

“Then let me buy you a coffee to
perk you up. I could do with one myself.”

“I’d rather not.” She was afraid
she sounded ungrateful rather than unwilling and let her voice
soften. “I’m worn out and have a lot to think about. All I want to
do is collapse into bed.”

“Well good luck with that.”

Aiden nodded toward the front
door, drawing Erika’s attention to a furious Marty Cooper advancing
on the car with angry strides. They both got out to face him and
Aiden moved protectively in front of Erika, blocking Marty’s path
with his body. As if Aiden didn’t exist, Marty sidestepped him and
lunged at Erika.

“Where the hell have you been?”
he demanded, reaching round Aiden to grab her arm. “I’ve been going
out of my mind….”

Marty didn’t have time to finish
his sentence before Aiden was on him, pinning him back against the
car with his arm across his throat, and looking as though he’d
gladly choke the life out of Marty Cooper given the slightest
excuse.

“Lay one finger on her and I’ll
end you,” Aiden warned through gritted teeth, pulling Marty clear
of the car and slamming him back again, knocking the breath out of
him. “Let me hear you raise your voice to her, or make her do
something she doesn’t want to, and I swear I won’t be held
responsible.”

Aiden loomed over Marty,
terrifying in his anger. Every muscle tensed as he fought against
the urge to land a punch. Erika tried to push herself between them
but Aiden was too strong and she gave up, shouting at him
instead.

“Get off him,” she begged,
pulling vainly at Aiden’s arm. “Please, Aiden. He’s not worth
it.”

The sound of her voice somehow
broke through and Aiden let Marty go so suddenly he staggered
before righting himself and backing off to a safe distance.

“Who the hell are you?” Marty
demanded, pulling Erika in front of him as a shield.

“Aiden Thirstan,” he said
boldly, wanting to ensure Marty heard and remembered his name.

“Aiden’s an old friend.” Erika
tried to placate Marty who’d regained some bravado and looked like
he was spoiling for a fight. “Aiden and I bumped into each other
this morning and went for a walk.”

“It’s three o’clock. You’ve been
gone all day. I thought you’d been abducted by a crazy fan.”

“I’m sorry, Marty. I should have
left a message but, as you can see, I’m fine.” Erika prayed Aiden
wouldn’t say anything. The last thing she needed was a full scale
row before she’d had chance to process everything Aiden had told
her over lunch. “Let’s go back to your suite and order tea.” She
took Marty’s arm and steered him back toward the hotel but Aiden
stepped out in front of them.

“Don’t go.” He spoke urgently to
Erika. “I need to know you’re all right.”

“She says she’s fine.” Marty
answered for her. “And if you don’t get out of my way, I’ll call
the cops and report you for assault.”

Aiden faced him down, almost
daring him to dial. “I don’t remember asking you.”

He glared at Marty, his lips
taut and jaw tight with fury, before turning his attention on
Erika. His pale hazel eyes searched her face for some suggestion of
fear or reluctance, ready to leap to her defence if she needed it
but she stood firm.

“Truly. I’m fine.” She placed a
hand on Aiden’s arm, raised her chin and gave him a look that
showed far more confidence than she felt, silently begging him to
let her handle Marty. After all, five years of dealing with his
moods had made her the expert. “I’ll sort this out. It’s not a
problem.”

The idea of abandoning Erika to
the man who seemed set upon destroying her health and embezzling
her fortune obviously made Aiden uncomfortable and he hesitated,
ignoring Marty’s complaints as he struggled to work out what was
going on inside Erika’s head. Aiden’s expression conveyed a hundred
silent thoughts – asking her to reconsider and warning her to be
careful – but Erika didn’t waver.

Aiden had no choice but to
agree. “Room 115,” he told her. He took her mobile phone and tapped
in his own number. When he eventually stepped aside he was so
obviously fighting the desire to wipe the triumphant smile off
Marty Cooper’s face. “Phone me if you need anything. Day or
night.”

“I promise.”

So Marty couldn’t hear, Aiden
leaned in toward Erika to say the next, standing so close the
stubble on his chin grazed her cheek and sent a delicious tingle
down her neck.

“I have no right to ask you to
trust me. I know that,” he began, the warm, masculine scent of him
forcing hot, sensual memories into every corner of Erika’s already
confused brain. “But don’t ignore what I told you just because of
what I did five years ago. I’m a cheat – but I’m not a liar. Don’t
side with Marty simply to get back at me.”

And so Erika found herself
caught between the rock and the hard place. The Devil and the deep
blue sea.

The question was, which way
should she jump?

The encounter with Aiden plunged
Marty into the blackest of moods and it took all of Erika’s powers
of persuasion to stop him calling the police.

“The last thing we need is a
public scandal,” she said when they’d reached his suite. “If you
call the police, the whole world will know I’m here and you
promised me some privacy.”

“The guy assaulted me!” Marty
raged. “He slammed me up against a car and tried to strangle
me.”

Some part of Erika wished that
Aiden had finished the job. “Don’t exaggerate. It wasn’t that
serious.”

“You were a witness. You saw
what he did.”

“And if the police ask me, I’ll
deny everything. Or I’ll tell them it was self defence.” She
glared, wondering whether it was a bit late in the day to grow a
backbone around Marty. “In any case, Aiden Thirstan’s a rich and
powerful man. You’d be a fool to take him on.”

“How do you know him? You said
he’s an old friend.”

“That’s an exaggeration too.”
The last thing Erika needed was Marty believing she were somehow
involved with Aiden. Past experience had taught her Marty made a
point of separating her from people he didn’t approve of and, if
Aiden’s allegations were true, she’d need to maintain a line of
contact. “Aiden’s very old news. I met him when I was a student and
we dated for a while, but I haven’t seen or spoken to him in five
years.”

“Rich, you say?”

“Google him. You’ll find
everything you need to know, except for the part about him dating
Erika Fenn. He kept quiet about that. Which is another reason I
don’t want him upset.” She suddenly realised she could use their
past relationship to her advantage. “Involve him in court
proceedings and it’ll all come out.”

“So what? We’ve dealt with your
old boyfriends before.”

Erika corrected him. “You’ve
paid off a couple of students I’d kissed at parties. Aiden
Thirstan’s a whole different ball game. Not only does he have the
money to fight you in court, but we were rarely out of bed. If the
details came out, the paparazzi will think all their Christmases
have come at once. For that reason alone, I don’t want him
antagonised.”

She saw Marty file away every
detail for future reference and suspected he’d later pay someone to
check out her story.

“What happened?” he asked.

“I found him in bed with another
woman.” She shrugged as if it no longer mattered. “I ran away to
America, met you and made a lot of money writing sad songs about
him.” When she saw Marty’s puzzled frown, she explained. “Crying A
River. Shadow Of Love. Love, Honour, Betray.”

“They were about him?” When
Erika nodded, he added, “Jeez! The bastard broke your heart.”

“Exactly. Which is why I don’t
want anything more to do with him.”

Eventually, after a great deal
more persuasion and several scotches, Marty agreed to let it drop
although Erika knew she’d need to ensure he didn’t bump into Aiden
again around the hotel. Aiden’s quick temper and Marty’s addiction
to law suits made for an explosive mix and she texted Aiden from
Marty’s bathroom, assuring him she was fine and warning him to lie
low.