Love Resolution (Black Cat Records series) (22 page)

After the encore, Avery rushed back out on stage to gather up the roses that had now become routine at the end of every show. When she came back off, she ran into Trevor. “Do you know where Marcus is?” she asked breathlessly.

“He lit out of here right after the encore. I heard him tell Dwight he was going back to the hotel.”

“Ok.” Her brow furrowed. Though he hadn’t specifically said they’d go back over to the hotel together she had hoped that they would. “Can you call up one of the drivers? I need to go there, too.”

“Sure, but don’t forget you’ve got a meet and greet.”

“I know. I know,” she snapped. “Humphrey’s at eleven. I’ll get my fake smile ready.”

Trevor’s eyebrows rose above the rim of his glasses.

“I’m sorry.” Quick tears brimmed in her eyes, nerves jangling. “I’m sorry I was short. It’s just…” She shrugged. “I’ll be there,” she said, with a heavy sigh.

Hurrying back through the maze of cinderblock corridors, dodging people and equipment, she finally reached the parking garage and ducked into a waiting SUV with tinted windows.

“Miss Jones,” the tour driver greeted her before swiveling around.

“Evening, David,” she mumbled distractedly, leaning back in her seat and rubbing her bare arms. She hadn’t even bothered to shower or change. Her silk top was damp with sweat. Catching a sudden chill, she fiddled with the temperature controls in the back seat while the vehicle weaved in and out of the concert traffic around the waterfront. She took in a deep breath when they finally pulled into the front driveway of the Shelter Island hotel.

Avery thanked the driver, slid out of the backseat, and slammed the door before hastening through the lobby. She was barely cognizant of the quick stares of recognition from the people that she passed.

Quick, purposeful steps brought her to Marcus’ door at the end of the hall. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess. She tried to steady her nerves by running her fingers through her hair to smooth out the tangles.

Ok.
She was ready. She rapped on the door, took a deep breath, and waited. Thinking her knock had been too tentative to be heard, she lifted her hand to try again. Suddenly, the door opened.

“Avery.” Marcus dipped his head in acknowledgment, one hand holding the door open, the other holding up the towel that was draped around his narrow waist. “What are you doing here?”

“We’re supposed to talk. Don’t you remember?”

“Uh, yeah, but maybe now’s not the best time.”

“Who is it, Marcus?” a woman’s voice inquired from inside the room.

Avery felt her veins turn to ice as a platinum blonde appeared behind Marcus, her hair wet and dripping into the collar of a hotel robe.

“You didn’t tell me it was going to be a threesome.” She pouted while Avery stood stricken, held hostage by the horrible drama unfolding before her.

Avery blinked her eyes shut.
“No!”
Her mind tried to flee from the truth while her heart sought to barricade itself behind useless denials. Her eyes reopening, she swayed, struggling to find footing in the face of her worst fears realized.

Everything came into sharp focus in a blinding rush. The water droplets glistening on the black lettering of Marcus’ shoulder tat, the sound of her ragged breath, the erratic pounding of her shattered heart.

“Avery,” Marcus called and reached out to catch her, fingers curling around her upper arms.

“Don’t touch me!” It made her sick for his hands to be on her after they’d just been all over that woman. “Damn you!” Fury galvanized her frozen body into motion. She shrugged out of his grasp. “I
loved
you. Why would you do this to me?”

The man looking back at her was a total stranger, his face an impenetrable mask.

I’m always here for you. No matter what.

Those words of his had been lies. She’d been played for a fool. All the confidences they’d shared obviously meant nothing to him. Had any of it mattered? She felt naked and exposed, completely vulnerable. A low mournful moan escaped her lips. Hot tears of mortification burned her eyes. “I hate you,” she whispered, ripped the engagement ring off her finger, and threw it at his feet.

She didn’t stop to watch it land. She had to get out of there before she broke down completely.

Now.

Tears sheeted over her eyes, blinding her. She stumbled back down the narrow hotel corridor, through the debris of her obliterated hopes and dreams.

When she finally reached the lobby, she ran to the glass door and threw it open. Sucking in a deep breath of the cold night air, shivering, she wrapped her arms tightly around herself, struggling to think.

“Avery?”

She turned.

“What’s happened?” Ray exclaimed after looking at her face.

She shook her head. “I need to get out of here.”

“Ok. Alright, Avery.” He spoke in a soothing tone, as if she were a frightened animal ready to bolt. “I’ll drive you wherever you want to go.”

“No.” She rubbed the back of her hand across her wet eyes. “I need some time to think. By myself. Alone.”

“You know I can’t let you do that. It’s not safe. And in the state you’re in, I don’t think it would be a very good idea.”

“That’s too bad, Ray,” she said defiantly, “because that’s what I’m gonna do.” She marched to the first taxi in the cue, opened the door, and climbed in. Leaning forward, she told the driver where she wanted to go.

When she sat back, Ray was standing at the side window. She rolled it down.

“Don’t do this,” Ray pleaded, his hand resting on the bottom frame of the window as if he could somehow prevent the car from leaving.

“I have to.” She turned over his hand and placed her cell phone in it.

“Good bye, Ray.”

The night sky was black, storm clouds obscuring the stars. A gusty wind whipped her hair into her eyes and buffeted her body. Her outward discomfort registered on some level, but it was trivial in comparison to the hollow gnawing pain she felt inside. The Pacific stretched out in wide in front of her. The surf raged. The sound of it roared in her ears, its surface as turbulent as her thoughts.

There was no solace to be found here.

Just hurtful memories.

Every song they had written.

A lie.

Every time they’d made love.

A lie.

Every gentle touch. Every thoughtful gesture.

Lies…all of it.

Leaving her alone.

That was real.

Sobbing, shuddering from the bitter wind and the cold rain that had begun to fall, she decided it was time to go in. But when she looked down, she found that the tide had come in. Her rocky perch was now completely surrounded by swirling water.

Holy crap!

She scraped her wet hair out of her eyes and scanned the shore for help. It seemed as deserted as it had been when she had first come out. The weather certainly didn’t conjure thoughts of a casual beachside stroll.

She was going to have to wade back. She slid off the rock, the sharp edges of the adherent crustaceans digging into her palms as she shimmied down into the water. Immediately she found herself in up to her thighs, the surf a lot deeper and a lot colder than she had anticipated.

Avery began slogging through the icy water. Suddenly, a frigid wave pounded her down to her knees with tremendous force. In its aftermath, she gasped for breath, but managed to regain her footing. Her thin silk top and jeans were saturated and plastered to her freezing skin, offering no protection from the cold.

She coughed at the salt water that had gotten into her mouth and burned the back of her throat. Her breath came ragged now and her teeth chattered. When she looked toward the shore again, it seemed further away than when she had started out. The current must have dragged her back more than she realized. She began to get really frightened. What if she didn’t make it?

Panicking, she tried to run through the seething waves, but her legs were too hard to lift. They felt numb and heavy as if they were encased in ice.

Another large wave smacked into her back. She went under. This time she didn’t have the strength to fight it anymore. The weight of the water pressed down upon her, the cold penetrating into the very marrow of her bones. She felt herself slipping away.

Then she struck the bottom. Instead of the cathartic release she’d expected to find, she found clarity and reasons to renew her resistance. She probably wouldn’t be able to find another man as right for her as she thought Marcus had been, but that was ok. He wasn’t the only thing worth living for. She had her brother. Her friends. Her music.

And she had herself.

She broke for the surface, momentarily disoriented in the darkness. And that’s when she heard the singing, those clear bell like tones so familiar and full of love.

Her mother.

She followed the sound, blinking salt water out of her eyes. Frantically, she struggled back toward the shore, battling the waves that seemed unwilling to give her up. Time and again they knocked her down and pulled her under. Her lungs burned, and her muscles stained with fatigue.

I’m not going to make it.

Suddenly, she felt a strong hand gripping her arm, dragging her from the tenacious surf. As the fog of exhaustion enveloped her, Avery peered up at her rescuer.

It was
him
.

“We’ve got to find her!” Marcus shouted at Dwight as he paced the length of his hotel room. “I need her back here now!”

“Lower your voice and calm down, Marcus. We’ve got people looking everywhere we can think of.” Dwight returned his glare with his arms crossed over his chest. “In the meantime, you wanna tell me what this is
really
about?”

“No. I don’t.” Marcus ran a panicked hand through his hair, gaze jerking to the door as Trevor walked in. “Any news?”

“Sorry.” He shook his head. “No one’s seen her since the concert.”

Marcus let out an exasperated sigh.

“I checked for Jackson, too,” Trevor continued.” Just like you asked. No sign of him, either.”

“Shit!” The lid he’d been holding on his temper burst. His vision turned red as his anger erupted. Predictable. She had run to Bryan. Furious, he swept an arm across the suite’s bar, sending delicate glassware flying and shattering against the wall. Without pause, he grabbed a lamp by the base and slammed it into the glass coffee table, breaking both.

“Dammit Marcus!” Dwight exclaimed. “Stop!” His arms locked tightly around his brother, pinning him back against his chest. “Get it together, man. What the hell’s going on?”

“Let go!” Eyes bulging, pulse pounding in his ears, Marcus twisted in his brother’s arms.

“Not until you calm down.”

Ray came into the room, brows lifting as he surveyed the scene.

“Ray!” Marcus called, shrugging free from Dwight’s grasp. “Did you find her?”

“Yeah, Boss.”

“Thank God.” His tension eased, ever so slightly. “Where is she?”

“Gone.”

“What do you mean gone?” he demanded, his heart rate accelerating.

“I mean gone. She hopped into a taxi and left.”

“Why the hell didn’t you stop her?”

Ray gave him an exasperated look. “How was I supposed to do that?”

“This is bullshit!” He advanced toward his bodyguard, hands curled into fists. “You’re supposed to be protecting her.”

“Really?” Ray held his ground, his dark gaze narrowing. “You really want to get into a finger pointing match with
me
about what
I
should or shouldn’t have done? Did you not see her when she left?”

“Yeah. I saw her,” Marcus said bleakly. He’d watched her shatter like those glasses into a million jagged pieces right before his eyes. He stuffed bleeding hands into his pockets, shoulders hunched with tension. The glass crunched beneath his Vans as he shifted. “Was she by herself?” he made himself ask, dreading the answer.

“Yes.”

Marcus let out a breath.

“She said she wanted to be alone. She left this with me,” Ray finished, holding out her cell.

“Holy shit.” Marcus took it, hand trembling as his fingers closed around the familiar VH cover.