Twisted Heartstrings Read online

  “You wouldn't dare,” she spits, her anger attempting to call his bluff.

  Reaching over to pick up the phone beside the bed, he punches in a room number. “Alucard, send security over to remove Nikki... She conned the front desk into letting her up here.” After hanging up the phone he turns to Nikki. “One way or another you are leaving. And I’m sure my girlfriend won't appreciate you stalking me.”

  Nikki looks from him to me, her angry glare definitely attempting to drill holes into me. I glare back at her for ruining this evening for us. I know she’s livid because she isn't getting her way; isn't getting the man she wants back. The man she's using for her own purposes.

  Lucius picks up a shirt from the side of the bed and hands it to me without looking. I don't know if it's to hide the state of undress I’m in or if it's because of how angry he is that his ex showed up. Not sure what else to do, I pull the shirt on.

  I can feel the fury rolling off Lucius in waves. I’m just glad I’m not the one his rage is directed toward. Angry Lucius looks scary. I can hear the main door to the suite slam closed and I know someone is here to remove Nikki from our room.

  Behind her, Alucard and two other guys I don't recognize step into view. Alucard curses. “Nikki, get dressed.”

  “Al, surely you won't throw me out after coming all this way to see my boyfriend,” she says sweetly.

  “Nikki, he caught you cheating on him. How would you expect him to stay with you after that? I'd have left your sorry ass too! Have some respect for yourself, get dressed, and get out of here.”

  I know she is glaring at Alucard, but my focus is on Lucius. His body is tense and I know the moment we were having is over. As scary as both brothers can be when angry, I know that neither of them would hurt a woman. A man maybe, but not a woman. I sigh and know that tomorrow will be a new, adventurous day.

  Part of me wants to go to Lucius and wrap my arms around him. But the part of me that fears his anger keeps me from doing so. It's sad how my childhood has shaped me into fearing people when they’re mad.

  Ignoring Nikki, I climb off the bed, walk to the window, and stare outside. I can see the city lit up around us. I wonder why Nikki bothered showing up and why her father has anything to do with the band. I wonder why she would want to cheat on Lucius. The man is a gifted musician and certainly amazing in bed, not that I have much experience in that department. I also know that Lucius is a good man, not someone who deserves to be treated like garbage.

  Turning from the window, I finally notice the room is empty. I can hear the shower running as I step into the hallway leading to the living area. I grab my bags from the door where they were dropped and take them to the bedroom. I find my charger and make sure to plug my phone in. I change into a pair of shorts and then climb into bed.

  Chapter Ten

  Lucius

  To say I’m furious would be an understatement. Nikki found her way into my room. And to call Toni a slut? I'm pretty sure Toni would never think about cheating on me like Nikki did. And to tell me she's pregnant? It doesn't look like she is for someone who's supposed to be four or five months along, considering I dumped her ass three months ago. I’m terrified at the idea of her being pregnant with my kid; her conception date puts it around the time we were home writing our newest album and she'd come to stay with me.

  I dumped her as soon as I caught her fucking another man. Needless to say, she didn't take it well. I had to sell my house and buy another one just to get away from her. She's hounded my family ever since to find me. I even changed my phone number. I figured she got the point that I was done with her. I never expected her to show up here, dressed the way she was.

  Toni was withdrawn when Nikki was finally removed from the room. She didn't deserve me taking out my anger on her, so I figured a shower would help cool me down.

  Stepping from the bathroom, I find her fast asleep in bed. I smile to myself seeing her ash blonde hair spread out around her, how peaceful she looks in her sleep. I can't help but stand in the doorway admiring her.

  “Luc,” Al’s voice calls out.

  Turning toward my brother's voice, I see him wave me over. Grabbing a pair of jeans, I pull them on before following him out to the main room. “What?”

  “Meet me in Chris and Nic’s room. I'm getting Jas over too. We need to talk about how to deal with this shit.”

  “Yeah, I don't need this shit around Toni,” I say, as I check to make sure I have my key card before following Al out of the room.

  We find Jas leaning against the wall waiting for us, as if he knew to expect something after me calling his room to ask him to get my brother so we can have security help remove the woman I've come to despise. A woman I have no idea what I saw in that attracted me to her in the first place.

  Al knocks on Nic and Chris’s door. Chris opens the door, rolling his eyes when he sees us. “Now's not a good time,” he says, before starting to close the door.

  Al shoves the door open more, causing Chris to stumble back a little. “Now is a good time. We need to talk,” Al says, as he pushes his way in.

  We find two girls in the room, one of them sitting on Nic.

  “What the hell?” asks Nic with a pissed off voice.

  Al points at the girls as he says, “Get the fuck out. Now!”

  Did I mention my brother can be an asshole and scare people? I'm sure the girls are scared, they leave the room quickly without looking back.

  “What the fuck, Al?” Chris says.

  “We need to talk. And no, it can't wait till morning,” Al replies, his tone not one to question.

  “What's up?” Jas asks.

  Al looks to me. Fuck, he's going to make me speak. “Nikki got into my room tonight.”

  “What?” Nic, Chris, and Jas all say at once.

  “Yeah. Toni and I had just gotten back from her place so she could pack to come with us. Nikki managed to get a key card to my room from the front desk by spouting off that she’s my girlfriend here to surprise me. She was practically naked, finding me and Toni making out. I had Al get security to remove her because I wasn't going to leave Toni with Nikki.”

  “Unbelievable,” exclaims Nic. “Why the fuck would she show up now? You broke it off with her a few months ago.”

  “She probably figured I've cooled off enough to take her back. She planned to try to seduce me guessing by how little she was wearing. I guess she didn't get it by me moving and changing my number,” I say with a tired sigh and a shrug.

  Al adds, “She shouldn't have been able to get a key card from the front desk in the first place. We leave in the morning to head to the next venue; who's to say that another fan won't pull the same shit. This is a breach of security that we need fixed now, not later. And we need to talk to both our manager and the executives with the label.”

  “Fuck,” bites out Chris. “Like we need this shit now.”

  “I'll start to check to see if I can find out if Nikki is posting shit on social media,” Jas replies. “I just need to get my computer.”

  I don't know how long we spend with our security team going over plans on how to prevent this from happening again. And with it being so late, Nic is going to deal with our manager and the executives in the morning.

  I can't wait to go to bed so I can curl up with my girl, but this shit needs to be taken care of first. Sure, our mood was ruined, but I can't let Toni get hurt by our flaws in security. The few that stay with us on tour can only handle so much, and we can't rely on local security to pull extra time by having them stay to watch the hotels when we stay in one.

  We have five men who make up our security team, each of them professionals with plenty of experience. They’ve been with us since the first time we toured, when we were virtually nobodies. Each man is assigned to one of us but work together to protect us all. When out for public appearances they work as a well-oiled machine.

  At least we don't need to have security when we’re home. Nor when we can get out to explore if we
attempt to not bring attention to ourselves. Yesterday at the bar we had security with us; we couldn't chance it and they made sure to blend in. You never know what can happen if a bunch of drunks recognize us.

  Chapter Eleven

  Toni

  Feeling like there’s something wrong, I’m pulled from my sleep. I didn't even realize that I had drifted off. The spot next to me is empty and doesn't look like it's been slept in. I check the time on my phone to see that it's the middle of the night, the red digits blinking an angry one thirty.

  Concerned, I get out of bed and head out to the main living area of the hotel room. He's not there, not in the other bedroom either. I would text him, but I don't have the number, nor do I know what room number his brother is in. With a sigh, I grab a pillow and lay on the couch, waiting for him to return.

  Nikki showing up must have really done a number on Lucius. If he got upset enough that he didn't want to be around me when she showed up, then maybe we shouldn't even bother trying. Maybe I should walk away now, before I get hurt; before I hurt him with the knowledge I'm hiding. However, this new assignment won't allow for me to do that. I'm effectively trapped into a month of being around Lucius, knowing that both Nikki and I can come between us. That maybe he's still in love with her and I’m just the rebound girl.

  Frustrated for allowing myself to even care about him, I start to pack the few things of mine that I have here, mostly the clothes throughout the suite. To hell with the assignment; if I get fired I'll just have to look for a new job. In the desk I find a pad of paper and a pen. Sitting down, I decide to write a note.

  Lucius,

  I'm sorry, but I can't do this. I know I promised to try, but I know it won’t work. If we continue I’ll only get hurt or I'll hurt you, and that's not something I can afford to allow to happen to either of us.

  You disappearing tonight after Nikki's unexpected visit leads me to believe that you may not be over her, and I won't come second to anyone. After the life I have had, I deserve to have someone put me first, and with you I will always come after the guys, the band.

  You deserve to be with someone who can accept that and who isn't damaged like me. I will treasure the moments we've had, and as brief as our affair has been, I can honestly say it meant more to me than any of the relationships I've ever had.

  I'm sorry,

  Toni

  I leave the note on his pillow and head down to the lobby with my bags. The front desk clerk calls a cab for me and I sit outside to wait. With the late hour, it doesn't take long for the taxi to arrive to take me home. I make it all the way to my apartment before I break down in tears on my bed.

  I try to convince myself that walking away is the best thing, but it hurts to leave him. I've only spent a short time with him, so why does it feel like I’ve left a part of me behind? I couldn't possibly care for him as much as I feel I do.

  I’m glad to discover that Keri is out. The last thing I want is for her to be trying to find out why I’m so upset. She would most likely tell me I‘m blowing things out of proportion. Maybe I am, but she doesn’t know about the fact that because of her, I slept with one of the band members before. I never thought that night could come back and haunt me. It was just supposed to be a onetime fuck, can’t even call it a one-night stand since I didn’t spend the night, seeing as how we fucked in a bathroom at a party.

  I fall into an exhausted sleep, crying, repeating, “It's for the best” to myself. It truly is for the best that I forget about Lucius Black. Nothing but heartache can come from anything that ever happens between us. I can treasure our time together as a fun experience without the damper of anything to darken my memory of him.

  Chapter Twelve

  Toni

  An unfamiliar alarm pulls me from my sleep. I let out a groan knowing it's far too early to be awake, especially after crying myself to sleep so late at night. As my mind begins to clear, I register a weight at my waist. Looking down, I see an arm possessively holding me, a very familiar arm. An arm belonging to the reason I cried myself to sleep: Lucius.

  As the arm moves, the warmth at my back disappears. The alarm stops and then I’m pulled farther into his embrace.

  “Why did you leave?” His voice has that sexy, sleepy rasp.

  “Because I can't do this,” I reply honestly, while trying to gently untangle myself from him. But he doesn’t let me.

  “Can't do what?” he asks, while pulling me closer and tightening his hold on me.

  “I can't be with you without one of us getting hurt.” And I don't want to hurt him.

  “I think you've made an assumption that's clearly wrong, and maybe that’s my fault. When Nikki left, you were lost in your thoughts, so I went to have a shower because I needed to calm down. When I got out of the shower, you were already asleep and Alucard wanted to talk with all of us as to what we needed to do about Nikki, so what happened last night won't happen again. I should have let you know where I was, but I didn't expect you to wake up. And we should have had each other's cell numbers so you could have messaged me or I could have messaged you when I found you gone.”

  “How did you get in?” I ask, puzzled.

  “Keri. She arrived just after I got here. I told her what happened, she rolled her eyes and let me in. I found you sound asleep, so I figured I might as well let you rest.”

  “Why was Nikki throwing around her father's name?”

  He sighs before answering, “Her dad's one of the executives with the record label. She figured her dad would threaten to drop us if I didn't stay with her. However, that's not the case. Nicholai is going to call him today and tell him that if Nikki doesn't stop her antics, things will get a little ugly with us pressing harassment charges against her. I've already had to change my cell number because of her constant calling me and she's shown up at the rest of my family’s places looking for me because I sold my house and moved. If I had known how much trouble she'd cause, I wouldn't have gotten involved with her.”

  “This still won't work with us,” I say sadly.

  “Why do you say that? How do you know if you don’t try?”

  “You'll be gone all the time. I won't be able to spend any quality time with you because even if I did fly out to where you are, you will be working most of the time.”

  “You don't know that. Come with us and see how it can be. Or you can quit your job and we can be together.”

  “You wouldn't be happy with someone who doesn't work. You don't want to be responsible for supporting someone you’re with.”

  “I can always talk to the guys to see if they want to hire you to handle all of our social media. Right now, Jasper handles as much of it as he can, but he can't keep up with all of it. You've got cameras, so you can post pictures of us, and I’m sure being around us, you can answer the questions from our fans. It wouldn't be that hard, and I know Jasper would love not having to do it all the time.”

  “Eventually you’ll get sick of me being around all the time, and I can't leave Keri to fend for herself here.” That and I'm pretty sure if word gets out that I slept with another band member it will make things awkward.

  “You won't have to, we'd pay you. You can take pictures during the concert, and while we’re travelling you can upload them at any time. It's the easiest way for us to be together so that you don't feel like you’re coming in second all the time. You can think about it and make a decision when the magazine decides they want you to come back. You can send them whatever they need for the article and then stay on with us.”

  “How about I try doing that, along with what the magazine wants me to do for the month they’re letting me go? It will give me time to decide what I want to do. It will be the only way I will know if I can spend that much time travelling. Or if the guys get sick of having me around.”

  Pulling me close, he nuzzles my neck, “Good. Get up. We have to go catch the bus, and the car should be here to get us soon. I arranged for it to come back after I got dropped off. We can get some more
sleep on the bus.”

  Getting up, I head to the bathroom to get ready. Thankfully, knowing I can sleep some more eases my mind when I see the black circles under my eyes. They’re still a little puffy, but any redness from crying is gone. Knowing we'll hopefully be going back to sleep, I choose not to put makeup on.

  Back in my room, I look through my closet for something to wear. I opt to keep on my tank top but add a bra. I exchange my shorts for a pair of sweats and make sure to change my underwear so that it matches the bra I’m wearing. Of all things, I always try to make sure my underwear matches, even if my clothes don't.

  We gather my bags and leave. As promised, the car is waiting to take us back to the hotel. When we pull up to the back of the hotel, their bus is sitting near the exit. The bus looks small from the outside, no bigger than a greyhound bus, making me wonder how they live for months on end in such a cramped space. The shiny black and silver is a contrast to their matte black and silver TT logo. You’d miss their logo if you didn’t know to look for it; it was probably done to not draw a lot of attention to them when travelling.

  Lucius leads the way to the bus. Stepping on, I find that as small as it looks, it’s actually fairly spacious. There’s a seating area with a galley kitchen at the front. Beyond that is a curtained off area that leads to six bunks, three stacked across the aisle from each other. As we pass the bathroom, I’m a little curious about how open it is before hitting the bedroom.

  We drop my bags on the bed and Lucius leaves to get his own stuff from the hotel room. Curiously, I start to look around the bus a bit. I stand in the area that is supposed to be the bathroom and wonder how I will shower with five guys being able to walk in at any time.

  “You just have to warn us so we can make sure to give you some privacy,” Alucard says, startling me. “We're not complete jerks who won’t allow you privacy. Us guys usually don't care about seeing each other naked. Until you've been around us long enough to not care, we won't be assholes.”