Center Stage (14 page)

“That’ll be wonderful. You don’t suppose Eric will come, do you?”

Arianna didn’t answer right away, and John watched as her jaw tightened and she clasped her fingers in her lap.

“I can’t imagine why he would.”

John was grateful they arrived in front of the theater when they did. The tension in the car had become nearly toxic. Aside from that, he knew he’d get no sleep tonight. There was a lot to hash out with this woman he loved.

He put the car in park and unbuckled his seat belt. April was already out of the car and staring up at the building, which wouldn’t get a new coat of paint for a week.

John touched Arianna’s arm. “You okay?”

“Doing great.” She smiled through gritted teeth.

He didn’t take her demeanor personally. He assumed with the story of Eric would come some reason April made her so tense.

John stepped out of the car and Arianna followed. He walked up the steps to unlock the door.

“Arianna, this place is creepy.”

“Not once you’re inside. Besides it’s under construction. In a few months, it will be amazing.”

April made a noise of acceptance and followed after John as he stepped inside to turn on the lights.

A moment later, the few lights illuminated the lobby. John looked at Arianna. The glimmer was back in her eyes. No matter what this girl knew about the woman he loved, she couldn’t diminish the love she had for what she was building—what they were building.

“So…what’s this supposed to look like?” April questioned the run down lobby.

“This is our lobby. Over there is concessions. And over there,” she turned and pointed to the other side of the room, “is my office.”

April nodded. “Can we go into the theater?”

“Of course.”

Arianna led her through the large doors in the center of the room, and John followed.

The few lights that still came on with the switch, along with the work lights he’d turned on, gave the theater an eerie glow.

April only took a few steps through the door.

“When do you get your seats?”

John stepped up next to her. “We put those in last.”

“Oh.”

Arianna was hurrying toward the stage. “They just finished the stage. Isn’t it beautiful?”

John heard her gasp, and she turned toward him.

“The curtains are back.”

“And better than ever.” He walked through the theater to stand next to her. “Whoever Regan found to clean and repair them did a great job. I don’t know much about curtains, but I know they look great.”

Arianna covered her mouth and John could see tears surface in her eyes, but they weren’t sad tears.

“Thank you.”

He touched her face and looked into her eyes. “I love you. Everything here is going to be perfect.”

“I do believe it is.”

April had made her way to the stage and was walking up the side steps. “There’s a lot of room here. I think you’ll be able to do some big productions.”

John thought it might have been the most positive statement the woman had made all night long.

April walked out to the center of the stage. “I’m sorry, honey, but this place creeps me out. I feel like I’m being watched.”

Arianna laughed and followed her up to the stage. “Isn’t that what’s supposed to happen in old buildings?”

“I’m serious. It sounds like someone is…” but April didn’t finish her sentence.

Suddenly, from the catwalk, a sandbag attached to a rope swung through the air.

Arianna pushed April out of the way and nearly landed right on top of her as the bag dangled right where they’d been standing.

John heard footsteps, and he hurried up the stairs as the backdoor to the theater opened and slammed shut.

He hurried to the door, but when he opened it and looked outside, the person was gone.

John rushed back to the women who sat on the stage in each other’s arms, panting.

“Someone was here,” he said.

April lifted her arm and looked at her elbow. “I told you I thought someone was watching me.”

Arianna shifted her glance to John. The gratitude which had filled her eyes before had been replaced with fear.

Chapter Sixteen

There had been near silence all the way to April’s hotel and home. John was furious. Someone was messing around, and it was bound to kill someone. He’d be damned if it were Arianna or Regan, or anyone he knew.

She was keeping secrets from him, and he didn’t like it. His ex-wife had kept her share of secrets, and he hadn’t taken too lightly to them either.

Though John loved Arianna, he wouldn’t be betrayed.

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Who was he kidding? Doubt had been placed in his head by Curtis and April. Names and situations had been dropped, and now he was second guessing the woman he loved. Was this the plan of the bastard who was chasing her?

John pulled her car into the driveway and put it in park.

“So who is Eric?” He tried to keep his voice calm, but there was no calm in his entire body.

Arianna sat in the passenger seat with her hands in her lap, gripping her purse. “He was a director in New York that I lived with for a while.”

“How long ago?”

“We broke up about six months ago.”

John nodded. “Not that long ago.”

“Long enough.”

She reached for the door handle, and he reached for her. “Did you love him?”

“What?”

“I’m not playing games with you. Did you love him?”

Arianna let go of the door and turned to him. “Yes. Yes I thought I loved him. Guess what? I was wrong.”

This time she managed to push open the door, but John quickly climbed out of the car and hurried around to the other side. He reached for her and spun her toward him.

“Just like that? You live with a man and then you decide he’s no good for you?”

“Were you there? No. So don’t stand here and talk to me like that.”

“Arianna, it seems like you’re just changing cities and men.”

He kept an eye on her hand which tightened around the strap of her purse. “Don’t you ever talk to me like that again. Do you hear me?”

“Then tell me about him. Why would April assume he’d come here to see you? Why is someone following you? Why is someone trying to hurt you? Give me some damn answers.”

“I’m telling you who it is. He wants to hurt Regan and Curtis for lying to him.”

“Hamilton?”

“Yes.”

“Curtis said he’s in Paris.”

“I don’t care what he says. The man is trying to hurt my family, and I have no doubt that he was behind what happened tonight.”

“Why would Curtis doubt his fiancée?”

“It wasn’t his wife that gave us that information.”

John ran his hands over his head. “You think he set it up somehow for her to tell us that?”

“I don’t know.” She pushed past him and up the front steps.

Her fingers were red, and he could see she was having a hard time with the key. He took it from her and unlocked the door.

Without a word she moved past him, through the living room and into the kitchen.

When he walked through the doorway, something flew at him. He moved out of the way only to find it was a kitchen towel, but she was right. When she was mad she threw things, and she was just about to start to yell. The vein in her forehead was bulging.

This was going to be a long night.

Arianna tried to breathe through the anger, but it was bigger than she was. 

“Eric was a married S.O.B. who didn’t bother to tell me he had a wife and kids upstate. So the bastard lived with me. Slept with me. He told me he loved me and that I was everything he’d ever wanted.” 

She paced the kitchen. “He didn’t love me.”

Tears were burning her eyes, and she hated that it all mattered. She hated him—so why cry? Because she’d thought it was real.

“I can guarantee this isn’t Eric who is stalking me. He’s stupid, but he’s not vicious.”

“He could be.”

“But he’s not.” She wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I had a call from Hamilton a while ago, and he specifically told me that Regan and Curtis would pay for what they did to him. Simone told me his wife left him, and he’s lost his fortune.”

She looked up at John, who was coming right at her. For the first time since she’d met the man, she was actually afraid of him.

Arianna backed against the counter and braced herself when he grabbed her arms. “You can’t just keep this stuff to yourself. Lives are at stake. Your life!”

She had gone speechless. He was right. She couldn’t be silent about it. Tonight was a fine example of how close this crazy person was—no matter who they were.

John let go of her and took a step back.

“I’m sorry.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “I will not lose you to my anger or to this mad man. I have never loved anyone as much as I love you, and this is driving me crazy.”

John had said so much in that one sentence that she couldn’t quite wrap her head around it. She’d never loved anyone as much as she loved John. And damn it, she didn’t want to die at the hands of some crazed man, whoever he was.

“What do we do?” Her voice was soft—weak.

“You’re going to have to be with me or Regan at all times.”

“Okay.”

“I don’t want you to be alone, and I don’t want you at the theater unless I tell you to be there. Got it?”

She only nodded. It was understood that this was not the time to be a headstrong woman and argue with the man.

“If you’re going to meet with Clara, you’re going to do it at the theater when I’m there.”

She nodded again.

“And damn it, if that phone rings or buzzes or dings again, I want to know about it. You’re not helping anyone by hiding it.”

Her body shook with anger and fear. She wanted this over. She wanted her freedom back. Most of all, she wanted to know her family was safe.

Arianna was certainly surprised to find John still home when she woke the next morning. He was antsy, too.

He sat at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in his hand, and his foot tapping a quick rhythm on the floor.

“What are you doing here?”

He looked up at her. “You’re coming to work with me.”

“Do you really mean I
have
to be with you every minute?”

“I’m sure I didn’t stutter. Now go get dressed. I’m late.”

Arianna did what had been expected of her.

The ride into work was quiet, but he had allowed her a stop at Starbucks.

John parked behind the theater. Together they walked up the back ramp to the back stage door, but Zach met them before they went inside.

“Your visitor was back,” he said, his eyes narrowed on Arianna.

“Our visit…the person who was here last night?”

“Maybe you should just go over to my house and be with Regan. Curtis and Simone are there now.”

Arianna fisted her hands on her hips. “I’m not running from this. He wants us to cower.”

John stepped up closer. “What did he do?”

Zach let out a deep breath and stepped aside, letting them both in.

Arianna’s heart jumped into her throat. Across the brand new stage, in red paint, had been written DIE!

John knew it could be fixed. It all could be fixed, but was it worth it? Maybe it was still worth selling the lot and letting them doze it to the ground.

“Do you want me to take you to Regan’s?”

“No. This is our place. I’m not going to let him push us out of it.” Arianna turned to John. “You put me to work. I’m here to help in any way I can.” She pushed her shoulders back. “There is a grand opening coming up in July, and the musical
Annie
is going to be performed on this stage. So we need to get to work.”

For the first time in days, John smiled. “I do believe you mean all that.”

“Damn straight I do. Trust me,” she opened her purse and let him look inside, “if the bastard shows his face, I’m ready.”

John shook his head when he saw the gun. “Do you know how to shoot that thing?”

“I was raised in Tennessee. Doesn’t every girl in Tennessee know how?”

He had no doubt.

John had been content with Arianna on site, and she’d actually been an asset. The writing on the stage had been sanded off, by her. She now had a new skill—sander.

She’d eaten burritos from a cooler when the Mexican woman brought them by and sold them for one dollar each. Though she was leery, he’d encouraged her by telling her it was a worksite treat.

He’d seen her in the corner of the theater a few times, on her cell phone with her notebook in hand, jotting down notes.

She needed a place to work.

John had made many trips through the entire theater throughout the day. The lobby was coming along, and the dressing rooms and back stage weren’t so run down anymore.

There was an entire crew working to scrape up the floor in the theater so they could patch it up and get it ready for seats.

But the one room that hadn’t been attended to was Arianna’s office.

There was a special man he was going to put on that job. He looked at his watch and then looked up at the door.

Right on time.

Eduardo walked through the front door of the theater and gave John a wave.

“It’s looking nice in here.”

“If we could keep the vagrants out,” John said.

“Someone’s been in here?”

John thought it was better that Eduardo didn’t know exactly what had happened, but at least he’d be aware now. “Yeah. Hey, I have a project for you. Come with me.”

John led Eduardo to the office where Arianna would run her new empire. It wasn’t very big, but it had space for a few people. Right now, however, it was just another junked out room.

“What can you do with this?”

Eduardo looked around the room and his lip snarled. “This is going to be her office, right?”

“Yep.”

Eduardo puckered his lips and looked around. John had seen this phenomenon with him before. This was him coming up with something brilliant.

“I’d put in a wall over there.” He pointed to the far end of the room. Not to give her another office, but just to give her some privacy. Maybe even put a window in it so she could see the door. I think two desks could go here and maybe a table where she could work on. You know, lay things out. She does that.”