Caleb thought about his situation with
Elle. Even though she wasn’t in harm’s way out on the road, it still killed him
to let her go, so he couldn’t imagine how Vana must have felt.
“They gave him honorary discharge,” she
said. “Now he’s ready to start a new life.”
“With you?” Caleb asked, smiling. It felt
like the first time he’d smiled in days. It was nice to see someone he cared
about getting her happily ever after.
Her wide grin told the story. “I hope so.
That’s what we’re both hoping for. No offense, but I think I always knew he was
the one for me.”
Caleb didn’t take offense. He didn’t care
enough. “So why were you pushing so hard for a future with me?”
“I thought moving on was the only way to
let go of the past. I was wrong, Caleb. I’m sorry I used you and even sorrier
that I may have cost you someone you obviously love.”
“What happened with Elle wasn’t your
fault.” He’d love to blame someone else, to release some of his pent up anger
and frustration, but he couldn’t pass the buck. “I knew she had trust issues. I
should have been honest with her about you. I don’t know why I wasn’t.”
“You were afraid of losing her,” Vana said,
patting his arm. “I probably would have done the same thing in your position.”
He smirked. “Given your poor judgment
lately, that doesn’t make me feel better.”
“Oh you—”
“Sorry to interrupt,” Drake said, barging
in to the conference room. “I need to talk to you, Caleb. It’s important.”
Caleb knew Drake wouldn’t be there in the
middle of a workday if it wasn’t. “Is this about Elle? Have you heard from her?
Is she ready to talk to me?”
Drake glanced at Vana. “Would you mind
giving us a few minutes, Vana? This is kind of personal.”
“Sure.” She stood, squeezing Caleb’s
shoulder. “If you need to talk, you know where to find me.”
“Thanks.” He barely heard the door close
behind Vana. All of his attention was fixed on Drake. “What is it? What the
hell happened? And don’t tell me it’s nothing. I can tell something’s going
on.”
“I just got a call from Evan. Someone set
fire to Elle’s tour bus.”
“Oh my God!” Caleb was grateful he had
already been sitting down. “Tell me she’s okay.”
“She is.” Drake sank into a chair at the
other end of the table. “She wasn’t on the bus at the time, thank God.”
“Who would do this to her?” Caleb raked a
hand over his hair. “I’ve heard of a few fires on tour buses over the past
couple of years. Do the police think there’s a link? Was this a random act, or
was Elle being targeted?” Caleb had so many questions, and he was frustrated he
had to get answers from Drake instead of Elle.
“She was definitely being targeted.”
Drake’s eyes shifted. “They know who did it. They have someone in custody.”
Caleb thought the perpetrator should
consider himself lucky he was in custody so he wouldn’t have to deal with
Caleb. “Who?” When Drake didn’t answer, Caleb slammed his fist on the table.
“God damn it, just answer me. Who was it? Who did this?”
“Her former assistant, Ricky.”
“Jesus, why would he—”
“It wasn’t the first time he’d tried to
take Elle’s life.”
Caleb was sure he’d misunderstood. Surely
Elle would have told him if someone had tried to kill her. “What are you
talking about?”
“Ricky cut her brake lines a few weeks ago.
She drove her car off the road, ended up in a ditch, but it could have been a
hell of a lot worse.”
Caleb leaned in, seriously considering
whether he should throttle his friend for keeping this from him. “Why the hell
am I just hearing about this now?”
“I asked you to watch out for her because
of what happened with Ricky.”
Caleb thought back to one of his
conversations with Elle. “She’d led me to believe that was just a hoax, that
you were trying to set us up. Why wouldn’t she tell me she was in real danger?”
“She didn’t want to worry you. She knew you
wouldn’t be able to rest while she was out on the road, knowing someone was out
to get her.”
She was right, but that didn’t excuse her
behavior. She’d accused him of keeping pertinent information from her, but
she’d been doing the same.
“I can’t believe this,” Caleb said.
“I knew you would find out about this
soon,” Drake said. “Evan says the press is already swarming. I didn’t want you
to hear it somewhere else.”
“I should have heard this from Elle—”
Drake glanced at his phone when it rang.
“It’s her.”
“Give me that.” Caleb lunged for the phone.
“Elle, it’s me, Caleb. Please tell me you’re okay.” In the silence that
followed, he couldn’t breathe, fearing she’d hung up as soon as she realized it
was him.
“I’m fine. I have nothing more to say to
you, Caleb. Please put Drake on the phone.”
“No!” He stood, crossing the room with long
strides. He paced, needing to work off some nervous energy. “We need to talk.
Someone tried to take your life. I’m going out of mind worrying about you,
missing you. You can’t just cut me off like this.” Caleb didn’t care that Drake
was listening. His pride was the last thing on his mind. “I asked you to marry
me. I thought we were building a life together.”
“That was before you lied to me about
Vana.”
Caleb had figured she would still be angry
and bitter, but at least they were talking. He thought about reminding her he
hadn’t been the only one keeping secrets, but he knew that wouldn’t help his
cause. “Vana’s getting back together with her ex-boyfriend. She just told me.”
“And you’re telling me this why?”
He wanted to scream in frustration. Why was
she determined to make this so difficult when it was painfully obvious they
belonged together? “Because that was the reason you left, wasn’t it?”
“No. I left because I thought I could trust
you to be honest with me and found out I was wrong.”
“I thought I could trust you too.
Apparently you weren’t the only one who was wrong.”
“If you’re talking about what happened with
Ricky, I didn’t tell you because I was trying to protect you. I knew you’d be
worried sick if you knew he was out to get me.”
“Of course I would have been.” He braced
his hand against the window frame as he looked out over the city. He usually
appreciated the view from his office tower. Today, not so much. “I love you. If
someone is out to get you, I have a right to know, to try and protect you.”
“There’s nothing you could have done,” she
said. “He got past security. No one could have stopped him.”
“I could have.” Caleb wouldn’t have
hesitated to throw himself in harm’s way to save her. That was how he knew
living without her wasn’t an option. “Let me come there, baby. We need to talk,
face to face.”
“No, I’m sorry.”
“I’m the one who’s sorry.” He knew it
wouldn’t help to apologize. The words probably sounded hollow to her, but he
wanted to give her something to think about. Maybe by the time she returned,
she would feel differently. “I should have been honest with you about Vana. If
this one stupid mistake costs me the future I could have had with you, I’ll
never forgive myself.”
“I have to go now.”
He had no idea what she was thinking or
feeling, and it made him crazy, but he couldn’t risk pushing her further away.
“Okay. Take care of yourself. I’ll be thinking of you, sweetheart.”
“Are you sure you wanna go out there
tonight?” Tori asked, sitting next to Elle on the sofa. “Everyone would
understand if you need to take a pass after what happened.”
“It’s okay.” Elle ran her damp palms over
her jeans. She was on edge, but she was a professional. She wouldn’t let Ricky
win by throwing her off her game. “Thank you for letting me bunk with you.” She
gestured toward Tori’s opulent tour bus. “It’ll be a while before I’m able to
replace my bus.”
Tori wrapped her arm around Elle’s
shoulders. “It’s no problem, honey. It’s nice to have a little girl time.”
Elle still felt guilty. Tori’s husband was
due to join her on the road next week, but until Elle could make alternate
arrangements, she didn’t have a choice. “Is it crazy that I want to see him?”
“Who?”
“Ricky.” Elle had been thinking all day
about going to the police station before they transferred him.
“Why would you want to see him?” Tori
asked, looking alarmed. “After what he did to you, I say let him rot in jail.”
“I just want to know why.” Elle blinked,
trying to avoid messing up the smoky eyes her makeup artists had worked so hard
to perfect. “Why would he do this to me? I was always there when he needed
someone. I gave him everything, and it kills me that he did this to me.”
Tori sighed. “I know, honey. It’s not easy
when someone you thought you could trust betrays you.” She looked Elle in the
eye. “You haven’t been yourself lately. Man troubles?”
“Caleb and I aren’t together anymore.” It
was the first time she’d admitted it aloud, and just saying the words cut deep.
“His ex-girlfriend was working for him, and he forgot to mention it to me. The
ex made no secret of the fact she wanted him back, and he took her away on some
business trip without telling me. Why would he do that if he had nothing to
hide?”
“Maybe he was afraid of how you’d react,”
Tori offered. “Your relationship was still new, right? It takes time before
people feel secure enough to tell their partners everything.”
“Maybe.” Elle felt a twinge of guilt. She’d
kept things from him too. Was she being unfair, not giving him a chance? “I…
uh… went to see my mother.”
“Really? How did that go?”
“It went well. She filled in a lot of
blanks for me.” Elle touched Tori’s arm. “Thank you for convincing me to face
my past. It helped a lot.”
“I’m glad.” She smiled. “My family is an
opinionated lot, but I don’t know what I’d do without them.”
“My father…” Elle pinched her lips
together. She hadn’t treated the man who raised her as a father, and it was too
late to tell him how much she appreciated him for taking her in instead of
letting her end up in the system. “He passed away a few years ago. My mother
tried to contact me when he died, but she got Ricky instead. He told her I
wanted nothing to do with them.” Elle clenched her fists at her sides. “He
didn’t even ask me. He just thought he had the right to decide for me. I didn’t
even get to pay my respects.”
“Maybe the next time you’re close to home,
you could pass by your father’s grave?” Tori said. “Leave some flowers, talk to
him for a while. Tell him what’s in your heart.”
Elle didn’t know whether spirits remained
after a physical body passed, but she figured it was worth a try. “I think I’ll
do that. Thanks.” She stood, deciding she didn’t want to waste another
opportunity. “I’m going to see Ricky.”
Tori grabbed her hand. “You want me to come
with you?”
“Thanks for offering.” Elle squeezed Tori’s
hand. She was so glad to have found a friend like Tori. “But I need to handle
this on my own.”
***
Elle picked up the phone when Ricky was led
into the room. She knew she should be nervous about facing him again, but she
wasn’t. She was anxious to get some answers.
He picked up the phone. “What are you doing
here?” He scowled at her.
She smirked. “You thought I wouldn’t come?
Come on, old friend, I could hardly wait to see you again.”
She could tell by the change in his
demeanor that he was surprised by her attitude. He probably expected to find
her a sobbing mess, cowering in fear on the other side of the glass. No way
would she give him the satisfaction.
“Why?”
Elle tapped her manicured nails on the
narrow wooden table. “Funny, I was about to ask you the same question. Why did
you want to kill me, Ricky?” Her voice wavered just a little, but she looked
him in the eye, daring him to be the first to look away.
“Isn’t it obvious?” He sneered. “I hate
your guts.”
Elle had predicted that response, so it
came as no surprise. He couldn’t have done the things he did if he hadn’t
despised her. “I think you hate yourself more than you hate me. You saw in me
all of the things you wanted to be. I was living the life you felt you
deserved, and it ate you up inside.” She’d come here to get the last word, to
let him know his plan to destroy her hadn’t worked, and she didn’t intend to pull
any punches.
“You arrogant little bitch,” he said,
leaning forward. “What makes you think I wanted your life?”
Elle laughed. “You wanted my house, my car,
my tour bus, my boyfriend…” She raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that why you
destroyed all of them: my car, my bus, my relationship? Did you intend to torch
my house next?” She saw the evil in his eyes and wondered how she’d missed it
for all those years. “Wow, that was your plan, wasn’t it? You weren’t going to
stop until you took everything you thought meant anything to me. You didn’t
even want me to go to my own father’s funeral. Was that because you were
estranged from your own family and you were afraid I might reconcile with mine
if I returned for the funeral?”