He isn’t put off by my pathetic attempt. “That was good! Now do it again.” After some minor adjustments from my instructor, that’s what I do. Again and again and again. Brady says to keep going until I can’t get it wrong, and I damn well try.
I won’t be caught weak and unaware again. I’m the only one who can keep that from happening. There’s only so much hiding a person can do before it’s time to stand unafraid.
CHAPTER 25
CHASE
The text from my mom is like a loaded gun lingering in my inbox. A date has been set for Easton’s gallery that he still doesn’t know he’s being featured in. Because my mother is either extremely sentimental or forgetful—I’m not sure which—the date happens to be his twenty-first birthday.
It’s not like I didn’t know it was coming, I just had no idea how to celebrate it when he’s been in active fear for his life—and for good reason. It’s not like taking him out and letting him get drunk is on the table. He’d be so vulnerable and that’s not a risk I’m willing to take even if we were all there with him. All it would take is one second of distraction.
Nope. Not happening.
I’ve been trying to come up with alternatives that don’t screamsorry about your stalker, enjoy this attempt at normalbut fall incredibly short. But if Mom has a date set for this show, that means Aaron has got to be out of the picture before it rolls around. There’s nothing that sick fuck would like more than ruining his debut show.
So there’s two problems that need solving. I’ve got to tell Easton what my mom has been working on behind-the-scenes,and we absolutely have to somehow make a criminal with, like, two decades of experience make a mistake that allows him to get caught.
Oh, the good old days when my largest problem was leveling a deck.
Because I’m a massive chickenshit, I decide to loop Blake in to see if she can help. I find her glaring daggers at her computer that turns into a toothy grin when she sees me. “What was that evil look all about?” I ask, dropping onto the daybed and trying to avoid being swallowed by a small mountain of pillows.
She taps her fingernails against the desk, a sure sign of unease that sets my teeth on edge. “Oh, I was reading the check-in from that guy I have looking for Aaron. I was hopeful that the pictures would give him more to go on, but he’s still chasing smoke.”
“Is he just into wasting your money or is it really that impossible to get a solid lead?”
The frustration is boiling behind her eyes, but she’s fighting like hell to keep it from showing. “I don’t know. I’ve used him before, back when I was trying to dig up dirt on my dad, and that was a walk in the park. But my dad wasn’t hiding anything significant. But back then, Landon had found the guy for me and he was highly recommended. I think I’d prefer him wasting cash than Aaron being this hard to nail down, though.”
Well, I’m glad she said it because it would have been a little tacky if I had, but I definitely agree. “What does Landon think? Surely he’s got an opinion on it.”
Blake’s lips quirk at even the small mention of her man. She’s got to be missing him like crazy. “I’m not really telling him much. He knows the basics because, well, he’s going to be getting a call from our lawyer if shit really hits the fan, and I wouldn’t blindside him like that. But you know how he worries about me.” Massive understatement. Landon is good atappearing nonchalant, but when it comes to Blakely’s safety, there’s nothing he wouldn’t do. It’s given me a lot of peace of mind since he started playing in L.A and took her away from the support system she has here.
“Kinda a hard conversation to have over the phone, too, I imagine.”
She snorts a short laugh. “You could say that. He was already kind of nervous when I started looking into this on my own. Now that things have gotten more serious, all it would do is stress him out if I told him. He needs to focus, and I need him to not be freaking out about me.”
“He’s going to be furious when he finds out. You know that, right?”
“My friend, I’m counting on it. I have never once claimed to be that man’s peace. I’m his full-time problem and proud of it. The madder he gets, the better I get it.”
My jaw comes unhinged at that. “I’m filing that little detail about your sex life under things I could have never known and been better off for it.”
She shrugs, unapologetic. “You’ll live. I’ve taken to wearing noise cancelling headphones in bed because of you.”
I’m also unapologetic, so that’s fair. My eagerness to change the subject reminds me that I had a purpose coming in here.
Blakely listens intently as I fill her in on my current problem like the good friend that she is. The mistake was not assuming she’d laugh at me. I should have known better. No one is quicker to remind me when I’m being a dumbass than Blakely Ellison. “It seemed like a good idea at the time,” I insist.
“Dude, he’s going to murder you. How have you been sitting on this for so long?”
I grimace. “Well, it’s not like we haven’t had other shit going on, and painting has been so good for him. I was worried he’d get stressed and stop enjoying it.”
She snickers. “Your heart was in the right place. I’ll give you that. You might have to grovel for forgiveness, though, and I truly hope I get to see that.”
“Why are you entertained by my misfortune?”
She hums in consideration. “Because most of it is self-inflicted.”
Rude, but fair enough. That’s been a repeating lesson that refuses to be avoided for any longer, and I’m so dumb as to ignore it when the growth is clearly needed. “Will you help me?”
