Rhett let out a low laugh. His fake, stage-presence laugh. “Ah, darling, as tempting as that offer is, I really need to get home. But we appreciate your support of Bellerose. Keep rocking out.”
He tried to step past her, but she dodged to get in his way, and that was when his fake personality vanished under his regular one. “I will ask you nicely one more time to please get out of our way. Then I’ll call security.”
“Forget about it, Trisha,” the first girl snapped, still glaring at me. “They have the Bellerose whore with them. You must have one hell of a fucking cunt on you, bitch, if you think you can keep four rock stars pleased.”
No one could sling an insult like another woman. It was fucking sad, really.
“Itisone hell of a cunt, thanks for noticing,” I said as pleasantly as I could. “Though it is rather sore right now after Rhett tongue fucked it…” I turned to him. “What was it, twenty times today? God, it’s hard to keep track.”
He chuckled, before he stepped in front of me, not completely blocking me, but keeping me in a position of safety. Angelo did the same, and I saw the way his hand rested near the spot he always carried his gun. Bellerose’s regular security might still be in their car across the way, but with Angelo, I still felt safe.
“You’re just the slut of the hour,” the other chick said with a shake of her head. “I wouldn’t get too comfortable in their beds. Rock stars tell everyone they love them, and it’s all just for the puss—”
Rhett brushed her aside, shutting her off mid-sentence, and she burst into tears almost immediately. “How fucking dare you touch me,” she shouted.
His entire expression went hard, and when he turned toward her, she shrunk back, her friend running to protectively stand at her friend’s side. “Security cameras captured everything,” Rhett said, his voice scarier than I’d ever heard. “If you try to spin this any other way to the media, I will destroy your life. I have the money, time, and the power to do just that. Consider this before you make your next move.”
She let out an angry screech before throwing her phone right at his head. My cry was lost in the noise, but thankfully Rhett managed to catch the device and drop it to the ground before we started to move again, leaving them crying off to the side of the path.
As the adrenaline died off, I realized I was more shaken than I’d expected from that little interaction. “Is it always like this with your fans?” Angelo asked gruffly. “They’re both persistent and fucking psycho.”
Rhett let out a long breath, keeping his hand firmly wrapped around mine as we made it into the car park. “It’s been worse lately, with all the drama and the Dirty Truths blog, but yeah, a lot of the time they think of us as their property. Like, a piece of fucking meat they can manipulate how they will. It sucks that we can’t make music without the other shit getting in the way.”
He sounded tired, and I didn’t like that sound from my sweet knight.
I wanted to comfort him, but we did need to get to the car before those chicks recovered and did something even stupider. Of course, as I had that thought, a flash went off almost right in front of our faces as a pap jumped out from between two parked cars, shouting, “Rhett, do you have a statement about the recent article stating that Billie Bellerose is causing the band to break up?”
Another flash in our faces, and Rhett let out a low roar before he swung back suddenly and punched the man right in the face. The camera shattered to the ground as the guy fell back, shouting out in what I had to guess was shock and pain.
“Don’t fucking come near us again,” Rhett spat, standing over the top of him. “And never mention Billie. She holds us together, not the other way around.”
I was thrown over Rhett’s shoulder in the next second as he took off jogging, Angelo following behind, and it didn’t escape my notice that he had his gun in his hand now. Any other celebrity drawing a gun to deal with press and rude fans would seem like they’re totally lost the plot, but given how many times our lives had been at risk lately? Yeah, it was understandable. Who knew when our enemies would disguise themselves as fansorpress?
Fucking hell. The night had started out so well, and yet the ending was more fucked up than I could have imagines. This life of fame and fortune wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, and I wondered if this was my reality from now on.
This was the reason Jace wanted to make a statement to calm some of this crazy down, but here tonight, seeing all of this, I wondered if it was just too late.
The tidal wave had started, and we could do nothing but stand on the shore and get swept up in the crash.
seventeen
BILLIE
The fallout from our mini-golf trip was insane. Not only had Grayson lost his shit at our security that had failed to intervene when the paparazzo showed up—they’d been on their phones in the car, not even looking our way—but also because the photographer filed charges against Rhett.
Brenda and the Bellerose legal team went back and forth with the photographer’s lawyer until it was finally resolved when the guy agreed to drop assault charges if Rhett replaced his camera. And made a public apology. Slick fuck just wanted his five minutes of fame, and he got it when Brenda dragged Rhett out on camera to saysorry.
Not a single person who knew Rhett would have believed his apology, though. Though the words were scripted, his meaning was crystal clear. He wasn’t sorry, and hewoulddo it again.
I got so caught up in that whole saga I nearly forgot about going to dinner with Jace’s family until the day they got into town. He reminded me after breakfast, then I spent the day stressing out over what to wear.
“You look beautiful, Prickles,” Grayson reassured me as I checked the mirror for the hundredth time that evening. He was reclining on my bed, having quietly watched me get ready for my dinner. “But there’s one little thing I’d change, if I can?”
I spun around, panicked. “What? Is it the lipstick? It’s too much, right? Too bright? I should have gone with nude.”
Grayson smiled, crooking his fingers to beckon me closer. “The lipstick is perfect, baby girl. You’re perfect. But I wanted to help Jace out… I know he’s a bit stressed about seeing his parents.”
When I stopped at the edge of the bed, Grayson sat up. His hands pushed the skirt of my knee-length green dress up, and I moaned in protest. “Gray, I don’t have time to—”
