Staying For Ever
Prologue
Everly
“Get the fuck out of here, Everly. You don’t belong here.” His grip on my biceps cuts off circulation. His face is so close I can see the dark indigo ring around his irises. With a slight shake, he turns, shoves me backwards and releases me.
I stumble back to get my footing and try to reconcile the person before me with the one I think I know. I don’t know him. Every line of his face is as familiar as my own, but I don’t recognize the man in front of me or the rage oozing off him.
Before I can utter a word, he growls, “Leave. Before I throw you out.” His fury scorches, like standing too close to a fire.
I take an involuntary step backwards, the door handle pressing into my spine.
“Don’t make me, Everly. I swear I’ll do it.”
I reach for the handle and unlatch the door without turning around. I track him as I ease it open enough to slip through, my eyes bouncing between his. If I turn my back, I fear he’ll pounce—like a wild animal stalking its prey.
As soon as I’m through the door, he slams it shut, rattling it on its hinges. I stare at the woodgrain patterns for a beat, maybe two, willing my brain to kick in, to think, to figure out how to stop him before it’s too late. A shot, then a crash from the other side of the door pierces the momentary quiet.Think, Everly.I can’t think.Julian!My knees threaten to buckle.
I reach into my back pocket for my phone and pull up the number I’ve hadjust in case. I’ve never used it and wasn’t sure I’d ever want to. I tap call. It rings once, twice. On the third ring I hear the voice I remember so well—too well now.
“Hey, Everly.”
“I didn’t know who else to call.”
“What happened?”
“They . . . He . . . I can’t stop him.”
“Send me your location. I’m on my way.”
Chapter 1
Everly
One Month Earlier
“Everly?”
The voice sends adrenaline pulsing through my veins, an electrical shock to every nerve ending. So much for my leisurely stroll through Pepperdine’s library before I catch my flight back to Blue Lake. Turning, my hand frozen on the door handle, I fake a smile at a face I haven’t seen in months. That she’s here in Malibu, on this campus, is strange and frankly unbelievable.
“Taya. Hi. What are you doing here?” I force the smile to stay as I ask. But she asks the same thing at the same time, so my nervous laugh is real.
“What are you doing here?” Laughing, she answers, “I go here. Law school.”
“Ah, I didn’t know.” I nod, still smiling. My face is plastic.
“No, why would you?” Her smile is kind, friendly. “My parents went here, my dad’s dad. Not sure I had a choice.” Her self-deprecating laugh makes me try harder.
I laugh nervously again, annoyingly. “I, uh, had some content filming here in Malibu and decided to spend my last couple hours here in the library before I fly home. It’s my favorite place on campus and why I wanted to come here.” She didn’t ask, but I’m trying to make conversation. “Ashley—his studio is close by. I motion in the general direction of his house, but I realize too late she may not even know who Ashley is.
“Right. I remember Jay—Julian saying that. How . . . how is he? And you? The business?”
“Great. All good.” She’s nodding at my answer.Could this conversation be more awkward?
“Well, I won’t keep you. Good seeing you, Everly. Tell J—Julian hi for me.”
“Of course. Take care, Taya. Uh, good luck with . . . law school.”Painful!That whole exchange was painful. Just as I pull the door open to walk inside, a male voice calls her name. An angry male voice. I’m already through the doors, so I let it close behind me but turn to peer through the reflective privacy glass, knowing I can’t be seen.
