“Yo, Tweedle-Slut and Tweedle-Skank, get the hell out. We have the right to refuse service, and you two walking STDs just got yourselves banned from Bernie’s for life.”
“Listen, bitch,” the blonde started, but the bell over the door chimed, cutting her off. I glanced up to find Ian moving in my direction, his expression as hard as rock.
“You two, out,” he ordered, pointing at the two girls. Then he growled, “Now,” when neither of them moved quick enough. That tone and his size were enough to send them running.
Once the café was clear of customers, he turned back to me. “We gotta go.”
I got my bearings enough to talk. “What the fuck is going on, Ian? Those girls said things….” I gave my head a vicious shake. “They knew things they shouldn’t know.”
“You haven’t seen it?” Gina asked, drawing my attention.
“Seen what?”
Her gaze grew sympathetic as she pulled her cell out of the pocket of her apron. “Babe, you’re all over the Internet. There’s even a hashtag. #GarrettWildersBabyMama. It’s trending.” She winced.
“What?” I shouted at the top of my lungs. I snatched the phone from her hand and started scrolling through the pictures on the site Gina had pulled up. There were countless photos of me with Garrett at the award ceremony, each and every one of them stating my name. Christ, they even had my high school yearbook photo. But that wasn’t the worst of it. Beneath half the article about me were two photos that sent chills up my spine.
I shoved the phone in Ian’s face. “How the fuck did they get these?” I demanded to know, waving the pictures of Liddy at Ian accusingly. One was of my monkey smiling up at the camera with a big chocolate-covered smile on her face as the ice cream cone in her hand melted all over the place. The second was of me holding her in my arms, both of us cheesing it up as Liddy’sbirthday balloons floated in the background. “These pictures aremine. No one has copies. They’re in frames in my bedroom, for Christ’s sake!”
He held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Gwen, just calm down—”
“Don’t tell me to calm down!” I screamed. “Tell me what thefuckis going on, Ian!”
“Okay,” he sighed, rubbing one hand over the top of his head. “We don’t know who leaked it or why, but this morning a story hit with yours and Liddy’s names and pictures.”
“Oh my God.” I placed a trembling hand on my forehead. I felt like I was about to pass out.
“We’ll find out who did this, Gwen, and we’ll fix it. I promise. The article’s nothing but lies anyway.”
“Wait… what?” I turned the phone around and began reading. I’d barely gotten halfway through when one paragraph in particular made my blood run cold.
“A source close to the rock star confirmed that Mr. Wilder was extremely upset when he realized Gwen Carson had gone to such lengths for financial gain, but he’s determined to make it work for the sake of his child. It is said he will do anything to guarantee his daughter grows up in a stable environment. Miss Carson is believed to have used the child in question as a pawn to live the lifestyle she deems satisfactory, and that the drummer for the world-renowned rock band Civil Corruption is trapped in a loveless relationship with a woman he despises all because he wants to be a good father.”
“Give me that,” Gina said, snatching the phone from my hand. “You don’t need to read that bullshit. You know as well as I do that none of that’s true. I saw how he was with you.”
I only had eyes for Ian as I cried out, “Are youfucking kidding me!”
“Gwen, like I said—”
“You knowexactlywho did this, Ian. And you know why! That bitch would do anything to hurt me and get her claws into Garrett!” My vision went red with rage. I wanted to find Kimber and wring her fucking neck.
“Garrett’s going to make this right. I swear.”
A hysterical laugh bubbled up from my throat. “Make it right? How? Please, tell me how he couldpossiblymake this right? They’re saying I’m a bad mother. It’s trending, for Christ’s sake!”
He took a step closer to the counter, watching me like I was a wild animal about to escape its cage. “Look, we can discuss this more, but we need to do it later. I’ve been instructed to get you and Liddy back to the house. Garrett’s catching a flight from New York as we spea—”
“Oh God,” I breathed, interrupting him. “Liddy.”
I ran from behind the counter toward the door with Ian hot on my heels. He caught up before I made it to my car and led me to the passenger side of an SUV with tinted windows idling at the curb.
I wrung my hands in my lap and chewed anxiously on my bottom lip as Ian drove to the daycare, breaking every speed limit along the way.
“Shit,” he hissed as we pulled up along the front of the building. I followed his line of sight and noticed a crowd of people milling about on the sidewalk across the street from the daycare.
“Are those—?”
He shut the engine off and faced me full-on. “Just keep your head down and move quick, okay? Hopefully we can get in and out without them noticing.”
