Page 213 of Toxic Kiss

Cyrus: Are you fucking kidding me? Who the hell will believe that shit? We have a jail sex tape all over the place. If anyone abducted anyone, it was me. What the hell is my mother thinking?

Vex: No idea, man. You need to stop her before someone takes her seriously.

“Jesus-fucking-Christ.”

Leave it to my mother to do something insane. This is exactly why I fired her as my manager three years ago. All she does is lie to get her way. The final straw was when she tried to get the band to split so I’d go solo without them. Now, here she is again, interfering in shit that doesn’t concern her.

Cyrus: Auguste is letting her get away with this?

Vex: They aren’t speaking at the moment. You’ve missed a lot since the crazy bitch locked you up. We got Declan fired. He’s been banging your mother and feeding her information.

What?

My phone vibrates with another message, and I’m almost afraid to look.

Vex: The asshole is pitching a tell-all about the band, your addiction, and his affair with your mother. Auguste has already filed for divorce and is suing Declan for violating his NDA. All concerts for the next two weeks have been rescheduled. Dude, a bomb has gone off. On top of all that, Auguste is desperate to reach Haven. She’s not responding, so he’s on the warpath.

Cyrus: Can you stall everyone for a day or two?

Vex: Done. We don’t know where you are. Haven wanted to get you away for a few days. That’s all she told us before she picked you up.

I chuckle at that.

Cyrus: Good, keep it that way and keep the fucking cops out of it. Show them this text. I’m fucking fine. Leave me alone to fuck my fiancée.

Vex: LOL! Well, that will certainly be fun. I’m sure the police will appreciate the confirmation of you and your cock’s well-being.

Cyrus: I’m turning off my phone again.

Vex: Later.

I don’t bother to look at anything else before I shut it off.

“Fuck,” I growl, running my hand through my hair.

“What?”

Whipping around, I see Haven standing just inside the sliding glass door. She looks concerned, and I debate telling her to give us one more day without all the other drama.

Haven points at me.

“Don’t”

“Don’t what?”

“I see you scheming and thinking up a lie. Don’t lie to me.”

Fuck she knows me too well. I tell her part of it for now.

“My mother has gone to the police. She is claiming you kidnapped me.”

I smile, trying to make light of it.

Haven rolls her eyes.

“What do you expect, Cy? You’ve let her make up ridiculous lies for years.”

She stomps away, and I follow her down the hall and up the stairs.