Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
Moana tapped her fingers on the counter in the small kitchenette of the two-bedroom suite that Piper and Jaden had insisted on upgrading—and paying for—in the heart of downtown Nashville. It was one of the finest hotels off the strip, and Moana wouldn’t have ever dreamed of splurging on something so extravagant for herself.
However, not only did she not want to insult her friends, but she didn’t want to share a single room, even if it had two beds, with the sexy Bowie for two nights. It had been a struggle as it was not to sneak into his bedroom last night and strip down to nothing in hopes he wouldn’t be the one rejecting her this time.
The coffee machine gurgled as it spit out the last drops of her oversized coffee. She’d allowed herself to sleep in as long as she could. Then she took a nice long hot bath while she practiced her songs in the privacy of the bigger of the two rooms, thanks to the fact that Bowie was indeed a gentleman.
She glanced over her shoulder. She’d heard him milling about a couple of hours ago. He’d texted her a few times, and she’d responded, telling him she would take her sweet time before showing her face. That it was all part of her ritual.
Not entirely a lie.
Singing in front of a small crowd didn’t faze her when it was for fun. She could handle a honky-tonk. Or even the Riverside stage. However, a big venue would make her break out in hives. She wasn’t cut out to be a star. That had never been her end game, something Piper understood all too well. So did Jaden.
But singing to sell a song was one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do in her career. If she didn’t love it so much, and if it didn’t bring in such a solid paycheck, she might not do it at all. However, she had to admit every time she heard one of her songs on the radio, a sense of pride filled her soul. Making people forget their troubles through music, even if for only a few minutes, made her happy.
She took her coffee and brought it into the small family room and turned on the television, keeping the volume low. She found an old romantic comedy she’d seen a thousand times but loved. It would help her keep her mind off what she needed to do in a few hours.
Snagging her phone, she glanced at the screen and groaned.
Five texts from Rosco.
All asking if he could see her after the show. Or before the show. Or have breakfast. Or all three. And a few weird things in between.
She sighed.
Moana: He’s texted…
She’d promised Bowie she’d let him know if she heard from Rosco, so she made good on her word.
Seconds later, Bowie’s bedroom door flung open. He raced to the sofa, wearing only a pair of jeans, not completely fastened, bare feet, and smelling like fresh pine. He ran his hand through his wet hair. “Can I see the texts?”
“Sure.” She handed Bowie her cell.
“It’s strange that Jaden and Mano haven’t been able to find him. They thought maybe he could be out of town, but now this?” He plopped down on the sofa and stared at the texts. “He really does believe there is something between the two of you.”
“How do you get that from a few texts asking me to meet him?”
Bowie shifted. “First off, it’s not so much the request to get together, because he’s not really asking; he’s assuming that you will.” He raised the electronic device and pointed. “He says here that he’s looking forward to seeing you, spending time with you, sharing a drink after your set, and making sure you get home safely.”
“Yeah. That’s weird.”
“And this one.” Bowie ran his finger across her phone. “He states that he understands that something came up and that he knows it must have been about family and that’s why you had to leave town.” Bowie arched a brow. “He mentions how all your friends have been worried, but he’s assured them that he’s been in touch and that you’re fine and are back. That perhaps a nice breakfast at his place with everyone would be just the thing you need.”
“Okay. That’s strange, even for him.”
Bowie set the phone on her lap. “I did a deep dive into his social media.”
“That’s gross.”
“Believe me, I know.” Bowie nodded. “Thing is, it wasn’t easy. Everything is set to private. But once the people at the Brotherhood Protects hacked in, I saw some disturbing shit.” He tapped her knee. “Hang tight.” He leaped up from the sofa and padded off back to his bedroom, returning less than a minute later, computer in hand. “Look at this.”
She gasped. “That image is not real.” She swallowed, staring at a picture of herself with Rosco. His arm was looped around her waist and the caption read: Hanging with my girl at the Country Fans Festival. “I mean, that’s me and that was taken at the festival. But with Kenny. I actually still have the image on my phone. Where was that posted?”
“A private group on Facebook. I think it’s just him, his family, and some friends,” Bowie said. “And there are more like that. On his personal profile and other social media accounts.”
“How did I miss this?”
Bowie rested his hand on her thigh and squeezed. “For starters, he only started posting this shit a couple of months ago. You’re never mentioned by name and not tagged. It’s private and technically not searchable, so I couldn’t find them with a basic Google search. But Darius got in.”
She leaned back and covered her eyes with her forearm. “I can’t deal with this. All I want to do is make some cash, help my dad get better, and find my sister.”
Bowie lifted her arm, holding her gaze. “Will you call that cop you spoke to a while back and file a restraining order? That will prevent him from being allowed access to the show tonight. It will also make it impossible for him to enter this hotel without being arrested. It will drive the point home. Then tomorrow, we hop on a plane. Jaden will keep tabs on Rosco, but we can focus on finding Kalena.”
“I’m ready to do that.” She should have done it sooner. “I feel foolish.”
“Why?”
“Because I understand I should have done it earlier.” She sighed. “I had this thought in my head that if I did, and he really was a creeper, I would end up as the subject of a documentary after he slaughtered me. But if I didn’t, he would bother me for a while, get bored, and go away.”
“While that’s totally skewed thinking, I understand why your thoughts went that direction,” Bowie said. “Especially after deciding to move back to Hawaii, so stop beating yourself up over this. Nothing bad is going to happen to you. It will be on record if he tries this with someone else.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll go call that police officer now.” Bowie took her chin with his thumb and forefinger, kissing her softly.
She grabbed his bare shoulders, digging her nails into his hard flesh, parting his lips with her tongue and sucking his into her mouth in a wild, fiery tango. Every nerve ending in her body exploded as if she were being hurled toward the sky as the finale in the Fourth of July fireworks.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, his hands pressing firmly against her back as he slowed her kiss down to something more controlled. More tame. Lulling her back to reality. He palmed her face, kissing her cheek. “I’ll go make that call and then let Mano and Jaden know what we’re up to. After we get the paperwork out of the way, we can order room service or do whatever you need to before your performance.”
“More of that would be nice,” she whispered. She hadn’t meant to say the words aloud. Part of her resented the situation. Hated that she needed Bowie’s help. Or anyone’s for that matter.
But she knew she was in over her head and was grateful Emery had forced her hand. Of course, Jaden wouldn’t have allowed her to go anywhere alone, but there was only so much he could do. He had a family to take care of and truthfully, had it not been for Emery and her big mouth, Mano wouldn’t have cleared his schedule because Moana had been too prideful and too stubborn for her own good.
Not anymore.
She was so damn tired of it all.
She’d lost Kenny—whom she had cared about—because she could never quite get her head out of her ass when it came to her family. Kenny had accused her of being cold and distant during their relationship.
And he wasn’t wrong.
However, that wasn’t the only problem they had with their relationship.
“I’m not opposed.” Bowie ran his finger across her cheek. “Hopefully that cop will be willing to come to us.”
“Detective Harlow is a friend of Jaden’s. I’m sure he will,” Moana said. “He wasn’t thrilled when I wouldn’t go through with it the first time.”
Bowie slipped from the sofa and sauntered back to his room.
She lifted her cell. Her thoughts drifted to her sister. Her birth mother. It was hard for her to accept that fact. The few times she’d spoken to Kalena about it during the rare times she’d been clean, Kalena had been of the same mindset as Moana.
They were sisters, not mother and daughter.
The conversations had lasted less than thirty minutes. Kalena had made it clear that the decisions that were made were best for all parties involved and Moana needed to stop acting as if her world had come to a complete standstill over the truth being exposed.
That it somehow didn’t change anything.
But it changed everything.
And all Moana had wanted was for Kalena to say one thing.
I’m your mother. I gave you up because I loved you.
But Kalena never said those words. Not once.
“I’m on hold.” Bowie returned with his cell in his hand. He was still shirtless and the top of his jeans was still unfastened.
It was a nice distraction from her problems.
But Bowie couldn’t make them go away. Using him for sex wasn’t going to be the answer. It wasn’t fair to do that to him, even if he was a willing participant.
She glanced at her cell.
It was too early to start drinking, which would be a mistake anyway. She had to remain sharp and clearheaded.
“This is Detective Maxwell Harlow. Who am I speaking with and how can I help you?”
“Yes, thank you,” Bowie said. “My name is Bowie Colson. I’m a friend of Moana Kahale and we were hoping you could swing by with some restraining order papers for her sign regarding Rosco Altman.”
“That’s interesting. Why isn’t she calling me to do this and I had been told by a mutual friend that she’d left town.”
Bowie glanced her direction and nodded.
“Hi, Max,” she said. “I’m only here for a few days, but Rosco has been pestering me and not just since I returned yesterday.”
“What has he done this time?” Max asked.
“It might be better if we show you,” Bowie said. “It’s a bit disturbing between the text messages and some things we uncovered with his social media, but you should also know, I have some friends looking for him, and we can’t find him anywhere in this town.”
“I’ll deal with the last part of that statement later,” Max said. “We’ve looked at his accounts. They are private. We never had enough to get a warrant to open them and without the restraining order in place, we couldn’t push. How did you get inside?”
“That’s a long story,” Bowie said. “You should know that I’m a Navy SEAL. I have friends in high places.”
“I guess it’s safe to say that what you did might not be legal and I can’t use it?”
Bowie raked his hand across the top of his head. “That might be correct.”
“I’m not thrilled about knowing that, but I’ll come by and look at anything new and use what I can,” Max said. “Now, would it also be safe to assume that it’s Jaden Sawyer who is looking for Rosco?”
“That would be correct. But we didn’t want to raise any major red flags, so Jaden hasn’t been asking around town for him.”
“Well, I appreciate that, because one could consider it harassment,” Max said with a slight chuckle. “Moana, I will need you to respond to any new message and firmly tell him to leave you alone. I will need you to tell him to stop contacting you. Not to come see you. All that. I know you’ve done it before, but we need you to do it again if I’m going to be able to have a leg to stand on with this restraining order.”
Bowie reached across her and tapped her phone. “She’s doing it right now.”
“Will you be able to stop him from coming to the café tonight?” Moana asked.
“I don’t know,” Max said. “This is why I wanted you to do this a few months ago. It all depends on if what he’s been doing lately can be considered harassment. We’ve discussed this before. He’s never harmed you, so it’s not the same as if this were domestic violence. And because I probably can’t even consider what’s behind his private accounts, which I shouldn’t even look at, we might have to wait until he shows up and does something.”
“I was afraid you might say something like that.” Bowie let out a long breath.
“That’s not what you said before.” Moana glared.
“Because I was hoping the detective had enough from before.” Bowie glanced toward the ceiling. “Max—is it okay that I call you that?”
“Sure,” Max said.
“Any chance you can be at the café tonight if we can’t get our ducks in a row with this restraining order this afternoon?”
“I can get him a ticket.” Moana nodded.
“I will make that happen,” Max said. “Text me your location. I can be there in forty-five minutes.”
“Thank you, Max. I know I should have listened to you and I appreciate all your help.” Moana lifted her phone with a shaky hand. She’d never been good at being a bitch, except for where her family had been concerned. With them, she was an expert at having a laser-sharp tongue. She knew how to hurt them in the worst way, and she did it often.
She wanted to stop, but most days she didn’t know how.
“You’re doing it now,” Max said. “See you soon.” The line went dead.
“I don’t even know what to say.” She stared at the screen and shivered. While she struggled to believe that Rosco would ever hurt her, those pictures Bowie had shown her proved that Rosco had a screw loose.
“It’s simple.” Bowie rested his hand on her thigh. “Tell Rosco that you don’t want to see him. Tell him to stop texting. Calling. And that he’s not welcome anywhere near you and that if he doesn’t stop, you will file a restraining order. That you’ve already spoken to the police.”
Moana: Please stop texting me. We aren’t a couple. We aren’t even friends. You’ve crossed a line and it has to stop. I don’t want to see you. Ever. I’m asking you nicely not to come to the café. I’ve contacted the police about filing a restraining order. If this continues, I will do it. Stay away.
“How’s this?” She handed Bowie her phone.
He nodded. “That works. Send it.”
She blew out a puff of air, hit send, and then boldly snuggled up next to Bowie, even though she’d told herself she wouldn’t use him. But holding on to him for strength wasn’t sex. It was simply comfort. She wasn’t going to kiss him or let him do anything other than hold her, and right now, that’s what she needed.
Her cell buzzed.
She jumped.
Bowie snatched it from her fingertips.
“Did Rosco respond?” She closed her eyes.
“Yeah.” Bowie kissed her temple. “He’s a real piece of work, this one.”
“What did he say?”
“Don’t be that way. I don’t understand why you’re so upset. I know we haven’t seen each other in a while and you’ve been going through some stuff with your family ? —”
She pushed upright. “What the hell does he know about my family? I’ve never spoken to him about them.”
“Did you come home when your dad first had his stroke?”
“I did.”
“Who knew about that?”
“People I work with. Jaden and Piper. My ex, Kenny and his new girlfriend, who happens to be a friend of mine. But outside of that, no one really.”
“He’s obsessed with you. He could have found out,” Bowie said. “Do you want me to read the rest?”
She nodded.
“…stuff with your family. I want to be there for you. Lean on me. It’s what I’m here for. I’ll see you tonight and we can talk all this through.”
“So, he’s coming anyway.”
“Might work to our advantage.”
“I don’t see how.” Moana rested her head on Bowie’s shoulder.
He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close.
“This is my livelihood. Without the sale of these songs, I don’t know how I’m going to pay for my dad’s rehab and nurses. But I’m not going to be able to focus on my performance with that asshole there.” She should tell Bowie about the song his name bore. He was going to be sitting in that audience when she sang it. If he, by chance, stepped away at all, he’d hear about it anyway. Explaining to him why she’d done it would be the right thing to do, but she couldn’t get her brain to bring the words to her lips.
“Jaden told me the songs are all but sold.” His fingers danced up and down her arm like a breeze floating in from the ocean. “I will be there. Mano, Jaden, and Piper will be. And a cop will be there to deal with Rosco. Hopefully, we can get him to leave before you even go up on that stage.”
“This is too much to even think about. I want to lose myself in something so I can forget all about it.” She lifted her gaze, staring into his cool eyes. “I’m a horrible human for wanting to use you like that.”
He tucked her hair behind her ear. “I must not be a wonderful person, because I’d let you.” He kissed her nose. “While it could certainly be done in less than thirty minutes, that’s not how I want to be with you. Besides, Mano would toss me into a volcano if he found out.”
She laughed. “In his eyes, no one is good enough for me, but he likes military guys. And his bark is worse than his bite.”
“Somehow, I doubt that.” He rose, taking her hand. “How about I make you something to eat while we wait for Max. After we take care of that, we can figure out something to do to take your mind off everything that is happening.”
She stood, pressing her hand against the center of her chest. “When you parade around without a shirt on and your jeans aren’t completely fastened, there’s only one thing I want to do.”
He glanced down, quickly hooking the button through the hole. “I’ll go put on a shirt.”
“I didn’t say I minded.”
He groaned. “Now you know how I felt the other night when all you had on was that tiny little shirt and shorts.” He squeezed her hip, slowly raising his hand, slipping it under her shirt, gliding it across her bare skin. “For the record, these are perfect.” He palmed her breast over her flimsy bra, fanning his thumb across her nipple. “Perhaps a little too perfect.” He removed his hand and strolled, once again, back to his room, leaving her standing there, breathless.
No one had ever told her those were perfect.
Not even Kenny, though he never complained about their size, and he was more of an ass man. If she pressed him, his nose crinkled, and that was answer enough.