29. Audrey
29
AUDREY
The door slammed against the wall as three hulking guys shoved their way through.
“I’m just saying, none of this would have happened if you hadn’t decided to put on the damn parachute! It’s bad luck!”
“Bad luck? Max was flying. I think in light of recent events, we can all agree that wearing a parachute in the plane with him is perfectly acceptable.”
“It’s a jinx. It’s like asking for the plane to go down.”
“It didn’t go down. You’re overreacting.”
“It was just a little engine trouble, and it’s all fixed now.”
“Sure, you say that, but what happens when we board the plane again? Do you really feel safe? How do we know this isn’t our last night on earth?”
I stared at them with wide eyes as Spencer gripped my hand tightly beside me. When we came to sit in the living room with some coffee, we didn’t exactly picture three men walking through the door, talking about all the ways they were going to die.
A loud whistle pierced the air, followed by a petite woman who shook her head at all of them. “Can you all stop? Geez, it was bad enough I had to listen to it on the flight.”
She did a double-take when she saw Spencer and me sitting on the couch. “Oh my gosh! You’re Audrey. You’re actually here!” She rushed over to me and sat down beside me, grinning at me like I was her new best friend. “When I told Zoe I was flying out to see you, she was so jealous.”
“Um…thanks?”
“No problem,” she laughed. “God, this is so surreal. Not that you’re better than meeting God. That would be weird to think about.” She frowned, then smiled up at me again, shoving her hand out for me to take. “I’m Christa. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Audrey.”
“I knew that,” she laughed again. “Sorry, I’m not usually like this. Normally, I’m much calmer, but this is my first time meeting a celebrity.”
“Hey!” one of the men said, a frown filling his face. “What about Anna?”
Christa glanced over her shoulder, barely sparing him a look. “Anna doesn’t like being famous. Besides, she’s not in movies anymore.”
“Okay, then what about Juliette?”
“Juliette hardly does any modeling,” the woman argued. “Again, she’s done with the whole fame thing. But Audrey, she’s still in the business.”
“Still,” the man grumbled, kicking his toe on the ground like a toddler. “Just doesn’t seem right you would push aside all your friends like that.”
Christa rolled her eyes, turning back to me. “Anyway, I’m Christa, and that,” she said, pointing at a man in a straw hat with a cigar sticking out of his mouth, “is my husband Max. He’s a pilot.”
“The one who almost got you killed?” I asked.
“I wasn’t nearly sober enough to get them killed,” he grumbled. “Trust me, if that was my plan, I wouldn’t have had a drop of liquor this morning.”
She grinned at him, then pointed to the man who was kicking the floor with his toe. “That’s Fox. He’s married to Anna.” She held her hand up to her mouth to whisper. “Anna Brooks.”
My eyebrows shot up at that, and then my eyes darted over to the man. “You’re married to Anna Brooks? The actress who took out the man who tried to kill her?” Holy shit, that woman was my idol.
“She’s pretty badass,” he grinned.
I studied him for a moment, the quirky grin on his face and the dangerous look in his eyes that bordered on psychotically playful. This was the man who took Anna Brooks away from her seemingly charmed life in Hollywood, and saved her from a killer.
A shiver raced over my body at the sight of him. Yeah, I could definitely see the appeal. And then he pulled out something that looked suspiciously like weeds out of a tin from his back pocket and started chewing on them.
Okay, maybe not so appealing.
“And that’s FNG. He’s married to Honey— she was some kind of cartel princess. We’ve never gotten the full story because he can’t manage to finish telling any of them.”
“That’s not fair,” FNG growled. “If you didn’t keep asking questions, I could get through a story.”
“Yeah?” Christa said, turning to face him. “Then tell us right now what really happened in Cuba.”
FNG let out a mocking laugh. “Like you could handle what happened in Cuba.”
“Try us.”
“Alright,” Thumper said, walking into the room. “As much as we’d all love to hear another unfinished story by FNG, we have a few more important things to think about.”
“Right, the whole famous actors on the run thing,” Fox said, now munching on Funyuns.
Where the hell did he get a bag of Funyuns?
“Spencer, Audrey. This is Max, Fox, and FNG,” he said, pointing to each of them. “And the woman next to you is Christa.”
“We’ve met,” I smiled, grateful that I wasn’t completely surrounded by men. “So, these are the men coming with us to California?”
Thumper nodded. “They’ll be working security with us.”
“And on that thrilling note, I think Audrey and I will leave you to it.”
Spencer grabbed my uninjured hand and tugged me to my feet. I already knew what was coming. I’d seen the look in his eyes since breakfast. I didn’t argue as he guided me out of the room and down the hall, closing the door behind us.
“Alright, lay it on me,” I sighed, slumping down on the bed.
“How’s your hand?” he asked, his voice nothing more than a whisper.
“It’s not bad. Hurts, but the salve is really helping with the pain. And IRIS gave me some medicine, so all in all, it could have been worse.”
I tried and failed to pull off a real smile. Spencer sat down beside me, his shoulders slumping as he took my hand in his. He turned it over, tracing his finger around the bandage.
“Audrey, that could have been so bad. What if?—”
“I didn’t see him turn on the burner,” I blurted out. “And I didn’t realize I was that close to the stove. It was a stupid mistake.”
“You need to be more careful. This isn’t going to get any better.”
Anger surged through me as he reminded me once again of how serious my condition was. “I know that. I’m reminded of it every day when I open my eyes and there’s a big blank spot where I used to see the world. I don’t need it shoved in my face!”
“Audrey, that’s not?—”
“You don’t have to deal with this,” I snapped. “I know you care about me, but it’s not you losing your vision. It’s me! Everything is crumbling beneath my feet, and there are going to be times I’ll make mistakes. I can’t be perfect like you.”
He flinched back as if I had struck him. God, my anger was so out of control right now. Spencer was nothing but good to me, and I was lashing out at him for pointing out the obvious.
“Spencer, I’m?—”
“It’s fine,” he said stiffly, getting to his feet. “I know you didn’t mean it.”
“That doesn’t excuse it,” I mumbled, already feeling the tears burning at the back of my eyes.
He tugged me against his chest, blowing out a long breath as he rested his chin on my head. “Hey, we all have rough days. You’re just having a few more of them at the moment than anyone else.”
“I didn’t mean it,” I repeated. “I know you’re only looking out for me. You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know.”
“Maybe that’s the problem.”
I looked up at him, taking a step back. “What?”
“It’s just…we both know every step of what’s happening and what will happen in the future. But you’re the only one going through it.”
“It’s not just me,” I argued. “You’re going through it with me. You’ve been there through everything, taking me to appointments and reading up on everything that?—”
“And maybe that’s the issue.”
My heart clenched at his words. I didn’t like where he was going with this. “What are you saying?”
He flinched at the anger in my voice. “I’m saying maybe it’s time you let someone else in. Someone who doesn’t know the outcome of every single thing you do. Someone who won’t remind you all the time of what could happen or what you should have done.”
“Spencer—”
“You should tell him.”
I already knew who he was talking about, but that was impossible. There was no way I would tell him something so personal when things between us were chaotic and uncertain.
“You know I can’t do that. I haven’t even told the studio yet.”
“All the more reason to let him in.”
I barked out a laugh at the ridiculous suggestion. “So he can tell the studio?”
“Why are you so certain he would say anything?”
“Because it seems like something he would be honor-bound to do.”
“Do you really believe that?”
I didn’t know. I turned away from him, gnawing on my lip as I thought it over. Truthfully, I didn’t know if he would tell the studio or not, but it wasn’t a risk I was willing to take.
“It doesn’t matter if I trust him or not. This involves both of us. I can’t take the chance that this gets out before we discuss all our options with the lawyers. We need to be prepared for whatever happens, and I won’t risk your career by bringing someone else into this.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I said without a moment’s hesitation. “Spencer, there is no way I would repay all the kindness you’ve shown me by destroying your career. Besides, I have no idea what this thing is with Baldy.”
His lips quirked up. “Back to Baldy?”
“Slider,” I rolled my eyes. “Either nickname is weird, okay?”
“He wouldn’t say anything. I have a good feeling.”
“Good feelings can still screw you over,” I pointed out. “We deal with this together. We talk to the lawyer first. Only then will we even think of letting anyone else know.”
“My mother knows,” he argued.
“Your mother is the kindest person on the face of the earth, and more of a parent to me than my own mother.”
Pain sliced through my chest at the admission. It never really hurt to say that, but then again, I just found out Ginger was dead. That made things a little clearer in my mind.
“If you’re sure.”
I ignored the concerned look on his face. I knew what he was thinking—about how by not telling Slider, he would see it as pushing him away. I was well aware of what could happen when Slider found out, but that wasn’t something I could help. The fact was, I’d been dealing with this for a long time, and I wasn’t about to spill my personal life to a man I’d met just a week ago. If it was just me, I could make that decision for myself. But I had Spencer to think about, and no matter what he said, there was no way I’d risk his career after all he’d sacrificed for me.
“I’m positive. This is the way it needs to be.”