Chapter 21
Twenty-One
Ella
Throughout my entire time cleaning at Dorado Terrace, all I can think is, I am not a detective .
Still, I have some information. The supposed assault happened after a show…after Sebastian’s last show, Trina said. And the woman’s name was Alyssa. As I run the vacuum cleaner over the hallway carpets, I begin to formulate a plan.
During my break, I take out my phone. And I do the one thing I’ve been resisting since finding out that my Sebastian is Bastian Crown: I do a search for his name.
The number of results is staggering. They come in the form of images and articles, videos, and links to his music on various streaming services.
I’m not sure how I feel about seeing his face on my phone like this, the images grabbed by photographers and reporters and paparazzi.
He’s given so much of himself over to the public.
I gaze at the top image in the search. He’s so freaking handsome, it shouldn’t be possible. And yet here he is, those hazel-eyes, that princely beard, those drool-worthy tattoos, plastered all over the world, for all to witness.
Lucky world.
And lucky me, that he’s mine.
Is he really going to share the story about Alyssa with this world that, up until now, has done nothing but adore him? What about Alyssa’s privacy? Surely if he tells everyone that it happened, reporters are going to start looking for her. Did he consider that?
With shaking hands, I send him a text. If you make a statement, everyone is going to go looking for the woman…please consider whether she would want this publicity .
He doesn’t write back immediately, so I return to my searching, narrowing down the results by looking for “last show” and “last concert.” The article that pops up is titled, “Where is Bastian Crown?” and references the last year he was active, although I can’t find the exact date of his last show.
It’s been almost seven years. All that time for Sebastian, a talented musician who seems to love performing, to hide from the stage? Seems cruel.
I’m not sure what else to do. While I stare at the search bar on my phone’s browser, Sebastian texts me back. That’s a good point. I’ll think about it.
He better think about it. I need some time to figure this out. I also need Alyssa’s last name. Sebastian isn’t going to know. Kingston isn’t going to know. But the person who gave Alyssa a non-disclosure agreement to sign—she would know.
Fuck. I’m going to have to call Trina.
My break is over, though, so I return to work while I think about how to approach the woman who, briefly, I considered trusting with my musical aspirations.
She told me to get in touch anytime. She said I could call her—she gave me her card.
So I can do this. I just have to ask for what I want.
As soon as my shift is over, I hustle to put away the cleaning supplies and then pull out my phone and Trina’s business card.
She answers my call immediately. “Ella! Please tell me you’ve had a chance to think it over and you’re ready to sign with me.”
It’s so far from what’s actually happening right now, my head spins. Recovering quickly, though, I lie, “Oh, yes.”
“Oh, that’s fucking fantastic! I’ll get the contract drawn up again.”
“Cool,” I say, “and thank you. I’m really excited.”
“Nervous, too, it sounds like,” she says, likely picking up on my tone.
“A bit,” I say, forcing a smile because I know it’ll change my voice. “I’m sure you see that a lot, though. Who else do you represent, besides Sebastian?”
“Oh, not so many that I won’t have time for you, don’t you worry.”
“Right, but who are they?”
“Let’s see. There’s Cassie Ellis. Also, Church of Fortune—I’m assuming you’ve heard of them.”
“I have, they’re amazing.”
“Rob Feinz. But he hasn’t broken out quite yet. He just signed an amazing deal with a record label, but I can’t share details yet, of course. Honestly, Bastian’s my biggest client, but with the right nurturing, they can all be stars, and I fully expect them to flourish.”
“That’s really great,” I say.
“It is. You’ll be one of my stars, too—I’m so excited! Do you have any other questions for me?”
I pause, gnawing on my lip while I try to come up with a good segue. Fuck it, there is no good segue. “Well, I was wondering…could you give me the name again, of the woman Sebastian harmed? I’d like to speak with her.”
“Why on earth would you want to talk to her?”
“I just…it would help if I could get her side of the story, hear her point of view.”
Trina’s quiet for a moment, and then she says softly, “Look, I understand this is hard for you to swallow, given your relationship with Bastian. But no good can come out of talking to the poor woman.”
“I think it could provide closure,” I say. “For both of them, truly.”
“No,” she says. “I’m not going to do this. I’m protecting both of you—you need to let this go for your own mental health, kiddo. And I’m protecting the woman who Bastian assaulted because she needs to be able to leave the past in the past.”
“I understand,” I say.
“Oh, good. I just don’t want you to waste your time and creative energy on something so old,” she says. “So you’re dropping it?”
“Yeah,” I lie.
“And you’re still ready to sign that agreement with me?”
Shit. I wish I could ignore that. But I don’t want her to think the only reason I was calling was about Sebastian’s past. “Yeah, sure,” I say. “Do you want to email me the contract? I can look it over and sign.”
“I’ll do you one better,” she says, a smile in her voice. “I’ll bring it to you personally. Say, in two days?”
“Oh, I thought you were in New York? Or Nashville?”
“Nashville, but it’s just a plane ride away. These things are best handled in person.”
“Of course,” I say, pretending like I might know what she’s talking about.
“I’ll see you soon,” she says.
“Great!”
The call is over, my phone screen goes dark. I lean my head back against the wall and close my eyes. Damn it all. Not only did I not get the information I needed, but now I’m going to have to fight off Trina’s agent-y advances again.
Because regardless of what may or may not have happened with Sebastian and Alyssa? There’s no way I’ll ever be able to trust this woman.
Kingston
“Kingston, pass me the salt,” Kristin says.
I nudge it toward her, ignoring her sound of exasperation.
She’s been trying to get me to do things for her all through lunch, and I don’t understand it.
In the office, she’s stopped trying to ask for my help all the time, which has been a relief, to be honest. But now she’s trying to give me orders.
Yeah, that isn’t going to fly.
She, Grant, and I are just finishing up a quick lunch at a nice restaurant in downtown San Esteban. I wave at the server and ask her to bring over the bill.
“I’ll cover it this time,” Kristin says, shaking a bit of salt onto her last few bites of potato salad. “You got it last time.”
I shrug. “Thanks.”
“Yeah, thanks,” Grant says.
As soon as we’re all finished, we head out of the restaurant.
A woman’s face catches my attention and I stop dead in my tracks.
“Kingston?” Kristin says. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, you two head back without me. I’ll catch up.”
The woman in question is magnetic. She’s charismatic from her head to her toes.
I can’t see her legs yet, but I know they will end in tiny feet encased in the most expensive high-heeled shoes money can buy.
Her light brown hair falls in a straight sheet down her back, and her blue-green eyes are striking.
Men and women alike stop whatever they’re doing in the restaurant to turn and look at her as she walks past.
And she’s heading straight for me.
I used to be married to this woman.
“Kingston,” she says. “I thought that was you.”
“Hello, Rayanne. What brings you to San Esteban?” I ask. She and her husband live in Clear Springs, about two hours north of here.
“Oh, Joel didn’t tell you?”
She knows very well that Joel and I aren’t speaking.
“Steve and I are moving here,” she says with a tinkling laugh. “We’ve been house hunting this week, but we just found a nice place, so we’ll put in a bid this afternoon.”
Fuck. Fuck . The last thing I need is my ex showing up in all of my favorite places. I’m already wondering how hard it would be to relocate my entire life and business when she lets out another little laugh.
“Was that a girlfriend I saw you with, a moment ago?”
“Coworkers,” I say. Not that it’s her business.
“Oh, she’s quite pretty. I was wondering if that’s the maid, because if so, wow. She cleans up well.”
I don’t have to stand here and listen to her insult my Ella.
“Good luck with the move,” I tell her, and then I turn around and walk the fuck away.
This isn’t going to be good.
Ella
I feel like the entire world is weighing on me by the time I’m done at the pub. And when I step outside? Kingston’s driver is standing at the curb next to a car.
“Hi, Garth,” I say.
He nods and opens the rear door for me. “Hi, Miss Marchand.”
“Call me Ella, please.”
“Ella,” he says, helping me into the car.
Kingston isn’t in the back seat.
“He has to work late,” Garth says, “but he wanted to make sure you had a ride home after a long day.”
Despite wishing Kingston were here, I smile at Garth. “Well, that was friendly.”
I buckle in and lean back for the ride back to my apartment. It isn’t far at all, so in no time, I’m hopping out of the car and waving goodbye to Garth with another thank you .
Then I hurry into my building and up to my apartment. After getting into more comfortable clothes, I take out my phone and dial Kingston.
“Hi, little girl,” Kingston says, his voice a growl.
His voice alone just stirs me all up. Amazing.
“Hey, Daddy,” I say. “Thanks for sending Garth to pick me up. You know you didn’t have to do that, right?”
“I worry about how safe that area is,” he says. “We’re going to have a talk about that soon—you and me and Bash.”
It’s probably an overdue conversation, but wow, I don’t want to have it. But he said “soon,” which means, not right now, so I say, “Well, I have a question for you.”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Sebastian’s cousin found my brother, you said? I wanted to thank her.” It’s the truth—I’d been meaning to, but forgot about it after everything else happened.
“Oh, yeah. Lin Rosewood. Want me to forward her contact info?”
“Yes, thanks,” I say.
He’s quiet, then my phone buzzes and a little banner shows at the top, with Lin’s name and number.
“Now I have a question for you,” he says.
“Okay, what is it?”
“Why are you asking me for Lin’s info, instead of asking Bash?”
Shit.
I can’t lie to him, although a dozen tempting excuses flit through my mind.
“Because…I want to ask her to look into something else for me.”
He’s quiet for a long moment. He can guess exactly what I’m saying, what I want Lin to look into. “Sebastian would never agree to that.”
“I know. That’s why I’m not asking him.”
“Fuck.” He clears his throat. “Look, Ella, maybe you shouldn’t get involved…”
“Not getting involved hasn’t worked for you, or for Sebastian, has it?”
Quiet again. Did he hang up on me? Maybe I shouldn’t be snarky, but…well, I shouldn’t be snarky.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
“No, you’re right.” After sighing quietly, he says, “Go ahead. But this could backfire, baby girl.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“Tread very carefully. Bash has gone seven years without dealing with any of this. Fuck. I wish I wasn’t so busy with work.”
I grip my phone more tightly. “I wish the same.”
“Call me if you need anything. I’ll try to answer.”
“Okay. Thanks.” Why do I feel abandoned? He wishes he had more time, too. And it wasn’t like I called him to ask for help—hell, I wasn’t even going to tell him that I was looking into this. So it’s not like I need him.
Well, I love him. I wish he could be a partner in this, in my attempt to save Sebastian from his own damn stubbornness. It’s not crazy or weird to resent his job right now.
“I have to go now,” he says. “It’s another long day at the office.”
Long day? It’s almost nine p.m. But I push my snotty attitude away, because I’m not being fair. “All right. I’ll talk to you later.”
“I love you, Ella.”
“I love you, too.”
We hang up. Before I can take the time to overthink any of it, I tap the button of the new contact Kingston sent me. A female voice answers almost immediately.
“Hi, Lin,” I say. “My name is Ella. You recently did me a huge favor….”