Chapter Twenty-Seven
The Redheaded Stepchild had rolled out the red carpet for the celebration of Velvet Ransom’s life.
“How are you feeling?” Stephanie from The Real Werewives asked the show’s signature question as I approached.
Sawtooth Security had called them to film tonight’s show.
Barrett had wanted the extra cameras on set in case we needed that extra footage, but The Werewives saw opportunity to bring Only Bears to their streaming channel.
Tonight, we were starring in the very first episode of Bearlesque!
Had I been offered a producer credit, and the chance to collaborate with the one and only Bibi le Bonnet?
Hell. Freaking. Yes I had.
As much as I wanted to fangirl, freak out, call Jen and...
My best friend should have been here with me, celebrating this incredible moment. She was still in danger. We had no leads.
“I can’t stop pinching myself,” I replied, when I really wanted to say I feel like I’m entering my villain era. But instead, I winked at the camera. “You’ll have to stay tuned to see if any of those pinches left marks.”
“Can you talk about Bearlesque?” Stephanie asked. “What can we expect?”
Truth? The show was a dream come true at the absolute wrong time.
Not that I had to worry about going back to work at City Hall.
Almost as soon as I stopped recording on that live stream, I got an email from my boss, expressing how happy he was that I was alive and how much I was no longer welcome in the office.
Were they in on the fix too?
I had to hope that pairing with Bibi and The Werewives drew the bad guys out. Made them easier to catch. But I was putting everyone involved in the show in danger until we solved this case. Putting even more strain on Sawtooth Security.
“Bearlesque will be an up close and personal look at some of your favorite Only Bears performers,” I said. It also gave them security detail. “You’ll get to see how they put together their acts, and what their lives are like when the cameras stop rolling.”
“We’re really excited to be a part of this, Synamon.” Stephanie smiled warmly at me. “Tonight will be a success.”
“From your lips to the moon’s ears.” I nodded and tightened my grip on Brad’s arm. The crowd roared as he led me into the building.
Tonight, I was already in character. Full makeup and a red wig that channeled Tawny Kitaen. Sawtooth Security had wanted me to take my last video down. I refused. They said it put me in danger of slander and libel but everyone could huff and puff all they wanted.
Nothing I said on that live stream was a lie. I had receipts.
Taking it down would’ve made people think I had something to hide. I didn’t.
We needed everyone to know what really happened to Velvet, and what could’ve happened to Jen. I had nothing to lose anymore.
My only worry was that I had played my hand too soon. By outing myself and getting fired, I’d no longer have access to the records that I needed to prove my case against Kevin and his associates. Bellamy assured me we’d have everything we needed in hand before I ever walked into that courthouse.
I didn’t ask how. My villain era felt good.
It would feel better once Jen was here to celebrate with me.
Brad did a sweep of the dressing room as soon as we walked in. He turned to me and nodded.
“All good?” I asked as I let my leather trench coat fall from my shoulders.
A rumble emitted from him as he stepped toward me. “In here it is.”
The heat rolling off his body threatened to melt my makeup. “And everywhere else? You sure that Sawtooth Security can handle this crowd?”
The other reason I didn't want to take the video down--it had gone mega viral. Like, left the peach cobbler video in the dust as far as views were concerned. The Real Werewives didn’t offer me a show out of the kindness of their hearts—I was the hottest commodity on the internet.
We had to add a second performance and still couldn’t accommodate the ticket demand.
The police had to escort us to the venue.
Barrett had to hire more bears to watch over the Bearlesque crew. Brad asked his friend Bishop who he’d worked with deep in the forest to join them. I only had a chance to meet him briefly. He was massive and every bit as feral as I expected him to be.
“We have it covered.” Brad squeezed my hand. “All you have to worry about is performing.”
“I should say hi to the other performers.”
Brad shook his head. “It’s best that you wait until the afterparty, like we talked about.”
My blood ran cold. We didn’t talk about this, not that I remembered. “Is something wrong?”
“Nope. Everything’s going according to plan.”
I raised a brow. “So, what you’re saying is, you don’t trust me to go looking for the bad guy myself?”
“Not letting you out of my sight.” He chuckled. “You do have a track record of slipping away from me at this venue. You have a million things on your plate. Let us take care of this. All we want you to do tonight is to drive your fans wild.”
“And not drive my biggest fan crazy,” I added.
“Possibly.” Brad took a seat on the couch and crossed his long legs at the ankles. “Feeling pretty lucky though to get my own personal preshow performance. Do you know what these guys would do to watch you get ready?”
My pulse raced. I might have been the performer, but the bear was a master at distraction.
“Then I guess I should give you a show.” I sauntered over to the wardrobe rack where my outfit had been hung.
In addition to the live reenactment of the peach cobbler video, I decided to dance to “Pour Some Sugar on Me”. It was a guaranteed crowd pleaser, and a chance to rewrite history. The last time I performed this song for Brad, he got the call from deepfake Jen.
She could’ve been in danger then. And while I slid my sweatshirt away from my shoulders, revealing my star pasties, I didn’t think shaking my ass on stage would save her life. But if it could somehow interrupt the pattern, make someone who’d seen something say something...
Brad practically purred as I rolled my sparkly fishnets up my thighs and fastened them to my garter belt. The little denim skirt had Velcro on the sides so I could rip it off at the appropriate moment.
“Will you help me with this?” The corset dangled from my finger.
Brad gaped. ”Not sure I know how to put one of those on--”
“I’ll place it. All you have to do is tie it.” I had to cut him off before we both got distracted. “Pull it tight. Tighter than you think I can handle.”
A full-on growl escaped his lips when I leaned forward and put my hands on the edge of the vanity. He tugged the strings, taking my breath away, only for a moment.
Brad brushed his lips against my shoulder. “We’re gonna find her. I promise,” he whispered. “The guys have this handled.”
“I know.” I turned to him, letting him slip his hands around my waist. “I can’t wait for this to all be over so the big, bad bear can handle me.”
“There’s nothing I want more than to bring you Red Heaven,” he rumbled.
“Would you ever want to perform with me?”
His body tensed, and a blush crept over his cheeks. “You mean in your Only Bears skits?”
“No.” Honestly, I had no idea where I was going with this. “It would have to be its own thing. Like Synamon and Brad After Dark.”
“I think I like watching you,” he said. “You’re my fantasy, too.”
There was gravity between us, pulling our lips together, shattered by a knock on the door.
Stephanie from The Real Werewives poked her head in, and she didn’t seem the least bit surprised to find us on the verge of a kiss.
“We would love if we could do a quick confessional with you before you go on,” she proposed with a hopeful smile. “It’s been great so far with the rest of the ladies.”
Brad nodded and pulled away just enough so I could turn around. “I’d love to.”
I gripped Brad’s hand as we followed Stephanie to the confessional room.
I’d been on camera more times than I could count, but this was so much bigger than Only Bears.
I’d kept Synamon Honey a dirty little secret, and it was no coincidence the moment I went totally public with her that this offer came in.
Stephanie stood in the doorway of the confessional room. “We’d love to talk to Synamon on her own.”
“I’ll be right here,” Brad said, and then took both my hands in his. “You’re gonna do great in there. Your only job tonight is to drive every man in this venue fucking feral—including me. I won’t take my eyes off you tonight, Synamon. I only have eyes for you.”
“So big, bad bear mode activated?”
His lip curled into a smile. "You haven’t seen anything yet.”
I pressed my finger against his lips—as close as I could get to a kiss for now—and then turned on my heel and went in for the interview.
“Don’t you look stunning,” Bibi le freaking Bonnet rose from her chair and sauntered over.
I was having such a fan girl moment. The self-proclaimed fairy dragmother worked closely with The Real Werewives, and she’d signed on as one of the executive producers for Bearlesque. We’d talked on video chat, but seeing her in person...I needed to pinch myself.
She air kissed my cheeks. “I wouldn’t dream of messing up your makeup, darling. Queens recognize queens.” She took my hand and led me over to the cameras. “I know you’ve met Stephanie, but have you met Tessa and Tina?”
“Not in person. I’m a huge fan of the show,” I said as I took my seat.
“We’ll keep this short because there are literally thousands of raving fans dying to see you out there,” Tessa began the interview.
“Some of them flew in from as far away as New Zealand, so let’s get right down to business: You dropped an absolute bombshell on a live Only Bears feed—claiming your ex-fiancé, who also holds a major stake in New Northwestern Properties—allegedly attempted to bribe you to allow illegal land deals to go through. ”
I swallowed hard and carefully crossed my legs.
This skirt wasn’t made for much more than being ripped off, and I had no idea what the camera shot was.
“Everything I mentioned in the video has been clearly documented in the city records.” Ellie was nothing if she wasn’t meticulous.
“I thought he actually cared about me. Turns out, he only wanted to silence me.”
“No one puts Synamon Honey into a corner,” Bibi scoffed.
“I love the Dirty Dancing reference.” This partnership was a match made in heaven.
“Knew you would.” Bibi winked. “So Only Bears faithful know how fabulous you are. Now the whole world is about to learn you are a force to be reckoned with. How do you plan to continue to channel all that glitter into power?”
“Synamon Honey isn’t about issues,” I reminded everyone.
“My channel is a place to escape to a simpler time when things were new and exciting. Now, we’re the creators, and I’m so relieved that Synamon Honey is no longer a secret.
I’m so excited to partner with you to create this Bearlesque series and give voices to unique, independent creators. ”
“We are so excited to create magic with you.” Bibi beamed.
“That’s a cut,” Tessa said. “We’ll have many more chances to go deeper, but now, you have a stage waiting for you.”
As I shook everyone’s hands, I could almost forget the gravity of the situation. It was crazy that so many good things were happening at the same time as some of the worst things in my life.
I had to believe it meant everything would work out.
Brad wasn’t outside the door.
Weird. I could’ve sworn he said he’d be right here, waiting for me...but when I replayed the conversation in my head, he said he only had eyes for me...
I knocked on the door of the room Sawtooth Security had claimed as command central. Barrett and Bellamy were in front of their laptops, and the room was full of bears I’d never seen before.
“Where is he?” I said when Barrett lifted his gaze from the screen.
He furrowed his brow. “Thought he was with you.”
“No.” Don’t panic. “Maybe he went back to the dressing room to wait for me.”
Barrett rose from his seat. “Synamon, is everything okay?”
“I think so.” I gave him the fakest smile I could manage and headed back to my dressing room on jelly legs.
Brad wasn’t there. I turned around to find the stage manager grinning at me expectantly. The crowd roared.
“Miss Honey, we’re ready for you on stage,” he said.
Barrett was behind him.
“I need to find Brad.”
“Synamon, we’ll find him,” Barrett said. “Go out there. Perform. I’ll handle this.”
“No, something’s wrong. He wouldn’t leave and not tell anyone where he is. That’s not like him.” Panic bubbled in my veins as my temperature rose.
No, bear, I can’t shift. Not here, not now.
“He probably went to help one of the other guards. Seriously, we’ve got this.” Barrett’s tone was fatherly. And I wanted to appreciate it, but--
“Why would they ask him, when they knew he was guarding me, and why would he go?” I desperately needed Barrett’s face not to fall. I needed him to have a perfectly logical explanation for whatever the hell was happening.
But none of that happened, and I realized that was the least of our problems right now.
“What if whoever deep-faked Jen hacked into your system?” The words came out shrill.
I didn’t wait for Barrett’s answer, the way he raked his hand through his hair was the confirmation that my worst fear was right. I pushed past him and the stage manager, ignoring his pleas for me to come back.
The crowd was chanting my name and I wanted nothing more than to go on that stage and give them everything they came for. But I couldn’t. Not yet.
The Stepchild was huge, and there was a labyrinth of hallways backstage, heading to other dressing rooms, the kitchen, and Red Heaven. I’d always had an escort and had no idea which one led where. Brad could’ve gone to the stage if something had happened during a performance...
They’re ready for you on stage, my bear reminded me. No one’s out there.
Right. Thank the moon someone was thinking logically. Maybe there was a problem in Red Heaven? Brad had told me about his fantasy playland enough, I should've known where it was.
But I didn’t, so I headed down the hallway that led away from the stage, peering past cracked doors, hoping to see someone I knew.
The hallway split, and both directions were dim, only lit by lights outside doors. That could be the way to a champagne room...Not that I’d know, since my experience with kink was my Only Bears channel.
“Brad?” I called out softly.
It was quieter back here, the activity of the club had dulled to a soft buzz. My stomach knotted. This wasn’t like him. He was a Velcro bear. Sometimes it drove me crazy, but now I realized how much I appreciated—
A meaty hand clapped over my mouth, and the other arm pulled me against their body. “Don’t fight me, and maybe you’ll make it to that stage.”