Chapter 32
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
MILES
I ’ve never wanted to hit someone so much in my life. My fists are clenched so tight, just itching to wipe that smirk off his mouth. I feel Olivia next to me, and she’s the only thing stopping me from dragging his ass out of this house and slamming my fist in his face.
I knew when I was on the phone that something was wrong. I could sense her fear like it were my own. I rushed out of work and was peeling down the street on my bike before I even realized what I was doing. My only thought was to get to her as fast as I could.
The last thing I expected was Mark fucking Lawson to be standing in her kitchen with his hands on her. He looked like he was two seconds away from doing something that would have resulted in him getting severely hurt.
“You’re Bee’s dad,” I manage to get out past the distaste on my tongue.
I see a little resemblance now in the chin and color of his hair, but that’s where it ends.
“When Olivia told me he was a musician, I should have known it was your little dick that wouldn’t be man enough to step up and be a father. ”
“Like you did?” He laughs. “That’s rich coming from you. ”
I feel Olivia stiffen next to me, and I narrow my eyes at him.
A coldness sneaks in as part of my past is brought up. I thought that lie was done and buried. Apparently, not everyone wants to believe the truth. Either way, this fucker is going to try to use it to his advantage to get Olivia to hate me.
“Everyone knows you got that girl pregnant and then paid her off to keep quiet.” He turns to Olivia with a smug look on his face. “He’s no better than me giving you money each month to keep you happy and silent.”
She looks between the two of us and takes a step back.
“Olivia, look at me.” She shakes her head frantically as tears start to run down her face. “I can explain. He’s twisting the story.” I take a step toward her, and her hand shoots out to stop me.
“No. Don’t come any closer,” she chokes out on a sob, sending knife daggers straight to my heart.
I stop, and the pain I see in her eyes almost brings me to my knees. I need to explain what happened, but I want him out of here first. He’s more than outstayed his welcome, and it’s time for him to go.
I never did like him, and from what little Olivia has told me, she doesn’t even know the real him. Not like I do. I’ve seen him at parties and know what he is capable of. He’s the biggest prick I know to women and will do and say anything to get the next piece of ass.
“We both know you’re lying,” I grit out, turning to look at the bastard next to me.
“But if we really want to dig into the past, I’m more than happy to let some secrets out of the bag.
” If he wants to play hardball, then game on.
He’s hurt the one girl I love, and I’m more than ready to bury him and end this once and for all.
His eyes narrow, but the fear is there. I can smell it. He knows exactly what I’m talking about, which leads me to believe that the rumors are true.
“Why are you here?” I ask, wanting to see if I’m right.
“I want her back…my family back.”
“Is that what they told you that you had to do?”
I see Olivia’s eyes dart up at the question, and I’m glad she’s paying attention. She needs to know what a piece of shit this guy is, so she never hesitates to keep Bee away from him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m here because I want to be.” His eyes tell me otherwise as panic briefly flashes across them.
“Come on,” I goad. “We both know they own you. Once you drop to your knees, they will blackmail you until the day you die.”
His face turns white as a ghost, and I realize I’ve hit the nail on the head.
“What’s he talking about, Mark?” Olivia whispers.
“He’s grasping at straws, is what he’s doing.
” An uneasy laugh escapes him as he tries to play it off.
“Let’s just go, Vee. I’ll take you to dinner, and we can sort this whole thing out.
You don’t want to be with a guy like him.
He opened for me for Christ's sake. He couldn’t even handle being on the road and quit like a pussy.
You deserve better than a has-been. I can give you a better life and more things than he ever could. ”
“A guy like me?” I laugh. “I would rather bust my ass for years to make it big, which we did by the way, selling more albums in a year than you, I might add, than drop to my knees and suck a dick to climb the ladder faster.”
I hear Olivia gasp next to me as my words sink in.
“Whatever you heard…” Mark starts to say, but I cut him off.
“What I know is that you were a nobody, and suddenly you’re signing a record deal and soaring to the top.
You either got real lucky or you got real good at sucking dick.
Judging by how white your face is, I’m guessing the latter.
And now, according to the chatter in the music industry that I’m hearing, you need a rebranding.
They are tired of covering your ass and bailing you out of drug and sex scandals, so they want to see you settle down.
And what better way to do that than to gain a beautiful family on your arm and show your fans what a changed man you are. ”
“Is this true?” Olivia asks suddenly, her eyes turning to a green blaze.
His uneasy silence as he racks his brain for an excuse is all she needs for an answer.
“Get the fuck out of my house.” She points to the door, and his eyes turn cold when they flick to me and he realizes I’ve got him by the balls.
“I think she told you to get the fuck out of her house. I’m giving you two seconds to leave before I throw you out myself,” I say, crossing my arms and daring him to challenge me.
He turns to go, but I’m not through with him yet, as I take it one step further.
“If you ever bother Olivia or try to contact Bee, I will end your career so fast you won’t see it coming.
” He stops when he hears my threat, but keeps his back to me.
“Guys like you are a dime a dozen to them, and if the news outlets ever got proof of what you did to get to the top, they wouldn’t hesitate to throw you to the wolves to save their own asses. ”
His hands clench at his sides, but he leaves without a word, shutting the door on his way out. Taking a deep breath, I turn toward Olivia to see what damage he has caused.
“Don’t,” she says, walking away before I can even get a word in. I follow her, and she shuts her bedroom door and locks it before I can stop her.
“Olivia…” I place my hands on the door frame and lean closer to it.
I can feel her on the other side, so I know she’s listening.
“I’m sorry you had to hear all of that. It’s the only way I kn ew how to get him out of your life for good.
I didn’t even know the rumors I had heard were true until I saw his face. ”
She swings open the door, her eyes blazing with fire as I take a step back.
“ That’s what you think I’m upset about? I couldn't care less about Mark and his pathetic life. I care about you. You , you asshole,” she says, pointing a finger at my chest. “Is it true?”
“Is what true?” I’ve had so much thrown at me that my mind is in a tailspin right now.
“Did you get that girl pregnant and then leave your child? Because if you did, I swear to God, I’m going to go apeshit on your ass. I let you in and trusted you. Oh God,” she moans and covers her face. “You’re on my fucking body.”
“On your body?” I ask, suddenly confused about what she’s rambling about.
“Just answer my question,” she says quietly, wiping the tears from her eyes that are now spilling down her face.
Wanting to comfort her, I reach for her, only to get my hand swatted away.
Sighing, I run my hand through my hair in frustration and to keep from pulling her into my arms. I hate seeing her fucking cry because of me.
“It’s not what you think. It was a long time ago when our band first started getting big.
I slept with this girl once, and a couple of months later, she went online saying she was pregnant with my child.
For attention or to get money out of me…
I have no fucking clue. It probably was both,” I mutter.
“I knew right away she was lying because, like I told you, I never went without a condom.” I lift my eyes to hers, and she looks away, her arms folded tightly against her chest.
“My publicist said I should have a paternity test done to completely shut it down with proof. The test came back negative just like I knew it would, but the rumors are still out there somewhere, and scumbags like Mark just love to use it to stir shit back up again.”
She finally looks at me, and I can’t hold it back any longer. I want her to know all of me, and to do that, she needs to know where my heart lies.
“I’m sorry that my past comes with a lot of baggage. If I could change some of it, I would, but I can’t regret it because it led me here…to you.”
I step closer to her, and my heart hammers in my chest. I hesitate briefly before trying to touch her again. This time she lets me, and I quickly bring her to my chest and hold her as she cries.
“I’m so fucking sorry that I hurt you and you had to deal with all of this tonight. You don’t know how badly I wanted to kick his ass when I first walked in and saw him corner you.”
“It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault.
I’m sorry you got dragged into my mess,” she says, wiping her eyes.
“When I found out you were Southern Tides, I knew you would know Mark. I was there the night you opened for him. It’s when I bought your t-shirt,” she whispers against my chest. “Even when I was with Mark, I guess my soul knew who I would belong to. It’s one of my favorite shirts, and I wore it almost every day when I was pregnant.
It somehow gave me comfort whenever I would put it on.
I didn’t understand it at the time, but I do now. ”