19. Nineteen
Kat woke up to strong arms crushing her to an equally strong body. Laying still, she listened to West’s even breathing and took it all in. He hadn’t admitted that he loved her or anything last night, but he had said a lot. He said she was enough, and for Kat that meant more to her than she could ever express to him. After everything they had been through on the island, Kat really did feel like she was enough for him. That she was stronger than she gave herself credit for.
Deep within her battered, pessimistic soul, she knew he meant it, and she smiled, turning to nuzzle into him. Kat had never thought she could be this happy. She had no clue what their future held when they got back to the States, but something told her West wasn’t going to just disappear.
The sheets rustled as West stirred, his eyes slowly opening. Kat smiled and, without thinking, planted a kiss on his lips.
“What was that for?” he said groggily. His voice was always so deep in the morning. It left Kat ready and wanting after just one syllable.
“Just ’cause. You look so cute in your sleep.”
West wrinkled his nose. “I’m not sure cute is how I’d like to be described.”
“What? You prefer devastatingly handsome?” she joked as his fingers began to massage her scalp.
Sensation sizzled through her nervous system at his touch, and she wished this moment would never end. His mouth covered hers, and she lost herself in the feel of him.
His hands roamed down her body and Kat sighed.
West broke the kiss and sat up, the sheets slipping to around his waist, and Kat shook herself.
She was not dreaming, he was hers, he wanted her, and most importantly she believed he was just as lucky to have her. West had done that; he had helped her see that she was strong and worthy of love, even if he hadn’t said the words yet. She had survived more than most people would ever experience in a lifetime. She had saved West’s life and her own, and deep within she knew even though she may have no direction career-wise, she knew she could do something with her musical ability. The more she thought about it, the more she wasn’t even sure she wanted to be a solo musician.
“Where are you going?” she asked, linking her arms around his waist playfully.
He checked the time and groaned. “That stupid press conference. I need to run to my room and shower before I go.”
“Want a shower buddy?” she said, laughing.
“Absolutely! But if I let you shower with me I’ll be late for sure, and then Stacy will kill me.” He stroked her hair, kissing her on the forehead.
“You sure you don’t want me to come to that?” she asked, still feeling a little like he wanted to hide her away.
“No, you don’t want to deal with them. I wouldn’t subject my worst enemy to that.”
He was trying to protect her and her identity for as long as he could, she understood that, but still the feeling of being cast into the shadows made her uneasy. It was just one reason she was unhappy with the idea of him acting. He would always be out at red-carpet events and press conferences, and she would be left sitting at home twiddling her thumbs waiting for him to come back to her. No one would know she even existed, or that they were together. She understood privacy for celebrities, but she also didn’t want the world thinking he was embarrassed to be with her. And as much as she shouldn’t care about what others thought, she had a hard time shaking away those feelings.
“Let’s meet for lunch. I want to ask you something.” He rose from the bed, pulling his suit on from the night before.
Kat stared in awe, amazed at how he was just as hot putting on clothes as he was taking them off.
She nodded, her voice suddenly missing. She’d spent over a week lost with this man. Shouldn’t she be immune to him by now?
“I’ll take that as a yes?” He leaned down, giving her one last kiss before leaving.
“Ah . . . yeah . . . I’ll be down in the main restaurant with my mom. You’ll just have to find a way to get rid of her, seeing as how she’s your number one fan now.”
West bit back a smile as he opened the door. “I’ll see you soon. Wish me luck.”
“Like you need it.”
“I need everything from you.”
And with that, the door closed leaving Kat staring at the empty space, his words circling around in her head.
After her shower, Kat sat on her balcony sipping coffee, reading a book on her Kindle, and watching the traffic drive by. The book didn’t keep her attention. Romance had been a terrible choice, but she wanted to get lost in something happy. Instead, she was left thinking about her own love life and all the possibilities ahead of her.
West talked a good game, that was for sure. It was entirely too late for her heart. He owned it, but she didn’t know what to do.
What was he going to ask her?
She should have made him tell her before he left, but now she was left sitting on the balcony alone and dying to know what he wanted from her. Sick of reading about someone else’s happily ever after, Kat put the book down and finished getting dressed. West’s press conference would start in an hour, and she was going to watch it with her mother. They were going to meet in one of the hotel restaurants, but since she had time to kill, she decided to go for a walk around the grounds of the hotel.
Stepping out of her room, the sunlight filtered through the hallway from the large picture windows. She breathed in the fresh air that flowed through the many openings. Kat loved how much of Indonesia just didn’t have walls. Going back to the states was going to be a big shift.
She meandered aimlessly through the various outdoor gardens and hedgerows, taking in the scents and smells of the various plant life, all the while trying not to think about what she’d say to West during their lunch “talk.” On one hand, she was glad he wanted to define what it was they were doing, but on the other, she wasn’t ready to end it, even though that’s what her sense of self-preservation screamed at her to do.
That is, if she had the strength to do it. One look from his gorgeous blue eyes, and she’d cave in an instant. Kat was finding she had no backbone when it came to West, and she hated herself for it. So much for feminism.
Following the path, she almost ran straight into a tall blonde woman. “Oh excuse—” She stopped talking as she looked up into the ice-cold eyes of West’s ex, Gia.
Gia looked down her perfect nose as if Kat was nothing more than a speck in her way. “Oh, it’s you,” she drawled in her Italian accent.
Kat put her head down and stepped to the side, intending to walk around her, but Gia stepped into her path. Kat had never felt so small or insignificant in her life. Gia’s skin glowed in the sunlight, and she had a bone structure painters could only dream of. Looking up at her physically hurt Kat’s soul. Why West had chosen her over this goddess was still a mystery.
“He’ll get bored with you.” Gia was obviously just as confused by West’s choices.
Kat forced herself to look Gia in the eye, tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m not going to fight you over a man, Gia,” Kat started, with much more bravado than she felt.
“That’s too bad. You know I would win.”
Kat shrugged. “Maybe. And you’re probably right, he will get bored with me, but at least I know when to quit the game.” She gave Gia a scathing look and turned, walking in a different direction, forcing tears back. She didn’t look back to see if her barb had landed or not.
Gia saw the writing on the wall just as clearly as she did. West would eventually realize that Kat didn’t fit into his world. She was too plain and too boring for him.
She turned onto one of the outer paths by the nightclub. As she walked closer she saw Luke and Declan talking at one of the tables, both sipping on something. Probably whiskey, even if it was ten in the morning. Kat ducked behind the hedge, hoping they hadn’t seen her. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk to them, but . . . no, it was exactly that she didn’t want to talk to them. Socializing was not at the top of her list this morning, especially after her encounter with Gia.
As she went to turn around and head back the other way she heard Luke say, “I took care of it. He doesn’t have a clue.”
That was interesting. Kat’s mind began running a mile a minute. Who was he talking about?
“You better have. He knows someone’s been skimming funds. It’s just a matter of time before he figures out it was us,” Declan said.
“I told you, I took care of it.” Luke looked around surreptitiously.
Kat held her breath, trying her hardest not to make a sound. Why was she not shocked that Declan had been skimming money from West’s royalty checks? But that Luke was involved was surprising. Kat thought he was West’s best friend.
Declan’s voice rose slightly as he said, “So what did you do? Better not be over-the-top. I told you to keep it low-key.”
Luke didn’t answer.
“Luke, what did you do?
Luke groaned. “I told you I didn’t want to do this. I hired a guy; he said he’d take care of it.”
“Shit, you got someone else involved?” Declan cursed again as he kicked the barstool. “What’s this asshole going to do?”
Luke looked away from Declan before muttering something under his breath that Kat couldn’t hear.
“You’re going to fucking blow him up?” Dec yelled. “That’s the complete opposite of low-key.”
Kat felt shock flow through her body as she put two and two together. Had he been on the deck? Had he been the one to trip West? Had West actually felt someone push him? And holy shit, were they about to blow him up now?
“Don’t worry. He planted a device on his car. It will look like an accident.”
Kat’s stomach churned. She had to warn West.
Without waiting to hear what else they said, Kat took off running down the pathway. She didn’t have a phone, and the quickest route to the lobby was through the courtyard Luke and Dec were in. She couldn’t go that way. Panic set in as she debated her next move.
She had to get to him and tell him not to get in the town car they had sent for him if it wasn’t too late already. The press conference would just be starting. She had to call Stacy. Who even had Stacy’s number?
Declan.
Her mind reeled as she rounded the corner to the exit of the resort. Hoping her plan would work, she ran into the middle of the road and attempted to get a taxi.
Out on the road, a car whizzed past, causing her to jump back in alarm. “Wait! Stop!” She waved her arms in the air as she tried to flag down the taxi, but it wasn’t like New York or Chicago. There weren’t nearly as many taxis wanting to run her over. Kat ran up and down the street, her heart pounding until she finally chased down an empty cab.
“Do you have a phone?” she asked the cab driver as she threw herself in the backseat.
The driver looked at her, confused.
“Ah shit, you don’t understand me do you?”
The man’s eyes narrowed as he attempted to decipher her words.
Kat held her hand up to her ears like she was holding a phone. “Phone. I need your phone. Call the police.”
“Ah!” The man reached into his pocket and held up his phone.
“Yes!” Kat reached for the phone as the man unlocked it and handed it to her.
“How do I call the police here?”
He blinked an inordinate number of times.
“Emergency. Police.” Why the hell hadn’t she learned basic Indonesian?
“Ah, ya polisi,” the driver responded.
“Yes!” Kat sighed, relief swamping her body.
“How do I call them?” she gestured with the phone at her ear.
The driver reached out, taking his phone back, and Kat hoped he knew what she wanted. He dialed 112 and handed the phone back to her.
Lifting the phone to her ear, a voice echoed through the earpiece. “. . .keadaan darurat Anda?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake . . . I need to learn more languages.” She looked to the driver, staring at her expectantly and waiting for directions.
“Drive to the Jakarta Globe, and fast!”
The driver thought for a minute and then nodded. Kat prayed to the spirit he understood her.
She knew there were cops who spoke English. She had spoken with them the day before. Now she just needed to remember their names and convince the phone operator that someone was truly in trouble, and then somehow get a hold of Stacy in time.
Kat squashed the bile that rose in her throat as she thought of West blown to pieces. She couldn’t spiral into despair, she had to save him. She only hoped she wasn’t too late.