Austin reads what he needs to and passes the phone to Tate, who flicks quickly through the page I’ve found. It’s an article about someone who’d escaped the cult. It explains everything is in the hands of one man, a leader who dictates the rules for everyone in the cult to follow. They’re based not that far from here.
“Jesus! That’s whacked.” Tate hands me my phone.
“What do we do?” Cameron asks.
“You don’t have to do anything. This is my decision,” I respond.
“Fuck that, we’re in this together, remember.” Austin is on his feet and comes over to me. He slaps me on the back and then perches on the side of my chair, picking up my brandy and taking a large mouthful himself.
“She’s not going back there,” Tate tells us. “She’s under our protection from this moment forward.”
“How are we going to do that, though? I’ve got all the annulment papers here from the record company. They’re going to want them signed and returned in a few hours. They’ll expect Yivi gone.” I motion my head toward a stack of papers on a table in the corner of the room.
“We can do this two ways.” Tate thumps his hand down on the arm of the chair he’s sitting on. “First, you sign the papers, and then the Foundation will step in. We’ll help Yivi change her identity and disappear. We’ll give her all the support she needs.”
“And the second?” I inquire.
“Well, that one depends on you. The first moment I saw Zoey, I knew she was going to be my wife. Yeah, I was a bit of a dick to her for a while, but I knew. My heart knew, it just took my head a little bit longer to catch up because, let’s face it, most of the time it’s full of lyrics, and I’m a bit slow on the uptake. How do you feel in your heart about Yivi?”
I know I should feel terrified of her and what having her around means. It’s an end to my playboy days. It’s a commitment even if we don’t have a normal marriage or relationship. I’ll still be responsible for her. But that doesn’t scare me. I want to do it. That’s why my chest is hurting, I finally realize. No amount of brandy will cure it. I’m intrigued by Yivi. She’s sexy, and I enjoyed watching her get to see and experience new things yesterday.
I place my hand on my heart, and not fearing my bandmates will laugh at me, I reply, “She’s in here, and I don’t think she’ll ever leave, even though I barely know her.”
“Then she stays with us, under our protection on the tour. The marriage part is for you and her to discuss together and make a decision on, but we’ll support whatever you choose to do. I’m also pretty sure Zoey could use some help. We all seem to be getting into some sort of mischief on this tour, and I bet it won’t be too long until Austin and Cameron follow our lead.”
“I’m never getting married. Too many women to explore,” Cameron interjects forcefully. It lightens the mood of tension in the room.
“I think I definitely prefer option number two. Thank you, guys.” I smile for the first time since playing spin the bottle last night.
“Does that mean we’ve solved the issue Zoey sent us here to deal with?” Cameron questions and yawns.
“I think we have.” Tate smiles proudly.
“We’re good.” Austin chuckles.
“I think I’m going to go and find my fiancée and tell her I’ve done a good thing.” Tate winks. I know he’s hoping to get laid for being a good boy.
“I’m going back to bed,” Cameron responds.
“I’m going to join you but in a separate room.” Austin rubs his eyes.
“Thank you, guys,” I tell them all again.
“Go tell Yivi the good news. Zoey will be knocking on her door soon with a load of tasks. I’m certain of that.”
“I will.”
I follow the guys out of my room. We’ve taken over most of this floor of the hotel, so they disappear quickly into their rooms, and I make my way down the corridor toward the room Yivi took over from me. But as I turn the corner, preparing to knock on her door, I’m confronted with her already dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt Zoey gave her. Over her shoulder, she’s carrying the bag she had when I first met her. She takes one look at me, her eyes go wide, and she takes off at a run down the corridor toward the elevator.
Chapter 8
Yivi
#MyNewObessionIsTheBritishRoyalFamily
I can’t get away quickly enough as Liam approaches me. I’m not going back to Serendipity Falls. I won’t, no matter who sends me there. I race for the elevator, but I’m not quick enough. Liam’s strong arms wrap around my waist and pull me toward his hard body. I scream and kick out.
“Let go of me!”
“Where are you going?” Liam responds.
“As far away from you as possible. I won’t go back there,” I yell and kick at his leg. He howls in pain but is still able to keep ahold of me. “Let me go. Help!”
“Go back where?” Liam questions through gritted teeth as I lash out at him again.
“Serendipity Falls,” I spit as a few doors open and a couple of heads peer out.
“Too fucking right.” Liam still manages to hold tightly to me. “You’re never going back there.”
“What?” I still in his arms, unsure of what I just heard coming from his lips.
“Is everything all right, Miss?” One of the other hotel guests asks.
Tate and Zoey appear in the corridor, and Zoey instantly tries to placate the concerned guests.
“You are never going back to Serendipity Falls,” Liam confirms.
“But you asked me where I came from. I thought you would contact them and get them to come for me.”
“No fucking way. I wanted to read about them. I wanted to know everything to make sure I can protect you.”
“You aren’t sending me back there?” I question dumbfounded.
“No, you’re staying here with me.”
Tate coughs behind me. “Maybe you two should take this back to a room.” He jerks his head toward Zoey, who is trying to make sure the other guests are satisfied that nothing untoward is going on between me and Liam. We must look a bit of a sight.
“Good idea.” Liam removes his hands from around my waist and holds his right one out to me. I look down at it and notice he has tattoos over his fingers. It’s not something I’ve seen before, and it seems silly to notice it now. “Yivi, do you trust me? I promise I won’t send you back.”
I hesitate for a moment, but even though I don’t know Liam that well, I’ve already experienced his honesty. I was wrong to mistrust him. I panicked. I take his hand, and he leads me back into the bedroom I’ve been using.
“I hope I didn’t hurt you.” Liam checks me over to make sure I’m not injured. It doesn’t seem to matter to him that he’s limping from where I kicked him in the shin.
“No, I’m fine.” I put my bag down on the floor and make my way over to the fridge in the corner of the room. I heard Zoey call it a minibar. I grab some ice and wrap it in a towel. “Sit down. I’ll put this on your leg.”