“It’s not the money that makes it great,” I tell her. “It’s Damien.”
She laughs, her cheeks turning rosy. “Yeah, I can see that. Your husband’s kinda hot, you know?”
I fight back a laugh. “Yeah,” I say. “I do.”
“It helps, you know?”
“Damien?” I ask.
“No. You. Having to fight the urge to cut and stuff like that. Just not being perfect.”
“Well, then I must be the biggest help in the world.”
Mellie laughs. “So, um, part of the reason I’m okay with Adam and his new girlfriend is … oh, man, I can’t believe I’m telling you this … but I’ve got a crush. And he’s so awesome and cute and —”
“It’s not Lyle, is it?” Lyle Tarpin’s also active at the SCF, and more than one teen girl has a crush on him.
“What? No. Lyle’s cute and all, but he’s old. This guy’s a real person, not a movie star, and he’s only a few years older than me. He was here the other day to fill out a volunteer application, and I showed him around.”
“That’s great. Was he selected?”
“I don’t know. I hope so.”
“Well, keep me posted,” I say, as my phone chimes, signaling an incoming text. “I should check this,” I tell Mellie. “Give me a sec?”
“Oh, I’ve got to go get ready for the hike. But it was great to see you.” She gives me a hug, then bounds off toward the recreation center. I wave her off as I pull my phone out of my purse, then almost drop my phone when I see what’s on the screen. It’s a video, and though it doesn’t autoplay, I can see from the still what it is.
It’s me and Damien at Masque.
I close my eyes and look again, but the picture’s still there, and I force myself to contemplate this reality. We’re on a balcony, and I remember that night vividly. It had been exhilarating, exciting, wildly erotic.
Now, I think that it may have been a huge mistake, too. Because despite the firm policies that Matthew Holt has in place—the background checks on members, the no phone or camera policies—there we are, me with the top of my elegant dress pulled down so that my breasts are completely exposed, and Damien behind me, my skirt very clearly hiked up. And, I’m certain that when I press the play button on the video, it will be even more clear exactly what we are doing.
I curse, and the phone tumbles from my hand. I lurch for it, desperate to grab it before one of the kids does, even though there are no kids around. Then I force myself to look once again. To read the text sent by whoever took this video—or whoever managed to acquire it, which is an even more disturbing thought.
I hesitate, then swipe up so that the message bubble comes into view:
Look what he’s made of you. A mother with such sweet kids, and here he is shaming you just hours before your little girl was taken. What a selfish prick. Only about his needs. His convenience. His pleasure. You must know you’re not special. You’re just the one who stuck. And maybe he’s fooled you, but not me. I know what he is. I’m going to let everyone know what he is.
11
“The kid was a hell of a driver,” Jackson said from where he was kicked back on the sofa in Damien’s office, a cup of coffee in his hand. “It was a shame when he retired from racing.”
Damien poured a cup for himself, then took the chair opposite his brother. “Agree, but that wreck was a bad one. It’s a miracle he walked away from it. Might turn me off from racing, too.”
Jackson tilted his head, his eyes narrowing as he studied Damien. “I don’t know, little brother. I think it takes more than a wreck to knock you off course.” He put the cup down on the table between them. “So how does Noah know Ashton Stone anyway?”
“Apparently they met through Kiki. I guess Stone’s a fan, and he’d attended a benefit where she was performing. They got to talking, and he told Noah a bit about the energy system he was working on, and that he was looking to raise capital.”
“So Noah told him to call you?”
“Actually, no. Noah mentioned the conversation to me, and I reached out. I didn’t want to wait for him to come to me. The guy’s a racing celebrity. He’s used to being courted.” He smiled. “I’m familiar with the feeling.”
Jackson chuckled. “And now you’re older and wiser.”
“I don’t know about wiser...”
Jackson stood, then crossed the room to refresh his coffee. “From a purely selfish standpoint, I hope you’re interested enough to actually invest. If what we’re hearing is right, his system really could change everything.”
“Can’t disagree with that. His system harnesses and stores atmospheric energy with an efficiency that no one else has been able to achieve. No need to plug in a battery at all. It just pulls energy from the air. It’s like he’s been able to channel Nikola Tesla.”
“You sound impressed.”
“I am. There are still issues that would prevent widespread use, but he’s taken the tech to a whole new level. It’s something we’ve been dabbling with at Stark Applied Technology, but this guy’s light years ahead of us. Not only is the guy good behind a wheel, but he’s got the mind of a scientist.”
Jackson chuckled. “Your kind of man.”
“He definitely intrigues me, but the tech’s not quite there yet, which is why I think we can provide him with some solid resources.”
“What issues do you see?” Jackson asked.
“His automotive batteries can generate enough power for a racecar, but not enough to finish the race, and they can’t recharge sufficiently while in use.”
“So it’s not yet at the level where the major automotive manufacturers would be interested.”
“Not yet, but he’s close. He needs to be able to efficiently convert energy on the go, and if he can develop a lighter battery with a higher capacity he’ll have something truly incredible. More important, it would change the face of energy across the board.”
“Which is where I come in,” Jackson said. “Designing houses, apartments, office complexes, all with Stone’s tech. These places could be completely off the grid, creating their own clean and limitless energy.”
“That’s the dream,” Damien said as Troy buzzed over the intercom to announce that Preston had entered the waiting area with Noah.
“Send them in,” Damien said, then turned as the doors opened and Preston Rhodes, the head of acquisitions for Stark Applied Technology, walked in with Noah Carter, the president of the Austin office, at his side. A tech genius, Noah used to work for a secret vigilante organization known as Deliverance. Damien, however, had lured him away.
“I wasn’t sure you’d be able to get here today,” Damien said, after they’d both greeted him and Jackson. “I thought you weren’t coming into LA until the weekend.”
“Turns out Matthew wanted Kiki to fly out and record some tracks with a local band he’s signing,” Noah said. “When Preston told me that Ashton Stone was coming in, I decided to fly out with her. We’ll end the week with your ceremony, then head back to Texas.”