Mac watched dully, his stomach souring, as Rocco exited the apartment.
His phone rang again. A quick glance showed the same number popped up. He answered it. “What do you want?”
“So, you saw them,” the same, gravelly voice said. “I want a million. In cash.”
“I don’t have that kind of money!” he shouted into the phone, panic filling him as his head throbbed painfully.
“You’re a big movie star now.”
“I only got so much up front. More after filming ends. The last installment after the movie opens. I’m new at this. They didn’t give me Beau Braxton kind of money.”
“Tsk-tsk. I’d hate for Keely Kennedy to see these. Would be a little hard to explain to your fiancée about the fun you had last night, wouldn’t it, Mac?”
His stomach dropped. Keely could never see these pictures—because he had no explanation to give her. She’d think he’d betrayed her in the worst possible way. He couldn’t hurt her like that. Mac knew that hurt, the depth of betrayal when someone you loved threw away everything you’d had together.
Thinking quickly, he said, “She wouldn’t care. We broke up.”
A pause. “You’re lying. Everyone’s seen you getting engaged. It’s all over the Internet.”
“I jumped the gun. We barely know each other. Something . . . something happened. Something bad. Awful. Worse than these pictures. I . . . hurt her. She’s not going to take me back.”
Mac swallowed, praying whoever was on the other end believed him and wouldn’t show Keely.
“You were moving out,” the voice accused.
“Yeah. This is a dump. They tell me I’m going to be big after this movie releases. Knox Monroe offered me his guesthouse, free of charge. I was going there since . . . since Keely and I broke up.”
“Okay. Five hundred thousand,” the voice compromised. “I can be reasonable.”
“I don’t even have that,” Mac said flatly, his head aching. He almost said he would try and get half but a blackmailer wouldn’t stop. If Mac paid now, he would have to pay again and again until he was bled dry.
“Last chance—or I sell them to a tabloid. Then all of America sees who you really are.”
“Go ahead,” he said dully as Rocco came through the door.
The connection ended. Mac stared at his phone. He wouldn’t be able to stop Keely from seeing the pictures. He had no doubt whoever took them would sell them. Mac had to give her a heads up.
Before he ended their engagement.
“All finished,” Rocco said. “I’ll call—”
“Don’t call the rental people. Looks like I’ll be staying after all.”
◆◆◆
Keely heard Mac’s truck in the drive and closed the script Carson had messaged over. Overall, it wasn’t as good as Breck’s screenplay but it had a juicy role for her. She would play a supporting character, one who had several zingers to deliver at critical moments. It wouldn’t take a huge time commitment and the pay would be good. Best of all, the producers wanted her for the part, no audition required.
It would also free her up to plan the wedding. Keely hadn’t been one of those little girls who dreamed about her wedding, thinking about the kind of dress she would wear or how many attendants to have. Since her engagement, though, the idea of a small wedding appealed to her. Maybe at the beach. It was a place she and Mac both loved. She could see Jax padding along the sand, a ribbon bearing their wedding rings tied around his neck.
The door opened and she went to meet Mac. Surprise filled her. His skin looked ashen. Dark circles hung under his eyes. The usual air of energy that surrounded him had vanished.
“You look like you’ve just gone through a bout with the flu. What on earth happened?”
“Let’s sit.” His ominous tone caused her to still.
He brushed past her and headed for the sofa. Sitting, he rubbed a hand over his eyes and then looked at her. Keely crossed the room and joined him, unsure of his mood or what he would say.
Mac opened his mouth and then closed it. Pain filled his eyes. Anxiety filled her.
“I have something to tell you,” he began.
She took his hand. Normally, he would squeeze it. This time, it sat coldly in hers.
“Mac, what’s wrong?”
“A lot.” He sighed heavily. “I’d like you to release a statement through Carson.”
“Okay. About?”
“I want you to announce that you’ve ended our engagement.”
Keely yanked her hand from his. “What?”
“I think it would look better coming from you. That you’re the one who broke things off. I don’t care what you say as long as you do it today.”
Anger filled her. “Why would I want to do that?”
His gaze met hers. Misery filled his face. “Because I don’t want you embarrassed. About . . . what I did.”
“I don’t understand, Mac. I love you. You love me. What’s wrong? Nothing you could do would embarrass me.”
“Embarrass you. Hurt you. Betray you. I did all of those things.” Tears welled in his eyes.
Keely gripped her thighs with her hands, steeling herself. “Tell me.”
“I wish I could.” He turned away, brushing his eyes with the back of his hand.
She grabbed his elbow. “From the moment we met, we talked so easily. We were never strangers. We’ve always been comfortable around one another. You can tell me anything. I’ll support you, no matter what.”
Mac jerked away as if she’d scalded him and stood. He fished his phone from his pocket and tapped it then thrust it at her.
“See for yourself.”
Keely accepted the phone and glanced down at the text he’d opened. She saw a series of pictures. She touched the first one to enlarge it and gasped. Mac sat naked on a bed, a blond next to him, bare to her waist. Her hands framed his face as she moved to kiss him.
They only got worse.
She scrolled through each one, unable to stop, her insides quaking. Each shot became more graphic with the woman draped over Mac, fondling him. He wore an expression that looked like coked out bliss, though she’d never seen or suspected him of drug use. The last few pictures showed the woman atop him, Mac staring up at her.
Tears splashed onto the phone in her hand. Keely angrily wiped them away.
She tossed the phone on the coffee table in front of her. “If you wanted to hurt me, you definitely scored a bullseye.” Her voice remained calm but she began trembling.
“Keely, I . . .” His voice trailed off. He looked as miserable as she felt.
“Did you have to show me these, Mac?” she asked, hurt and anger and betrayal mixing in equal amounts within her. “You could have just told me you wanted to end things between us. I didn’t need to see you in action with someone else. Who is she?”
He hung his head and mumbled, “I don’t know.”
“You slept with someone and you don’t even know her name? We were apart one night and you dashed out and found some sidepiece to bang? Who are you? I thought I knew you, Mac.”
Keely looked down at the engagement ring sitting on her finger and pulled it off. She set it on the table next to his phone.