Page 4 of Her Filthy Mistake

He frowns. “Carly is fine with you being here. Relieved even. You have a larger support system than you think.”

“I realize that.” I clasp the glass in a death grip and take a drink, letting the frozen mixture soothe my nerves.

“Let’s have a seat and catch up. Tell me what’s been going on with you.” He settles onto the barstool next to where I’m standing. There’s no point in arguing with him. We’re on an island, and he paid for my travel expenses and the resort. If I piss him off, I’ll be swimming back.

“How’s the band?”

My stomach clenches, and I instantly regret coming. Lie or tell him the truth? Sweat pops on my forehead. The truth. I’m tired of pretending. “There is no band.” I tap my fingertips on the wooden surface. “We broke up before I moved to Vegas.”

His head tips backward as his brows furrow. “I thought you were in a new band after the one….” He clears his throat. “Well, you know.” He shrugs as heat surges up his neck.

“Yes, I know. After Samantha took off with Jack.”

“Right, after that.” He waves the bartender over and asks for the same drink as me. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“I didn’t want to bother you with my troubles.” That’s only half of the truth. The rest is that I didn’t want to admit I was a failure at being a failure. I refused to listen to his advice and dropped out of high school to play gigs with the guys I was running with, but all we managed to do was play in seedy bars in front of ten customers in towns the size of ink dots on an old-style folded map. And I couldn’t even succeed at that.

“You know Carly’s ex owns a record lab–”

“No,” my voice is a low growl as I lurch backward, nearly falling off the stool.

As I steady myself, he grabs my shoulder. “I’m fine,” I bark out with more venom than I intended and more than he deserves. “Sorry.” I shake off his hand and stare at my drink. “I’m fine. The band is over. The other guys have all taken off, doing their own thing. Actually, none of them are even in the music business anymore.”

“Okay.” He slowly nods while taking the information in. I should have told him a long time ago. “How’s work? You said something about a job in Vegas.”

“I work security at a nightclub. It’s a high-end club owned by a brilliant woman who treats her employees fairly, and I’m well compensated.” I spin the glass in my hand. “I’m actually the head of her security team.” I have a stable career and make good money. I don’t need anything else. “I played stupid kid games for too long. It was time to grow up.”

“Wow. I didn’t realize you’d become so tightlipped over the years.” He takes a sip of his drink. “And I wasn’t expecting to hear you’d given up on your music dreams. I was hoping you could spend some time with Zoe or her father and discuss strategy. I think they could boost your career. I never understood why you didn’t pursue that angle. It only made sense to pick Fletcher’s brain. And now, with Zoe working for him, she’d be a great resource to talk to.”

“It’s all in the past. I’m not interested in that life any longer.” Even if I was, asking Zoe or her father to back me is out of the question.

He glances down at my feet. “You haven’t settled in yet?”

My luggage is positioned between the bar and my stool. “No. I hoped there’d been a cancellation so I could stay in another bungalow or in the main building. I don’t want to impose on Zayden.” Or Zoe.

“Please.” Landon rolls his eyes. “Zayden won’t be bothered by you at all. The bungalow we put you in has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and dining room, and a fully stocked kitchen. You won’t even see each other if you don’t want to.”

“Maybe I can check at the front desk to see if there’s anything available.”

“I already have.” Landon’s jaw flexes as he pins me with a glare. “There are no other accommodations. The bungalow is paid for, and we’re not waiting for you to drive over from another resort to eat dinner.”

“Yes, Sir.”

He smiles as I give in. “Good. That’s settled then.” He clutches the drink. “Besides, you’re lucky I’d gotten the last one with the extra bedroom when I reserved the place for Zayden and Zoe. And they’re your niece and nephew, not strangers.”

Niece and nephew? That makes it sound like they’re cute little cherubs with pigtails and braces. Zayden is a vice cop for the Kansas City police force, and Zoe is sin with two legs. I didn’t meet them until they were 15 and 18. In the beginning, Zayden hated my brother and me by association, and Zoe stared at my tattoos like I was the devil under her bed.

Zayden gets along with my brother now, and we’ve developed a friendship over the years that started in my wild days. There’s something about bonding over shots and banging the same chick. There are plenty of women who’ll fuck a singer or a bassist, or a relative of one. They don’t care that the band sucks or that you’re living in a bus down by the river. But they don’t stick around the next morning when all you have to offer is a coffee can to piss in.

And I didn’t want them to stick. Fuck and go. That was my motto.

Then there was Samantha. That was a mess all on its own. The woman was crazy. Did I hate that she and Jack got together? At the time, yes. She snuck behind my back, hooked up with my best friend, and the band went to hell. Now? Not at all.

And that leaves Zoe. Yeah, I’m beyond blessed. A week in paradise with a woman that makes my morals want to take a long hike, and she hates my guts.

“So, tell me about this job.” He guzzles the remainder of the drink. Lucky for him, some of the ice had melted, or he’d have a massive brain freeze.

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