Page 28 of Still Her

“I agree, Mayzie. All those options do suck,” Mike tries to placate me with a comforting look from across the table. “The thing is, so does this entire situation. Eli has chosen and made each move carefully, ensuring that you and any other woman he’s done this to are made to feel like you have no other choice.”

“Ugghh, he’s such a pain in my ass!” I moan as I drop my head back and rub my hands up and down my face before dropping my elbows to the table top and threading my hands in my hair. My immediate plan is to stay here, just like this, until this is over. Or until I rot. Whichever comes first. Jack’s hand runs up and down my back, trying to mollify me.

“Alright, I think we’ve gone over enough for right now,” Mike declares, taking control of the conversation. “Eddie, I think we should take a beat; give them some time to process,” he says addressing Detective Morris. “Let’s take a walk, get some air.” With that, they both stand and head out the front of the bus.

“Jack, Maze,” Ron gently prods. My face is still hidden from the world so I can’t see him but I can tell by his voice he’s trying to be supportive and comforting, ever the teddy-bear. “Whatever you decide, I’ve got your back. Whatever you want. And no one said you have to decide right now.”

“Thanks, man,” I hear Jack rasp, along with the sound of Ron standing up and trudging his way off the bus.

“Baby…” Jack starts stroking my hair and leans in close to me, speaking in a soothing tone. “What do you want to do? I don’t mean about my dick of an agent, I mean right now. A walk does sound like it’d be good. Or we can go lay down for a bit, what do you think?”

Bed sounds more appealing, but Jack is right. I’m not going to clear my head by staying cooped up on this bus.

“Okay,” I say quietly, lifting my head and letting him help me out of the booth. We step off the bus and into the sunlight. There’s not much to take in, walking around the back-parking lot of Atlanta’s major arena, but it’s fresh air, and I can feel my legs thanking me for the stretch as we walk around the outer perimeter of the motorcade of buses. At the edge of the lot, we see a small patch of grass with a puny picnic table under the shade of a small tree. We step onto it, and I lean against the little tree while Jack sits on the edge of the table with his arms crossed over his chest. We marinate in one of the loudest silences ever. After a few moments, I decide to break it, and dive right in, saying what’s on my mind.

“I don’t want to continue like this for the rest of your contract. Trying to avoid him all that time while you stand wherever he tells you to sounds like a nightmare. It feels like we’ll be helpless, at his mercy. The whole idea makes me sick.”

“Me too. Let’s take that option off the table; we’re not doing it.” Jack’s tone reassures me that this decision is unequivocal.

“Good,” I let out a cleansing breath. “I still don’t know what to do, but at least one decision’s been made. That makes me feel a little better.”

Jack nods. “We’re not going to play his game,” he repeats his words from the other night. I know how Jack feels about our other choices. Neither are good ones, but I know he sees buying our way out of the contract is the lesser of two evils.

As for me, I don’t know what the hell to think. I cross my arms and look down at my Converse sneakers before looking back up at Jack. “Has Ron heard from him?”

“No, nothing yet.”

I nod, looking around and taking in the view of the arena, the nearby highways and establishments.

As if he feels we’ve spent enough time on the subject for now, Jack, without taking his butt off of the edge of the table, leans forward and tugs on the waistband of my jeans. Once he’s got me where he wants me, leaning my body against his with his hands clasped at the small of my back and my head resting on his shoulder, he lets out a hard sigh into my hair. We stay in contented silence for a minute before he breaks it with a change of subject.

“Did you get a load of Mike’s rock roadie getup?” He asks, chuckling into my hair, and I burst out in a giggle as I think about the typically buttoned-up Mike dressed like a grungy rocker. The only thing messing up the image is the clean haircut.

I know what Jack’s doing, and I’m okay with it. For now anyway. Tensions are running high and we both have so much swirling in our minds it’s best to let it dissipate a little before bringing it all out in the open. Instead, we laugh and joke together as we take in the scene of the arena and tour buses that encompasses our crazy life together.

* * *

“Are you in any trouble for coming down here without Sarah?” I ask Mike as we sit in VIP seats facing the stage. Sandblast has just left and the stage is being set for Turn it Up. When it’s just me, I watch from backstage, but the guys thought Mike and Detective Morris would like a front and center view.

“Nah,” he answers with an amused smile. “She practically shoved me out the door. She’s so testy lately. Hormones,” he shrugs. “Besides, this is about helping family. You know she wouldn’t give me any shit about that.”

“Thanks Mike,” I say sincerely, before turning towards Morris who is lounging back in the chair on my other side. “Thanks again for going to the trouble of coming down here to consult with us.”

He shrugs like it’s no biggie. “I get to see Turn it Up for free and meet the band.” His lighthearted smile slips a bit before he continues. “Besides, I’d love to be the one that helps take that dipshit down; whether it’s with you or someone else.”

I glance at him as I contemplate his words and his tone. His eyes are taking in the stage, giving me nothing, so I bite.

“Sounds like this is more than just you doing your job,” I gently nudge.

He gives a barely perceptible nod, still not meeting my eyes. “There is a personal factor mixed in. I’m engaged to one of his accusers. She’s one of the ones that was going to try to catch him.”

My eyebrows draw together and my lips part as I absorb this information, then after a moment I ask, “What happened?”

Eyes still forward, he draws in a long breath. “Lola and I dated for a year and a half before life began to get in the way. She was pounding the pavement trying to make it in the theater district, and I was struggling to make lead detective. We ended things amicably and continued down our own paths. She moved up slowly but surely and scored the understudy spot in a leading role in a Broadway musical. She got the chance to perform when the lead actress hit the sauce too hard the night before. Guess who happened to be at that show?”

I don’t need to guess. I nod as I stare at the concrete floor.

“Costa was rather taken and swooped in on her at the cast party after the show, asked her if she had any interest in broadening her scope either by recording an album or breaking into film. She’d worked so hard in theater that she hadn’t even considered the possibility so she was a bit awestruck by the idea. He wined and dined her, telling her all about how he wanted to connect her with auditions for several major films. He told her he had all of his contact numbers in his hotel room and lured her up there to retrieve them. When they got there, he told her he’d make calls for her in the morning… after she spent the night with him.”

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