Page 111 of Places I've Never Been

“We got you, man,” Cooper said. “We’ll hunt down the rest of those photos. Go get your girl.”

Adam satin a rented generic black SUV in the parking lot and dialed the first person he thought would have the information he wanted. When Kat Marshall answered the phone, she skipped all the pleasantries.

“Asshole.”

Adam blinked. He should have expected this kind of reception. “I’m looking for Mattie. She’s not home. I was hoping you knew where she was.”

“Yeah, I know where she is. But I’m sure as hell not telling you.”

Frustration bubbled up in his chest. “Please. I need to talk to her. If you won’t tell me where she is, at least give me a way to reach her.”

“I talked her into this project with you. Shows what a fool I am. You and Lucas make my ex-husband look like a decent human being.”

“Dammit, my manager hired that asshole, not me.”

“Look, the only reason I took your call was to tell you I’m sending over termination of contract paperwork for you to sign this afternoon. It lets you split the work already done but drops the third song. Get them back to me by tomorrow, or we’ll sue for full rights of the two songs Mattie worked on.”

“I’m not signing that.” It was his last link to Mattie. If he signed it, he’d never see her again, and he desperately wanted to see her.

“Yes, you are,” she snapped. “The lawyers assure me if you force this into court we’ll win, and it’ll cost a hell of a lot more money. Plus, it’ll become my personal mission in life to make yours miserable.”

“Can you act human for a couple of seconds? I need to talk to her. Please.” He wanted to reach through the phone and strangle the information out of her.

“Eat. Shit.” Kat hung up.

“Dammit!” Adam pounded the steering wheel with his fist.

If Mattie’s manager wouldn’t help him, he’d have to hope one of her sisters would. Della and Piper were both all over social media, but he couldn’t find a phone number for either oneof them.

He sent a quick text to LT and Cooper.Mattie’s hiding. Need phone numbers for Della, Piper, and Lizzie Bellamy.

He received a quick response from Cooper.Struck out with Kat?

Adam huffed out a frustrated laugh.Told me to eat shit.

LT responded,Give me a few…I know a girl.

Cooper shot back,Understatement.

Adam waited for a few seconds, but nothing happened. He couldn’t just sit there. He didn’t want to be in the parking lot when Lucas came out.

LA Center Studios was a twenty-acre campus that served as a hub for the recording industry. There were sound stages, recording studios, and offices handling everything from voice-overs to location filming. The longer he sat here, the more likely it was he’d see someone he knew. That would lead to a lot of questions he wasn’t in the mood to answer. The only person he wanted to see right now was Mattie.

How could he apologize for everything that had happened if she wouldn’t even talk to him? He hadn’t meant to lie to her. He’d just wanted to get to know her.

Hell, he’d wanted more than that. No sense lying to himself anymore.

A spark of a song tickled his brain. The melody had a country-rock vibe, very different from his usual stuff. Words tumbled into his brain as he hummed.

I didn’t mean to deceive you,

I just wanted to make you mine.

The phone rang.He hit Accept.

“Hey,” LT said. “You still at the Center?”

“Yeah, why?”

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