Page 48 of Linc
The room is dead silent except for the sounds of the monitor that Everly is attached to once Tommy leaves.Sam made sure Everly had her arm propped up with several pillows.As I start to walk over to the most uncomfortable chair in existence, Everly stops me.
“Lay with me,” she mumbles as her eyes are starting to close.
“I don’t want to hurt you, baby.”
“You won’t.”Her eyes are closed but she scoots over, leaving enough room for me to get in with her.
Weighing my options, it only takes me half a second to make up my mind.I climb in under her blanket, after removing my shoes and belt.Immediately, she snuggles into me, but softly whispers for me to remove my shirt.One thing I love about this woman is how she clings to me while we sleep.It’s as if I’m her lifeline, her next breath, and I plan to make sure nothing changes that.Carefully, I’m able to remove my shirt and we settle in.
My thoughts drift over the day and how easily I could’ve lost the most important person all because of my stupid past.I recall the choices I have made and how they are now affecting my present and future.Starting tomorrow, I vow to purge those actions but first I need to come clean to Everly about my dating arrangements through Blaire’s modeling agency, and how Linley and the others before her were set up.I also need to meet with Dale and see about getting Everly some protection.I’m a huge public figure and handle some of the worst cases that are played out on every news outlet.The threats I get weekly because of who I represent could start bleeding over onto her and that’s the last thing I’d ever want.She’s my main priority and that needs to come first and foremost.
“I love you, angel,” I whisper in her ear as she sighs contently.My lips kiss the top of her head.
“Love you,” Everly mimics.I know she’s asleep but her confession grips my heart in a tight squeeze.
She doesn’t even know it but she’s changed me in ways I never thought possible.I’ve grown as a man, just being in her presence.Things that others have that I never thought was in the cards for me are almost in reach.We have a lot to weather through before then but that can be for another day.Right now, we need to focus on getting her better and protecting her so something like this never happens again.
Linc
Everly is knocked out for over twelve hours, only waking when the meds wore off.She slept like an angel beside me as I slept barely an hour all night.The horror of yesterday’s event keeps playing over and over in my head and I’ve got only myself to blame.I’m the link here that caused all this.Everly would never have been in the line of fire with Linley, had I not started this relationship.
“You’re thinking too hard,” her soft, sleepy voice says, bringing my eyes from looking out the window back to her.
“Morning.”Leaning in, I carefully kiss her split lips.They feel chapped but I’ll never tire of feeling them pressed against mine.
“What were you lost in thought about?”Her eyes are wide awake and seeking answers.Answers I’m not sure I can fully tell her about.Answers that could make her hate me.
“Yesterday.”I shrug and turn so that she has my full attention.“There are things I need to tell you that may be hard to hear but I want us to not have any secrets.”
I have a feeling when Linley learns her story isn’t adding up, she’ll spill about our arrangement and all the ones I had before her, NDA be damned.Everly doesn’t need to be blindsided by that and needs to hear it from me, and not a crazy-ass bitch.The last thing I want is for Everly to lose her trust in me.
“That would be nice,” she snorts as if it’s crazy to think otherwise.
She moves to sit straighter in the bed to give me her full attention.She winces as she moves and I hate myself even more because the choices of my past are the cause of this.
“This sounds serious, Linc.”Her eyebrows crease inward in thought.“Was there something you didn’t tell the detectives when they were here yesterday?”
I nod and she worries her teeth into her bottom lip.
Here goes nothing.
Or everything.
“Blaire Hutchins was my first client when I opened my firm.She took a chance with me when I left from underneath Dad’s law practice.I thought it was the best thing to ever happen since Dad told me that I’d be crawling back within six months.She was doing well with her company and making a name for herself on the west coast.She owns a modeling agency and has some of the biggest names in the business now, all over the world.Representing her business was huge for my firm, and I was able to bring in a lot of high profile, big money clients as she introduced me to people here in LA.”
“So, all your dates that you’ve been photographed with are all models from her agency?”
“Yes.”I sigh a long breath, steeling myself for the next confession.“Blaire had suggested it would be a good idea, once my name was splashed across the nation after I won some really big cases, to have an arm piece out with me to give more of a shine to the public.It was a win-win for us both because her girls got their pictures taken and I was linked to beautiful famous women.Being splashed on the cover of media sites pushes more advertisement, which in turn meant more clients.”
“I’m not sure I follow.”
“Blaire came up with an arrangement for me to make sure to try out a variety of her models that were having a hard time getting some of the big contracts.After I started to become a really big name in the news defending high profile cases, she’d send me some of the newer up and coming models and they’d get a photo with me out at a function after a huge win.Then they’d get signed by a top label shortly after.”
“Okay, but being photographed shouldn’t make a person flip her lid and want to kill someone.”Something passes over Everly, like a light goes off.Her eyes widen and then narrow, telling me I’m not going to like her next words.“Wait, Linley said you paid for them.”
Shit, this is a total fuck up.I stand from the bed and pull the chair over to the side of her bed so that we are facing each other.But it’s also giving me a chance to gather my thoughts and how I want to answer her questions.
“Blaire and I had an arrangement, yes.”I lead with that again, hoping it will soften the blow.
