Page 57 of Her Beastly Billionaire Rock Star
Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, Emilia nodded. “I’m proud of you. Have you called your grandpa?”
“I called him yesterday. As soon as I know Charlotte’s safe, I’m calling my parents.”
“What about Crush?”
Malakai shrugged. “If I stay lead singer, great. If not, I don’t. I made a lot of mistakes. They have a right to have someone who’s dependable and not constantly bringing negative attention to the band.”
Emilia’s mouth dropped open. “Who are you, and what did you do with Malakai?” She poked him in a few spots, and he slapped her hand away. “Have you been abducted by aliens?”
“Shut up.”
She doubled over and laughed. Straightening, she wiped at her eyes. “Oh, man, I think it’s great. I like her too.”
Thaddeus stopped in the living room. “We need to go. While I was going over things with Noah and Ryder, Octavia and Charlotte argued. It lasted about ten, fifteen minutes. Then we heard a scuffle and a loud thud. Which means our plans have changed.”
Springing off the couch, Malakai looked down at Emilia. “I’m going to get Charlotte, and I don’t care about a plan or anything else. She’s got a broken arm, and she’s still recovering from a concussion.”
Thaddeus held up his hands. “Whoa. Take a second. Going in guns blazing could get someone hurt. I don’t think we should waste any time, but we need to do this carefully. Do you think Octavia would take a meeting with you?”
Malakai shrugged. “Maybe. I mean, she changed the entire plan when she ordered Charlotte to leave. You heard Charlotte. Her stepsister isn’t someone to shift gears like that.”
“Call her. See if you can meet.” Thaddeus pulled out his phone. “It’s just now after seven. Be the diva most rock stars are.”
Emilia touched Malakai’s hand. “It won’t hurt to try.”
Nodding, Malakai pulled out his phone, pressed the call button, and put it on speaker. After ringing a half-dozen times, it went to voicemail. He repeated the call, but this time, he sent a text.
Answer the phone now, or I’ll make sure everyone knows who you are, what you do, and that you flaked on me.
At the third ring, Octavia picked up. “I don’t like threats, Mr. Raven.”
Funny, she sure liked giving them. “I really don’t care what you like.” He made it as menacing as he could. “I’m coming over, and by the time I get there, you should have a new plan ready to go.” He hit the end call button and looked at Emilia and then Thaddeus. “Does that work?”
“Let’s go find out. I’ll follow you. On the way, Emilia can mic you up.”
Nodding, Malakai waited a beat for Emilia to pack up, and then they hurried to the garage. Charlotte had to be okay. Silently, he set the phrase on repeat and hoped they got there in time.
Chapter 29
Slowly, Charlotte used her good arm to lift herself up and then touched the back of her head. When she pulled it away, she found a few spots of dark red on her hand. She suspected the smack against the wall had opened the cut she’d received the night of the auction.
The sound of voices brought her attention to the door, and she scooted over to it. Not just any voices, Malakai and Octavia. Charlotte set her ear against the door, and they came through a little clearer.
“You said you’d fix my image, and you didn’t,” Malakai said.
“And you said you told me everything, and you didn’t,” Octavia shot back. “I needed to know everything.”
“You didn’t need to know that. The damage was done, and it didn’t need to come out. I made a promise, and your employee talked. What are you going to do to fix it?”
Charlotte heard what sounded like the desk chair being pushed back. “Nothing.”
“What? I paid—”
“Mr. Raven, let’s stop with the false anger and pretenses. I’m not stupid. I can tell when Charlotte lies. For the last few months, I’ve had alerts sent to my phone telling me that someone was trying to hack into my server.”
“What are you talking about? I haven’t even been working with you for that long.”
“I’m talking about your relationship with my stepsister.” Octavia laughed. “You’re great at singing, but you should stay away from poker.”
