Hot as Heller (Aster Valley 3)

“Two nights in a row now. You know this isn’t LA, right? Just because you and your friends want to stay out until all hours basking in the attention of your adoring fans doesn’t mean people like Matt and Dakota should have to stay up and serve you.”

He slow-panned over to face me. “What?”

“I’m just saying, this is a small town where we roll up the red carpet before midnight. How is Matt supposed to get up and be ready to receive his deliveries in the morning if you keep him up till three every night? And Dakota is a student at Rockley Tech. She probably has classes in the morning. That’s why they close at one.”

He glanced at the clock on the dash and squinted comically. “But it’s two now.”

“Exactly my point. Your people kept them open because you wouldn’t pay the bill and leave when they asked you to.”

“No, but…” He drifted off, seemingly distracted by something out the passenger side window. Just when I thought he’d forgotten he was in the middle of saying something, he continued. “I didn’t pay attention to the time. I didn’t want to come out, and then I didn’t… I didn’t want to drink. And I didn’t pay attention to the time. My mother says punctuality can be the difference between a starring role and the gutter.”

I glanced over at him and noticed the hank of brown hair that had fallen over one eye. My fingers itched to push it back.

“She’s right, but I’m not sure how that’s relevant to respecting closing time at the local pub.”

“It’s about respect,” he said.

That was rich coming from someone who’d thrown a house party back in LA so large and destructive they were recreating it as a training exercise for new recruits at the police academy to learn crowd disbursement techniques. Finn Heller’s reputation preceded him.

“Exactly. Think about your actions and the way you treat people. Actions have consequences.”

Finn’s head bobbled as I pulled down the driveway to Rockley Lodge. He’d mentioned staying at one of the chalets, so I took the turnoff to head farther up the mountain property.

“Yes, sir,” he said, sounding both exhausted and annoyed now. “I appreciate you so much.”

That was sarcasm. I made a grunt of surprise.

“In fact, I’m grateful someone like you is here to help me see the error of my ways. My mom wanted to come, but she was offered a chance to join Stavros Pagonis on his yacht instead. So now I have you here making sure I behave just right. So. Fucking. Grateful,” he ground out.

I threw the SUV into park behind the chalet with the McLaren. He must have ridden to the bar with someone else.

“Seems you’re sobering up,” I said. “Or maybe you’re still shitfaced if you can mouth off to a cop without blinking an eye.”

He finally turned to me with steel in his eyes. “I’m not drunk enough to miss the fact you’ve found the one person in a group of, what? Five other cast and crew, who you’re convinced is responsible for not leaving. Well, you know what? I wasn’t driving. And also… also… I was trapped in that booth. I told them I didn’t want to go out. And then I told them I didn’t want to stay.” As he spoke, Finn’s voice got louder and more belligerent. “And then I told them I wanted to go home!”

He threw open the door to the SUV and lurched out, almost landing flat on his face. I hurried around to help him.

“Careful,” I murmured, grabbing his elbow.

He sniffed. “I didn’t want to go out.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him why he didn’t want to go out. What had the phone call been about that had upset him to the point of becoming almost blackout drunk? But then I reminded myself he was a spoiled actor whose problems were most likely tied to not getting a role in a film rather than anything life changing.

“Well, you did. And actions have—”

He finished the sentence with me. “Consequences. Thanks, Sheriff Daddy. Now kindly fuck the fuck off.”

Finn stumbled to the front stoop where he crawled up the two stairs and then lay down on the welcome mat. I stepped forward to help him into the cabin but then stopped myself.

If he was going to tell me to fuck the fuck off, then he could sleep on the damned welcome mat for all I cared.

I turned and got back in the vehicle wondering how long it would be before the first hints of sunrise would sneak over Rockley Mountain. I radioed in my status and told Janine I would be coming in late today.

When I pulled into my own driveway, all I could think about was returning to my bed for a few more hours of sleep, but when I walked up to the front porch, I realized that wasn’t in the cards.