Lingerie Wars (Invertary 1)

He took two steps towards her and grabbed her arm. The demure Brandon was gone. The guy in his place was a little terrifying.

“I thought we could do this the easy way,” he said. “I guess not. We’re going to your flat. And we’re going now.”

Kirsty pulled from his grip, but his fingers dug into her making her yelp.

“I’m not going anywhere with you. And I don’t want to talk tomorrow either.”

He laughed at her.

“Talk? Yeah, like I’d really want to talk to you. Hash over our past. No,” he shook his head. “I really don’t give a crap about that. But I do want to go to your flat. I want you to give me the necklace.”

“The necklace? That ugly papier-mâché thing? You came here for that?”

Her heart was pounding so fast that she felt light headed. Nothing made sense.

He smirked at her.

“You models, so beautiful and yet so damn thick. Yes. I came all this way for the necklace. You honestly didn’t think I’d come back for you? Why the hell would I do that? You’re no use to me now. Let’s face it, you’re not even the woman you once were. You’re damaged goods. But the necklace, that I can use. It isn’t papier-mâché. It’s diamonds. And I need it.”

Kirsty felt so nauseous that she bent over. She heard Brandon laugh.

“Let’s go. The sooner I get what I want, the sooner I can get out of this hell hole and you can get back to the bargain basement version of your old life.”

Kirsty shook her head vehemently.

“No. No, I’m not giving you the necklace,” Kirsty told him. “You want it? Hand back my savings.”

He tugged her arm and she struggled to get away from him. The noise, and the bustle of people, meant that no one paid any attention to them. Kirsty looked back into the tent. Her mother was laughing as she clapped for whatever was going on. Lake was nowhere in sight.

“Your savings are long gone, darling. And, yes,” he said. “you are going to give me what I want. You always gave me exactly what I wanted and that isn’t going to stop now.”

“No!” Kirsty pulled back from him and felt something sharp at her side.

“That’s a knife,” Brandon sneered at her. “Want to add to those famous scars of yours? Or maybe you can afford to lose another kidney?”

He pulled her towards the main street.

“Mum!” Kirsty shouted. Her mother’s smile disappeared as soon as she turned. The colour leeched from her skin. “Get Lake,” Kirsty called.

Kirsty looked desperately towards the spot where she’d seen Lake last. There was a wild group of shrieking women. No Lake.

“Kirsty?” her mother called.

“Stop screwing around,” Brandon said. He pressed the sharp tip into her side. “Get going.”

Brandon yanked her into the crowd and away from the tent.

CHAPTER TWENTY

There were women pawing at him. There were women whispering promises in his ears. There were women taking photos of their friends as they draped themselves over him. They thought this was part of the show. The catwalk was suddenly full of people strutting their stuff as they pretended to be models. It was all good-natured fun and Lake didn’t mind it one bit. Although he did wish he’d had time to pull on his jeans.

At the back of the crowd, beside the marquee entrance, Lake spotted Kirsty’s mum. She was jumping up and down, waving frantically. Lake smiled at her, then stilled. Her face was grey. She seemed distressed. She mouthed a word—help. He scanned the room for Kirsty. She was nowhere in sight. Help, her mother mouthed again. Tears glistened on her cheeks.

Lake pushed through the group around him. The more people he urged out of his way, the more there seemed to be. Behind him, Betty and the other models were now on the runway dancing along with the audience. With a deep breath, he jumped off the stage and into the crowd.

There were excited squeals as the women thought he was joining them. Camera flashes went off around him. The laughter was deafening. Lake pushed through the people, tripping over abandoned handbags and blankets. At last he reached the door and Kirsty’s mother.

“What is it? Where’s Kirsty?”