Tainted Heartbreak (Tainted Knights 3)

My racing heart began to slow down. “Thank you,” I whispered, keeping my hands over my stomach protectively. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell him. I do. I just don’t know how. Telling him means I actually have to see him. And I’m just not ready for that yet.”

“Take all the time you need. Which brings me back to this new idea I have.” She gave me her phone.

Taking it, I saw a beautiful redhead on it who was familiar to me. McKinley Montez. Her dad was some douchebag director. There was a recent scandal with him and some new Hollywood It Girl. It didn’t last long, but it had brought McKinley into the limelight for a brief time. She was gorgeous, and I even remembered seeing a few pictures of her with Jace and some of the other TK guys over the years.

“This is Kin,” Emmie explained. “She’s at a prime time in her career, and I’ve been representing her since she turned eighteen.”

“She’s a singer too?”

“She could be, if she would let me promote her as one. Her voice is better than most out there right now. But, no. She’s becoming one of the most sought-after songwriters in the business. Everyone wants to work with her, and she can’t seem to write them fast enough for the masses.” Emmie took her phone back and started typing away on it. “She wants to stay out of the spotlight, but she needs a go-between. You need to recover, decompress, and figure out what you want to do next. I can knock out two birds with one stone. You take over the job as a road manager, and I’ll put you with Kin.”

“You just said she’s lying low to avoid Jace. Where is that?”

“I can’t tell you yet. First, you have to accept the contract I’m proposing, and I’ll get you a plane ticket. You can be gone by the weekend if you agree.” Emmie lifted her eyes from the phone and smiled reassuringly at me. “This will be good for you and Kin both.”

She was making my head spin. I tightened my hands over the baby and shook my head. “How long will I be gone? I can’t leave my roommate to take care of bills and rent on her own. Lindsey moved back home with her family, so we need to find a new roommate. I can’t let just anyone move in, not with a baby on the way. My life is too crazy to pack up and go only God knows where for an indefinite amount of time.”

She lifted her hand to stop my rant. “Those are all problems I can take care of for you, Amara. Just relax, babe. Take some deep breaths. I’m here to make your life easier.”

Fresh tears blinded me, and I lowered my head so she couldn’t see them. “And I still don’t understand why you would want to help me.”

Emmie’s warm fingers covered my frozen ones lying across my stomach. Pulling one hand free, she gave it a firm squeeze. “Because you feel like a little sister to me, and I will move mountains to take care of my family.”

Chapter 18

Cash

I was standing in the middle of the florist two blocks from Amara’s apartment when my phone rang. I ignored it, trying to make up my mind if red roses were a better “I’m sorry I fucked up” or the yellow the florist kept suggesting. I had no idea that a different color flower symbolized so much, but apparently the yellow were for friendship and apologizing. And the word friendship was not something I wanted to put in Amara’s head. I wanted her back, not just to be her damn friend.

My phone shut up but then started blowing up with text after text. Grimacing at the kind lady behind the counter, I pulled out my phone to see who it was. When I saw Riley’s ten back-to-back messages, my heart started to speed up.

Call me.

Now.

Like, right the fuck now.

Call me, asshole.

Fucking call me.

CALL ME!

Why the fuck haven’t you called yet.

CALL.

NOW.

Call for your own sake.

Getting out of line, I hit connect, my stomach in knots as I pushed open the door and started jogging in the direction of Amara’s apartment. “What’s wrong?” I demanded as soon as Riley answered, unable to keep the panic from choking me. “Did something happen? What the fuck’s going on, Riley?”

“You need to get to our place in the next five minutes, or you’re going to regret it,” she whispered, and then the phone went completely silent.

It took me a few seconds to realize she’d hung up on me. “Motherfuck,” I muttered and started running faster.

It had only been three days since Amara had been released from the hospital. Every time I tried to call, she sent me straight to voice mail. My texts went unanswered and unread, and when I went to the apartment, she wouldn’t even open the damn door. Riley had kept me sparingly up-to-date on how my girl was recovering through the random text when I sent her messages, but that was the only contact I’d had with either of them.