The Rebel (Red's Tavern 2)

But I knew that he would be here Saturday. I couldn’t wait to see him. Finally, for once, I let myself trust him.

And trusting someone felt really, really fucking good.

10

Liam

My phone started playing its little jingly ringtone right as I was walking out my front door. I jumped like I’d just heard a firework.

I slipped it out of my pocket and answered quickly, holding it up to my ear.

“Hey, Red, I’m sorry I’m late, I’m on my way—” I started, fumbling to keep the phone between my shoulder and head while also pushing open the front door.

“You little slut,” the voice on the other end said.

Definitely not Red’s voice.

I furrowed my brow, pulling down the phone and finally looking at the screen like I should have done in the beginning.

“Jesus Christ,” I muttered. It was Colin. I’d been ignoring his calls for so long that I figured he’d given up trying.

I was supposed to be heading out the door to go to the party at Red’s. My evening had already been a shitty roller coaster ride of anxiety, then self-soothing, then more anxiety again as I got ready to attend the party. In fact, every day since Red had invited me, I hadn’t been able to get my nerves down.

I hadn’t been to a party since I’d quit drinking.

I didn’t even know how to act at a party where I wasn’t drunk.

Alcohol had been my crutch for so long that I wasn’t sure who I was without it, especially with the added layer of oh fuck, I think I might still be deeply in love with Red.

I was tense, to say the least.

So when I heard Colin’s voice on the other end of the phone, rage mixed with my anxiety in a potent, insidious way.

“I can’t talk now,” I said quickly.

“What? I can barely hear you,” Colin said.

I sucked in a breath, clenching my teeth. “I told you we needed to just keep this to email. In writing.”

“Yeah, I got your email this morning, dude, and no,” Colin said. “That money is mine, not yours, and you aren’t getting it.”

My whole body went hot. I’d chosen a tight henley shirt to wear this evening, but now the long cotton sleeves were clinging to my arms. I stopped trying to open the front door and instead just stood next to it, staring blankly into my living room.

“The money is mine in every conceivable way,” I said. “What are you talking about, Colin?”

“I had to deal with your manager last night when I was just trying to have a good time.”

“You were talking to my manager?”

“You really should stop ignoring his calls. And mine too, buddy. Were you fucking him, too?”

“Stop calling me that,” I said, the words feeling venomous. “Of course I wasn’t fucking my manager. And what? How the hell were you talking with him? He doesn’t even know who you are.”

Colin laughed. “I mean, he has seen me naked now, so he definitely knows who I am.”

I pressed my fingers hard against my temple. “I’m so confused.”

He sighed. “I was in the pool last night taking a dip. Jim showed up asking about you.”

“His name is Tim, not Jim. And what did you say? Please, God, tell me you didn’t say anything awful.”

“It isn’t that complicated, Hardy. I told him you aren’t responding to my phone calls, either, so it isn’t anything personal.”

“Wait a minute,” I said. “You were in what pool?”

“Don’t be stupid.”

I closed my hand into a fist so hard my nails dug into my palm. “You weren’t in my pool, were you?”

“Of course I was. Just because you aren’t here to enjoy the rest of your lease doesn’t mean nobody should. It’s a big, empty house in the Hollywood Hills. It needs to be used.”

“But you gave me your key back,” I said.

“You made me an extra copy of the keys once. In case we got too wasted. Remember?”

Hot anger was flashing through me. “What you’re doing is illegal.”

“Oh, please,” Colin said. I heard a splash of water in the background. “Like we didn’t do illegal shit all the time.”

“Are you in my pool now?” I said.

“Of course,” he said.

I bit the inside of my cheek hard. I moved to go sit on my couch and Bandit ran over, curling up next to me.

“Consider that money the compensation I deserve for keeping your rented home maintained while you’re gone. And no, I didn’t tell you manager you moved away. So that’s another reason I deserve to keep the money. I’m protecting you.”

Colin was saying the same things he always used to say to me, but now everything sounded so cheap and obviously false.

How had I ever believed this man actually cared about me? Had I been so fucked up on substances that I hadn’t even known how shallow he was? Hearing his voice was already like nails on a chalkboard now, but having him try to claim he was protecting me was a flat-out insult.