Chapter 14

As soon as Spencer and Lindsey entered the house, Mel wasted no time with pleasantries.

“Where the hell were you? You were gone for hours.”

Spencer stepped in front of her.

“I’m the one to blame, Mel. I wanted to show Lindsey some furniture I was building and we lost all notion of time,” he apologized.

Mel looked at Spencer and then at her sister, whose face was red, and then back at Spencer.

Lindsey couldn’t concentrate. Not with Spencer looking at her. She hated that she couldn’t tell him how she felt. She hated that when Melissa looked at him, she felt nothing but murderous rage. She wanted to be the only one looking at him like this.

“You know I need to know where you are all the time. I needed you here with me.”

Lindsey sensed the mines beneath her feet, but for once in her life, she didn’t care.

“I’m already here, okay. Stop making such a fuss because I took a couple of hours for myself, for God’s sake! I’m your assistant, not your slave. Forgive me for having spent a couple of hours catching up with a friend!”

Mel looked at his sister trying to decide what to say or what to do.

“Okay, I’m sorry. I’m nervous. You don’t need to be such a bitch. We have bigger issues to deal with right now.”

The sound of a car halting and its doors banging was followed by a hard knock on the door.

Lindsey opened the door to find Carl Carson standing outside. He looked worried and exhausted.

He walked past Lindsey and asked.

“Mel! I know you are here. The game is over! Stop hiding! Mel!”

The sound of the door slamming made Lindsey jump.

Melissa recognized the voice immediately as her insides shriveled up and died on the spot.

Melissa walked into the room, looked at her agent, and went into attack mode. She knew her agent would never let her stay. And she wasn’t ready to leave.

“What the hell are you doing here? You can’t just barge into my mother’s house and start screaming like you own the place.” Mel’s voice was strong and very pissed off.

“Don’t think I didn’t know you were screening my calls!” Carl Carson replied.

Melissa straightened her back and sucked in a breath. “I didn’t want to talk to you. I told you I needed some time for myself. Didn’t your mama teach you any manners?”

“My mother was a junkie who slept with everyone to buy drugs,” Carl Carson snapped back.

Lindsey rushed to Melissa’s side, and Spencer followed her.

“Do you want me to kick his ass out of the house?” Spencer asked Melissa.

His voice alone caused Melissa’s breathing to even out, even though her heart wouldn’t stop pounding out beats like crazy. Spencer would protect her. He would keep her safe.

“Oh, this is just priceless.” Carl’s laugh sounded sinister. “I can see now why you left LA and the reason you didn’t want to come home! You’ve been a bad girl!”

Melissa twisted her lips in disgust. Somehow everything that came out of her agent’s mouth sounded sleazy.

She wouldn’t be surprised if Carl tried to sign Spencer to his agency. He never missed the opportunity to represent a pretty face.

“You are a jerk,” she muttered. “A thief believes that all people are thieves.”

It was like being in an abusive relationship where freedom only came from being away from your abuser. Separated by a few states seemed like a good start. Her soul had soared when she had cut off ties with everyone who controlled her in LA, but it spectacularly crashed to the ground as soon as Carl’s voice broke the sanctity of the peaceful space she had found for herself.

“I brought you a present, Mel.” Carl eyed her. “Although I have to admit that I didn’t realize you wouldn’t need it.”

Confused, Melissa frowned at him. Whatever her agent referred to was completely lost on her until she heard the gentle knock on the screen door.

Carl Carson opened the front door and Brandon Allen came inside, his face forlorn and his hair mussed in what she was sure was a calculated way.

Spencer tensed up and clenched his fists. He had recognized him, of course. His first instinct was to rip his head off, but that would achieve nothing, except assault charges. So he stood there giving him the evil eye and let Melissa deal with the jerk.

Melissa couldn’t believe her eyes. It was one thing for her agent to come and play hardball, but it was downright dirty to bring Brandon with him.

“Brandon?” Emotion tinged her words, and Brandon’s face softened, clearly mistaking the meaning of her tone.

Spencer must have misunderstood too because he took a step away from her.

Surprised, she glanced at Spencer, wanting to tell him that he had it all wrong. She didn’t want Brandon; her tone only reflected her surprise at seeing him there, nothing else.

“I missed you, babe,” Brandon said using his best smile.

“Don’t call me babe, you cheating piece of shit. Why are you even here?” Melissa said harshly.