Dane raked a hand through his hair and sighed. He knew he’d have to get more answers from Calista. Unfortunately, that meant he’d have to convince her to talk to him.
“I was just on my way to the cafeteria if you want to join me.”
“Perfect. Listen, we hired a car, but we haven’t had time to check into a hotel. Is her brother going to be in recovery for a while?”
“Three weeks at least. I haven’t had a chance to get a hotel room, but was planning to stay at Pier V. I can set you up there also if you’d like.” When Robert nodded, he asked, “Should I put you in one room or two?” They didn’t appear overly intimate but one never could tell.
Robert’s tired eyes flared to life and he let out a bark of laughter. “You’re lucky Cal isn’t around to hear that. Two please.”
A strange sense of relief invaded Dane’s chest when Robert said two rooms. He shouldn’t care one way or the other if those two were sleeping together. She was beautiful to be sure, although not in the typical Hollywood manner. Her fair skin was almost perfect, made more interesting by the string of freckles that ran across her nose and high, exotic cheeks. They gave her an innocent quality. On numerous occasions he’d seen her face splashed across the tabloids. She appeared delicate, almost ethereal, but there was a visible strength in her walk. Pictures didn’t do justice to her raw beauty.
He inwardly groaned at his stupidity. He couldn’t be attracted to Calista Kingston. Not now. Not ever.
Chapter 3
The dingy, studio apartment William rented reeked of old takeout food and dirty laundry. He’d tried opening the windows, but nothing worked. It was ten degrees out so he couldn’t keep the windows open for too long anyway. After popping open another beer, he chugged half of it in seconds. It was his seventh one of the night. Maybe it would help him sleep.
He walked the ten feet from his living room to his bedroom and fell onto his creaky bed. He was only renting this hole so he had a place to return to when he wasn’t traveling or working. His room was scantly furnished with a bed, a cheap fiber board nightstand, and a matching bureau.
He reached into the nightstand and pulled out a picture of Calista Kingston. In disgust, he stared at it but couldn’t deny the tightening in his pants. It happened every time he looked at her picture or even thought about her. He’d been infatuated with her for years, basically putting her up on a pedestal. All that changed after a recent discovery. Less than a year ago he’d learned she was just like the rest of womankind. She was a whore, a common tramp, masquerading as a woman of class. Just like his mother. She needed to die, but not before he made her submit.
Anger bubbled up inside his chest. Close to losing control, he shoved her picture back into the drawer. Not that it mattered. All four of his walls were plastered in pictures of Calista. He had newspaper clippings, magazine articles, pictures from numerous social events surrounding him. The picture in his drawer was different. It was special because no one else had seen it. It was just for him. But, if he looked at it too long he became angry. When he became angry he did careless things.
William flipped off the lamp, turned on his side, and shut his eyes. The sounds of New York City below were never ending. In the distance he heard a woman screaming obscenities. A horn blared. Someone else yelled, possibly at the shrieking woman. When a car alarm went off, he put his pillow over his head. Sleep had been evasive for the past week. Even with his eyes closed, her face taunted him. He had been calling and writing to her for months. Still she ignored him.
In Australia he’d planned to meet her after her concert, but she had disappeared. Now he couldn’t find her. She was playing games, but that was okay. He would wait. He was good at waiting. She always returned home and this time she would have to talk to him. He couldn’t take this rejection anymore. That whore would be his. She would scream his name as she died. William.
No one called him William except his stepfather, but he preferred the name. It allowed him to forget most of his past. After his mother’s death, he’d changed everything about himself, not wanting any remnant of her to touch him. When he wrapped his hands around Calista’s neck he wanted his name to be the last breath on her lips.
****
“Connor? You probably can’t even hear what I’m saying. I feel a little silly talking to you like this.” Calista perched on the edge of his hospital bed, the starchy sheets rustling underneath her. He didn’t have as many tubes coming out of his body as she’d expected, but his normally animated face was ashen and drawn.
“I’ve been so stupid not to talk to you for these past couple years. I was hurt and betrayed. I know that’s no excuse, you’re my brother. Connor—” her voice broke off as a few tears escaped.
A shuffling sound from the doorway alerted her that she wasn’t alone. She turned to find Dane staring at her. The expression in his blue eyes was unreadable. Batting away tears, she glared. Of all people, she didn’t want this man to see her cry again.
“Are you spying on me?” Her hands trembled slightly at the sight of him.
“The door was open, so I’d hardly call that spying.” Dane crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the door frame.
She’d forgotten how intimidating he looked. He wasn’t as tall as Robert, but somehow he seemed to tower above everyone in his presence. She couldn’t explain what it was about him. His piercing eyes were as predatory as a wolf’s. He seemed to look straight through her, like he could read her thoughts. The hair on her arms stood up and she couldn’t help the defensiveness of her tone. “Do you mind?”
He shrugged, and stepped into the room. “He’s going to be out for a while. The doctor’s just gave him another shot. Besides, I thought you might like to get some rest and some answers.”
For the past three days she’d been going full speed. The only time she’d attempted to sleep had been on the plane from Melbourne. When she hadn’t succeeded, she stopped trying all together. Now that they’d finally reached their destination, the past week crashed in.
“Actually, I am tired. Thank you.”
Calista’s mouth turned up slightly at the look of surprise on his face. Had he expected her to rant and rave at him? “I’m a very nice person. We just met under hideous circumstances.”
If she wanted answers about her brother, she might as well play nice. “Our last encounter is a little fuzzy. I’m sure I said some pretty horrible things to you. For that I’m sorry.”
Except for the slight twitching of his jaw, he stood as still as a statue. “You don’t have anything to apologize for. Everything you said was justified. I got bad information and your friend died.”
Calista flinched. She didn’t really want to talk about this, especially Rachel. But in order to clear the air, she knew it would be necessary.
Dane grimaced. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how to sugarcoat my words.”
“It’s fine.” Calista wasn’t sure if she could ever forget the past, but she could at least try. She was tired of holding on to this anger. It hadn’t done anything for her, and she needed to move on with her life.
“Where’s Robert?”
“He’s in the cafeteria, buying them out of any product with caffeine. I think he has an addiction. You might want to talk to him about it.”
A faint smile touched her lips. Who knew Dane was capable of humor?
When she didn’t respond, he continued. “I managed to book you two rooms at Pier V. It’s a little over a mile from here and I figured you’d want to be close to your brother.”
“Thank you. I wasn’t even thinking that far ahead. Does Robert know?”
He nodded. “Yes. I was able to get two adjoining suites. He insisted that the one with the Jacuzzi is his.”
Calista rolled her eyes and laughed aloud. Robert was a piece of work. When they’d first met, she’d assumed he was gay. He cared more about clothing and fashion than she did. “Fine, I guess I deserve it.”
She started to say something else, but stopped when she realized Dane was staring at her with a curious expression. For a moment she saw a softer side of him. He looked slightly confused, and his face wasn’t as tense as it had been moments before. He appeared lost. Like a little puppy.
“Are you okay?” She reached out and put a light hand on his arm.
He yanked his arm away as if she were toxic. She dropped her hand, unsure of what to say next. Okay, the puppy was gone and the wolf was back.
“I’m fine.” His voice was curt. Without another word he turned and stalked from the room.
****
Calista opened her eyes and kicked the thick maroon and gold comforter off, but didn’t make a move to get up. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand next to the king sized bed and groaned. Five hours had passed and her body still ached for more sleep. Forcing herself into action, she stumbled out of bed. She’d promised to meet Robert and Dane downstairs in less than an hour and with less than thirty minutes to get ready, she wasn’t going to make it. A million questions about Connor ran through her head.
She grabbed a change of clothes from her suitcase and opened the adjoining door to Robert’s room. His room wasn’t much different from hers. Sable browns, shimmering gold, and reddish hues splashed the European-style space. The only difference was that he had a plasma television in front of his bed and a small twin bed in one of the corners.
“Robert?” When he didn’t answer, she pushed open the bathroom door.
A small gasp escaped her. Instead of finding Robert, Dane leaned against the marble top vanity wearing nothing, not even a towel. He was shaving and stopped mid stroke to look at her. Surprise registered on his face although he didn’t attempt to cover up.
“I’m so sorry, I should have knocked.” Calista struggled to shut the door. Her foot caught once before it finally slipped into place. Leaning on the wall for support, her entire body shook as she ran a ragged hand through her hair. What was wrong with her? She had seen naked men before, especially in show business.