Hollywood Rebel by Misti Murphy

Chapter Thirty-One

 

Rebel

My blood is pounding in my ears as I leave Summer standing on the stairs. A waitress in black on black glides past with a gold tray full of long stemmed glasses. I grab one and drain the bubbly contents before my feet hit the main floor.

Another server passes and I spin around and switch my empty glass for another without breaking stride. Summer is still on the stairs and I’m halfway across the room. She’s looking at me like I’ve lost my mind as one of the other guests stops her from following me.

Damn right, I lost my mind. Letting her in. Falling for her.

Changing for her.

I didn’t want to be this guy. I just wanted to work and be left in peace the rest of the time. I didn’t want to come here tonight. But after all her effort I didn’t want to let her down either. I’d do just about anything for her. Would have done almost anything.

Ethan raises a hand to gesture me over, but the bar is my destination and no amount of people trying to stop me or talk to me is going to change that. I shake my head and set my jaw. Drowning the sense of betrayal that came with seeing the messages from my ex on Summer’s phone is my goal.

How long have they been working together behind my back? How long has Summer been pretending she gives a shit when it’s really her job that she cares about?

Since most everyone is drinking champagne I have no competition for the server at the bar. I reach across the divider and snap my fingers in his face. Yeah, I’m an asshole, but no one really expects differently from me. Except Summer. And I don’t care what she thinks at this point. “Whisky.”

“Ice?” he asks woodenly.

“Straight,” I snarl.

He grabs a bottle from the shelves behind him and pours a generous amount in the glass he puts before me.

I down it in one swallow. “Again.”

He nods once and pours another.

I salute him with the glass. Tip the edge to my lips and drain the liquid. A buzz starts to ease the tension in my jaw. It’s going to take a lot more to wipe Summer Heart out of my head. Fucking Marty. Fucking Summer.

Fucking fuck. Am I ever going to be able to get the smell of her out of my nose and the feel of her off my skin? Marty taught me a lesson in not trusting people but it never stung like this. I want to yell. I want to punch something. Instead I’ll settle for getting wasted. “Another.”

“Are you alright, man?” Ethan claps a hand on my shoulder, nods at the guy serving me. “Better pour me one too.”

We down those strong drinks like synchronized swimmers jumping into a vat of top shelf whisky. I can always count on Ethan to have my back. I thought I could count on Summer too. I thought she stuck with me because she had feelings for me too. Instead she was using my weakness for her against me.

“Want to talk about it?” He doesn’t look at me directly. Gives me the option to let my heart crash and burn in private. Well, as privately as one can be in a room full of people anyway.

She was so intent on keeping me at a distance. I thought it was because of her history. I figured I was making headway. That it would just take patience and time. This whole time all I was doing was playing into her hands, because it was always about the job with her. And it’s not like she wasn’t open about that fact at the start, but I thought we’d moved past it. I really thought I could trust her. “Summer and Marty have been working together.”

“What?” He tips his head to study me. His brow furrows. “Are you sure?”

“There were texts,” I snap. One in particular that flashed on her screen when I retrieved her phone from the limo. Marty was pushing her to do the interview soon and tell the world what really happened between me and Alec and Ro.

I guess I can’t expect Summer to be loyal to Ro, but I thought she was sympathetic, considering what happened to her. I’d second guess that she’d even told me the truth if it weren’t for Burke. At least I can count on that much being real.

“Shit,” Ethan says.

“I told her about Marty too.” And she played it like she was on my side. I never saw this coming. “How the hell could she?”

“We’re going to need another round,” Ethan tells the bartender when he finishes a drink order for the guy who owns Gold Film Studios.

“Rebel?” Summer slips into the space beside me. Those green orbs I thought were so beautiful and honest stare up at me with confusion. “What is going on?”

They’re liar eyes. Full of fake emotion designed to suck me in. Damn, she pulled the wool over my eyes.

I reach over the bar and steal the rest of the bottle we’ve been drinking from. I twist off the spout and take a long pull from the neck.

“Did something happen? Did I… do something?” there is a quaver in her voice that plays on my heart.

I grind my teeth together. My eyes are wide open now.

“Summer Heart.” A woman comes up behind her and she spins on her heel to greet the interloper. The woman glowers at me over the top of Summer’s head.

I glare back as I drain the bottle.

“It’s nice to see you again.” Summer acts like she knows the woman whose cheeks she air kisses.

“Bernadette said you’re one to watch,” the woman says, glowering at me again. “And I have to admit she’s right.”

What is her problem? Did I urinate on her dog too? Or does she have some other reason for her attitude because I don’t fucking know who she is.

“Thank you,” Summer says graciously.

“Yeah. She’s fantastic.” I wrap my arm around her shoulder and squeeze her. “Very… dedicated to her clients. You should hire her.”

Summer blinks up at me like I’ve hurt her when all I’ve done is tell this woman how good she is at her job.

“Actually, I do have a client for you…” the woman starts. “A great guy. He’s practically perfect. His social media is a dream.”

“It doesn’t sound like he needs me then.” Summer smiles.

“Mmm.” The woman eyeballs me while I steal two glasses of champagne from a passing server and empty one after the other. “Through no fault of his own he ended up in a bit of a scandal.”

The buzz from the alcohol warms every cell in my body. It doesn’t however, blunt how hard it is to breathe while standing here with the woman who is pretending like she isn’t stabbing me in the back.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Summer lays her hand on my arm. “I have my hands full at the moment though.”

What I would have assumed was a sign of solidarity mere hours ago now makes me bite my tongue. I shrug away her touch. “You should do it.”

“What?” She blinks up at me.

“You could do so much better if you worked with the right clients,” the woman says. “Instead of—”

“Me,” I finish her sentence for her. I’m not going to stand here and listen to her insult me and not say anything.

“I think we’re done here.” Summer puts her whole body between me and this opinionated bitch. She stares her down like she’s on my side while the woman says her goodbyes and moves on. The reality is she’s probably worried I’ll do something that will jeopardize all her hard work.

Damn it, I really believed that she was on my side. I would have sworn that we had each other’s backs and that I could open up to her and not live to regret it.

Well, I’m regretting it now. I turn to Ethan who’s still at my back. “I need another drink.”

“Don’t you think you should slow down?” Summer clicks her tongue. Her gaze has narrowed with obvious irritation.

“No, I don’t.” I rub my tongue over my teeth. I have every intention of writing myself off tonight. But not here. Not with these people judging me. Not with Summer tsking at me.

I catch sight of another server and stalk in their direction.

“What is going on?” Summer chases after me. Grabs my arm as I make my way through the crowd. “I don’t understand. Did something happen?”

I shake her off. People stare at us. That’s nothing new. What is new is how much my chest fucking hurts. My world is disintegrating into the black hole that used to be my heart.

“Rebel, stop. Please.” She shoves at my shoulder as I attempt to snag a fresh glass of bubbles. “Talk to me.”

“Don’t touch me,” I snarl, whipping around.

“What?” Lips parted, she drops her hand to her side. Her eyes glitter with shock. “I don’t understand.”

“Me either.” I don’t understand how I was so wrong about us.

She touches that little diamond penguin at her neck. Was it only mere hours ago I was ecstatic that she finally wanted me to call her my girlfriend?

“Marty Kendall.” I grind the name between my gritted teeth as I retrieve her phone from my pocket and hold it out for her to take.

“Oh.” She has such a pretty mouth for a liar. Soft and sweet and full of shit. She glances over her shoulder and then around the room. “Maybe we should find somewhere quiet to talk.”

There’s a whisper in my chest that wants me to follow her. To somewhere quiet. To hell and back. It wants to hold onto what could have been but in truth never was. I push the device at her again. “You’re working with Marty. There’s nothing to talk about. ”

She takes it reluctantly. Wraps her fingers around it without drawing her gaze from my face. “Let me explain. It isn’t what it looks like.”

“I told you how she screwed me over,” I snap. Inside I’m at war. My emotions are a tightrope of anger and pain. Each step has me wavering between the two. “And that I wasn’t interested in doing that interview with her. You can’t trust her. I can’t trust her. But I thought I could trust you.”

“You can. There’s a reason…” She becomes increasingly aware of the crowd we’re beginning to draw. All these onlookers she so hoped to impress. Her jaw tightens and the copper lights in her green irises flash. “You need this interview. This isn’t about your ego.”

I bite my tongue as I get in nice and close so she alone can hear, “You’re damn right it isn’t about my ego. I trusted you. I loved you. This whole time I thought we had something special. I didn’t realize you were holding back because I was just the job.”

It’s all so crystal clear now. I’ve never been a good choice. Summer has always been just out of my reach. Always just a little too discerning for me. And I’m the guy who gets drunk at parties and naked in public and ends up in prison for beating a guy into a hospital bed.

So why did I think she would be with me for any reason other than her career?

Her lips part on a gasp. Her hand encompasses that little shaped rock over her equally hard heart as she squeezes her eyes shut. A tear slips down her cheek when she opens them. “You’re not. Don’t you know? Can’t you tell? I’m in love with you too.”

I tip my head back and laugh. Nod a couple of times like it’s the funniest of jokes. And I guess it is. But the joke is on me and my chest feels like someone has cut off my oxygen supply. I thought hearing those words from her would feel a hell of a lot different than this. Now, it’s just another reminder of why I don’t try to be someone other than the asshole people like to give a wide berth to. “You can tell Marty that I’d rather get fucked up the ass with a cactus than do an interview with her. And while you’re at it, fire yourself.”

“Rebel, we need to talk about this,” she insists, her voice watery. “You’ve had a lot to drink and—”

“I’m done talking,” I snap, and stagger back when she winces like I’ve hurt her. But she dug her nails into my chest and ripping them out hurts me too. “I’m done with you.”

I turn my back on her. “Ethan, we’re out.”

He steps into place on my right side. Bianca latches herself onto my other arm. I don’t know when she joined us, but us A-List rebels have a code. We party hard and we have each other’s backs. Always.

Summer Heart would never have made a good addition to our family. She doesn’t have anyone’s back but her own. God, what if she spills Ro’s story too? Not that she knows the details, but still, I told her too much.

I turn to her one last time. “If you say anything about that night—”

“I won’t,” she says. More tears are slipping down her cheeks. She shakes her head. “I would never do that.”

I don’t know that I believe her. I already know that I can’t trust her. I can only hope that she has some decency.

I push through the crowd with Ethan and Bianca caging me in on each side. I don’t see the faces of the bodies we shove through. They melt away to give us room to pass.

One of those damn dogs whimpers as someone steps on its paw. It scuttles away with a yelp.

As Ethan is waylaid by someone in the crowd, a familiar face comes into my line of sight at the base of the stairs.

Of course Alec Hawthorne is here. The poster boy for everything golden was guaranteed to be on the invitation list.

He adjusts the knot in his black tie and smiles like his world is coming up roses as I approach. His brown eyes and sandy blond hair make him look like the boy next door, but he bares his straight white teeth like the predator he is. That fucking prick.

He strolls into my path and plants his feet. His thumb brushes along the lip I once busted. There’s not even a scar. His plastic surgeon must be a miracle worker.

His gaze drifts to my side as Bianca loses step with me thanks to a group of starlets who surround her. His grin grows smugger. I’d have to be blind to believe he isn’t doing this deliberately. But I’m not playing his game. My only goal is the stairs behind him and the exit from this bullshit party at the top of them. Ethan and Bianca will catch up.

“Rebel Maddox.” He steps into my path as I attempt to move around him.

My hands form fists. My knuckles crack. “Get out of my way.”

“I don’t think I will,” he says, completely at ease. “I have every right to be here. It seems to me that you’re the one who doesn’t belong.”

“I might not belong.” I shove in so close to him that our chests and shoes meet. “But at least I don’t assault defenseless women.”

His smirk grows. “You can’t prove anything.”

No, I can’t. Not without Ro telling her side of the story. As far as the world is concerned I’d be the jealous lover who is making excuses for why I put him in the hospital even though it was never like that with Ro and me. And she doesn’t want to talk about it.

“It’s only a matter of time. Until someone does.” I step around him. It might not be me or Ro who brings him down, but a prick like Hawthorne doesn’t stop with one victim.

“She’s cute. I wouldn’t say beautiful like Rochelle Kitt, but there is something attractive about her.” He pauses like he needs a moment to consider the woman he’s looking at.

I don’t need to glance behind me to know, though. My heart thuds with the realization that he has Summer in his sights. This is a dig at me. No doubt he wants payback for what I did to him. Still, I make the decision to separate her further from me. “Who? My publicist?”

“Sure,” he says. “But we can all tell you’re screwing her. The two of you have a certain… chemistry.”

“I don’t think so.” I draw my fists into my armpits. Feign a disinterest I do not feel. Up until tonight I thought she was my everything. Now she’s in league with a soul sucking leech. “She’s not my type.”

“It’s the hair, I think.” He taps one finger to the divot in his chin. Smirks like he has a secret. “All those red curls. She looks like she’d be a little wild. Am I right?”

“I wouldn’t know,” I lie. “Now if you’ll excuse me.”

He puts a hand to my chest to keep me where I am. His lips turn up viciously. “How about I take her home tonight and find out. I could… email you some pictures.”

“You won’t fucking touch her,” I snarl.

“I’m not that discriminating,” he says. “Wonder if she’ll want to sleep with me because I’m famous or because I’m not you. You know what, it doesn’t matter. I kind of like it when they put up a fight.”

“One finger,” I warn him, needing to protect her. I can’t just switch off that part of me because we’re done. If he lays a hand on her I’ll kill him. So help me I won’t be able to stop myself. “If you lay so much as one finger on her...”

He sneers. “Oh, I’ll do so much more than touch her.”

I snap. I see nothing but red as I drive my fist into his gut. When he bows at the waist, I rear back and ram my fist into his face. Cocking it once more, I slam it into Alec’s jaw until his neck cracks with the whiplash.

With a groan, he falls on his ass on the stairs. Blood lines his lips. “You’re insane.”

Someone screams.

Another yells for the police. And then security.

I bend real low. Get in his face. “You will never touch her. Do you understand me?”

“I can’t wait to share this in my exclusive with Marty Kendall,” he says, quiet and even. “You know her, don’t you?”

What? I rear back. My gaze swings behind me to find Summer. She struggles to make headway across the room, but she’s watching us. Did she know he had an interview set up? Did she know that he was going to pull this shit? Did Marty tell her? Is that why they were talking? Is she against me or… with me?

“He assaulted me,” Alec screams, holding his jaw and cowering in fear. Acting. He’s acting. There’s a moment. A look that comes over his face as the cry goes out around the room. Rebel Maddox is beating up Alec Hawthorne. Again. It’s satisfaction I see in his eyes. A sneer that curls his lip. “What is wrong with you? You’re a psychopath.”

I open my mouth. Shut it again. Ro still isn’t talking, and telling the room that he threatened the girl I’m in love with isn’t going to make me seem any less like a psycho. We’ve done this dance already. And last time it didn’t turn out so good.

“Get him away from me,” he screams as he backs away from me. “He’s trying to kill me.”

And the Oscar goes to… I consider putting my hands up and backing away, but the damage is already done.

Security is working its way through the crowd. I’m going to be detained. And when the police arrive I’ll be arrested. Again.

I exhale a breath. In for a dime in for a dollar then. If I’m going back to prison I’m going to give them a reason to put me there. I lean back over and punch the bastard once, twice, three times. Until his head lists to one side and his body goes lax. He topples back on the stairs as I release his bunched shirt from my fist. He’s out cold. Then I undo the zipper on my slacks. Pull out my dick. And take a leak on that piece of shit.

I keep the stream steady as the crowd gasps. Watch the warm golden fluid splash over his unconscious form as I sway on my feet a little and the gossip begins to filter through to those in the back of the room.

Rebel Maddox has finally done the unthinkable.

He’s lost his freaking mind.

There’s no way my career will survive this. But I’m damn well going to give them something to remember me by.

Security reaches us. The two burly men watch me warily, waiting for me to finish. My guess is that they don’t want to be caught in the splash.

With a whistle, I shake out the last couple of drops and tuck my dick back in my pants. Then I step away from the mess and put my hands behind my head as I lower myself to my knees. “Whatever you need to do, guys.”

“Wait.” Summer shoves her way between them and me. Her mascara looks like it’s melting and the tip of her nose is red. “Are you crazy? What were you thinking?”

“Doesn’t matter.” I clench my jaw. Telling her that he threatened her won’t change anything. I’m done. I’ll do more time. And even if Summer was trying to help me with that Marty bullshit, she can’t save me now.

“I’m going to sort this out,” Summer says as one of the security guys slips a looped cable tie around both of my wrists. “I’ll get Bernadette to fix it. I’ll talk to Ro.”

“Promise me you’ll leave Ro out of it,” I demand.

She sucks her lips in. “Okay, no Ro. But I’m going to work out how to fix this.”

“Don’t,” I tell her as some of the guests push their way to the exit. A lot of them have secrets they’d rather keep hidden. And after the clusterfuck I’ve created, this night is guaranteed to be the sort of scandal that stays in the media for a long time to come.

She sinks to her knees in front of me. “The thing with Marty—”

I clench my jaw. The thing with Marty is I should have known Summer was trying to help me. I should have given her the benefit of the doubt. The difference between Summer and Marty is Summer never gives up on me.

My chest swells. It means she meant it when she told me she loved me.

She always finds a way to be my publicist and my friend and my love. But for a moment I forgot that. I got caught up in the past and my fear.

Now my only worry is that I’m leaving her alone. Unprotected. And I can’t trust that this bastard isn’t going to go after her if he knows how much she means to me.

Which is why I have to protect her by pushing her away. I can’t ask her to be vulnerable and then be the guy who lets her down. I can’t ask her to wait for me or expect her to put up with all the shit that will come with being involved with me. I close my eyes so I don’t have to see her face. It doesn’t make much difference. I see her in my mind. A million different moments we’ve shared. A future I wanted to believe we could have. “I haven’t changed my mind. You’re still fired.”

“Rebel.” Her voice cracks.

“Stay away from me.” I don’t give her a glance as I’m manhandled to my feet by the biggest of the two men even though all I want to do is console her.

He shoves me up the stairs and I don’t give him any trouble. We step over Alec Hawthorne and a guy in a tuxedo who is attempting to wake him up while trying not to gag with the strong smell of piss in the air.

I’m going away again. And when I get out I might actually do what Summer suggested and move somewhere isolated where no one knows who I am and start a garden of naked gnomes posed in lewd positions.