Hate Me (42 page)

“One of the valets does.”

I get a package out of my bag. It’s addressed to Vincent Sharpe at his office. “Do you think he could deliver this tomorrow? At, say, four?”

“Sure. What’s in it?”

“Just a photo.”

Troy is getting ready to ask more questions when Cooper comes backstage and tells us it’s time.
 

Which means Vincent is here.

“Oh, good. I was afraid he wasn’t going to show up.”

“All right, girls. Take your spots. Cage girls, get loaded up,” Marla instructs.

I get in the cage as it is hoisted into the air and swung out over the dance floor. The eight cage dancers sprinkle a few black rose petals over the dance floor.

I watch as a few people dancing look up to see where they're coming from.
 

Right before the cages start their decent, the music completely stops and the lights go out.
 

Troy speaks into the microphone. “A few days ago, one of our dancers was brutally murdered. She left work and never made it home. Everyone, please be vigilant when you leave any club and never go home with a stranger. Tonight, we're going to honor her life, starting with a moment of silence for our friend, Leighton Wall.”

The place goes completely silent.
 

After a few moments, Troy yells, “Leighton, girl, R.I.P. This utter chaos is for you!”

The cages hit the platforms, causing the bases to suddenly light up, tonight in her favorite color: neon pink.

Pink beams of light shine down, spotlighting each cage and the spunky crazy song I chose starts playing.
 
 

I start dancing like I've never danced in my life.
 

Each dancer’s skin is covered in artistic neon pink scrolls and numerous glow-in-the-dark chaos tattoos.
 

The song is upbeat and sassy, about a trouble-making girl.
 

Partway through the beginning of song, I notice Vincent near my cage trying to get a closer look at me.
 

When he gets close enough, I bend down, grab a handful of black rose petals, and throw them out of the cage directly at him.

Then I grab more and let them fly out of my fingers as I spin around.

Vincent plucks one out of the air and studies it.
 

Yeah, asshole, those are for you. A black rose petal warning, because you and your company are going down.
 

When the song gets to the part about flipping off the world, I raise both my middle fingers into the air and salute Vincent, which gets the crowd cheering.

I dance more.

I love this song.
 

Suddenly, nets in the ceiling open up and thousands of black rose petals fall like confetti over the dance floor.
 

Once all eyes in the vicinity are back on me—particularly Vincent’s—I blow the crowd a kiss, then bend over, flip up my skirt, and reveal the big block letters running across my naughty Santa underwear.
 

When the crowd reads the slutty
FUCK ME
message on my shaking ass, the guys jump up and down, scream, whistle, and cheer.
 

And make some very naughty comments.
 

It’s awesome.

And, finally, I see the response I was hoping for: pure rage in Vincent’s eyes.

That's right, be mad at me. Just me. No one else. I’m going to be way more than trouble, Vincent. I’m going to be your worst nightmare.

A hurricane of problems.

When the song finishes, a hush spreads through the crowd, except for a little murmuring as they try to figure out what’s happening next.
 

The spotlights leave the dancers and a single pink light shines on six men dressed in black, who are now filing into the club.
 

You hear gasps and cries from girls as they walk by, and everyone else is straining their necks to see what’s going on.
 

The men work their way through the crowd, carrying a coffin, and come to a stop in front of my cage.
 

When the spotlight shines back on me, I’m on the floor of the cage, my eyes shut and my body still.

I hear the cage open and feel Cooper's strong arms pull me into the coffin.
 

I lie motionless as he makes the sign of a cross, folds my arms over my chest, whispers “All’s good
”
to me, and then shuts the coffin lid.

If things go as planned, they will lead a processional of bouncers, waitresses, and clubgoers out the front door.

I lie still in the coffin, trying not to be creeped out.

This was the perfect exit for me. There’s only one way Vincent could get close to me tonight.

And that’s to start shooting people, which was Cooper’s worse-case scenario.
 

I’m just praying I don’t hear any shots.
 

I would never forgive myself if a gun fight started in a crowded place like this.

The sound I do hear is a big relief.

The beating of helicopter blades slicing through the air.
 

I finally let out the breath I’ve been holding as I feel the casket being loaded into the chopper.

Once the door shuts, Cooper opens the lid, so I can roll out of the coffin. I stay on my knees and sneak a peek out of the window, quickly spotting Vincent in the crowd.
 

As the helicopter lifts into the air, pink, red, and gold fireworks shoot into the sky.
 

The combination of the cheers, the fireworks, and the helicopter is deafening.

I watch the fireworks and pray that Leighton knows how sorry I am.
 

That I never meant for anyone to get hurt.
 
 

“That was freaking nuts!” Cooper says. “And safe. He didn't even have a chance to touch you.”

“He looked mildly irritated when I threw the black roses at him, mad when I flipped him off, and completely pissed when the guys started cheering at the message on my underwear.”

“Message on your underwear?”

“Yeah. I didn’t mention that to you.”

Cooper narrows his eyes. “What’d they say?”

“Fuck me.”

“Oh, Keatyn. Jeez. We want to make him uncomfortable, not homicidal.”

“He’s already homicidal.”

“Yeah, you’re right. It was a good plan.”

“And honored her, I hope.”

The cop says, “I heard there was a very large anonymous donation made to the family's fund today.”

“I heard that too.” I smile. “Oh, Cooper! Do you have my phone? I did something else,” I say, while firing off a quick text to let both Aiden and Grandpa know I’m okay.

“What?”

“How long do you think it will be before he’ll want to leave?”

“If I were him, I’d be getting the hell out of there and never coming back,” Cooper states.

“You should have seen his face when Cooper closed the lid on the casket,” the cops says. “If I weren’t armed, I would have been scared.”

My phone dings with a text from Billy the valet.
 

I read his message and laugh. “It seems that Mr. Sharpe’s Porsche is
somehow
missing from the club’s parking lot. He just about blew a gasket."

Cooper and the cop both start laughing hysterically, part of which is probably just a release from the stress of tonight.

I giggle too. "Gosh, that felt good. To finally feel in control. I'm still worried he's going to hurt someone, though. Are you sure they’re watching him 24/7?”

"Yes, a two-man team. Off duty cops."
 

“Do the cops know there's also a two-man team from Garrett's company watching all of them?”

“Naw,” Cooper says, “I didn't think they needed to know.”

A few minutes later, the helicopter sets down on the roof of the Moran Movies headquarters and lets us off.
 

Damian is waiting for us at the rooftop door.
 

He sighs with relief, gives me a big hug, and I introduce him to Cooper.
 

He looks at Cooper and squints. “You’ve got to be the hot soccer coach.”

Cooper and I both laugh.
 

“It all went well. And his Porsche went missing for good measure. I mean, just in case the coffin and all wasn’t enough for him.”

Damian shakes his head. “I’m glad I wasn’t there. I wouldn’t have been able to watch you get put into a coffin.”

“If it weren’t for all the adrenaline,” Cooper says, “I wouldn’t have been able to either.”

The rest of the movie.

10:30pm

On the flight back home, Cooper and I are both too pumped up to sleep.
 

“Let’s watch the rest of the movie.”

“Maybe we should just fast forward to the end. I mean, more people are gonna die and all that will be left is Matt, Lacy, and Vince.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”
 

We watch in fast motion as the dead bodies pile up, Cooper stopping on a scene where Lacy and Matt are in a storage shed.

“It’s Vince that’s killing everyone. He wants you to go with Egypt with him, doesn’t he?”

Lacy sobs into his chest. “I think so.”

He pushes her away, holding her at arm’s length. “We’re leaving now. Running. We’ll find someone somewhere.”

“He said there isn’t anyone for ten miles.”

“He’s been killing everyone, Lacy. Wake up. He’s a liar. I’ll keep you safe, baby. I promise. And if you want, I’ll go to Egypt with you.”

Lacy smiles through her tears and leans in to kiss him.
 

WHAM!

Vince hits Matt in the back of the head with a shovel.
 

Matt falls to the ground.
 

Dead.

Lacy screams as Vince starts moving toward her.
 

“It’s just you and me now,” Vince says creepily.

Lacy takes a step back, picks a life jacket up off a counter, and tosses it at him.
 

Vince moves sideways, avoiding the jacket and taking another step toward her. “When you first told me you might not go, I asked you if you wanted this as badly as I do. You told me yes.”

“Wait, stop!” I shout.

“What?” Cooper says, almost jumping out of his seat.

I place my fingertips on my forehead, like it will help me remember. “Play that again.”

“When you first told me you might not go, I asked if you wanted this as badly as I do.”

“He said that exact line to me. About making his movie.
You want this as badly as I do, don’t you?
”

“That’s creepy,” Cooper says as he rewinds and presses play.
 

“. . . You told me yes.”

Lacy screams, “Well, I changed my mind!”
 

She takes another step backwards.

“No! Don’t give me that bullshit. Matt changed your mind! You came crying to me about it! I told you to figure it out.”

Lacy has a flashback of telling Vince she didn’t think she was going to study abroad and indicating that Matt wasn’t very supportive. Vince offers to take her for a walk to discuss it.
 

Lacy laughs. “I don’t think you can solve my boyfriend troubles, Vince, but thanks.”

Vince says, “Maybe you need to solve them yourself.”

And I have a flashback of my own.
 

I’m standing on the deck at a party, turning down a walk on the beach.
“Thanks for the offer, Vincent. It’s sweet of you, but I don’t think anyone can solve my boy problems.”

“Maybe you need to solve them yourself.
”

The movie keeps playing.
 

Vince is yelling at her, taking another step toward her, backing her into a corner. “But you didn’t fucking listen to me. You listened to him.”

Realizing she’s trapped, she pleads, “Don’t do this, Vincey. Tell me what you want and I’ll do it.”

He doesn’t stop moving toward her.

And he doesn’t reply.
 

He grabs her by the neck and starts dragging her out of the shed. “I want you, and I’m going to have you. All to myself.”

“Holy shit,” I mutter, another scene flashing in front of my eyes.

Vincent is dragging me and I plead, “Stop. Please, Vincent. Just tell me what you want, and I’ll do it. I promise I’ll make the movie with you. Just please don’t do this. Please.”