Out of the Shadow (37 page)

“
Leave her out of it,” Ally said, gently shoving Sami out of the way. “You’re just pissed because you’re barely holding on to your position on this team. You know Sami can outplay you.”

Danielle laughed hollowly and her eyes narrowed dangerously. “Not even in her dreams, Jones, but I digress. Tell us, Miss Ally, why did Cole Crawford dump you?” She folded her arms over her chest, her thin lips pulled back in another sneer. “Did you follow in Daddy’s footsteps?”

“
I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re rambling about, Danielle,” Ally said, a shiver starting deep inside her body and working its way out.

“
Oh, no?” Danielle said, lifting a brow. She placed a finger on her nostril and inhaled deeply before lapsing into a smile. “Been indulging in a little nose candy? Huh? Cole find out and decide he didn’t want you ruining his band the way your father ruined Tight Control?”

Ally’s jaw dropped as she staggered back a step. She shook her head wildly. “No, my father did not ruin his band.”

“
He came awfully close, wouldn’t you say?” Danielle said, leering at Ally. She closed the distance with a step. “Daddy couldn’t lay off the coke, could he? Is that why he ‘retired’?” she asked, making air quotes around the word.

Ally shook her head, too dumbfounded to speak and too angry to move anything else.

“
Sure,” Danielle continued, hitting her stride. “He was probably messed up on the coke and who knows what else and the rest of the band dumped him. Cole Crawford doesn’t want the same thing to happen to his band so he kicked you to the curb, huh? Kicked you to the gutter where your wasted, worthless father is, or will be before long.”

White fury flashed through her brain as she launched her body at Danielle and aimed a fist at the side of her face, connecting with a gratifying crunch. They both tumbled to the floor, rolling around, punching, kicking, scratching. Ally continued to swing blindly, not knowing or caring if she connected again. She was aware of Danielle inflicting a bit of damage but she couldn’t feel a thing through the savage rage that swept through her veins.

“
Ally, no!” Sami screamed, hopping from foot to foot, trying to reach out and snag Ally’s shirt. “Stop!”

The other girls on the team gathered around, cheering the fight on, until an enraged Coach Thornberg shoved them aside and snatched Ally off of Danielle. “That is enough!”

Ally fell against the lockers, wiping the blood off her lips with the back of her hand, her chest heaving. Danielle stumbled to her feet, a red welt puffing up under her eye.

“
Everyone except for these two out on the floor now,” Coach shouted, her face purple. She waited until the locker room cleared, her angry glare jumping from Ally to Danielle and back again. “You two collect your stuff and get out of here. I will email you tonight and tell you what time I want you in my office tomorrow so I can tell you your punishment. Now go.”

Ally shot one last glare at Danielle before scooping up her bag. She strode out of the locker room, pausing only to retrieve a sweatshirt from her bag and yank it over her head, then ran to the parking lot, ignoring the biting wind that nipped at her bare legs.

She started her car and let it warm up as she dug her phone out of her bag. She hit his number, her body trembling in anger.

“
Hey, did practice let out early?” Robby asked.

“
Where are you?” she said, trying to control the tremor in her voice.

“
On my way home, why?” he asked, concern lingering in his tone. “Ally, what’s the matter?”

She ignored his question. “Is it okay if I come over?”

“
Of course it is,” he said. “I’ll meet you there.”

She shut her phone and put the car in gear, hoping to leave her anger in the parking lot.

***

“
Hey, guys,” Nate said as Cole, RJ, Ren, and Parker filed into the conference room. “Robby had to go to Indy this morning so you have to deal with us for now.” He forced a smile as he gauged Cole’s reaction. “But, he should be back in town by now and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind coming in to talk to you.”

Cole smirked and yanked out a chair. “Nah, you’ll do. So, we’re all set? It’s cool if we record this new CD here?”

“
Yep,” Jay said, opening a file. He withdrew a piece of paper. “Robby has been working on a tentative schedule and he asked us to give it to you. He said for you four to get together and make sure it works. If you want to change something, to write it on your copy and leave it for him and he’ll fix it if he can.”

“
Wow,” Parker said. “He got us in quickly. We were going to have to wait a few more weeks if we would have recorded in L.A.”

“
Rhys is really swamped right now,” Nate explained. “Jay and I are going to take turns flying out there to help him out when we can. Robby is going to stay here and keep things running. And he wants you guys in the studio as soon as possible.”

“
I agree,” Cole said. “We want to get this new CD out quickly.”

Doug and Lila slipped into the room and sat at the table. Doug grinned at Jay. “Is that the recording schedule?”

“
Yeah,” Nate said, sliding Doug a copy. “Robby said he hasn’t had a chance to work on local appearances yet but he’d give you a call, probably in the morning.”

“
Great,” Doug said as his eyes perused the paper. “So, they’ll start recording next week, huh? Maybe we can get a couple appearances in before then.”

“
You’ll have to talk to Robby,” Nate said with an apologetic smile. “He just asked us to go over this recording schedule with the boys.”

“
Do you guys have any questions?” Jay asked.

“
I don’t,” Cole declared, anxious to end the meeting. His stomach was protesting lack of food and he wanted to get home, make a huge sandwich, and catch a basketball game.

“
Me, either,” RJ declared. He glanced at Parker and Ren who both shook their heads. RJ grinned. “Meeting adjourned. Let’s eat!”

As they trickled out of the conference room, Lila caught up to Cole and grabbed his arm. Startled, he shot her a look. “Hey, what’s up?”

“
I need to talk to you really fast,” she said, her eyes dripping with worry.

“
Sure,” he said with a shrug and followed her to the break room.

She closed the door and leaned against it. She took a deep breath and wet her lips. “Cole, I heard about Ally and Robby and I’m really sorry.”

His brows scrunched up as he jammed his hands in his jeans pockets. “I’m not following you. What about them? They’re friends – so what?”

She stepped toward him and rested a sympathetic hand on his arm. “No, they’re not. Doug told me that Rhys Redden managed to get tickets to Oakwood Manor for Robby and Ally for the New Year’s party and that they’ve been dating since before Christmas.”

Cole shook his head as a doubtful laugh left his lips. “Not likely. Ally and Robby are only friends.”

Lila bit her lip. “I’m sorry, Cole, but it’s true.”

A fist clutched his lungs and squeezed as he shook off her hand, pushed her away, and stormed out the door. It just could not be true.

***

“
What in the hell happened to you?” Robby demanded as he opened the door and admitted her. The tantalizing aroma of spicy chicken and beans wafted to her nose.

Her once neat ponytail was in wild disarray and she was certain her face was a mess. On the drive over, little aches and pains had made themselves known and when she’d glanced in the mirror, she’d noticed a few scratches on her cheek, a welt under her left eye, and a bit of dried blood on her bottom lip.

“
I got into a fight in the locker room,” she said as tears began to well in her eyes. “Stupid, really, but I just couldn’t help myself.”

He gathered her in his arms and she closed her eyes to bury her face in his chest. “Ally,” he cooed. “Are you all right?”

She nodded and eased out of his arms to smile up at him. “Yeah. She’s one of those jealous types. She started ragging me about why Cole and I broke up and then she threw in my dad’s drug addiction for the hell of it and I couldn’t help myself.”

He gently brushed her hair aside and inspected her face. “She got a few licks in, huh?”

“
A few,” Ally admitted before an evil glint sparkled in her eyes. “But I got in my share, too.”

He smiled and kissed the welt near her eye. “Maybe it was therapeutic,” he said then gave her a stern look. “Not that I condone that type of behavior.”

She rolled her eyes and fell back into his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. “And maybe this is therapeutic.”

He held her, gave her a squeeze then kissed the top of her head. “Come to the kitchen. I stopped and grabbed some food.”

“
Mexican,” she said as she released him. “I smelled in when I walked in the door.”

He chuckled as he fetched two plates from a cabinet. “Glad I rate higher than the food.”

She smiled at him. “You do.”

He winked and set a plate in front of her then turned to grab silverware. She opened the cartons and started dishing out the food.

They talked while they ate and Ally told him about her conversation with Jamie earlier that morning. He set his fork down and tented his fingers over his plate.

“
He’s right, Ally,” Robby said. “He needs to know, especially since I’m going to be working with him. Now, I can take him aside and tell him, but I think he’d rather hear it from you.”

She groaned and rested her head on the table. “I know, I know.”

“
You’re about to get salsa in your hair,” he said, in an effort to lighten the mood. She lifted her head and raised a brow at him. She slipped out of her seat and climbed in his lap, straddling his legs. His hands rose to her waist as a dimpled smirk crossed his lips.

“
And you’ve got salsa right…here,” she said in a low voice. She kissed the corner of his mouth. He moved his hands to the small of her back and pressed her closer as her lips closed over his. He deepened the kiss, much to her delight, and she raked her hands through his hair. A sense of sweetness enveloped her heart as his arms wrapped around her and held her protectively close to his body. She moved her lips over his, hungry for the excitement that always rattled her body whenever he kissed her.

Then, the front pocket of her sweatshirt started to ring. Her foggy mind didn’t register it but Robby’s did.

He pulled his lips slightly away from hers. “Answer your phone or turn it off.”

She grinned and yanked it out of her pocket, flipping it open quickly. “Hello?” she answered a bit breathless.

“
When the hell were you going to tell me, Al?” Cole demanded.

It was like someone dumped frigid water over her head at that moment. “Cole?”

“
When did you plan on telling me that you and Robby are dating?” he asked, his voice cold fury. “After I started working with him? Or did you think that you could just come in the studio and make out with him and let me figure it out on my own?”

“
No…Cole…I wasn’t,” she tried to explain. All the words she’d thought she had carefully planned disappeared and her mind turned numb. “Cole…”

“
Save it, Al,” he said.

She summed up the last vestiges of her anger. “Maybe I was waiting for you to tell me about the girl you’re dating,” she said, her voice rising. She’d started to move off of Robby’s lap but he clutched her hips tightly and shook his head.