Shelter Me: A Shelter Novel (18 page)

T
he interview Jared
gave to Ann Maslow was everything I'd expected it to be. Brayden had already read it when he handed it over, and I could tell by the look on his face that he was pissed off.

Lucas and Grant were there too, I guessed for moral support.

"I knew she'd pull this," I muttered as I skimmed some of his answers regarding her seeing me and Jared together at his book party.

A
nn
: It seems like you know Ryn Taylor well. Is there history there?

Jared: I love her paintings.

Ann: How long have you loved her paintings for?

Jared: Long enough.

"
H
e's
the one not denying he knew you before—at least not very hard," Brayden pointed out. "She's doing her job, just a little too damned well. And, to add insult to injury, Jared called again—this morning—about the paintings. I told him you hadn't made a decision yet, and it's all I can do not to tell him to fuck off."

"He knows I'm looking for my past. If it comes out during this timeframe…" I trailed off.

"Yeah, your life will make for great publicity for him." Brayden rolled his eyes. "He's pushing you, Ryn. He doesn't care about putting you in danger or making you lose it over all of this."

I didn't point out the obvious, that I'd put myself in danger all by my lonesome just fine.

"Breathe, Ryn," Lucas said, a hand on my shoulder.

"I am. And I can't let Jared keep playing these mind games with me," I announced. "I have to confront him." When Lucas and Brayden both looked less than thrilled with that idea, I persisted with, "Jared knew I'd be in the city. He knew I was having my show."

"He moved his party," Grant broke in. "It was supposed to be the week before your show. It was moved two weeks before."

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"There was a call from his camp to Brayden's gallery right before the change of venue. Maybe two minutes in between the calls," Grant confirmed. "The party was booked for a restaurant but they couldn't accommodate the last-minute change that Jared insisted on."

Lucas swore under his breath.

"He hasn't told anyone who I am," I said finally.

"Not at the party, no. But since he saw you, with each subsequent interview, he's hinting," Grant told me. "Maybe I’m just reading into it, but I don’t want to take that chance. You should call him."

"No," Brayden said loudly.

"Ryn, I think you should make a date to go out with him. Try to figure out his end game. See if he's using the fact that he can reveal you to leverage something else," Grant explained, shooting an impatient glance at Lucas.

"I can definitely get him to reveal his plan," Lucas announced, his tone fierce and his hands fisted.

"Yes, that will go over really well," I told Lucas.

"You're not going out alone with him," he shot back.

"Why not? It wouldn't be a date."

"Maybe not to you."

"Oh, come on," I scoffed. "I meant nothing to him. He used me for book fodder." I noticed Brayden shaking his head. "What? You told me that's all it was," I said.

"I got the feeling he's still very into you."

"He's pretending to be, then—it's part of his game. Grant's right—I've got to find all of this out from Jared before it goes any further." I grabbed Jared's card from Grant's hand. "I'm calling him now. Once he reveals that I'm the basis for his book, I've got no place left to hide."

And even though in many ways that might be a relief, after the park incident, the thought scared the hell out of me.

Before I could back out—or Lucas could stop me—I went into another room with my cell phone, locked the door and dialed. "Hey Jared, it's Ryn."

"I knew you'd call." It was said without smugness, but he definitely sounded pleased.

I closed my eyes and forced myself to remember that I was trying to out-manipulate him. "Listen," I started before he could say something else that would make Lucas crazy, since I realized he'd picked the lock and was listening in on the conversation over my shoulder. "I was wondering if we could meet for a drink."

"Sure. I've got time tonight before I leave for the west coast." He named a place that was close to Brayden's gallery before adding, "How about I pick you up? I'm guessing you live close by."

"How about I…" Lucas growled.

"I'll meet you there. Six o'clock," I said hurriedly, then practically hung up on his, "I can't wait to see you."

"I'm going with you," Lucas said firmly.

"That would go over really well." I put a hand on his chest. "It's important for me to do this alone."

"It's important to me to keep you safe. No question—I'll be there. In the bar."

I sighed. It was the best I was going to get, and besides, he was right. It wasn't just Jared I needed to worry about. If anything, Jared was the easier force than my past threatened to be. "As long as you're with Grant. Because he can control you."

"When it comes to you, no one can control me." He meant it.

"I know you're worried. I get it. And I love you for it." I wrapped myself around him.

"You love me for it? Or you just love me?" he asked seriously.

"Both," I answered, just as seriously. I got a smile in return, one that relaxed his expression and took the haunted look from his eyes.

* * *

T
hat evening
, Jared was already at the bar, waiting in casual but expensive clothes. Because he wore them well, he was attracting a good deal of female attention. I could understand that for sure, but now that I knew him his handsomeness was lost on me.

"Ryn, hey." He stood, kissed me on both cheeks and then gave me a hug. I tried not to shrink away from any of it and managed what I hoped was a sincere smile when he pulled back. I don't think he'd notice either way. He wasn't aware of other people's emotions, just how he could manipulate them overall.

"Thanks for making time for me so quickly." I slid onto a stool he'd pulled out for me and he took his seat again. We ordered, a martini for him, a margarita for me, and made small talk about his upcoming tour while we waited for them.

"They've got me booked up. Between the book tour and the movie, I'm spinning." He didn't look unhappy about that at all.

"The book's doing well, then?" I managed.

"It's a commercial and critical success," he couldn't help but boast.

"How wonderful for you." God, I couldn't have held back the sarcasm if I'd tried, and it was flying over Jared's head anyway. Nothing could've penetrated his high. He was oblivious to anything but his success that appeared to be mounting as we spoke.

The whole thing made my skin crawl. And here I'd thought critics were the only parasites I'd needed to worry about.

"So," he asked, after we'd made a toast to old times (and I swore I heard Lucas groan from across the bar where he and Grant were waiting), "I'm guessing you read the book."

"I…couldn't," I lied. "It's too hard."

He sat back, properly chastened…or pretending to be. "Everything's fair game for me. I can't help it. But I'd never do anything that would hurt you."

Too late.
"You're wanting to use my paintings in your movie. You've mentioned that in a major magazine interview. You're coy when reporters ask if we know each other. I'm just worried that you'll mention me. Now that my name's a little more out there…"

"A little more? Ryn, the buzz
you're
getting is tremendous. I'd think you'd be more worried about that than anything."

"Wait, are you saying if someone from my past finds me, that it'll be my fault? Because that's kind of a dick thing to say."

He put his hands up. "You always did have a temper."

And the gloves were off. I pointed at him. "Don't you act like you know me. You don’t—and you never cared to."

He leaned forward, pushing my hand down. "And you still shared your life with me."

"I didn't think you'd put it in a book." We'd managed to keep our voices low enough, but if anyone was looking at us, it was obvious we weren't having the most pleasant of conversations.

Jared shrugged. "You didn't tell me not to."

"I didn't think I needed a nondisclosure agreement to fuck you."

He shook his head. "Ryn, when we spent that time together, I wasn't ready for anything serious. I'm in a different place now. And you obviously don't care about your past catching up to you. I never figured any of this would be an issue. If you're going to cash in on it, then it's fair game for me to do so as well. We're just two creatives, helping each other."

"You can't be this stupid."

He flinched. "The book's a peace offering. And since you seem to want to find out who you really are, I want to help you. You started this by showing your paintings, granting interviews and coming to New York. If your name comes out, because of that or because of my book, someone from your past can come forward and claim you. I'm assuming that's exactly what you want."

"Don't you dare tell me what I want." My voice held a fury that startled him. "I don't need your help with this. You've done enough."

"We make a good story. Think about it. We could be good together, Ryn. We
were
good together."

"Funny that you believe that now."

"I was young. I know I hurt you but I didn't meant to."

"You can't expect that I'd date you now. You're trying to convince me to come out for extra publicity for
you
."

He studied me. "I think you'd be a great asset. I'd love to consult with you on the script."

"Go fuck yourself." My hand gripped my drink, and I barely suppressed the urge to throw it in his face. Instead, I walked out.

And he followed, gripped my elbow before I got to the door to leave. "What did you expect? Do you think you could do all this and keep your life exactly the same? Because if you did, you're completely delusional."

I pulled away from him. "You think I wanted all this attention?"

"I don't see why else you'd do this, Ryn. You always were starved for attention."

His words stung. Maybe they'd been partially true at one point, but certainly now it seemed like he was building his case against me. "Maybe I was. I liked you. A lot. And what I told you was private."

He shook his head. "Like you pointed out, I didn’t need a nondisclosure agreement to fuck you."

I gaped at him, but before I could actually react further, Jared was torn from next to me and Lucas was basically dragging him out the door of the bar. I followed in time to watch Lucas punch Jared in his perfect cheekbone—twice—then continue to kick the shit out of him…at least until Grant pulled Lucas off.

Flashbulbs popped. I lowered my head and tried to disappear. Grant helped with that immediately, spiriting me away inside the waiting car, leaving Lucas to lunge at Jared again.

I watched through the dark window from inside the car. Jared was stunned, pointing at Lucas from his position on the ground, yelling, "I'll fucking sue you. And her."

Lucas lunged at Jared again but he didn't get very far before Grant caught him. Jared was scuttling backward on the concrete until he finally ended up being dragged from the pavement by what looked like a friend and into a waiting town car.

Of course, the paparazzi continued snapping pictures and shooting their video until Lucas and Grant got into the car with me. Grant, in the driver's seat and Lucas in the back with me.

As Grant maneuvered the car into the heavy traffic, none of us spoke. I was holding my breath until Grant found a break in the traffic and sped away.

Grant pulled in front of my building and Lucas and I got out. "I'll call you," Lucas told Grant.

"Way to keep it under wraps," Grant said.

"Fuck that. We can protect her. Let her goddamn past come for her. I'm not going to let her be held hostage anymore."

"I hear you, brother."

Lucas nodded, then shut the door. We went into the building, into the elevator and finally we were alone in my apartment. Lucas was still vibrating with a palpable anger.

I put my hands on his cheeks. "It's okay, Lucas. I'm okay."

Lucas growled, "I'll fucking kill him for doing that to you. It's not okay. But it will be."

His expression was stony and I didn't bother to argue. He scared the hell out of me, and I liked it. A lot. And he knew it, pulled me to him harder, held me tighter. He growled. Nipped my neck and I felt the wildness rise in him. It would push out of him, invade me the way he would when he took me. And I wanted to take that ride with him. Let him push me harder and higher, until I was breathing him, controlled by him fully.

"Yes," I whispered.

"You don't fully believe me." He popped buttons off my shirt, opening it bit by bit, slid it off my shoulders. "But you will."

"I know you were right—about Jared. About what he was doing," I murmured.

"I'm going to fuck you, and you're going to keep saying that to me. Over and over." Lucas swept me up and carried me into the bedroom.

After he put me down on the bed, he reached into his pocket and pulled out my knife that he must’ve taken from my bag. "I love that you carry this. Love even more that I bet you know how to use it to protect yourself."