The Monster of Fame (The Price of Fame Series) (8 page)

But she couldn’t leave. Not now, not when her family relied on the money she made, and the possibility of winning the competition. The bank had called her mobile that morning. They were now two months in arrears and the interest being added was crazy. She could lose the house. Her mum and gran would be homeless. Her gran was weak and deteriorating slowly. Would the stress of it all kill her?

Anna held herself together and clenched her hands into fists. This was it. Her life, all their fates, came down to him. The man who’d asked her if she was on drugs. The man who’d sought her out so many times in the last two weeks to make sure she was okay. The man who looked like something had died inside of him when he’d kissed her. The man who’d been on her mind every second of every day since.

“Miles, we need your decision,” Mhairi prompted after what seemed like an eternity.

His eyes snapped open and he stared right at Anna. His intense gaze made her even more nervous than she’d ever felt. After a moment, she almost forgot that her life was in his hands. There was an underlying pain beneath the leafy green depths of his eyes she didn’t understand.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

Despair rocketed through Anna, knocking the breath right out of her as quick as a hard punch to the gut. Before she composed herself, he spoke again.

“Sam, Jenkins, Annabelle. The competition this year is fierce, but it is a competition and I have to put the person through who has the best recording voice. After all, that’s mostly what this show is about.”

Anna closed her eyes and felt the moisture spill over and roll down her cheeks. He was going to send her home. She had no doubt about it. Why would anyone in their right mind put her through when she hadn’t the balls to so much as face the audience when she was singing?

Not to mention, this
was
a competition and the winning judge not only got the chance to offer the winner a record deal, but they got half a million pounds. What idiot would throw that away?

“So, I’ve made my decision. I’m going to have to send Annabelle through. I’m sorry, guys.”

Idiot indeed.

What on earth was he doing? Anna’s eyes flew open and she stared at him for a moment in utter shock. She barely noticed Safri glaring at him, or the cheers from the audience.

Suddenly, the whole day’s events seemed too much to tolerate. The bank demanding money, hearing muffled boos as she sang a song she knew didn’t suit her, being in the bottom three of the night, and her mentor backing someone else. A crushing despair overwhelmed her and she burst into tears on stage in front of Miles, the audience, and probably the whole of the UK. Not silent tears either, but the full, sobbing and sniffing kind that would embarrass her later when she didn’t feel so overpowered by emotion.

She was ushered off the stage by Mhairi, but couldn’t hear the words over the sobs ripping from her chest.
What if Miles was right that first day?
she thought as she tried to pull herself together. What if she wouldn’t be able to cut it? What would her family do then?

* * * *

“Ugh,” Anna groaned at her tear-stained face and red, puffy eyes in the mirror. She couldn’t go out in public like this. Mascara blackened her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. She pulled out a few face wipes and got to work removing the mess.

It took ten minutes to pull herself together, but she managed to do it. What was important was that she had another chance to stay in and she’d make sure she did better next week. One breakdown wasn’t going to break her.

Once she finished with her face, she slipped on the jeans and t-shirt she’d worn at rehearsals. Unable to face going to the house to celebrate, she went back to the table in her dressing room and pulled out her phone.

Maybe all those people who followed her on EconEkt would give her the encouragement she needed. She felt hollow from the close call and could barely summon the energy to get up from the chair. The thought of facing a house full of strangers she didn’t like was bad enough, never mind now, after getting through over Sam and Jenkins who were friends with everyone else.

A knock at the door interrupted her worrying. She put her phone on the dresser and went to answer it. Before she reached the door, Miles walked into the room, closing the door behind him. His face was blank, but the torture still hadn’t left his eyes.

“Thank you,” she told him sincerely. “I really appreciate you giving me another chance.”

Something flashed in his eyes then, something that looked like anger. Anna backed up a step. “Don’t thank me.” His voice was hard and flat, only an undercurrent of anger leaked through. “Have you even thought about what will happen if you win?”

“No.” She thought it would all be over then, all the worry, the anxiety attacks, the constant fear of homelessness. Everything would be okay if she won. Wouldn’t it?

“If you win this, the whole country will know who you are. Your life will be free pickings for the papers and magazines. You won’t ever have privacy. You will be constantly criticized and you won’t be able to stop it. Being famous isn’t all glitz and glamour, and the weak can’t survive it. Fame comes at a price. It can hurt and destroy people.”

His angry torrent of words ended and the sparkle in his eyes died, just like it did after he kissed her.

“How do you know?” she asked. His life didn’t seem all that bad. He was famous and appeared to be doing okay. Or was that for show?

“Because it happened to my wife.”

He looked away and Anna was glad. Pain laced through her for his loss and she was sure it showed in her expression. She tried to pull herself together.

“What happened to her?” Anna knew he’d been married at one point, but years and years ago. The papers didn’t write much about it now.

He met her gaze and her breath caught at his grief-stricken expression. “Cassie was famous, a singer too, but she couldn’t handle the pressure fame put on her. She turned to drugs to help her through, and one day…she took too much.” His voice cracked and his eyes squeezed shut. She could see the sheen of tears just below and her heart hurt so much for him she thought she might break down again.

But she didn’t. Instead, Anna walked over to him and placed a hand on his bare forearm. The heat from his skin made her heart race, but she ignored it. Miles opened his eyes and stared down at her, looking more lost than she felt.

“I’m sorry, Miles,” she told him, her voice thick with emotion. “I’m truly sorry for your loss.”

After gazing at her for a moment longer, he nodded and left.

Anna stared at the closed door and understanding dawned. He didn’t want her to go through in the competition because he was
worried
about her. Not because he didn’t think she was good enough. He genuinely believed she wasn’t strong enough to handle it…just like his wife.

Although Anna knew nothing about his wife, she knew that she wouldn’t end up the same way. She would never take drugs and would find some other way to cope with the stress and pressure if she did win. Now all she had to do was show
him
that she would be strong enough to survive.

She had to be.

Chapter 6

Betrayal

Anna felt like throwing the damn CD out the window. It was Tuesday and she still had no idea what song she was going to sing on Saturday. Most of the other acts were already rehearsing theirs.

Safri hadn’t returned any of her calls all week, so she came to the studio today to see what kind of songs they had. This week they were to sing a song by someone from their own country. Anna couldn’t find any Scottish songs which suited her voice, and she was getting more frustrated by the second.

The CD one of the guys in the studio had given her with suggested tracks was terrible. She didn’t know half them, and the other half were in thick, heavy Scottish accents and even she couldn’t understand the words.

The studio was quiet today. Most of the others already had their music mixed the way they wanted and were spending the day shopping for new outfits to reinvent themselves. They hadn’t invited her. Not that she really expected them to.

Then there was the other, increasingly alarming distraction making it harder and harder to concentrate on anything at all.

Miles.

She hadn’t seen or heard from him since he’d left her dressing room on Saturday night. She’d even logged into EconEkt hoping that he’d contacted her. Nothing. His face—so full of grief and torture—stuck in her mind and she’d driven herself crazy wondering if he was okay.

Anna hit play and another song on the CD she didn’t recognize played with a snappy, Highland Fling-like beat. She cringed at the unattractiveness of the singer’s thickly accented voice. Only three songs left on the disc and she wasn’t holding out hope that they were any better.

The door to the studio opened and Anna’s eyes widened as she saw Miles laughing at something Kev Jones, one of his mentees, was saying. She’d never seen him laugh before. The way his whole face lit up made him look like a different man. He looked years younger and his emerald eyes held a sparkle that she never knew they could.

She froze for a second at the computer before ejecting the CD and headed for the exit.

“Where are you off to?” Miles asked lightly.

“I didn’t know you were using the studio today. Sorry, I’ll get out of your way.”

He frowned at her for a moment and turned to the other three. “Kev, Orson, go set up. Jonny, you can check to see if the version of your song is in the archives. I’ll just be a minute.”

Miles followed her into the hall and walked her outside. “What’s up?” he asked as they neared the exit.

“I can’t find a Scottish song. All the songs in the archive don’t suit me. I don’t know a lot of Scottish singers and the choice in there isn’t exactly limitless.”

Miles laughed at her frustrated rant and she found herself unable to take her eyes off him. Straight, pearly teeth shone between his parted lips and she was distracted by remembering the feel of those lips on hers.

“Well, how about something older? Have you ever heard
I Know Him So Well?
”

Anna nodded. She loved that song, her gran used to play Barbara’s records around the house. “I never thought of that.” She was getting more excited by the second. It didn’t last long though. “But that’s not on the discs. I checked them all.” There was no way she’d be able to find that song, change it, and rehearse it properly before Saturday. For one, she wasn’t great at remixing music.

“I know.” They were outside now. The mid-day July sun shone down on them from above and she noticed that there was barely a cloud in the sky. Even the drab, concrete parking lot looked almost pretty on such a nice day.

Anna inhaled the warm air and turned to Miles. His forehead was creased like he was having an internal debate about something.

“Thanks. I’ll just have to think of something else.” But even as she said it, she knew that was a lie. Where and how? That wasn’t Miles’s problem though. He had his own acts to watch out for.

She turned to walk away, but he caught her by the arm and turned her around. A jolt of heat shot up from his touch. “Wait. Can’t Safri get it for you?”

Anna shrugged. “I’ve not been able to get in touch with her this week.”

His scowl was filled with rage, but she thought she could see a flicker of guilt in his eyes. Weird. “I’ll help you. I can download the song and we can work on it tonight if you want.”

“Isn’t that against the rules?” she asked.

The guilt and anger vanished and a warm smile curved his lips. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

Anna couldn’t help herself, she grinned back at him, feeling like a load had been lifted off her shoulders.

* * * *

Miles opened the door to his flat, nerves and excitement almost overwhelming him at the thought of spending the evening with Annabelle. Of course, it wasn’t like she was there to see him. She was there because he’d offered to help.

Her smile lit up her face and he was lost for a moment, gazing into her wide, blue eyes. Her top was the same color and only made them brighter. “Hey,” he managed to choke out before clearing his throat. “Come in.”

She did and glanced around the hallway with her lips parted. For a moment, he was thrown back to the night he had his mouth on hers, remembering the feel of her soft breasts crushed against his chest and the silky feeling of her dark red curls sliding through his fingers.

His heart started thrumming out an unsteady rhythm, pumping heated blood around his body. He turned quickly and led her down the hallway.

He bought the flat a few years ago. The stylish, yet minimal space screamed ‘bachelor pad’. No woman who ever visited would get the impression that he was a family guy from this house and that’s exactly how he liked it—after all, he didn’t deserve a family of his own. Not that he had many women back to his home, especially since the incident when his little boy soldier wouldn’t stand to attention.

Off-white walls showcased prints, some replicas of famous pieces, others designer canvasses picked out by his interior designer. They passed the front room, his game room—which he’d never used since he’d bought the place—and continued on to the room at the end which was supposed to be for dining. Miles, however, had redone it like a mini recording studio for when he brought his work home with him.

Machinery was crammed into almost every corner and there was a drop down mic in the center of the ceiling. He mostly used this room for remixes.

“Wow, it’s…wow.” Annabelle gasped.

A smile tugged the corners of his lips despite the shame threatening to engulf him.

“It does the job.” Miles sauntered over to the sound system and hit play. “Let me know what you think.”

The music blared out of the surround sound speakers in an upbeat rendition of the song he’d suggested. The words were the same, but he wanted to modernize it so he underlined the slow piano music with a subtle drum beat.

“It’s great, Miles! Um, I’m guessing it goes something like this?” Annabelle began to sing the chorus, almost the way he’d imagined, led solely by the music.