Unstoppable (Fierce) (21 page)

The topic thankfully changed after that, circling back around to politics – one of Coy Goddard’s favorite subjects. “Hopefully by November we’ll see a changing of the guard in Washington,” he commented as he packed some tobacco into his pipe. “Can’t happen soon enough if you ask me. These last four years have been disastrous for our country.”

Sherry preened. “Coy is debating another run for office.”

“Really, Daddy?” Shelby asked. “I thought you were through with that.”

“
Someone has to do something to take our country back. We’re heading right toward a hedonistic downfall. We have to protect the strong moral code that this country was founded upon, and several high-dollar donors think I may be the man for the job. We believe that America needs to return to more traditional family values where people know their roles in society and stop trying to force their bad decisions on the rest of us.”

“I agree wholeheartedly,” Eddie piped up. “We grew up in a very conservative area of Iowa where God is the cornerstone and family is the foundation.” He turned to Jace. “That’s
what you sacrificed your leg for, isn’t it, Chief?”

Jace took a de
ep breath. “I sacrificed my leg in a roadside bomb. Not necessarily a value of any family I know.”

Coy’s
eyes hardened as he stared at Jace. “Are you questioning America, son?”

Jace did not back down. “I question any action that kills young men with little to no accountability, sir. I do believe that’s my American right.”

Coy was flabbergasted. Red crept up his neck as he struggled for something to say, but Jace wasn’t going to give him any opportunity.

“I should probably get going,” Jace said as he stood from the sofa.
“We have a long day tomorrow.”

“I’ll walk you out,”
Shelby said as she hopped up to join him.

After Jace left, I could tell that Dr. Goddard had taken a particular preference to Eddie.
And why not? Eddie knew how to turn on the charm. He was a football hero, which – in the south, at least – held a lot of value, second only to serving in the military in some circles. He also knew just what to say, and he was quite invested in earning Coy’s favor. Unlike Jace, Eddie passed all of Coy’s questions with flying colors. He was the right religion, the right political affiliation, and couldn’t understand how any man wouldn’t want to shoot a gun.

It was more than I could stand.
I stifled a yawn and excused myself.

Eddie joined me a half hour later, grinning triumphantly as he shrugged out of his shirt. “Nice digs,” he commented as he looked around the stylish room. “Who knew that Shelby’s family was loaded?”

I shrugged. I didn’t care about that stuff.

He unzipped his pants and I turned away. “What’s wrong, baby? Aren’t you happy to see your loving husband?”

“You know the answer to that,” I said as I pulled the covers up to my chin.

“Thought you’d get some uninterrupted time along with Bionic Boy, huh?” he chuckled as he crawled into bed next to me. There were no separate sleeping arrangements under the watchful eye of the
Goddards, and I was not stubborn enough to risk my back by sleeping on the floor. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

I glared at him. “No, you’re not.”

“You’re right,” he agreed happily. “I’m not.” He ran his finger along my arm, which made me jerk away like I had been touched by a snake. “But there is good news, my sweet. Your time with me may very well be coming to an end before you know it.”

I eyed him suspiciously. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t you know? I’m prime, son-in-law material for the good doctor. Shelby may want Jace, but Coy thinks he’s a whiny, liberal, pansy-ass now that he’s been injured. Not go shooting? Are you kidding me?” He laughed. “But guess where Coy and I are going tomorrow while you all go play rock star?”

My stomach dropped. “Eddie, please leave Shelby alone.”

He bent closer. “Why? You jealous?”

“No. She’s my friend. I don’t want to see her hurt.”

He laughed out loud. “Yet you’re fucking her beloved every chance you get. God, you’re a piece of work, Jordi.”

“I’m not perfect,” I agreed. “But neither are you.”

“You know, you should be thanking me. I could easily make her hate the both of you just by showing her that video and those photos. And who would she turn to for comfort then? The two-faced slut who called herself her best friend? Or the husband who was betrayed by the woman he loved most in the world?” He fluttered his eyelids dramatically.

“So why don’t you?” I snapped.
The only thing worse than his having the blackmail tape was how quick he was to lord it over me.

“
In a hurry for the whole world to get a peek at the goods?” he asked as his eyes traveled lower across my body, effectively shutting me up. The thought of my naked image splashed worldwide struck terror in my heart and he knew it. He pulled out his phone and cued up a number that simply said PING. “Because I can do it any old time I want. Wonder if Dr. Goddard will let me stay here in the house after they take your slutty ass out with the garbage?”

“I hate you,” I hissed.

He laughed as he scooted even closer. His hand landed on my thigh. “So does that mean you don’t have some sugar for your better half?” he crooned as his hand slid slowly up my leg.

I wrenched away. “Don’t touch me!” I snapped. It only made him laugh harder.

“Don’t worry,” he finally said as he leaned back on his side of the bed. “I leave sloppy seconds, I don’t chase them. Hopefully your man will stay faithful and not sully Shelby before I get a chance to wreck that sweet ass.”

“She won’t sleep with you,” I told him, hoping against all hope that would prove true. The last things she needed
was to be put through the emotional wringer known as Eddie Nix.

“Of course she will,” he responded, self-assured. “They all do. Eventually,” he grinned as he reached over and honked my breast.

I slapped him away and turned my back toward him.

A little after three that morning, something woke me up from my fitful slumber. I couldn’t fully rest knowing Eddie was sleeping right next to me, and I trusted him about as far as I could throw him. After all that had happened with Shane, I was wary of being so close to a man who had done nothing but systematically hurt me every chance he got.

I slid out of bed, making sure I didn’t rouse him in the process, then slipped soundlessly out of my door. I heard the sounds again, horrible, violent, sounds coming from Shelby’s room. I knocked lightly but no one answered. I hesitated a moment before I opened the door and entered the dark room.

The retching sounds were coming from the adjoining bathroom that had a sliver of light under the door. Cautiously I approached. “Shelby?” I called out softly.

“I’m OK,” she called out. “Don’t come in.”

Undaunted, I opened the door. She was sprawled out by the toilet, which was full of vomit. I was on the floor next to her in an instant. “Are you OK?”

She nodded. “Just something I ate,” she dismissed as she flushed the toilet. I reached for a wash rag and dampened it with cold water.

“That happens a lot,” I noted softly as I bathed her face.

She shrugged. “My system is sensitive, I guess,” she said without looking me in the eye. She struggled to stand, and as I helped her I could feel how frail she was.

“Should I go get your father?” I asked but she shook her head wildly.

“No!” she said, panicked that I could suggest such a thing. She smiled quickly, “I’m fine. Just help me get to bed. I’m sure I’ll feel better by tomorrow.”

I could almost feel her rib bones against my hands as I guided her back to her cheerful pink bed. There were two bowls on the nightstand, stacked inside each other. I could tell by the smell they had been
full of her mother’s rich bread pudding. I could also tell they were emptied recently, thanks to the moist remnants that remained.

“No wonder you got sick,” I said with a smile.

She grinned half-heartedly. “Yeah, I guess I overdid it.” Her bloodshot eyes met mine. “You won’t tell my folks, right?”

I paused. “Not if you don’t want me to,” I finally said.

She nodded as she snuggled under the covers. “Jordi?”

“Yeah?”

“Stay?”

I looked down at her. She looked like a tiny child under all the covers. Her eyes were big and blue and terrified. “Okay,” I said as I slid into her bed next to her. She cuddled up to me.

“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had,” she declared again. “I love you.”

I gave her a hug and held her until she fell asleep.

Meanwhile I stayed wide awake, wondering how the hell I was going to extricate us all from this big, tangled mess.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

February 29, 2012

The next ten days followed the same annoying pattern. Eddie decided he liked being a part of the tour and joined us at the next stop in Chicago, so I ended up traveling with him, staying with him and even sightseeing with him, to ensure that PING wouldn’t have any more ammunition against his character. He insisted that Jace, Shelby, he and I all hang out together, which Shelby thought was a fine idea. So we ended up a fearsome foursome, which felt most days like juggling wet dynamite.

Jace and I ended up sublime actors in a macabre play, which meant we could be together but not. It was torture, though Eddie and Shelby were blissfully unaware.

Most of all, Eddie enjoyed the party life that came with touring. He managed to get whatever he wanted, even discarded groupies who wanted one night with someone – anyone – famous. This helped me keep him at arm’s length, but he was getting even more and more brazen with me as well. Of course, most of it was to piss off Jace, rubbing it in his face that he couldn’t be with me. But it also played into Eddie’s plan to get Shelby. He wanted to show her how romantic, loving and passionate he could be with me, to plant it in her head that he was a romantic, loving and passionate guy. When the day came, he would cry on her shoulder over my betrayal with Jace, and she would realize what a great catch he was, giving herself over to him before his tears dried on her shirt.

That was his plan anyway, and he wasn’t shy about telling me about it.

After that night I stayed with her in Tennessee, he started making lewd comments about how he could have the best of both worlds if I decided to play on both teams.

“We’re celebrities now,” he’d leer. “We’re expected to do freaky shit.” He’d then go into explicit detail how we’d make that Eddie sandwich, pushing the envelope farther and farther each time he broached the topic. I wasn’t sure what got him off more, the fact that it was a top male fantasy of sex with two girls, or that it disturbed me so greatly to hear him talk about it.

It was humiliating and infuriating, but it was a burden I ultimately carried alone. I didn’t tell Jace half of what Eddie said, there was no point. He’d argue we should call his bluff, but I would balk and it would frustrate Jace even more.

So I did what I always did. I protected everyone else
at great personal cost.

After staying with Shelby in Tennessee, and watching how her father treated her and how she reacted to it, I knew that Shelby’s troubles ran deep. I pieced it together that she was a binge eater when she was upset, just like I was.
Only whenever she would binge, she would either go into exercise overdrive or – since the tour at least – purge. With her emotional history of cutting and being hospitalized, it became my first priority to be a buffer between her and anyone who could hurt her. Given that Eddie became one of Coy Goddard’s favorite people during our stay, that meant I had to do whatever I could to keep her away from Eddie. I found myself pushing her toward Jace on more than one occasion, while throwing myself on an Eddie grenade so she wouldn’t step any closer into his trap.

This meant she and Jace were thrust together as the “sweethearts” of the tour.
It became the focus of every interview as the gossip propelled us from city to city. Their photos were scattered all over the Internet and every single grocery store checkout. They were on billboards from coast to coast, thanks to T&L, so they were now being asked to do mall appearances.

So far, none had gone as badly as the one in Dallas
, but the “scandal” that T&L didn’t sell clothes for plus-size customers dogged the campaign. How could they come from a show that said everyone was welcome, everyone fit in, and endorse a product that was purposely exclusive?

Jace was ready to bail on the campaign but I begged him to hang in there, for Shelby’s sake. She had been shortchanged in her career by her domineering father – this was one of the fe
w perks she was able to enjoy. I reminded him that it was a manufactured controversy that would have followed them no matter which designer line they opted to endorse, so they might as well ride the wave and get their names out there.

It wasn’t until we landed in Philadelphia that February 29
th
that I realized the extent of the controversy. PING cameras were thrust into my face the minute I disembarked, as the gossip peddlers that disguised themselves as legitimate press pounced Eddie and me.