AllFreeNovel
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The sky shouldn’t be such a perfect shade of blue. The sun shouldn’t shine down with such stark brilliance, catching the highlights in Emory’s honey locks. Her expression is at odds with her beauty. An ugly mask of fear verging on panic hangs on Emory’s face.
She’s right to be afraid. This is a hard world and a hard city. LA makes a lot of people stars. But for every star who shines bright, there are a thousand more who fall to earth and sink deep into the dirt, never to be seen again.
I can’t stand Emory’s fear and pain. It cuts me like filament wire, all the way to the bone.
“Emory, I’m going to keep you safe.”
Her eyes, bluer than the sky above, dart over to me. Emory wants to believe me. She wants to be reassured. But she’s no airhead. Emory is sharper than an armor piercing round. Shepenetrates through the layers of bull most people weave around themselves.
“I know you’re trying to make me feel better, Cole,” she says with a sigh. “But you’re just one guy, against my ex and two main events from a true crime podcast. I was scared before. Now, I’m terrified.”
It’s hard to find the right words to respond. I’ve always known there are no guarantees in this world. Even when Jake and I went down into the Red Sea, the waves perfectly calm and visibility high, we’d known there was no guarantee we would make the trip back up.
I don’t want to offer her cold comfort. It never gave me anything when it was offered to me. I think Emory deserves better.
“The future hasn’t been written yet.”
Emory frowns, her lips growing plumper in a pout.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means, you keep acting like your ex getting to you, hurting you, is an inevitability. There’s no reason to believe that.”
She scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest protectively.
“What can we really do? We don’t even know where Julian is, or what he’s planning.”
“We take calm, logical steps to keep you safe.”
Emory visibly composes herself, but the suspicion remains deeply rooted in her blue eyes.
“All right, Cole. What calm, logical steps?”
“First off, you need to leave town for a few days, maybe a week.”
Emory’s face contorts as if she’s in pain. Her eyes squeeze shut and she turns her face away from me as if the words hurt.
“I knew you were going to say that. When I talked to Jax, he assured me that wouldn’t be the only option on the table.”
“Why can’t it be? And quite frankly, Jax told you that when we thought it was only Lovejoy to contend with. The game has changed.”
Emory shakes her head. “No, the game has not changed. I just landed the biggest gig of my life. I’m working with multi platinum selling artists on what might be the ultimate boy band comeback of all time. I can't leave town. I have to finish this gig, because if I flake out now my career might as well be over.”
I can’t help a flash of annoyed rage boiling through me.
“You’re more worried about your career than your life? Are you crazy?”
“A little, yeah,” she snaps right back, body stiff and angular like a posturing mantis. “Or a lot. You don’t understand how hard I’ve worked to get here.”
“It can’t be worth your life.”
She puts her hands on her hips. “What would you do if you were in my situation? Would you give up on your career and give in to fear?”
A groan forces its way out of my mouth.
“It’s different for me. My careers have all been inherently dangerous.”
She rolls her eyes. “That’s a cop out and you know it. Answer my question.”
