Gravity (Artistic Pricks Ink Book 1) (19 page)

“It’s just like the others pretty much,” I explain. “It doesn’t give me much to go on. I’ve never seen the handwriting before.”

“When did this start?” Luke asks, staring at me for the answer.

“Same night this photo was taken was when I got the first letter,” I answer, not meeting his eyes.

“I see,” he grinds out, no doubt irritated with me. “That explains a lot.”

Lucia clears her throat. “The incidents? Have they all been at your home?” She asks, scribbling on her notepad.

“No, they have been both at home and at my place of employment.” I explain, Luke sits there in shock just watching me. No doubt taking it all in since I’ve never told him anything. He’s learning it all as I give my statement. The look on his face alone tells me he is not happy about being kept in the dark.

Sliding her notebook across the table to me, she hands me her pen. “Please write down the contact information for your employer. I’ll contact them and see if there’s anything there. You work in the city?”

“Yes, I’m a dancer,” I reply, scribbling down Kelly’s information along with Doug’s.

“Things are hard with the nightlife. I assumed you were a dancer with the photos in your home,” she replies as I hand her back her pad and pen. “For now, you’ll need somewhere to stay. Preferably not alone. Your house is a crime scene and, honestly, as bad as it is, it’s unlivable. Officer Steward and I will need info to reach both of you at all times. Do you have somewhere to stay?”

I rack my brain. The last thing I need is to spend my rainy day money on a hotel. Who knows how long it will take to repair all that damage or if my renter’s insurance will even cover it. Without missing a beat, Luke stands to his feet. Pulling a card from his pocket, he hands it to her. “We will both be at this address and all my numbers are on that as well.”

“That will be fine. Thank you for your cooperation. I’ll be in touch.” After shaking our hands, she produces a card of her own and hands it to me. “If you need anything,” she explains, tapping the card with her finger, “you call me. I run a group for victims of stalking and abuse. Don’t hesitate to call me, you’re not alone.”

“Thank you,” I reply before Luke shows her out.

Burying my face in my hands, I try to think what to do next. Not like anything much in my house is salvageable, even if I can’t stay there I would need some things to get by at... Oh shit! Luke handed her a card. His card no doubt. I can’t just stay with him, can I?

I don’t know how much time I’m lost in my own head, but I feel Audrey come around the table and sit beside me. “You’re good for him.” She says, placing her hand on my shoulder. The simple touch is so comforting and I don’t think she knows how much. My mother used to do the very same thing when I had a bad day. Funny how those days, as bad as they seemed at the time, feel like nothing at all now. “You’re probably the best possible thing to come along right now.” I hear her mutter to herself, her fingers running in small, soothing circles along my back.

I can’t help the laugh that escapes my lips. “Good for who? Luke?” I ask skeptically, looking up at her. “That’s the last thing I am. I appreciate everything you’re doing to help me. I really do, but...”

“Looks like you’ll be good for each other,” she corrects herself, a grin spreading across her face. “Change is in the wind for everyone and I couldn’t be happier.” Patting my back, she pushes to her feet. Nearly dancing out of the kitchen, she meets Luke in the hallway. “You let me know if you hear anything about the investigation, Lucas. Take care of Ki.” Reaching up on her tiptoes, she kisses both his cheeks with loud smacks.

“Hold on just a minute, Mom. I don’t like the idea of you staying here alone after everything. They could come here next. You need to come stay with me for a while,” Luke says sternly, making Audrey laugh.

Patting his chest, she shakes her head. “Lucas Hanlon, the last thing I will do is be afraid in my own home. I refuse to. I have a security system and that handsome Officer Stewart told me they would be doing regular patrols until the culprits are apprehended.” Waving him off, she starts up the hall. “End of discussion, hothead. If I need you, I know how to use the telephone.”

“Is she high?” Luke asks leaning against the doorjamb. “She can’t be serious about me leaving her here alone after what happened.”

“She said she was happy,” I shrug when he comes to stand in front of me.

He looks down at me with an uneasy grin. “Slap happy maybe. I don’t like this shit one damn bit. One time she doesn’t answer the phone, I’m dragging her outta here. No arguments.” His face goes serious as he takes my hands. “Come on, let’s get the hell out of here. You’ll crash at my place.”

“I—”I begin to argue, causing Luke to arch a brow.

“Let me break this down for you. I’m gonna be glued to that ass of yours right now. Not only for your protection, but for my sanity as well. Since you tell me nothing, I’ll be running this show now. Fair warning, I’m every bit of the protective lion I come across to be, baby. You’ll need to get used to that really quick, it’ll save time later on. Either we’re at a hotel while you spend a shit ton of money that isn’t necessary or you stay at my place above the shop for free. What’s it gonna be, Dollface?”

“I have to work, Luke.” I argue. “I’m not going to just…”

“Oh no.” He counters, his lips pressing into a hard line. “Not tonight you don’t. Call your boss. I don’t know shit about your routine, but you’re in no condition to be on point. No sleep, no food in hours, and a clusterfuck of a morning. They’ll understand. Don’t you have an understudy or somethin’?”

“Not exactly,” I reply, knowing I should just tell him but I can’t. Not yet. Not here. Looking around the room, I sigh. The adrenaline is starting to wear off so I don’t have the energy to fight about this. “I’ll call her once we get to your place. What choice do I have?” I ask, making him chuckle.

“Exactly, now you’re seeing it my way. I’ll drive, we can always come get your car and shit later.”

***

By the time we get to Luke’s shop, not sleeping last night has caught up to me. I’m exhausted. Walking into the back door, Luke and I are met by Mitch “Apartment is ready, got it all scrubbed up and the girls are bringing grub in a bit,” he says, looking damned proud of himself.

“I called you so you could change the sheets or something, not call in the damn cavalry.” Luke groans. “Thanks bro, I’m gonna take Ki up so she can call into work and get some rest. We’re both wiped.”

“It’s cool,” Mitch shrugs. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do.” Yanking a hand through his hair, he looks at me sadly and shakes his head. “People are just fuckin’ crazy.” That one sentence packs so much behind it, making it very clear that it was about more than just what is going on with me.

Mitch starts back up the hall toward the front of the shop, leaving us alone. “Come on,” Luke says.

Taking my hand, he leads me up the stairs to a wooden door before pushing it open. Stepping inside, I take a look around. White plush couches with pink throw pillows, cute knick knacks on shelves, and photos of Luke with a pretty blonde and a petite redhead hang along the wall. Luke doesn’t live here, does he? Walking over, I look at the candid shots at restaurants and shows; even ones in front of tour buses. The door closes and I hear the click of the lock. “That’s Camaron, she used to live here,” he explains, pointing to the blonde. Tapping beside her, he smiles. “That’s my sister, Chase.”

“That explains the pink,” I blurt out loud.

“Yeah,” he sighs, slumping onto the couch. Stretching his long legs out in front of him, he looks around. “I have a house in the ‘burbs, told ya that I think. Don’t stay there much. When Cam got back on the bus, I kept her shit here for her just in case. The guys and I use it as a crash pad.”

“Smart idea,” I reply coming to sit beside him.

Stretching his arm behind my head, he nods. “Really was. Pricks is a twenty-four-seven operation. If there’s downtime there’s a place for the guys to sleep in shifts. Shelby is here when needed, her hours are crazy. I’ll probably hire someone soon to give her more of a balance; until then it’s a well-oiled machine.”

“I didn’t thank you before.” My voice is soft as I try to force back the emotion. Tears threaten again just thinking about the state my house is in, let alone my life right now. “I fell apart back there. I don’t know how to begin to handle it.”

“You could start by telling me why you thought keeping something like that from me was the best idea?” He asks, tipping my face with the hand not stretched along the couch behind me to meet my eyes, as if attempting to read my thoughts. “Don’t tell me it was either, because we both know that’s bullshit.”

Taking a deep breath, I scowl at the fact that he just repeated exactly what I was going to say. “I’m starting to get weirded out by your mind-reading abilities.”

“Weirded?” Luke’s lips quirk into a smile. “I don’t think that’s a word, Dollface.”

Arching my brow, I roll my eyes. “It is now. It fits every aspect of today.”

“Okay, okay. Let me use it then.” Releasing my chin, Luke scratches at his stubbly goatee. “It weirded me out to find out that the girl that I’m trying to date has someone sending her threats and photos of us together and she says nothing to me about it. I got really weirded out when her house is trashed and she very well could have been there.” His brows knit together, and he shakes his head. “Nah, weirded doesn’t work. It scares the fuck out of me. That’s much better.”

“Trying to date?” I ask, because honestly, that was all I heard.

The door flings open making me nearly jump off the couch. Luke steadies his arms around me as Shelby, Leah, and a man built like a damn bear come walking into the apartment with Mitch bringing up the rear. “What the hell, I locked the damn door.”

“That’s right,” Mitch says tossing Luke a soda. “Been meaning to tell you to get that damn lock fixed.”

“Do I even wanna know how the lock got broken?” He asks, glaring daggers at him.

“Skinner did it,” he shrugs his reply before yanking a bag from Shelby’s arms.

“That’s not how Skinner tells it, asshole.” Shelby snaps with a grin.

“Skinner lies,” Mitch says with a shrug. “What can I say, the fucker can’t even be trusted with a damn doorknob.”

“Thanks for helping us bring this stuff up, Charlie.” Leah says to the big guy, kissing him on the cheek. Mitch says nothing, but he watches Shelby like a hawk. Leah walks over to the couch and pats my hand. “If you need anything, we’ll be downstairs.”

“Thank you,” I reply as they all file back out the door, leaving just as fast as they came.

Unwrapping his arms from me, Luke pushes to his feet. “How about you make that call to your boss while I put this stuff away? I’ll make us something to eat before we grab some sleep.”

“Sounds good,” I reply to his back as he scoops up the bags and heads into the kitchen.

Pulling my cellphone from my bag, I power it on, and dial Kelly’s number. While the phone rings, I hear Luke opening and closing cabinet doors as he puts everything away. The sound of a pan of some kind bangs against the stove while he whistles to himself. “Well isn’t this a surprise? You never call me.” Kelly says into the phone, drawing my attention.

“My house was broken into last night,” I blurt. “They trashed everything.”

Kelly gasps into the phone. “Sweetness, are you okay? I mean, you weren’t hurt were you? Have you called the police?” She asks, rapidly firing off question after question.

“Yes, I’m fine. I wasn’t there when it happened, thankfully.” I reply. “Someone has been sending me notes with photos for days now and I tried to ignore it. I guess they thought destroying everything I own would send a better message.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Kelly says, her voice cracking. “Tell me what you need and it’s yours. You know I take care of my girls, Ki. I wish you or Doug had told me since it’s safe to assume he does know about this even when I don’t.” Her tone sounding disappointed in Doug and me both for not coming to her with this sooner.

Doesn’t this sound familiar… Today’s trend: Ki is an asshole who tells no one anything.

New flash: No shit, Sherlock.

“He does.” I reply, knowing that he will be getting his ass reamed tonight by her for keeping this from her. If not sooner. I will bet money that Kelly will be calling him the moment we hang up, or worse, showing up at his front door. I do feel bad for making him keep quiet about this, because now it’s like throwing him under the bus. The thing is, what can anyone really do other than feel sorry for me? I hear I’m sorry all the time. I’ve heard those words so much, they make me nauseous. I’d rather avoid them and get to fixing the issue so I can move on with my life.

“Yes, my mother is deceased.”

“Oh, I’m sorry…”

“No, I didn’t make it to Broadway. I was injured.”

“Oh, I’m sorry…”

Fuck me for sounding rude, but the tone some people have when they use the word sorry so damn much, I have wished they would choke on it. Does that make me an asshole? A bad person for not wanting pity?

“I don’t like this at all,” she sighs. “Why don’t you come stay with Jeff and me so we can make sure you’re safe?”

“I’m perfectly safe, please don’t worry about me. I’m staying with friends until we figure out my house. I called though, because I see no way that I can make it in tonight. I don’t have my car, and I…” I stammer, emotion choking me as tears threaten to fall again. “My… everything… it just…”

“Honey, you take all the time you need. I’m so sorry,” she says soothingly. “You sound exhausted. Take some time, call me tomorrow and let me know what is going on. If you need me, I’m there in two minutes. No questions.”

“Thanks, Kel. I’ll call you tomorrow,” I say, ending the call.

Turning off my phone, I shove it back into my bag and close my eyes. Taking breath after breath, I inhale and exhale, hoping to find some sort of inner-calm. I can’t fall apart, but the thought of all our things lost cuts so deep. Not the actual possessions, but the memories that go with them. Every piece of furniture in that house was bought by her. My mother had loved going out and finding pieces that expressed herself. Bold, bright, and beautiful. That’s what she was.