No Matter What (15 page)

He laughed as he shut the jeep door.
 
“No.”

She slipped her arms around his waist, quickly kissing him.
 
“Come on.
 
I need a drink.”

The small beach house was just like the one
India
had lived in when she’d first arrived in
California
.
 
How far she’d come in just a couple of years.
 
Tonight it was full of surfers and bikers, people she and Kenny loved to mix with, people who never treat them as anything other than friends.
 
They were a crowd that was both relaxed and laid back but they could also be wild and crazy; it just depended on the mood of the evening.
 
Tonight seemed mellow and cool, and
India
was glad of that.
 
She’d had a busier than expected day on set and she really just wanted to chill out.

She grabbed a beer and left Kenny talking to some of the surfer guys while she took a look outside.
 
A few people were hanging out by the fire where a barbecue was being fired up and she exchanged a few hellos before leaving the crowd behind, walking down to the oceans edge, suddenly craving just a little bit of time out.
 

She was finding it hard to stop worrying about Terry.
 
She knew he was having a hard time of things, she wasn’t stupid.
 
He wasn’t telling her everything and she realised that was only because he didn’t want her to worry about him, but didn’t he realise she could get English sports news out here?
 
She knew he’d been dropped from the first team, and she knew his fitness wasn’t what it should be.
 
Maybe he needed a break, a bit of a holiday.
 
She’d give him a call in the morning; see if he wanted to come out for a visit.
 
It might do him some good, as long as he didn’t bump into Charley.
 
He could do without that.
 
She wished her brother was here so much sometimes.
 
She missed having that shoulder to lean on, that safety net that a big brother could often bring, and she wanted to be there for him when he needed her most instead of thousands of miles away.
 

Closing her eyes, she let the warm night breeze brush against her face.
 
She’d sort something out.
 
Terry deserved some good things happening in his life and she’d try and make sure he got them.
 
It was the least she could do.

“Are you avoiding me?”
 

The sound of Kenny’s voice made her smile, his arms falling around her waist as he came up behind her.
 
She leaned back against him.

“No.
 
Why would I want to do that?”

“A bit of time out, huh?”

She turned round and looked at him.
 
“You won’t ever leave my life, will you, Kenny?”

She suddenly seemed quite vulnerable and he just wanted to protect her, wrap his arms around her and keep her safe.
 
She’d had a lot of change in such a short time and he’d never really seen how much it had affected her until now.

Stroking strands of blonde hair from her face he kissed her gently, the familiar warmth of her body against his making his heart beat faster.

“You’ll have to do a hell of a lot to get rid of me,” he smiled.

“Because I need you, Kenny.
 
I really need you.”

“And you’ve got me, baby.
 
I promise you that.”

He pulled her close again, feeling her fingers stroking the back of his neck as they kissed.
 
Then she pulled away from him and gave him that beautiful, almost child-like smile of hers, taking his hand as she proceeded to drag him back up the beach.

“Come on.
 
There’s a party happening back there and I really need to cut loose for a bit.”

He smiled at his best friend, his lover, his partner in every way.
 
Why couldn’t he tell her there was another side to Kenny Ross?
 
Why couldn’t he let her in, show her how much she really meant to him?
 
Sometimes he hated himself for being so weak but he was scared of opening up.
 
He was scared of losing her.
 
But one day he’d have to reveal the true him because he’d fallen in love with this angel from
England
, and no way was he losing her now so he’d tell her.
 
He’d tell her soon.

Returning to the party, which now seemed to have totally spilt out onto the beach, the sound of rock music filled the night air and the mood seemed to have changed from the laid back feeling of a few minutes ago to that of the wild and crazy.
 
People were dancing, the drinks were flowing and
India
found herself suddenly needing this atmosphere.
 
She wanted to break free and let herself go for one night.

Kenny sat down on the sand, pulling his knees up to his chest as he watched her talking to their friends, laughing and dancing.
 
Wearing just denim cut-off shorts, biker boots and a white t-shirt, very little make-up and her long blonde hair pulled loosely back, she looked comfortable but amazing.
 
Sometimes he had no idea what they were doing or where they were heading and if he let himself think about the future it scared him.
 
Before she’d walked into his life he’d always thought he’d had it all planned out but now - now he wasn’t so sure anymore.

He pulled himself up and went back inside the beach house in search of a drink.
 
It wasn’t his way to over think things, it didn’t help anything or even make it any clearer so, finding beer in the kitchen, he grabbed a couple of bottles and was about to venture back outside when he heard a voice he thought he recognised coming from the living room.
 
He moved closer to the door, listening harder, just to make sure, because he was positive it was Charley.

He started to move into the living room to say hi until he saw what was going on.
 
Darting back inside the kitchen doorway he leant against the wall for a few seconds before carefully taking a quick look back outside, making sure he wasn’t seen.
 
Yes, it was definitely Charley.
 
She was with a couple of people he didn’t know that well but knew well enough to know they could be trouble.
 
She was kneeling down beside the low glass coffee table with the two other men and, even though she now had her back to him, he could plainly see the rolled up dollar bill and the white powder in front of her.
 
People dabbled, Of course they did, anyone would be stupid to think this didn’t go on, but he knew now that she was mixing in circles that could lead her down roads she should be keeping well away from.
 

He sighed heavily, taking a long swig of beer, walking out onto the porch, back to the party outside.
 
Should he tell
India
?
 
She was worried enough about her friend being in the business she was in without adding a possible drugs habit on top of that.
 

He noticed
India
sitting back down by the fire, her face flushed from the heat and the alcohol.
 
No, Charley could fight her own battles.
 
What
India
didn’t know couldn’t hurt her.

He went back over to her, sitting himself down beside her, handing her a bottle of beer and she moved closer to him as he slipped his arm round her shoulders.

“You ok?” he asked, kissing her forehead.

She nodded, kneeling up in front of him and kissing him quickly.

“I’ve got an idea,” she smiled.

“Oh yeah?” he smiled back, pulling her onto his lap, her legs wrapping around his waist, her arms sliding round his neck.

“Let’s go to Vegas.”

“Vegas?”

She nodded.
 
“Let’s go to Vegas.
 
And get married.”

CHAPTER 12

Reece hadn’t heard from
India
in a couple of days.
 
He knew he was probably being slightly irrational, she was a big girl, more than capable of looking after herself but he couldn’t help worrying.
 
They always spoke on a regular basis, always.
 
If something was wrong ...

He shook all those thoughts out of his head and picked up the ‘phone, dialling the number of Max Madison, his lawyer.
 
As he did so he picked up the letter that was lying by the ‘phone and crumpled it up in his hand.

“Max?
 
Max, it’s Reece.”

“It’s all sorted, Reece.
 
But, are you sure you want to do this?”

“I’ve got no choice, Max.
 
It’s the only way.
 
The only way I can see, anyhow.”

“How do you know they won’t just keep coming back for more?
 
They’ve done it once and you gave in, and now you’re doing it again.
 
We could look at other avenues, try and find another solution.”

“It’s the only way, Max.
 
Money’s all they understand.
 
If they don’t come to me they’ll go to
India
and I can’t risk that.”

He heard Max sigh down the line.
 
Maybe he
had
handled this all wrong, but what was he supposed to do?

“Do you even know if it’s true, Reece?
 
How do you know they aren’t lying?
 
Just making it up to extort money from you?”

“It’s true.
 
I know it is.”

Max sighed heavily again.
 
“You wouldn’t be the first to be caught out like this y’know.
 
You’re handling it all wrong, Reece, and I strongly advise you not to go ahead with this transaction.
 
We need to get proof, some concrete evidence.”

“Max ...”

“No.
 
Let me handle this Reece.
 
Please.
 
We can make sure they stay away, stop demanding anything until we know.
 
You’re crazy to do this your way.
 
What if it gets out?”

“How do we know they won’t go to the press anyway?
 
If we stall, they could still go ahead and tell the papers.”

“They won’t.
 
You have my word.
 
We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”

It was Reece’s turn to sigh as he threw the crumpled letter onto the floor.

“And how do we get this proof, Max?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
 
Let’s just deal with the problem in hand first.
 
I’ll call you when things are sorted.
 
It’s the best way, Reece.”

Reece put the ‘phone down and turned to face the wall, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against the cool surface.
 

“Mr Brogan ...” It was Rosa, his housekeeper.
 
“Are you ok, Mr Brogan?”

He pushed a hand through his dark hair.
 
“Yes, yes, I’m fine thanks,
Rosa
.
 
I just need my coffee.”

He noticed she was carrying his usual stash of newspapers.
 
He liked to catch up on what was going on over breakfast.
 
It was his favourite indulgence of the day.

“Are those my newspapers?”

Rosa
looked a little sheepish, almost as though she didn’t want to hand them over.

“
Rosa
, can I have my newspapers please?”

She slowly held them out and he took them, carrying them over to the breakfast bar, laying the top one out in front of him.
 
It was then he realised why
Rosa
had been so reluctant to hand them over.

He closed his eyes for a second and let out a deep breath.
 
What the hell had
India
gone and done now?

***

“... in a $50 midnight ceremony in The Maine Resort Hotel in Las Vegas, Hollywood stars Kenny Ross and India Steven were married ...”

***

Michael Walsh switched off the TV, swung round and punched the refrigerator door.
 
He was angry and upset.
 
He felt sick to his stomach.
 
He’d given her some time off, a gesture to make her see how considerate he was, how much he cared about her and what did she do?
 
She ran off to Vegas and married Kenny Ross, and as if that wasn’t bad enough they’d gone and done it in Vince’s hotel!
 
His best friend’s hotel!