“So how’d you end up in the car with her?”
“I don’t even remember.” Nathan shook his head, feeling stupid as AJ’s face soured.
“How do you get that drunk in public, Nate? What the hell were you drinking?”
“Just whiskey and coke.” He wouldn’t mention the doubles but he did add, “And she had a flask with Jameson I took a few swigs of.”
“You sure it was just Jameson and not something else?” AJ asked, his eyebrow up suspiciously. “Sabian said you were out of it. Like couldn’t even talk out of it.”
That’s when it dawned on him. Now that he knew what Sam was capable of, it was possible she spiked the flask. Just as she very possibly spiked what Scott and Anna were drinking the night of all the ugliness. There was also still the question of how Sam would know he’d be there in the first place. She specifically said she’d gone there to talk to him.
“Maybe,” Nathan said then started to add. “But I saw her take a swig herself and—”
“You know what she did at Moreno’s, right?”
Nathan nodded. “But she was drunk.”
“No, she wasn’t,” AJ countered immediately, and Nathan felt his brows pinch together.
“I saw her, AJ. I had to help her back to—”
“I don’t care what she had you believe you were seeing. She was perfectly sober when she followed me into that bathroom.”
AJ glanced around and nudged Nathan farther out away from the house then started up again in a cautiously lowered voice. He explained how he’d meant to tell him about it but his girls came down with the flu the week after the party and he was stuck watching all three. Then he left town and by the time he was back, it kept slipping his mind. “I admitted to Emi about Sam following me into the men’s room,” he said, glancing around again. “What I didn’t tell her, because I’m not discussing that kind of shit with my sister, is Sam offered to suck my dick in there.”
Nathan’s jaw dropped. “No way.”
AJ’s face soured again “Would I fucking lie about something like that? That bitch sauntered in there, as sober as I was, and tried to put her hands on my fly, talking about what an honor it’d be to blow me. Not even when I was single did I have patience for overly aggressive groupies. So you know I wasn’t nice about it. I figured she’d pretend she was drunk. It was the only out she had at that point.”
“Why the hell would she do that?”
“Because she’s a bat-shit-crazy whore and probably thought I’d go for it.” AJ shrugged with an annoyed frown. “Let’s face it. Married or not, a lot of guys would. I’m just not that stupid. But I had to wonder what you’d be doing out in a parking lot in a car with her.”
Exhaling sharply, Nathan shook his head again, even more frustrated about not remembering more. “I don’t remember her being in the car with me much less her on my lap.”
“Not just on your lap,” AJ said, glancing around again. “Sabian said she was straddling your ass. She had your zipper down, man.”
Again Nathan was as flabbergasted about hearing this as he’d been about hearing what she offered to do to AJ. “Ah fuck,” he muttered, pulling out his phone.
“What?”
“I can just imagine what that bitch told Anna about that night.”
As tempted as he was to call Anna already, he decided to wait until he talked to Moe again and saw what more he had for him.
Nathan had since deleted every last photo and text of Anna on his phone, but he hadn’t deleted her contact info. He couldn’t. That tiny bit of hope wouldn’t let him, and he was glad he hadn’t now.
The moment Moe arrived Nathan was all over him. They walked out to his SUV where he’d left the paperwork describing what he had so far on Sam.
“Just so you know,” Moe said as he pulled a file and tablet out from the back of the SUV. “Only time it’s this hard to find anything on someone I’m doing a background on is when they’ve used aliases. I did a quick Google search on Billie Hoag this morning, and it looks like there’s one in San Diego County. Any idea who that might be? Her mom maybe?”
“Maybe,” Nathan said, examining the papers Moe handed him with the call logs. “She does visit her mom sometimes.”
Moe had highlighted the calls on the log. There was a definite pattern, and Nathan had enough. His heart had been strumming along anxiously from the moment he first heard back from Moe today. Just the thought of hearing Anna’s sweet voice again excited him. The possibility that this nightmare might soon be over and he’d have her back in his arms had him smiling as he pulled his phone out again after finishing up with Moe and walking over to his own car to make the call in private.
The moment he heard the recording he cursed under his breath for not anticipating it. Anna had blocked him too, just as he’d blocked her. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
He sat there, shaking his knee, trying to think of what he should do next, and then he remembered. He’d call Josh back and tell him how right he’d been.
~*~
Aiyanna
The walk back to her room after Aiyanna’s morning puke was a slow one. Aiyanna was only glad that after today this would all be over. She could go back to her life being the way it was before she ever met Nathan—even if she knew her heart would never be complete again.
She stepped into the room, surprised to hear the door close behind her. When she turned around, Scott was locking her door. “What are you doing?”
Scott turned around and brought his finger to his lips. “I don’t want Sam to hear us,” he whispered.
“Why?” she whispered back, wondering if she should be worried.
“I could barely sleep last night, thinking about today.”
Aiyanna shook her head. “I have to do this, Scott.”
It actually made her feel kind of bad, remembering how Sam had mentioned she thought Scott was actually hoping this baby was his and why he was trying to convince her to have it. Last night he seemed disappointed when she told him it was happening today, despite his “I’m behind you no matter what you decide” comments. Only last night Sam was there and quick to remind him of what she’d be in for if it did turn out to be Nathan’s baby.
“He’s already proven how spiteful he can be,” Sam had hissed last night on her behalf. “He might even try to fight her for custody. Money talks, Scott, and those Romeros are loaded. Who do you think has a better chance of winning that battle in court?”
Aiyanna hated to admit it, but it was the truth. If Nathan brought out the big guns, there was little she could do to fight him. There was no way she was setting herself up for that kind of heartache. It didn’t get any more spiteful than trying to get in her best friend’s pants, and Nathan had tried just that. Sam had since filled her in on everything else she’d held back from telling her. But Aiyanna begged for all of it. She’d arm herself with it to get her through today and never look back with regrets.
“There’s a good chance it’s his,” she said, ignoring the ache in her heart over that.
“I’d bet money that it is,” Scott shot back.
“And that’s exactly why—”
“How come we’ve never met any of Sam’s friends from her work?” That shut Aiyanna up. She’d never even questioned it. “These are friends she goes to clubs with, but she’s hardly ever mentioned them. I could see why, at first, she wouldn’t mention going to the club to you, but why wouldn’t she at least mention it to Heidi or me?”
“You’re saying she didn’t?” Aiyanna asked, confused. “But she showed me the text she sent him, giving him a heads-up about telling me everything, and his only response to that was ‘K.’ He didn’t even argue. It’s like he wanted her to.”
“That’s just it, Anna. It just all seems so calculated. If he was such an asshole, why would she even give him a heads-up? And why does she have his number? Did you give it to her?”
Aiyanna shook her head as the unease began knotting up her insides. “So if you didn’t, he did? And she too
k it? Why? None of it makes sense. Just like her insisting I said Josh was jealous of you two. You saw his response to the photos. Even seeing them, he didn’t buy it, and that’s because he knows women don’t do it for me. So he’d never be insecure or jealous about you guys, and I’d never say he was.”
“So what are you saying?” Aiyanna said, whispering even softer because she heard the bathroom door close.
“I’m saying if you’re basing this decision to not have this baby on what Sam’s told you then maybe you should rethink it.”
Aiyanna stared at him, her insides a complete mess. She had a million questions for Sam now, and she couldn’t believe it’d never crossed her mind to question most of the stuff Scott mentioned. She’d been such a mess she’d never bothered to ask Sam why she had Nathan’s number to begin with or why she’d give him a heads-up. Seeing his response had just been such a slap in the face all she could do was cry like a pathetic idiot.
Still, she had one question she needed to ask Scott now too because this was all beginning to feel so bizarre. “Scott, there’s no chance you’re hoping this baby is yours, is there?”
The almost comical expression on Scott’s face might’ve been funny if her insides weren’t such a tangled mess now. “Is that what—?”
The knock on the door startled them. “Anna?” The doorknob jiggled; then Sam knocked again. “Anna, is everything okay in there?”
“We’re fine, Sam,” Scott said in an almost annoyed tone.
Sam was quiet for a moment. “Why are you in there, Scott? And why is the door locked?” She was quiet again then jiggled the door knob again then spoke, a little more alarmed. “Anna, say something so I know you’re okay.”
Scott rolled his eyes and walked to the door, unlocking it. “We were just talking.”
“With the door locked?” Sam asked then turned to Aiyanna.
The genuine alarm in her eyes made Aiyanna nervous. Did she really think Scott might be doing her harm?
“Sam, hon,” Aiyanna asked, trying to sound as normal as possible. “Why did you have Nathan’s number?”
Sam’s eyes narrowed then her brow stretched high. “Is that what you two were discussing right now?” Sam stared at Aiyanna then at Scott then turned back to Aiyanna again. “Is Scott still trying to convince you to have his baby?”
“I’ve never—”
“No one is trying to convince anyone of anything,” Aiyanna said, interrupting Scott. “It just seemed odd that you’d have Nathan’s number and that you’d give him a heads-up about telling me everything. That’s all.”
“I felt bad for him, Anna,” Sam said, her lips beginning to quiver. “I told you he really seemed upset still. As much as he was being a dick, the hurt in his eyes was indisputable. And he took my phone and texted himself that night. That’s why I have his number.”
“So you’d still have that text then?”
Scott’s seemingly unfazed and cold demeanor surprised Aiyanna. She’d never seen this side of him. Already she felt like hugging Sam.
“Are you serious right now, Scott?” Sam said, swatting tears away, then turned to Aiyanna, the hurt in her eyes palpable. “Please tell me you don’t believe I’d make that all up. That I’d purposely—”
“Sam, it’s not that—”
“Can we see the text?” Scott asked without a flinch.
Both Aiyanna and Sam turned to him, looking equally appalled. Scott stared Sam down then turned to Aiyanna with a shrug. “If he really sent it, then it’s there and that clears that up.”
“Just like that?” Sam asked, wiping more tears away, but suddenly she looked more angry than hurt.
Aiyanna couldn’t even blame her. Scott was being merciless. “You wanna see the text, Scott?” Sam asked, storming out of the bedroom. “I’ll show you the fucking text,” she yelled from the hallway. “And then what? How else are you gonna try to convince her to have your baby?”
Scott rushed out of the room and Aiyanna followed. “I’m sick of you trying to get that in her head, Sam. You know damn well that’s not what I’m doing!”
“Then what are you doing?” Sam retorted, glancing up from her phone, and Aiyanna could see she was still crying. “Obviously, you’re trying to turn her against me because I’m encouraging her not to have the baby.”
She shoved the phone at Scott and he took it. “No one’s trying to turn anyone on anyone, Sam,” Aiyanna said as Scott read the text. “We’re just trying to make sense of everything.”
Scott passed the phone to Aiyanna, but she handed it back to Sam without looking at it. She didn’t need to and she felt terrible now. “So that’s what made sense?” Sam asked, taking the phone, still wiping tears. “That I’d be lying about what happened?”
“No,” Aiyanna began to say, feeling even worse.
“What business do you have calling Josh’s mom, Sam?”
Aiyanna turned to Scott, stunned by his question, then back to Sam, who looked just as stunned. “None,” she said immediately. “Why? Who said I did?” She shook her head. “Oh wait, let me guess. Josh did.”
“No, Bryce admitted he’d flown out to Seattle because Josh’s mom called him and told him about the convention he’d be at. Only Josh never told his mom he was going because they’re not even speaking anymore.”
“So that means I told her?” Sam scoffed loudly even as her face scrunched in pain.
“Scott,” Aiyanna said, shaking her head because this was getting out of control. “Why would she—?”
“So you’ve never called his mom?” Scott pushed on, ignoring Aiyanna.
“No!”
“Scott, please,” Aiyanna said. “This is getting—”
“Nathan has proof that you’ve called her.”
Once again that stunned Aiyanna silent, but Sam laughed humorlessly. “Oh, well, then case closed,” she said. “If Nathan, who tried to make out with me just to spite Anna, says so, then it must be true.”
Aiyanna stared at Scott, completely stunned. “I wasn’t going to say anything until I had more information,” he said to Aiyanna as she searched his eyes. “But Nathan called Josh the other day to ask him what he thought of this whole mess. When Josh mentioned his theory of maybe Sam having something to do with it and then told him about what Bryce had admitted only Bryce didn’t know how Josh’s mom would know, he thought maybe it was Sam who called her.”
“Did he ask his mom?” Aiyanna asked the obvious.
“Yeah, but that evil bitch won’t even admit she told Bryce.”
“So maybe Bryce is lying,” Aiyanna said, a little angry that Scott and Josh would jump to the ugly conclusion that Sam was to blame. If anyone couldn’t be trusted, it was Bryce.
“No, that would make too much sense,” Sam said, the anger outweighing the hurt in her voice again. “Josh, who Scott keeps insisting doesn’t have issues with you or me, would rather believe that I’m the liar. Not his lying sack of shit ex who actually admits he did go down to Seattle with ulterior motives. And because Nathan agrees—”
“He has proof,” Scott said with conviction.
“What kind of proof?” Aiyanna asked, still trying to wrap her brain around all this.
“Josh didn’t get a chance—”
“Well, how’s this for proof,” Sam said, holding up her phone, and both Aiyanna and Scott turned to her curiously. “Anna’s trustworthy ex-boyfriend whose word you’d so easily take over mine wants to get together.”
Scott reached for her phone as Sam handed it to him. He read the message then handed it to Aiyanna without a word. Aiyanna was almost afraid to read it, but she knew she had to.
Hey, sweetheart, I’m sorry about the night at Clouds. I’d like to make it up to you. Think we can get together today?
The stupid knot at Aiyanna’s throat, the one she’d spent so much time in the last few weeks fighting, was already suffocating her. Then the second text came through.
I can pick you up, just not at your place. I don’t think I can
stomach seeing Anna.
Aiyanna handed the phone to Sam then hugged her as her own tears spilled out, and she managed to whisper, “I’m so sorry we doubted you.”
Scott apologized to Sam as well, but Aiyanna knew him well enough to know it wasn’t completely genuine. After a short group hug, they each retreated back to their own rooms. All of them said they were going to change and get ready for their day, but Aiyanna knew it was just that they all needed a breather.
She still wasn’t sure what to make of Scott’s change in demeanor and why he’d go at Sam so hard. Aiyanna had no clue what to make of his accusations of her calling Josh’s mom. What kind of proof could Nathan have? The only thing that had begun to make the slightest fizz of hope in her stomach stir was knowing he’d called Josh to ask him what he thought of this mess. Aiyanna had begun to think maybe Nathan really wasn’t sold on the idea of her and Scott having slept together. Maybe he, too, was holding out hope somehow this mess would be cleared up.
Then she saw his texts to Sam.
He couldn’t even stomach seeing her, yet he was willing to meet up with Sam. Clearly, he had been attracted to her, despite whatever proof he had about Sam being a sneaky one. Aiyanna picked up her phone, which was still hooked up to the charger where she set it every night. She scrolled through a few texts she had from her mom and Heidi. She was in the middle of reading Heidi’s when she noticed the missed call icon at the top of the screen and clicked on it curiously. She didn’t recognize the number, but she had three missed calls from it during the time she was out in the hall, having that bizarre discussion with Scott and Sam. Then she noticed she had a text from the same number and clicked on it.
Anna, this is Nathan. I’m texting you from my cousin’s phone. Call me back ASAP. I need to talk to you. It’s urgent! You’re in danger!
The knot that began to form at her throat from reading the first words Nathan had communicated with her in weeks was replaced with dread. She reread the text again then contemplated whether or not to call him back. She was so confused. What the hell was going on? He’d just texted Sam to tell her he wanted to see her today. Was he really the liar? Too good to be true as Sam had been saying from day one? But she had to remind herself she was the one who’d betrayed him first. Before that, he really was absolute perfection.