The Arrangement 12(10)

My head tilts to the side and I’m repressing the urge to say, awh.

There’s a sweet smile on my face as the rest of the people come into view. One guy is tall and built, with dark hair, and bright green eyes. There’s a wicked grin on his face as his eyes travel over my body. “Hey, stripper girl. I have some ones. Wanna have a fun time?” The guy that’s with him slaps Green Eyes in the back of the head. “What?”

“Sean will kill you.” As the man steps toward me, I see the resemblance. The dark Ferro hair and bright blue eyes, the lopsided grin, and perfectly smooth skin. He looks like a younger version of Sean. “I’m Jonathan Ferro. This asshole is my cousin, Bryan.” He jabs his thumb at him. There’s a girl behind him wearing a blazer and a blanket and not much else. She won’t meet my gaze.

“I’m Avery Stanz. I’m—”

“She’s my fiancée.” Sean’s voice booms from the back of the room. No one heard him come in, but everyone turns to look at him.





CHAPTER 9




I slip off the stage and rush at him, darting around empty chairs and tables. The strain on his face is horrible. I can’t imagine what he’s been through tonight, what horrors came flashing to the front of his mind. Without a word, I fling my arms around his neck while the others gasp and whisper.

I kiss his cheek and plaster my palms to the sides of his face, forcing him to turn his tired eyes on me. “Are you all right? What happened?”

There are dark circles under his eyes and the tension in his neck and shoulders makes his body feel like stone. Leaning in close to my ear, he whispers, “Not now.” I stay there like that for a second, and then peel myself off of him even though every urge I have says to hang on tight and never let go.

Sean walks past me and glares at his brother. “Well?”

Jon steps up to him. Damn they look alike, but Jonathan doesn’t have the fine lines etched into his face. “Sean, this isn’t your concern.”

“I see. So, you’re going to piss away your future. Good plan.”

Jonathan stiffens and gets in Sean’s face. “Since when do you care?”

Sean laughs, but it sounds more like Jonathan shoved a stake through his heart. Sean doesn’t reply this time. Instead, he shakes his head and turns away, taking me by the hand and leading me backstage. He yells over his shoulder, “Your decisions are as abysmal as the company you keep.”

Someone yells something back, but their words don’t carry. Sean’s jaw is locked tight and he’s barely breathing. Once we’re back in the dressing rooms, he sits me down in a chair, kneels in front of me, and looks me over. “Are you hurt?”

Placing my hands on his shoulders, I shake my head. “I’m fine. Are you all right? What happened? I was so worried about you.”

“Did they mistreat you?”

At first I’m not sure who he means, but then I guess he’s talking about Trystan, Jonathan, and Bryan. Touching his hand, I smile at him. “No, of course not. Trystan was actually very nice to me, so was your brother—both of them.”

“Pete was here?”

I nod. “So was Sidney. I’m fine, Sean. Mel’s fine, except for the passing out part.”

“Is she drunk?”

“Nah, she’s got the hots for Trystan.” I laugh once and smile at him, pushing a lock of dark hair away from his eyes. “He talked to her and she fainted.”

That makes him grimace. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, apparently she’s got a weakness.”

Sean nods thoughtfully and then looks up at me. Our eyes lock and I can’t help but notice the massive amount of worry in his. “Thank God that’s her only weakness.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have to tell you something.” His voice sounds like he doesn’t want to tell me at all. “The police know the woman found in my room was a call girl, and that she was killed with a knife—one stab in her side, and then another, fatal, slash across her throat.” Sean’s voice is so still and devoid of emotion. I know what he’s trying to tell me, what he means, but I don’t want to admit it.

Shaking my head slowly, tears form in my eyes. “No, she couldn’t have—she didn’t…”

“She did, baby.” My breath catches in my throat and I lean into his shoulder as the tears start to fall. “Mel killed that woman and we need to find out why.”





CHAPTER 10




Sean and I stay like that for what seems like hours. His hands run down the back of my head and smoothes my hair as he whispers soothing words into my ear. At first I’m not sure why I’m crying, but then the images float through my mind and I know. After everything Mel’s been through—after fighting tooth and nail to climb out of the slum she grew up in, getting that scholarship, selling her body to pay the bills—it was all for nothing. She’s back where she started. If the cops catch her, there’s no way they’re going to call it self-defense, not with the wounds Mel inflicted. The thought makes me cringe even more. What would make her so frightened that she’d respond that way? She had to realize that she was giving up everything the moment she drew the blade across the woman’s throat. I close my eyes and hold onto Sean tighter.