Lovestruck (Rock Goddess Reverse Harem Book 1) Page 12

  “It’s not about Hunter.” Though, I still don’t want to hear about him. I still hurt, but it’s more complicated than having a guy cheat on me. I don’t want to tell Sky how much more complicated it actually is. The depression that had set in long before he did what he did was a symptom of repressing who I was, trying to push myself into a box someone else had designed for me. I didn’t want the life we had. It was all wrong, and trying to force myself to be okay with it had been my undoing. I take a breath. “I’m happy here, Sky. I don’t want to leave.”

  “Even if there’s some weirdo breaking in to your house and ruining a perfectly good lipstick to leave you notes?” She’s trying to be funny, but it makes me wonder something.

  “Sky, how long have you known me?”

  “Um, eight years?” She doesn’t sound sure, but she’s right. We met when she auditioned to be a part of my band.

  “In all that time, have you ever seen me wear pink lipstick?”

  She frowns. “Um…”

  I could practically see her picking through her memories.

  “I don’t even own pink. I have nudes and reds. That’s it.”

  She nods. “That’s kind of a good point.” She glances at Cain. “You caught that, right? Someone must have brought a lipstick…”

  “We already assumed it was a woman,” he says quietly. “But that’s a good starting point. If she left it up there, we have a lead.”

  “You already assumed?” Sky quirks an eyebrow at him.

  He shrugs. “The lipstick, the wording. If the note had been more sexual, it might have been a man. It still could be, but we doubt it.”

  Great. A woman sees me as a threat and wants to kill me if I don’t leave. This is going to get messy. I sigh deeply. There’s no point keeping this to myself any longer. It’s going to come out when the police start to question me.

  “Jealousy,” Sky says, with a groan. “Why do some women insist on setting back our entire sexes development?”

  “Well, I do have two boyfriends.” It’s the simplest way to put it, I suppose.

  Sky raises an eyebrow at me. “Um, what?”

  “I don’t want to make a big deal out of it. I’m seeing a guy who lives in town, and now I’m seeing Nick too.”

  “And you still found time for Logan? Damn, girl.” She’s in shock, but I wish she hadn’t mentioned Logan. He was a painful mistake. I wish Cupid had told me the truth before I made that mistake, but what’s done is done. No going back now.

  “No-one knows about Nick,” Cain says, shrugging when we both glare daggers at him. “Besides us. Chances are this has something to do with the local guy.”

  Asher. I frown and get my phone out of my bag. I ask him if he can text me his sister’s number.

  “Man, the cops are really fucking slow around here,” Sky complains.

  “That would be because there aren’t any in town. The next town over has the nearest sheriff’s station,” I mutter, as I put the phone down.

  “Actually, it’s two towns over. Haleton.” This is the most I’ve heard Cain talk in ever.

  He’s right, but I barely considered the little dirt road between the two places a town. No one even lived there.

  “You moved somewhere there are no fucking cops, without any security?” Sky shakes her head at me. “You’re not some nobody, girl. You’re a rock star. Everyone on the planet wants a piece of you.”

  My phone vibrates. I click to call the number Asher just sent me. I move towards the living room as Sasha picks up the phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Sasha, it’s Eden.”

  She gasps. “Oh my. You got the book, didn’t you? That’s why you…”

  “Yeah, thanks for that. I need to know how you got into my house.”

  “Oh…” She pauses, and I want to strangle her through the phone. “I mean, can’t you just be happy I meddled? You never would have known, otherwise.”

  “Sasha, someone just broke into my house and left a threatening note. If you don’t tell me how you got in I’m going to have to give your name to the police as the prime suspect.”

  She gasps loudly. I really hope she isn’t in public right now.

  “No! Oh, Eden. I hope you’re okay.”

  “Tell me how you got in, Sasha.”

  “Uh, well. I was the one who dealt with the sale of the property. I had a key for the balcony door. I was going to come around and give you it, but then I found out you were pissed at my brother and I kind of saw it as an opportunity…” She sounds shaky.

  “Sasha, I’m not going to mention this to anyone, but I need you to bring me that key, now.”

  “Now?” She pauses. “Please don’t report this, Eden. I could lose my job.”

  “I won’t. Just bring it before the cops come. You’ll need to leave now.”

  She gasps again, but doesn’t say a word. It’s enough to make me snap.

  “What?”

  “Oh no. I don’t believe this.” Her voice cracks. “It’s gone. The key is gone, Eden.”

  I try to stay calm. If the key is gone, it was probably used by whoever left the note on my mirror. “When did you last see it?”

  “Okay, um, yesterday when I closed up the office.”

  “So, it was in your desk?”

  “Uh huh.”

  So, someone must have got to it this morning, or it was someone who had a key to the office.

  “Who else works there?”

  She started rhyming off male names.

  “Anyone else female?”

  “No.”

  “Any female clients this morning?”

  “No clients this morning.”

  “We need to find out who has the key.” I take a breath. Sky and Cain are staring at me. I know how bad this must look to them. Maybe I should tell the cops everything, but I don’t want to screw things up for Sasha. She was only trying to help, and I really should have tried to speak to her sooner.

  “I’m not sure… Wait. I can check the CCTV. It might not help, but maybe…” She sighs. “I’m so, so sorry about this. Ugh. I should have just waited ‘til you were home and spoke to you in person. I just… That bodyguard seemed so protective. I wasn’t sure he’d let me speak to you.”

  “Check the CCTV. Call me back when you figure it out.”

  “I’m looking for a woman, right?” She doesn’t sound sure.

  “Probably, yeah.”

  “Okay. I’ll call you back.” She hangs up.

  “What was that about?” Cain asks, folding his arms. He looks pretty scary right now without his jacket. His muscles are bulging. They look fit to burst.

  “It’s a long story and we can’t mention it to the cops.”

  Sky’s mouth drops open. “You are so full of surprises lately, Eden.”

  “Why can’t we mention it?” Cain doesn’t look best pleased.

  “Short story, a friend has a key. If the cops find out she could end up in trouble with her employers. She’s not the person who wrote the note. Someone stole the key from her. I think that’s how they got in.”

  “We can’t lie to the police.” Cain seems pretty unshakeable on that point.

  “Then I’m going up there to wipe the lipstick off that mirror and you two can leave. I’ll tell the cops I was mistaken. I wrote the message when I was drunk.” I cross my arms.

  “You could be charged with wasting their time.”

  “I’ll call them and tell them right now.”

  Cain looks at Sky. He seems to be debating what to do.

  I start to punch in the number. I know it off by heart. All the kids in town learned it in case of emergencies. Not that it was that worthwhile knowing considering it would take close to two hours for a cop to get to town.

  I make the call and neither of them try to stop me. “Hi, this is Eden Rose Masterson. My friends made a call almost an hour ago. They found a note I wrote on my bathroom mirror when I was drunk last night. It’s all been a silly mistake. You don’t need to
send someone.”

  She asks a few questions before she tells me she’ll call back the car.

  Sky shakes her head at me. “What the hell, Eden?”

  I’m wondering the same. What if Sasha doesn’t find out who took the key? I look at Cain.

  “Call a locksmith. All I need is for the lock to my balcony door to be changed.”

  He frowns before he does it. I feel a little better because I took charge, but also a little sicker because I still don’t know who broke in. Chances are the cops wouldn’t have found out either. There isn’t much to go on. I could talk to Asher later if his sister didn’t have an answer for me before our date.

  “Are you sure about this?” Sky sounds shocked.

  “I am,” I tell her. Someone in this town hates me. I’m going to find out who.

  Sasha’s call back comes when I’m starting to make breakfast. I answer the phone quickly, almost dropping it in my rush.

  “Sasha?”

  “I know who had the keys.” She sighs. “The bitch just handed me them back.”

  “Who had them?”

  “Diana Milner. That…”

  “The girl Asher took to prom?” I remember her. She was the richest girl in school, looked down on everyone and everything. It had added to the shock of him asking someone else out. She was the last person I would have expected him to even speak to. This is just totally fucking bizarre.

  “She didn’t just go to prom with him. She batted him around for a while. She’s a user, and a psycho. You need to be careful, Eden. She’s hell-spawn.”

  “Noted. Thanks.”

  “You want me to bring the keys…”

  “No. I’m having the lock changed. Just bin them.”

  “Okay. I’m so sorry about this.”

  “It’s okay. I need to go.” I hung up and let this new information sink in. Asher’s spoiled bitch ex is pissed at me for coming back to town? I can deal with that.

  “You found out who the jealous bitch is?” Sky asks.

  I nod. “Don’t worry about her. I can take her.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  * * *

  EDEN

  It’s funny, I’m not freaked out at all now that I know. I go into my room, pick out my date outfit carefully, and then I clean the note off my bathroom mirror. It makes me laugh. Who does this woman think she is?

  “She’s a Goddess, Eden.” Cupid is standing behind me, his presence a sudden blur in the mirror.

  I jump. “Damn it, Fred. Could you give me some sort of notice before you show up, maybe? Geez.”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” he tells me, with a wry smile.

  “What were you saying about Diana being a goddess?” I raise an eyebrow at him.

  “She’s a dark forces Goddess. They exist, unfortunately.”

  “Dark forces?”

  “You’re a Goddess of Love. It makes you a force for good.”

  “Okay.”

  “She’s a Goddess of Destruction.”

  I’m starting to seriously consider going to see a doctor about these hallucinations. I can’t be having a conversation about good and evil with Cupid in my bathroom. These things just don’t happen.

  “I’m not a hallucination. The sooner you understand that, the better.”

  “Okay, so you’re not a hallucination. But only I can see and hear you, right?” I raise an eyebrow at him.

  He sighs and runs a hand through his hair.

  “Why does Cupid need to wear sunglasses anyway? Why do you look like you belong on a motorcycle without a helmet? I don’t understand any of this.”

  “No, you don’t want to understand any of this. It makes sense when you accept who you are and what your place is. I thought we’d made progress on this.”

  I roll my eyes. “Why would there be another Goddess here? This town is freaking tiny. What are the odds? No, seriously?”

  “Her lineage tends to follow other Goddesses. Her intent is always to do harm. She’ll play with humans but it’s ultimately more satisfying when she destroys another Goddess.”

  “Um, what? Destroy? What are you talking about?” Was she actually going to try to kill me?

  “You were destroying yourself before you came here. There are many paths to destruction.”

  “Which path does she take then?” I’m getting irritated, and I can hear it in my voice.

  “She will try to attack you through your lovers, most likely. She understands who you are, what you are.”

  “How do I stop her?”

  He smiles. “Use your power.”

  “Use my what?” All I’d been able to do with this light thing was get men to give me honest answers. I didn’t see how that would help.

  “Ugly things hide in darkness because they’re afraid of the light, Eden. Use that to your advantage.”

  “What?” I turn his words over, but they sound like mystic bullshit to me.

  He disappears as Sky calls on me. “Eden, a guy called Asher’s here to see you.”

  He’s early, and he’s come here? My stomach turns as Cupid’s words come back to me. She’ll try to attack me through my lovers. Asher showing up like this couldn’t be a good thing. He should still have been at work. Something’s wrong.

  “I’ll be there in a sec,” I call back, considering getting changed.

  I have a feeling the date is cancelled. I leave the sexy dress on the bed and go downstairs in my ripped vest and denim skirt. It isn’t the elegant look I wanted to go for, but I don’t think it matters what you’re wearing when you’re being dumped.

  I go down the stairs and try to pull on a smile. He looks as good as always in a well-tailored suit. I move towards him, swallowing the lump that’s rising in my throat. He seems apprehensive.

  “You’re kind of early.” My voice sounds weak. Don’t tell me I’m about to lose him already?

  “Is there somewhere we can go to talk?” He glances at my guests who are trying not to look our way.

  I nod, trying to hold myself together. I pick up the keys to the back door and take his hand to lead him out there. Sky and Cain are quiet, keeping to themselves. I feel like I’m marching to my death or something. Asher’s silence is killing me.

  I close the door behind us and glance down at the pool before I dare to make myself look into his eyes. There’s so much pain and confusion there that my throat tightens.

  “I wasn’t sure if I should come here.” He nods back to the house. “Is… Does the other guy live here? Your bodyguard seemed really pissed with me before…”

  “The other guy… He owns the new night club in town.” I try to relax. “My bodyguard left. I’m getting new security.”

  “I don’t know what I’m doing here.” He shakes his head and paces a little. “I thought I was fine with… everything. I am fine with it. I’m just…” He frowns at me. “Shit. I’m letting her get to me again.”

  “Her?”

  He sighs and takes my hands in his. “I got involved with this completely messed up in the head bitch of a woman when you left town. I thought I’d gotten her out of my system, but one little visit and she’s getting to me all over again.”

  Diana! What has she done to him? I have to fix this.

  “Asher, I love you. You know that.” I feel the light pulsing through me as I speak, flooding into him through our joined hands. I want him to feel it, to know how much I love him. Words can only do so much. He needs to know, he needs to feel it.

  He pulls me closer and I go onto the tips of my toes to stretch enough for my lips to reach his.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  * * *

  ASHER

  The sudden doubts that had driven me to leave work early to confront Eden fade the moment she speaks to me. It only takes one kiss to erase them without a trace. I rest my head against hers as she starts to break away. My hands close over hers on my chest.

  She sighs softly, her gaze on my hands. “I know about Diana.”

  I straighten slowl
y, a strong sense of guilt plaguing me at the thought of Eden knowing about her, really knowing. It’s messed up what I let that woman do to me. What I kept letting her do.

  “Diana means nothing to me.”

  “You dated her, or something?”

  “Or something. That’s over now.” Why won’t she look me in the eye?

  Her voice drops to a whisper, “You just saw her. Before you came over here.”

  How can she know? I take a breath before I speak, trying to calm the panic that’s starting to rise in me. “She just showed up at the library.”

  “She spoke to you. Did she mention me?” Now, she lifts her gaze.

  I nod, wishing it wasn’t true. “She’s always been jealous of you.”

  “I need you to stay away from her, Asher.” She sounds uneasy. “She’s dangerous.”

  “Nothing would ever happen with her. I don’t have feelings for her…” I start to defend something she isn’t even worried about. I know it the minute it’s out there. She’s not worried I’ll fall for Diana’s feminine wiles. There’s something else going on here, something worse.

  “I know,” she tells me. There’s sadness in her voice. Something’s wrong and I don’t know what it is.

  “What’s going on, Eden? I feel like I’m missing something.”

  She steps back and I let her hands go reluctantly.

  “We can talk on our date. I’m not quite ready for it.” She motions to her casual but very fetching look and puts her hand on the back-door handle. “Come in and wait. You can meet my friends.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  * * *

  EDEN

  I leave Asher with Sky and Cain. Sky’s interested questions seem to be putting him two parts at ease, one part on edge. She tends to throw in some scary questions with the innocent ones, when she meets a guy she thinks I might be interested in. Of course, it’s been a while. I’d kind of forgotten how shocking she could be sometimes.

  I take my time getting ready, considering telling Asher everything. I’m thinking about how to do it while I change my underwear. Sexy black lace is in order for tonight. Though I take a minute to consider going without the panties. The alfresco sex I’d imagined on our first date would be easier to slide into without that barrier. I pull on the bra and slip into the panties after a second’s pause. He’d ripped them off me the last time and it had been kind of hot.