I had always been kept safe from the paparazzi because I was boring. Now my mother’s existence was going to change it all. “What can I do to help, Daddy?” I asked, worried about the man I’d seen protecting the woman in that room as if she were a princess.
“Nothing. Not a f**king thing, sweetheart. Not a f**king thing. I gotta get to your mom. She needs me. I’m sorry, but you’re on your own. Just be prepared—they’ll find you. It’ll all come out. Everything. You understand that, don’t you?”
He meant my life. My secrets. My privacy.
“Yes, sir. I know.”
“I’m so sorry, baby girl,” he said, and the pain in his voice was honest. He really wished I didn’t have to face this. But I had to figure this out on my own.
“Only thing I can think of is you can come to the Manor. I can get you a room there and you’ll be safe, but they will eventually get the story. Too many people know things. It will all come out. You can hide for a while, and I’ll hide you. But it’s time you faced this. You aren’t my little girl anymore.”
He was right. It was time I faced this life. The one I’d hidden from.
“Call me. Let me know how she is and that you’re safe when you get there,” I told him.
“I will. Nan’s story will come out, too. Be ready for that.”
“Okay.”
He hung up and I stared down at my phone.
“What’s wrong?” Grant asked, his gaze on me.
“I . . . they know. The media know.”
“Shit,” Grant moved the notebook between us and slid over to me. I hadn’t even realized we were parked until that moment. “You mean about your mom?”
I nodded. “Yes. My mom. Nan . . . me. They know it all. They’ll come looking for me. I won’t be hard to find. They already know where Rush lives. He makes the papers randomly when they need some Slacker Demon family stories for the smear papers.”
Grant pulled me into his arms and held me against his chest. I had to tell him everything now. I just couldn’t form words. “I won’t let those f**kers get near you. I swear,” he growled, tightening his hold on me.
He didn’t know what they were like. This was a breaking story in the music industry. The world’s most legendary rock band’s lead singer was married to a woman he’d kept a secret from everyone. Even his own daughter for years.
Then there was me. Their miracle child. The child who shouldn’t have lived but did. The one who might not live a long life. The one who couldn’t have kids or it would kill her. The one who wasn’t whole, whose heart never worked properly. The pills I’d taken my entire life. The precautions—it would all come out. And I would be the sick girl. The one everyone looked at as if she wasn’t normal. I didn’t want that. Not again.
I had lived that life before, and I didn’t want it again. I kept my secrets guarded for a reason. And now they were all coming out, and I had no control.
“Shh, it’s okay, baby. I swear I will protect you. I swear, I will,” Grant murmured as silent tears ran down my face. My life was about to completely change.
Grant
Holy hell. This wasn’t something I could fix, and I hated it. Harlow’s shoulders silently shook as her tears wet the front of my shirt. Her life was about to be splashed all over the media. And I couldn’t do a damn thing about it.
Rush had never had to deal with this because the world knew he existed. He made the tabloids at times, but his normal life didn’t supply them with the drama they craved.
This would. Harlow would get no peace. I could take her away and hide her. We could get on a plane and leave the damn country. “Let’s leave. Get on a plane and hide. We can go to a secluded island somewhere.”
She shook her head. “It won’t make it go away. They will find me one day and until I face it—” she hiccupped “—they will be after me. I have to face this. And I need to check on my dad. This is going to be so hard on him.”
Always worrying about someone else. It was what she did. It was one of the things I loved about her. But right f**king now, I wanted her to think about herself. Kiro was used to the paparazzi. He was used to being in the media and rumors spreading about him. He had kept Harlow out of the limelight and now she was about to be thrown into it.
It wasn’t like the world didn’t know she existed. They just didn’t know that much about her, so they ignored her. She was boring, and Kiro’s exploits were a lot more fun.
“Tell me what to do and I’ll do it. Just tell me what you need,” I told her as my heart felt as if it was being broken with each sob.
“I need to go back to Rosemary and pack,” she said, simply.
Pack? Why? “Why are you packing?” I asked, feeling the first pulls of panic.
“I have to leave. Nan will be less interesting to the media if I’m not there. I need to go back to L.A. and hide out. I’m good at that.”
“I can’t work in L.A. but I’ll call Dad and tell him to deal,” I told her.
She shook her head. “No, you don’t need to come. You need to stay here and stay out of this.”
I gently grabbed both her shoulders and pushed her back so I could see her face. Her tear-streaked face and big eyes stared up at me. “I’m not letting you leave me. Ever. Don’t you understand that?”
She just looked at me. Emotions flashed in her eyes that I wanted to cling to, and others I hated. She doubted me . . . she doubted us. I thought we’d moved past that.
“Harlow, I won’t let you leave me.”
She wiped at the tears on her face. “You will,” she said with a sad, defeated sound. I hated it.
“Sweet girl, ain’t no amount of paparazzi gonna send me away from you. I can handle any shit as long as I have you.”
Harlow shook her head and looked away from me. “You say that now. But you don’t know. It isn’t worth it.”
She was worth anything and everything that could be thrown at me.
“I’ll take you back, but I won’t leave your side. I won’t let you deal with this alone, and I’m not going anywhere. Do you hear me?”
A sad smile touched her face. “I know you think that, but it’ll be too much. You’ll know soon. It isn’t what you think. Stuff will come out, and you won’t be able to deal with it. And I’ll understand.”
She didn’t trust anyone. I was losing this fight. I was gonna win her heart, dammit. She had mine, and I was gonna do anything I could to prove to her she had my heart. Telling her wasn’t enough. Words were weak. I had to show her. And I would.
•
I kept Harlow tucked beside me. We didn’t listen to the radio. I was pretty sure it was already being talked about on every station. I didn’t want to upset her. This wasn’t going to be easy, and I was liable to beat the shit out of someone before it was over, but I’d show her I meant it. That she was it for me.
When we rolled back into Rosemary, TV station vans and cars lined the streets. I turned around and headed for my apartment.
“What are you doing?” she asked, sitting up and looking at the paparazzi already surrounding Nan’s house. They were taking pictures of her car and the house.
“Taking you to my place,” I informed her.
“I need to face this now. It’ll just get worse. I want them to leave so everyone in Rosemary can go back to normal.”
“Harlow, if I let you out of the car and they come at you, I’ll end up in jail. Do you understand me?”
She glanced at me with a frown. “Why?”
“Because I’ll f**king snap. That’s why.”
“Oh,” she replied. She let me drive to my apartment without any more questions.
When we pulled in, I felt like breathing a sigh of relief. I was afraid they had already figured out who I was and would be waiting here, too.
My phone rang when I stopped the truck, and I grabbed it. Rush’s name was on the screen.
“Hey,” I said, opening the truck door. I wanted to hurry and get Harlow safely inside.
“Where’s Harlow?” Rush asked.
“With me.”
“Where?”
“Just got to my apartment,” I replied.
“Get her inside and don’t f**king leave,” Rush barked.
“Already ahead of you,” I told him, annoyed that he thought he needed to protect what was mine.
“She knows?” Rush asked.
“Yeah. Kiro called and warned her.”
“Did she know about her mother?”
“Yeah, she found out when we went to find her dad in Vegas. I was there.”
“They’re already talking about Harlow. Keep the TV off,” Rush said.
“Planning on it. I’m taking care of her. I don’t need you telling me how the f**k to keep my woman safe.”
Rush was silent a moment. “Okay. Fine. But if—” he paused. “Never mind. Call me if you need me.” He hung up and I took Harlow from the truck and slipped my hand into hers, and we both started running for the door. There was no one here, and I wanted to f**king keep it that way.
When I had her safely inside, I closed the door and locked it.
“You okay?” I asked her.
She nodded and stood there and stared at me. I wasn’t sure what she was thinking but I could tell she was battling something.
I took a step toward her and she threw herself into my arms. I hadn’t expected that but I caught her and held her. I realized this was the first time in her life someone had made her the priority. The relief in her body as she pressed against me told me everything I needed to know. My overprotected Harlow had never been protected for her sake, but for the secrets in her family and a woman she didn’t know was alive.
“From now on, you have me,” I told her, and she nodded against my chest.
Harlow
It took them only three hours to find us. Grant closed the blinds and curtains over the windows and glass doors leading out to the balcony. Cop cars were out there, too, and I knew Rush was using every ounce of power he had to get the vultures off me, but it wouldn’t do any good.
Grant was locked in his apartment like an animal because of me. I hated that. I watched him as he peeked outside, and I started to hate myself. I had done this to him. I was selfish and I let him stay with me. I should have run. I should have forced him to leave me. I should have told him that his fear of caring about someone whom he could lose was very real with me. I wasn’t sure how long I’d live. He could never get me pregnant. I’d seen him looking at Rush with Nate, and I knew he wanted that.
But he could never have it with me.
I was defective.
And now I was ruining his life.
Grant turned back around and saw me staring at him. He frowned and made his way over to me in a few long strides.
“I don’t like the look I see on your face. Ignore that shit out there.”
“I can’t. You’re locked in your apartment because of me.”
Grant raised his eyebrows. “You think I care about that? The only problem I would have with that is if you weren’t with me. But you are. And that makes this a damn nice setup.”