Southern Rocker Showdown Read online

  That mattered not a bit to Jonah, who was on his feet and across that stage in a flash, stepping between Lacy and Richie like he was ready to throw down. Alan, the stage director, desperately tried to shut anything down before they televised a violent altercation between the two men. Security rushed on stage to pull them apart, but Jonah shrugged away to kneel in front of Lacy, to make sure she was okay.

  Tony Paul watched from the sidelines. Suddenly everything made so much sense. His blood boiled that she had lied to him, there was someone else. And it was the hottest motherfucker in the room. Clearly what he looked like was a factor, otherwise she wouldn’t have chosen Jonah.

  By the time they returned from the unscheduled commercial break, Dominique broke the news to the viewing public that Richie Cruz had been removed from the competition. There would be no sing-off. America had its Fierce Top Twelve.

  Richie and his sisters had been removed from the premises, but Lacy still didn’t care to show up for the party that night. Instead she escaped into one of the limos, and Jonah climbed in right beside her. He tipped the driver a hundred bucks, telling him to drive around until they needed gas.

  The privacy window went up, and Lacy wilted into Jonah’s arms and cried. His kisses ultimately dried her tears as his hands and his body renewed her spirit. They drove around for hours, and he loved her for just as long.

  And when they got back to the house that night, Tony Paul was watching from his upstairs window. He glanced down at his phone. The wallpaper was the photo of his little boy.

  By the time Jonah and Lacy had walked through the door of the mansion, that photo had been sent to PING.

  Chapter Sixteen

  When Lacy was summoned to Graham’s office in downtown Los Angeles the next day, she figured it had to do with Richie’s outburst the night before. Given the rumors that there was something going on with her and Vanni, these accusations only fueled speculation there was something to them. All she could hope for at this point was that it wouldn’t affect her standing in the tour. As it stood, she was supposed to get six figures if she participated. She would have hated to lose that based on nothing but lies.

  She arrived via private car, like she arrived anywhere these days. Security met her at the lobby and escorted her up to Graham’s office. He was there with Shannon, as well as an older, matronly woman they introduced as Gwen Perry, a publicist with a firm calledSchuster and Beckweth.

  “We need a publicist?” she asked.

  “We do,” Graham said.

  “I swear nothing happened between me and Vanni. It’s all a huge misunderstanding.”

  “I figured,” Gwen said. “Andy Carnevale is one of my dearest friends.”

  Lacy’s brow furrowed. “So what’s the problem?”

  Both Graham and Gwen shared a grim look before Gwen turned the computer monitor around so Lacy could see. It was the PING website.

  FIERCE CONTESTANTS SHARE SECRET LOVE CHILD!

  Lacy’s blood ran cold as she processed what that meant. She brought her shaking hands to her mouth as tears of rage threatened to fall. The photo used with the article was unmistakable. This had come from Tony Paul.

  “That sonofabitch,” she breathed. She had given him a chance and he had fucked her over yet again. When would she ever learn?

  “I take it you didn’t know,” Graham said.

  She shook her head. “How bad is it?”

  “It’s pretty bad,” he said. “It’s on every news outlet as they scramble to fill in the missing pieces. It’s a shock enough that you even have a child, much less with someone on the show. There are a lot of theories being tossed around. So it’s up to us to take control of the message.”

  “How are we going to do that?”

  Gwen answered her. “We’re going to introduce Cody on the show.”

  Lacy shook her head immediately. “No fucking way.” She looked at Graham. “I told you that wasn’t an option from the beginning. My mind hasn’t changed.”

  “No, your mind was changed for you,” he said. “The genie is out of the bottle, Lacy. Whether you go home today or stay till the end, this news has broken and will affect your path. Wouldn’t you like to know you did everything you could to make it a positive outcome? To be triumphant, instead of a mere victim?”

  Her lip quivered. “Is that what you think I am?”

  He referred to the website. “That’s what they think you are. Among other things.”

  “You’re missing a huge opportunity to make a real difference in this industry, Lacy,” Gwen said. “When you started this competition, you were pissed off. You thought everyone needed you to put your sex on display in order to sell you as an artist. You resisted every costume, every song selection. You were ready to prove that a woman could be tough. What is tougher than a woman who is willing to go to any length to provide for her child without taking the easy way, and sponging off of some rich baby daddy?”

  Lacy fell silent. She hadn’t considered that.

  “You’re not this pissed off wannabe all your detractors say you are. You’re strong, sensual, powerful, uncompromising… not because you’re some heartless bitch, but because you are a lioness protecting her cub. You tell me what is fiercer than that.”

  “We have a couple of positives here,” Graham said. “Not many, but a few. Your silence can be spun any which way. If we take control of it, we can spin it to benefit everyone. If they take control of it, they’ll tear not only you down, but Tony Paul and the integrity of this season entirely. With all the hits that we’re taking, this could be fatal. I can’t run that risk, Lacy.”

  She took a deep breath. She knew he was right. They had given her the first real opportunity to make it, and mostly on her terms. They worked with her rather than against her. She knew from personal experience how rare that was. She’d be a fool to walk away, especially when she was so close to everything she wanted. “So what do I do?”

  Gwen referred to her tablet computer, turning it around so she could see a plan of action to follow. “We record a package where you confess that you have a child but you were afraid to introduce him because you never wanted to make it in this show through pity. You wanted to be strong for your son because you are the only one he has.”

  Lacy nodded. She could say that because it was the truth. “What do I say when they ask me about the father?”

  “They won’t ask,” Gwen assured her. “Like I said, we control the message. You offer no comment all the way through no matter what they ask you because, like you have made clear, this show isn’t about that. It’s about the music, and how professional all of you can be to be a part of it.”

  “What about Tony Paul?” she asked Graham. “What if he starts tearing our story apart?”

  “You let me worry about Tony Paul,” Graham said. “As long as he’s under contract with me, I control his message, too.”

  She nodded. She didn’t like any of this, but it wasn’t like she had a choice. She could reject the shame and redefine feminine strength, which was something she’d been desperately trying to do for years anyway. All she had to do was reject the drama surrounding her choices and simply prove her muster. In doing so, she will provide the life for her son he deserved.

  If he was going to pay the price either way, it might as well benefit him in the end.

  But she had a few choice words for Tony Paul when she got back to the house. She walked right up to his door and pounded until he answered. “I need to talk to your roommate alone,” she told Sylvester, who held his hands up in surrender and squeezed out the door. She turned to face Tony Paul, who was reclining on the top bunk, leaning against the opposite wall.

  “You son of a bitch,” she breathed as she glared at him. “I reject you so you turn our son over to PING?” Her tone dripped with disdain.

  “It wasn’t about you, Lacy,” he said, then reconsidered. “Well, at first it was. I wasn’t all that happy about being rejected, but I can live with that. It wasn’t the first time you
turned me down.”

  “Then why?”

  He scooted to the edge of the bunk and hopped to the floor. He was getting more conditioned by the day. He still carried extra pounds, but he was getting more agile and had increased his stamina to keep up with them all through all their performances. Oddly the extra weight made him look more complete somehow, more mature than the gangly guy who had romanced her all those years ago. “It wasn’t that you turned me down, it was why. If you could lie to me about that, then what else were you lying about? What else were you keeping from me? How much could I trust you?”

  Every single word only served to piss her off even more. “How can you trust me? Do you realize how fucking ridiculous that is coming from you?”

  “Yes,” he admitted without shame.

  “So you drag our son into this, risking everything. Well,” she amended with a sneer, “risked everything for me. You don’t need this show to survive. You can go home tomorrow and it wouldn’t change a thing for you.” Her eyes narrowed as she stared at him. “That would certainly tip the scales more in your favor if you ever wanted to sue for custody, wouldn’t it? That you can provide a life for him that I can’t?”

  He shrugged. “That’s for a court to decide.”

  It took every iota of her strength not to rip his throat out. She had never hated anyone more. “You are truly loathsome.”

  “Maybe. But Cody is half mine.”

  “He’s zero yours!” she exploded. “You walked away, remember? Funny how that wretched gossip site failed to mention that.”

  He was nonchalant. “I’m sure they’ll get around to it. They always do. But the way I figure it, you have a lot more strikes against you.”

  “How do you fucking figure?”

  “You haven’t let me or my folks see Cody, ever, in four years.”

  “You haven’t asked,” she gritted between clenched teeth.

  “Everyone suspects that you’re screwing Vanni, to keep yourself in a public competition where you haven’t even bothered to talk about your son, when everyone else talks about dead or sick loved ones as their reason to succeed.” She stewed as she listened. It was just like Graham suggested. He was trying to control the message. “And best of all, you’re screwing other contestants in the house.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “Jonah for sure, but I’m sure a case could be made for Shiloh too. And the funny thing is none of it has to be true. If you lied about having a kid, you’d lie about anything.” She fumed as she glared at him. “I never lied to you. I told you I didn’t want a child, you lied about being on birth control.”

  “I never lied!”

  His lip curled. “Didn’t you?” He let that sit there a minute while she connected the dots. All he had to do was prove one lie and everything she had ever said could be called into question. “Boinking the boss’s son for a few weeks before you ‘conveniently’ got pregnant, ensuring you’d get to claim my multi-million dollar contract. How different is fucking a judge so you can win a contract of your own any different?”

  Tears shone in her eyes. “Why do you hate me, Tony Paul?”

  He walked over to where she stood, hovering over her for a long moment, his eyes dark as they pierced hers. “Don’t flatter yourself, baby girl,” he said. “I feel nothing for you.” He brushed past her and left her standing alone and angry in his room.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Cody sat between Jules and Don on the living room sofa as they finished an animated movie that hadn’t even been released. Don grinned at her. “There are definite perks to rock star living.”

  She laughed. “Some rock stars. Karaoke King and Queen is more like it.”

  He linked his fingers with hers, bringing her hand to his lips. “Your majesty.” They leaned together and kissed. Cody leaned up to watch them, giggling at the silly adults. Someone knocked on the door, so she disengaged to answer.

  She peered through the peep hole. It was Gay Hollis, standing next to Jacinda. Her heart dropped. It had taken nine weeks, but Gay had finally come directly to her home, likely to muscle her way in to see the boy her beloved son fathered. She turned back to Don. “It’s Gay. Take him out in the back.”

  He nodded. “Hey, kiddo. Let’s go swing.”

  Cody was confused. “The movie isn’t finished,” he said.

  “Nana’s got company. We’ll finish watching when she’s done. Okay?”

  Cody sent a glance to his grandmother, who nodded with a reassuring smile. Finally he slid off of the sofa and followed Don to the back yard. When the sliding door closed behind them, she opened the front door, using the chain to keep it locked while they talked. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Hello to you, too,” Gay said coolly. “Honestly, I’m surprised you weren’t expecting me.”

  Jules snickered. “Why would I be? Your record for not showing up has entered its fourth year.”

  Gay glared at her. Finally she lifted up her cell phone, showing her the website that had broken the news about Cody’s paternity. Jules sucked in a breath. She knew without being told that the Hollises were behind it. She swallowed hard as her eyes met Gay’s. “I’m here to see my grandson,” she said. “There’s no need to deny it anymore. It’s a matter of public record now. And I think it’s time that we finally meet.”

  “So?” Jules shot back. “You’re nothing more than a stranger to Cody, same as yesterday. What happens with the show has nothing to do with him.”

  Gay’s perfectly shaped eyebrow cocked. “Really? Let’s think about this. Lacy wins this thing and she has enough money to keep Tony Paul away from Cody permanently. That’s the goal, right?”

  “Well, she couldn’t exactly depend on y’all to provide for him, could she? She was forced to file for child support and you shipped your lowlife, good-for-nothing son out of the country.”

  “He moved for a job,” Gay answered with a simple shrug. “He lost his contract with Jasper because of her, so he had to make a living somehow.”

  “That’s hilarious,” Jules said. “Considering you have more money than God.”

  Gay chuckled. “I taught my kids to work for a living, not sponge off of the family. Jacinda here tends bar at the club. We all pull our weight.”

  “And you want to enlist Cody while he’s young, is that it? Another indentured servant, paid with a lifelong residence in fancy house?”

  “It’s better than a trailer,” Gay said with a smile.

  Jules slammed the door right in her face, before she ripped away the chain and flung it open again, bringing her face to face with Gaynell. “You elitist cunt!”

  “Temper, temper,” Gay said with a click of her tongue. “You wouldn’t want to raise any suspicion that your anger issues might prove too dangerous an environment for a child, now would you?”

  Jules reared back, fist balled, ready to knock that smug smile right down Gay’s throat. Just before she could throw the punch, Don grabbed her arm back. “Is there a problem here?”

  “No problem,” Gay said. “I’m here to see my grandson.”

  “And after two whole months, too,” he pointed out.

  She presented the phone. “I was respecting the boundaries that Lacy had set by keeping Cody out of the headlines. That’s no longer the case now.”

  “I beg to differ,” Don said. “Lacy hasn’t said anything to us about allowing access to her son. And since he is her son, she’d have to sign off on it.”

  Gay turned her eyes on Jules. “Is that what you want? Because I can be back here by the end of the day with legal paperwork, forcing you to let me see him. Do you really want to involve the family courts in this?”

  “Yeah, I do,” Jules answered. “If you think any judge anywhere is going to let you take this child after four years of neglect and denial, you’re crazy.”

  “Perhaps,” Gay conceded. “But which do you think holds more weight with that family court? The rights of a grandparent?
Or the rights of the father? If he shows that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to be a father, no judge anywhere is going to stand in his way. This is still America. And kids still need both parents.”

  “Nana?”

  Jules glanced down. Cody had come to see what all the commotion was about, since Don wasn’t about to leave him in the back yard unattended. He had given him a snack at the table, but he had finished. So he wrapped his arms around his grandmother’s legs and stared up at the loud strangers with big brown eyes.

  Gay gasped when she saw him, holding her hand to her heart. “Cody,” she breathed. “You look just like your daddy,” she started, but Jules herded him back inside before she could say anything else that might upset him. Don intercepted the Hollises, using his body as a shield to keep them on the porch. Gay stared daggers at him.

  “You don’t know who you’re dealing with, son.”

  “You’re right, I don’t,” he said. “Whose fault is that?” He squeezed through the doorframe and slammed, and locked, the door behind him. He spotted Jules rocking Cody on the sofa.

  “But who’s my daddy, Nana?” Cody wanted to know. He understood the concept of a daddy. It was the man who lived with the mommy and took care of the kids. That he didn’t have one didn’t seem especially questionable to him by the grand old age of four. His family was his grandma and his mother. Some folks lived with their grandparents. Some had only one mommy or daddy.

  It never would have occurred to him that he had a daddy of his very own. How fascinating.

  “I think,” she said as she reached for the remote control, “that we need to finish our movie. As soon as your mama can come see you, she’ll tell you everything.” It was a chickenshit thing to promise. Basically she was hoping that he’d forget all about it by the time he saw Lacy again.

  It was one of the benefits of not seeing her regularly.

  Don didn’t leave that whole evening. He wanted to make sure that if Gay made good on her promise to bring back legal paperwork to take Cody, that Jules wasn’t alone and defenseless. They ordered a pizza, which was Cody’s favorite food. They watched his favorite movie. They played his favorite game. But he remained quite curious about this whole “daddy” thing.