Things Lost In The Fire (32 page)

“I don’t know, just pick something for me,” Sadie said, closing the menu and shoving it aside. Her lips pursed in a playful pout at her friend’s raised eyebrows. “What?”

“Last time I suggested something for you, you nearly bit my head off,” Tess reminded her.

“That’s because you wanted me to eat some sort of mushroom thing that cost over a hundred dollars. I just can’t do that, Tess. It’s a freaking mushroom. For a hundred dollars.”

Tess snorted. “They’re called golden chanterelle mushrooms and if you knew how rare and delicious they are then you’d understand the high price.”

“Whatever. I’ll just pick something easy.” Sadie flipped the menu back open and quickly selected some sort of chicken dish, figuring it was safe enough.

“Suit yourself.” Tess closed her own menu and eyed Sadie. “I will say though that the
Loup de Mer
is spectacular. You would love it.”

Sadie shook her head. “Nope. No thanks. I don’t even want to know.”

Tess laughed. “You know, for someone who’s never had to worry about money, you sure don’t like to partake in the finer things in life.”

“Maybe we just define ‘the finer things’ differently,” Sadie countered, a smile softening her features. “You can keep your fancy food, cars, and limousines, Tess. I just want the fresh air and the mountains.”

“That’s not all you want, honey.” Tess sipped her glass of golden Pinot Gris, amusement brightening her eyes.

Sadie flushed, grateful for the interruption of the waiter. After they placed their orders, she twirled a strand of hair around her finger and sighed. “About that…”

“Oh my God, did you kiss him again?” Tess asked, nearly dropping her glass. A stupidly big smile filled her face. “Do tell. Please. Throw a bone to the sex-starved lunatic over here.”

Sadie hesitated as she tried to think of where to begin. The whole point of meeting Tess for dinner was to get a recommendation on a good security company and quietly break the news that she may or may not have a stalker. So far, she’d been unable to bring up the topic. It swam in the back of her mind, an icy reality she still refused to face.

“Promise you won’t disapprove?” Sadie met her friend’s eyes with a teasing look.

Tess waved off the question. “I’m over it. Now tell me what happened.”

“Well…I was sort of followed yesterday after I left my mom’s house, and—”

Tess held up her hand. “Stop. Rewind. You were
what
?”

Sadie swallowed back a prickly ball of nerves, her throat closing in on her. “Followed, I guess. It was probably just a paparazzi. A black car tailed me from my mom’s house almost to my dad’s, which is when I realized it was following me. So I called Brody, and—”

Tess’s mouth fell open. “You called Brody before you called me?”

Sadie rolled her shoulders in an attempt to relieve some of the tension she felt. “I could barely think clearly, Tess. And to be honest, he’s a guy. What were you going to do if it was some crazy stalker with a knife?”

“Shoot his ass,” Tess replied with a confident snort. “You think I don’t keep a nice little .22 tucked away for situations like that?”

Sadie sighed. “Okay, well, I didn’t know that before. Can I just finish, please?”

“Go ahead.” Tess drank more of her wine and sat back, crossing her arms.

“So I drove to Brody’s place in Venice, and the car followed me all the way there. Brody tried to chase it down, but the car drove away before he could get the plate number. We went upstairs to his apartment, had a beer and talked about Lee Walker—”

“He’s still bothering you about that?”

Sadie wrung her hands together in her lap. “Well, he had something pretty interesting to tell me. So I’m glad he did.”

“What?”

“The police have some kind of a new lead on who may have shot him. Someone in the band. Brody thinks it was Georgina.”

Tess blinked in surprise and leaned forward, lowering her voice. “That’s really serious. Are you sure?”

Sadie nodded. “It makes sense. But anyway, we won’t know for sure until the police look into it.”

“Is Mr. Paparazzi going to take a chill pill now or is he only more eager for the story?”

A small smile danced over Sadie’s lips. “He said he doesn’t care, but I know he wants the story. A thing like this could be his ticket back into the industry.”

“What do
you
want?” Tess asked, concern creasing her brow.

“The truth,” Sadie admitted, feeling a weight lift off her shoulders. She straightened with a smile. “And I want him to be happy. I care about him.”

“Oh, God.” Tess chuckled, brown eyes glittering with humor. “You’re head over heels for him, aren’t you? Let me guess, he kissed you on the way to his front door and you let him because you’re a hopeless sap and can’t resist that moronic grin of his.”

Sadie started laughing, unable to help herself. She let it brighten her spirits in spite of her lingering fears of being stalked by an unknown stranger. “He has the best smile. I love it.”

Tess eyed her friend knowingly. “You love more than just the smile.”

“Let’s not go there, okay?” Sadie pleaded, taking a sip of her Chardonnay.

“Look at you, all flustered and in love,” Tess mused. “And here I am, singing ‘One Is The Loneliest Number’ and drowning my sorrows in wine.”

Sadie snorted. “Well, I met this other guy recently at a coffee shop. You’d probably like him; he looks like a freaking model.”

“Really?” Tess’s interest piqued. “I want details.”

“Tall, well-built but lean, shoulder length brown hair, blue eyes…” Sadie began, trailing off as she remembered her last run in with Drew and that odd vibe she’d gotten from him. “He was kind of weird though. Persistent, I guess.”

“A fan of yours?”

“Yeah. He was just trying to be nice and I made the whole thing awkward. But if I run into him again I’ll mention how hot and single you are.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Tess winked. “So tell me what happened after this kiss. Sex?”

A shocked laugh bubbled from Sadie’s throat. “What? No. Of course not.”

“Damn.”

“We just…stopped, and he walked me to my car like a gentleman, kissed me once more, and then I went home.”

“Aw, shucks, honey. What a swell guy,” Tess replied with a hokey southern accent, laughing at herself. “I’m glad he’s behaving himself.”

Sadie let out a slow release of breath, realizing now was as good a time as any to breach the subject of the security system. “He is. Anyway, so I wanted to ask if you knew of a good security company that could install some lights and a system at my dad’s house. The one he has hasn’t worked since the mid-nineties.”

“Totally. I can get you Marc Green’s number. He’ll hook you up.” Tess grabbed her cell phone and began looking up the number, only to pause. “Wait. Is this because you were followed? Or did something else happen?”

Sadie started to reply, only to be cut off as the waiter dropped off their food. She stared down at the sautéed chicken breast smothered in brie sitting on her plate and tried to formulate a proper response.

“Well?”

Sadie took a deep breath. “There was someone outside the house last night. I had to call the police.”

Tess nearly fell out of her chair. “
What?
You waited until now to tell me this?”

“I didn’t want to worry you,” Sadie admitted, trying to wave off the seriousness of the situation. “It was probably just a teenager wandering around the neighborhood.”

“Or maybe the same guy who followed you,” Tess pointed out, not even bothering to eat her food. “Tell me you aren’t staying there tonight?”

“I’m at my mom’s for now, until I can get a good security system put in.” Sadie poked around at the chicken, not really hungry.

“Okay, well I’ll give Marc a call and get him over there ASAP.” Tess returned to her phone, hunting down the number. “And you’re more than welcome at my place if you don’t want to shack up with Valerie.”

Sadie smiled, grateful for her friend. “I’m fine. But thank you.”

“Of course,” Tess replied, reaching for Sadie’s hand. She squeezed it as she held the phone to her ear.

Sadie watched Tess come to her rescue yet again, and breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

AWHILE LATER, they left the restaurant and said their goodbyes. Tess went east down Sunset, while Sadie went west to where she’d parked her car a couple blocks down the street. She didn’t mind the walk, or the cool breeze that kicked up the night air. It gave her a chance to gather her thoughts and mentally prepare herself for another night in the house she’d avoided for more than half her life.

It wasn’t as bad as she’d feared. As long as she didn’t focus on the past, the house was nothing more than wood, drywall, carpet, and furniture. That made it no different than her father’s home or her grandparents’ place back in Tahoe, which meant she could stay there and not give in to the nightmares.

People walked all around her and cars rumbled past, the city alive with lights and energy. She enjoyed blending in with this world of concrete and indulgence, even though she remained an outsider. She’d never fit in here, never really belong. Before, she’d embraced that fact; now she realized she wanted nothing more than to carve a notch for herself and prove she could handle the city that the angels had long ago forsaken.

The town had ceased to be a happy place the day Lee Walker tried to hurt her. But now, in spite of everything, she felt those old wounds closing and the fear subsiding.

She could be happy here, maybe. If she really tried to make it home, then it would be.

A smile crossed her face at the thought as she passed through a small group of female twenty-somethings, their skinny jeans and loose fitted tops hanging over their lanky frames. One of them caught her eye and stared, surprise bringing a bright grin to her face.

“Oh my God, aren’t you Sadie McRae?” the girl blurted out, trailing after her.

Sadie turned with a weak smile, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “Yeah.”

“I love you so much. Can I get a picture with you?” the girl gushed, prompting the rest of the group to crowd around in excitement. A few were already taking pictures, the flashes like lightning in the dark.

“Um. I really have to go, but…” Sadie trailed off, realizing it was useless as the girl was already at her side posing for a picture.

Sadie let the girl hug her and wander, star struck and breathless, back to her friends. As they left, Sadie noticed a black sedan come to a stop at the curb just ten feet away. Through the tinted windows, she could see a ghostly figure sitting in the driver’s seat, watching her.

Panic raced down her spine in an icy shiver, paralyzing her. Knowing she had to move, to run away, she unstuck her feet from the sidewalk and urged herself to turn around. After five stiff, shaky steps, she regained her momentum and raced past a clothing boutique, hair salon, and organic café, wondering if she could seek refuge inside any of them.

Most were closed, leaving her few options. She shot a look over her shoulder and saw the car following her, driving slowly. Terror gripped her as she kept going, until a hand reached out and dragged her into a crowded Irish pub.

“What’s the hurry, McRae?” Brody asked, his happy grin faltering when he saw the terror on her face. “Okay, for real. What’s wrong?”

Sadie shoved him back into the bar until they were both safely inside, her hands shaking. “That black car. It’s out there.”

He didn’t bother asking more questions before launching himself out of the pub and onto the sidewalk, his eyes careening up and down the street looking for the car. Seeing nothing and realizing the creep had fled, he headed back inside and found her seated at the bar, badly shaken up.

He plopped down beside her and ordered them both a beer. When she only stared at the old oak bar top like a catatonic mental patient, he nudged her with his elbow. “He’s gone. You’re okay.”

“No, I’m not.” She let out a rush of breath, shaking her head. “Whoever it is, they were at my house last night, walking around in the backyard. If it’s just some paparazzi then I’m going to
kill
him for scaring me this way. It’s just not right.”