“Oh, thank God.” Danny kissed Nia lightly on the cheek and then leaned back in the driver's seat of his black sport coupe Lexus. “I tried to get Marnie to bid for me, but she's such a bitch.” He placed his key in the ignition. “It's not ethical,” he said in a mock high voice. “I thought I was going to be rubbing feet tonight.”
“What makes you think I don't want you to rub mine?” She held up a manicured foot, constrained by a strappy high heel.
“Well, I figured you'd want me to rub out something else.” He smiled at her coyly.
Nia laughed. “Let's get into the mood first.” She reached into her purse.
Danny half expected her to pull out another mix of heroin and coke. He was ready for it this time. Ready to reject it. A part of him had been angry at the deception. Thoughts of revenge had swelled in his mind for days. But in the end he forced himself to come to grips with reality. Nia was not the cause for his relapse. He was. When Robert first introduced him to Nia, she'd walked into his life touting her ninja‐like abuse of narcotics. It was only his foolish desire to fantasize a world where they had it all that led to his destruction.
If anything, he felt sorry for her. Using could be lonely. Tricking him was the only way to gain his companionship in the habit. He'd made the mistake of doing it with Emily, but this time he promised himself he'd never do it again. Nia needed help, and tonight with the drug right in front of them was the perfect time to tell her to stop.
The glossy photos she smacked onto his lap left him at a loss for words. Danny picked up the pictures, shuffling through them. They were photos of him. One showed him doing a line of heroin and coke on Nia's breast, although her head had been conveniently cropped out. In other pictures, he did a line on her nightstand, the bathroom sink, and his arm.
“I can't wait to send those out to the tabloids tomorrow,” she said.
Danny's jaw dropped.
Nia bounced in her seat, squealing in delight as she clapped her hands.
“Why would you do this?”
“Me?” She placed a hand on her chest in mock shock. “I didn't do anything, that's America's drug‐free poster boy right there, getting high.”
“You were with me, lying to me about some fucking vitamins!” Danny pounded his hands on the steering wheel. It was all he could do to keep from wrapping them around her slender neck.
She was going to ruin him. I won't survive another public relapse. The endorsement deals he'd lined up were going to be shredded. Poof; gone like the magician with a rabbit in the hat.
His breath came out in short gasps.
“Oh, no one is going to know about that, honey.” She lowered the visor and stared into the mirror. Preening, she wiped lipstick off her teeth. “Who are they going to believe? The recovering addict? Or the adorable girl, who simply tried to help him and has never had a history with drugs?”
He grimaced and she smirked, reveling in his discomfort. No sympathy.
Nia zipped her white Croc purse and then grabbed the metallic door handle. “Enjoy your night.” She slammed the door, hard.
Danny revved the engine and peeled out of the parking lot. The tires squealed as he rounded the corner.
Brian took a seat on the sofa next to Marnie, handing her a glass of water.
“Stupid bitch!” A loud crash echoed in the foyer. “I'll kill her,” he screeched. His voice reached a high note and cracked. He slammed the door behind him. The reverberation shook the penthouse.
“Is that Danny?” Marnie whispered.
Brian rolled his eyes. “Let me go see what's up.”
Marnie followed him, determined to know what havoc had wrecked the peaceful night. They both had to stretch over the coffee table, blocking the hallway entrance. It normally stood against the wall holding household keys and mail. Sharp gasps came from Danny's room.
“Bro.” Brian knocked, but entered the room before waiting for an answer. “What's wrong?”
“Everything.” Danny sat on his bed. Glossy white papers were strewn across his floor. His face was bright red and jet black hair spiked in every direction. “It's all over for me.”
Marnie stooped to pick up the paper.
“No,” he cried. “Don't look at those.” Danny lunged forward, but Brian grabbed him and pushed him back onto his bed.
Marnie ignored his plea. One by one, she scanned each snapshot of Danny sniffing speedballs. Why the hell did he take these photos?
“The pictures are going to be released tomorrow, and I'm going to be fucked six ways from Sunday. No one is going to want to work with me. They're not going to care if it was a stupid mistake. They're just going to crucify me.” Danny's eyes shone with the brightness of a crazed man.
“Who's the girl in the picture?” Marnie asked.
“Nia.”
“Does she know about the pictures?” Brian asked. A look of bewilderment marred his handsome features.
Poor man. Danny was stuck in a sea of shit and he doesn't know which way is up. Whether Brian wanted to admit it or not, he had abandoned Danny. Marnie could understand. His brother wasn't for the faint of heart. She bet he wanted to turn tail and walk out of the room and back to his cushy job in San Francisco. Out of the kaleidoscope and back where things ran on normal people time.
“She's the one that's doing this to me! She took those pictures without my knowledge, to punish me for dumping her. She's going to release those tomorrow,” Danny said.
Maybe this is good for him. Finally, some consequences for how he treats women. She was tempted to smile, but didn't want to face the wrath of Danny's anger.
Brian collapsed on the bed. “Wow.”
Two overwhelmed idiots sitting side by side. Why doesn't he hug him?
Danny sat hunched over. All the fight in him had expired. He'd brought chaos, but there was joyous color as well. As much he deserved comeuppance, he wasn't the man that could handle it.
A boy sat in front of her—a very lonely boy, who'd lost a father before he learned how to handle life, and who'd been left with a mother who had given him the gift of chaos. She'd fed him drugs, just like Paul had done to her. After his life had burned out, he'd needed a hug. Someone needed to tell him then, just like now, that everything would be alright. But Brian couldn't do it.
Brian wasn't a bad man. He just wasn't made of the right stuff. She couldn't fault him. But she wasn't going to sit around and let a good man go down the gutter. Danny deserved more than that.
“Brian?” Marnie motioned him out into the hallway. “I think maybe you need some alone time with him. I'm just going to go downstairs to the bar for a while.”
Brian grabbed her arm. “I thought you were cutting back?”
“After all this? I need a drink.”
She turned to go, but Brian still held her arm. She raised an eyebrow.
“The photos.” He held out his hand.
“I'm going to take them outside and burn them.”
“Good idea.”
Was it wrong for her to be proud of Nia? Marnie wished she'd had her spunk. She went into her room and searched for her pajamas. Where were the ones she wore last week? Panic reared its obtrusive head as she searched the laundry hamper. Finally, she found her pajama bottoms and searched the pockets. Pulling out the pill bottle, she stuffed it and the photos in her purse.
Poor Danny, he was just getting what he deserved. Karma was a bitch. She wondered if she played on Marnie's team though. She always wished horrible things would befall the men who raped her. Instead, she put the thought out of her mind as she hailed a cab. Perhaps karma had been teaching her a lesson.
Outside of Nia's hotel room, Marnie pulled out the photos and banged on the door.
“Marnie.” Nia smirked. She folded her arms and leaned against the door frame in a lime green silk robe. “I thought you were someone else.”
Of course she did. Marnie had lied to the desk attendant, posing as Nia's makeup artist.
“Could I come in for a second? I wanted to congratulate you.”
Nia moved aside. Marnie walked over to the coffee table and threw the photos down. A picture of Danny doing a line of speedball on Nia's breast stared back at them.
“Marnie, what do you want?” Nia lit a cigarette.
“To help you. I don't want to watch you get hurt.”
“I'm not canceling my interview tomorrow. By noon, those pictures will be everywhere.” She grabbed her wine glass and took a sip.
Marnie sat on the sofa. “Damn! I did not know you were as dumb as you look.”
“You can call me whatever you want. It's not going to change the fact that America's golden boy is not going to be golden for very much longer.” She jerked her hand forward, sloshing wine on the thick oat‐colored carpet.
“Honey, I'm not here for Danny. I'm here for you. You've got him, bravo.” Marnie stood up and clapped. “He's on the ground in the fetal position crying and clinging to his big brother. He may be my boss, but I can't stand his ass. He's a jerk, and he finally got what was coming to him. But that's no reason to take yourself down.”
Marnie reached into her purse and slammed the pill bottle on the coffee table.
“Do you really think this is going to hurt his image? No. It's going to help him, because he's going to use you to cover up his mess. Once they find out it's your pill bottle with your name on it, in this picture…”
Marnie slid the picture across the table to Nia. In the photo Danny was doing a line on her nightstand. Nia gasped putting a hand to her mouth. The pill bottle in the corner of the picture had her name on it.
“He's going to label you as the girl who corrupted him, and whatever star power you have is going to die. You know as well as I do, people will forgive a man far quicker than a woman.”
Nia looked up at her with a crazed look in her eye. She was ready to burst into tears.
“Nia, there's no need for you to suffer just because he's an asshole.”
Telling her was hard, and as much as this benefited Danny, it saved her as well. No one ever wins in the game of love and hate. They both needed to listen to her and stop playing around. Nia would find someone ten times better than Danny.
Huge owl eyes, five feet six inches, plus curly blonde hair? Come on. What man didn't want a blonde at some point in his life? As soon as she stopped fixating on Danny, someone else would sweep her off her feet.
“I helped him put his career back on track, and he doesn't even acknowledge it.” Desperate brown eyes pleaded with Marnie to understand.
“Nia, you hurt him. He will always know never to fuck with you again,” Marnie said, in a soft motherly tone.
Nia marched into her bedroom and when she returned, she thrust the camera into Marnie's chest. Pressing the power button, Marnie leafed through the photos. Satisfied, she took the memory card out and set the camera on the sofa. She needn't waste time asking Nia if this was everything. That would only embarrass the girl more.
“Nia.” Marnie walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Congratulations, you did well.”
“Get out.” She spat. Streaks of mascara ran down her face.
“You'll find someone a million times better.” Marnie rubbed her back in sympathy.
“You think you can replace her? No one replaces Emily, bitch. So there's a little advice for you. Now get out.” Her voiced cracked as she broke into sobs.
She left Nia in somber spirits. First Jessica and now her? She was not like them. Danny was not an enigma that she was hopelessly enamored with. He never loved either of them. He was just another Benny.
She welcomed the cool breeze passing cars offered as she waited for a cab.
“Marnie,” a familiar feminine voice screeched.
Clean faced, Nia ran toward her. She'd changed into a maroon velour jogging suit.
She paused in front of her and leaned her hands on her knees as she caught her breath.
What did she want now? Marnie spread her feet out into a fighting stance.
“Help me,” Nia said once she'd caught her breath.
Marnie frowned. Isn't that what she had just done?
A devilish glint appeared in her eyes. “I know people that'll pay big for an exclusive about what happened to Emily. Every time I brought it up, he always clammed up on me.” She wagged her finger. “But you, he trusts you. He'll tell you what happened.” She touched her arm. Marnie's stomach twisted. “I'll line you up with an interview and we'll make millions.”
Marnie rolled her eyes and chuckled in relief. At least she didn't have to fight her. “Girl, you didn't hear anything I said up there, did you? Move on with your life.”
A cab pulled up alongside them. Marnie opened the door, but paused when Nia pulled on her arm.
“Just think about it. With that kind of money you'll never be anybody's flunky again.”
A shiver ran down her spine. The desire to put her life back in order had been getting stronger lately. She didn't plan to work for Danny forever. She could certainly use the money to go back to school. But there was no way in hell she could ever hurt Danny. Without him, she'd still be turning tricks for Benny.
“I thought about it, and the answer is no.”
“You're making a mistake. He doesn't value you. Once he gets what he wants from you, you'll be done.”
Marnie stepped into the cab and willed the driver to whisk her away.