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“That’s fucked up.”
“Sounds like a movie plot.”
“Good thing she’s hot. That’s all I got.”
“Cheer up dude,” Asher patted Roman’s back. “We’re going to take her down.”
It was nice to have his friends’ support, but it didn’t change the fact that his girlfriend was screwing him over.
Roman stood with his arms crossed. His spine was so straight, the muscles in his back began to ache. Every inch of him was tense and on edge since overhearing his girlfriend’s phone conversation. He’d never been a vindictive person, never been one to seek out trouble or plan how to get revenge. Seems lately, he was doing a lot of things his normal self wouldn’t.
With his sister’s burial still fresh in his heart, knowing Alexis was plotting to hurt him, even more, was like a jagged claw to his pride. He had himself to protect, but also his grieving family, and his band family. She was messing with the wrong group if she thought she was getting off with her plan.
Lucas mirrored Roman’s stance. “The bitch won’t even see it coming. We’re going to blindside her so hard.”
Roman clenched his jaw. “I hope you’re right. She has to crash and burn for this shit.”
He couldn’t believe she’d been behind the ambush in the alley. Those thugs were hired by her, or someone working with her, to take him and Trevor down. For money. It was always for money.
“We need to wring a confession out of her.” Lucas leaned against the back of the couch and propped his palms on the edge behind him. “Nothing, a little roofie in her drink, won’t take care of.”
Roman raised a brow. He was going to tuck that little nugget in his mind for later.
Colton popped open a beer and took a swig. “She’s still out there traipsing through the hallways, oblivious to how much trouble she’s in, ready to spend your money left and right.”
“Has she maxed out any of your credit cards yet?” Asher had a teasing lilt to his voice, but Roman squared his jaw. He wasn’t in the mood for joking around. It was still too fresh and raw.
“She mentioned something about the guy whose face I almost caved in,” Roman remembered. “Mikey something.”
Asher and Colton were busy quietly talking between themselves. “Wait... what?”
Colton took a drink of his beer. “Who’s Mikey?”
“Did you not just hear me?” Roman snapped, instantly regretting how on edge he had become over these last few stressful days.
“Mikey is apparently the guy whose face Roman bashed in.” Trevor attempted to lighten the mood.
“Yeah.” Roman waved his hand dismissively through the air. “That asshole.”
“Do you think it’s her real boyfriend?” Colton asked through narrow and suspicious eyes.
“No, you fuckheads. I don’t.” One side of his mouth turned up. He hoped that was enough of an apology.
Each of them was like a brother to him, all in unique ways. He couldn’t imagine having to go through all this turmoil without them by his side. They kept him sane and grounded in more ways than he could ever explain to them in words.
“Who do you think he is then?” Lucas quizzed suspiciously.
“I don’t know.” Roman tapped his foot on the floor with impatience. He ran a hand through his hair, struggling to keep his band brothers up to speed, and yet be able to fully process the complicated situation on his own.
“He might be a family member,” Trevor suggested.
Roman met his gaze, his elbows now propped on his knees. “Whoever she was talking to was definitely someone that she was closely connected to, and most likely romantically involved with.”
“How can you be so sure?” Asher was pacing around the room, an impulsive habit that drove Roman crazy. The constant movement was only making his agitation worse. Keeping his comments about it to himself, he opened a drink for himself and wet his lips.
“She kept calling whoever it was ‘baby.’”
“Maybe it’s a woman,” Colton grinned.
Roman rolled his eyes. “You’re an idiot,” he retorted. “As hot as that would be to picture, it wasn’t a woman.”
“Are you really picturing her with another woman right now after all the shit she admitted on the phone?” Asher scrunched his face in an appalling way.
Roman laughed, straightening back up to a sitting position. He rubbed his palms on his jeans. “No, I suppose not. That evil bitch makes me want to push my fist through a wall.”
“I can understand your anger,” Trevor responded sympathetically. “But until we know exactly what we’re going to do, you have to pretend everything is fucking unicorns and rainbows with her.”
“I know.” Roman sighed, standing up as he walked over to the windows. He glanced down at the Dutch city below them. “I’m tired as shit of being in this godforsaken town.”
“I hear ya brother,” Colton nodded.
Roman smiled as a thought popped into his head. “I’m going to follow her.”
“Say that again.” Asher crossed his arms, giving Roman his full attention.
“I’m going to wait until she leaves our hotel room, then I’m going to follow her. From there, I don’t really know. I’ll wing it. I just want to find out where she goes.”
“Oh dude,” Asher exclaimed. “I am so in.” He extended his hand into the air, waiting for Roman to approach him for a high-five.
He didn’t return the favor. “I said I’m going to follow her; not the rest of you.”
Colton took him by the shoulders. “Let you go into the streets alone and risk you getting jumped again, for real this time? Or worse? Fuck no.”
“She’ll never know we’re there,” Lucas said.
“Witnesses.” Trevor pointed to everyone in the room.
“Great.” Roman smiled. His heart raced. This was going to be a difficult challenge, but he was up for it. It was now or never. He had to catch Alexis in the act before she tried to destroy him. He wouldn’t allow her to burrow under his skin. The trap would unfold. He had a great feeling about this one, and it excited him. Adrenaline waved through his bones. She was going down. The walls would start caving in, but he would make sure he got the hell out of the way before the collapse.
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“ARE YOU NERVOUS?” ASHER glanced at Roman.
He was always ready to be somebody’s wingman, jumping at whatever chance he could to chase after excitement. Roman had teased him in the past, saying that if he hadn’t become a rock star, then he would probably have been a tornado chaser just for the adrenaline rush.
The five of them were standing in Roman’s hotel room. Alexis had only left moments ago. Roman had called each of them down, but it didn’t take long because everyone was already waiting for the time to pounce.
“Well, are you? Because I am. A little. I mean, how can we not be when...”
Roman pushed open the heavy hotel room door. “Come on,” he beckoned with his chin. “We don’t want to lose her.”
When Alexis had been in the bathroom before, Roman had gone into her phone and downloaded an application to trace her location. He would be able to pinpoint her general area, but not to an exact location, which meant it was vitally important for them to still be able to see her or be within range to guess where she might be headed.
His heart raced with electric energy as they followed her out into the hotel lobby. He glanced back at Trevor. “Do you think we should all go?” He whispered apprehensively.
Trevor shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”
“Don’t you think she’s more likely to pick up on the fact that she’s being followed if its five celebrities who can’t step two inches outside of a building without being ambushed by paparazzi and fan followers?”
Trevor glanced between the rest. “I suppose he’s right.”
Asher slapped his hands together. “No way man, I’m not missing this.”
“Okay fine,” Roman relented. “You can go, but the rest of you need to hang back.”
Colton and Lucas groaned, but in the end, the relented. “Just promise to give us all the scoop when you get back,” Lucas called out as the trio walked away, out into the open Amsterdam night.
Luckily for them, going out into the streets at night was substantially easier than it was during the day. Fewer people were out and about, and they were harder to detect, blending in with the rest of the people on the streets.
To Roman’s relief, there were no cameras aimed at them. They were alone on the street, a bit odd. In Amsterdam, most everything was within walking distance, especially in the center of town.
“There she is,” he pointed to Alexis happily waltzing down the street, utterly oblivious to anything being amiss in her screwed up and delirious little mind.
“Okay come on,” Asher said and jogged a few strides ahead to narrow the gap between them and her.
“Dude,” Trevor puffed after they had bolted down the street. “It’s not a damn marathon. Can we ease up a little?”
Roman glanced at him with a snicker. “Sounds like somebody needs to work out,” he teased. “Letting yourself go now that you have a fiancé or what?”
“Shut up,” Trevor grumbled with a roll of his eyes. “If you guys want to be speed racers, then go right ahead.”
“I prefer ‘The Flash,’” Asher shrugged.
“Would you focus,” Roman quipped.
“We’re losing her,” Trevor pointed out as they watched Alexis duck down another street at an intersection.
“I guess we need to sprint some more,” Roman chuckled, fondly slapping Trevor’s back. “On the move, soldier.”
They followed her down a heavily trafficked intersection where tall buildings sat with modern windows and architecture.
“Where the hell is she going?” Asher frowned.
“It looks like she’s heading towards that hospital,” Trevor mentioned as they watched her cross the street.
A neon sign was lit on the side of the building with a universal hospital sign. She pushed through the revolving doors and out of sight.
“Shit,” Roman hissed through clenched teeth, barreling down the sidewalk. “We can’t lose her.”
He didn’t care if Trevor and Asher couldn’t keep up. He was determined to get to the bottom of Alexis’ shady behavior and put her in her place once and for all. He slipped into the hospital through the revolving doors. Keeping his head down, he stepped into the lobby.
That’s when he realized he had made a vital mistake. He was out in the open, under the fluorescent and extremely well-lit lobby of the hospital’s main floor. Thinking on his feet, he turned his back and edged close to a set of tall, bushy plants by the windows.
Glancing over his shoulder, he watched Trevor and Asher skirting through the revolving doors a few seconds later. His heart pounded in his chest with wary apprehension when he noticed Alexis standing only a few inches away from the two, talking to a receptionist.
Her back was turned away from Trevor and Asher as she asked for directions. Roman knew precisely what her motive was now. It was apparent that she was there to visit the same man he’d beaten up, who was still recovering in the hospital.
She spun around, and Roman held his breath, just waiting for her path to collide with Trevor and Asher but, she curved and went in the opposite direction. He waved to Trevor who had also been frozen in place, anticipating a collision.
Beads of sweat broke out along his hairline, but he didn’t have time to collect himself. He had to continue following Alexis before he lost her trail. Even with the cell phone tracker, he wouldn’t be able to determine exactly what floor and room she went into without discreetly trailing her.
She walked to the elevators and pressed the up button. She put her hands in her back pocket, waiting for the cart to shuttle down and open the doors. Roman knew that they would have to linger behind for a few moments, waiting for her to actually enter the elevator before they were able to continue following her.
He made a point to keep a watchful eye on the numbers on the top of the elevator as they lit up. When it halted on the seventh floor, that’s when he knew she had gotten off, because she had been alone in the elevator.
They caught the next cart up. As soon as the elevator doors opened, they spilled out onto the seventh floor. Roman glanced back at Trevor and Asher. “Split up, carefully. Keep your heads down and for Christ’s sake, don’t talk. Just look.”
“What if we run into her?” Asher’s question was casual as if this were no big deal.
“Tell her you’re here for a migraine.” Roman refused to think the worst. He was determined, come hell or high water to trap her.
“Get your phone ready,” Trevor said and glanced at Roman’s pocket. “Just in case we catch something we can use.”
“Right.” Roman nodded and plucked his cell phone from his back pocket as they set off in different directions.
Roman froze in his tracks when he noticed Alexis reaching up to hug a broad looking dude with huge muscles and close-shaved brown hair. They stood outside a room, probably where the badly beaten perp was.
“Thanks for meeting me here,” she smiled with a relieved tone.
“He’s my cousin and your friend. I’m here to support you both.”
Roman turned on his cell phone camera and began recording as soon as they were close enough to hear the pair’s conversation.
“Are you any closer to getting any money from the rock punk?” The probable-boyfriend asked.
“Not yet, but I promise I’m close. I have him wrapped around my finger. You should see it.” She shook her head like it was funny.
Roman clinched his fists. He knew that Alexis wasn’t smart enough to be the mastermind behind the plot and that the boyfriend had most likely put her up to the task. He could tell by the way the boyfriend persistently asked her about stealing from Roman over and over, any chance he got.
After a few minutes of gaining incriminating evidence against Alexis, Roman had heard enough, an earful to last a lifetime.
“Come on,” he whispered to Trevor and Asher. “Let’s bring this to the police.”
“Good idea,” Asher agreed. “This is out of our element now. The police should handle it from here.”
“Unbelievable,” Roman said spitefully. He hoped she got arrested. He wanted to be there as soon as it happened. He had to witness her being handcuffed for himself. It would help eliminate some of the suffering he had endured when he was locked behind bars.
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SEVERAL GRUELING HOURS later, Roman got his wish. He watched as the police poured through the evidence, the case being aggressively stacked against Alexis. She didn’t stand a chance. As the local officials handcuffed her and her thug boyfriend, he smiled.
Finally, something had gone right.
He waved as she was escorted by him. “See ya, bitch.”
She glared maliciously. “I fucking hate you!”
He and Trevor stood side-by-side as she was walked away.
“I’m just glad I used a condom.” He said to Trev, who burst out a short laugh.
They walked outside. He needed to cool off. He didn’t want to get into any further trouble himself. It was better to just let this one go. At least Alexis was locked away, where she belonged and couldn’t hurt him, or anyone, again.