Mia clung to her breakup plan like she clutched the fuse to a bomb. She and Keys simply could not continue—she had to let him go.
I’ve got to do this. Keys will thank me later when he finds someone who isn’t a mental headcase.
As she waited for him to arrive, Mia twisted the gold chain around her neck until her skin grew red and raw. Next, her fingers found her opal ring, twirling it around and around her finger. Her red coat lay in a heap on the floor where she’d dropped it when she’d numbly made her way into the front room after leaving her former place of employment.
When the doorbell rang, she jumped from the sofa and raced to the door.
Both Mike and Keys stood at her door.
Mike’s face held it’s usual monotone, non-smiling expression.
Keys stood slightly behind Mike, which seemed odd.
Mia frowned. When does Keys ever not push his way into the spotlight? Why is he hanging back?
Sunglasses in place, saying nothing, he stood at the door like a stranger, about to be executed on her doorstep.
“Your boyfriend’s here,” Mike said.
“I can see that. Step aside so he can enter,” Mia snapped.
Like a robot, Mike stepped to the side, allowing Keys to shuffle past him.
Keys’ shoulders drooped like he carried barbells on his shoulders. He marched woodenly into Mia’s front room and stood in the middle of the rug, sucking his upper lip into his mouth.
Mia shut the door and turned to face him. “Zander’s disappointed in me. He seemed crushed by my failure to be honest with him from the start.”
Keys said nothing. He simply studied her from behind his sunglasses.
His silence unnerved her. “I’m so sorry I spoiled your big reveal about going solo. This is my fault.”
Keys’ eyebrows drew together, but no words emerged from his mouth.
Her babbling continued. “Don’t you see? Our relationship could never work. It only served to ruin our friendships with others. We created fractures in our community. No one wants us to be together. We can’t continue.” She wrung her hands together.
The silence continued.
Mia’s heart seemed to shrink inside her ribcage, squeezing into a painful mass the size of a squashed pea. “Keys. Say something.”
A lone tear slid from beneath his sunglasses. “What do you want me to say?” he said, his voice cracking. “You’ve obviously got this all figured out.”
Mia’s mind slid into a different track. “I’m a terrible music agent. If I can’t protect your reputation and guide the release of your first solo song. I’m no good. You deserve someone who can protect you and steer your career in the right direction.”
More tears slid down Keys’ cheek, dragging her heart right along with them.
Her own tears forced their way from her eyes. “I don’t know what to do,” she wailed. She longed to race across the room and wrap herself in his arms but her legs refused to budge. “Everything’s broken.”
Keys finally removed his sunglasses and swiped at his eyes with his forearm. In a ragged sounding voice, he said, “We can fix it, Mia. We can pick up all the pieces and fix it. We’re meant to be together. I’ve been happy in the last few days. Genuinely happy. Never happier. What you’re insisting we do right now…guiding us toward the cliff…I can’t take it. I just can’t take it,” he said through his tears.
For a few minutes that blew through her apartment like a frigid wind, they both stood in their respective place and bawled like babies.
Then, Mia threw back her head, fisted her hands, and cried, “I destroy everything. Everything I touch turns to poison. Especially love…”
Keys’ lips parted, and he stared at her. “You can’t believe that.”
“I don’t know what to believe, Keys. I thought I was pursuing a dream. I thought together we could make things happen.”
Keys stepped toward her.
She moved backward.
His eyebrows rose, eyes wide, and he stopped, putting his palms out. “Baby, please don’t do this. Please don’t break up with me.”
“We’re already broken, don’t you see? We were never whole. We lived in the dark…in secret. Neither of us healed enough to be in a relationship.” Her head shook back and forth like a wind vane.
Keys’ jaw solidified, like granite. He regarded her with an ice-blue gaze. “So, this is how you want to play it.”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what to think.” Mia grabbed her ring like a talisman and worried it around and around.
“Just say it. Say you don’t want to be with me anymore,” he choked out.
“That’s not it.” More tears stung her eyes. “Just…just go, Keys.” She pointed toward the door.
Without another word, he stumbled toward the door. After opening it, without turning around, he said, “For the record, I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone.”
“I know,” she said to his back in a dispirited voice. “Me, too.”
After the door closed behind him, Mia screamed. She stormed across her front room, picked up one of her fancy objet d’art porcelain sculptures, and hurled it across the room.
It whacked against the wall, leaving a huge dent, and broke to pieces, like her heart.
She crumpled to the ground and sobbed.
The walls of her stupid, well-designed apartment closed in around her with devastating force. A vine-like noose strangled her breathing. Her home had become a prison, devoid of life. Nothing mattered anymore—not her closet full of designer clothing, nor the fine furnishings she had purchased to give her comfort. No. Comfort came from risking to love, as painful as it might seem at times. Comfort had come from loving Keys. And now, she’d thrown it all away.
Slowly, she dragged herself to her feet and made her way into the wine cooler in her large kitchen. She chose a random bottle of wine, found the opener in a drawer and uncorked it. Then, she turned and slid down the kitchen island, bottle in hand. Hefting it to her lips, she downed a few hearty swallows of Cabernet.
When her phone rang from the other room, she brightened. Maybe it’s Keys. Still clutching the bottle, she lunged to her feet and staggered toward the front room. Without glancing at the number, she slid the connect button to the right. “Hello?” she said breathlessly.
“Hey, girl. Is Keys there?” Gia said.
Mia slumped onto the sofa. “No. I think I just broke up with him.”
“Oh, God.” Gia’s words landed like shards of glass in Mia’s ears. “How was he when he left?”
“Crushed. Defeated. Destroyed. Should I go on?” Mia squeezed back the pain in her eyes and twirled with a lock of her hair.
Gia’s voice sped into Mia’s ear.
“You need help. You both need a friend. Everything’s gone to the dogs. I’m going to send Trevor over to Keys’ house, and you’re coming over to hang with Brutus and me, got it?”
Mia looked around wildly like someone would burst through the walls any second. “But, I…I…” I’m afraid to leave my castle.
“No questions. It’s been decided. Get your ass over here now,” Gia said.
“I have a bodyguard,” Mia protested. “Zander ordered high-level security placed around the building.”
“What does that have to do with anything? Never mind, bring him over. He can wait outside. Or, have him walk you down to the taxi. Just get over here before you do anything stupid.”
“Okay,” Mia said, weakly. It did sound reassuring to be with a friend. “I’ll see you shortly.”
“Good woman. I’ll be waiting,” Gia said.
After disconnecting her phone, Mia tipped back the bottle and took another bracing swig. Then, she picked up her coat off the floor and weaved to the front door. Next, she grabbed her small purse and slung it over her shoulder.
In the hall, she gestured to Mike, who stood like a piece of art in her hallway. “I’m going to a friend’s. Walk me down to the taxi.”
Mike glanced at the wine clutched in her hand. “Not with this,” he said, reaching for the bottle.
“Fine,” Mia said, swishing her hand over her head. She grabbed onto Mike’s bulky forearm to keep from falling.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to go anywhere?” Mike said, steadying her.
“Of course. My friend Gia is waiting for me. You take me to the taxi, and I get in. Friend greets me outside her apartment. Done deal. I’ll be safe and sound.” She patted his cheek, then lurched toward the elevator.
Mike pursed his lips and hustled by her side.
As she stood in the black and gray lift across from Mike, zooming toward the lobby, another onslaught of tears flooded her face. “Have you ever loved someone and lost them?” she blubbered.
Still holding her wine bottle, Mike eyed her skeptically. “Of course.”
“It hurts, doesn’t it?”
“I suppose,” he said noncommittally.
“You suppose? You suppose? You weren’t really in love if you only suppose.”
Mike’s lips pressed together even harder.
Once the doors opened, Mike grabbed her elbow and guided her across the lobby and out onto the well-lit street. “I strongly advise against this outing, Miss Song. You can still head back to your apartment.”
She shook her head. “Just nab me a taxi, and I’ll be on my way. My heart is breaking. I need to be with someone who gives a shit and doesn’t suppose that it hurts to lose your lover.” Her conscience yelled and waved her arms in the back of Mia’s mind, urging her to find her way back to civil manners. Screw civil manners. I’m done being nice, her alcohol-soaked brain advised.
Still gripping her arm, Mike lifted his arm and hailed a cab with the hand that held the wine.
A yellow taxi parked across the street hooked a U-turn. The cab screeched to a stop next to the sidewalk.
“I’ll be fine,” Mia said, once more patting his cheek.
“Please call me when you’re ready to come home. I’ll remain on duty until your return,” Mike said, with all the warmth of a snowbank.
She pinched his cheek.
He winced and pulled away, reaching for the door handle.
She poured herself into the back seat and gave the taxi driver the address.
He nodded, touching the brim of his ball cap.
The driver seemed slightly familiar, but the alcohol flooding her system made access to her logical brain difficult. The absence of the bulletproof partition served as another clue.
Mike gently closed the door to the taxi, sealing her in.
The car sped away from the sidewalk.
Mia tried to recall why the driver looked familiar. Finally, her brain found the answer. Ugh. He’s the same creep who grunted at us and stared at me when Gia and I went out.
A few blocks later, Mia peered out the window and frowned. “You’re going the wrong way. My friend’s home is back the other way.” She pointed out the rear window.
“We’re taking a different route,” the driver said, in a chillingly familiar voice. He pulled to a stop at a red light and turned around to leer at her.
Oh, God, no. Mia’s heart began to stutter and lurch. He’s the cab driver who sped away from the curb across from my apartment when I left for Cancun, and, the same driver who picked up Gia and me the other night.
Her skin grew cold and clammy as realization wormed its way into her mind.
Her driver was none other than her horrible ex, Darion.
She scrambled for her door handle and yanked on it. It didn’t budge. She tried to lower the window. Nothing. Fisting her hand, she beat against the window and screamed. Not one person even glanced in her direction.
Darion laughed. “You can’t get out, sweetheart. I made sure of it.” He picked up a gun with his left hand and propped it on his right shoulder, facing her. Then, with his eyes glued to the rearview mirror, he proceeded to pin her to the seat. His other hand gripped the steering wheel. “Now, be a good girl and shut up and be quiet.”
“Where are you taking me?” she breathed. Her heart pounded so fast it was going to eject from her chest at any moment.
“To a special place. At last, we’re going to be together forever.” An insane sounding laugh left his lips. The car weaved to the side.
Horns blasted from nearby vehicles, not wanting to be t-boned by a taxi.
Darion yanked on the steering wheel to correct the vehicle’s trajectory, sending her slamming into the side door.
Mia squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her aching arm. She knew exactly what Darion meant to do. He’d threatened her each time he managed to find her, texting sick threats before she had a chance to get a new number.
He was going to kill them both.