Love Me Again // John Newman

9:30 am

Jerod strides into my hotel room, now a makeshift command post. 40 minutes after the wake up call he gave me, the two of us set up a communication protocol with my tech team, the entire protection squad under our command and the LAPD. The video is being scrubbed from the internet as soon as its posts. We have tabs on several known paparazzi vultures who are likely conspirators. But I'm still waiting for the smoking video recorder which I hope Jerod just brought me.

"Tell me you have good news," I say to him as greeting. He knows I'm in the zone and doesn't expect eye contact or a hug when he shows up. Jerod answers me by dropping a manila envelope in my lap.

"Consider this an early birthday present."

"My birthday was last month."

"Fine. Early Christmas. Anyway, many bothans died for this information." Jerod deadpans. He's a huge Star Wars fan.

"Then it should have come in the form of a data chip or a little hologram of Princess Leia."

"Beggars can't be choosers. Seriously, open it."

I pull back from the table and pinch the metal tabs hoping the good news inside this file is what I've been waiting for. I slide out several documents with time stamps, the print-out of a text thread on a dark web messaging system, and several photos.

Bingo.

"Hard copies are so much more satisfying than digital," Jerod says as we both look over the documents.

"I won't argue with that." I slip one photo behind another as I analyze the story they're telling me. One of a disgruntled former band member setting up his ex for...what exactly? Extortion? Humiliation? I can't be sure until I see how this unfolds.

I knew instantly Curt was behind the secret tape. It has his shitty handiwork written all over it. I needed evidence to nail him, however. And here it is in my hands. Photographic evidence that he met with Randy and a young hotel employee for drinks. We even have a shot of Randy handing the woman the same video device we found in Jacob's room.

"Set up a noon meeting with everyone. I want to go over the plan for court tomorrow. Then take a nap. I'm going to need your clear thinking later on."

"Got it," Jerod marches out to make the calls and heads to bed after pulling an extra-long night shift. Meanwhile, I've got some calls to make of my own.

1:08 pm

"I don't understand," I lean forward, narrowing my eyes on Ryan. "You don't want anyone there for Char? How could you possibly say that?"

"I agree," Seth pipes up. "It's the only way to beat Curt at his own game."

I stand abruptly, marching over to the stack of court documents. As soon as I have the most pertinent order in my hands, I shove it in Ryan's face.

"His game could have a massive financial impact if you gamble with this and lose." I look between Ryan and Seth, wondering why Zack hasn't spoken up in defense of his girlfriend's best friend. "He's hurt her enough don't you think? And it's spilling over into everyone else's lives, too."

"You're not blaming Char, are you? Because that won't fly." Zack says.

"Oh, now you speak up? What about when these two yahoos said we should send Char into court tomorrow without any of us to support her? And no, of course I'm not blaming Char."

"Listen to them," Zack pleads. "You said yourself, they know him better than any of us. If they think this will work, hear them out."

I take a seat and nod my head. Fine. I'll listen to their idiotic plan. Normally I'd be crashing hard by this time after a pre-dawn wake up, but the adrenaline is keeping me going. Having indisputable evidence against Curt, finally, gave me a huge boost. Needing to protect my people is equally energizing. But the thought of abandoning Char to face that asshole alone is draining me the fuck out.

But once I hear what they have to say, there's only one way I can respond.

"You're right. That's brilliant."

Then I work with the rest of the team to make it happen.

4:15 pm

Colleen: How is Char holding up?

Colleen: How are you holding up?

Colleen: Clinton? Are these texts going through?

Me: Sorry. I'm drowning with intel.

Me: Can't really talk

Colleen: Understood. Call when you get a chance.

I pocket my phone, swallowing the guilt. I've pushed her off at least three times already today. And she's worried about me which makes the guilt worse. Double it again because she's being fucking understanding about my lack of communication. I know how this goes. I've been through it already. I can't focus on the people counting on me to keep them safe while also reassuring the people I've left back home. It ruined my marriage. Well, that and the fact Mara cheated on me.

But I can probably blame myself for that, too.

Fuck. I roll my neck, pushing off the intrusive thoughts so I can focus. I have a plan to see through. There'll be time to worry about my personal life later.

7:40 pm

The bastard's giving a tell-all interview with Star Tracker in about twenty minutes, the worst of the worst in online gossip. The team—including my guys, C1, Zack and Brianna—are meeting in Brianna's suite to watch the shit show he's about to put on. Hopefully we can mitigate whatever train wreck he instigates before it spirals out of control.

"You talked to Jacob, right?" Char asks quietly as I take the seat next to her.

"I did. He'll be fine." I look her in the eyes, the surest way to convey sincerity I know. Char takes a deep breath as she looks down at her hands which are fidgeting in her lap.

"He will." She nods.

"You will, too." I wrap my hand around one of hers, holding tight. "We're all here to support the two of you."

"This is true. Jacob keeps telling me not to feel guilty. Curt is the problem and we should place all the blame squarely on him."

"Jacob knows a thing or two. You should listen to him." Something I never thought I'd be saying about the guy, but he's shown his trustworthiness where Char's concerned. It kills me to see how much the situation is affecting her. She's usually a bright ray of sunshine, but lately she's quiet and withdrawn. It could be from missing Jacob, but I doubt that.

"Believe me, I'm trying to. I miss him so much, but he needs to finish what he started. I don't want him throwing away this chance at the career of his dreams because of me."

Her words hit hard, because my feelings basically mirror Char's. I miss Colleen like crazy. But no matter where my focus is, I'll be letting someone down. Right now, that someone is Colleen because all of my focus needs to be here. We wouldn't be in this mess if I'd been-

I shut down my thoughts because there's no room for me to think in the past. I don't have time to dwell. I need to act. Right now, acting means finding a weak spot in Curt's plan and using it to our advantage.

"It's starting," Ryan says. The C1 guys are spread out around the room, Ryan sitting but the others pacing with arms crossed. Except for Jace who's laid out at the table. His body looks limp, left cheek pressed to the wood and eyes closed. The youngest member of the band is having a hard time taking the heat. I don't know if he's going to make it in this business.

Before I make a move to stand near him in a show of support, Seth takes the roll. He leans down, whispering in Jace's ear. Jace sits up and nods, whatever Seth said doing the trick. The last year has been both the top of the world for these guys as they make a name for themselves and a full-on dumpster fire as Curt continues his assault on them, making them known for more than their music. It's not the road to fame they wanted to take.

"We're speaking with Curt Wainwright, disputed drummer for Citizen One. Curt, you've had your name plastered everywhere in the last year. How has that affected you, emotionally?"

"Jim, I gotta tell you, it's been a (bleep)ing nightmare."

"Are the allegations against you warranted?"

Curt sits back in the lounge chair, arm draped across the back as if he's there talking about sports or something fucking irrelevant. He waits a few beats before answering the burning question.

"Absolutely not." He leans forward, elbows on knees as his hands point directly at the interviewer. "I hustled every contact I had to make a path for our band. That's how Char and I hooked up in the first place. Oldest story in the book," he says, once again leaning back. "A guy falls for the woman in a power suit and loses the shirt off his back."

Char inhales sharply. I glance over to her to find fire in her eyes. She's absolutely pissed. It's the most animated she's been throughout this entire ordeal. She gets up, clenching her fists, and starts pacing.

"He's such a liar," she mutters under her breath.

"Tell her the plan," Ryan demands, arms crossed.

"There's a plan?" Char looks around the room for answers.

I stand to face her. "Ryan and Seth think you should go to court alone. Curt will think he has the upper hand, that he can intimidate you, without any of us along. The judge will grant you the divorce tomorrow, then the following day when the wrongful termination hearing starts, the rest of us will walk in as a makeshift ambush."

"I wish I could ambush that asshole with a bat," Seth says, seething. "I'm so fucking sick of this game he plays."

Char looks from Seth back to me, resolve in her eyes with a hint of trepidation. "Okay, I'll face him alone."

"You can't tell Jacob." I add.

"Lie to him?"

"Don't bring it up. No one knows Curt expedited the court date. Curt needs to think you're completely vulnerable."

Char sighs deeply. "I get it. I hate it, but I get it. Okay. Alone it is."

"Hey, it's only an hour flight from L.A. Can Colleen get there in time? Maybe she can be undercover support. Curt's never met her."

Instantly, I'm grinding my teeth. I don't want Colleen involved in this shit. But when I see the hope, the relief in Char's eyes, I can't shut it down.

"I'll find out." The truth is, I know Colleen will say yes. She's a caretaker. She'll drop everything to help one of us.

And the guilt at shutting her out takes hold again.

10:55 pm

"You must be dead on your feet," Colleen says. We're video calling as she packs so I can prep her for the trial. I watch as she throws clothes in her bag, turning away when I see a scrap of black lace. Fuck, I don't have time to lust over this woman. What is she doing to me?

"I'm tired, yeah. But I have to push through." An occupational hazard I've become accustomed to after years of service. Training helps, but mainly it's a mindset. Definitely not for everyone.

"Are you set with the protocol?" I ask, reviewing our timeline. "Your plane leave at six. A driver will be waiting to take you to the courthouse. Hearing starts at nine. You'll sit two rows behind Char. No direct contact, other than a glance here and there. Not until afterwards when you both get back to the hotel, but that could be late. I expect this one to last a while with the bullshit he's already pulled." I pause for Colleen to respond as I hunt for any other details to cover.

I look up when she says nothing to find her looking through the camera right at me. Her eyes are tired. There's something else in her look I can't seem to name.

"What is it?" I ask.

She shakes her head, looking away. "Nothing. I'm clear on what to do. Will I see you tomorrow night?"

"Doubtful. I'll be debriefing with the team, setting up for day two."

"Got it. Well, I better head to bed. I have an early day tomorrow."

I nod. "Right. Have a good flight."

Colleen ends the call without another word.

3:45 am

My day started almost 24 hours ago and passed by in a blur of activity. I'm exhausted but I couldn't sleep until I had everything in motion. Now we're thousands of feet in the air, somewhere over the Midwest on the way to Vegas for a divorce hearing. Best case scenario is Char's divorce is finalized by tonight and she walks away with her dignity. Worse case...I can't think of it. Curt has dragged her name through the mud along with some of her family members. He's kicked his bandmates emotionally more times than I can count. He needs a dose of his own medicine and I'm glad our team is stepping up to give it to him.

Colleen will be there, but I can't let thoughts of her deter my course of action. We'll have time later. After all of this is said and done.

If she hasn't lost faith in me by then.

"Dude, get some sleep. You look like a zombie," Zack bumps my shoulder as he passes my seat. We're using another pop star's private jet, a singer who's been through similar drama on her road to fame and has become good friends with Brianna. The space is open and comfortable, including this recliner I'm currently occupying.

"I have to review reports on Curt's whereabouts."

"Hey, I'm as aggressive about nailing him to the wall as anyone, but you need rest, or you'll be no help. Close your eyes. Someone will wake you when we get there and you can stalk Curt to your little hearts content when we get to the hotel."

Zack smacks the back of my head as he continues on his trek to the bathroom. My subconscious must take the suggestion to heart because not long after, my eyes get heavy and I pass right the fuck out.

I wake as we touch down, unsettled from a nightmare I don't want to believe could ever come true, but knowing that I might be pushing Colleen to leave me like she had in my unconscious mind.

But I don't have time to figure it out because duty calls and too many people are counting on me.

The day from hell indeed. Clinton puts himself to a standard no human could meet. I have faith in Colleen but the guy is going to need to cut himself some slack, and maybe grovel a little. I think Clinton on his knees could be a good look, *wink*

I'm having a tough time with pacing for this one, especially because we haven't hit the 50k word mark yet which is the defining moment of a novel. But there are still some obstacles they'll need to overcome so hang on, this one might be more of a roller coaster than even I expected!

Love Me Again has an edge which I liked for Clinton's mood in this one. Plus the video has an unhinged ending...just saying. But its a great song!

https://youtu.be/CfihYWRWRTQ

Thank you so much for reading!! I'm still building some cool features on my website, so when you have a chance, check the linktree in my bio or head to CynthiaAnnRomance.com and take a look. More to come soon!