I took a seat back next to Cassandra and angled my knees towards her. I crossed my legs and covered my hands over the top of one another, resting them on the top of my thigh and hoping it would ground me and stop the nervous energy from bounding through me. “Go on. The last thing we need is Alexis and Raphael coming back with Travis in tow before we’re ready. I need a breather.”
“I know and that’s why I want to get some advice. If you want to pretend like you’re a big girl in this world without any feelings, then that’s on you but…” Cass released a long drawn-outbreath. “I don’t buy it for one minute. I’ve never seen you flustered, ever. Let me call an old friend, okay?”
“Will it then placate you if he says there’s nothing to worry about?” I asked, placing my hands on my hips. “Will you then leave it?”
“I’ll leave it if Xander says so,” Cassandra admitted, “but I’m not having you explaining this. I know you—”
“What? You haven’t seen me in forever, Cass! How can you judge me like that?” I snarked as I grabbed a fresh bottle of water off the coffee table in front of me. “I may have changed.”
“Not after what I’ve seen today.” Cass rolled her eyes at me as I stomped my foot in retaliation. She was always judging.
“I’m just me,” I chirped back.
“When haven’t I ever been truthful with you?” Cassandra asked. “I want Xander to know every detail of the letter to so that he can make an informed decision. It’s the only way it will work, Lotte.”
“Fine. We’ll do it your way but I think it’s just a silly game,” I replied, giving in to her demand.
Cassandra connected the call on loudspeaker and allowed it to ring out before a deep voice reverberated down the line.
“Cassandra… I—”
“I know, Xander. I didn’t think I’d be calling you but I need your help. I’m with a client and I want you to see something,” Cassandra started in a cautious tone. “Xander, it’s a note. It was posted with the fan mail and—”
“A note,” he muttered, not seeming amused. “And why would you call me about a note?”
“Because it’s a single verse and it has an intricate blood signature which looks very familiar—”
“Cassandra, who is your client and where are you?” Xander asked in an anxious tone. The slamming of doors echoed in the background. “What have I missed?”
“Nothing, Xander. I’m not on tour anymore. We’re in Los Angeles, Victory Studios.”
“Then…” Xander let out a long, drawn-out breath, the sound muffling against the speaker. “You changed who you helped. You went a different path.”
“Not exactly—” Cassandra said.
“I’m Charlotte Baxterly,” I interrupted. “Cassandra is my make-up artist. I’m an actress. I don’t get what all the fuss is about Xander… erm, Xander…” I widened my eyes at Cass, urging her to fill in his name.
“Hutton,” he inserted.
“Right Mr. Hutton, but it’s just a piece of hate mail,” I confirmed to him.
“That’s what I said when I first saw one that landed on my sister’s doorstep last year!” Xander snapped down the line. “I need to see it. Send me the address. I’m getting the next flight and whatever you do, stay where you are. I’m sending Memphis to be there until I arrive.”
I was about to scream at him that he was out of order. Who did he think he was? He sounded like an overprotective, jealous arsehole who got off on making sure I listened to commands. Did he even know who I was? I went to open my mouth to give him a piece of my mind but it was too late. Xander Hutton cut the call and I slinked back in my seat.
Why the fuck had this stranger gone all possessive and demanded me to remain here? I didn’t even know him. If he thought I’d be a damsel locked away, then he had another thing coming. I was my own woman, god damn it.
ChapterFour
Xander
Cassandra Draketon had just spun the axis on my world. I knew for her to call me after everything that had happened after the loss of my sister, her best friend Lily, that it would have to have been something massive. With her risk-taking ways going against my over-the-top protective mannerisms, we have never seen eye-to-eye when we were together but then who’d have expected anything less? I preferred the security of knowing Lily’s whereabouts at all times, rather than panicking over a situation I couldn’t control. It proved pointless though as I still failed her.
Cassandra managed to get Lily into some fine predicaments over the years and it often kept us on our toes at every corner. I remember the time she’d made Barrett and I think she was on the tour bus and we didn’t realize until I checked in on her an hour after we’d left Ohio. The backing dancer had replicated Lily’s look by placing a wig on and replicating the outfit she’d worn for the encore at the show, alongside a cap and large jacket. She had fooled us all.
The drive back was excruciating, especially with both Cass and Lily not picking up the phone, but luckily, the tracking device had showed me exactly where they both were. The scary part was it was just because she wanted to go to the shake shack and enjoy a chocolate and cream shake like her friends did. The stardom may have been a dream for her but it definitely had its flaws. Had Cass ever dared apologizing about it, though? No. Cassandra just helped Lily continue to push the boundaries further, even though I explained that I understood the importance of wanting freedom.
I wasn’t a monster by any stretch. I was just her security lead and brother who hated not being in control. It was also that evening that Lily had discovered the fan letter when she returned, just like the one Cassandra had found with Charlotte Baxterly. It was like déjà vu all over again.