Page 36 of Killer Notes

“He did?”

I shake my head. “Connor and the guys gave him no option,” I confess, as a wave of nausea runs through my stomach.

“Explain.”

I swallow hard. This is the first time I’ve talked about what happened that weekend with Siles. It’s much harder than I want to admit, but I go on. “The last time I saw him was about five years ago. He accused me of cheating, then tied me up and beat the shit out of me for three days.”

“He what?” Tobias’s nostrils flare as he fists both of his hands on top of the counter.

I close my eyes, trying to distance myself from the memory of being bound and beaten bloody. “We were at a party that Friday night. It was one of Siles’s friends I’m familiar with. I didn’t want to go. I actually wanted to hang out with Connor and guys—jam with them, like we usually did. But Siles wanted me by his side, like some fucking trophy. So I gave in, like always.”

“You always gave in?” Tobias questions, but from the dark look in his eyes, he sees what I’ve been hiding. The raw physical pain. The humiliation. The disgrace Siles had put me through.

“Yeah. Anyway.” I swipe a lone tear and continue. “So I went and actually had a good time. Met some people, had great conversations. But when we got home, he punched me, knocking me out. I woke up tied to a kitchen chair. He said it was to teach me a lesson for being flirty with other guys.”

Tobias stays quiet for a long minute, but his jaw’s rigidly set and his knuckles are white. Then he asks in a hoarse tone, “What happened next?”

“I was supposed to meet up with the guys to rehearse the new songs we’d written the previous Monday. But when I didn’t show, Connor was at our door. I was still tied up and Siles used every excuse including me being sick to not let my friend inside the place. But you can guess what happened.”

“Connor being Connor, he saved the day,” Tobias says flatly.

I laugh, giving some relief to the pressure in my chest. Even though the entire situation was a clusterfuck, I have to find some humor in what was the worst weekend of my life.

“Yes. He did. Then Connor proceeded to kick the shit out of Siles before he called the guys, who stormed over and helped me move out of the place.” I slump in my seat, before meeting Tobias’s eyes, afraid to see what’s in them.

“After that weekend, have you seen him since? Has he contacted you in anyway?”

“Twice in the five years. Once, the day after. I didn’t pick up. But he stupidly left a message.”

“What did he say?”

“Warned me to not call the cops or he’d show me what it really means to get a beating. He also said in the same breath that all of the stuff the guys took out of the apartment was his, and he had to move out because he can’t afford the place.”

“What did Connor say?”

“Connor called him back and told him if he ever came around me and the band again, they’d never find his body,” I explain, ignoring the food on my plate.

Tobias smiles huge. “How much stuff did they take?”

I smile. “All of it.”

“Really?” He chuckles, and the sound reverberates through me. I can’t help feeling oddly relaxed now, even though we’re talking about that asshole.

“Yes. That was my apartment. My things. Siles moved in with only two suitcases of clothes.”

“And the second time?”

“Asking if he was still our band manager,” I chuckle. “Can you believe that?”

“Did you call the cops?”

“No. I just wanted him out of my life.”

“Do you regret not calling?” Tobias asks, his voice sounding calmer.

“In the beginning I did, but not anymore.”

“One last question. How did he end up as your band manager, if he was that big of a dick?”