Page 42 of Nothing to You (Nothing to… #7)

I, ROUX RADLEY, take full responsibility for the incident that occurred in LA at the Huddle Hope event held in Crimson Los Angeles last weekend.

Yes, it is true that I barred Alaina Havenash from festivities.

As we did not invite her to the event, we had to maintain structure and discipline in who was granted admittance.

It was not as simple as letting any famous face attend.

We handpicked the invitees for their connections to the medical and mental health communities, to charitable work and/or their personal connection to the cause.

To my knowledge, Alaina Havenash has no such connections. Hence why she was not invited in the first place.

Invitees were people we believed could be valuable Huddle Hope members. To help further our reach and expand our horizons.

The event intended to raise awareness and funds, but it was also to show deference to the importance of the cause. We do not pretend to know every aspect of the issue and are happy to take guidance or see others get on board.

I apologize for any upset or inconvenience, but the integrity of Huddle Hope was at the forefront of my actions.

The cause is not about photo ops, it’s about caring. Understanding the sheer gravity of the mountain we have to climb is utmost. We need people with us willing to pull for the long-haul.

Huddle Hope needs endurance runners. Who said what to who or how things went down is irrelevant in my opinion.

Getting bogged down in these trivialities marginalizes the focus.

Our petty grievances should not take precedence over Huddle Hope’s aims and intention to help as many people as possible with real, honest to goodness distress and pain.

Once again, I apologize and hope this in no way tarnishes the reputation of the cause so near and dear to my heart.

This will be my final word on the matter. Thank you for taking the time to read this statement.

Time in the air gave her a chance to regroup. Worrying about her mom got her nowhere. With the hospital details saved in her notes, she’d go there first, before anywhere else. But she had to fly across the continent first.

Rourke.

With Roxie and Zairn out of the country, she’d had no update about what happened with Diva the previous night.

The ultimatum, just the word, curled her lip.

If their friendship was over, she had nothing left to lose.

Protecting him from what Diva could put him through would be her last act as his best friend.

If he wanted nothing more to do with her, why shouldn’t she set the record straight?

In the airplane bathroom, her cellphone droned in her ear.

The ringing stopped. “Roxie?”

“Why are you whispering?” her friend asked in a similar hush.

“I need Knox Collier’s phone number and I need no one to know I asked.”

“No one like Rourke?”

“Or Zairn. Anyone. I don’t want a debate; I just want to do this.”

“Do what?”

“Protect him.”

Roxie exhaled. “You’re as bad as each other, you know that?”

“I do. Will Knox help me?”

“Of course he will, because Rourke would never forgive him if he denied you anything.”

“Thank you.”

“Talk slow, but be firm and sure with Knox,” Roxie said as her phone pinged, signaling the shared contact. “And, Roux, if he hesitates, just tell him you’ll make sure your humiliation eclipses Rourke’s.”

She squinted. “What does that mean?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Roxie said on a whisper of a laugh. “He’ll know what it means and who it’s from. Good luck.”

They hung up, and she stared at her phone for a second. Firm but sure? That was definitely in her repertoire. If nothing else, fixing this, taking responsibility for her actions, took away Rourke’s ability to blame and resent her as time went on.

If he wanted Diva, he could have her, but it wouldn’t be on her head. Not if she could help it.

Calling Knox’s number, it rang fifty times before anyone answered. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, but it felt like a million.

“Who is this?” came his sharp response on answering.

“Is that any way to answer the phone?”

He exhaled a semi-growl. “Roxie gave you this number?”

Despite the tense situation and what she was heading into, a smile seemed inevitable. “She did, but only because I don’t have access to Rourkey-baby’s phone right now.”

“God, it’s like she’s multiplying,” he grumbled under his breath.

“Would it be better if I said Jane gave me the number?”

“Better? No, because that would be a lie.”

“Yeah, but I’m for role play.”

“Roux,” he said. “Radley.”

“Got it in one. Good job!”

“This bullshit with Diva has—”

“That’s why I called you. I’ve written a statement.”

“Good for you. Why do I care?”

This guy didn’t shoot the shit. She could respect that. “Because I’d like someone to take notice of it. Someone to publish it. Air it. Whatever.”

“You want me to go behind his back?”

“You and I both know him dating Diva is a recipe for disaster. Whatever happens, it will not end well.”

“If you could do anything about it—”

“I am doing something about it.” Someone knocked on the door behind her, so she twisted to toss a word their way. “Occupied!”

“Where are you?”

“On a plane,” she said, reversing to lean on the sink. “Back to my statement.”

“What does it say?”

“Give me your email and I’ll send it to you. Put this out and he has no excuse. Diva can be as mad at him as she likes, I’ll be the bad guy. I’m happy to be the bad guy if it gets her hooks out of him. You don’t want your friend to be extorted and blackmailed like this, do you?”

“No. You’d all do much better if you followed Jane’s example.”

Jane would never put Knox in a vulnerable position. “You’re biased.” And she loved that. “Jane is a sweetheart. Beautiful, smart—”

“You don’t have to sell me on my own girlfriend,” he said as her phone chirped. “There. My email. Send it to me.”

“And you’ll get it out there.”

“I don’t know until I read it.”

“You can’t tell him about this either. If you tell him, he’ll stop you, and we can’t let him. If anyone has to fall on their sword here, it’s me. And I’m doing it willingly. You’re not forcing me into—”

“I forgot you even existed until you used Roxie’s name for Rourke. I couldn’t care less about your reputation.”

But he cared about Rourke’s. “Good,” she said. “Read it, put it out. At the very least, you’ll make sure my humiliation eclipses Rourke’s.”

He muttered something that sounded suspiciously like a curse word. “And who said trusting the women on the inside would change our dynamic?”

“Is that a yes?”

“Fine,” he said, breathing out again. “But I am not interested in the drama.”

Odd given his family’s line of work.

Sassing him wouldn’t help her case, so she went with agreeable. A novelty. “Nope, no drama for you. Thank you, Knox.”

“Thank me by not calling unless Rourke’s life is in danger.”

She laughed. “You’ll be the last guy I call whenever there’s drama. Promise.”

The line went dead and her eyes closed. One drama down. One more to go… for the day, so far anyway.