Page 69 of Rocked By the Alpha

She reels towards the exit, slamming her way through the doors. But Nat’s already gone. The entrance deserted. Only a small line of cabs waiting.

She pushes past the delivery guy and barrels inside a waiting car, snapping out West’s address and then leaning back into the sleek leather seat.

She knew this would happen. She’d imagined Nat finding out a million times. And in each of those scenarios it had ended up playing out exactly this way. Nat was never going to take the news calmly. She was always going to blow a fuse and sack her ass. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt, that it hasn’t left her feeling like she has been knocked about the head.

All those times she fought with her parents come crashing back into her mind. All the screaming and shouting. All the accusations and cruel words. All the hurt and pain.

And Nat had been the one who’d scooped her up from that mess and kept her going. It was Nat who had helped her build a new life and a new dream.

“Ahhh,” she screams silently, flinging back her head to stare up at the white ceiling of the cab. Then she stuffs a fist into her mouth and screams again.

She won’t let Nat do this. She won’t let her snatch her dream away.

Half way across town Alison calls her.

“Are you phoning to tell me I’m fired?” Ruby asks, bitterly.

Alison lets out an exasperated huff down the line. “Of course not. I’m calling to tell you that I’m staying firmly out of this. It’s a mess between the two of you and you two can clear it up. This isn’t in my job description.”

“She’s being unreasonable.”

“And you lied to her. So you’re even. Make up and get back to work.”

“You know nothing is that easy with Natasha.” She squeezes her eyes shut and rubs at her forehead. “What about Tanya?”

“She’s pissed with you too, Ruby.” Ruby hears Alison shift the phone against her cheek. “Look, give Nat a day to cool off. We both know these rages go as quickly as they come.”

“Yeah.”

As the cab slows down outside West’s house, she thrusts a handful of bills at the driver and jumps from the car. Then she sprints to the gate and thumps at the screen with her finger until the intercom is ringing.

“Hey sweetheart, you already missing me?” His voice tells her he’s surprised to see her.

“She knows. Nat knows.”

There’s a long sigh. “Shit,” he finally mutters. And then the intercom buzzes and the gate swings open.

He meets her half way down the driveway.

“How?” he asks her.

“Some shitty grainy photo someone’s posted on the internet. You can’t even tell it’s me, but she worked it out from my stupid dress.”

“And?” he asks slowly and she can hear the caution in his voice. “Are you coming here to tell me it’s over?”

“What?” She frowns. “No.”

The side of his mouth twerks in a smile. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m fucking sure. Nat doesn’t control my life.”

He nods, waiting for her to say more.

“She’s kicked me out of the band. Just like I said she would.”

“She can’t do that, Ruby.”

“She’s Natasha Wang, she can do what the hell she likes. I’m not the star of our band, West. She is. We both know that.”