Page 35 of The Starlet
When we make it into the room, I’m so worked up I start to hyperventilate. My breaths come in small spurts, my lungs not working.
“Elena, you need to breathe.” Brad puts his hands on either side of my face and makes me look at him. “Jimmy and Kent are on it. We’ll get some answers soon, but you’re safe. Quinn’s going to be fine.”
He takes a deep breath, and I copy him, holding it for a minute before releasing it. I repeat this process a few times until my breathing returns to normal and the attack passes.
“Good girl. Let’s get some sleep. I’m sure we’ll get this all sorted out in the morning. Tait is staying with Quinn tonight, and she’s going to be fine.” He helps me change, and I fall asleep listening to the soothing sounds of his heartbeat.
* * *
My phone ringsearly in the morning, and I reach for it, seeing Tait’s name pop up on caller ID.
“How is she?” I sit up, eager to hear the news.
“She’s awake, but she doesn’t remember much. Why don’t you come by and see her? Caleb isn’t answering her calls, and I’m sure she needs her friend right now.”
“I’m on my way.”
I jump from bed, tossing a sweatshirt over my head, and leave Bradley. He knows I’m just going down the hall and doesn’t try to come with me.
Tait lets me in and leaves. She’s on the phone, and I try to offer some privacy by staying by the door.
“Bye,” she whispers and looks at me. I kneel down in front of her. “Where’s Tait?”
“He’ll be back. I’ll make Caleb listen. Don’t worry, babe. Do what he asks for now because he needs time to cool down. He’s hot-headed like that.”
She wipes her tears, stands, and clears her throat. “I have to pack. Caleb has asked for a new publicist, so I’m going to be leaving soon.”
“He didWHAT?” I yell.
She flinches. “It’s fine. We will keep in touch, and you can tell me how everything wraps up here. I was going to be leaving soon anyway. Filming wraps soon, and I was heading back to California at that time. My contract was going to be up.
“I can’t get through to him. He’s turned off his phone. When you talk to him, please don’t say anything about what happened. I want to be able to tell him myself, but I need him to cool down so he’ll listen to me.”
“I don’t think that’s the best idea, Quinn. He should know the truth sooner rather than later. Please, let me tell him?” I ask.
She thinks about it before answering. “Fine, you can tell him how nothing happened between Tait and me, but you can’t go further than that. I want to be able to explain what happened.”
“I don’t like it, but fine.” I stand. “Let me help you pack.”
Chapter 22
She runsout of the room to tend to Quinn, and I call Jimmy.
“Hey, Bradley,” he answers.
“Were you or Kent able to get any information about who might have done it? Was the drink actually meant for Quinn?”
“The only thing we could get from the bartender was there was a guy that gave him a very good tip to send drinks to the table. He said he made two drinks, and as he was making the third, the guy disappeared. Medium build, brown hair, scruff. He couldn’t remember anything specific about him.”
I punch the mattress next to me. “Fuck. He got too close this time. We need to find this fucker and get him behind bars. She’s not safe anymore.”
“I told her I didn’t want her to go, but she refused to listen. Neither of you are safe. I set up notifications for when either of you come up in articles, and it appears someone was able to snap some pictures of the two of you at the club last night. It’s grainy, but you can definitely tell it’s her.”
“Shit! I thought we’d be safe inside.” I pull at my hair, trying to think. “That asshole must have been there and leaked the picture to the paparazzi.” I get up and pace the space in front of my bed. When I glance at the door, I notice a small envelope on the floor and I freeze. “Hey, Jimmy, looks like I have something under my door. Not sure if it was there when Elena left the room this morning.”
“Don’t touch it. I’ll be there in a minute.”
True to his word, he rushes over and takes care of the letter. He unfolds it and reads the contents. He shakes his head and hands it to me to read.