Jamie Begley - Tainted

Sawyer knew it was going to be easier said than done.

Sawyer sat at the kitchenette table drinking a cup of coffee, when the bus driver told them they were an hour away from R.J.’s house. She was looking forward to getting off the bus for a few days. She had been getting sick to her stomach from the motion of the bus when she had first started out with the band. Alec had given her a bottle of medicine—which she would dab a small amount behind her ear every morning— and it had made the constant motion of the bus more bearable; however, the confining space, with so much male testosterone was beginning to wear on her nerves. That, combined with the food, was making her want to throw a screaming fit. The only thing holding her back was the embarrassment of making a fool of herself.

Ax slid into the seat across from her. “Getting stir crazy?”

“I don’t know if I could take one more day on this bus,” Sawyer confessed.

“It gets to us all. That’s why we have to take intermittent breaks. Without them, arguments start and it affects the performances.”

“I can understand that. I feel like punching something myself.”

“Don’t do well being confined, huh?”

Sawyer shook her head. “No, it reminds me too much of my childhood.” She looked outside the window at the passing scenery. Unaware the others had stopped playing cards and were listening to her conversation with Ax. She had always kept to herself, but thinking about her childhood had made her melancholy, lowering her guard.

“Your parents kept you confined on a bus?” Ax asked teasingly.

“No, our apartment was smaller than this and definitely not as well decorated.” Sawyer’s lips tightened as her memories played in her mind. Her hand went to her hair, twisting a lock of her reddish gold hair around her finger over and over again.

“A—after my father was killed in a car accident, my mother became over-protective. She babysat other children to earn money, so I stayed home with her until kindergarten. The only friends I had were the other children she babysat. We thought we were sisters. We didn’t understand until we were four or five that we weren’t related.

“Because we didn’t live in the best neighborhood, she was afraid to let us go outside to play. As we grew older and went to school, we would always sneak and play for a few minutes before we went inside, because once we were inside, she wouldn’t let us back out. Vida, Callie and I learned to make the most of that time. We would drive everyone in the neighborhood and apartment building crazy.” Sawyer paused, blinking back tears. She missed those times so badly. Sometimes she looked back and thought that those moments with Vida and Callie were the best times in her life, and then her mother’s stern face had her thinking the opposite.

“It sounds like you were all close.”

Sawyer’s smile was sadly reminiscent.

“We were. We were so different. Vida is a brunette, Callie had black hair, and me with my red hair always made it easy to identify the culprit of our crimes. They would, of course, tell our mothers. My mother would make me stay in for several days. Vida’s mom was laid back so she never got into too much trouble.”

“How about Callie? Was her mom like yours or Vida’s?” Ax asked softly, as if he knew she was lost in the past.

“Neither. Brenda never let Callie out much. She never went to Kindergarten. Brenda kept telling social services she was too sick.” Unconsciously, Sawyer’s hand went back to a red curl, tugging and pulling at the tendril over and over. “When she would get in trouble, Brenda would beat her. She blacked her eye one time, and everyone in the apartment building knew it. Not one adult tried to stop her though.”

“Did she get in trouble a lot?”

“Oh, yes, but none of it was her fault. After Brenda blacked her eye, no one would help, but they made sure no one told on her anymore.” Sawyer took a shuddering breath. “We made plans to run away together when we got older. We borrowed books from the library and looked at all the places we dreamed of going.” A lone tear streaked her cheek. “I wanted to go to Disneyland while Vida wanted to live on a farm.”

“Where did Callie want to go?” Ax’s soft question brought a smile to her lips.

“She wanted to go to Alaska. I had told her about the Northern Lights and she wanted to see them. Vida and I researched it for hours for her. Did you know that sometimes, if the conditions are right, they can be seen in Texas and even New Orleans?”

“No, I didn’t know that.”

“We knew that we didn’t stand a chance of making it to Alaska, though it made her so happy when we told her that the lights could be seen from Texas. I’ll never forget the day we told her. Her smile…” Sawyer’s voice broke off.

“Have any of you gotten to go where you wanted?”

“Vida and I went to Disneyland last year. I know it sounds silly, but we had a good time. Then Vida spent a summer off from school working at a farmers’ market. That’s as close as she got.”

“How about Callie?”

“No, she never got to see the Northern Lights.”

“Vida’s the one that’s with King?” Ax questioned. Sawyer nodded her head.

“If Redman is after you and Vida for your connection to King, then isn’t this Callie in danger also?”

Sawyer was dragged away from her memories by Kaden’s voice. She turned toward him and saw everyone looking at her, realizing belatedly that they were unashamedly listening to her conversation with Ax.

“No one can touch that sweet girl ever again.” Sawyer slid out of the booth. Her face was a mask hiding her emotions, though she was unaware of the tortured look in her eyes that couldn’t be concealed. “She died in a fire when she was eight years old.”

The silence in the room was deafening as she went into the bedroom to gather the few items of clothing R.J. had purchased for her.

“I’m sorry about your friend.” Kaden’s soft apology had her shoulders stiffening, but she didn’t turn around. She had made a point of making sure she wasn’t caught in the act of staring at him again.

“Thanks.” Sawyer picked up the bag of clothing and toiletries, intending to go back out with the others.

“You’ve been avoiding me.” Kaden’s directness drew her gaze to him.

“It’s hard to avoid someone on a bus this size,” Sawyer said evasively.

“You manage to leave the room every time you see me.”

“Kaden, I don’t like playing games and obviously you do. I think it’s best we have as little contact as possible until I leave.”

“I see, so you think this is a game?”

“I think you’re an experienced player, Kaden,” Sawyer countered.

“You know what I think, Sawyer? I think you’re scared to death of what’s going on between us, but you go right ahead and ignore it if you want to. I’ll give you a warning, though; the next time you want me to kiss you, I won’t make you ask me. I’ll make you beg.”

Kaden turned, leaving her standing there, staring at him with apprehension growing in her chest.

* * *

Sawyer was one of the last off the bus. The waitress in her had been unable to leave the dirty dishes in the sink. When she finished, she stepped out of the bus, going inside to a room filled with the band members and several women still squealing at their arrival. She began to get angry, thinking R.J. was up to his old tricks when she heard the men calling the women by name.

Sin had an exotic woman hanging around his neck with a hand on her butt. D-mon was kissing a leggy blonde, and even Ax had a blonde gazing up at him adoringly while his arm circled her shoulder. R.J. had a brunette welcoming him home at the same time that Kaden and Alec were both talking to some of the security who she had seen during the concerts. There were three other women lounging around with wine glasses in their hand, dressed in designer jeans and tees. Those women, Sawyer guessed, were for Kaden to take his pick. These women weren’t sex slaves to anyone unless they were the ones holding someone captive. Their curious stares raised the hair on her arms as she understood the cat-like speculation they contained.

Alec excused himself, coming toward her. “Let me show you to your room. Then you can come down to dinner. R.J. hired a cook. It’s going to be good to have home cooking again.”

Sawyer silently agreed. The only food supply they’d kept on the bus was premade meals, sandwiches and snacks. When the band was really hungry, they would do take out or buffet. Both of which Sawyer was sick of.

Alec opened the door to a bedroom of pale lavender and gold, which was decorated with expensive furnishings that had her wincing at how out of place she was.

“Kaden called ahead and asked R.J.’s assistant to pick up some more clothes for you. I believe she put them away for you. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

Sawyer stood uncertainly in the room, not sure what to do next. She went to the closet, opening the door to find a walk-in closet with a vast array of clothes still with the tags on.

Her hand touched one of the silky tops, rubbing the soft material between her fingertips. She could never afford clothes like these. A shiny silver dress caught her eye. It was sexy hanging on the hanger, and she doubted she would ever have the courage to wear such an expensive dress.

Going back out into the bedroom, she searched the drawers, finding more casual clothes. Unable to bring herself to put on the new, stiff jeans she found, she went to her bag, pulling out her more comfortable jeans that she was sure R.J. had hastily purchased at a discount store. Her remaining two tops were dirty, so she had to cave and pick one of the delicate tops that had been purchased for her.

She soaked for thirty minutes in the big tub, enjoying the luxury of the bath’s shampoo and soaps she found, before forcing herself to get out of the tub when she began to grow sleepy. She dried off and dressed, dreading going back downstairs.

She had never been able to mix comfortably with strangers, and the house filled with women made her feel uncomfortable. She should be excited having other women to talk to, but somehow, she didn’t think any of the women were in the search for a new friend.

Her empty stomach had her leaving the bedroom, returning downstairs to find Ax and one woman sitting at the table as well as Kaden and his harem, she thought snarkily. R.J.,his wife—she discoveredwas named Briana—and Alec were also sitting at the dining table. “Have a seat. My name is Briana. I’m married to R.J. I’ll ask the housekeeper to bring an extra plate for you.” She gave a genuine smile as she started to rise from the table.

“Don’t bother. I can get it for myself,” Sawyer said, going into the kitchen before Briana could protest. She stopped short at the sight that met her eyes.

A pretty young woman was trying desperately to put out a small fire on the stove. Without thought, Sawyer hurriedly rushed over, taking a lid off another pot to smother the flame.

“Thanks. I don’t know what I was going to do if you hadn’t come in when you had.”

“Call the fire truck?” Sawyer grinned, returning the woman’s friendly smile.

“I would have let the house burn down before that happened. I’m trying to land a permanent job; I can’t call a fire truck. It would cause too much attention.”

“And a blazing fire wouldn’t?” Sawyer laughed at the woman’s convoluted thinking.

“I wouldn’t have let it get that far. I would have thrown my own body over it first.”

Sawyer whistled in admiration. “You must want this housekeeping job bad.”

Now it was the other woman’s turn to laugh. “No, I’m afraid I’m at a total loss as a housekeeper, but I would make a great personal assistant. The housekeeper came down with the stomach flu. I’m interning for a job as R.J.’s personal assistant, so guess who gets to fill in for her?”

Her ineptitude explained, Sawyer helped her clean the mess on the stove, removing the pan that had caused the fire to the sink. Going back to the stove, she checked on the food still cooking. To call it a disaster was being polite.

Sawyer rolled her sleeves up and tried to save the meal as best she could, giving the woman directions as she cooked the meal. When Ax stuck his head in the door later, seeing Sawyer helping, he gave a wink then left them to fill the plates.

“You take those two, I’ll take these.” Sawyer lifted the two plates on the counter, leaving three other ones. “I’ll come back and get those,” Sawyer said, going through the swinging door.