“I’ve got you, Charlie. I promise. I’m going to get you out of here and home. I just need to make some calls.”
I opened my fingers to release his hand, but he whimpered, his eyes closing as he held on tighter.
“Okay. I’m right here. I won’t leave you. I promise, but I need some help. Just like you helped me get to the lighthouse, I need to do the same to get you out of here without the press hounding you. I’m going to make a couple of calls.”
He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t stop me as I found the number on his phone that I wanted and pressed to connect the call.
“Fox? No, it’s Fern. I’m in the men’s bathroom. I need you and Arch. Now… Thanks.”
Seconds later, both of them slammed through the bathroom door, running toward me. “Fern? What the hell?”
I stepped to the side.
“C? Fuck… what happened? He looks…” His eyes widened. “No. Charlie, look at me.” Fox stepped in front of Charlie, pressing his hand to his cheek, but he recoiled, a single tear escaping.
“Can I tell them?” I asked, grateful when he nodded.
“Jennifer bought herself entry with a huge check and then bribed Charlie’s bodyguard so she could get in here with him.”
Archer’s face paled. “Did she touch you?”
He offered him the tiniest shake of his head because while she might not have touched his cock, her getting close to him had obviously been too much.
“I got Matt to get her out of here…” Before I could say another word, my phone beeped in my dress pocket. Handing Charlie’s phone to Fox, I reached in for mine, seeing a text from Neo.
Not sure if this has anything to do with why you ran, but this is EVERYWHERE… what do you need me to do?
I clicked the link to find headlines that made me hate the press.
Alchemy Myth frontman steals Dad’s wife.
Like father, like son. The secret they didn’t want anyone to know.
Alchemy Myth's Charlie likes Daddy’s sloppy seconds.
I wanted to cry for him, but I wouldn’t. This was my job, but this was also the man I loved and I refused to let him down.
Me: Shut it down. It’s not true. Not like this. There is a story, but it’s not mine to share.
Neo: I trust you and I will protect C like I should have done in Miami. I’ll do damage control, but it’s all over the news.
Me: OK. I need to be with C right now. I need to make this better.
Neo: Go. Call me if we can help.
Then my phone rang.
“Thomas?”
“Who the fuck is this woman? His stepmother… really?”
“Really.”
“Okay, well, it was easy to find these stories came from her. She released them before she turned up tonight. I’ve got trackers on her and his dad and I’m sorting the restraining order, but you should know the press are about six deep outside his house.”
“Fuck,” I whispered, turning to face Charlie, who was still clinging onto my hand while being comforted by Fox and Archer.
“What about going back to the lighthouse for a while? Give you both some space. I’ll send Jarrid to take care of you. Keep you safe.”