The Lion’s Forbidden Mate

Chapter 7

When they wrapped up the concerts in July, they were all beginning to feel a little worn out. They played the south and then came back to Texas where they ended up playing their last night in Houston. It was the kind of end to the tour’s month that made everyone feel like the fun had melted away and that they were all a part of the same kind of slaving job that lost its luster a long time ago.

Houston was a good town to play in and the night was fun. It was a great venue and Lucy was feeling better than ever about being banished to the back of the stadium to keep out of Violet’s way and to keep her suspicions at bay. There was a kind of joy of getting the upper hand on her and knowing that they were safe. As the concert wrapped up, she found the little note that James had left her in the truck. She stuffed it in her pocket for later. They always found ways to sneak around Violet.

Like usual, the wrap parties at the end of the month were the largest and they were the most exciting. They were going to a club where they were supposed to be drinking and having the best time of their lives for hours until it was time for everyone to get back up and head to the buses and move on to the next city. It’s the kind of routine that had worn out on most of them. It was still the same job and it was just an attempt by Lynn and the others to try and stimulate excitement, but by now, an early night’s rest was excitement enough for everyone. It didn’t matter to Lucy. She was just interested in getting her job done and she was never actually invited to the after parties.

As she stood counting the containers in the back of one of the trucks, she turned around and headed for the entrance when she noticed that Violet was standing out there waiting for her.

“Are you doing okay, Lucy?” Violet asked her as Lucy got out of the back of the truck and looked at her nemesis without a drop of remorse or interest.

She didn’t have time to deal with this psychopath and she wasn’t interested in bandying words with her. At most, she wanted to finish loading up the trucks and get on her way without having to feel like she’d just been met by the Spanish Inquisition.

“You look a little pale,” Violet said, hinting at something.

“I’m fine, thank you,” Lucy said. “You had such a wonderful concert tonight.”

“Thanks,” Violet said. “Did you see any of it? I thought you mostly just stuck around the trucks.”

Of course she would dig at that. Lucy looked at her and nodded. “Yep,” Lucy said with a soft voice.

She wanted to be civil about this, but Violet had a way of pushing her buttons and she hated it. She hated feeling like she wasn’t in control and in charge of her actions. Too often she felt like there was nothing in her power to control any of this. She couldn’t lash out and she couldn’t be mean to her. All she could do was bite her tongue and try not to insult her.

“Well, I just thought that I’d come over and say hello to you,” Violet said with a smirk and a shrug. “I thought you looked pale and like you’d put on some weight. I was just wondering if there was maybe something wrong that I should talk to someone about.”

That was the point Lucy realized this wasn’t a random moment of chance. She didn’t touch her stomach, no matter how desperately she wanted to. She didn’t give Violet any indication to think that she was pregnant. It burned inside of her, though, as she watched Violet walking toward the entrance to the green room where her brothers were waiting like two hulking golems for her. Violet shot a glance over her shoulder at Lucy, but she still wasn’t giving away anything. In fact, she was too busy sending her list to Lynn who was no doubt waiting for it.

But, the moment Violet was gone, she felt tears running down her face, streaming as she covered her mouth and shook her head when someone tried to come and comfort her or ask what was wrong. All she could do was head outside and get a grip on her self. Violet knew and it was painfully obvious now that she was on to them and she knew something about their secret.

She looked down at her stomach and she saw that she was barely starting to show and she knew she hadn’t been putting on weight. She’d been fanatical about the gym when they traveled the past month. She worked out every night or every morning, depending on the opportunity that was given to her. This was happening just to get a rise out of her and she knew that she couldn’t give in to what Violet was trying to do.

She had to be the mature person here and she had to be the adult of the two of them. She couldn’t just give in to the anger and fear that was swelling inside of her and becoming a perfect storm of hatred and anger. She needed to defend her child, her self, and the man that she was in love with. Violet was looking for any reason to have her removed and she was going to need the money from this job when she inevitably did leave.

Back at the hotel room, she didn’t bother talking to Becca or saying anything to Justin. She didn’t want to hang out with them tonight. She just wanted to cry. She just wanted to be alone and allowed to wallow in the sorrow consuming her and eating her up inside. That wasn’t too much to ask and she knew she would be left to herself if she wanted to be. She took a deep breath and sat down on the bed, kicking off her shoes and looking at herself in the mirror. She didn’t look pale, fat, or sickly. She looked beautiful. She reminded herself of that as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the note that James had sent her.

“Heads up,” James warned her. “There are rumors that someone heard you throwing up, Beautiful. I hope you’re fine and it’s just morning sickness. Either way, Violet caught wind of it. She’s freaking out. Stay safe. Call me if you need anything.”