Reckless (Thoughtless, #3)(172)

“Oh, is this Kiera?”

A little bit of heat seeped into my voice upon hearing her accent. Aside from the flowers, this was the first we’d heard from her. “Yeah, Kellan’s a little out of commission right now, so I answered his phone for him.”

Her voice was instantly remorseful. “I am so sorry. So very, very sorry. I never meant for anything bad to happen to him, to you.” She sniffled, and my anger faded a bit.

“You played with people’s heads, drummed up a juicy story that wasn’t even real. What did you think would happen?”

I heard the light sounds of crying, and my heart softened. “I just wanted to make a splash. I just wanted a little bit of a spotlight. I never wanted him to be chased or hounded. You have to believe me. I never wanted this.”

I sighed. I did believe that she didn’t want him hurt. I did not believe that she “never wanted this.” The circus that we’d found ourselves in was just what she’d wanted. “Hold on, Sienna. I’m going to put you on speaker.”

I switched the sound setting on the phone as I placed it on Kellan’s lap. “Go ahead,” I told her.

Her tinny voice immediately started gushing. “Kellan, love, I’m so sorry about what happened to you. I feel awful, just awful. I don’t even know how to fully express how horrid I feel.”

Kellan smirked at the phone. “Yeah, I got your flowers,” he dead-panned.

Sienna sighed. “Look, I know you don’t understand, but everything I’m doing, I’m doing for you, for the both of you.”

Denny looked thoughtful while Kellan narrowed his eyes. “You’re right, I don’t understand.”

Voice soft, she told him, “You will never have to worry about being manipulated by me again. I give you my word. And you won’t have to worry about Nick either. My contract was up after that last album. I’ve threatened to walk if he bothers you again.”

Shocked, Kellan looked between Denny, Abby, and me. “You . . . what?”

Sounding more put together, Sienna added, “I also spoke with the president of the label, Nick’s father. He’s none too happy about how his son has been handling things lately. He doesn’t want the label associated with scandals. You calling the label out on the radio got his attention. My admitting to him what Nick helped orchestrate . . . well, let’s just say that Nick will probably have to get permission to take a piss from now on.”

Denny laughed at her comment; Kellan was still floored. I was just . . . confused. “Why would you do that?”

Sienna took a moment before answering. “Because I wronged you—both of you. And I’m trying to make it up to you. I’ve been stewing about this for days, but I’m going to give a public apology. I’m going to confess my part in what was done to Kellan.”

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I stared at the phone, shocked. “You’ll lose fans. They’ll turn on you. Your career . . . ?”

“I’ll bounce back. I always do.” Her tone was so sure that I believed it.

“Well, thank you for helping us,” I murmured.

In a quiet voice, she confessed, “If you knew everything I did to hurt the two of you, love, you may take that back.”

I shook my head. “It’s probably better that you never tell me, then.”

A throaty laugh escaped her. “Agreed. But I give you my word that I will completely leave your relationship alone from now on.”

Kellan frowned at Denny, and I knew the two boys were wondering what I’d already wondered. Had she orchestrated every seemingly random event that had led us to where we were now? I didn’t want to give her that much credit, but I knew she was behind a lot more than she’d led us to believe. I highly doubted that any of those photographers who had randomly found us were really random.

As the room processed that, Sienna said, “Is your book done, Kiera? May I give it to my agent?”

I bit my lip. That was a really big question. One I’d been pondering during my brief moments of peace when I could think about my life and what I wanted to do with it. Did I want help from Sienna? She probably could get me places, and it was all about who you know, after all. But, like before, I wondered if that would bite me in the ass. She said the games were over, and she wasn’t playing us anymore, but for how long? Walking away from her help felt like the right thing to do. Like Kellan, I wanted to succeed or fail on my own merits. With a knot in my stomach that was surely causing internal damage, I told her, “It’s finished, but I, uh . . . I want to do it on my own.”

Kellan and Denny both beamed at me. Sienna seemed genuinely shocked. “Really? You think you’ll get anywhere that way?”

Happy with my decision, I laughed and said, “I don’t know . . . guess we’ll see.” Maybe I was making a mistake by not letting her crack open a door for me, maybe not. But either way, success or failure, at least I would feel good about the journey.

Clearly not understanding why I would turn down her help, she murmured, “All right then. Well, if you change your mind . . .”

“I know where to find you,” I finished for her.

Still clearly mystified, she said, “Good luck, Kiera.”

“Yeah, you too.”

She said her goodbye to Kellan, then he disconnected the call. Smiling at me, Kellan murmured, “Look at you, turning down an offer from one of the biggest stars on the planet.”