Reckless (Thoughtless, #3)(56)

Finally, Kellan told Nick, “I’m married. I can’t do that.”

Griffin volunteered immediately. “I can!”

Ignoring Griffin’s outburst, Nick gave Kellan a hard stare. The look on his face made goose bumps break out on my arms. Definitely a man who was used to getting his way. “I’m not asking you to have an affair with the woman. That part is entirely up to you.” He smirked and flicked a quick glance at me. As I glowered, his eyes returned to Kellan’s. “I’m merely asking you to film a fictional video with her to a song that you’ve already recorded, a song that we own, by the way.” He pointed at Kellan with laced fingers, and a chilly smile touched his lips.

Leaning back, he placed his hands on his thighs like he was going to stand. “Entertaining the masses is part of your job description, and sometimes that includes acting. If we’d known you were . . . unwilling . . . to do that, we wouldn’t have signed you.” Standing, he narrowed his eyes and took an intimidating stance above Kellan. “All I’m asking for here is for you to buck it up and do your f*cking job. And in case you couldn’t tell . . . I’m not really asking.” His voice was ice cold; it raised the hair on the back of my neck and filled my stomach with lead. Shifting his focus from Kellan, Nick walked out of the room.

There was a thick layer of silence in the room after Nick left. You could have heard a pin drop. Not surprisingly, Griffin was the first to pop the stillness with a loud exclamation. “Dude! You get to film-f*ck Sienna Sexton! High five!” He held his hand up in the air, palm exposed to Kellan in congratulations.

Still shocked at this turn of events, I had no comment to Griffin’s statement. Kellan glared at the bassist, then seemed to realize that was pointless and shifted his gaze to the floor.

He was silent one moment longer, then abruptly stood. Staring at the door Nick had strode through, Kellan’s face hardened. “This is bullshit.”

He stormed out of the room, harshly brushing past my legs in the process. Evan stood in his wake. “Kellan?”

Kellan didn’t answer him. Hands clenched into fists, he disappeared without a backwards glance at his band. We all stood and stared after him. “What’s he gonna do?” Matt asked the room. No one had an answer, and a feeling of dread pricked my skin. I knew exactly what he was going to do. What he always did when things got too hard. He was going to run.

I took off after Kellan, the guys following after me. Kellan wasn’t on the stairs, and for once the stunning view didn’t impress me. Nothing was impressing me at the moment, because I was pretty sure I was going to have to do something I did not want to do. I was going to have to convince Kellan to make out with another woman. No, not just make out. Simulate a love scene. Somehow, that made the whole thing ten times worse.

I found Kellan in our room. Face stormy, he was shoving shirts in his bag. My empty bag lay beside his. A part of me wanted to start packing up my stuff in silent concession. That would be an infinitely easier choice. Instead, as Evan, Matt, and Griffin trailed into the room behind me, I asked, “What are you doing?”

Kellan glanced up at me, his eyes blazing. “Pack your stuff. We’re going home. I’m done.”

Griffin immediately burst out, “What the f*ck, Kellan?”

Evan put a hand on Kellan’s shoulder, trying to calm him down; Kellan shrugged him off. Matt quietly countered with, “We signed a contract, Kellan. We can’t just walk away.”

Kellan glared at Matt, snapping, “Then they can f*cking sue us! I’m not whoring myself out for them. I’m going back to Pete’s. Are you guys coming with me or not?” Knowing that all of this was ultimately because of me, my heart thudded in my chest in a painful staccato rhythm.

Griffin gaped at him. “You are the biggest f*cking *—”

Kellan took two aggressive steps toward Griffin, silencing him. Evan stepped between the pair, his hands on Kellan’s shoulders. Matt put a hand on Griffin’s chest, keeping him back as well. There was suddenly so much tension in the air that I knew nothing constructive was going to happen while everyone was present. Kellan needed to be calmed down, not confronted. And, at the moment, I was the only one who could do it. I hated that the power was in my hands. Especially when going back to Pete’s sounded like a fabulous idea.

Keeping my eyes locked on Kellan, I told the guys, “Could you give me a moment with my husband, please?”

Kellan snapped his eyes to mine, his expression still searing. Evan stepped away from Kellan, squeezing my arm before he left. Matt dragged Griffin out of the room, but not before Griffin shouted, “You talk some f*cking sense into him, Kiera! This is bullshit!”

When I heard the door close, I took a step toward Kellan. With no one else in the room, Kellan’s anger and frustration turned solely toward me. I was prepared for it, though; I’d been on the receiving end of vicious snarls from Kellan more than once. “You gonna call me a * too? Think I ought to go ahead and f*ck Sienna, just to prove a point?”

I cringed a little, but let it slide off of my back. His anger wasn’t really directed at me. Walking over to him, I grabbed his hands; they were still clenched into fists. “Kellan . . . you can’t give up now.”

Kellan pried a hand loose and pointed at the door. “Were you in that meeting? Did you hear what they want me to do?”