Grabbing the phone, he called his accountant.
“Hi, Jack. Listen, got any idea why the kids’ accounts are almost wiped out?” He dropped into a chair and leaned back. Hearing the answer made him sit up quickly.
“They did what?”
He listened for a few more minutes, getting angrier by the second. “What do I need to do? How can I make sure they’re the ones who actually get the money?”
Sighing, he leaned back again. “Let me know what you come up with. In the meantime, bring the balances up to five hundred, but don’t put anymore in, okay? Thanks, man.”
Nick ended the call and laid the phone on the table. He wanted to throw it against the wall, but he had already destroyed two phones. It was getting harder and harder to refrain from tracking his mother down and blessing her out. Knowing it would hurt the kids was the only thing that stopped him.
Instead of breaking more dishes, he changed clothes and drove down to the gym to work off some energy. Damien watched him as he warmed up with stretches then began to beat the hell out of a punching bag. He studied him for a while before walking over to the young man.
“Maybe it’s time to work on some new moves.”
Nick wiped his face with a towel. “New moves?”
The older man just smiled and led his student to some mats in front of the mirrors and taught him a new series of punches and kicks. They worked together for an hour until Damien was confident Nick knew the routine then left the young man to walk through the moves. Another half hour passed before Nick wearily made his way to the shower and stood under the hot spray of water.
He looked at his reddened knuckles and shook his head as he got dressed. Walking out of the locker room, he stopped by Damien’s office.
“Thanks, man. I needed that.”
The other man just nodded. “If you ever need to talk…”
The young man nodded. “I’ll keep you in mind. Thanks again.” He waved and left the gym.
***Backstreet Boys***
Nick dialed a familiar number and crossed his fingers.
[Hello?]
“Hey, Beej.”
[It’s so nice to hear from you. How are you?]
“She’s there, isn’t she?”
[I believe that’s correct. Can I answer anything else for you?]
“Call me when you’re alone.”
He spent an hour working on some music that kept floating through his mind and then played his drums for about an hour, the rhythm he pounded out getting louder and stronger as he went along.
The phone rang, and he jumped up to get it. “Hello?”
[Hey, big brother.]
“How long can you talk?”
[She’s gone to take Aaron to a photo shoot. They were due there twenty minutes ago, so it’ll be a while. What’s going on?]
“What happened to the money in your account?” Nick dropped down into a chair, playing with the pen on his desk.
[Mom said she needed some stuff for the kids. What was I going to do? You kind of left her high and dry, and she needed stuff for them.]
“What kind of stuff? The money in their accounts is gone, too.”
[What?!]
“All the balances were just about zero. What was so important that she spent twenty thousand dollars in three weeks?” He closed his eyes and leaned back, extremely tired of dealing with anything that was even remotely related to his family.
He didn’t like this feeling…didn’t like not wanting to have anything to do with his brother and sisters because that would mean he had to deal with Jane. He noticed that he began to think of her as “Jane” rather than “Mom”. That name was quickly becoming synonymous with Meredith, and that thought frightened him a little, too.
[Damn. I didn’t know you’d put that much in each of our accounts. I don’t know what she spent it on. She made it sound like they were scraping the bottom of the barrel and didn’t even have enough money to buy food.]
“C’mon, BJ. Do you honestly think I would let that happen? Besides, she’s getting money from Aaron. Groceries do not cost that much, even in California.”
BJ was silent for so long that Nick was afraid she had gone. “BJ?”
[Just thinking.]
They were both quiet for a while.
[Look. I can’t speak for the others because they just don’t see what she’s doing. For a long time, I didn’t, but it’s becoming a little bit clearer. Don’t put any more money in the accounts. Mom will just get to it. Maybe you could think about a trust fund or something. There’s some way to keep her from getting her hands on it, I’m sure.]
“I put a little bit more in, but I told Jack not to do anything else. Do you need anything?”
[I think I’m okay. Look, I’ve got to go. I’ve got a photo shoot myself. Take care, Nicky. I love you much.]
“I love you, too, BJ. Call me if you need me…for anything.”
[I will.]
She hung up the phone, and he set the receiver on the base. He swiveled the chair around and stared out the window at the sparkling water of the bay.
Heavy sighs were becoming an all too frequent sound in the house. He clicked on his stereo, cranked up some AC/DC, and went back to pounding on the drums.
***Backstreet Boys***
Over the next couple of weeks, Damien worked with Nick to help him learn how to use his body and his strength in this new way. Damien also taught him a shortened form of some Tai Chi moves to help him warm up, as well as relax.
He kept in touch with his family as much as he was able, and he called to check on Meredith every other day. He even managed to get in a couple of dates, but he didn’t put much energy into them. He just wanted some companionship to get him through the time before the pre-tour activities started.
***Backstreet Boys***
AJ worked on his songwriting, calling Meredith every day to make sure she was taking care of herself. Between the calls from her lover and the calls from her “son”, she was beginning to feel as if she were being smothered.
When she asked him if he wanted a note from her doctor, he backed off pressuring her about her health, but still called her every day.
Meredith loved curling up in her bed and listening to him talk about a new verse or poem he had written, or how things were going with the other guys. They missed each other desperately.
“What are you doing October 13?” Meredith slowly rolled over in the bed.
“Can’t think of anything. Why?” AJ stretched out on his back and tucked his arm under his head as he listened to her sheets rustle. His body shivered, and his cock ached at the thought of her warm skin draped by soft sheets.
“It’s the Navy Ball. Would you be my escort?”
“I’d love to. What should I wear?” He smiled into the phone, inordinately pleased that she had asked him.
“A tuxedo will be fine.” She was glad he accepted. She kind of felt like she was back in high school.
“What are you wearing?”
“A long, blue-black sheath. Ladies have the option of wearing that or their uniforms.”
“And what will you be wearing under that sheath?” He lowered his voice, the raspy tones sending a tingle through her.
“Guess you’ll have to show up to find out.” She chuckled softly.
“Tease.”
“Oh, no, mine. I fully intend to follow through.”
He groaned, imagining all of the ways she would do it. “You’re driving me crazy here, love.”
“Join the club.” She sighed, mentally counting the days until he arrived.
“I love you.” The words wrapped around her.
“I love you.” The love in her voice made him sigh in pleasure.
They hung up the phone.
***Backstreet Boys***
Kevin spent several days in New York with Irene, in between meetings with management and the record label. He took her out dancing at their favorite club several times, usually managing to catch Ken and his friends. It never ceased to amaze him how much Irene’s former lover paid attention to them while they were there. At one point, he commented on it, and she just laughed.
“It’s a status thing, baby.”
“A status thing?” He took a sip of his bourbon as she leaned close to him.
“You’re sexy, charming, courteous, successful, and rich. Ken is bland, he’s an up-and-comer, but he’s never going to be as successful as you, and you’re younger than he is.”
“And I’m dating you.” He smiled at her, brushing a finger across her lips.
She nibbled on it before releasing him. “Yeah. I mean, we went out for a long time. We break up, I meet you, and I find everything that’s been missing in my life. He’s stuck with the Barbie.”
Kevin’s deep laughter rumbled out of his chest, and several people turned to look and smile. “You’re definitely not Barbie.”
Irene grinned at him before leaning in for a kiss. “Wanna get out of here?”
Needing no second invitation, he helped her out of the chair and escorted her outside, catching a cab back to her loft.
***Backstreet Boys***
“Serenity, I’m thinking about having a party on the 12th. Can you come?”
Serenity finished typing a line of code as Brian’s voice filtered through her headset. He always told her she looked like she should be performing at one of their shows when she wore the telephone headset that kept her hands free.
“I’m going to be out of town that weekend, from Wednesday actually.”
“Family?”
She chuckled as she started the testing process. “Nope, Trail of Tears ride from Chattanooga to Waterloo, Alabama. Bikers from all over come down to Chattanooga and ride the Trail of Tears down Highway 72 down into Bama.”
“You’re riding in it? I didn’t know you rode a motorcycle.” Brian finished writing out his grocery list, making sure to add the ice cream Serenity liked.
“Well, this is the first year I’ve ever participated, but, yeah, I ride.”
“Whatcha got?”
“Harley. It’s a Heritage Softail Classic. I love that bike.” Serenity spun around in her chair as she talked with him.
“Hmm.” A thought began to roll around in his head, and his lips were forming the words before he could stop them.
“Can I go with you?”
Serenity almost fell out of her chair. “What?”
“I probably shouldn’t have asked. It just sounded like fun. Forget I mentioned it.” He smacked himself in the head.
“No, Brian. You just surprised me. I thought about asking you, but I wasn’t sure what your schedule was like.”
“I’ll make sure it’s free. Do I need anything special?” He pulled his notepad close to him and ripped off the grocery list.
“Comfy clothes. Jeans, boots, shirts. Layering is good. Keep it simple, though, since we’ll just have the saddlebags. We’ll have to share a room in Chattanooga, since I think I got one of the last they had.” She bit her lip at the thought of spending the night in close proximity to Brian.
“Got it.” He finished writing down his list. He registered the ‘sharing a room’ and took a deep breath. “I don’t mind sharing a room, unless you snore.”
She laughed. “Not that I know of. Do you?”
“Well, the guys have accused me of it, but I think it was a ploy to throw suspicion off themselves.”
“Uh huh. Okay. We leave on Wednesday. It’ll take about ten hours, plus whatever time we take when we stop. The ride isn’t until Saturday morning, but there are other activities. I’ve heard it’s a lot of fun.”
“Sounds like it. You still coming over tomorrow?”
The sudden change in topic threw her for a minute. “Yeah, around 11. Is that okay?”
“It’s good. We’ll talk more then, okay?”
“Oh, shit.”
Brian heard the furious click of keys. “I’ll let you go put out the fire.”
“Thanks, hon. See you tomorrow.” Serenity’s attention was drawn back to the screen.
“Bye.” Brian hung up the phone and felt like doing a little dance as he thought about the trip.
***Backstreet Boys***
Serenity knocked on Brian’s door at a quarter to eleven, looking a little rough around the edges. He took one look at her and pulled her in for a hug.
“Rough night at work?” He led her into the living room and pushed her down to sit on the couch.
She leaned back against the cushions and sighed, closing her eyes as her body sank lower onto the sofa. “Oh, yeah. It was a real bitch. I lost several lines of code and had to redo them. I did get the program to run, though.”
“What time did you get off?” He handed her a bottle of water and sat down beside her.
“What time is it now?” She opened one eye to look at him.
“Serenity! Why didn’t you go home? We could have rescheduled, you know.” He shook his head at her.
She reached out and placed her hand on his arm. “I’ve had to reschedule the last three times. I didn’t want to do it again because as much as I enjoy talking to you on the phone and in e-mail, I like to look at your face when you laugh.”
He didn’t have anything to say to that, so he just patted her hand, smoothing the skin with his thumb. “How about a quick nap then? Lunch won’t be ready for about an hour.”
Serenity nodded. “Let me have about 45 minutes, but don’t forget to wake me up, okay?”
“You got it.” He stood so she could stretch out on the sofa.
Within ten minutes, she was fast asleep. The phone rang, and Brian scooped it up to answer it before it woke the sleeping woman.
“Hello?”
[Hey, cuz.]
“Hey, Kevin. How’s New York?”
[Good. We saw Phantom last night. It was incredible.]
“I imagine it was. How’s Irene?”
[Good.]
“Just good?”
[Extraordinarily good.]
“Much better answer, Kev. So, what’s the reason for the call?” Brian pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down.
[Can’t I just call to say hi?]
“You could, but you don’t usually when you’re with your girlfriend.”
Kevin chuckled. [All right, all right. I need you to go over to The Firm and pick up some paperwork for me. Just put it on my desk, if you would.]
“Sure, no problem. Anything else exciting happening?”
The two men chatted for several minutes as they shared family gossip from Brian’s trip to Kentucky.
“Brian?” Serenity’s voice echoed in the hallway.
[So what’s going on down there, Brian?] The older man heard her voice and couldn’t help teasing his cousin.
“In here.” Brian called out to Serenity, and he watched her walk down the hall towards him.
“oh, sorry.” She whispered as she noticed him on the phone.
“No problem. Drinks are in the fridge.” He covered the receiver while he spoke.
She nodded and grabbed another bottle of water. Brian spoke into the phone again.
“Sorry about that, Kev. Do you need me to do anything else?”
[No, that was it. Who’s the lady?]
“Bye, Kevin. Tell Irene I said hello.”
[Bye, Brian.] Kevin hung up with a laugh.
Brian looked up at Serenity. “Sorry about that. Kevin wants me to pick up some paperwork from management.”
“I didn’t mean to screech earlier.” She joined him at the table.
“You didn’t screech.” He smiled at her as he opened his notepad to his list for the trip.
“Okay, let’s talk about the ride.”
Table of Contents
Chapter Fifteen