Unsteady Rhythm (House of Archer Book 2)

  “Thanks,” he said, grabbing the towel from Keith. “Believe it or not, this really is good news.”

  The crease disappeared from Keith’s forehead. “I know it is. I’m happy for you and Lily.”

  “Good, because I want all of you standing up with me at the wedding.”

  Archer looked around at his bandmates, all of whom were listening to the exchange. He received their answering smiles.

  “Of course we will,” Sage said. “We can just save the tuxes we’re wearing to Bubbles’ wedding.”

  Noelle reached over and gave him a light shove. “Cheapskate.”

  “Am not. I’m practical.”

  Ignoring their byplay, Archer turned back to Keith. “It would really mean a lot if you’d be my best man.”

  One corner of Keith’s mouth rose. “I could probably manage that.”

  Archer smiled as he took over the rowing machine from Xander. Conversation ceased. They focused on their workouts, going strong for the full hour. Everyone else finished before Archer did since he started late.

  “Keith, stick around for a couple of minutes, would you?” he asked from the elliptical.

  Shrugging, Keith walked over to the weight bench and sat down, propping his elbows on his knees. “What’s on your mind?” he asked when they were alone.

  “How are you and Sydney?”

  Keith scowled. “How the hell do you think we are?”

  Archer just stared at him.

  Sighing, Keith reclined on the weight bench and stared at the ceiling. “I feel like a piece of shit, okay? You can’t even imagine.”

  For the first time, Archer realized how worn down his friend looked. “I can’t imagine?” he responded. “Half the world thinks Lily is a two-timing, gold-digging, opportunistic bitch because of me.”

  There was a pause. “Okay. Maybe you can imagine a little.”

  Archer was relieved when the cool-down part of his program kicked in. “Is Sydney okay?” he asked.

  Keith ran his hands over his face before replying. “She keeps telling me she’s fine, but how could she be? I humiliated her...not just in person, but on fucking television.”

  “It’s not like you knew—”

  “That’s no excuse,” Keith said with surprising vehemence. “Sydney didn’t deserve that shit either time. She’s suffering because I’m the biggest asshole on the planet.”

  Archer didn’t know how to respond to that. On the one hand, Keith was right. He had been an asshole and he had hurt Sydney, who hadn’t deserved it. On the other, he was one of Archer’s best friends and Archer felt as though he should try and be supportive.

  “Look, sometimes we say things in the heat of the moment,” he said. “Knowing you, you felt like Sydney was getting too close too quick and you lashed out to push her away.”

  Keith slanted a look his way. Archer saw he had hit the nail on the head. It at least helped put Keith’s harsh words into some perspective.

  “Was what you said...was it true?” Archer asked carefully. “About the, uh...you know?”

  Keith’s expression grew shuttered. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Archer decided he probably didn’t want to know anyway. “Fine. What spin are the PR people putting on it?”

  Once again, Keith looked up at the ceiling. “I’ve released a statement of apology to the world for being an enormous asshole.”

  “Come on, Keith.”

  “It’s true. For the most part. The statement says I was under a ‘misconception’ about Sydney’s past at the time of the incident, that I was exhausted and I spoke out of temper. And there’s a whole shitload of apologizing.”

  “Ah. Well, I guess that’s about the best they could do outside of saying you were possessed by demons or under the influence of hallucinogens.”

  Keith made a sound in the back of his throat that might have been dry humor.

  “I assume you’ve been in touch with your property manager?” Archer asked.

  “Oh, yeah. I’ll be having a little chat with the show’s producers, too. Nikki knew about that footage right after it happened. I want to know how.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope. She brought it up the next damn day.”

  Archer gave that some thought. “I’ll bet it’s Regina. She and Elijah are awfully chummy. She must have an inside scoop. I think I’ll have to have a chat with the producers, too.”

  The elliptical machine’s program finally ended. He wiped himself and the machine down and chugged some water from the cooler on the side of the room before he stepped over to the bench and held a hand out to help Keith to his feet.

  “You fucked up,” Archer told him. “But Sydney forgave you, we forgive you, and the public eventually will, too.”

  Keith’s expression never changed. “Thanks,” he said.

  Archer wished his friend looked more convinced. It weighed on his mind as he returned to the room to shower. Keith’s ugly outburst had been only one unflattering aspect of last night’s premiere. He was afraid to tune into the media to see how the public was reacting to it. None of this was turning out like he had envisioned.

  Miraculously, Lily was already up and showered when he reached the room. Her hair was still damp and she had thrown on one of his shirts and a pair of denim shorts, not bothering with any makeup. Light flashed on the lenses of her glasses as she lifted the lid of her laptop to start working.

  He realized how much he enjoyed seeing her this way. It was such a refreshing contrast to the done-up version of herself that she presented to the cameras. She looked lovely either way, but this was a side of her that she didn’t reveal to the world.

  He bent down to give her a kiss. “Are one of those for me?” he asked, spotting the trio of covered coffee cups on the table in front of her.

  “Yep,” she said. “Barney brought them up.”

  “Halleluiah.”

  He grabbed one and brought it with him into the bedroom, finishing it by the time he was showered, shaved, and dressed. He was just pulling on his socks when Lily opened the door. He got to his feet when he saw how pale she looked. His gaze moved beyond her to the table where she’d been sitting. Ryan was sitting at her computer, staring at it intently as he typed.

  “Did you get another e-mail?” Archer asked, hurrying over to meet her in the doorway.

  She nodded. “It came through while I was responding to my messages.”

  He pulled her into his arms and felt a tremor run through her. “What did it say?”

  “It said that I don’t deserve you and I need to learn my place,” she replied against his chest. “There was another image with it. It was my face superimposed over another woman’s body. She was tied up and...it was very graphic.”

  His jaw tightened. He could almost taste his fury. Lily was frightened enough as it was, so he did what he could to tamp down on it. His eyes met Ryan’s over her head.

  “You’re protected,” he murmured, running a hand along her hair. “We’re not going to let anything happen to you. He screwed up by e-mailing again because we’re prepared this time. They’ll trace it right to him.”

  “I’m not so sure this is a male,” Ryan said, indicating he had overheard them.

  Lily lifted her head to look at him. “Why not?”

  “The statement about you not deserving Archer sounds more like something a female might say.”

  “But the person in the spa was definitely a male,” she pointed out.

  Ryan looked from her to Archer. “I know.”

  Archer’s hold on Lily instinctively tightened as he realized what the security specialist was saying. It made disturbing sense in light of the dark tone of the e-mails compared to the more adoring way the male in the spa had treated Lily.

  There was more than one dangerous person with Lily in their sights...and they were both out there somewhere.

  * * *

  By lunchtime, Sydney was already exhausted. She hadn’t slept well, largely becau
se Keith hadn’t slept at all. He had just lain in the bed with her doing his best not to touch her.

  She knew he hadn’t been trying to hurt her with his behavior. He hadn’t touched her because he didn’t feel worthy of her.

  He took full responsibility for what had happened even though he hadn’t known about the cameras at his apartment. No matter what she said, he wouldn’t accept the notion that he had been just as victimized as she had.

  It hadn’t helped that her family had started calling within minutes of the premiere ending. The only calls she had taken were from Benjamin and George.

  Benjamin had wanted to talk to Keith. She refused. He had wanted to know if the comments about her being raped were true. She told him it was none of his business. When he persisted, she left him with the statement that it had been a big misunderstanding between her and Keith and he had long since made amends for the things he had said. She told him she was happy and how much she loved Keith, begging Benjamin to let the rest of the family know so they would stop blowing up her phone.

  Although he had ultimately promised her he would, the calls continued. She’d have to break down and call her parents soon. She just had to prepare herself first.

  George had been a source of comfort for her, as always. His primary concern was how she was holding up. She had given him the truth: she was terrified. She had no idea who had seen the show and what they would think. What if Wes happened to see it? What if her family reasoned out that she had only ever dated one guy and went all vigilante on him like they had done with Keith? What if her friends or co-workers saw it?

  She was afraid to check her e-mail, especially in light of the nearly thirty voicemails sitting on her phone. She had turned it off overnight, though that hadn’t helped her sleep. She had just tossed and turned, wondering how many calls she’d have missed by the morning.

  George had tried to help her put things into perspective. It wasn’t like she had murdered someone. Still, she worried that the damage would be nearly as significant when it was all said and done.

  Learning about Lily’s engagement at lunch had left Sydney with more internal turmoil. First and foremost, she was excited for her friend. Lily seemed genuinely happy about the engagement. Sydney looked forward to helping her with the wedding planning.

  Right on top of that, though, was guilt and disappointment. She knew the only reason Archer would have proposed to Lily in the middle of a press conference was to keep the media off of her and Keith. She couldn’t believe Lily and Archer had taken such a dramatic step just to protect her. It devastated her that she had missed such a significant moment in Lily’s life, even if she could catch it on one of the many news spots featuring the footage.

  “Are you sure you got enough to eat?” Keith asked as they entered their hotel room after lunch. They had to get ready for the concert that night. “You hardly touched your food.”

  She absently rubbed at her unhappy stomach. “I’m not hungry.”

  He frowned. She started to tell him she was fine but he walked straight to the bathroom. She hated this spreading distance between them. How could she possibly bridge it?

  When her phone rang, she wanted to ignore it. She pulled it out of her purse instead, knowing there was the possibility it wasn’t her mother calling for the fiftieth time. She looked at the display. Her throat tightened as she read the name Iris Donovan, the principal of the school where she worked.

  This couldn’t be good.

  “Ms. Donovan,” she answered, doing her best to sound cheery, “what a pleasant surprise. I hope you’re having a wonderful summer.”

  “Hello, Sydney,” Ms. Donovan said in a manner that had Sydney closing her eyes with dread. “I’m sure you know why I’m calling.”

  Sydney carried the phone over to the window and looked outside. She didn’t absorb anything beyond the glass. “I’m afraid I don’t,” she managed.

  “We’ve been getting calls all morning from the parents. It seems many of them were watching the little television show you’re on and saw some things that disturbed them.”

  Sydney didn’t bother pointing out the hypocrisy of said parents watching such a show if it so offended them. “Well, you see—”

  “It troubles me deeply that you wouldn’t have informed us of your plans to participate in such a show over the summer,” Ms. Donovan continued.

  “But I didn’t—”

  “Furthermore, I’m positively shocked at the evidence of how you’ve been conducting yourself. Pursuing a man who is already in a committed relationship simply because he’s a famous musician? Have you no sense of moral decency?”

  “Of course I do,” Sydney rushed to say when the principal paused for breath. “The show aired inaccurate things in a way to create drama. Please don’t think—”

  “It doesn’t matter what I think, I’m afraid. It matters what the parents think. You know that we expect our faculty to reflect our school’s principles in their personal lives. This school’s reputation is pristine. I can’t have anything or anyone tarnish it. I’m calling to inform you that we’re revoking your offer of employment on the grounds that you misrepresented yourself and your character.”

  “But I didn’t misrepresent myself,” Sydney said, fighting to speak over the hot ball of tears gathered in her throat. “I’ve worked with you and the school for two years now, Ms. Donovan. I’ve more than proven my character.”

  The other woman’s tone was gentler when she spoke again. “I thought you had, Sydney, which is why we were all so dismayed by what appeared on television. I’m sure you understand that our students look up to their teachers as role models, so all of our teachers must be above reproach. I am sorry. You have a lot of potential.”

  “Ms. Donovan, please—”

  “We’ve already begun contacting people to interview for your position. Should you wish to contest the dismissal, you may always follow protocol and contact the school board.”

  Sydney knew that would be a losing battle. “But my students...”

  “They will be well tended,” Ms. Donovan said, not unkindly. “Good luck, Sydney. I hope you find what you’re looking for on that show of yours.”

  The phone clicked in her ear. Sydney’s breath shuddered on a sob.

  “You were fired?”

  She jumped at Keith’s voice. He stood on the other side of the room watching her. His question was full of disbelief.

  She didn’t want to answer him. He already felt bad enough about what had happened. But she knew he already knew.

  “Yes.”

  “Son of a bitch,” he said softly.

  “Keith—”

  “Because of the show, right?”

  She was getting awfully tired of being interrupted. “Yes. But not because of what you said.”

  “Then why?”

  Her words were choppy when she replied, “The parents contacted the school. They don’t want a woman of questionable character teaching their children.”

  “So now the kids in your class are losing a fucking amazing teacher.”

  There really wasn’t anything she could say to argue that. She couldn’t let him continue down whatever dark and twisted path he’d begun traveling the night before, though. She wasn’t going to like where it led.

  “I’ll find another job,” she assured him, walking over to the box of tissues and grabbing a couple to mop at her face. “I can reach out to some of my professors and former classmates. It’ll be fine.”

  “No.”

  She wiped her eyes and stared at him. “What do you mean, no?”

  “I mean I can’t do this, Sydney.”

  The words were spoken calmly, almost emotionlessly. Sydney saw something else entirely in his expression.

  “Can’t do what?” she asked.

  “I can’t be in a relationship with you.”

  Her heart gave one hard, painful lurch. “Don’t be dramatic. It’s just a job.”

  “No, it’s not just a job,” he argued, and
now she saw the storm raging in his eyes. “It’s everything. It’s your parents and your brothers and your friends looking at you differently and calling you a whore for being in a relationship with me. It’s Nikki drawing a target on your back and getting you punched in the face because you’re in a relationship with me. It’s the fucking show producers and paparazzi sinking their fangs into you because you’re in a relationship with me. It’s you getting pissed on by me in front of the fucking world because you’re in a relationship with me. And hell yes, it’s you losing the job you’ve spent all of your years of education fighting to earn because you’re in a relationship with me.

  “I’m not worth this, Sydney. Not any of it. And it’s only going to get worse from here.”

  She took a couple of faltering steps towards him but stopped when he retreated. “You can’t know that,” she said, doing her best to sound reasonable when she felt like throwing herself at him and weeping. “So we’ve got some hurdles to overcome. Fine. Then let’s overcome them together. You can’t tell me that I’ve gone through all of this only to have you dump me now.”

  The sorrow she saw come and go on his face alarmed her more than the anger. Her heart thudded ruthlessly against her breastbone. She brought a shaking hand up to press against it as though it might help ease the pain.

  “I could have hurt you again, Slick,” he said quietly. “I could have hurt you enough to make you leave me so I didn’t have to do this. I considered it long and hard last night. But I promised you I wouldn’t do that again.”

  She could barely swallow past the piercing pain he was causing her. “You’re just upset,” she said in a voice that wavered. “If you don’t want to hurt to me, don’t push me away like this. We can work this out. I love you. With a little more time, I’m sure you’ll come to love me, too.”

  Something flickered in his eyes before he looked away from her. “If you love me, Sydney, you won’t make me suffer like this. You won’t make me spend every day thinking of a room full of kids like Lex who are losing you because of me.”

  She rocked back a full step. A sharp sob escaped. Nothing else could have more effectively made his point.