Motley nodded. “I know. But let’s just try to talk to him. Fuck, if he wants money, I’ll pay. Whatever I need to do. But just please stay calm.”
As much as I hated his idea, I knew it was probably the best way to handle the situation. So I nodded. “He went that way.” I pointed.
“Okay, let’s go. Together.” Motley and I quickly went after Guy in the direction we saw. We stepped through the trees and walked over the rough terrain when Motley made an interesting point. “How the fuck did he even find us out here?”
That’s a good fucking question.
Motley and I trekked a few more minutes out when we noticed a bright yellow light peeking through the trees from not far ahead. “That’s off,” he stated. “They look like…headlights.”
We carefully walked to the edge of the woods and looked around a tree. Sure enough, just in the clearing ahead was a parked car. Its headlights were on and beaming in the direction of the woods where we were standing. The driver’s door was open and bent over within it was Guy.
Without a sound, I stepped out from the woods and rushed after him. “Kash, no!” Motley’s voice alerted Guy, and he whipped around, surprised to see me charging him. “Kash!” Motley was running behind me. “Don’t!”
Anger and fear boiled in my veins, and I couldn’t stop myself. All I could do was throw my arm out and grab that fucking prick by his shirt. My fist slammed into his cheek, knocking his glasses a little. He scoffed and smiled at my aggression, and that made me even more mad. Both my hands gripped the collar of his t-shirt, and I shook the hell out of him. He grinned his sadistic little grin as I held him up. “What’s so fucking funny?” I shouted. “Huh?” His swollen face just looked back at me, clearly entertained by my reaction. I swung and slammed my fistsinto his face again and knocked him to the ground. “What’s so funny?” I shouted, nearly spitting on him.
“Kash!” Motley yanked me back. “Stop it!” He looked pissed. “I told you not to do this!”
I pushed him back. “Enough, Motley! Don’t you get it?” He watched me with caution. “You can’t control me! This is who I am!” I roughly smacked my chest with my bare hands. “This is me! So you can either accept it or fuck off!” I hoped he knew I didn’t want him to really leave, but I had to do this. For us.
Guy’s cackle-like laughter made us both stop and look over at him. He was propped against his car, his cheek swollen and red from my punches. “Oh man.” He swallowed. “You two are so fucked up.”
“The fuck did you just say?” I stepped towards him, but Motley raised an arm and stopped me. I shot him a glare.
Motley shook his head and then looked over at Guy. “We don’t want any trouble. What will it take for you to give us the film of the photos? Money? Drugs? Name your price.”
Guy removed his glasses. “Oh no. These photos are worth far more than either of you realize, to someone very powerful.” The fuck? “You see, unlike the ones I took of Carmen and her boy—” My body burned as he spoke her name. “Well, let’s just say these photos have a much higher price. One even a couple of gay rockstars like yourselves couldn’t afford.”
Someone powerful? Fuck, I don’t like the sound of that. I need that film.
My hands squeezed into fists at my side, and my muscles bulged. “Just name your fucking price,” I growled.
Guy shook his head and groaned as he stood. “Nope. I’m taking these back with me. Hope you enjoyed your little camping trip, boys, because all ofthis”—he motioned around us before looking right back at me—“is over.”
My restraint snapped, and I lunged past Motley, straight for Guy. I ripped him from the side of the car and threw him down into the dirt. Motley screamed and shouted for me to stop, but it was no use. I wasn’t giving this up or losing my family. Not to this fucking stalker!
Guy tried to crawl away, but I followed him, kicking his side over and over again. He groaned in pain as he dug his nails in the dirt, but I gripped his ankles and pulled him back to me. “Not so fast!” My knees squeezed around his waist as I kept Guy pinned to the ground and slammed my fists into his face over and over again with all my strength. “Where’s the film?” I shouted. He didn’t answer, but instead smiled. “Tell me!” I punched him again and again. Blood stained his teeth and splattered across my bare chest and face, but I didn’t stop. “Tell me!” My throat burned from screaming.
Motley grabbed my arms and tried to pull me back, but for once, I was stronger, fueled by my rage. “Kash, stop!” he screamed. “Stop it!”
“I’m not going to lose you!” I shouted as I pushed him back and continued to beat the shit out of Guy. “I’m not going to let him destroy our family!”
Motley barreled into me. Our bodies rolled to the side, and he pinned me down with his arms and legs. “Stop!” I tried to fight him off, but it was pointless. He was pissed. “Stop fighting me!”
I looked up at him and screamed as tears filled my eyes. “I can’t!”
“Kash, please!” His own eyes began to water. “I know you’re scared, but if you don’t stop, then you won’t lose us. We’ll lose you.” I blinked at his words. “Please.” I could hear the pain in his voice, and it broke me. My body eased, and I finally stopped resisting. Motley exhaled with relief and released my arms.
I wiped my face and looked at him. “What do we do about him?” I asked as I turned to look at Guy. He was covered in blood and dirt and completely still on the ground.
Fuck.
Motley helped me to my feet, and we both slowly approached the paparazzo. He groaned as he rolled his head to look at us. Fuck, I felt relieved. For a second, I thought I might’ve killed him. That would’ve been a real fucking disaster.
Guy opened his mouth and smiled a bloodied smile. “So broken.” He strained his words. He coughed and gagged while spitting up blood. Motley and I exchanged a look before we looked back at him. “You two—” He coughed. “You are so beautifully broken.” His wheezing made me nervous. Guy rolled his head and locked eyes with me. “I knewyouwere damaged, keeping secrets, hiding who you were…but it wasn’t until that night I realized what they were. Or better,who.”
What the hell did he mean by that? Wait… Did he know?
Guy then rolled to look at Motley and coughed again. “Do you think he’ll always love you? Even though you’re more broken than he is?” Guy struggled to laugh. “Oh, drummer boy,” he wheezed. “He’s going to leave you, like everyone else. After everything you’ve done, you’re not worth loving. Not with a past as pitch black and hollow as yours.”
