Free My Beautiful Lies (Beautiful Nothing #2) by Alisha Cole Page A

ready to leave.
    Walking through the crowded hallways, people talk over other people and bodies are touching. I hate closed-in places—it’s suffocating. I follow lines of parents with kids and grandparents, through the big blue double doors to the theater. Once I make it in, I watch the people all pile in and fight for front row seats. In the meantime, I make a beeline for the back. I am here for Laney—to support her; she’s not even playing just directing so I don’t need to be close. Laney went in the back entrance to prepare the kids for the stage. While I wait, I notice I have tons of missed calls from Harry. Great, what happened now? I pull up his name and hit dial. It rings several times before he answers. “Hey, man, I can’t stay at your house any longer. I have a fucking family at home,” he says in a pissy mood before I can even say hello. 
    “Hello to you too, and your fuck buddy and her child aren’t your family, you know that, right? I mean you have no problem fucking with other women in your free time. Well, not until there’re consequences, right?” I tell him covering my mouth over the phone. 
    “You don’t have to be a dick. Can you ask one of the other guys to watch her? I mean shit, what about Casey? I am sick of sitting here.” 
    Fuck no, Casey is just down right creepy. If I left Lindsay with him she would probably be molested to death. See, Casey lost his virginity by raping the first girl at that party where it all started. He’s been fucked up ever since. I don’t think he has ever been with a willing woman in his life. I ponder the other guys, and I just can’t trust them with her. I don’t really know them that well—we hung out when we were younger, but they’ve all changed since then. I can only trust Harry, even though he is a sick motherfucker. I can still count on him not doing anything more to put him at jeopardy. That’s when it hits me. What does Harry care most about besides being a cop and taking advantage of girls? Money.
    “What if I gave you ten thousand, and you watch her from now until two weeks from now? I have a business trip, and I won’t be able to trust anyone else,” I offer. 
    “10k?” he asks with more interest, and I know I have him when he sighs on the line. 
    “Yes. That will give you enough money to play with, and I know she’s safe. But Harry, if anything happens to her, I will make sure you lose your badge.” He gets pissed when I threaten his job, but he agrees. “One more thing, has she woken up yet?” I ask, hearing the first note sound off stage. 
    “Yeah she did; I think she’s all right. I have been doing what you asked, man, I’m not an idiot. She still doesn’t know what’s going on. She won’t talk, just stares at the wall.” I tell him okay and thanks. Hitting end on my phone, I shove it back into my jacket pocket and watch the performance.
    I forgot to ask him if he’s seen Jake. Oh well, at least everything is handled for now. I can deal with Jake later. Music gets louder, booming around the room, pianos, violins, and other instruments in sync with each other. When the stage goes dark everyone claps in rhythm with one another, my cue to join in. Over and over, groups play. It’s beautiful. Each group gets better and better, and I start to realize why Laney loves music and her job so much. I haven’t seen Laney and her group go up yet—they must be saving the best for last. After a few more groups, voices start ringing into the microphones, young kids with some amazing talent. It makes me think of how it will be when our baby will be in school. The plays we will get to experience, the joy of being normal. I never thought I would get a chance at this life, but the more I think about it, the more I believe I deserve it.
    When a thin lady with plain brown hair hits the stage the audience goes eerily quiet. “I would like to thank you all for being here to celebrate this huge musical fest full of some of the best