Free Because of You by T. E. Sivec

see the smoke coming out of Layla’s ears when Eve tells her that last part. I have to admit, now I’m invested in this conversation, and I can’t pull myself away even if the building goes up in flames.
    “He wrote that song? Tell me you’re kidding. You told me you hired a songwriter to give me a song with a different kind of vibe to switch things up a bit,” Layla states with barely concealed fury, a quiver in her voice giving her away.
    “It doesn’t matter what I told you. I don’t need to explain myself to anyone, especially you. What I do is no concern of yours. You screwed everything up when you left Sam. You owed him a little something, even if it was just singing one of his songs on the album,” Eve tells her, pointing her finger in Layla’s face to make her point known.
    “I don’t owe him ANYTHING and you know it. You let me give him everything, and it was all just a joke,” Layla fires back.
    “Oh, don’t kid yourself.” Eve laughs cruelly. “You didn’t give him anything. You have nothing to give anyone . I should have known better than to try and do something nice for you. You have absolutely no redeeming qualities to make ANY man happy. God knows you’ve done nothing but make my life miserable for twenty-four years.”
    Jesus Christ. This woman makes Joan Crawford look like a fucking saint.
    “Keep your trivial opinions to yourself and do as your fucking told. Sing the set list I gave you.”
    Layla doesn’t have any more fiery comebacks for her mother after her last parting remark as she stands with her shoulders drooped and watches Eve turn and walk away with her head held high.
    If that bitch was my mother I would tell her exactly where to go and even buy her a fucking express ticket to get her there faster.
    “What in the hell was that?” I mutter to myself as I continue to stare at Layla down on stage. She looks nothing like the diva with an attitude I witnessed earlier and everything like a puppy that was just kicked in the teeth.
    “Shocking, isn’t it?”
    The quiet voice directly behind me has me tensing my shoulders and spinning around in a protective stance with my fists clenched at my side calculating the threat and waiting to strike.
    “Whoa, easy there, rough rider. It’s just me,” Finn says with a smile, his hands held up in the air like I have a gun pointed at him. He’s lucky it’s down in my ankle holster or I would have already had it pressed underneath his chin, threatening his pretty face.
    I relax and tip my head in Layla’s general direction. “So, is that the norm around here? Eve smacking the shit out of Layla with her words and Layla just taking it?” I ask.
    Finn shrugs and slides his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “That? Oh, that wasn’t even the tip of the iceberg. Eve is actually in a good mood today.”
    I shake my head in confusion. If that was Eve on a good day, how the fuck does she act on a bad one?
    “Why the hell doesn’t Layla tell her where to stick it? This is her career, her life.”
    Finn laughs but it’s not meant to be a cheerful one. It’s a laugh filled with disdain and irritation.
    “You would think, wouldn’t you? Layla is the star. She’s the one bringing all the money in and has people falling all over themselves to make her happy. One would naturally assume that she’s the one who makes all the decisions, Chief Marshall,” Finn says with a raise of an eyebrow.
    “I’m not with the Navy anymore. It’s just Brady.”
    Finn cocks his head at me, a pensive look on his face as he holds his chin in between his thumb and forefinger and furrows his brow.
    “Oh, my bad. I just assumed once a SEAL, always a SEAL. The kind of person who shoots first and asks questions later, someone who follows orders no matter who gives them and never thinks for himself. You know, someone who makes snap judgments about a person before they really know anything about them.”
    I want to be mad. I really do. I want to punch the