Pure Wicked (Wicked Lovers #9.5)(24)
Author: Shayla Black

“Will do. Beyond that, I’m still thinking about your image and how to rehab it. Give me time.” She sighed. “So where did you go after you dropped me off at the airport?”

Jesse described his road trip to see Kimber. “But I couldn’t intrude on their domestic scene any longer, so I split. They won’t tell anyone. Kimber understands the pressure, and Deke just wants me gone.” He shifted in his seat. “After that, I went back to the hotel and grabbed my bike off the equipment truck, then took off. I pulled over to sleep at a park off the road. Then I rolled into Texarkana and found an old-school barbershop. No one in there was under seventy, so I doubt they had any idea who I am. I’d already rented a craptastic motel room and shaved. I’d taken out my earrings and slid into the jeans and a comfortable tank I keep in the saddlebag. They cut my hair without blinking. Now I’m a new man.”

“So you’re in Texarkana?” Candia didn’t sound thrilled, and he heard her tapping on her keyboard. “Because someone there will recognize you. According to the most recent census, the city has a population of over thirty-six thousand people. Even if you’ve changed your appearance—”

“I was only there a few hours. I went to a nearby barbeque restaurant the barbers raved about to grab some dinner and…” Saying he’d met someone was going to launch Candia into a righteous fit. On the other hand, she seemed to have spidey senses. His publicist would figure it out, and when she realized that he hadn’t clued her in, he’d have hell to pay. Besides, she couldn’t help him improve his image if she didn’t know how he might be impacting it. “I sort of…met a woman.”

“Oh my—” she huffed. “Seriously? You think now is the time to get laid? How long before she sells you out to the tabloids? I can see the headlines now. McCall ‘grieves’ with skanky one-night stand.”

“First of all, she’s not skanky and she’s not a simple lay. Her name is Bristol Reese. She bakes for a living. And she’s really damn sweet. Second, she has no idea who I am.”

“Get real.” Candia was jaded on a good day, and this wasn’t a good one at all.

“I’m totally serious. She was in the middle of a weird family situation and I helped her out. She didn’t recognize me. No one did. Look.” He took a quick selfie of his shorn hair and clean face, bare of all leather and jewelry. Then he sent it her way. Jesse studied the image. He looked like a normal Joe.

A few moments later, he heard a ding. “Wow, that’s you? Holy shit, you clean up nice. Okay, I have to admit, I barely recognize you. Your face looks leaner, more chiseled with your hair buzzed. We should talk to Jackie about making this look permanent. It’s a surprisingly cool change.”

Jesse didn’t want to talk about his stylist now. “It’s sure a shitload easier. So anyway, I’m in this small town in Arkansas. Lewisville. Barely a thousand people live here. I’m more likely to be given a sideways glance for being a newcomer than for being an international star. Relax.”

She paused. “You know, maybe it’s not a terrible idea for you to hang low there for a few days. I mean, if this girl has no idea who you are and you really won’t see other people, that little pissant town may be the perfect place to hide.”

Candia’s proclamation made Jesse smile. He didn’t have to give up Bristol yet. Reality would intrude soon enough, but he could enjoy her company a bit longer. He wished he could confide in her, tell her about his problems and his grief. She would listen well and give good advice, he’d bet.

“Admit it. I did the right thing,” he ribbed Candia.

“In theory. It’s early days. Just keep your new bug all snug in your love nest so she can’t squeal. We’ll talk soon.”

Before he could even say good-bye, she hung up. With a shrug, Jesse pocketed his phone. In their world, time was money, and he didn’t pay her to shoot the shit. He’d rather have her figuring out how to assure the public that he hadn’t played any part in the girl’s death and that he was sorry as hell that she was gone.

Jesse made his way back to the upstairs apartment. Not a noise disturbed the space. Shakespurr prowled closer, staring him down before he gave a disdainful meow and trotted off. But he didn’t hear a sound out of Bristol.

When he crept down the hall, he found the bathroom door open, steam still clouding the mirror over the basin. A few steps more, and he stood in the door to her bedroom. She lay across the bed, dressed in a faded gray T-shirt about five sizes too big with some terrycloth turban thing wrapped around her hair. And she was fast asleep.