“As always, when we discover any additional information, we will bring it to you live. For Celebrity Pop Buzz Nightly, I’m Linda Bronson.”

ACE

Staring at the four walls of my hotel room is beginning to drive me mad. I can’t turn on the television without seeing my face plastered all over the news. I knew once they got wind of where I’d been hiding and who I was with, it would turn into a circus. Jane Ann is probably reveling in all the press my situation is creating for the band. She likes anything that makes money.

Iris’s face has also been plastered everywhere, and I feel guilty about that. I didn’t want her relationship with me to cause problems for her career, and I’m afraid there’s no going back now. It seems that she’s quickly becoming a household name, seeing as she’s the last known link to me.

God. I fucking miss her like crazy.

I can’t believe she would even entertain the idea that I could ever hurt her. I love her. I would rather rip my own soul out and hand it over to Satan himself before I caused her one ounce of pain. I’ve thought about going back so many times to make her understand that, but I know that I can’t just waltz back into her trailer and force her to be with me.

The truth is, Iris’s words really hit home. I do have a temper problem. It’s something that’s plagued me my entire life. When it comes to protecting someone I care about, I lose all rationality, and that sometimes makes me look like an unstable individual. I’m getting better controlling myself, but I’m still a work in progress, so I understand why she’s scared of me. She has every right to feel that way after the way I ripped into Jeremy and the guy that pawed her at the bar—the one she had no clue about, thank God. That wouldn’t have helped my case any.

Iris has called my cell a few times, but I can’t bring myself to talk to her. I can’t bear the thought of hearing her apologize for rejecting me and then maintain her stand of not wanting me. It would crush me even more, and I may not be able to recover from knowing for a fact that I’ll never have another shot with her.

She said it point-blank that she doesn’t trust me. That’s pretty hard to misinterpret. Her words about not wanting me anymore fucking stung and sent me into a dark depression.

I’ve spent the last three weeks in this hotel debating what my next move should be, because honestly, I just haven’t had the will or drive to go on. My story is the hot topic of conversation. Everyone seems to be looking for me now that it’s been confirmed that I’m alive and well, just hiding. Hell, it makes me paranoid to leave this room for very long for fear of being discovered, but it’s obvious that I can’t run forever. Sooner or later I’m going to have to deal with things.

There’re so many damn things I need to face that I don’t even know where to start.

The police are still looking to question me about the fight I had with Jeremy, so there’s that whole mess, which I’m sure will result in me going to court. Jane Ann has been all over television and social media pleading with the public to give her information and claim the fifty-thousand-dollar reward if she finds me. Some people would sell their own mother for that much dough, which is why I need to be more careful than ever. I don’t know why I ever thought running away from everything would make things easier. I know I’m a highly intelligent man, but taking off wasn’t very smart on my part. It’s only made shit ten times harder.

I wish Iris was here. I wish I could hold her. I wish things could go back to how they were a few weeks ago, when we were still together, still anonymous.

I lie back against my pillow and turn on the news channel, hoping to catch a glimpse of her face, and I’m shocked when I see her sitting across from Linda Bronson, that same reporter who has been stalking me since Mom died. The woman makes her living digging into the lives of celebrities that the public is dying to know about.

I didn’t realize at the time what a media frenzy walking away from everything would create, but I felt like I didn’t have any other options at the time. Mom was dying, and I was going to get to her, and no one was going to stop me.

I sit up on the edge of the bed and stare at Iris’s beautiful face. Her dark hair is pinned up, so I have a clear view of her mesmerizing green eyes. It’s plain to see the pain in her eyes. It may not be clear to the general public, but I can tell she’s hurting. It makes me want to believe that she didn’t mean what she said about not wanting me anymore—that she still wants me—needs me, and that she’s not afraid of me.

“Iris, thank you so much for agreeing to finally sit down and talk to me,” Linda says with a sly smile on her face.

I don’t trust that woman one fucking bit. I think she’d sell her soul if it meant getting the best story.

Iris doesn’t say anything, just simply pulls her lips into a tight line and smiles politely.

“You’ve avoided telling your side of the story since the news broke about you and Ace White over three weeks ago, so why end your silence now?”

Iris slowly licks her lips and sits a little straighter in her chair. “I haven’t had any contact with Ace since the day he left. Besides the fact that I’m missing him like crazy, I need to see him to apologize—to tell him I didn’t mean some of the hurtful things I said.”

My heart does a double thump against my ribs and I swallow hard. She misses me? Wants to apologize? Does this mean she still wants me?

“What did you say?” Linda probes, wanting more specifics about our fight.