Page 25 of Finding Shelter
Ledger dropped his hands and looked up, blinking at the ceiling like trying to get himself under control.
Kash couldn’t take it. “Tell me what to do. I’ll do anything.”
When Ledger looked his way, he looked defeated. “There’s nothing to do. All we can do is wait.” Ledger’s gaze moved to the phone. He bit the side of thumbnail.
In this, Kash had no patience. He couldn’t sit back and wait to see if they were over. Ledger said that wouldn’t happen, but there was one thing Ledger hadn’t considered. Kash wouldn’t let Ledger choose him. He loved Ledger too much to be the reason Valon walked away. Kash already knew Valon had no problem turning his back on anyone atany time. Maybe he still answered when Ry called sometimes, but Kash didn’t doubt that man hadn’t seen Valon since the day he left. He had easily walked away from years with Kash when Kash had always had his back. As much as Kash couldn’t picture Valon never speaking to Ledger again, it might happen.
Kash moved to hold Ledger. He kissed Ledger’s forehead. “Go take a shower, baby. I’ll stand guard over your phone and rush it to the bathroom if Valon calls. Sitting here making yourself sick won’t help anything.”
Ledger nodded. “Okay. I guess I can’t choose to never shower again, waiting for a call that might not come.”
Kash kissed him again and nudged him toward theirbedroom.
Ledger headed down the hall. It looked as if every one of his muscles were tensed.
Kash counted to twenty after Ledger went into the bedroom to grab Ledger’s phone. Thankfully, this wasn’t the first time he had unlocked the device, except on those times Ledger had been there. Kash didn’t feel guilty. This was an emergency. He quickly found Valon’s location. He zoomed in to see the exact street Valon was on in Los Angeles. As soon as he had it, Ledger flew into high gear. He threw some clothes on, sneaked Ledger’s phone into the bathroom so he wouldn’t miss any calls and made some calls of his own. He phoned in every favor he could. Kash had the resources to find an exact address at the drop of a hat. To hisabsolute relief, a part-time guard showed up right on time to give Kash the day off.
Kash nodded at the guy. “Ledger is in the shower. When he comes out, tell him I had to run out for something, but I’ll be back later.”
The dark-haired guy—whose name Kash couldn’t even remember due to all the stress—nodded along. “No problem. Have a good day. I’ve got things under control.”
Kash knew he did. He would never leave Ledger with someone who couldn’t handle the job. In record time, Kash was behind the wheel of Ledger’s SUV. It took a little under three hours to drive from Santa Maria to L.A., and that was if traffic was light. He needed to break every speed limit. There wasbusiness to settle.
As Ledger stepped out of the shower, the first thing he saw was his phone. That was odd. He checked the device. No missed calls or texts had come through while he showered. Ledger dried off, overthinking everything except for why Kash had brought him the phone. Kash probably had to use the restroom or something. No big deal.
Several times as he dressed, he paused and stared at nothing, making the chore take twice as long. As much as he searched his heart, Ledger couldn’t find an excuse for himself. All he could think about was who Valon was now and compare it to the issue. He had no idea how Valon would react.
If Ledger was an absolute piece of shit and let anything happen with Kash back when they got nothing but silence from Valon, things would be different. Valon would and should have cut Ledger out of his life so fast, his head would still be spinning. Now, it felt like everyone involved were different people. No matter what, Ledger would never have chosen for Valon to find out this way. He couldn’t apologizeenough for that.
While fidgeting with his phone, Ledger made his way to the kitchen. He would make some tea and calmly find something to do to busy his mind. Ledger had just taken a shower, but maybe he should work out to break the stress.
As he stepped into the kitchen, Ledger found Marc sitting at the island and playing on his phone. The sight confused him for a second before he remembered today was officially one of Kash’s days off. He really needed to let Steel know he only needed occasional security when Kash had something else to do. That was another mark against him. Valon had been paying for his ex to sleep with Ledger. Actually, he paid Steel, and Steel paid Kash. Technicalities didn’t mean shit under the circumstances.
“Hey. I forgot you worked today. Have you seen Kash?”
Marc set his phone aside and focused on Ledger. He had Hawaiian blue eyes that were arresting. They kept people holding eye contact simply because they couldn’t look away. “Hey. Kash went out. He said to tell you he needed to grab something, and he’ll be back later.”
Ledger tried not to show any of the feelings he couldn’t control. Since he hadn’t wanted Kash to see how upset he really was, so he wouldn’t continue thinking they were over, his feelings couldn’t be hurt from being left without Kash’s support.
Instead, he shoved his phone in his back pocket and moved to the sink. He filled the kettle. “Would youlike some tea?”
Marc chuckled. “It depends. Iced tea, yes. Hot tea, no. I know that’s weird, but there’s a difference, and it’s vast.”
The humor in Marc’s voice made Ledger smile despite the war raging inside him. He spoke while he worked. “It’s not weird. There is a difference. My son is the same way. I’ll take tea however, but I got into the habit of only making iced tea, since I knew he’d be the one who drank the whole damn pitcher before anyone else got any.”
Marc chuckled. “I’ve guarded a lot of powerful people but never anyone as famous as your son. What’s it like knowing you raised a rock star?”
Ledger glanced up, smiling. “I’m extremely proud of him. It warms my entire soul to see him on stage with a fullarena of people singing along with him. I can’t even imagine how he feels standing up there. All the years of musical training, just him and me traveling to various competitions. Fame didn’t land on him. He earned it. But yeah, I watch him and think, ‘I made that.’ It leaves me in awe, really.” Ledger’s throat swelled. He stared at nothing. “I suppose Kash and I trained him to leave us.”
“Kash?”
Ledger shook his head slightly, shaking off the horrible memory of Valon stepping into fame and out of their lives. “Yeah.” He tried not to get lost in his thoughts again. He cleared his throat. “Yeah. We’ve known Kash for years. Valon worked hard as hell to get where he is, but Kash and I pushed and shoved until he made it. There were a lotof times he wanted to give up, especially since singing and dancing around in front of a crowd went totally against his personality. He was sweet and extremely shy. Kash refused to let him cave because of that.” A smile popped to his lips and fell again. He absentmindedly got the kettle going while his mind put together a few pieces. Kash had never let Valon shirk any type of duty. He hadn’t let Valon leave Ledger behind back then when the fame first took hold. Kash wouldn’t let Valon do it now either.
“Excuse me.” Ledger walked away, pulling his cellphone from his back pocket as he went. He pulled up Kash’s name before shutting himself in the bedroom. Ledger hit the call icon the moment he was alone. He paced as his call went unanswered.Voicemail answered, and Ledger wanted to puke. The only reason Kash wouldn’t answer was if he didn’t want to lie to Ledger about where he was. Ledger ended the call and switched to checking the location of his SUV in comparison to Valon’s phone. Valon was home in L.A., and Ledger’s SUV was directly on the path to him. Ledger had thought there was no way this situation could get worse. He had been wrong.
Chapter Twelve
Windcausedripplestoform on the water. Valon watched the clear surface dance. They hadn’t owned a pool growing up. He had always wanted one, but Ry had always refused. Now Valon owned several located on various properties. He could build one right next to the one in front of him, if he liked. There was nothing stopping him. Honestly, that was one of his biggest flaws. Valon could do whatever and whomever he wanted. Until hecouldn’t. There were definitely a few exceptions to what he could buy. Topping that list, happiness, which was bullshit, by the way. People always said that, and it sounded like a load of crap. It was, just not in the way he always suspected.
