Page 96 of False Promises

Breathe in. Breathe out. I tried to find my peace. This morning had been a disaster of epic proportions so far. I needed to get my head back in the game. Breathe in. Breathe out. “Make sure she gets on that plane,” I told Ed as the car pulled away.

He nodded. “On it. The guy I posted to watch over her informed me Ms. Prince boarded a cab fifteen minutes ago. I’ll make the required verifications and keep you updated about her whereabouts.”

I slouched back in my seat, unclenching my fists and pulling a full cleansing breath in. “Thanks.” A wave of calm spread through me, and some of the tension in my back faded away.

For the rest of the drive, I kept my eyes fixed on the city passing through the window, wondering how the entire breakup would play out. And how dirty Savannah’s intentions would get when she learned about my endgame.

24

CARTER

For the next three weeks, my appearance on That Talent kept me busy. I barely had time to think about the mess my personal life had become. When I wasn’t on set or in the studio teaching the candidates or out and about with the fellow judges, I was in my room, working on my music. My mind was still restless, the threat of Savannah Prince hovering over me, and I could barely write a song. But still, strumming the guitar, playing old songs of mine, soothed my heart. And my soul.

Taylor called me as I was returning to my room after the party celebrating my last night as a guest judge.

“Any news?” I asked.

“Hey Taylor, how are you doing?” he teased.

“Sorry, man. So much going on. How is it going?”

“Great.” I could hear the smile in his voice. “Ready for some good news?”

“Always.”

“First, you can’t go back to LA for at least three more weeks. I’m trying to secure a meeting with Savannah’s parents. They’re out of the country right now. Coming back by the end of the month. Until then, please lie low because from what I’ve dug up so far, your girlfriend isn’t who she says she is.”

Cold sweat pearled on my nape.

I swallowed the sawdust lining my throat.

“What do you mean?”

“As you already know, her name isn’t Savannah Prince. Once we figured out that piece of the puzzle, everything else tumbled down. I’m having a chat with her high school principal on Monday. The woman in charge of the center she was sent to at sixteen refused to talk to me because of the doctor-patient confidentiality agreement, but she identified Savannah as Savannah Carpenter, a troubled teenager who ran away from the center three months after being brought in, when I showed her a picture. An old friend of hers from high school has agreed to talk to me, and I’ll go to meet her next week. From what I’ve heard so far, Savannah takes pleasure in ruining people. And the list keeps getting longer. Stay away from Nashville too. Don’t go to Dahlia’s for now. Just in case. We’re closing in on her, Carter. Hold on for a little longer. Before you make your exit, we need to have covered all bases so that nothing comes back to hurt your personal and professional life.”

I blew out every particle of air lodged in my lungs. Tears pooled in my eyes. My shoulders relaxed under the weight my friend had just removed from them. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I leaned forward, my elbows resting on my knees and my head hanging low, letting all the conflicted emotions spiraling inside me settle.

“You okay?”

I nodded, squeezing my device in my palm. “I will be. Fuck. We opened a can of worms. I am dating a sociopath. Is Savannah Prince her artist name?”

“Nah. She got her name officially changed a little over three years ago. Everything screams sketchy from where I stand.”

I stayed mute, processing the info.

“The good news is, now we know who you’re dealing with. Why don’t you go on a vacation? No work, just leisure. Someplace Savannah doesn’t know about. When the shitshow hits, you gotta be prepared. Level-headed, rested, and calm.”

I ran my fingers through my hair. “Yeah, well, I might just know the perfect place to unwind. I’ll keep you updated. Do you think she could hurt Dahlia or Jack?” My heart cracked just at the thought I could have put my family in danger because of the choices I made.

“Is Savannah still sending you angry messages every day since she left?”

“Yep.” Since the day she had been forced to leave this place, I had been going to bed every night listening to passive-aggressive voicemails in between crying jags. Her messages oscillated between threats to destroy me or fake vulnerability about missing me. I was glad I was on the other side of the country.

“I’ll send one of my guys to Green Mountain. I already have two of them following Savannah’s every move down in Los Angeles. She’s been checkmated, Carter, she’s just not aware of it yet. Keep calling her every few days. Pretend you care and want to fix your relationship. Tell her you got into a nasty fight with Dahlia over Jack or something. Nothing that could give Savannah the upper hand to speak about. She’ll think she succeeded in breaking you two up. Sociopaths love feeling like they have won. It might prevent her from messing with them because they won’t have any use in her diabolical schemes.”

“Can she really go as far as harming them?” Just the thought of it sent my heart into a frenzy.

“We don’t know for sure. All we know is that she’s tenacious.”