The Skye Collection, page 49
‘Did he… you know, hurt you?’ Mitch asked through clenched teeth.
She shook her head but continued to focus on the flames. ‘Not really. Well, not seriously. Thankfully, he didn’t have time. I drank a glass of the juice that was spiked, but I stopped when I began to feel peculiar. He can’t have put much in it because the effects have worn off now. But I have a headache, like a hangover. Apart from that, he bruised my arms and scared me, but that’s all.’
Mitch balled his hands into fists. ‘Bastardo!’
Ruby’s phone rang again.
Mitch took a calming breath, answered it and paced the room as he spoke. ‘Hi Valerie. Yes, she’s okay now. Right… ahuh… I see, yeah. Look, I have contacts I could give you that may be able to speed up the process… Okay, well just let me know. I’ll get her to call you when she’s feeling up to it. Bye.’ He placed the phone on the coffee table and sat again. ‘Your agent’s worried sick about you.’
Ruby smiled even though guilt niggled at her. ‘Poor Val. I do nothing but cause trouble for her.’
‘Nah, it sounds like she thinks of you like a daughter. She was so angry about Clark, or should I say Hamilton. She’s got people looking into him. I expected her to give me a riot for letting you go out, but she must be saving that for another time. Lucky me, eh?’
Ruby shook her head. ‘Nope. This one’s all on me. I can’t have anyone else taking responsibility for my actions.’ Her stomach clenched when she thought of the stress and inconvenience she had caused everyone. She scoffed. ‘It’s me all over. Little Miss Independent. Little Miss Sort it Out Herself… More like Little Miss Stupid Arse.’
The phone rang again and Mitch sighed as he picked it up. ‘Hi Veronica. Yeah, she’s doing okay. Shocked and upset but she’s a strong lassie.’ There was a pause where Veronica must have been speaking. ‘Aye, well, he deserves everything he gets if you ask me. The sad little man. And I hope the police catch up with him.’ Another long pause. ‘Some line about owning a record shop. Aye, I know. Bloody idiot.’ Ruby flinched, hoping it wasn’t she to whom he was referring so harshly. ‘Look, I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m sure she’ll call you once she’s feeling better. Thanks for your concern. And hey… say hi to Gen for me, eh?’
Ruby was surprised to hear him behaving so cordially towards the woman who was now with his wife.
When he hung up the call, he told Ruby, ‘Veronica has been doing some digging and it turns out our journalist friend Hamilton is more of a wannabe. He writes a blog about the stars but seems to mainly focus on you. I think we can safely say he’s obsessed with you. But as far as being a professional journalist, that’s a load of bull. He’s applied for positions at Veronica’s paper several times in the past, but his writing was nowhere near good enough. His blog doesn’t get much traffic either by the sound of things. I guess he’s no more than an obsessed fan who saw an opportunity to meet his idol and took it to the extreme. But we need to know how he found out where you are when no one else has.’
Ruby sighed. ‘I was so foolish.’
‘No, you can’t blame yourself here. He sought you out. This is all on him.’
Eventually, when it seemed the calls had stopped, Ruby told Mitch, ‘I’m so grateful to you for turning up when you did. I honestly didn’t know what he was going to do. He was quite forceful once he realised I’d found out he’d been lying. He kept insisting that we could be together regardless of the lies and that really scared me. He was so delusional. He even bought me a ring.’ She shook her head in disbelief.
Mitch crouched before her and eyed her with pity. ‘As soon as I saw the front page of the paper and read the article, my suspicions were confirmed. He made the mistake of using his real name when the journalist spoke to him. I mean, that’s pretty daft when you think about it.’ He reached out and squeezed her hand, keeping his gaze fixed on her. ‘But you will be okay, you know. You will get through this. All of it,’ he whispered.
She felt the urge to hug him. His arms around her had felt so soothing earlier. But instead, she kept her eyes on his. Something crackled in the air between them for a moment.
His lips parted and he briefly glanced down at hers before shaking his head. He cringed and stood, stepping away. ‘Oh… erm… and I checked out the property. I’m afraid it is used as an Airbnb; has been for years. I don’t understand how he thought you wouldn’t find out. He must be extremely arrogant or incredibly stupid.’
Ruby huffed. ‘I certainly wouldn’t say he’s stupid. Cruel and unpleasant, definitely arrogant, but in no way dumb.’ She shrugged defeatedly. ‘He played me. I know I was crazy to trust him so willingly but… I just wanted someone to be on my side, you know? I wanted someone to like me again. It feels that this past month or so has been filled with so much animosity, and I hate that. And I know I don’t deserve it, which makes the whole thing worse.’ Her lip trembled. ‘I’m not a weak person. Not under normal circumstances. I mean, I left my home to become an actor in a strange country where I knew no one. I made it work on my own. But on this occasion, I was a complete and utter fool. Just like I was with Tyler.’ She shook her head as tears spilled from her eyes once again, and Nero lifted up his chin to nuzzle her face.
Mitch sat on the opposite chair and leaned forward. ‘Hey, stop beating yoursel’ up.’ His voice was soft and filled with concern. ‘There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be liked. And there’s nothing wrong with trusting people. The right people won’t let you down.’
She raised her chin and scoffed at his comment. ‘You’re saying that to the girl with the worst track record at choosing who to trust.’
He smiled kindly. ‘Aye, well, not all men can be as super-duper as me.’
She couldn’t help laughing. He certainly seemed to be someone she could rely on. Admittedly, on the most part to piss her off, but after today’s shenanigans she was willing to give him a pass.
‘Nor as modest,’ she said with a smile.
He grinned. ‘You’re going to be okay, you know,’ he said once again.
She thought back over the events of the last few hours and wondered how he could possibly know that. ‘I’d like to believe you. But you’re completely different to me. You seem to have your life sorted out. Your businesses are successful. You own multiple homes. People respect you.’ She shrugged. ‘Can’t say the same for me at the moment. I can’t even go home, everyone hates me, and my career is potentially ruined. And in trying to rectify it all, I’ve simply made it worse.’
‘Hey, I don’t hate you,’ Mitch insisted with a scowl.
She tilted her head and fixed her gaze on him. ‘You don’t particularly like me either. And you’ve been stuck with me under duress.’
‘I don’t dislike you at all, Ruby.’ There was something indiscernible in his expression and he cleared his throat. ‘I mean, I don’t know you well enough. Not really. But you’re not entirely to blame there. I have a tendency to keep people at a distance. I even did that with my wife. Looking back, I think that’s why we survived for so long though. Especially knowing what I do now.’ He went quiet for a few moments. He rolled his eyes dramatically and stood. ‘God, I’m at it again. Pouring my heart out on you. I think I’d better go and do something useful before I cry too.’ He laughed, but Ruby could see a hint of pain in his eyes. ‘You go get some rest. I’ll come and get you if anyone calls with urgent news.’
Later, once ensconced in her room with her canine companion, and after returning all the missed calls, and explaining herself over and over, telling everyone she was fine, Ruby felt drained and exhausted.
Her last two calls were to her parents – she kept the call short as hearing how worried they were, almost broke her – and to Kitty.
‘Bloody Norah! What an utter psychotic arsehole! My god, you must have been terrified.’
Ruby sighed, tired of repeating the story but knowing she had to. ‘I was. But it’s over now. I just want to forget all about it. I want to erase the past couple of months, to be honest. I seem to be a shithead magnet, Kitty. What the hell is wrong with me?’
‘Hey, there’s nothing wrong with you,’ Kitty insisted. ‘You’re lovely. It’s everyone else that are the wazzocks. I want this to be over for you, honey. I wish you could just come home.’ Her voice wobbled.
Ruby’s eyes stung. ‘Don’t you start. I had my mum sobbing on me earlier, begging me to come home. If only it was that easy. I have to say, though, this place, as pretty as is it, it’s a bit tainted now. It’s lost its shine.’
‘No bloody wonder, Roo. Look, you must be knackered. I’ll let you go. Just promise to keep me posted, eh? Especially if they catch Hamilton Horse’s Arse.’
Ruby giggled. ‘And that is how he shall from henceforth be known.’
Kitty laughed too, and Ruby was relieved that the tone was lighter.
‘I’ll let you know what happens. Love you.’
‘Love you squillions, chick. Bye.’
When everything had calmed down, Ruby lay in bed wondering how the hell she could have made a complicated and shitty situation even worse. She stroked Nero and said, ‘It’s a definite talent I seem to have acquired, lad, eh? One I need to rid myself of as soon as bloody possible.’ The little dog wagged his tail and pawed at her hand.
Despite the million and one thoughts buzzing around her head, she drifted off into a nightmare-filled sleep, where she was locked in a room, surrounded by photographs of herself kissing ‘Clark’. The door to the room was bolted and she couldn’t escape the images. Her stomach turned and her heart pounded as she found a bathroom and locked the door behind her. Clark banged on the door, demanding to be let in and shouting that he was going to ruin her if she didn’t come out. She curled up in a corner crying and begging him to let her go, but no one came to her rescue this time.
She was startled awake and sprang to a sitting position when someone began hammering on her room door and calling her name. Nero let out a series of yips and jumped down to stand guard as Ruby grabbed her robe and wrapped it around herself. Her heart skipped and her breathing rate increased. ‘H-hello?’
‘Ruby! It’s me, Mitch.’
She dashed to open the door and sure enough, Mitch stood there, one hand scrunched in his dark mop of hair, the other over his mouth. ‘Thank feck for that. You were crying out and I was getting worried, but you’d locked the door. Pack your stuff. You’re leaving,’ he informed her before turning to walk away.
Her heart dropped and panic set in. ‘Whoa! Hang on! Why are you making me leave? I thought we’d sorted everything and—’
‘Look out of your window.’ She crumpled her brow and went to the double doors that led to the balcony. Before she could open the curtains, Mitch interjected, ‘No! Don’t open the curtains or the door! Just peep out.’
Doing as he had suggested, she made a gap between the drapes and stared down towards the main gate. Jacopo and Luca were both pacing back and forth, weapons drawn, and beyond the gate a huge crowd had gathered. Once again, there were banners with slogans painted on, this time in Italian but no doubt insulting, she could just tell. A couple in particular stood out, in vivid, blood red; one saying, ‘Cagna maledetta!’ and the other, ‘Vai a casa puttana!!’ She didn’t know what they meant, but, from the angry way in which they were cast onto the placards, she could easily guess.
In addition to the baying throng, paparazzi were interspersed among them, like ravenous vultures waiting for a feast, cameras poised at the ready. The polizia had arrived and were trying to disperse the crowd, but Ruby could hear the chants and catcalls from inside the house.
She covered her mouth with her hand. ‘Oh, my word. How…’ She knew the answer to the unfinished question, however. Hamilton Harlow, aka Clark, had released details of her whereabouts. And he had no doubt published his blog post, which, because of the front-page news piece, had probably gone viral. She thanked her lucky stars she couldn’t get online. She knew there was a very good chance that Mitch’s property did have access to the internet, but fear had stopped her from asking for confirmation, and at that moment, as she stared at the antagonists below, she was relieved about that fact. She turned to face her host. ‘I see,’ she whispered. ‘I don’t blame you for kicking me out. I’m just so sorry about all this.’
Shoulders hunched, she walked towards the wardrobe, intent on retrieving her bags.
Mitch stepped inside the room until he was only inches away from her and held up his hands, his eyes wide with concern. ‘No, you’ve totally misunderstood me. I’m not kicking you out. We’re just… relocating.’
Facing him once more, she shook her head, her brow furrowed in confusion. ‘Relocating? What do you mean?’
‘I mean, I’ve been speaking to both your agent and the security firm, and there have been death threats now. They’re no doubt fake and just made by idiots jumping on the bandwagon, but we can’t risk it. There’s been a private plane chartered and it’s ready to get us out of here. Jacopo and Luca are being replaced when we arrive at our destination, just in case crazy Clark makes a reappearance, and Valerie is sending Shelby over to assist you, so you have someone from your agency close by in case anything else happens. But, to be honest, it’s not somewhere anyone will expect you to be.’
Her heart skipped as relief flooded her veins. ‘And you’re coming too?’
He nodded. ‘Aye, it’s another one of my properties we’re going to. My favourite one in fact. The one I call my real home. I didn’t want to desert you. You won’t know anyone there, but the locals will be intrigued and full of questions, so I figured I would come along and be a buffer. And I was going to return to the island in April anyway to see my folks.’
This time she nodded. ‘Oh… okay. And where is it?’
He smiled. ‘A beautiful wee village on the Isle of Skye called Glentorrin.’
18
Ruby contacted Kitty and her parents to tell them she was UK-bound but that she had to be careful because of the whole stalker issue. She didn’t mention the newly announced death threats for fear of scaring them half to death. Her dad’s heart couldn’t take it and Kitty was heavily pregnant and could do without the added stress. The police had been in touch that morning with an update. They had tracked Clark’s phone to a rubbish bin on the outskirts of Palermo where it had been dumped, so he was potentially in the wind now. That was until he made another mistake. The worry of him, or any other vigilantes, locating her on Skye was real, but she had to trust that she would be fine, otherwise she’d become a paranoid recluse, afraid of everyone and everything.
Mitch and Ruby—with Nero on her lap—sat in the back of the black car as the gates of Villa Vista Mare opened, and Jacopo slowly pulled the vehicle forward. Cameras flashed, rather pointlessly, at the blacked-out rear windows and Luca chuntered under his breath in the front passenger seat; his Italian grumblings were something Ruby had become accustomed to during her stay. Angry faces loomed through the glass and Ruby closed her eyes, leaned her head back on the headrest, stroked Nero’s soft fur and tried to block out the sound of the raging protests. It was a relief to be leaving, but only because of the horrible events that had taken place with Hamilton Harlow. Other than that, she’d been grateful to have such a beautiful sanctuary, even if it was short-lived.
‘Jeez, is this something you have to put up with regularly?’ Mitch asked as they inched out of the safety of the enclosure.
She opened her eyes and turned her head slightly towards him. ‘Occupational hazard. Although there are usually less angry faces and more professions of love.’ She laughed lightly.
‘I couldn’t cope with the adulation, to be honest. Or the notoriety. It’s my idea of hell, being thrust into the limelight. I’d hate to be in your shoes.’
For some reason his admission saddened her, but she chose to make light of it. ‘Says Mister Millionaire with his private jet.’
He scrunched his brow. ‘Hang on… you think the plane we’re going on is mine?’
She felt heat rise in her cheeks. ‘Well, isn’t it?’
He laughed out loud. ‘Bloody hell, how much money do you think I have?’
Embarrassed, she shrugged her shoulders. ‘Lots?’
‘Not enough to buy my own jet, I can assure you. I’m only a millionaire on paper. It’s all invested.’ He laughed again and shook his head. ‘My own plane… I wish.’
Ruby remained silent for the rest of the journey for fear of saying something else that would garner ridicule. She hadn’t a clue how much planes cost. In fact, she hadn’t much of a clue how much anything cost these days. It wasn’t as if she went shopping alone on a regular basis – the chance would be a fine thing. There was nothing she would enjoy more than a saunter down Madison, Fifth Avenue or 57th Street.
She remembered, fondly, her Saturday shopping trips on the train to Meadowhall in Sheffield with Kitty when they were teenagers. Such an adventure, especially at Christmas time when the Disney shop was decorated like Santa’s grotto. They’d talk about boys and point out the good-looking ones to each other, then giggle like crazy if one of said boys smiled at them.
These days, Ruby had an almost unlimited budget, a personal shopper and a stylist who would shop for her. And even though her eyes had been opened to the most sumptuous boutiques and incredible designers New York had to offer, it wasn’t quite the same. In fact, nothing was quite the same. She missed the simplicity of life before fame and the freedom it entailed. Going back to the UK was an exciting prospect, even though she was heading to a completely new location; another island she had never visited, only this time she could speak the language, at least.
