Beautifully Scarred

Beautifully Scarred P. RAYNE Copyright © 2019 by Piper Rayne Incorporated Originally published under the titles All We Were and All We Are All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Cover Designer: Hang Le Line Editor: Joy Editing Proofreader: Behind the Writer About Beautifully Scarred Lilah Growing up, all we had was each other. Jimmy’s always been the one who protected me—at any cost. I was content to let him clean up my messes. And when he kept his promise to get us out of our hometown and living the lives we always dreamed of, I was happy to pretend everything would be okay... for a while. While Jimmy was able to leave the past behind, mine felt like a tattoo I could never scrub clean. Jimmy thinks he can fix me—he tries, and tries, and tries. Sometimes love isn’t enough to heal all the wounds from the past. Sometimes even your savior thinks you’re not worth saving. And he’d be right… until everything changed. Jimmy I’ve loved Lilah for as long as I can remember. And for as long as I can remember, she’s pushed down the traumas of her past until they became poison running through her veins, infecting everything she touched. Watching the woman you love destroy herself piece by piece is the slowest, most painful form of torture I know. Giving her up may be the only way to save her. But how do I just walk away from the one person I love most in this life? Dedication For everyone one of us who’s made mistakes along the way. Live, learn, do better. “Another day won is better than another day one.” Contents Part I Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twleve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-one Chapter Twenty-two Chapter Twenty-three Chapter Twenty-four Chapter Twenty-five Chapter Twenty-six Chapter Twenty-seven Chapter Twenty-eight Chapter Twenty-nine Chapter Thirty Chapter Thirty-one Chapter Thirty-two Chapter Thirty-three Chapter Thirty-four Chapter Thirty-five Chapter Thirty-six Chapter Thirty-seven Chapter Thirty-eight Chapter Thirty-nine Chapter Forty Chapter Forty-one Chapter Forty-two Part II Chapter Forty-three Chapter Forty-four Chapter Forty-five Chapter Forty-six Chapter Forty-seven Chapter Forty-eight Chapter Forty-nine Chapter Fifty Chapter Fifty-one Chapter Fifty-two Chapter Fifty-three Chapter Fifty-four Chapter Fifty-five Chapter Fifty-six Chapter Fifty-seven Chapter Fifty-eight Chapter Fifty-nine Chapter Sixty Chapter Sixty-one Chapter Sixty-two Chapter Sixty-three Chapter Sixty-four Chapter Sixty-five Chapter Sixty-six Chapter Sixty-seven Chapter Sixty-eight Chapter Sixty-nine Chapter Seventy Chapter Seventy-one Chapter Seventy-two Chapter Seventy-three Chapter Seventy-four Chapter Seventy-five Chapter Seventy-six Chapter Seventy-seven Chapter Seventy-eight Chapter Seventy-nine Epilogue Acknowledgments About P. Rayne Also by P. Rayne Part One Chapter One JIMMY Newspapers slam down in front of me, one after the other, sending loud thumping sounds throughout the silent conference room. My elbows rest on the boardroom table, fingers threaded through my dark hair, eyes squeezed shut so I don’t have to read what’s printed. A quick internet search of my name this morning told me all I need to know. “HOLLYWOOD’S GOLDEN BOY IN BAR BRAWL!” “THE REGULATOR DOES BAD!” “THIS IS OUR NEXT SUPERHERO BOX OFFICE STAR?” “What the fuck were you thinking?” Bernie glares at me from the end of the long mahogany table, leaving the papers in front of me like a grenade with the pin pulled. I blow out a sigh and glance at him. His white polo shirt stretches over his protruding belly and his slacks are creased at his groin. It’s obvious my actor-behaving-badly stunt pulled him away from his early morning tee time. He’s the head of the movie studio. People probably call him for permission to take a shit. So when one of his up-and-coming stars has a run-in that makes the press, he’s the first to get the call. His beet-red face and the slightly crazy, enraged look in his eye makes me wonder if I’ll recover from this fuck-up. Maybe the grenade with the pin out is my career, not the papers. “The other guy swung first. What the hell was I supposed to do?” I argue. My agent, Keane, clears his throat next to me. It’s a warning not to poke the bear, but it’s too late for that. They couldn’t squeeze any more bodies in this room if they tried. My agent, my publicist, the studio’s PR reps, the director of my next film, and Bernie. The only one missing is my manager, and that’s only because she’s fixing someone else’s screw-up. Time is crucial. We have to figure out our plan of attack about the mess I created. “What’s the media’s take on what happened?” Bernie directs his question to his PR goons. The middle-aged woman with a few streaks of grey in her hair speaks first. “Most aren’t sure what to think. A couple of the blogs have picked up on the fact that Lilah Robbie was there and are speculating that the fight probably had something to do with her.” Everyone in the room looks at me for confirmation. I sit silently, not wanting the reaction that’ll come if I agree with the woman across from me. “Why don’t you tell us exactly what happened, and we can figure out a way to spin it in your favor?” Kyra says in a reassuring tone. At least my own PR rep is on my side. “It’s pretty simple. A group of us went out last night and some guy was bothering Lilah.” Groans and sighs commence around the table, but I continue anyway. “He didn’t much care for when I asked him to leave her alone and threw a punch at me.” I lean back in my seat with my arms folded over my chest.