Chapter 34:
Enquiring Minds
AJ reached out and
encircled his hand around Claire’s arm, effectively stopping her from moving
down the hall. "Hey," he said, "how did it go?"
Claire smiled inwardly at
AJ, her arms folded across her as if annoyed. "AJ, haven’t you ever heard
the phrase 'don’t kiss and tell?'"
"Not when a thousand
dollars is involved, sweetheart!" snorted AJ. "Spill."
Claire sighed and leaned
back against the wall, AJ leaning forward eagerly, excited as a small boy on
Christmas Day. Her mouth twisted in a wry smile. He really is adorable.
"Well?" he
questioned, impatient.
Her thoughts turned back
to Brian and suddenly she found herself uncomfortable. "Uh, mission
accomplished."
AJ spun around in delight.
"I knew it!" he crowed, grabbing Claire by the shoulders and giving
her a quick kiss. "Thanks, babe." AJ looked at her thougthfully. "So, how was he?"
Claire gave him an
exasperated look. "AJ!"
AJ shook his head, making
a face. "No, no, not that! How did he seem? He’s been acting kinda weird
lately, like I told you. Notice anything?"
Claire thought for a
moment. "No," she said slowly, "he seemed alright." She
remembered the bruises. "Oh, the bruises!"
AJ looked at her with a
frown.
"Bruises," she
explained. "Brian had a lot of bruises, especially around his chest and
stomach."
AJ waved a hand,
dismissing Claire’s observation. "I already know about that. He was
injured a while ago." Claire eyed AJ skeptically. The bruises seemed more
recent. She shrugged, dropping the subject. If AJ didn’t seemed concern, she
wouldn’t be.
"Anything else?"
Claire paused for a
moment. She shook her head. "Not really. He seemed nervous, but he got
over that. Real quick." She gave AJ a grin, deciding to tease him.
"Wish I could tell you more, but you’ll just have to ask him for
tips."
AJ looked astounded, but
quickly regained his composure. "Tips? What tips could Brian possibly give
me?"
Claire patted his face,
giving him a contented smile. "Oh, you’d be surprised," she said
lightly. AJ reached with his finger to slide his glasses down the bridge of his
nose, giving her clear view of the skepticism revealed in his brown eyes.
Highly amused at AJ’s expression, she laughed, not noticing a large man glare
at them as he passed by. She did noticed AJ flipping the finger and surprised,
turned to see why.
"Good God," she
breathed, amazed by just the size of his retreating back. "Who is
that?"
"A true
asshole," muttered AJ. "Brian’s bodyguard, Xavier."
"Xavier?" Claire
looked at the young singer standing before her, frowning in thought.
"What? Don’t tell me
you know him!"
Claire shook her head.
"No." She chewed on a fingernail, trying to sort something out.
"You know, Brian was rather nervous after I told him there was no charge.
He just about jumped out of his skin. Wanted to know if Xavier was behind it. I
said no and he relaxed a little bit." She glanced down the empty hallway.
"Do you think Xavier has anything to do with the way Brian’s been
acting?"
AJ rubbed the back of his
neck tiredly and closed his eyes for a few seconds. "Possibly. I’m not
sure. Hell, I can’t even talk to Brian about it without him jumping all over my
ass. One thing’s for sure, I’m gonna find out."
Claire listened uneasily
to the raw strength in his voice. Worried, she gripped his hand, giving him a
quick kiss on his cheek. "Be careful," she whispered. AJ nodded, his
eyes burning with determination.
***
