Blake's Choice by Louisa Masters Page A

“She won’t tell. Do you know, Daniel?” Daniel was a regular, had been for years. That was why Mandy and Karen came to the bar so often, when it really wasn’t the kind of place they usually frequented.
    “No.” Daniel didn’t elaborate. Mandy pouted.
    “Oh, come on. You must have run into him in the men’s room or something, sometime.”
    Karen laughed. “Mandy, men aren’t like us. They don’t put on lipstick in the men’s room—they pee. Conversation is pretty limited.”
    Daniel grunted. “Try non-existent.”
    Mandy waved a dismissive hand. “Whatever. I still think you know him. And I want to know who he is. No man has the right to be so good-looking. He’s gotta be an actor, or a rock star…” She trailed off, memory striking, and twisted on her stool to look at the man again. “Hey, I know who he is! That’s—ow!” She glared at Toni, who’d pinched her arm so hard a bruise was already forming. “What was that for?”
    “Karen, Mandy’s not feeling well.” Toni spoke flatly, her gaze hard. Mandy turned to look at Daniel, whose face was like stone.
    “What—”
    “Come on, sweetie, let’s go to the bathroom, splash some water on your face.” Karen practically yanked her off her stool and dragged her through the crowd so fast Mandy nearly fell twice.
    Finally, finally, Karen shoved open the door to the ladies’ room and towed her inside. The door swung shut and they were alone.
    “What the hell is that all about!” Mandy sputtered, stalking over to the basin and turning on the cold water. She stuck her wrists under the flow and glanced at Karen in the mirror. “Well?”
    Karen sucked in a deep breath and rubbed her nape. “You said you knew who he was.”
    “And?”
    “And, who do you think he is?”
    “Blake Hawley.”
    Karen grimaced. “Yeah. I figured you’d guessed right.”
    Mandy turned off the water and grabbed a paper towel. “So, why all the secrecy?”
    “Why do you think?”
    Mandy leaned against the basin, the tequila still fogging her brain. “Um…” Blake Hawley hadn’t made any public appearances in years, not since one of his fans had committed suicide during a concert. Still, a rock star was a rock star, no matter how long it had been since his last record. “He doesn’t want any publicity?”
    “He doesn’t want any publicity,” Karen affirmed. “You know what happened, right?”
    Mandy tossed the paper towel into the trash. “Kind of. He was doing a show and a fan shot himself, right?”
    “It’s a bit more complicated. A local radio station was giving away tickets to the show, and callers had to say why they were Blake’s ‘biggest fan’. There was this one caller who tried to win the tickets and missed out. He mugged someone outside the arena and stole their ticket so he could get in. Somehow he sneaked a gun through security, and about halfway through the show he got to the stage. Security was just about to grab him when he screamed that he was Blake’s biggest fan and he’d die to prove it. Then he shot himself.”
    Mandy shuddered.
    “Blake didn’t even get a chance to try and talk him out of it,” Karen continued. “He just had to watch while someone committed suicide in the name of fan-dom. For him. It broke him up pretty bad. He finished that tour, and then…that was it. He doesn’t like to talk about it.”
    Mandy’s head bobbed in sympathy, then stopped. Wait… “You know him?”
    Karen shrugged. “He’s a friend of Daniel’s. I’ve met him a few times.” She met Mandy’s gaze squarely. “Everyone here—all the regulars—respect his privacy. I trust you to respect it too, Mandy.”
    Like she’d deliberately put someone in a difficult situation. Karen should know better. “Of course.” She tried not to let Karen hear how offended she was.
    “I’m sorry.” Karen laid a hand on Mandy’s arm. “I don’t think you’d go sell a story to the press, or anything. It’s just that this is really