No Place to Hide (Rocking Racers Book 2) Read online

  “Did your mother, who is also your manager, agree?”

  Knley gives a wry smile. “I was wondering when she’d pop up. No, she didn’t agree.”

  “I’d like to add that No Place to Hide, one of the most downloaded EP/singles in Australian history, has gone triple platinum here and platinum in the US, as well as hitting number one in fifteen countries.” Knley beams and my heart swells with pride. I squeeze her tight, kiss her cheek, and tell her in a low voice how proud I am of her.

  “Why didn’t your mother agree with your decision to record No Place to Hide?” Frank asks.

  “You’ll have to ask her for specifics, but I believe she felt there wasn’t anything wrong with our sound and there was no need to evolve.”

  “It clearly wasn’t the case.”

  Knley shrugs. “It turned out not to be in the end, and I’m so incredibly happy with the outcome, but even if it flopped, I still think it was something we needed to do.”

  “Why?”

  “Like I said earlier, we’re not the same girls who started Places. We’ve grown up, matured.”

  “Got married.”

  “Best thing I’ve ever done,” Knley says, looking up at me. I cup her cheek and press my lips to hers.

  “Your mother wasn’t at the wedding,” Frank says, bringing our attention back to him.

  “There were three adults and an infant at our wedding.”

  “Why wasn’t your mother one of them? She is your family, after all.”

  “Like No Place to Hide, my mother didn’t agree with my decision.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Helen and my father have history,” I tell Frank.

  “Not pleasant history, I take it?”

  “They had an affair, which ultimately led to the breakdown of my parents’ marriage,” Knley says. “In her mind, both Cole and his father are the devil incarnate. They were in mine too, for a long time.”

  “Why?”

  “Because Daniel Matthews, and by extension Cole, broke up our family—or that’s what my mother told us. Never mind the fact Cole was only five when all that shit went down.”

  “So how do you get from the devil incarnate to husband and wife?”

  “Three shots of Johnny Blue,” I joke.

  “Cole made me question things. He challenged what I believed, and as much as I didn’t want to—”

  “And she really didn’t,” I add.

  Knley elbows me and continues. “What Cole was saying made sense. Once that piece fell into place, the rest followed.”

  “Can you expand on that?” Frank asks.

  “From the conception of Places, I was billed as the rebel, the bad girl, the one with attitude. It worked because most of the time I hated having to play up for the cameras.”

  “You could’ve fooled me,” Frank says.

  “I fooled a lot of people, but I was young and new to the industry. I wanted Places to be a success, so I did what my mother told me to do and it worked. Places hit the big time and I became a star. Cole made me realise that I wasn’t happy with the way things were. I’d had the thought for a while, but it was being with Cole that gave me the balls to do something about it. The life I was leading was amazing and I’d never take it back, but there were drawbacks.”

  “Drawbacks such as what? I find it hard to believe a life that you describe as ‘amazing’ can be bad.” Geez, Frank, again with the nastiness.

  “It wasn’t bad so much as it was empty. I’m incredibly grateful for the life I lead and have led, for the fact that I make a living doing something I absolutely love, but as time went on and I started learning the ropes and taking more interest in what the band was doing, I realised I wanted to do it in a different way to my mother. I wanted more. It sounds great having people cater to your every whim, people who worship you, but it’s not fulfilling. It’s like fairy floss. It looks great, it tastes even better, but it has no nutritional value whatsoever. That’s what I felt my life had become.”

  “Like fairy floss?”

  Knley nods.

  “So you wanted to do things differently than your mother. Different in what way?”

  “I wanted to push the boundaries, experiment with things, work with different people, you know, grow as an artist. My mother didn’t want to do that.”

  “Why?”

  “We’d been successful, very successful, with what we’d been doing, so why change it?”

  “She has a point.”

  “And I get that. From a business point of view it makes sense. Why fix something that isn’t broken?”

  “Right,” Frank agrees.

  “But as an artist, those restraints cripple you. They force you into a box and you have to stay there. I hated it. I mean, could you imagine saying to Monet he could only paint his water lilies using colours from a specific range on the colour spectrum? Or telling the Beatles they couldn’t drop acid and come up with Sgt. Pepper’s? That’s what it felt like.”

  “How long did you feel this way?”

  “A long time.”

  “Why didn’t you fight it?”

  “I didn’t think I could. Plus, you get comfortable doing what you know. It was safe there, no risk of rejection or ridicule.”

  “Enter Cole Matthews.”

  Knley’s face softens. “Yeah.”

  “Cole,” Frank says, turning to me, “describe Knley when you first saw her.”

  “She was stunning as usual,” I say, and Knley hides her face in my neck. I sling my arm around her and draw her close. “But she was angry.”

  “At what?”

  “First it was at me.” We laugh. “In her mind, I had contributed to the breakdown of her parents’ marriage. Like Knley mentioned, I was five when that happened, and my father and I moved from Melbourne to Booker, so I had no idea what was going on. All I knew was that one day we lived next door to the Rhodeses, the next we didn’t.”

  “Did you ever ask your father why you moved?”

  “I did at first.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He said Booker was the place to be if I wanted to ride bikes.”

  “He never mentioned the Rhodeses?”

  “Why would he? The only thing he cares about is himself and my career.”

  “Your career?” I nod. “Not you?”

  “Concern for me only comes if it affects my career.”

  “Wow.”

  “I think that’s why he was attracted to Helen. They’re kindred spirits. Both have a laser focus on getting their children to the top of their respective games.”

  “You think that’s what Helen wants?”

  “To an extent, that’s what every parent wants, I imagine. Helen and my father just take it to the extreme.”

  “They take things too far?”

  “I think they get tunnel vision and forget that their child, or children, are people, not a product.”

  “Did you ever feel like a product, Knley?”

  “Isn’t that what everyone in entertainment is? A product, a brand?”

  “So that’s a yes?”

  “Yeah, that’s a yes.”

  “So when you saw Knley again after all those years, that’s what you saw, someone who was being, figuratively, beaten into submission?” Frank asks me.

  “Yeah,” I say. “I could tell she was tired. Tired of fighting, of being someone she wasn’t anymore. It called to me.”

  “Why?”

  “I’d always followed Places. I was a huge fan right from the start. For years I wondered what happened to my childhood crush, but the woman I saw at the Rocking Racers gala was a very different person to the one portrayed in the media.”

  “How was she different?”

  “For starters, she hated me so she didn’t have to play nice with me,”—Knley hides her face in my shoulder again—“which allowed her a certain freedom, I think, to express her emotions. She didn’t have to pretend with me, she didn’t give a rat’s arse about what I thought about
her, and that’s freeing. I also think she was tired. She’d been hiding a lot of stuff for a long time and it built up, reached critical mass, and exploded. I was just the lucky one she chose to explode to.”

  “Do you agree with that, Knley?”

  “Sort of. I mean, the way Cole describes it, it’s like I had a choice over who I let in, but in reality it wasn’t a conscious choice. I had to open up to Cole.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, for starters he didn’t take any of my shit.” We all laugh. “And second, something in him drew me in.” She leans up and kisses me.

  “And so started Coley.”

  “I hate that name,” Knley grits.

  “Me too,” I add.

  “So no Coley. Fast forward to Monday. What happened?”

  “We knew the minute we announced our engagement the press would go nuts,” Knley says, “and we didn’t want that. We’ve had enough issues with the media disrespecting our privacy in the past.”

  “You’re referring to the incident that saw you break your arm,” Frank says.

  Knley nods. “Yeah. We knew they’d be desperate for any bit of information and the wedding itself would be a nightmare, so we filed the necessary paperwork, waited for Cole to finish the season, and decided to get married.”

  “Your mother claims she was never told about the engagement.”

  “She wasn’t, not by us anyway. That was a deliberate decision. She never approved of our relationship and even went so far as to accuse him of domestic violence when it was she who sent the photographer who shoved Cole into me.”

  “She sent the photographer involved?”

  I nod. “She said she didn’t trust me with Knley, so she sent a photographer she knew to be overly aggressive to harass us after a night out.”

  “Didn’t trust you to do what?”

  “To not lose my temper, to not hurt Knley. I’m not sure exactly, but it seems that Helen thought at some stage I would become violent.”

  “Do you have a track record with violence?”

  “No.”

  “Anger issues?”

  “No more than anyone else.”

  “A temper?”

  “Only when called for.”

  “So why this belief?”

  “She wanted to provoke him,” Knley says. “My mother relishes playing the victim, the wronged party.”

  “Like she’s doing now?”

  “She sticks to what she knows.”

  “So she didn’t get invited to the wedding.”

  “Only my sister Quinn and our friends Bria and Reed Ryan and their daughter Avery were in attendance. We gave them no notice.”

  “So how did the media find out?”

  “I’m led to believe my mother knew Cole and I had filed our Notice of Intended Marriage form and were at the registrar’s office getting married that day.”

  “And she tipped off the media?”

  “We certainly didn’t do it.”

  “How do you know it was her?”

  “We don’t for certain, but her reaction suggests we’re right.”

  “Why would she do that? Ruin her daughter’s wedding day?”

  “Ignoring the fact she doesn’t approve of my husband, so she can cry to the media about how terrible I am, how ungrateful and spoiled I am, because God forbid I live my life the way I want without her permission.”

  “Does she have a point? It could certainly be construed that way.”

  “I’ll always be grateful to my mother for her work getting Places to where we are. I love being in the band and everything we’ve done together, but I’m not who I was when we started. I grew up and fell in love, and that doesn’t work for her. I’m sorry she can’t accept that, I wish it were otherwise, but I’ll never apologise for following my heart.”

  “I love you,” I tell her.

  She smiles at me. “And I love you.”

  “So what now?” Frank asks.

  Knley blows out a breath. “I’m honestly not sure. For all her posturing, my mother hasn’t been in contact with me.”

  “Your sisters?”

  “I’ve spoken to all of my sisters. They’re all incredibly happy for us.”

  “And Places?”

  “Places is still together.”

  “What next for the band?”

  “That’s something we need to discuss. I imagine my mother will be reluctant to work with me after this interview airs, so we’ll have to work that out.”

  And with that we’re done. The cameras stop recording and the lights go off. Knley slumps back on the couch.

  “How was that?” Frank asks.

  “I hope it works,” Knley says.

  “I think it will,” Bria says, coming out from behind the equipment. “You guys gave the viewers a great story that also happens to be true. It’s not so much a love story anymore, it’s an underdog story, and people like that. We’re Aussies, that’s who we are, and today the underdog was you guys.”

  “My mother’s going to flip her shit.”

  Bria shrugs. “She sicced paparazzi on you, twice. I think she deserves a little payback.”

  “It’s not being petty?”

  “You’re refusing to hide, love. That’s not being petty. It’s being brave,” I say.

  “Okay.” She nods. “So now we wait.”

  Bad Girl Knley Makes a Return

  Shots. Fired.

  Bombshell after bombshell was dropped by McKnley Matthews today in her tell-all interview with husband Cole. Detailing her love/hate relationship with the media, the breakdown of her relationship with mumager Helen, and the development of her relationship with her husband, McKnley pulled no punches and took no prisoners.

  In the crosshairs of both McKnley and Cole were the media, Helen Rhodes, and Cole’s father, Daniel. Both levelled several accusations at their respective parents while detailing the price of their high-profile love and how they were able to overcome every obstacle thrown at them. But underneath all that lies the tale of two people who quite clearly were yearning for something they weren’t able to have, and held on to it when it did finally come their way, eventually. Here at Rocking Rumours we’re suckers for a happy ending, and we sincerely hope McKnley and Cole can find theirs.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Knley

  The interview Cole and I did aired a week later to a national audience of four million people. I was a nervous wreck even though Cole tried to convince me otherwise. Not even hours in bed could distract me. Okay, that’s a lie, it did distract me, but after we finished my mind went right back to fretting about the interview. As much as my husband would like to think he’s Superman, he’s not, and therefore needed some time to recover. He’d like me to mention it wasn’t much.

  My sisters gather at my house to watch the interview.

  “It’ll be okay,” Quinn says, squeezing my hand. I give her a look.

  “Okay, so Mum will lose her shit, but we’ll support you.” That gets nods from the other three.

  “When this is done, we need to have a discussion about the band,” I tell them. They all nod and settle in to watch.

  “So?” I ask as the credits roll.

  “Wait,” Blake says.

  “For what?”

  “I’m listening to see if I can hear Mum’s screams.”

  “She’s gonna flip,” Sloane says.

  “She’s gonna do more than that,” Ashton corrects.

  “I know it’s bad,” I begin.

  “It’s not bad,” Quinn interrupts. “It’s truthful. You were being honest, Kn, and that’s never bad.”

  Cole hugs me.

  “It is when you’re being truthful about Mum and everything she’s done,” Ashton says.

  “I know she’s going to be pissed, that’s a given, what I really want to know is what you guys thought about all that.” I motion to the TV.

  “I thought it was gutsy as hell,” Ashton says, surprising the fuck out of me.

  “You
did?” I ask, shocked.

  “Well yeah,” she replies, the “duh” implied in her tone. “You were open about everything, honest. That takes some serious balls. I mean, we can all see the difference between you now and who you were a year ago, before Cole came back into your life. You were just going through the motions then. Now, you’re actually living.”

  I sniff. I think that’s the nicest thing Ashton has ever said to me.

  “Ash is right,” Blake seconds. “You weren’t happy then. You are now, and even though we’re all insanely jealous, we’re happy for you too. Besides, it’s time Mum realises we’re grown women who are perfectly capable of living our lives. We don’t need her standing over our shoulder telling us what to do.” The other three nod.

  “What about the band?” I ask.

  “The response to No Place was incredible,” Sloane says, “and personally I loved doing something different.”

  “But?” I ask, knowing it’s coming.

  She smiles. “But I’ve been doing this since I was thirteen. I’d like to try something new, something completely different, step away from being Sloane from Places and just be Sloane Rhodes.”

  I nod.

  “I’d like to go to uni,” Quinn says quietly. “Unlike all of you, I never wanted to be famous. Don’t get me wrong, I loved travelling the world with my sisters, but being in a band was never my dream.”

  “What is?” I ask softly.

  “I want to be a doctor, maybe go to Africa and help children there, people who have nothing and rely on the goodness of strangers, something like that.”

  I smile and take her hand, giving it a squeeze. “Sounds like something more than worth doing.”

  “I’ve always wanted to travel. I know we’ve been pretty much everywhere, but we never got to see any of it. I want to wander around the Louvre, get lost in Venice, climb the Great Wall of China,” Ashton adds.

  “I want to open a café. Create a space where artists can flourish. The arts are so devalued today. I’d like to help rectify that,” Blake says.