Chapter 10
Chase
It’s bad.
There are photos of Harper all over the internet, and not just the ones from the ball. There are pictures of her around town. Out on the iron bridge. At her rental property.
It makes my blood run cold.
There’s even one shot of her using a towel to put out the fire this morning.
She was right. Someone was there, right outside the house, and I know who it was: the tall man with the gray hair from the department store parking lot. There’s an image of Harper leaving that store taken from his exact location.
This isn’t some paparazzo asshole taking photos to make a buck either; there’s one thing conspicuously absent in every one of the images, and that’s me.
I’ve been at her side for the last thirty-six hours, but in every picture he posted, she’s alone.
This man is obsessed. Dangerous. He doesn’t like the idea of her being with anyone else.
When we reach the safe house, Harper’s concerned she won’t be able to sleep without her things.
I know we can’t go back for them, but I feel awkward asking the guys at Heartline for help given it’s not a security-related issue.
Instead, I give Garrett a call, and he swings by her rental to pick them up along with the groceries we left behind.
Garrett’s dad ran a security agency for years—he helped me land this job. Garrett knows how to handle himself in a serious situation. He also knows how to keep things private and avoid being followed.
Harper’s sipping tea in the small kitchen area when he shows up. I grab two beers from the fridge, and the three of us sit down to chat for a while.
“Chase mentioned you own a record label?” She dips her tea bag a few times.
“That’s right.”
“Any big names I would know?”
He chuckles, then he glances at me, and I nod to let him know it’s OK.
“Ever heard of The Lost Souls?”
Her eyes grow wide. “Wow, seriously?”
“Mm-hmm. You know Chase’s sister, Lexie, is their guitarist?”
“What?” She spins toward me, blinking. “Is your whole freaking family famous?”
I shrug.
She shakes her head. “What about you, Chase? I suppose next you’re gonna tell me you’re secretly a rockstar yourself?”
I stiffen. I know she’s teasing, but Garrett looks to me, and I shake my head slightly to signal for him to let it drop. She doesn’t need to know.
“Hold on. Are you?” Her brow furrows. She’s too perceptive.
“Nah.” I hop up to grab a plate from the cupboard, then arrange some crackers and cheese for us to munch on.
Thankfully, Garrett changes the subject. “Chase tells me your management’s running you ragged?”
“Yeah. This new company took over last year”—she sighs—“and I don’t like how things have changed. They insist they know what’s best for the brand, and they tell me to stick to the music.” She glances at me, and I nod. “I wish I had more say in how things were run, though. That’s how it used to be.”
Garrett leans back in his chair. “How’s the ownership set up? Do you own your brand?”
“Yes, it’s mine.”
“OK, then. You’re in charge. You call the shots.”
“Right. I just—I don’t really understand the business side, but I’ve been thinking I should learn more about it.” She tips her head. “Maybe then I could figure out a better situation for myself and my team.”
He sips his beer, then rests it back on the table. “Good management should be looking out for you. Protecting your needs. Making sure you have the time and energy stores to stay healthy and perform at your best.”
She chuckles. “Yeah, that’s not…happening.”
“That’s what I gather. What are they like on creative control?”
She shrugs a shoulder. “On the music, that’s mine. That’s how my mom set it up originally, and I own legal control on that side. They’ve been careful to give me the leeway I need there. But with the shows and the schedule—a lot of it, they try to micromanage, and it’s too much.”
He nods. “They should be working hard to make the brand fit your vision. Creating something you can feel proud of. You’re the artist,” he tells her.
“Without your creative energy, none of this exists. If you’re exhausted, the whole system breaks down.
It’s not sustainable, no matter what some suit tries to tell you. ”
Garrett knows his stuff. I’m glad she’s talking with him. He’s honest and ethical. One of the few people who’s been on both sides of the equation.
“Wow, any chance you manage pop stars?” she jokes, and he smiles.
“Not yet.” He says it in a friendly way, as though he’s offering, and she nods slowly.
Then she shakes her head. “Gosh, I don’t mean to make you talk about work.”
“Nah, it’s all right.” He raises a palm to dismiss it. Then he glances at me before looking back to her. “I know what it’s like to be where you are right now. So if you ever want to talk… If you need any advice”—he tips his head toward me to indicate I’ve got his number—“you know how to reach me.”
“Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.”
I pour her a fresh cup of tea, and we chat a while longer until she says she’s ready for bed. Then I grab a couple more beers, and Garrett and I move out onto the porch to give her some privacy.
“Thanks again for coming out here, man.” I lean against the wall, holding out my bottle for him to clink.
“Anytime. Whatever you need, you know you can always count on me.”
“Likewise.” I take a swig, then scan the woods. “You’re sure no one followed you here?”
“Like I said, all clear. No tail.”
“Good.”
It’s quiet tonight. We’re way outside of town, and security is tight here, with cameras and an alarm system. We should be good for the night. Thank God, because my head is all over the map.
I can’t stop thinking about Harper on that dance floor tonight. How good she felt in my arms when we were moving together.
When I almost kissed her.
“What’s on your mind?” Garrett’s deep voice cuts through my thoughts.
“Ah, I don’t know.” I take another pull from my bottle. “Lots of things, I guess.”
He tips his head back toward the house. “Like the one in there?”
I chuckle. “Is it that obvious?”
He grins. “It’s all over your fucking face, man. I can tell you’re sweet on her.”
“Yeah, I don’t know.” I shake my head, staring out into the darkness. “Maybe I am.”
“Maybe.” He chuckles.
“Fine. Yeah, I like her.” I grin. “She’s a little wild. She’s honest, and she has a good heart. I feel good when I’m with her. But she’s a fucking pop star, man.” I shake my head. “I split from that world a long time ago.”
Garrett knows what I went through. He was right there with me onstage.
“So what?”
“So what?” I snort. “So it doesn’t work. I’ll never go back to that world, and she sure as shit doesn’t need to be kicking around here for the rest of her life.”
He nods slowly. “Don’t you ever miss it though? The music? The excitement?”
“Nope,” I lie.
“Come on. I remember those days too. Being out on that stage, making all the ladies cry.”
I drop my face into my hand, laughing. “I wish I could forget.”
“Nah, we were good, and you know it.”
I chuckle. “I don’t know, man.”
But he’s right. There were good times. Hanging out with the guys. Feeding off that energy. Feeling the music together with all of those people. Being a part of something bigger than myself. I don’t have that kind of excitement in my life anymore.
He turns to look me in the eye. “Chase, I know better than anyone what kind of fucked-up shit you went through with your dad and the management. But that doesn’t mean everyone in that world is an asshole.
It’s all who you’re working with. There are good people too.
Like this one, maybe.” He hooks a thumb toward the house, and I grin.
“Yeah, maybe.” I lean back against the wall, scanning the perimeter again.
“Don’t do what I did.” He takes a long swig. “Don’t walk away from a good thing, man.”
I nod slowly. “How is Mallory, anyway? Have you seen her recently?”
Mallory’s his music producer now. They were good together, once upon a time, but he thought they were too young. He broke things off to pursue his career, but when she ended up marrying someone else, he was heartbroken.
He shrugs. “She’s good, I think? Don’t see her too often. Only if I stop by when the bands are recording.”
She works with his bands in the studio, and I’m pretty sure she’s the reason he bought the label in the first place.
To be closer to her again. Her husband passed away several years ago, but Garrett’s too chickenshit to let her know how he feels.
I don’t know if he’ll ever forgive himself for walking out on her.
“She still single?”
He nods. “I think so, yeah.”
I tip my head. “No time like the present, man.”
He laughs. “Nah, there’s too much history there. That ship sailed a long time ago.”
I’m not so sure. She loved Garrett like nothing I’ve ever seen before, and I don’t know if a love like that ever fades away.
“Still, it’s nice,” he goes on. “Getting to talk to her once in a while. Hear her voice. See what she’s doing with the music.” A familiar sadness clouds his eyes. The one that’s always there when he talks about her. “She’s so talented.”
I nod. “You should tell her you miss her.”
“No. I don’t deserve her anymore.” He sips his beer. “But this thing? You and Harper?” He shakes his head. “I’ve never seen you like this with anybody else.”
Maybe it’s true. But that doesn’t change the circumstances. It doesn’t mean things suddenly make sense between us. I know they don’t.
An owl hoots in the distance, and I look out into the darkness.
“She made me dance with her tonight,” I offer.
He gets a good laugh out of that one. “Did you blow her fucking socks off?”
I chuckle. “I think so.”
“I bet you did!” He takes a long swig of his beer. “How’d that feel?”
I take a slow, deep breath. “It felt good.”
He looks over at me for a moment, then he nods. “Yeah. I like this girl for you.”
But I shake my head.
I wish it were that easy.
Garrett heads back to his parents’ place, and I reset the alarm, then double-check the locks before tiptoeing into Harper’s room to check on her.