Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
ARLO
By the time the night of the gala rolled around, I’d had five more letters. All had come via the postie. It was like the stalker had wanted to taunt me by delivering one personally. A demonstration that he was capable of breaching my security measures, even if he was choosing not to.
The home I’d had for so long didn’t feel safe any longer, and I fucking hated that he’d taken that from me. I’d spent eighteen years living somewhere where I felt unsafe, swearing never to live in that state ever again.
But thanks to some fucking weirdo with an obsession, here I was, doing it again.
I was trying and failing to knot my bow tie when Simon knocked on the door.
“Code word?”
“Rosemary.”
We used code words all the time now. Even with Simon having temporarily moved in, he insisted on it. He varied the words now too, just in case. I also had a code word to use if I believed I was in danger. Stroll. Easy enough to remember and work into a conversation without alerting anyone.
Before, I would’ve said it was overkill.
Now, I just quietly agreed, relieved to have anything that might make me feel safe, even for a minute.
Truth be told though, I hadn’t felt entirely safe in three and a half months. Not since the day I’d told Jack to go.
Stop. Don’t think about him. Going down that path would lead me nowhere.
Simon entered, his lips twitching at the sorry state of my tie. “Want some help?”
“Please,” I said with a resigned sigh. “I’ve never been good at these things. Jack always used to…”
My voice trailed off, my throat thickening at the thought of his strong fingers gently twisting the fabric. The crease of concentration that would form between his eyebrows. The satisfied smile he’d give me when he was finally happy with it.
Simon’s hands didn’t feel like Jack’s. They were smooth and efficient, fixing the knot in seconds. “I hope I’m not speaking out of turn, but…”
I turned to check the tie in the mirror. “Whatever it is, you can say it. I’m a rock star for fuck’s sake, not the Queen. You should know by now that you don’t need to stand on ceremony with me.”
Simon worried at his lip for a minute before speaking. “Did you really block Jack from contacting you?”
“What?” My eyes flew up to meet his in the glass. “How do you know that?”
“He told me. After we hired Phoenix, he called me to ask for details about the situation. I asked him why he hadn’t gone directly to you, but he said you’d blocked him.”
“That’s why he reached out,” I murmured to myself, my heart cracking a little more. When I’d got that message from him, my initial reaction had been excitement. Joy. Hope.
But when I’d reflected on it, I knew there had to be a reason why he was contacting me out of the blue, probably one that would lead to more pain for me. It’d fucking killed me to block him, but I’d known it was for the best.
Mostly I’d been confused as to why I was suddenly hearing from him after so long.
Now I had my answer.
“Did you tell him what’s going on?”
“No. We have an NDA, remember? Besides, we furnished Phoenix with enough particulars to fulfil the job. There was no reason for me to betray your confidence.”
With the way his voice trailed off, I knew there was something he wasn’t saying. “But?”
Simon crossed his arms, clearly uncomfortable. “But…Jack’s worried about you, Arlo. I know things are difficult between you now, but he wants to help.”
“He is helping,” I said, shrugging into my dinner jacket. The owner of the gallery had insisted on the dress code being formal wear, something I detested. If it brought in more money for the charity though, then who was I to complain? “He’s helping by staying away.”
The gallery was a hive of activity as staff finished setting up for the event.
Rhys, Dylan and Ryan were stationed around the room, their attention focused on all the goings on.
My bandmates were sat on chairs grouped around a table, Ollie telling a story that had them all roaring with laughter.
My heart pinched at the adoring smile Luca was giving him, twisting further when Kai leaned across to brush a kiss over Silas’s cheek.
I was happy for them. I was.
But I wanted to be happy for me too. Was that too much to ask?
In the corner I could see Louis deep in conversation with the owner of the space.
Duncan Smith was an influential man with connections to just about everyone worth knowing in high society.
We’d been lucky he’d agreed to come on board, his events apparently being the highlight of the social calendar.
If I was being honest, the guy gave me the creeps. I couldn’t put my finger on why. Maybe it was the way his sunken eyes lingered a beat too long on my lips, or how his words seemed to have some double meaning that I somehow always missed.
Or maybe this whole stalker situation was making me paranoid.
My heart sped up as a hulking dark shadow detached itself from the wall of the lobby, strolling forwards to greet us. But as the light hit his face, I realised it wasn’t Jack, but Corey.
“Arlo,” he said, nodding in greeting. “I’ll be shadowing you tonight alongside Simon. Will will remain at the exit while Alex is at the entrance double checking everyone’s ID against the guest list.”
I bit my lip. “And Jack?”
Corey’s expression didn’t flicker, giving nothing away. “As requested, Jack is not on the premises.”
Emotion hit me, but not the one I was expecting. Why was I feeling disappointed instead of relieved? I’d made it clear that Jack’s presence wouldn’t be warranted, so why did it feel like I’d had my legs swept from under me?
Swallowing the traitorous feelings down, I gave Corey a thin smile. “Thank you. Hopefully this will be a smooth evening and your presence won’t be needed.”
Corey softened, patting me on the arm. “We’ll do everything we can to ensure that’s the case.”
Four hours later, I was relieved to know that the extra guards hadn’t been needed. Or maybe they had. Maybe whoever this dude was had seen the additional muscle and decided tonight wasn’t going to be his night.
Whatever the reason, I was glad it’d passed without incident. Most people had left, only the most hardcore stragglers left.
“This was brilliant,” Louis said, coming up next to me, his eyes shining. “From the donations tonight alone I think we’re going to able to open the centre two months earlier than planned.”
“That’s awesome.” I grinned up at him. “Now let me give you the rest, and you can open it three months earlier.”
As expected, Louis rolled his eyes. “We’ve been over this, Arlo. I’m fine rinsing rich strangers who were born with silver spoons in their mouths, but not you guys. The seed money was more than you should’ve sent. Let me get the rest my way.”
That was fine. We’d help him get all the money he needed in other ways. It meant more nights like tonight in my future, but if it helped even one kid escape the shittiness I’d experienced on the estate, then it’d be worth it.
Another artist from his shop, a willowy man with long blonde hair pulled back in a bun, called Louis’s name from across the room.
Louis sighed, clapping me on the shoulder. “Better go see what Indigo wants before he gets impatient.”
From the way Indigo was tapping his foot on the floor, he was already halfway there.
“Ready to leave?” Simon said quietly over my shoulder. Corey stood a few feet away, his shrewd gaze sweeping the room exactly as it had the whole evening.
“Fuck yes,” I responded, biting back a groan as I saw Duncan making a beeline for me.
His comb-over quivered with every step as he hurried across the room.
I’d managed to evade him all evening, but apparently my luck was at an end.
If we hadn’t needed to keep him sweet for future events then I would have totally ducked out before he reached me.
Sadly, we needed him. “Hold fire. Just gotta schmooze a bit more, then we can go.”
Simon nodded before moving back a few steps, giving us the semblance of privacy.
“Mr Beckett,” Duncan crooned, his nasal voice making my skin crawl. He took one of my hands in both of his and squeezed. “So glad we got the opportunity to catch up. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were avoiding me.”
“Of course not,” I said, pasting a smile on my lips as I physically forced myself not to wrench my hand out of his clammy grasp. He had a strange yellow tinge to his skin that gave me pause. “Thank you for being such a gracious host.”
Duncan’s beady, sunken eyes fell to my lips. “Might I request a moment or two of your time to discuss the next event?”
I had to fight to keep the smile on my face. Really? He wanted to discuss this now?
“Of course. Let me just grab Louis and we can—”
“Don’t worry about Louis, he’s busy.” One of Duncan’s hands slid up to my elbow. “We can discuss and I trust you will feed back our conversation at a later date.”
I flinched at his touch. Both Corey and Simon took a step forwards, but I had them falling back with a small shake of my head. Duncan might have been a creep, but he was harmless. I was capable of letting him down gently. The last thing I wanted was to risk losing him as a collaborator and donor.
“What did you want to discuss?”
“Let’s sit over in the alcove,” Duncan said, beaming at me, his hollow cheeks lifting. “It’s quieter over there.”
I suppressed a sigh but followed him. I wasn’t an idiot—the man obviously thought he had a shot with me. I’d go along with it for now, if for no other reason than I didn’t want to offend him.
We sat on the plush chaise longue that had been put in the alcove for the night. Corey and Simon took up positions on either side, both covertly watching, even if they pretended they weren’t paying attention.
Their presence reassured me. If Duncan didn’t take my rejection well then at least they’d be able to step in with an assist.