Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Nova Monroe couldn’t steady her frayed nerves, and it had nothing to do with taking the stage that night.
She’d long ago stopped getting nervous before concerts. Sure, it was still exciting. And every now and then a stray butterfly or two would flutter in her stomach. But for the most part, she handled each performance like a pro.
No, her nerves didn’t have a thing to do with her performance. The reason her nerves were hanging on by a single, sizzling thread was because of her stalker, she reminded herself.
Gosh, that sounded so awful to even admit. How had her life come to this? Could she really have a stalker?
A knock at the door jarred her from her thoughts and she hurried across the spacious penthouse suite but stopped short of actually opening the door. “Who is it?”
Her brain told her there was no need for the caution. The security team posted outside her door—and the ones at the elevator bank down the hall—would not let some deranged killer through. But what if someone was able to sidestep them? Or what if they even killed the guards?
The thought made Nova’s blood run cold.
“It’s me.”
Recognizing the voice as belonging to her agent, Linda Atkins, Nova unlatched the deadbolt and threw open the door. “Hey.”
Stepping aside, she allowed Linda to come in.
The sixty-three-year-old woman strode in with her usual confidence and purpose and said, “Are you all right?”
Nova tried to speak but only a dry croak escaped her lips, so she shut her mouth and just nodded.
Linda appraised her through sympathetic eyes. “Nova, you don’t have to be afraid. This security detail is top-notch. They protected U2, Celine, and Shania when they were here. They’re not going to let anyone get to you.”
Nova nodded again. After clearing her throat, she walked toward the kitchen area and said, “I know. Those messages, though, are just… well, they really got to me.”
She opened the fridge and pulled out two bottles of water.
Back in the main seating area, she handed one to Linda, then unscrewed the cap on her own bottle before sitting down.
Linda sat too.
They were both silent for a moment, drinking the water. The cold liquid helped Nova a bit.
Finally, Linda said, “Do we need to cancel the show tonight?"
Nova shook her head. “It’s sold out. I wouldn’t do that to everyone. Besides, we signed a contract.”
Her agent was well aware of the contract, obviously, but Nova wanted her to know she took it seriously.
“The contract has an illness clause in it. And, Nova, you’re a big enough star where you can pretty much do whatever you want and no one will say anything about it.
” Lisa smiled. “You generated over seven hundred thousand in music sales and concert revenues last year alone. You’re sort of untouchable at this point. ”
Nova couldn’t help but smirk. It wasn’t because she agreed with her agent. Being a diva wasn’t her style.
But hearing her accomplishment spelled out like that? Well, that was kind of nice, she had to admit. It even temporarily made her forget about the crazy letters she’d been receiving.
“I don’t want to cancel. Performing is my escape,” she replied. “But anyway, it would disappoint the fans. I saw some social media posts today. Folks are traveling from all over the world just to see this show. It’s trending on Tik Tok and Insta.”
Lisa nodded with a smile of her own. “I’m glad you decided to do this residency. I think it’ll be good for you, not touring for a while. Give you a chance to rest a little, at least, but still perform.”
“Yeah. Give me a chance to get back in the studio and record some new music, too. I have two notebooks full of songs I wrote on the road. I need them to live.”
“I have the Palms booked for tracking starting next week. Eleven days. Weekdays, of course. But then we’ll have to take a break if you’re not finished because Imagine Dragons has it for three weeks solid.”
Nova had never recorded at the legendary studio at the Palms Resort. Excitement filled her as she thought of the possibilities.
But it disappeared as soon as she saw the letter lying on the glass coffee table that rested between the couch where she sat and the chair across from her that Lisa occupied.
Lisa must have followed Nova’s eyeline, because she said, “Is this it?”
Nova nodded.
Bending forward, Lisa grabbed the letter and sat back once more as she unfolded it and read it.
Quietly, she folded it back up and put it down on the table before taking a sip of her water. A moment later, she asked, “I assume you called the police.”
“They’re going to drop by this afternoon.”
“I probably shouldn’t have touched that without gloves. I don’t want to compromise any evidence,” Lisa said.
Nova shrugged. “Does it matter? It’ll be the same as the other four. Not a trace of prints or DNA. Whoever this psycho is, they’re careful.”
They sat in silence for a moment.
“I’m thinking about hiring someone private.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” Lisa said. “Though the first two letters came to you in Tennessee. Then two in L.A. Now one in Vegas. I’m not a legal expert, but the multi-state angle means the FBI should get involved, right?”
Nova took another drink and nodded. “Yeah. That’s what Darren, the chief of security here at the hotel told me when I showed him this letter. He’s a former cop. He was honest with me. Said it’ll be low priority because celebrities get weird letters all the time.”
“Oh shit. I guess that makes sense,” Lisa said. “They have counterterrorism and stuff like that to worry about. But still. Geez.”
Drinking some more water, Nova thought about it some more. A minute later, she said, “Is it true? Do all celebs really get weird stuff like this?” She aimed her chin toward the letter on the table.
Lisa sat back even farther, crossed her legs, and said, “I’ve represented seven clients over the course of my career. Every one of ‘em had something like this.” She smiled. “That being said, Nova, it’s still serious. It’s frightening you and so you should take it seriously. What does your gut say?”
Nova gave the question some thought. Shifting on the couch, she answered, “This won’t stop at letters. Whoever this person is, they’re going to escalate. They’ll try something soon.”
Lisa bobbed her head. “Then there’s your answer. Listen to your instincts. Hire someone. Want me to set it up? I can ask around. We’ll get the best of the best.”
Nova suppressed a smirk. “Thank you, but I’ll handle it. I already have someone in mind.”
Her agent knew she was fairly independent and had stopped asking too many questions a while ago, instead only inquiring only when events and decisions directly impacted the business end of things.
Good, Nova thought. Because she didn’t want to explain that she was a Little and was, therefore going to call the fabled Daddy Guard.
But that was exactly who she was and what she was going to do just as soon as she had the opportunity.