Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
The club was a trendy place on the fifty-fifth floor of a resort, with an indoor bar, dance floor, and outdoor seating area and rooftop lounge.
“Nova” walked through the red velvet ropes that were held open by two beefy, trendily dressed men who stood sentry on either side of the entrance.
Breaker, Marco, John, and Flint made up her security detail.
They surrounded her as she was escorted through the red velvet ropes that two large men on either side of the entrance held for her.
And sitting in the Daddy Guard van, the real Nova watched it all thanks to the tiny hidden cameras Leah and her bodyguards wore. Various squares on the monitors broadcast the different views, and she watched in wide-eyed wonder as Daddy sat beside her.
Bo was driving.
The Guard’s backup van was there too, parked in the same alleyway not far from the first with Harrison, Stryker, and Dax. The other Littles were safe at the compound, where they couldn’t be harmed as their Daddies had insisted.
“She looks so much like me. I mean, at a passing glance,” Nova commented.
Stryker’s voice came back over her earpiece. “Movie magic. Y’all have a very similar build, so that helps. But if anyone gets too close—or anyone who knows you tries to talk—they’ll be able to spot the con quickly.”
“I don’t think it’ll come to that,” Xavier said. “Remember, Leah’s just in there long enough to be seen. Then, she’s going to move on.”
On the screen, as seen through her security team’s cameras, Leah lowered her head just an inch as if giving the slightest of nods that others wouldn’t notice.
“Time to mingle,” Leah whispered. “But only ever so slightly.”
For the next few minutes, Nova watched as her near-doppelganger cut through the crowd, waving, returning greetings, and smiling at other patrons all eager for her attention.
Cells were out and people were taking selfies with Nova in the background.
Soon, social media would be lit up with her club appearance.
It didn’t matter. In fact, that was best, she reminded herself. The more attention on her, the better odds were it would attract the stalker—her sister.
The plan hinged on moving quickly, so she prayed the stalker was already there.
Remembering who it was they were trying to trap, Nova said, “Funny. I have two twins in the club possibly.”
“Would that make you triplets?” Harrison asked over the earpiece.
“Ha!” she said, thankful for the moment of levity.
“Okay, you’ve had some time,” Harrison said. “I mean, Leah has had some time. I’m up.”
Harrison’s presence was a new addition to the plan, but having a famous movie star around would come in handy.
“Getting out of the van and heading to the club,” he announced.
“Copy that,” Xavier said.
Nova drew a deep breath.
She sure hoped this worked.
The scene unfolded just as they’d planned.
Harrison called for “Nova” to join him, and Leah made it look authentic as she cut through the crowd, as if she was eager to see the other celebrity and not cognizant of the fact that she’d separated from her security team.
They shared a conversation at a private table in a dim alcove, all while the security guys looked around the dance floor as if searching for her.
“Harrison is the only actor here, but everyone is really selling it,” Nova commented.
“Yep. Let’s just hope our intended audience is watching,” Xavier said.
“Guess we’re about to find out.”
“Bloody glad to get out of there. That music was dreadfully loud,” Leah said under her breath as she stumbled out of the casino’s backdoor and into the alley not far from the van. “I’d rather take my chances with a stalker than sit and listen to that bloody mess.”
Nova laughed.
Leah didn’t say anything else, though, probably not wanting to potentially give away the ruse as she stepped into the dark, shadow-strewn urban canyon.
Nova stared at the monitor, not knowing if she wanted the stalker to show up or not. On one hand, she couldn’t stand the thought of poor Leah being in danger. On the other, she wanted all of this to be over.
But what would she even say to her sister when they met for the first time?
Such a strange way to finally meet, she thought grimly. Just so tragic.
“Look alive, Leah. You have someone on your right,” Stryker’s voice warned.
Leah’s response was barely a whisper. “Not her.”
“How do you?—”
“She started following me when I hit the bottom floor three minutes ago.”
Xavier chuckled. “Damn. Leah is good.”
The figure who was already approaching on the right in the alley said, “Miss Monroe? I’m Agent Connors with the Federal?—”
“Bloody hell, you’re too early. You might scare her off.”
“Scare who off?” The agent’s face look puzzled.
“Must realize I’m talking with a British accent,” Nova said with a laugh.
“Her!” Leah said.
It was almost as if she had eyes in the back of her head.
Going low, she pivoted until she faced the direction she’d just come.
Everything happened so fast that it was blurry, but Nova could still make out the action as Leah’s right leg extended and her foot shot up, catching the assailant in the stomach.
A knife went flying out of the stalker’s hand, landing on the trash-littered ground and skidding somewhere out of the camera’s view.
“I could have had your life!” the stalker shouted. “It should be me on that stage!”
“Give it up, love. You need help. Don’t make this worse than it already is,” Leah said in a firm yet quiet tone.
Now the alley was awash in lights as vehicles flooded to the mouths on both ends. Cops and agents in navy blue FBI jackets swarmed the scene, weapons drawn, yelling for Leah and the stalker to freeze.
It was the most eerie thing Nova had ever seen, there on the screens—two people, one who looked kind of like her, and the other who looked exactly like her—though slightly more disheveled—raising their hands as law enforcement took control.
Next to her, Daddy’s comforting hand rubbed her back. “Do you want to go meet her, honey?”
Nova chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment. Shaking her head, she said, “No. Not like this. When I do—well, I want it to be different. I’m choosing to believe she’ll get the help she needs and maybe we can have a relationship. One day.”
Xavier smiled and pulled her close, kissing the top of her head. “I bet that’s exactly what will happen, babygirl. And I know you’ll support her, while I support you.”
Nova sighed as she leaned her head against Daddy’s chest.
This nightmare was finally over. And who knew? Maybe something good—like sisters reunited after a life-long separation—would even come out of a scenario as ugly as this one had been.