Chapter 10 Devon #2
She groaned. “Thanks. It was freshman year, and I’d do anything to get on a stage.
Even a completely over-the-top routine to ‘Don’t Stop Believin.
’ Jazz hands, choreography, the whole nine.
” She twisted her lips adorably. “Let’s just say Broadway wasn’t exactly devastated when I pursued other options. ”
A laugh slipped out before I could stop it, and her eyes lit at the sound.
And damn if that wasn’t seriously unfortunate. I wasn’t an army of men and I sure as fuck couldn’t risk another one of those smiles.
I redirected—and fast.
“Hey, at least you chose Show Choir.” I set the trophy back on the dresser. “Signed up late for electives my sophomore year. Everything was full except dance.”
He bit her lower lip, her eye sparkling with humor.
“Yeah,” I muttered. “Try explaining that to a locker room full of high school football players.”
“So you were the star quarterback who secretly took ballet.”
“More like a middle linebacker who got his ass roasted for an entire semester,” I corrected. “But it turned out to be useful. Footwork, balance, agility. Coach loved it. Got me into Fresno State on a football scholarship. I had a couple of decent seasons.”
And in my furious attempt to avoid her smile, I failed so miserably. It returned full blown and staggering.
I cleared my throat and made a circle around the room, searching the window and avoiding her. “Anyway, all I’m saying is it seems like things turned out well for you. Broadway’s loss became Hollywood’s gain.”
I could feel her gaze tracking me in the small space.
“I guess,” she replied. “Honestly, I just got lucky to have landed anywhere outside of Dollton. We barely had money for gas most weeks. Dad poured everything into the farm. Mom taught kindergarten. We weren’t exactly jet setting to Los Angeles for auditions.
My senior year, our drama teacher got me into a summer program in New York.
Dad had to sell one of his prized studs so we could afford it. One thing led to another.”
“And suddenly you’re a movie star.”
She popped a shoulder. “Something like that. It’s not nearly as exciting as it sounds.”
Calling her bullshit, I cut her a side eye.
“No, I’m serious,” she defended. “I love acting, but all the other stuff that comes with it.” She waved a hand toward me. “Present company included. No offense or anything.”
“None taken.”
“It’s just not for me anymore. I spent so long chasing the sparkle of a rainbow that I never realized the pot of gold was floating in a river of sewage.
I don’t mean to sound ungrateful or anything.
That rainbow has given me an incredible life, but I’m done walking through shit to keep it.
I’d rather just be a girl who lives on a farm in Dollton. ”
I stared at her for a beat. Fuck me, that was a refreshing take on this business. “Fair enough. You’ve earned a break.”
“I need more than a break.” She drew in a shaky breath as if emotion had lodged in her throat. “Anyway, enough with the sentimental crap. It’s getting late.”
It was barely nine pm and my body was still on Pacific Standard Time, so it felt like it was only seven. But between her early morning visit at the funeral home and an even longer travel day, she was due some rest.
Besides, I definitely needed some time alone and a factory reset on my brain after all those smiles of hers.
“Right. Let me just go over a few things with you first. All your old security codes still work on the alarm. Though if you leave this house. Text me first. You get a response from me, then you’re free to move about the property.
You don’t, you stay put. But you do not, under any circumstances, leave the property unless I am at your side. Got it?”
She nodded, and I hooked a finger at her, and then stepped back into the hallway. She sidled up beside me—too close—but I forged ahead and pointed toward the ceiling corner. “There.”
She squinted. “What are we looking at?”
I reached up and angled a small decorative vent slightly to the side. A tiny camera lens glinted behind it.
Her eyebrows shot up. “Oh!”
“Those are monitored twenty-four seven. If it’s not Apollo himself, we've got some guys in Chicago watching remotely. Same with the hallways, exterior doors, and common areas. I know you heard me earlier, but it bears repeating. Bedrooms are only activated once an alarm has been triggered.” I stepped back into the bedroom and pointed at the smoke detector.
“You ever see a red light on that thing, you come directly to me. Either someone is watching and I need to scoop out their eyeballs, or shit has hit the fan and I need you close.”
“Redlight equals felony removal of eyeballs. Got it.”
“There are no cameras in the bathrooms. If you feel more comfortable changing in there, great. Though if anything goes down and we ever get separated, do not hide in there.”
She visibly blanched. “You mean, like I did with Marty.”
My gut soured as she withered right before my eyes.
“Not the same.” I rushed out. “None of that was your fault.”
She nodded, but a tear still escaped.
Fuck.
I’d been a dick to Lofton Beck more times than I could count. Hell, I’d seen her cry during damn near every interaction we’d had. But standing there in her childhood bedroom, a tear sliding down her cheek, the reality hit different.
This wasn’t some arrogant Hollywood star.
She was just a normal girl who had humble beginnings in rural America who somehow made it big. She’d lost her mother, and her father was fading right before her eyes. Her celebrity status didn’t make her immune to life’s biggest challenges.
Thank God I hadn’t been living under a microscope when my life imploded. My trauma and bad decisions were buried in the recesses of my mind, not trending on social media.
No makeup, messy hair, Lofton was just a scared woman, embarrassed by the condition of her home as she struggled to make sense of the most traumatic day of her life.
“Hey,” I rasped, walking over to her. It crossed all kinds of boundaries. Boundaries I had all but carved in stone with her, but I curled my hand around the side of her neck and tipped her head back.
Surprised, she sucked in a sharp breath, one hand landing on my pec for balance.
But she made no attempt to move away from me.
“You did the right thing.” I told her. “You kept yourself and Zoey alive. That house was not wired this way. I have eyes in the sky here. Marty did not. Someone pulls off a miracle and gets in here, I need you visible because I will find you and I will keep you safe.”
Her lip quivered, those damn tears overflowing, slicing me to the core.
She nodded, but it wasn’t enough.
“Tell me you understand.”
Her breaths came faster, her exhales breezing across my skin. “I understand.”
Searching her gorgeous face, I drew in a breath, holding it until it burned, relishing the pain.
I shouldn’t have made her cry again.
I shouldn’t have touched her.
I shouldn’t have agreed to this fucking job at all.
All at once, I released her and stepped away.
I pointed toward the door at the other end of the room. “My room through there?”
“Yeah,” she whispered.
Straightening my shoulders, I regained my composure. “You need anything else from me?”
She opened and closed her mouth a few times and then sealed her perfect lips shut.
“Okay. Get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning.” I think she said goodnight, but I was already gone, long strides carrying me through a small bathroom. My head was a jumbled mess of things I needed to talk to her about, but I was unwilling to stand in that room with her for even a second longer.
I needed eight hours of sleep, a lobotomy, and…
I froze when I swung open her sister’s bedroom door.
Black walls. Metal band posters. Studded belts hanging from a corkboard. A collection of combat boots lined up along one wall. It looked like a Hot Topic had exploded.
Jenn had the energy that suggested she’d happily elbow someone in the face for fun, but this was still a lot.
“It was a phase,” Lofton said, appearing in the bathroom behind me, holding a small pink toiletry bag. “You should see the pictures of Terry with a mohawk.”
I screwed my eyes shut, but it had not one fucking thing to do with Terry. “It’ll work.”
“At least her bed is a double. If you hear a thud in the middle of the night, don’t worry, it’s just me falling off my twin.”
I turned toward her. “If I hear a thud, I’ll be standing over you before you even open your eyes.”
A mischievous twitch at the corner of my mouth caught my attention.
Yes. Only the twitch.
Not the way her tongue snaked out to dampen her lips, or the way her gaze heated.
Just.
The.
Fucking.
Twitch.
“Thanks for talking to me tonight,” she said. “I know the whole personal life thing is off-limits, but it was fun getting a brief glimpse into teenage Devon Grant.”
My back shot straight. The words hit like a bucket of ice water.
Shit. How many of my own damn rules had I broken in the span of thirty minutes with this woman?
I couldn’t let my guard down and allow myself to get comfortable with her.
No fucking way I was taking a client down that road again.
Not after—
“Goodnight.” I walked into my temporary bedroom and shut the door.
I heard her on the other side of the door, mocking my voice like she had in the car.
“It was great getting to know you too, Lofton. We should do that again sometime.”
I made a mental note that even the doors were paper thin in that house.
Good news for the job.
Not so good for nights when I needed to fist my cock.
Like, say…tonight.