Chapter 11 Riot #2
Sonatina’s attention catches at something or someone in the room with her before her focus returns to me.
“Honestly, this happens all the time in our business, doesn’t it?
I’ve had scary men show up to the house before and threaten me.
That’s why we have the best security. You don’t need to worry about me, but it’s sweet that you are.
I feel safer knowing you’re concerned about me.
A man like you could have a girl like me eating out of the palm of his hand. ”
Christ, I need to get off this call. One of the detectives beckons. Thank fuck. “The detectives want to talk to me.”
I can’t hang up fast enough.
It takes a while to fill the detectives in on every altercation I’ve had with my latest stalker. The dozens of letters they’ve written in red ink. Vandalism to my personal property. And now they’ve added a dead animal to the mix.
I give them the number of the detective in L.A. who documented my first altercation with my stalker. He’s become my own personal go between with every jurisdiction the stalker has followed me to.
I do what I need to, but my thoughts are back on the bus with the woman I left on her own. She’s as tough as her rock chick appearance. She handles the band and the business and our fans no matter how boisterous. She manages every crisis and puts out fires, sometimes literally.
But after everything my family went through with Alec Hawthorne, that’s not enough to put me at ease.
The cops question Bronx and Coffey once I’ve said my piece. They pass the letter between them.
“I’ve gotta get back to the bus,” I tell Golden.
“We’ll walk and talk,” Rook tells me.
The team is always more vigilant after one of the letters arrives, so it doesn’t surprise me that Rook plans to accompany me to the bus himself. Now that this psycho has gotten too close for comfort, he’ll be damn near unshakeable. “I’m fine.”
“I’m coming with you to the wedding.” He’s straight to the point.
“That’s not necessary.”
“It’s very necessary.”
“It’s a ranch in the middle of nowhere. It’s my family.”
“It’s a wedding. That means guests. Caterers. A minister. And God knows who else.”
“My family will have security.”
“Good. We can coordinate with them.” Eyes scanning every shadow, he stays expressively neutral.
“I want to be alone. I have personal matters...”
“You saw the note. You’ll be more relaxed and capable of dealing with those personal matters if you know Kelsey is protected.”
I sigh. He knows about Kelsey and me. That’s how things work on tour. Security knows everything. “You’ll be a shadow. I want privacy on the plane. I want to forget we’ve upgraded the security. Until we get back to the tour, I want to forget you exist.”
“You won’t notice we’re there.”
“We?”
“Back up,” he says.
“Fine.” I text Rogue about the change in my security detail. Tell him to make sure we’ll have enough room in the car for our travel companions. A place for them to stay.
Not that they’ll be necessary in the middle of nowhere Kansas. The town where Rebel’s fiancée Summer grew up should be perfectly safe.
No one expects Hollywood’s hottest playboy to get married there, which is exactly why Rogue and Ivy picked it. Away from the media frenzy, where they can focus on their commitment surrounded by family and friends.
And their own security team.
But two more who I trust can’t hurt.
“Everyone knows about Kelsey and me, don’t they?” I don’t want to keep it a secret anymore. I don’t want to pretend she isn’t everything to me. I don’t want her out of my sight while this obsessed fan is stalking me.
“Everyone knows you’ve been in love with that girl for a while now,” he says. “Security. The band. The doc. Your roadies. Cleaners. Everyone who plays a part in this tour. Other than you and her, that is.”
“I’m going to tell her,” I say as we enter the parking garage. It’s time she knows that she has me by the throat. By the balls. And she owns my heart too. “Grab your gear and order the car. Let’s get on the road.”
“Car’s already enroute,” he says as another security guard appears with an overnight bag. “And my gear is always packed. I’ll wait out here.”
Kelsey and Jasper are playing a game at one of the tables when I enter the bus. One look at the piles of cards on the table between my girl and the guard tells me Kelsey is winning.
It could be because the security guard is distracted by her flirty banter and jokes. Or it could be that the thin material of her tank top does nothing to hide the way her nipples have pebbled as it’s gotten cooler. Fuck, she’s sexy.
I push my tongue into my cheek. “Watch out. She’s a cheat.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Say what now?”
“You’re beautiful, half-naked, and flirting with him,” I state as I move past them to the bedroom to shove things in a bag and collect my suit. “He doesn’t stand a chance.”
The guy swallows hard. His face flushes.
“Wait. Are you annoyed?” Kelsey unfolds her legs from the seat.
“I should check in with Rook,” the guard says before leaving us.
It was meant to be a joke, but if it landed that flat, then yeah, I’m annoyed. She’s fucking gorgeous and easy to get along with. She’s like the perfect mix of rock girly and one of the guys. And she doesn’t see the impact she has on the men around her.
It’s always been this way. She could have fallen into a relationship with any of the guys at any time over the last six years.
Bronx, Golden, Neil... hell, any of the crew.
They’ve all been in love with her at one time or another.
But they would never date her because I made it clear that was the line that would ruin the band.
No one was going to date my best friend.
Until I realized it was less about her being my best friend and more about how much I wanted to cross that line.
I’m not immune to the looks she gets from the guys on our security team. Or the way the roadcrew act like a bunch of dogs with their tongues hanging out when she’s around. But it’s not jealousy...
Well, it’s not only jealousy. It’s pride too. And this ball of nerves in the pit of my stomach that make my mouth dry and my tongue feel too big. I want her to know. I want to tell her and see the look on her face.
“You can’t be all over Sonatina and then get upset when I play a great game of Bullshit. That’s not—”
“I was not all over Sonatina.” I grab one of the guitars I keep on the bus for when I want to work on new material. I press the faded aquamarine body into the form fitting velvet. Rogue and Ivy are bringing in a band, but I’m going to perform for their first dance.
Plus, I never know when the muse is going to strike. Some of my best songs have been written in five minutes in the back seat while Rebel drives.
I toss a handful of guitar picks in as well. Among the aquamarine triangles left in the canister is a random blue one. That’s fate. I pick it out and tuck it between the strings. Something blue in case the bride doesn’t have that covered.
“That’s not what it looked like.” Kelsey stands in the doorway.
“She was all over me. I couldn’t wait to get out of there.” I don’t know how I can make that any clearer.
“You had her underwear in your pocket.” She sounds disappointed in me. Hurt.
Her reaction is what I’m annoyed about. It’s like she’s trying to push me away tonight.
“How many times have we laughed about one of us finding underwear in our pockets after one of those parties? You know how this life is. You know how it goes.” The latch on the case snaps into place. “Remember, we chose it together. The good, the bad, and the ugly.”
Her eyes brighten, but not happily. She takes a big breath, and her bottom lip quivers. “You’re right. We did.”
“Nothing happened, Kelsey. Truly.”
Blowing out a breath, she seems to shrink. “Okay.”
I walk over and tip her chin up, make her lock eyes with me. “You believe me?”
“I...” She licks her lips.
My phone rings from where I tossed it on the bed while I was packing. Her gaze pounces to the lit screen.
Fuck.