Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Rina stomped off toward her room, and he ground his teeth together before turning to Zane. She could act like a spoiled brat all she wanted, but it wasn’t going to stop either of them from doing their jobs. Zane lifted his eyebrows at him, and he bit back a sigh. “I’ll be as quick as I can.”
He felt bad for saddling the new guy with her, but he didn’t have an option.
He just prayed to God that Zane could follow directions.
Rina was sweet and charming when she wanted to be—ironically, she was nice to pretty much everyone but him—and Roman was more than a little worried that she would try to talk Zane into doing something she shouldn’t.
Together, he and Zane walked toward the door. “She doesn’t go out, and no one comes in. If something happens, you call the police, then Knox.”
Zane gave him a tight nod. “You got it.”
He stepped outside, listening for the tell-tale snick of the lock behind him.
As soon as it snapped into place, he cut across the short, winding brick pathway to Rina’s driveway, then climbed into his truck.
He backed onto the street, then headed toward home, pulling his phone out as he went.
He tapped Knox’s number, and Knox answered on the first ring.
“Everything go okay?”
He didn’t mince words. “She’s pissed. She wants nothing to do with security, let alone having me around every minute of the day.”
“Tough,” Knox replied. “Her studio is the one footing the bill, and if they want 24/7 surveillance, that’s what they’re going to get.”
“Fair enough,” he responded. “Zane’s with her right now, and I’m headed home to get my things. What do we know so far?”
Though Knox had texted him earlier to let him know there would be a change in plans, he hadn’t been able to go into detail. “Another note was delivered last night,” Knox replied. “This one is the worst of all.”
Some obsessive nutcase had been sending love letters to Rina over the last couple of months, and the tone of the letters vacillated between adoring and possessive. Recently, they’d become increasingly threatening. “How bad?”
“This last one basically said that if she didn’t choose him, she wouldn’t be with anyone at all.”
“I assume the police are aware?”
“The letter was found in the studio’s mail yesterday morning. They called the police right after,” Knox continued, “and they’re tracing the postmark to see if they can nail something down.”
He blew out a breath. “Okay. So what kind of timeline are we working with?”
“Plan to be with her full time for two weeks, possibly more.”
He rolled his eyes. He could only imagine how badly he and Irina were going to butt heads over the next fourteen days. “All right. Last thing—tell your contact at Stargazer to tighten their leash on Colt McKay.”
He explained to Knox what had happened last night at the bar. It didn’t matter if the drink was intended for the woman Colt was trying to take home or not. If he’d knowingly drugged Rina—or any other woman, for that matter—he was going to murder the bastard.
Knox sighed. “I’ll let them know.”
“Keep me posted.”
He disconnected and shook his head. It wouldn’t be so bad if they could just be nice to each other.
Unfortunately, she tended to pull her Queen Bitch act any time he was around, and he snapped right back.
And that was only the tip of the iceberg.
He couldn’t get the sight of her out of his mind.
The image was burned into his brain, and he remembered the way her body felt against his, her curves conforming to his hardened muscles like she was made for him.
The next two weeks would be pure torture, and he had no idea how he was going to survive the temptation of being around her every minute of the day.
As it was, he went home each night and jerked off to the thought of those tiny denim cutoffs and fringed cowgirl boots.
Her tongue was sharp and deadly, but her body…
her body was made for long, sweaty nights between the sheets.
The memory of her pressed against him sent heat spiraling through him, and he broke out in a sweat.
He swiped the back of his hand across his forehead, wiping away the perspiration there. It was a lose/lose situation. He needed to get his head in the game, focus on keeping her safe—and keeping his hands off.
He quickly packed his things and was back at Rina’s place less than an hour later.
Noticing that Aster’s little black Corolla was still in the driveway, he parked along the street to give her more room, then let himself into Rina’s house using the code.
He opened the door and almost bumped into Zane, who stood like a sentry inside the doorway.
He closed the door behind him and lifted his eyebrows in question. “Everything go okay?”
Zane nodded once. “They’re in the kitchen. Good luck.”
Rolling his eyes at Zane's sarcastic tone, he locked up behind Zane, then followed the sound of hushed, angry voices. As soon as he stepped foot in the small kitchen, Rina speared him with her icy blue gaze. “Thought you might have gotten lost.”
Despite her syrupy sweet smile, her words dripped with venom. He bristled at her sarcasm but refused to let his ire out. “No such luck. I wouldn’t deprive myself of your scintillating company for a second.”
Though he continued to glare at Rina, he could feel Aster’s anxious gaze jump between the two of them.
“Well then…” Aster fidgeted nervously. “I should probably get going. Oh, before I forget.” She pulled a small orange bottle from her purse. “I’m supposed to give you one of these.”
She popped off the lid, then shook one tablet into her hand and offered it to Rina. For the first time, he noticed the half-empty glass of red wine in front of her. Though it wasn’t quite noon, he guessed it was five o’clock in Rina’s world.
She snatched the tablet from Aster’s outstretched hand then popped it into her mouth. He could see it hovering on her tongue as she lifted her wine glass and took a healthy sip.
Once she was done, she set her wine glass down with a hard click on the granite countertop.
He watched the entire thing with no small amount of distaste.
Aster recapped the bottle and moved to put them back into her purse. “Thanks.”
“Hey, Mags?” Rina nodded to the prescription bottle. “Can I have those?”
The redhead looked torn. “I’m really not supposed to leave them…”
“Please?” Rina affected a pitiful expression. “You know how hard this whole thing has been for me. What if I need them?”
“Well…” Aster’s hand tightened on the bottle before she reluctantly passed it over. “Okay, but don’t tell Louis.”
Rina beamed as she clutched the bottle close to her chest. “You’re the best.”
He bit down on his tongue to keep his automatic response from flying out of his mouth.
Typical spoiled little faux celebrity. Rina couldn’t even make it through one day without medicating herself.
There were a lot of people in this world a heck of a lot worse off than she was, but she was too caught up in herself to even realize it.
With a little shake of his head, he looked at Aster. “I’ll close up after you.”
He showed Aster to the door, then locked up behind her and strode toward the couch.
He dropped his duffel bag on the floor next to the coffee table, resigned to spending the next few nights in this very spot.
He was still too antsy to sit and chill, so he made his way back to the kitchen.
The sooner he and Irina hashed things out, the better off they’d both be.
On silent feet, he headed through the doorway and spied Rina standing at the counter, her back to him. The orange prescription bottle sat open on the counter next to her, as well as various other bottles of supplements, and pills were scattered over the granite surface.
Fury rose up, and he stormed toward her. He snatched up her wrist, and the empty bottle landed with a clatter at their feet. “What do you think you’re doing?”
She gasped as she whirled toward him, trying to pull free of his grasp. “You scared me!”
He scowled down at her. “What are you doing?”
“What?”
She looked up at him blankly, like she had no idea what he was talking about—or she was desperately trying to hide something.
“I’m not an idiot, Rina. What’s with the pills?”
Her brows drew together, and he finally released her wrist as she gestured to them. “Trying to find a match.”
“For what?”
She rolled her eyes. “The capsules. I’m looking for something similar.” She studied him for a second. “What did you think I was doing?”
“You’ve got pills spread all over the counter, Rina. Take a guess what went through my head.”
She glared at him. “No, I’m not planning to kill myself. But thanks for your concern.” She turned back to the pharmacy in front of her but didn’t say another word.
Frustration and curiosity welled up. “So, what exactly are you doing?”
“Looking for a match,” she repeated, like he was slow. “I need to find a replacement so Aster won’t be suspicious.”
“About what? Whether you’re taking them?”
“What’s with all the questions?”
He shrugged. “Just curious.”
She turned to him, and her eyes narrowed. “Why? So you can run and tell Louis?”
He threw one hand in the air. “It’s a simple question. Why do you have a dozen different medications spread out like a buffet?”
He picked up the bottle Aster had handed her before she’d left. “What are these, anyway?”
“I have no idea.”
His eyes flared at her response. “You take meds without knowing what they are?”
“No,” she drew out the word. “That’s why I’m looking for something to substitute.”
He glared at the side of her face, which was all he could see of her since she refused to look at him. “But I watched you.”
“No.” She turned toward him. “You saw what I wanted you to see. Just like Aster.”
When he stared silently at her, she sighed. “You watched me put it in my mouth. I spit it into the wineglass.” She gestured at the goblet still sitting by the sink in the island. “That’s why I chose the red wine.”
He was stunned. And furious. “Are you kidding me, Rina? Why do you let them do this to you?”
“Not like I have a choice.”
“You always have a choice.”
She rounded on him. “No, Roman, I don’t. The studio owns my life. They choose what I eat, how I look. I don’t even dress myself. I took pills from them once—one time,” she spit out. “It made me feel terrible, like I’d lost several hours of my life. I never want to feel that way again.”
He pondered that. Sounded kind of like what had happened last night. If that idiot Colt had drugged her, he was going to knock his teeth down his throat. Shoving down his anger, he leaned on the counter next to her and crossed his arms over his chest. “What did they give you?”
She shrugged. “I have no idea. Ever since then, I decided I would never take anything from them again. I have to either pretend to swallow, or…” She shook the pill bottle. “Find a replacement.”
His eyes floated over the various vitamins and such that Rina was examining.
He couldn’t believe they’d done that to her.
No—that wasn’t true. He could believe it, but it still pissed him off.
She deserved so much better than the treatment she’d been receiving.
He hated Louis and those pretentious idiots even more for subjecting her to this.
“What can I do?”
She slid a curious look his way. “What?”
He gestured to the paraphernalia in front of her. “Tell me how I can help.”
“I…” For a moment, she looked completely taken aback. “I guess you can check these to see if they look the same.”
She passed him a bottle, and he popped the lid to compare it to the tablets in the prescription bottle. He immediately capped it again. “Where is the ‘no’ pile?”
She gestured to a drawer between them. “Just toss it in there.”
He opened it up, and his eyes widened at the sight of all the bottles stored inside. “Whoa.”
She lifted one shoulder. “Been doing this for a while.”
Clearly. Feeling way more pissed off than he probably should, he threw the bottle on top of the rest then closed it up again. He didn’t know how he could help fix this, but he would find a way to do something.