by Cynthia Eden
“Like her,” she repeated. “And there was a link in the email that sent me to an article about Fiona Hawke.”
“I was not involved romantically with her. I told you that.”
Julia nodded. “I know, but the way the stalker was fixating on her…it was too strong. Some sort of connection is there. And, you see, that wording—the reference to a woman from your past, about how you use and destroy—it made me think that perhaps your stalker had been someone who was hurt by a rejection from you. Someone you’d broken up with—someone who didn’t take that ending well at all.”
Rick headed into the room, his hand curled around his phone. “Someone like Geneva Ruby.”
Bran scrubbed a hand over his tired eyes. “We were never serious. She wanted the attention—”
“Maybe you weren’t serious,” Rick said slowly. “But she was. You can never be quite sure of how other people feel. Emotions get involved, and then everything goes straight to hell.”
Bran’s hand dropped to his side. His gaze flew to Julia. The guy was right. When your emotions kicked in, hell came calling.
“The reference to Fiona is what bugs me the most,” Rick drawled. “I mean, why bring her up?”
Fiona’s image flashed in Bran’s mind. Long, dark hair. Wide smile. Clear blue eyes. “I never did anything to Fiona. She was a friend. Only that. We both had dreams of getting out of that parish in Louisiana. Of going places. We didn’t intend to be stuck there forever. We wanted more.”
Rick strode across the room. Dropped his phone on a table. “Do you know that Fiona Hawke visited your manager shortly after you signed with him in Nashville?”
“What? No, no, I didn’t—”
“According to Hathway…” Rick inclined his head toward the phone. Bran took that to mean the man had just received a call while he’d been upstairs. “Eric just grilled your manager, so this is Hathway’s story…Fiona came to him because she wanted representation, too. Used your name. Said you’d vouch for her. That got her in his door. But once inside, he said she couldn’t sing worth a damn.”
Despite everything, a faint smile curved his lips. “No, God, I used to try and work with her on that but…” His words trailed away as the memories slid over him. Fiona hadn’t been able to carry a tune. She’d been drop-dead gorgeous, funny, sweet…and absolutely tone deaf.
“Hathway told her he couldn’t rep her, sent her on her way…after he gave her the name of a modeling agent.”
Bran’s brows shot up. “Now that makes sense for her.” Guys had always been trying to pick up Fiona back in the day. How many smitten men had told her that she should be a model? Tall, slender, with cheekbones that could cut glass, Fiona had always attracted attention wherever she went.
Rick’s expression remained tense. “Our people tracked down the modeling agent. Fiona did go to see her in Nashville. The agent wanted Fiona to get some sample shots done for a portfolio, but Fiona never went to the scheduled shoot. The modeling agent never heard from Fiona again.” A roll of one shoulder. “The agent just chalked it up to a girl who’d changed her mind. The modeling agent and Hathway didn’t think about her again.”
Julia eased toward Bran.
“Fiona was found dead two days after her appointment with the modeling agent.” Rick’s voice was careful. “Her throat had been slit. She’d been left outside of a bar on Bourbon Street.”
“And the bastard who hurt her was never caught,” Bran added grimly. “I went down to her funeral. I stood there while they put her in the ground, and then I had the cops grilling me. Wanting to know exactly where I was at the time of her death. But I had an alibi.”
“Hathway,” Rick supplied.
Bran saw Julia’s eyelids flicker. He nodded. “Yes, Hathway. He had me in a studio recording, and there were plenty of people who saw us both.” He sucked in a deep breath. “I don’t get what Fiona has to do with this! There isn’t a tie. Some bastard killed her years ago. I hated it then, and I hate it now. She deserved better. She deserved to get all of her dreams. But I don’t see what this has to do with my stalker.”
“You’re right,” Rick agreed, surprising him. “Fiona is in the past. But it’s your past that matters most. Cole heard a woman’s voice. And there is a woman who made it very obvious she didn’t want to ever let you go. A woman who is conveniently missing from the picture right now.” A slight pause. “Turns out, Eric doesn’t think that Geneva Ruby actually got on the plane to Rome. He has some friends across the ocean who pulled up security footage, and the woman who touched down might look like Geneva, but a much closer inspection showed it’s not her.”
Bran took a step back. “You’re kidding me.”
Julia’s hand brushed against his. “Rick doesn’t kid.”
“Why the hell would she send a double to Rome?”
Julia’s fingers twined with his. His head turned to stare down at her. Her face was tense as she said, “So she could have an alibi.”
Geneva? They were thinking Geneva was behind this? “She wants fame. She wants attention. She never really wanted me.”
“Like I said,” Rick noted quietly, “when emotions get involved, everything can go to hell. The woman wasn’t released from the psychiatric clinic. She left in spite of the protests from the doctors. Her old man threw money at them, so they finally shut up. Then she used her big-ass trust fund to get a double on the plane, and now no one is exactly sure where she is.”
Bran’s fingers tightened around Julia’s. “Geneva couldn’t do this stuff. She doesn’t know how to use a gun or plant a bomb or—”
“She could hire someone for that.” For some reason, Cole looked very, very uncomfortable as he spoke up. “There are plenty of folks for hire out there. People who don’t look too closely at their employers. People who don’t care if they cross lines and hurt people.” His head tilted down.
“That wasn’t you,” Julia assured him instantly. “You would never hurt an innocent.”
Uh, okay. Bran was sure that was quite a story, but… “You’re saying you suspect Geneva hired some…what? Some hitman? Some mercenary?”
Julia’s sigh was soft and sad. “This is all tentative. I’m just learning this news like you are but…yes, it would certainly fit with other cases we’ve worked for her to hire someone. If she didn’t have the expertise, then getting someone else to do the dirty work would be easy.”
The dirty work—killing him. “Fuck.”
Rick smiled. “Exactly.”
Bran’s gaze lingered on Julia. “So we’re looking for Geneva and some unknown partner? Some guy who could be anyone?”
“Pretty much.” Rick nodded.
Shit.
“We’ll update the sheriff,” Rick added. “Get the local authorities looking for Geneva and her mystery partner. The more manpower we have on our side, the better.”
“So while the agents and deputies search, I just sit here? Not doing a damn thing while everyone else takes the risks?”
“Bran…” Julia’s voice seemed strained.
“No.” Not happening. “I can’t. I won’t.” Hell, Cole was barely standing upright over there. These were good people. “I can’t let you all take the risks.”
“It’s our job. It’s what we do.” Her gaze was direct. “And we’re very good at the job.” Slowly, she pulled her hand from his. “When we aren’t distracted.”
Her withdrawal felt…final.
His heart seemed to ice.
***
“You’re shitting me, aren’t you? You have to be.” Gideon paced the study like a caged lion. His badge was twisted, almost coming loose from his shirt. “They think the crazy heiress is the one who’s been doing this crap? Bull. She wouldn’t know how to make a bomb and trigger the thing if her life depended on it.”
Bran sat on the couch. Night had fallen. Heavy and thick. And Julia wasn’t there. She’d kept her distance for the last few hours, and it was driving him crazy. He didn’t want her pulling back.
He also didn’t want her in danger. “They don’t think Geneva is working alone.”
“So the rich, crazy bitch has a partner? Man, you can attract some winners, that’s for sure.”
Bran shook his head.
“I need a drink.” Gideon made for the bar in the corner. Grabbed the whiskey. “It’s been a freaking hell of a day.”
Serious understatement.
“Want one?” Gideon asked as he turned toward Bran with the whiskey bottle in his hand.
Bran stared at the bottle. Stared at the man who’d been his friend since they were kids. Hell, wasn’t that the reason he’d gone to Gideon? Because Gideon had known him back in the day, back before fame and record deals? Back when they’d just been crazy kids?
Gideon had left the parish first. A year older than Bran, he’d gone off to join the military. Ready to be all he could be. But he’d come back from battle wounded and dark, and he’d eventually retreated to the small mountain town of Hideaway.
“Bran? You want a drink?”
Bran rose from the couch. His throat had gone dry. “You know I don’t drink.”
“Oh, yeah, sorry, man, I forgot.” Gideon put down the whiskey. “You must think I’m one shit friend, huh?”
“No, no, I don’t.” That was true. “You’re the one friend I could always count on. It’s never mattered to you if I don’t have a dime in my pocket or if I’ve got a mansion in Beverly Hills. You’re always there.”
“Damn right I am.” Gideon swallowed a shot. “Through thick and thin.” He slammed down the glass. “We’re going to find this woman, you hear me? We are not going to rest until we’ve got her. She won’t be a threat to you or anyone else ever again.”
Bran headed to the window. He pulled back the curtains and stared into the night. “I didn’t press charges against her. I…maybe I should’ve. I didn’t realize how dangerous, how serious this was.” His hand fisted around the curtain. “But she could’ve killed Julia. That would have been on me.”
“Ah, yes, Julia. Where is our lying security agent? When I came in, I didn’t see her skulking two steps behind you…”
Bran spun around. “She didn’t have a choice on lying.”
Gideon’s lips pursed. “Oh, I get it. That’s the story you’re going with. Not her fault. She didn’t have a choice. She had to lie, so that makes everything better.” A nod. “Thinking with your dick again, huh?”
Bran surged toward him. “What the hell are you saying?”
Gideon stood toe-to-toe with him. “I am your only real friend, so, yes, I can tell you this shit. You trust the wrong people. I see it over and over again. Your agent is bleeding you dry, sending you out on tours over and over again that are breaking you. Hell, why do you think you had to give up the booze in the first place? Because you were wrecked. He wrecked you.”
“No, no, man, I did that shit to myself. I let myself—”
“Guilt over Fiona.”
Bran couldn’t move. Fiona’s ghost seemed to fill the room.
“I get it, Bran. You know I do. I was her friend, too. And I wish I’d been there but I was in a fucking desert when she died. Guilt ate away at you because you weren’t there when she needed you. You left her. She died. And it sent you spiraling.”
He had hit the drinks hard after her death. Fiona had been kind to everyone. A friend since they were little. She’d died, he’d rocketed to stardom, and the booze had been there. “I can’t let anyone else die.” His words were guttural. “I can’t have security agents taking bullets for me. I can’t have—”
“What did you expect to happen when you became famous?” Gideon shook his head. “I mean, come on, security details are a fact of life for the rich and famous.”
“But no one gets seriously hurt. They keep overeager fans at bay. They aren’t supposed to be taking bullets or getting blown to hell.”
“And definitely not her, huh? Not Julia. Not the one with the big, dark eyes and that deceptively delicate appearance. She can’t get hurt.”
“Not Julia,” he swore.
“You have no clue, man. Julia Slate can handle herself. You’re selling her short if you think she can’t. Protection is her job, so you need to let her do that job. If you’re holding her back, then you’re not giving her the respect she deserves.”
“It’s…” It wasn’t about respect. He knew how resourceful she was. Knew that she was fierce and strong and capable of literally saving him—and Cole. And probably the whole world. But when he thought of her in danger, Bran broke out in a sweat. He knew why. He just hadn’t admitted it out loud before. “I think I fucking love her.”
Gideon didn’t respond.
“I respect the hell out of her. She dragged Cole out of that fire, she saved my ass twice, so, hell, yes, I know she can do the job. And the job is a part of her. I get that, but she is a part of me. I love her, and my instinct is to do everything I can to protect her.” His gaze darted around the room, making sure they weren’t being overheard. “Fiona’s death did mess me up. She was a good friend, and I never wanted anything bad to happen to her.” The truth—the truth that was tearing him apart… “If something happens to Julia because of me, I think I’ll lose my mind.”
Gideon took a step back. “You’re in that deep?”
“So deep I’m drowning.”
***
Wilde Securities had provided Julia with a new laptop. While Bran had his talk with Gideon, she huddled over it, checking Bran’s emails and social media. Trying to see if she could get a hit on the stalker.
The techs at Wilde Securities were trying to track down the sender of the emails she’d gotten. So far, they hadn’t been successful, and that was saying something because the tech team was top notch. They needed more time. Only time was an asset she wasn’t sure they possessed.
As she sat there, though, an email popped up.
The sender’s address was different, but the subject was the same stark line she’d seen before…
I see you.
Automatically, she clicked it. The email opened.
It wasn’t addressed to Bran. It was to her.
Julia Slate, you’re making a mistake. I tried to warn you, but you wouldn’t listen. You want the whole truth? Want to know everything about Bran and his past? Then meet me. Right now.
Coordinates were listed. Julia typed them in quickly on her new phone and realized that they were in the middle of the woods. Her breath came faster as she fired off a response. On my way.
Before she could get up from the chair, another email pinged.
Come alone. If others are with you, I’ll see them coming. I will hear them. And the bomb I have hidden in town will go off. I can trigger it with one press of my finger.
She shot up from the chair and ran toward the front of the house. “Rick! Bran!”
Rick barreled out from the kitchen. “What is it?”
“I got contact from the stalker. She emailed me, wants me to meet her—”
Bran and Gideon both burst out of the study.
Julia took a steadying breath. “The perp contacted me. Gave me coordinates. She wants me to meet her in the woods, right now.”
“All right.” Rick’s face had gone even colder. “I’ll get agents to follow you—”
“My deputies and I are ready to go,” Gideon cut in.
Cole came from the den, moving a little stiffly. “What’s happening?”
“Julia had contact from the perp.” Rick’s gaze was flint hard. “She’s going to take a group to the meeting place so that we can grab—”
“No.” Julia’s attention darted to Bran. Lingered. “No, I’m not taking anyone. I’m going alone.”
Bran surged toward her. “The hell you are.”
“I am. Because the stalker said there is a bomb planted somewhere in town. If I go into the woods with others at my side, the bomb will be detonated. People could die.”
“A bluff,” Gideon said instantly, though he didn’t sound convinced.
“My men and I will—”
“It wasn’t a friggin’ bluff at my cabin,” Cole declared, voice still raspy from all the smoke he’d inhaled. “And it wasn’t a bluff at Bran’s place.”
No, it hadn’t been. Julia had to be very clear. “We have no reason to believe it’s a lie. The stalker wants to see me. Only me. That’s the way it will be.”
Bran shook his head. “You can’t.”
She had to. “I can. It’s my job.”
“No, fuck, no. You’re fired!”
She moved past the others. Stood in front of him. Her hand lifted and her fingers pressed lightly to his cheek. “You’ve been trying to fire me from the first moment we met.”
His head turned, and his lips pressed to her palm.
“It didn’t work before. It’s not working now. Besides…” She had to swallow the lump in her throat. “Even if you fired me, I’d still go to this meeting because I want you safe. I need you safe.”
“I need you safe. I can’t have you at risk.”
“I’ll go in armed. I know how to check the perimeter.”
Cole cleared his throat. “But we think there are two of them. You go in those woods and it’s two against one…”
“I’ll be ready.” She made her words sound flat and determined. She would be ready.
“No.” Bran’s face was stark. His eyes wild. “It’s a trap.”
She knew that. This wasn’t rookie hour.
“You’re being lured out there so you can be killed.” His voice was as tortured as his handsome face. “It can’t happen.”
“And I can’t risk her exploding some building here in town because I’m not there.” Didn’t he understand? She couldn’t have the deaths of innocents on her. “I’m going. It has to be me.” Her gaze darted to Rick. “It could be an attempt to distract again. The stalker wants me gone, out of the way, thinking Bran might be more vulnerable without me.” A wan smile curved her lips. “The perp doesn’t know you’re his bodyguard now.” Her gaze held Rick’s. “Don’t let me down, all right?”
“He’ll be fine.” She knew Rick’s words were a vow.
“You’re fucking both talking like I’m not here!” Bran’s fingers clamped around Julia’s shoulders. He hauled her against him. “You don’t get hurt! You don’t die! Because if you do—”