That didn’t mean she deserved to be stalked and hurt though.
He pulled Zane aside while Melody turned her attention to her neglected phone. At the rate her thumbs flew over the screen, she had a lot to say.
“What do you think?” he asked, standing at one corner of the patio. The pool looked so inviting, especially since part of his mind was still on vacation.
“I think this’ll be pretty easy,” Zane admitted. “Maybe we can still afford to take a few days to ourselves after it’s over.”
Braxton wanted to believe it, even if he knew better than to think anything in his life would be easy.
Chapter Four
“Are you sure you wanna do this?” Lola looked anxious as she turned to look out the door toward the pool. “Like, right now? This very minute?”
“This is my house,” Serenity reminded her, practically spitting the words. “I live here. They’re only here because I allow them to be here. I’m not gonna not go for a swim when I planned to just because of them. I can’t undo my whole life because of whoever sent that damn email!”
Her hands were shaking by the time she finished, and her voice was a lot shriller than she wanted to hear. She sounded weak, and she hated nothing more than sounding weak. She hated weak people.
“Okay, okay.” Lola shrugged. “I just—you know—I know you.”
“What’s that mean?” She pulled her robe closed, clutching it in one trembling hand. No matter how she strained and struggled to keep it still, it kept trembling like it wanted to have its own way. Was this who she was turning into? Was she becoming what she hated?
Wouldn’t that be the ultimate revenge? Whoever was behind this would want to know they’d broken her down, that she was weak, that they were able to make her hate herself.
“It means you’re showing off. You wanna go out there to, you know, exhibit yourself or something. You’re trying to be provocative to make that guy uncomfortable.”
“I don’t give a damn about that guy,” she spat.
Angelica looked up from her phone where she’d been scrolling through her timeline for ages. “Yeah, right. Maybe you can convince yourself of that if you say it enough,” she snickered.
“You can get out of here with that attitude,” Serenity snapped back. “I’m serious. You can both go. I don’t need you to be here right now if that’s how you’re gonna treat me.”
“Babe, come on.” Lola tried to put an arm around her shoulders, but Serenity was too quick. She slipped out of the way and stepped back, leaving her friend frowning. “We’re only trying to be here for you. It’s not like either of us knows how to handle this kind of thing.”
“My aunt was kidnapped when she was little,” Angelica sighed, sounding bored. “The cops caught up to the guys though. Good thing—since my granddad refused to pay the ransom.”
“What the hell does that have to do with anything?” Serenity laughed. “I’m serious. You can go. I’m not throwing you out. I’m just saying you don’t need to be here. I’m fine. I have Luke and Melody and a bunch of stuff to do later. It’s all good.”
It would be a relief not to have to entertain them too. She could be in her own head for a while, where her thoughts might’ve been moving in a hundred different directions but at least they were her thoughts and not anybody else’s.
“Try not to kill the poor guy, okay?” Lola winked, twirling a strand of black hair around one finger. “He’s too hot to kill.”
“God, he’s not even all that hot,” she snickered, rolling her eyes.
“Yeah. Another thing you can keep telling yourself.” Angelica giggled as she hurried out behind Lola.
They were such airheads. She couldn’t even remember how she’d met either of them. Just one of those things. They were all roughly the same age, mid-twenties. They both gave her the impression of knowing their way around, of knowing people, of knowing where to go, what to do, who to talk to.
And she’d needed that so badly back then, just a babe in the woods who didn’t know the first thing about anything. Just thinking about those early days—not really all that long ago—made her wince and goosebumps rise over her arms.
This is your life. You did this. It was a mantra, something she repeated to herself again and again whenever the doubts started creeping in. And they did all the time, questions about whether she deserved any of this, about whether it was real, about how she’d ended up where she was, who she was.
She’d bought the house with cash after saving up the first year’s worth of income. It wasn’t as big as it could’ve been—it would’ve fit inside Angelica’s house with no problem and plenty of room to spare—but it was bigger than anything she’d ever imagined for herself back in Kansas.
And it had the gym and the pool and the master suite with the hot tub and all the other little comforts she’d gotten used to in the year since she’d moved in.
Not to mention the view.
At the current moment, however, the view wasn’t exactly inspiring peace or comfort. She rolled her eyes at the sight of the two strangers on the patio, both of whom were on the phone and looking very serious judging by their frowns. Maybe they were telling their boss or whoever that they wanted nothing to do with her. Could she be that lucky?
“What do you think of them?” Luke had practically snuck up behind her. She’d only heard him at the last second, just before he spoke. He never wore cologne or aftershave or anything that would give him away—she’d asked about that once, and he’d made an excuse about not wanting to make himself obvious., that his job was always to fade into the background.
“I’m trying not to think of them,” she admitted with a snicker. “What about you?”
“Same. Hard same.” There was an edge to his voice, a growl she’d never heard before.
“It’s not my call. You know I’d never go looking for anybody else. You’ve been the best.”
“Not good enough, apparently.”
She looked up at him. His face was hard, his forehead creased in a frown. “I know it was your studio that called them. Don’t worry about it.”
“It won’t be for long. When they find out who sent the email—”
“I get it. I do. And I hope they find who it was.” He chuckled, smirking as he looked down at her. “One less thing for me to worry about, right? Making my job easier. All I have to deal with is the people trying to get close to you out in the world, wherever you go.”
“Lucky you.” She stuck her tongue out at him before flinging open the doors leading to the patio and pool. It was time to reclaim her personal space.
She didn’t look toward either of the new guys as she strode across the smooth concrete. It was warm under her bare feet, just shy of hot. She welcomed it, reminded herself she was safe in the present moment. Nobody was hurting her. Nobody was threatening her. Not now. Not here.
Her fingers worked at the knot in the belt around her waist. She let the robe slide from her shoulders, down the length of her body. It puddled behind her a moment before she dove into the refreshing water.
She was safest here, at one with her body and her mind. Nobody could get in her face down underwater. Nobody could tell her where to be, what to do, how to do it. Nobody could boss her around. She only had to gently kick her legs and let the motion carry her until she reached the surface and broke through into the sun.
Where Melody was glaring down at her, hands on her hips. “Are you serious?” she asked, her head tilted to the side. “I thought we talked about today’s schedule. You’ve gotta be at the hotel for interviews in two hours. Full hair and makeup. I have the stylists here in thirty minutes.”
“And I’ll be showered and dried off by then. Calm down.” Serenity backstroked away from her. “I need this right now, okay? I just need to move. Unless you want me to be a stuttering, stumbling idiot during the interviews.”
“Interviews? What’s this all about?” It was clear the guy with the dark hair and hard eyes hadn’t warmed up to h
er very much. No big surprise there. He didn’t seem like the type who warmed up easily. He joined Melody at the edge of the patio, watching as Serenity cut through the water.
Liking the show? she thought, bitter. Just like a man. No matter who they pretended to be, they were all the same underneath. They just wanted something to look at, something to ogle.
Though she knew she was partly to blame for that, at least right now. She was the one who’d chosen the white bikini, the one that showed off as much as possible. That wasn’t an accident.
At least now, it was in her control. She was the one who decided whether or not he was allowed to see her and how much he was allowed to see when he did. There were at least a few things she could control.
“For the movie,” Melody explained. “Some of the movie bloggers will be there, asking questions. They haven’t even started filming yet but you know how these things go.”
“No. Educate me.” He turned to her. He was so tall. It didn’t help that Melody was already short.
“Don’t be a bully.” She stopped backstroking, staying in the center of the pool.
“A what?” he demanded.
“A bully,” she spat. “You’re bullying her. Just because you don’t understand how things go and you think you’re, like, better than me because you do what you do and that makes you a better person or whatever doesn’t mean you have to talk to her or anybody like that. I might not have much of a say in this, but I won’t let you stick around if you don’t act with a little respect. Got it?”
Maybe that was too much.
Or maybe not.
His face went slack for a second like he couldn’t process what he’d heard.
Then, he laughed.
She didn’t know how to take that, what to think about it. Was he laughing at her? It wasn’t a nasty sound, not bitter or cold.
“Okay,” he chuckled. He had a deep voice, a rumble. It wasn’t bad when he was laughing. If anything, the sound reminded her of her dad. She softened a little. “Okay, fine. Sometimes I get a little too into the work, but this is still a serious situation, and you’re gonna be out in public not a day after getting that email, so naturally, I’m a little concerned.”
“It’s just a bunch of bloggers who can’t wait to tear apart a movie we haven’t even started on yet,” she shrugged. “You’ve gotta know how that is, at least. Whenever they make a movie out of material that’s well-loved and popular, there are always people ready to tear it to shreds—and the actors in it, most especially.”
“Actresses, even worse,” Melody added. “I’m afraid the harassment she’s experienced up until now will look like nothing compared to what’s coming.”
“Wow, Mel,” she snickered. “Way to make me feel confident.”
“I’m not your therapist,” Melody smirked. “I’m not here to make you feel confident. I’m here to help, yeah. And I think you’d better start letting somebody else handle all of your postings. All of them. Let Penny do it.”
“Penny?”
“Her assistant. Virtual. Lives in Canada somewhere.” Melody turned to her again. “I’m serious. You create the content, send her a list of things you wanna post and when you want them posted, and she’ll take care of it. If she finds something serious, something she thinks we should know about, she’ll steer it our way. Otherwise? I don’t want you anywhere near a computer or your phone.”
“Wait a second.” Serenity climbed out of the pool. “Not so fast.”
“I agree with her,” he said. Only he wasn’t talking about Melody.
“Me?” Serenity pointed at herself. “You agree with me?”
“To a point. I think you should stay away from the comments and stuff for a while, yeah. Maybe forever for the sake of your sanity. But when it comes to monitoring your social media, it’ll be done in-house. By our team.”
She realized for the first time since climbing out of the water that she was practically naked, dripping wet, and standing not more than two feet from this towering mountain of a man. Instinct made her cross her arms over herself, but that only pushed her boobs together.
His eyes never wavered from hers. He didn’t look down even for a second, even a flicker of movement.
Somehow, that made things better. Not all better, not even mostly. But a little.
And somehow, she managed to find her voice even though her mouth went dry. “So, you’re taking me on as a client? It’s official?”
He nodded once, still looking her in the eye. “Yeah. Officially. You’re ours.”
A funny choice of words. But she didn’t hate it. “And what’s your name? You never did tell me.”
“Braxton.” He didn’t extend a hand to shake. He didn’t tell her his last name. There wasn’t even a nice to meet you or any other little pleasantry that people usually exchanged when they met for the first time.
That was fine with her too. He wasn’t a bullshitter, and he didn’t do things just because they were what was normally done.
Maybe he wasn’t the worst thing that had ever happened.
Chapter Five
“The equipment will be here by morning.” Zane met with Braxton in the kitchen. Melody was in the living room, on her phone making plans for something or other. Serenity was upstairs getting showered before her hair and makeup people arrived.
What would that be like? Having hair and makeup people milling around, powdering and curling and whatever? It would drive him crazy. He didn’t even like the monthly check-ups Doc performed to monitor their enzyme levels or whatever it was he did.
“Good. I guess we can get through one night without security cameras.” He pulled a bottle of water from the fridge and offered it to Zane, who accepted it.
He opened one of his own after that, leaning against the marble counter. It was a huge kitchen, much bigger than a single person needed for just herself. Everything was top-of-the-line, and most of it looked unused. There wasn’t even a fingerprint on the stainless-steel stove.
He guessed she had a cleaning service to take care of that for her and maybe a cook to prepare her meals.
His wolf didn’t know how to make sense of any of this. This wasn’t the same sort of place the Collins house was. There he’d been able to read the situation pretty plainly.
Here, nothing made sense. He wanted to hate this girl for living her extravagant, spoiled life, but the house itself wasn’t anything special. It was big, yes, but hardly half as tricked-out as the Collins house had been. And he doubted it was anything like many of the homes around it were.
She hadn’t gone crazy with her new money. The car outside was a sexy little sporty thing, dark red with tan leather interior, but it wasn’t overdone. Nothing flashy, nothing oversized.
“What do you think about her?” It was like Zane’s wolf was listening or at least sensing what was on his mind.
He decided to keep it clinical, to talk about her the way they would’ve spoken of any of their clients. “She’s a girl who grew up poor or at least working class, and now she’s got money. But unlike a lot of people who suddenly come into money, she isn’t throwing it around at everything that moves. She’s smart. She bought a house way bigger than anything she’s ever lived in, but she didn’t buy beyond her means. Same thing with the car. I bet she’ll drive that thing until it breaks down in the middle of the road and dies.”
“You’re probably right about that,” Zane nodded. “No matter how famous she gets or how much money she makes, she’ll always think about the girl she used to be. It’ll never be far away.”
“You’re exactly right.”
They turned as one, surprised to find the bodyguard standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame. He grinned. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.”
“You didn’t,” Braxton assured him. “Sorry, we never met. Braxton. This is Zane.”
“Luke.” A man of few words. They’d get along well.
“So, we’re right about her? Is that what you’re saying?”
/> “Yeah, you’re close. She never goes overboard—well, sometimes she does but not with anything serious. Shopping, yeah. She’ll practically buy out a store. But most of the time it’s gifts for somebody else. I’ve never seen anybody so happy to give somebody a present, hand to God.” He even raised his right hand like he was taking an oath.
“Because she wasn’t comfortable growing up?”
“They were pretty poor. That’s how she makes it sound. What do you know about her?” Luke asked. “I’m sure they didn’t send you out here with absolutely no idea of what to expect.”
“We don’t know that much,” Braxton lied. Whoever this guy was, whatever his deal was, he clearly took pride in knowing a lot about this girl. He was a protective person. Good thing, seeing as it was his job to be.
Some people got into their line of business because there was nothing else for them to do, because they were built and intimidating and were good at keeping the wrong sort of person away from the person they protected.
Other people were born with a protective instinct. This guy had it.
“Well, they didn’t have much, and by the time she graduated high school, both her adopted parents were dead. She lived on her own for almost her entire senior year.”
Braxton was knocked silent by this for a second. When he caught his breath, he murmured, “You mean she graduated top of her class when her parents were dead, and she’d been living all alone for most of the last year of school?”
“Yeah, that’s it. She acts like it’s no big deal. She did what she had to do.” He couldn’t hide a small, proud smile. “She’s tough. Not like one of those airheads you saw here earlier. I don’t know why she wastes her time with them.”
When Braxton had first laid eyes on her, he would’ve guessed she was the same as they were. “Maybe they’re not that bad, or she wouldn’t hang out with them,” he suggested, watching Luke’s reaction.
He wasn’t surprised by it. Not even a little. The man’s eyes darkened, his jaw tightened. “They’re not like her. The one barely knows her parents and thinks she can buy her way out of anything. The other was a kid star and thinks people still care half as much about her as they used to. They’re spoiled and selfish.”
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