by Amy Vastine
“Don’t work too hard tonight,” he replied, holding the door open for her.
Donovan came up behind him. “I’ve got it, man. I need to finish talking to her.”
The valet gave Donovan a once-over. “Aren’t you that guy who was asking a bunch of questions last week?”
“That was me. You have any new info? See anything suspicious down here recently?”
“Are you a cop or are you a friend of Kelly’s?” he asked instead of answering.
“He’s both, Miller,” Kelly said. “If you have seen anything out of the ordinary please let him know.”
“I haven’t seen anything.”
“Well, if you do, I’m here whenever Kelly is,” Donovan said, switching places with him. “You can let me know if you see anything. Big or small.”
Miller nodded and stepped away.
“Wait for me and you can follow me to my place,” he told her.
“Okay.” Even though he’d watched her smile at other people all week, when she beamed up at him, she made Donovan feel like he was the only person capable of bringing her that much joy.
He needed to shake off that feeling. If there was no threat, there was no need for a bodyguard. No bodyguard, no reason to spend time with each other anymore. Donovan had to be prepared to go back to his life before Kelly Bonner stepped into it.
Graham was in his room when they got to the house. He came jogging down the stairs minutes later. “Guess who got an A on his chemistry test?”
“You already know your grade?” Kelly asked.
“He didn’t grade it yet, but I knew everything. I didn’t have to guess on any of them.”
“That’s awesome, man.” Kelly gave him a high-five.
“Good job, Graham,” Donovan added, not that his approval mattered a tenth of what Kelly’s did.
“I also said something to Mia today.” Graham didn’t seem as excited about that as he did the test.
Kelly flopped down on the couch like she owned the place. “Oh, my gosh, how did that go? Please tell me it went okay. You don’t look devastated, so I feel like it didn’t go badly. Did it go badly?”
Donovan loved that when she got so anxious she talked too much instead of giving someone a chance to ease her mind.
Graham sat down next to her. “I told her that she needed to decide. Either she wants to be my friend or she doesn’t.”
“What did she say?”
“She tried to act like she had no idea what I was talking about. She said she’s always been my friend. She didn’t understand why I thought she wasn’t.”
Kelly shifted her body so she was facing him. “Did you tell her?”
“I said she sure doesn’t act like it when certain people are around. When it’s just us, she’s cool. When we’re not alone, she acts like she doesn’t even know me. I’m not an idiot. I know she’s afraid to tell them we’re friends.”
“Good for you. What did she say?”
“She just said she had no idea what I was talking about. I said we will see. I told her I’d be sure to point it out when she ignores me next.”
“You handled yourself perfectly. You didn’t attack her. You stayed cool. You let her know you want to be her friend if she wants to be yours. You left the ball in her court. Hopefully, she comes through for you.”
“Who are you guys talking about?” Donovan asked, trying to get back into the loop. They had said a name earlier, but he hadn’t been paying attention.
Graham clearly hadn’t planned on letting his uncle be part of this conversation. “It doesn’t matter.”
Kelly shot him a disapproving look. “A name isn’t going to kill you. He’s not going to do anything. He just wants to know who we’re talking about.”
“Her name is Mia,” he said to Donovan. “I don’t know how that helps you understand what is going on. You don’t know who she is.”
Feeling a bit defensive, he replied, “Neither does Kelly.”
“Okay, let’s not start this. The good news is the chem test went well. Mia has a chance to step up and be a real friend. And your uncle and I are going to a concert in an hour, so I need to get ready. No one wants to see me looking like this.” Kelly waved a hand around her face, which looked just fine to Donovan.
Kelly went to get ready, Graham disappeared back upstairs and Donovan started dinner. At five o’clock Avery came skipping in like she hadn’t a care in the world.
“Hi, Uncle Donovan.”
“Hello, my favorite little one. How was your day?”
“It was good.” She pushed up on her tiptoes to see what he was making. “My teacher said I am a nice friend to my friends. And she laughed at my joke about why the kids crossed the playground.”
“Why did the kids cross the playground?”
“To get to the other slide!” she said with a giggle. “Get it? Slide. The other slide.”
Avery never failed to brighten his day. “Hilarious. High-five for being funny and nice. That makes me very proud.”
Her smile lit up her whole face as she jumped up and high-fived him. “Where’s Kelly?”
The fact that she assumed Kelly would be there gave him pause. Donovan had lost sight of all his personal boundaries when it came to Kelly. “She’s getting ready in the bathroom. I have to take her to a concert tonight.”
“I’m going to say hi,” Avery said, scurrying off to find her favorite person in the world.
A few minutes later, Donovan could hear Kelly say, “I don’t think pigtails is the right look for tonight, but thank you. You are very sweet for trying to help.”
The two of them came into the kitchen, where Donovan almost had dinner ready. “Hey, Avery, why don’t you help me by getting four forks and knives out and set on the table?”
Instead of being high on the back of her head, Kelly’s ponytail was pulled together at the nape of her neck and her hair was draped over one shoulder. Her makeup had been reapplied with a heavier hand, making those blue eyes even more stunning.
She sat on the stool by the island. “I’m pretty sure that I’ve eaten more home-cooked meals here in the last week than I have in the last year at my own place.”
Donovan set the dinner plates with a clatter. “I wonder how much longer your uncle will want me on this assignment if there’s no more contact by the stalker.”
“He has been quiet since you came on the scene.”
“I’m wondering if my presence has spooked this guy or if you getting the cops involved in general has helped. I’m just not sure that if I backed off, he wouldn’t reappear.”
“Probably should try it and see, don’t you think?” Kelly picked up the napkins on the island and set one next to each plate.
His experience said they should try backing off her security detail, but Donovan’s imagination ran wild with all the possible things that could happen to her if he wasn’t there to keep her safe, making it much harder to walk away.
“I’ll talk to your uncle tomorrow.”
“Or you could talk to me. We could decide.” Kelly’s voice was rife with indignation. “My uncle doesn’t run my life. He’s not the boss of me.”
“Well, he is the boss of me. Or did you forget?”
“I didn’t forget. Maybe we should both talk to him in the morning.”
Donovan called Graham down for dinner and the four of them sat and ate, sharing tidbits of their days with one another. Kelly and Graham laughed rather convincingly at Avery’s slide joke. After dinner, Donovan followed Kelly to the auditorium.
Working backstage at the show was easy. Everyone there was way more interested in the band than they were Kelly. He led her through crowded hallways and opened doors for her. With the threat level so low, Donovan could relax. Her professional responsibilities were done as soon as she finished announcing the band to the crowd.
/> “I have two seats to the show... You want to stay with me for a little bit and have a listen?” she asked him when she got offstage.
“You’re the boss. If you want to stay, I am obligated to stay with you.”
There was a glimmer in her eyes. “Getting to have my own way is pretty irresistible. You sure you’re okay with staying?”
He wasn’t a huge country music fan, but seeing her have a good time might be entertaining enough. “Whatever you want.”
Kelly wanted to stay for a couple of songs. Once they settled into their seats, it almost felt like they were out on a date. Feeling that way may have been more dangerous than any stalker. Dating wasn’t part of any of Donovan’s plans. Avery and Graham had to be his first priority, but Kelly’s smile was bright and she sang adorably off tune. She wasn’t making it easy on him.
Kelly sidled up to him and put her mouth close to his ear. “I’m ready to go. Follow me home?”
Donovan nodded as his heart crashed against his ribs. She smelled like the flowers at the farmers market. He was relieved that they had driven separately so she couldn’t cloud his judgment any longer.
“I had fun tonight,” she said once they made it back to her apartment building.
All he needed to do was get her into her apartment and he’d be able to go home and clear his head. “I’m glad.”
She quirked a brow. “Did you have any fun?”
He clasped his hands behind his back and avoided her eyes. “It wasn’t terrible.”
“It wasn’t terrible? Jonah Vincent is Grace Note Records’ next big thing. Believe you me.”
“He’s got a great voice. Much better than some people who were singing along...”
Kelly’s eyes widened. “Are you calling me a bad singer?”
“Do you hear yourself when you sing at those things?”
Her mouth fell open and she swatted his chest. He could only laugh at her.
The elevator doors opened and Kelly bumped him with her hip to get out first. “You are mean,” she said, turning around to face him as she walked backward toward her apartment.
“Honest. I think the word you’re looking for is honest.”
“Well, not all of us can be great at everything. I am not a great cook. I am not a very good singer. This may be true,” she said. “But I am...”
“Kind,” he finished for her. “Beautiful. Compassionate.”
Her expression serious, she came to a stop in front of her apartment. Her cheeks flushed red. “Thank you.”
“I’m just being honest,” he replied. If he was truly honest, he’d have to admit he cared about her a great deal. She was someone he wanted to be around and not because it meant getting off desk duty.
“You want to open your door?” he asked after she stood staring at him wordlessly for a few seconds.
Kelly snapped out of it and unlocked her door.
The moment he walked into the apartment, the hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up. “Get back in the corridor,” he said to Kelly, who had followed him in. They’d had so many days of nothing to worry about, she had been joining him in the apartment before he completed his walk-through.
Something immediately felt off. Even in the dark, he could tell it wasn’t right. It didn’t even smell the way it should. For the first time while handling Kelly’s protection detail, Donovan wished he had his service weapon. He flicked on the lights and his fears came to life.
“What’s the matter?” Kelly said from the hall.
Donovan didn’t bother going any farther without backup. He pulled out his phone. “I’m guessing you did not leave rose petals on the floor before you left for work this morning.”
The color drained from Kelly’s face. “What? No.”
He was already dialing 9-1-1. “We have a huge problem.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
KELLY USUALLY HATED watching the action from the sidelines. This time, however, she was happy to be safely away from the problem.
“The door was locked?” one of the investigating officers asked.
Kelly closed her eyes and visualized putting the key in the lock and turning it. She nodded. It had absolutely been locked.
She looked at Donovan. “How could he have gotten into a locked apartment?”
“Who else has a key to your apartment?” Donovan said instead of answering her question.
“It’s a short list,” Kelly said. “Me and my uncle Hal are the only two people on it. Unless you want to count Aunt Laura, too. But her key is the same as Uncle Hal’s.”
What if the man had been in there when she had been? Could he have been hiding while she got ready this morning? She shivered with fear. She couldn’t think that way if she was going to hold herself together.
“You can’t stay here,” Donovan said. “Do you want me to grab you some things?”
She shook her head. “Can I pack my own bag?”
“You okay, Kelly?” Trey Parker from down the hall held his Jack Russell terrier in his arms after what looked like a late-night bathroom break. Trey was always asking to borrow things like a cup of sugar or a couple of dryer sheets. Kelly suspected his requests were always more excuses to talk to her than anything else.
“I’m okay, but someone broke into my apartment tonight.”
“Tonight? Oh, my gosh. That’s terrible. I always considered this building as being super safe.”
She thought so, too. Until tonight.
“Have you been home most of the night?” Donovan asked.
Trey shifted his hold on the dog. “Yeah, I’ve been home since around five. Took Killer out for a walk right away, so I was gone for about twenty minutes. I didn’t hear anything or see anyone, though. I’m so sorry this happened to you, Kelly. If you need anything, don’t forget I’m right here.” He nodded toward his door. “Don’t hesitate to stop by.”
“Thanks, Trey.”
Donovan placed his arm around her shoulder. “Thanks, Trey.”
Did he really think Trey could be a suspect? She thought about the way that he always seemed to show up in the building’s gym whenever she did. How he asked about things that she had said on the radio like he listened to her every day all day. Her unease didn’t dissipate when Trey went inside his own apartment.
“It would be helpful if she could look around and tell us if anything is missing or was moved around,” the other officer said to Donovan.
Kelly sighed, frustrated that they were acting like she wasn’t standing right there. She didn’t need Donovan’s permission and he knew it.
“Come on inside and have a look around and grab a couple days’ worth of stuff,” he said, his voice controlled and even. Everything she wasn’t. Kelly felt anything but in control.
Her heart hammered in her chest as she stepped into her home. Nothing seemed out of place in the living room. There were rose petals all the way across the room and down the hall to the bedroom. Her stomach rolled. Had he planned to wait for her but something happened?
The petals went into her bedroom and ended in a heart on the floor in front of her bed. Again, nothing looked out of place, but she had never felt so violated before. He had been in her room. A person’s bedroom was their sanctuary. Their private space. The thought of some stranger being in there without her permission, able to go through her things, made her tremble.
None of her jewelry was missing. She opened her dresser drawers and everything was still folded and seemed in its place. Nothing noticeable was missing from her closet. In her bathroom, she thought it looked like things were in place until she realized her perfume was missing. So was her bottle of shampoo from inside her shower. Bile rose in her throat. She was afraid she was going to be sick.
She reported what was missing and quickly grabbed what she needed. Donovan stayed by her side the whole time. She wished hi
s presence had provided her with more courage than it did.
“Are you sure you’ve got what you need to last you a couple days?”
Kelly wasn’t coming back here in a couple days. The fear she felt right now made her want to move tonight. How could she ever sleep soundly in that bed, in that room, in that whole apartment?
“I’ve got plenty.” What she needed was to get out of there.
“Do you want to call your uncle or should I?” Donovan asked. “We should call him before we show up at his door.”
“I’m not going to Uncle Hal’s. If this guy can find me here, he can find me there. It wouldn’t be hard to figure out he’s related to me.” If it was Trey, he knew she had an uncle in the area. They had talked about things like her holiday plans before. There was only one place she would feel safe. “Can I go home with you? I know that it’s a lot to ask, but no one I suspect knows who you are.”
Donovan remained stone-faced as he mulled it over. She knew she was making a big ask. Maybe too big. He had children at his house. Clearly, Kelly didn’t want any harm to come to Avery or Graham.
She was about to tell him to forget it, to take her to a hotel when he said, “Let’s go.”
“Are you sure?”
“I can’t think of anywhere else you could go where you’ll feel safe and I’ll trust you’re safe.”
“Thank you and I’m sorry.” She felt so guilty for putting him out.
Donovan’s cool and calm demeanor began to crumble. “Don’t apologize. You didn’t ask for this.” He clenched his fists as they walked to the elevator. “I am going to find this guy. He doesn’t get to do this to you. This is not okay.”
Kelly’s bottom lip began to tremble. She reached for his hand, hoping the contact would calm them both down. He unclenched his fist and let her thread her fingers in between his. She held on to his hand all the way down to the ground level and to his truck.
The gravity of what happened tonight sank in during the drive and the tears began to fall. “I’m scared,” she admitted.