I nodded and went toward my bathroom. I didn’t know what to say but fuck, I was glad he was going to sleep next to me.
It didn’t take either of us long to pass out after we cleaned up. With Shane nestled beside me, I easily slipped into sleep.
It seemed like I’d only closed my eyes for a moment when the sound of my cell phone going off made me jump.
“What is it?” Shane’s voice was rough from sleep, and I couldn’t help but brush my cheek against his wild, red strands.
“My phone.”
“What time is it?” He reached for his phone the same time I grabbed mine.
“It’s Ciro.” I was a little irritated to be woken up, especially seeing it was eight in the morning. I’d only slept for four hours. “Hey,” I answered.
“You still sleepin’?” he asked like it was unbelievable.
“I worked until like three in the morning, yeah, I was fucking still sleeping.”
Shane chuckled beside me and snuggled back under the covers.
“Yeah, well, meet me at noon at Quirks and Perks. I want you to meet my friend, the security guy I told you about. He’s a busy guy, but he said he can secure your place and the club better.”
I wanted nothing more than to stay in bed with Shane and fuck until we had to work. But everyone was freaking out about this super fan of mine, and if I didn’t show up, there was no question Ciro would be pounding on my door.
“Yeah, noon, got it.”
“Don’t be late.” He ended the call before I could say anything.
“Where do you have to be at noon?” Shane was half-asleep and since I had a few hours, I slid closer and wrapped my arms around him.
“Quirks and Perks. Ciro wants me to meet his security friend.”
Shane turned so he was facing me. “Wow, that was quick.”
“Something tells me when Ciro wants something, he doesn’t wait very long for it.”
Shane nodded and tenderly kissed my throat. “We have time for maybe some fun.” He waggled his brows, and I laughed.
“No way I’m saying no to that.”
Shane and I spent the next hour licking, sucking, and fucking until our stomachs grumbled and I promised him pancakes.
Lion sat beside Shane while he scrolled through his messages. I filled our plates with pancakes and bacon, and whenever I caught a glance of those two, Shane was whispering to him, and Lion was rubbing his head along Shane’s cheek. Seemed the bird liked him just as much as I did.
“You want me to come with you?” Shane asked after we finished eating.
“Yeah, unless you’re busy?”
He shook his head. “Nah, I can tag along. It’s laundry day, but I never mind putting that off.”
We got dressed, Shane wearing some of my clothes since his were kind of crumpled, and we left to go meet Ciro and his friend at the café.
Chapter Fifteen
Shane
Ledger and I entered Quirks and Perks ten minutes early. Something about making Ciro have to wait was unsettling. Ciro was sitting at the far end of the place, and his friend had his back to us. All I could make out was that the guy was built and had short brown hair.
“I can order you something, and you can go let Ciro know we’re here,” I offered.
Ledger smirked. “Not eager to sit with two guys who could likely crush us with their pinkies?”
Chuckling, I stepped up to the counter where Mel, the owner, stood waiting. “Not particularly.”
“Just grab me a regular coffee, two sugars and a splash of cream, thanks.” He made to take out his wallet, but I stopped him.
“I got it.”
I watched him walk away, because…well, his ass was art. The clearing of a throat made my head turn. Mel smiled at me knowingly.
“So, what will you be drinking with those buns?” she asked, and I laughed with her.
I ordered our drinks, went over to the DIY counter, and fixed them. My gaze kept wandering toward the three men. They were quiet, but I could see the seriousness on Ledger’s and Ciro’s faces in reaction to whatever the mystery friend was saying to them.
When I got to the table, Ledger smiled at me, and I took the only other seat, which happened to be next to the stranger.
“Shane,” Ciro said. “This is an old friend of mine, Riordan Darcy. He has his own security company and, well, let’s just say a lot of experience in things.”
“Nice to meet you, Shane.” Riordan held out his hand, and I took it in mine. It was a firm shake.
“Same.”
“I was just telling him about the three gifts I’d gotten,” Ledger told me.
“What I’m hearing is that, while somewhat innocent, there’s a certain type of escalation happening here,” Riordan said as he sipped his coffee.
“How so? Two of the gifts were songs? I mean the first was flowers and no song but…” Ledger shrugged.
“Right. The flowers could have even not been from him. Maybe we play that they aren’t for a second and the organizers sent them to you, Ledger.” Riordan folded his hands on the table…damn, they were huge. “Name tags fall off all the time. So, pretending they aren’t connected, although I think they are, let’s take the other two gifts, shall we?”
“Okay.” This guy spoke calmly, and while I knew he was all business and being serious, he had a way of not making me terrified.
“The first gift, a teddy bear holding a box with a drive in it, and a note was delivered to you. Note said that he thought you were special…fucking special, which is a quote from the song. Jarring, yes, but I’ve seen way worse.”
I truly believed this guy had seen some shit. While he was calm and collected, the same darkness that lingered in Ciro’s eyes was in Riordan’s too.
“Okay, but it was a song and a quote the second time too,” Ledger said.
“Except, one, the quote was more personal, indicating they were watching you when you were most vulnerable. Second, they delivered it to you. Where you work.”
Ciro interrupted, “We think it was the person. We also think whoever is doing this hired someone to drop it off.”
“Hmm.” I didn’t mean to draw attention to myself, but my hum had three sets of eyes trained on me.
“What are you thinking?” Riordan asked me.
“Oh, um, well. I may be wrong, I mean, I—”
“Trust your gut, kid. Most of the time it’s the best warning sign you get.” Riordan smiled.
“Okay, so, Joker’s Sin brings in a certain kind of clientele. They dress like they’re at a club, or sometimes suits after work and they need to unwind. But they always look like they want to be there, like they’re ready to take off a few layers and breathe, you know?” Riordan nodded. “This guy, person, whoever, they were awkward in that they didn’t feel comfortable being there. They were wearing a hoodie and jeans. On a night where three of the biggest DJs were going to be performing. He was out of place there.”
“Good, that’s good, Shane,” Riordan said and turned back to Ledger and Ciro. “This person is going to keep up the gifts until one of two things happens.”
“What’s that?” Ledger asked, and the quiver in his voice belied his calm expression.
“One, he gets bored and gives up. Or two, he escalates until he has your complete attention.”
“I’m all for him getting bored; how do we do that?” Ledger chuckled nervously.
“Unfortunately, that’s up to them.” Riordan finished his drink and pushed his cup aside.
“Should Ledger continue to ignore the person or acknowledge them somehow?” I wondered.
“You never acknowledge a stalker,” Ciro answered. “I do feel we are in the early stages of this actually becoming more serious or dangerous. That said, I’d suggest we raise the security on you. A dashboard cam to record where you’re going in your car. Better security at your place and the club and go from there.”
“What if the guy attacks him?” I argued.
“He’s not going
to, I don’t think…not yet, anyway.” Riordan sighed. “I’m not saying treat it like nothing, but until we know, it’s more ignoring the gifts, heightening security. That’ll be first. I have guys I’m sending over to the club and cameras I’ll set up outside of your place. I don’t want to intrude on your privacy in the house, so unless that’s needed, I think you’re good with none of that.”
“What about someone at his house?” I wasn’t sure if he was considering that, “I mean as soon as this person sees he can’t get close to Ledger at the club, wouldn’t he try his home?”
“That’s where the cameras come in. If anyone tries to break into Ledger’s house, we will see it and I’ll dispatch people.” Riordan was trying to reassure me, but for some reason the more he reassured me, the more nervous I felt.
“Did you go to the police yet?” Ciro asked.
“No, we woke up and came here. I can stop by on my way to work,” Ledger said, and I could hear his frustration. “They’re going to be useless.”
“Probably,” Riordan said. “Never found the authorities here in Haven Hart to be any issue to me. It’s why I do what I do for a living. But it can’t hurt to have a file on it.”
“Fine.” Ledger chugged his now lukewarm coffee.
“I’m heading over to Joker’s Sin now with some of my guys to set the place up. I won’t need to enter your place, so after we’re done there, would it be okay with you if I go to your house to set up, Ledger?” Riordan asked.
“Yeah, okay.”
After Ciro and Riordan left, Ledger and I went down to the police station to fill out a report. As predicted, they said there wasn’t anything they could really do as no harm had come to Ledger or anyone else. They said it seemed like a slightly overzealous fan and that if anything more serious happened to let them know. I was glad they at least wrote out a report to keep on file just in case.
As much as I wanted to just go home and sleep after the mental exhaustion of the day, I had to work. Ledger took me to my place to get clothes, and because there was no security set up at his place yet, I told him I’d go back with him to get ready for work. I didn’t think he’d mind, especially when I pulled him into the shower with me later and made sure he was thoroughly clean.
Chapter Sixteen
Ledger
Work that night wasn’t the casual, fun affair it usually was. I tried to just feel the beats and let the music flow through me like always, but all I saw when I looked up were the new guys that were there watching me. I’d had fans before. One woman even stripped naked and was on the hood of my car a few years ago when I left a nightclub I was spotlighting for. This person, whoever they were, I thought was just being awkward in showing their affections. But I’d humor them all for now. I just needed to focus.
There were some regulars dancing on the stage to “Dancing Queen” when I saw Shane approach my booth, drink in hand.
“Figured you’d need a refill?” He winked and I knew he was trying to get me out of my head. If he noticed I was off, I had to wonder who else did. I held up a finger, halting him, and got the next song ready to roll in after this one ended.
I pulled my headphones down and took the much-needed drink. “Thanks.”
Shane’s gaze swept over the room. “It’s weird, right? These new guys? I find every time I have to talk into the earpieces and shit that I’m being more professional.”
I nodded as I sipped my drink. “My earpiece died, but when it worked I could hear how weird everyone was. One guy was all ‘Eagle to Hawk.’ ” I laughed.
“Your earpiece died?” Shane sounded irritated. “You need to remember to charge it, Ledger. Come on.” His face was turning red, and I didn’t think it was the heat of the lights doing it.
“Sorry, I was doing a set. What was I supposed to do, silence the music and shout that I needed a new earpiece?”
Shane shook his head, and I knew he wanted to say something to me about how I always forgot to make sure my earpiece was charged, but the second song began, and I needed to set up the next few.
“I’ll go get you a new earpiece,” was all Shane said, and he left the stage.
For the rest of the night I played every set and engaged Atlas in conversation when he performed on stage, but it all felt stilted. By the time the last patron left, I’d snapped.
“This is bullshit,” I shouted from the stage. Max, Shane, the few staff that were still there, all the security, Ciro, Atlas, and Toby, they all turned toward me. “The whole night I felt like some experiment under a microscope. For the first time in my whole life, I didn’t enjoy my job. I can’t work like this, not because some fan just wants to send me songs and flowers.”
“None of the security even approached you,” Ciro said as he moved closer to the bar.
“You’re making me paranoid.”
Max tossed his towel on the counter and spoke. “I get you; I’d hate it too. But do you remember when that shitbag ex of Sparkles’s came to Haven Hart and tried to make his life a living hell?”
I did remember. A man named Dorian Birch, someone Sparkles dated for a long time. I knew the guy was abusive. He’d come to Joker’s Sin a few times, and every time it ended badly. Then the guy suddenly disappeared. Not unusual in Haven Hart, but I had a feeling Max knew what happened there.
“Yeah, so?”
“No way I’d have been able to keep Sparkles safe without Ciro’s help.”
“And there’s no way Toby would be alive if Atlas and Ciro hadn’t stepped in to help him, and even me, from Vick,” Shane added.
“Ledger.” Toby spoke softly. “I know you feel like everyone is overacting, and it’s turning your life upside down. I totally understand that. And it may all be overkill, but you have to admit we’ve all seen too much to ignore this.”
I didn’t say anything—I couldn’t. They were all right, and each time they’d all gone through shit, I’d been glad it wasn’t me. Well, now it was, and they were all helping and making sacrifices.
“No one will invade your privacy at your house, and no one is trying to make you feel uncomfortable here. We just want to be sure this ‘fan’ either stops or doesn’t escalate,” Ciro said, and an odd smile appeared on his face. “Let us do this, please.”
“Fine,” I grumbled, but there was a warmth in my chest. I didn’t have a family, really. My folks both died before I was ten and my grandparents when I was seventeen. I didn’t lack in the love department, but my blood family was all gone. Atlas and these guys here were my family, and I trusted them completely.
After that, I cleaned my booth, brought my empty glasses to the bar, and waited on a stool for Shane to be done.
“Why are you still here?” Max asked.
“Waiting for Shane.” Shane was in the kitchen, bringing glasses to the dishwasher.
“Ciro said that the Riordan guy set up the cameras at your place, so you won’t be needing a babysitter anymore.” The smirk on Max’s face was irritating.
“Thanks for the update, dick drip.”
Max laughed so hard, he had to put the bottle he was wiping down on the counter. “Just admit you’re dating the guy.”
“Dating would imply going out and shit. We aren’t doing that.” The thought of taking Shane on a date did appeal, though. A dinner, maybe a concert or something.
“So, you’re just what, fucking, then?” Max leaned his elbows on the bar top. “ ’Cause that’s not cool.”
“Max, I’m gonna say this once to you. Whatever Shane and I have or don’t have isn’t your business. You’d punch me in the face if I told you how to handle your relationship with Sparkles. So do yourself a favor, and kindly fuck off.” I loved Max like a brother, and like brothers, we had spats.
“Fine, but if you hurt him, Toby’ll have Atlas kill you.” He stepped away and finished his cleanup.
When Shane returned, he smiled at me. “Still here? Thought you’d be halfway home by now.”
“I would…normally.” I looked over at Max and was gl
ad when he moved away from us. “I was just wondering…well, hoping, you’d want to come to my place with me.”
Shane placed the rack of clean glasses on the counter and blushed. “How could I say no to such a tempting offer?” He moved around to put the glasses away, when Max stopped him.
“I got this, you go on and head home.” Max shot me a wink, and I nodded gratefully.
“You sure?” Shane asked.
“Yeah, go on. Shoo, before I change my mind.”
As Shane and I left, I noticed a few of the new security guys in the parking lot. I remembered what everyone said earlier, and I wished them a good night. I wasn’t sure if they were going to follow me back to my house, but at least once my doors closed, I’d be safe and away from prying eyes. The only eyes I wanted on me right now were Shane’s.
Chapter Seventeen
Shane
Waking up wrapped in Ledger was absolutely my favorite way to greet the morning. I knew before I opened my eyes that Lion was perched on the headboard, because I could hear him preening.
“Morning, Lion,” I whispered, not wanting to wake Ledger, who I could tell was still sleeping.
“Morning, friend,” Lion squawked, and I couldn’t help but smile.
Ledger told me he didn’t really like anyone, and when we first heard Lion call me friend, I felt honored.
“You didn’t happen to make breakfast, did you?” I turned so I could see the bird better.
“Don’t be stupid,” he said, and I couldn’t hold in my laughter.
“What’s so funny?” Ledger’s voice was thick and raspy and fucking sexy.
“Your bird told me not to be stupid after I asked him if he made us breakfast. I thought he was supposed to be the smartest bird in the world.”
Ledger chuckled, and I shivered when his fingers slid along my naked back and down my spine. “I’ll have to see about training him to do that.”
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