HERO (The Complete Series)

by Bella Love-Wins

  The conversation with Johnny had brought me to that insight. It wasn’t the first time I had been faced with the prospect of leaving him and the job to go home. The difference was for the first time, it was voluntary. Kevin wasn’t forcing me out again. This time, it was me. I was looking for a reason to run. And I had two—Johnny’s safety, and my heart. If I left now, both would be better off. My eyes stung thinking about it. Both he and I knew this was a temporary arrangement. The assignment would eventually end, and I would go home. With the stalker in the shadows, I was now convinced he needed someone more experienced than me to keep him safe. And when it came to my heart, I was in deep, and began to feel if I stayed, it would become too complicated. Had I really let myself believe that somehow, whatever it was Johnny and I had, it could last once I was back in Miami? I rolled my eyes at the visual, just before we walked into the spare office where Fred, Larry and Jenny were stationed.

  All three of them looked up when we walked in.

  “Fred, can Amanda and I have a word with you in my office?” Johnny asked.

  He offered a small smile, nodding as he stood up to follow us out. Once we were in Johnny’s office, he asked, “How can I help you?”

  “Can you remind Amanda here why we need her more than ever on this assignment?”

  He cleared his throat. “Oh…I suppose this is timely. I was planning to cover this item when we brief you all in about an hour, but sure.”

  “I can wait if you need time or—”

  Johnny cut me off mid-sentence. “No. Let him tell you now.”

  Fred looked back and forth between us, and I was already embarrassed enough, so I nodded and let him carry on. “All right. About these newest developments in the case…understandably, we always knew there was the potential for the stalker to cause physical harm. With everything that has happened, I have to ask, Amanda. How do you feel about continuing with this position?”

  Johnny raised a hand to stop him. “Wait, what? Hold up, Fred. That’s not exactly how I expected you’d sell Amanda on staying. Whatever happened to ‘we need to stay the course’?”

  As upset as I was, I had to hold back a smile. Johnny had obviously not planned this impromptu pseudo-intervention with Fred.

  “To be frank, Amanda, as Johnny’s bodyguard, you’re in the position at most risk of harm, if and when the stalker makes another appearance. You have solid security, weapons and fighting experience, and in no way am I suggesting you cannot handle the position. We’ve reached a point in this case where I need to know if you have even a shadow of a doubt. If you proceed, protecting Johnny will require your complete confidence, and a full commitment to the job.”

  Johnny was dumbfounded. He released my hand and walked over to sit in the closest chair, leaning forward to rest his head in his hands.

  For me, it felt like all the air had been sucked from my lungs. Fred had driven it home. All the fears and doubts I felt were valid. I took in a slow inhale, and even though I had just suggested to Johnny I wanted to throw in the towel, I was hit with the sudden reality of what could happen after I actually left.

  “To be honest,” I started. “I’m in way over my head. There’s one thing I have no doubt about, and that is…if I’m there when the stalker tries to hurt Johnny, I will do everything I can to defend and protect him. But the thing I’m not sure about is whether that’s enough. I mean, no one person can be there, covering every angle, prepared for any and all the ways the stalker can come at him. What I’m saying is I don’t want to be the weak link, or the reason that Johnny or anyone else gets hurt.”

  Agent Carlson nodded, listening intently until I was finished. “What you’re feeling is common. And it’s the truth. No one person can assure Johnny or a member of the public does not get hurt. I sure can’t, and neither can any one person on my team. That’s why we have a team, and the private security detail, and event location security, and local police when we need crowd control beyond the confines of an event location. They’re all layers of protection. And yes, when we peel all that away, you’re Johnny’s last line of defense, but that does not mean you’re in it alone.”

  I studied his face as I tried to figure out what to say next, but I couldn’t object to anything he had said.

  “And here’s what I think, Amanda. You’ve done an excellent job so far.”

  Johnny straightened up at his words, nodding enthusiastically at Fred’s compliment. It was just the reassurance I needed to hear.

  Fred stared off over my shoulder for a moment before returning his gaze to me. “The job is tough, and these situations are intense. However, I would like to see you stay. You have what it takes, and like we explained to Kevin back in Greece, we would like you to stick this out.”

  If he thought I could do it, and I was the best person for the job, then how could I possibly argue? Deep down, there was a spark of hope. I had been dreading the thought of quitting. And like Johnny said, I was not one to quit. Now, I had a legitimate reason to hang in there. Johnny needed me. Not in a physical way, or even an emotional way, but he needed me to be his eyes and ears, and to have his back. How could I possible say no and turn away from him?

  “All right,” I said. “I’m fully committed to staying.”

  “Good,” Fred answered. He extended his arm to me for a handshake. He looked over at Johnny, who seemed less relieved than I had expected. “Johnny, does that answer all your questions?”

  He pressed into his temple and stood up. “Um…Yes. But can we go back to the part about Amanda being at the most risk of getting hurt, or however you put it?”

  “Yes. What’s the question?”

  “I’m going to get Kevin to add more staff to the private security detail. I don’t want anything happening to her.” He looked directly at me. “If Amanda’s the last line of defense, we need to bolster the team around her.”

  “I have no problem with your suggestion.”

  “Good.”

  “Now, about the awards show this evening, is there any way to talk you out of performing?”

  “Uhh… I highly doubt that,” he answered. “When would you like us back down here to go over everything else?”

  “We’re ready now, if you are. Let me see if Kevin is available. We can meet in here.”

  “Great.” Johnny smiled and walked over to me. When Fred left, he pulled me into his arms. “Feel better about staying now?”

  “Slightly,” I told him, not wanting to let on how much it helped to hear Fred’s perspective. “Let’s have a seat…in separate chairs, as I want us both to give it our full attention.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he joked, pulling away slightly.

  He leaned down and kissed me softly before heading back to the chair he had been sitting in. As much as he might have been trying to appear nonchalant, I could tell there was something about Fred’s talk that bothered him. I wished I knew what that was.

  Chapter 8 - Johnny

  Fred had thrown me for a loop with what was supposed to have been a simple pep-talk for Amanda’s benefit. What he inadvertently did instead was remind me that I had injected Amanda into the equation at possibly the worst time in my career. And now, the question of whether I did the right thing by manufacturing this job assignment for her came full circle again, and could only be answered with a resounding ‘hell no, Johnny’.

  There was no time to reflect on it. Fred returned to the room with Kevin and Lady, closely followed by Jenny and Larry. Once everyone took a seat, he got started.

  “With just a few hours to the next event, I have a few updates to share about our continuing investigation. After that, I’d like to go over some suggestions regarding the rest of the tour schedule. To start, the results have come back on the basket delivered to Johnny’s room in Greece. Chemical analysis of the items shows evidence of trace amounts of cyanide on the packaging, and in some packets of food. Had anyone eaten anything from it, it would not have been fatal, however there was enough poison to render them unconscious.”


  “Good god.” Lady gasped. Her face turned a shade paler. Kevin put an arm around her shoulder to console her.

  Fred continued. “We also found partial prints on the basket, however, there were no matches to any of our FBI criminal or young offender databases, or on Interpol. This suggests the stalker has no criminal record. Still, with the partial prints, we now have her in our database. It means her prints will be used as comparators to any new evidence collected across all databases. For example, if she in fact attacked Kevin last night, and left any prints in his car or on his person, we’ll have the partials from the basket to confirm whether she was responsible for both. Any questions on this item?”

  It was a lot to sink in. Everyone except Amanda shook their heads.

  “Have you shared the photos of the woman who targeted Kevin?” Amanda asked.

  “Yes. Local police and our agency have issued all-points bulletins. We’ve also shared it with your grounds security manager, the organizers at all remaining tour stops, and with building security at the recording studio.”

  “Thank you. That’s great.”

  “Lucas is still at the district office, working on the online monitoring and tracking. So far, there are no new updates. Now, regarding the rest of the tour, we’ve already raised the suggestion of cancelling Johnny’s performances, and I see your reasons for not wanting to respond in that manner. We know the risk of injury is significant, so in light of last night’s incident, I propose that we become unpredictable with activities in between the tour stops.”

  “What exactly do you mean?” Kevin asked.

  “Let’s go over the schedule. It will be more clear-cut for each specific stop. Let’s start with tonight. First of all, thank you Kevin for putting us in touch with the Disk Spinner Awards organizers. They have provided an overview of their extensive security plans. We agree that they are robust and have sufficiently mitigated the threat risks. Larry, Amanda, you and I will have backstage passes. Amanda will also obviously be going as Johnny’s date for the evening. Also, Amanda, you’ll be on stage with the backup singers, but organizers assure us their security presence is sufficient.”

  Amanda shifted in her chair. “Okay. Not a problem.”

  “So, moving along, let’s look at after the awards show tonight. We had originally planned to head out immediately after the ceremony. The idea was to take the tour buses to Las Vegas so Johnny could perform at Whiskey River three days from today, and then at the Bellagio two days later. I recommend you send the road crew and private security detail ahead as planned. The first adjustment though, would be for everyone in this room to stay back here in LA for the next two nights. The second variation to the plan is to book hotel rooms at somewhere other than Bellagio when we get out there. Let’s say Wynn Las Vegas. This gives the stalker less awareness of our location, and as such, less time to devise a plan about what they’ll do next.”

  “It sounds simple enough,” Kevin said. “If those minor changes make it safer without forcing us to cancel any stops, then I’m game.”

  “Perfect. Next are the two final stops. There’s the concert in San Diego in ten days, and then we’re back in Los Angeles for the Rock Hits Video Awards four days after that. The original plan called for using the tour bus to get from Las Vegas to San Diego and then back to LA. I suggest you scrap the plan for Johnny to take the tour bus. Flying will be better. It allows us to return here at Johnny’s house right after the Bellagio performance, and make it an overnight trip to San Diego. So overall, you’re looking at maybe four nights out of town, instead of two weeks. All this unpredictability will force the stalker to focus her efforts on the times you’re performing. That measure gives us an advantage, as opposed to the way she threw us off guard at the recording studio, and possibly when Kevin was targeted.”

  Kevin flashed a glance at Fred. “What do you mean by ‘possibly’? She had to be the whacko that put a knife to my throat.”

  “We don’t know with certainty whether that was her.”

  “Who the hell else could it be?”

  “It’s best not to assume so early on. We’ll have a better idea when we get the results from the lab and compare it to what we found on the basket in Greece.”

  “Okay. I need to get on top of hotel reservations. Laura is still sick, but maybe I can check on whether the temp agency can find me another personal assistant or VA to take care of the scheduling. Is that all?”

  “Almost. The final suggestion is that you bring on some security staff to cover you at your home, Kevin. We’ll also need more coverage at the last four events.”

  He looked over at Lady and she nodded. “That’s doable. How many are you suggesting?”

  “Ten to fourteen. We can use three or four of them backstage, and the rest spread through the crowd. And they can be stationed at your home in between the events.”

  “Done. As you brought it up, we should add another ten on top of that for the show at Whiskey River.”

  “Is there a reason for the increase? It seemed to be the smallest event of all the tour stops.”

  Kevin let out a scoff of a laugh. “Well, I’ll tell you now. In the case of this particular bar, size means nothing. We need to be prepared. The crowd is expected to get rowdy. It’s frequented by rough-and-tumble bikers for the most part, so we’ll be walking into pre-existing security issues.”

  I did not have to ask Kevin why Whiskey River was one of the tour stops. The place belonged to one of Lady’s old band members.

  “Noted. We will let your security manager know, and maintain the protocol we established at the last concert. Amanda, this means you’ll be onstage again. Larry and Jenny will be with us backstage, and Lucas needs to stay back here at the district office to continue monitoring the online activity as well as keep us apprised as we receive more results from the evidence gathered.”

  Kevin stood up. “I need to get on these itinerary and other changes right away. Is there anything more?”

  Fred shook his head. “Not from my team. That sums up the go-forward plan.”

  “I do have one,” Amanda said after a slight pause. “Have you planned for after the tour is over? In particular if the stalker does not make an appearance for the rest of the tour, or does not get apprehended.”

  In spite of everything I shared with Lady and Kevin less than two hours before this meeting, Kevin replied with, “After the tour, your contract will be fulfilled. I’ll bring in more private security to monitor the house and protect Johnny.”

  “Hold on a moment, Kevin,” Fred said. “I think I understand where Amanda is going with this. Once the concerts are over, the risk to the general public will be lower. And I’m afraid my superiors will not keep us assigned to this investigation. The case will be referred back to local police.”

  “I hope you catch her and get her off the street before this tour ends,” Kevin answered. He held out a hand for Lady to take it. The two began walking toward the door. “If not, we’ll find a way to be prepared. Johnny, Amanda, you have about three hours before wardrobe, hair and makeup get here to work on you.”

  With that, Kevin and Lady left. Fred and his team returned to their office, and Amanda got up and turned to me. “Where to?” She asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “It means what are you going to do now? I’m keeping watch over you, if you’ve forgotten.”

  “No. I haven’t,” I told her. I crossed the room and put my hands around her waist. “I’m starving. Have you eaten?”

  “I did earlier.”

  “The housekeeper must have prepared something by now, if Kevin didn’t already pre-arranged some catered food. I need food.”

  Chapter 9 - Amanda

  The talk with Fred—and his debrief with everyone—got me back on track. I chalked up my meltdown to a temporary case of the feels. Like my old MMA trainer would say, ‘there’s no place for emotion in the octagon, Roxy’. The thing was, I did not become emotional until I let Johnny in. I was beginnin
g to relate to why there were policies that took agents, officers and other crime and justice workers off cases where they were related to or involved with the victim, witness or suspect. Getting my emotions involved made me question my ability, and more than that, it made me afraid I could not protect the guy I was also beginning to care for.

  The up side for the rest of the day was there was little time to analyze or assess any of it. After lunch and a bit of time in the sun outside on the back deck with Johnny, I barely had an hour before the wardrobe, hair and make-up girls arrived. The three of them arrived together, armed with what I felt were way too many supplies, clothes and equipment. They set up in a guest suite on the main floor behind the kitchen and got to work.

  They simultaneously caught up on their usual gossip while showing me, and each other, the three dress options in order to coordinate the look. The first was a black puffy ball gown with feathery accents on the sleeveless bodice. It was an instant no-go. Then, I looked at an ultra-chic, but way-too-sheer cobalt blue jumpsuit. It was gorgeous, but I got the visual of spending the evening using my arms to alternate between covering my chest and my ass. Thankfully, the last dress was workable. It was a close-fitting, floor-length white dress with cutouts in various parts of the bodice, and shimmery pink accents on one side.

  Once that was out of the way, the hairstylist insisted on getting me first. She took me to the in-suite bathroom, used a specialty flat iron to get my hair bone straight, and blended in long hair extensions to style it in a high ponytail. All along while she added the extensions, I was thinking, ‘This chick cut off my naturally long hair last week to put in fake extensions this week… smh’. I could admit I was still a tad resentful about that.

  The makeup artist got me next. She did a great job, and kept the makeup tones softer, with neutral pink blush, a shimmery pink eye shadow, and a mild, almost-nude lipstick. When she was done, I was impressed—it looked fresh, professional and natural.