I may not have been thrilled when Emma hired Gavin as extra security for me. I may have given him the slip anytime I could. I may have even been less friendly with him than I could have been. But I was feeling more amenable to this whole added security thing after the other night, and Gavin was a straight up decent guy. I didn’t want to have to get to know someone new. Not even someone clearly as sinfully gorgeous and delightfully mischievous as this Ryder Andrews.
“We thought perhaps you and Gavin weren’t a…great fit,” Emma said.
“Great fit?” I huffed sarcastically. “Great fit? Who’s ever a great fit with their security detail?”
“Fine,” Emma said. “Putting it plainly, Nora. You’ve been a brat and Grace Grayson are reassigning your security to someone more likely to keep you in line.”
I noticed Gavin and Ryder exchange a look and wondered what exactly they’d said about me. Gavin had been no stranger to towing the hard line. He hadn’t been shy about putting his foot down. What was Ryder like for them to think he’d be more likely to keep me in line. The look in his eyes told me he wasn’t the ruthlessly strict type. But I knew as well as anyone that looks could be deceiving.
“Miss Fern. Miss Curry,” Ryder started. “Tank– Gavin has an exemplary record. His service record’s even better. But Grace Grayson works because we all have different skill sets. My skills, we feel, are…more suitable to the situation.”
“Mr Grace assured me–” Emma started, looking somewhat annoyed. I just didn’t know if it was with Mr Grace or me.
Ryder nodded. “Our availability changes–”
“Oh, no,” Emma said, throwing me a pointed look. “I’m not blaming anyone at Grace Grayson. Even I failed to see how difficult Nora would be.”
I frowned at her and crossed my arms over my chest like a petulant child.
“Jobs change,” Ryder said, doing all the talking for Gavin, just as he liked it. “If that means we need to shift our schedules around, we do. We want to be as…accommodating to our client’s needs as possible.”
I did not imagine the way he looked at me then. I know I didn’t. His eyes clearly said that he was willing to cater to any and every need I might have, no matter how personal. I was heavily considering taking him up on it.
Gavin actually used his words here. “We’ve talked it over and feel that Ryder will be able to do the job to Miss Curry’s satisfaction.”
I felt like they’d practiced their lines the whole way here.
I also felt like Ryder would be able to do a great many things to my satisfaction.
Most notably, I was annoyed that Gavin was ditching me.
“I didn’t think Gavin was the kind to give up,” I said.
“I think that says more about you than it does about him,” Emma replied ruefully.
“Oi,” I argued. “I take exception to that.”
“You can do whatever you like,” Emma said. Then muttered, “You usually do.”
My arms dropped as I was feeling less like the petulant child and more like the one who knew they’d done wrong and wanted to put things right. I hadn’t just annoyed Emma. I’d disappointed her. Until the chance came and I reverted to my usual self again, I’d be repentant.
Gavin looked at me with a sigh. “At Grace Grayson, we pride ourselves on getting a job done. We do what we need to do, depending on the clients’ needs. If that means stepping away, then that’s what we have to do.”
I was pretty sure it was the longest continuous thing that had ever come out of his mouth.
“What Gavin means,” Ryder added, “is that we put our clients first and our egos second. And trust me, Gavin’s got the smallest ego of the lot of us.”
Why did it sound like he didn’t mean ‘ego’ when he said it?
I gave him a knowing smirk and he returned it tenfold.
“We’ve got a new plan for your security, Miss Curry,” Ryder went on, his eyes scanning my body like that was of utmost importance. “And we feel I’m better suited to the new plan.”
I was intrigued to hear about this new plan.
“And if we do the new plan, I don’t have to be benched anymore?” I asked.
Emma nodded. “You follow the new plan and the tour will continue as advertised. None the wiser.”
“Okay.” I smiled at them all. “I can get behind that.”
“And I’ll be behind you,” Ryder said.
I was sure I saw Gavin give him a look that was at once fond exasperation and warning. Ryder just grinned, first at Gavin, then at me and winked.
Oh, I liked Ryder. I really liked Ryder. I wanted-to-take-him-straight-to-my-bedroom liked Ryder. That godforsaken twinkle in his eye that was begging to get me into all kinds of trouble was also doing a really weird thing to me. It made me hesitate. It made me hold my tongue. It made me want to…get to know him.
“Lord help us,” Emma muttered with a smile.
I seconded that.
I was going to need all the help I could get when it came to avoiding Ryder’s obvious charm.
4
Ryder
Nora-freaking-Curry was standing in front of me.
Better yet, Nora-freaking-Curry was clearly checking me out.
Even better, she knew I was checking her out and she seemed to like it.
She looked nothing and everything like the pictures.
Fire-engine red hair. Big, sultry chocolate eyes. Hips you could hold onto wrapped in tight ripped black jeans. She had curves in all the right places, showing clearly even under the generic Rolling Stones’ mouth tank. She wore monster black heels that put her taller than me. She exuded rock goddess and, still, she was more casual than she was in shoots or on stage.
I was envisioning what it would be like to have those long legs wrapped around me, but I knew better than to push my luck too quickly and blow my…chances.
Tank’s tight little panties were already worked into a knot over the very little I’d let slip. I hated to think what he’d be like if he knew the intimate details going on in my head – because, let’s be honest, he knew enough vagaries just to make him blush. I was strong, but not nearly strong enough to catch him if he fainted.
Nora wasn’t the first client I’d been attracted to. I doubted she’d be the last. The fellas from Grace Grayson hadn’t given themselves a fantastic reputation among the high society ladies for our all-star service because we saw a lot of action…on the streets. Now, in the sheets? Well, that was the worst best rumour we had. Whether one believed it or not tended to depend on what one thought about one’s wife.
Whether I saw any action of the more personal kind with Nora Curry, time would tell. But there was a spark. There was potential. There were the flutterings of eyelids, the coquettish smiles, and the evaluating glances of the interested. And, she was giving me the same signs in return.
Tank was giving me his own signs, but I was much less interested in being told to keep it in my pants.
“If that’s everything, I’ll leave you to it,” Tank said, but there was warning in his voice and eyes; behave, get the job done, you’re the face of the company here.
I nodded to him and his eyebrow rose for a moment. I nodded again as I rolled my eyes, and finally he eased up on me.
“I guess this is goodbye, then, Gavin,” Nora said, rocking on her feet.
Tank nodded to her. “You’re in good hands.”
Nora gave him a smile. “I don’t doubt that.”
Nora thrust her hand out and Tank shook it.
“Do my eyes deceive me or is that a tear in the big fella’s eye?” I teased.
Tank merely looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
“Aw, shucks,” I told him as I batted his arm playfully. “You always know just what to say.”
Nora snorted what sounded like a very involuntary snort, then coughed like she was covering it up.
Miss Fern looked at Tank as if she was asking if there were actua
lly two of them and Tank seemed to answer ‘yes’. I grinned and looked at Nora. She grinned back.
If my job was to keep her under control by letting her lose control, it looked like we were heading for success. I saw the same lightbulb on in Tank’s eyes.
He gave me one more loaded look, gave us all a nod, and headed off.
“So, what do you need first?” Miss Fern asked me.
I shouldn’t have looked at Nora – there was professionalism and there was professionalism – but I did. Once done, all I could do was go with it. I had my fill of drinking in that unique gorgeousness, and turned back to her manager.
“I guess I should chat to your usual security, get the lay of the land,” I said. “Gav said this was sound check and show’s tonight?”
Miss Fern nodded. “I’ll take you to them. What do you want to do with Nora?”
Oh, she had to stop giving me those lines. Nora and I exchanged another heated look, but my mind was heading into spec and recon territory and that meant flirting was taking a back seat.
“I trust you won’t be sneaking off in the next half hour?” I asked her, using my big boy, superior tone.
She had the decency to hide her amusement. “I’ll…behave.”
Oh, damn. Oh, damn. Oh, damn. Oh. Damn.
Would this woman be the death of me? Would that even be so bad? Death by her was way better than any of the near-misses we’d had on missions. Definitely had at least one up on kidnapping and torture.
I couldn’t help but wink. “Good girl.”
I let Miss Fern lead me away to find the security guys.
“I’m trusting your process…” she started slowly and I knew where her mind was going.
“I could say a lot of things that might put your mind at ease, Miss Fern,” I told her. “But the crux of it is that, despite outward appearances, I do know what I’m doing. She’s safe with me.”
The manager nodded, but I could see she was still worried.
“You care about her,” I said, trying to lower my voice into that gentle tone Chaos was way better at than me.
Miss Fern sighed. “She’s just not taking the threats seriously. And then the other night… I don’t think she’ll ever admit just how much it affected her. She was so scared, but there was that brave face. She wouldn’t admit it, but she was…a bit dusty on the flight home.”
I nodded. I could only imagine. When I’d heard about it, I’d felt a chill. The violation of knowing someone was watching you from the shadows wasn’t foreign to me. I’d been on both sides of the coin and neither had been pleasant. The truly chilling thing was that it was probably pleasant for whoever this arsehole was. I didn’t blame Nora for getting pissed after.
“We’ve got five more stops on the tour?” I checked and she nodded. “Okay. And what are the plans for after?”
Miss Fern looked at me, shock on her face. “What do you mean?”
“Well, is this a tour-only kind of deal? What about when the tour’s over and Miss Curry’s at home alone?”
Miss Fern swore under her breath. “I never even… We’ve all been so focussed on the tour…”
I nodded. “Don’t worry. We’ll take each step as it comes up. Maybe it’ll never come up.”
“If it was him the other night, it’s the first time he’s done anything offline.”
“Great. That’s a good sign. Hopefully, it was just coincidence. He lived there and took the opportunity. The number of times this leads to following the band around is minor compared to what goes on the internet under the relative safety of anonymity.”
Miss Fern released a deep breath. “Of course. I’m sure you’re right. I just… It would be easier if it were…Zach or Nate. They’d do what they were told, when they were told. I wouldn’t have to worry they were constantly trying to slip away and be in god knows what danger.”
“That’s the tough bit,” I agreed. “The uncertainty. But, that’s why I’m here.”
Miss Fern sized me up none too subtly. “Well, she’s certainly taken to you much more than she took to Gavin.”
“I tend to have that effect on people,” I told her.
She smiled a knowing smile. “I’ll leave it up to you to decide on the sense of accepting her invitation.”
“Invitation?”
“To her bed, Ryder,” she said wryly. “Her invitation to her bed.”
I hadn’t been playing dumb. I’d legitimately not expected her manager to be so on top of her affairs. Here I was, thinking maybe I was going to be invited to one of those music awards nights.
“Ah.” I gave a nod. “Right. Well…” I cleared my throat and wondered where my clever words had gone. “When I said we put the job first, I meant it. We take ourselves and our clients very seriously.”
Miss Fern looked at me like she thought she knew better, but she didn’t say so. “All right,” was what she did say. “Good to hear.”
I think we both knew that if there were any bedroom shenanigans between me and Nora, it wasn’t going to be at the expense of her safety. I definitely knew it, and Miss Fern just seemed too polite to voice it out loud.
She stopped at a door. “Security hang in here when they’re not needed. You’ll find a few of the boys doing their thing. The others are stationed.”
I gave her a nod, glad that my attraction to her bass player was now out of the spotlight. “Great. Thanks.”
“I’ll leave you to it. Let me know if you need anything else.”
“Will do.”
She left and I entered the room.
“You the new guy?” one of the guys asked.
They were all built on the Tank side of things, which meant that they were pretty much all bigger than me. They all wore black slacks and tight black t-shirts that read ‘SECURITY’ on them.
I nodded to the guy’s t-shirt. “Subtle. I like it.”
He nodded to my suit. “Poncy. I like it.”
I smirked. He smirked. We were friends already.
“Anton. Head of tour security,” he said, thrusting his hand towards me.
“Ryder.”
Anton kicked his head to the other blokes in the room. “This here’s Rico, Des and Phil.”
I nodded to them in greeting. “Pleasure, fellas.”
“What do you need from us?” Anton asked.
“Okay,” I said, looking at the other security guys. “Talk me through a standard concert.”
I didn’t know if they’d had an issue when Tank had been brought in, but they seemed totally unfazed to have me there. I assumed they knew as well as I that we were there for different jobs. Their expertise was crowd control. I had plenty of experience with crowd control, but my skills were aimed more at smaller details and specific threats.
We spent some time going through the basic timeline from picking the band up from their hotel to dropping them back, whatever time and whatever state that involved. The whole thing sounded pretty standard and as expected. My job would entail being on the detail to pick Nora up, not let her out of my sight, then make sure she got back to her room and didn’t leave it alone.
Simple.
Or, so I thought.
“We’re going through sound check today before the concert tonight,” Rico said. “Which means closed stage.”
“The only people in or out have badges,” Des added.
Anton passed me an ear piece. “While you’re here, you get comms. We meet an hour before the band’s day starts. We go through the schedule, then break up to do pick up. I’ve been told you’re staying in the hotel too, yes?” he asked and I nodded. “Good. So, you’ll get a text when it’s time to move. Just standard. Your end of day will depend heavily on Nora.”
I nodded again. “So I’ve been told.”
“The rest is take it as it comes. The band’s got relative freedom and we go where the band goes.”
“Okay. Can do.”
“You’ve done this sort of job b
efore?” Anton asked.
“VIP. Never a rockstar, though.”
Anton nodded. “Pay’s good. Never gets boring.”
I grinned. “No. It doesn’t.”
I put the ear piece in. I was no stranger to the ear piece, but it was different when you didn’t have your team on the other end. It felt more like a super spy. Well, the James Bond type, not the special ops type. And, if there was one thing I’d wanted to be in my life, it was James Bond. It’s why I’d joined the special ops in the first place.
Boy, were my expectations dashed.
And they’d be dashed again because the Bond thing was going to be a short-lived thing.
Suits were Tank’s thing. They were Chaos’ thing. They were Hawk’s thing. They were my thing when Nelson was paying my wages. But I was on tour with a rockband and I’d be damned if I didn’t fit in with the rest of the boys.
Fitting in meant Nora would have a little more rope, as it were.
Fitting in meant I could keep her under control by letting her out of control.
Fitting in might also have meant bordering on ‘using Nora as bait’ territory. But, I’d be by her side. I’d keep her safe. So many times, these things came to nothing anyway and we were just an abundance of caution.
Tank had filled me in on every instance of the stalker’s activities – all nicely encased in a structured folder – including the possible instance earlier in the week. So I was aware this situation had the potential for bodily harm.
If there was one thing the boys of Grace Grayson were ready for, it was bodily harm.
5
Nora
I wanted to know what made him tick. I wanted to know what went through his mind that he didn’t say, given everything he did say. I wanted half an hour alone with him to find out if that tongue was really as dirty as I hoped it was.
But Adelaide gave us no chances.
Our schedule was tight. Back-to-back soundcheck and concert, then plane the next morning. None of us had time to think about family or friends we hadn’t seen since moving to the States years earlier.
Rollie & the Rocker (Grace Grayson Security Book 4) Page 3