Not that that was his purpose for being here. He was here to keep Maxi safe. And she was. Since the bogus tip that had implicated Carter, all had been quiet on the stalker front. Which should make Billy happy, but instead with every day that passed he grew more unsettled. Someone was out there and he hated the idea of her being a sitting duck.
Neither the Chicago PD nor Elite Security were any closer to finding out who was behind this. But whoever it was had Maxi in their sights. Chances were they also knew the real reason that Billy was here, and if they didn’t they would soon. After tonight his cover as working for Ricco would come to an end. This was the last event the kid had in Chicago and then he would be on a plane back to New York.
“The after party is just down the block. We’ve rented out the entire club,” Maxi informed him and Ace. “Ricco has a VIP meet and greet in the green room and then we’re leaving through the back alley with a police escort”
This was all the information that both men had, but another thing that Billy had observed over the past week was that Maxi didn’t just dot her i’s and cross her t’s, she looped her g’s and swooped her s’s. Everything was double, triple, and quadruple checked and confirmed. At first, Billy had thought it was a bit of overkill, but after she’d caught mistakes on the third and fourth pass, he’d seen the error of his ways.
As the group navigated through the organized chaos that was backstage, he clocked every person to make sure that they belonged there. Other than the three girls that were obviously wearing fake VIP credentials everyone checked out from his visual sweep.
Ace spotted the teeny bopper intruders, too. He led them behind a large set of speakers as he spoke into his radio and announced the girls’ location. Ricco had four bodyguards that traveled with him everywhere and they along with Ace were all on the same channel.
Unlike Maxi, who had been as distant as a person possibly could be while being in such close proximity, he’d gotten to know Ace better this week and couldn’t be happier that he was on the team. He was the kind of guy you’d want on your side. He was professional, efficient, had good instincts, and most importantly a great sense of humor. Which came in handy when spending a week with a teenage pop star and all the people that he attracted.
Once they arrived at the green room Ace, Maxi and Billy all took their places beside the large area where Ricco was taking pictures with his fans. After four nights of this Billy could spot the criers, the screamers and even the fainters, which sometimes turned out to be the parents. He and Ace had wagered ten dollars a pop over predicting what a fan would be. Billy was up by seventy bucks.
“Crier,” Billy quietly spoke as a blonde girl with braces wearing a Ricco Kingsley T-shirt and headband approached the singer.
“Fainter,” Ace countered.
Billy watched the girl’s color drain from her face a second before her knees gave out on her. She was caught by one of Ricco’s personal bodyguards before she hit the floor.
“Shit,” Billy cursed under his breath. Now he was only up sixty dollars.
Maxi, who was standing directly in front of Billy, turned her head, giving both Ace and Billy the side eye.
“Are you two betting on who cries and faints?” she whispered.
“And screams.” Both men clarified.
“How much?” Her brow furrowed.
“10.” Billy answered, unsure what her reaction would be.
At the gym, Maxi could hang with the boys better than the boys half the time. He’d seen her win more spitting contests than she lost. But this wasn’t a boxing gym, this was her career and he braced himself for a lecture.
Taking one step back, she positioned herself between Billy and Ace. Looking straight ahead she stated, “I want in.”
Billy couldn’t help the smile that spread on his face as he thought, that’s my girl. That’s the girl I love.
As soon as the word formed in his mind he froze.
Love… Did he love Maxi? He cared for her. Respected the shit out of her. Would take a bullet for her. Yes, he loved Maxi as a person, but that didn’t mean he loved her. Did it?
“Cry,” Maxi said under her breath as a girl with auburn hair and braces made her way to the front of the line for the photo op.
“Faint,” Ace predicted once again.
Billy was distracted as he tried to process the whole love word when he felt both Maxi and Ace’s stare directed at him.
“Oh, scream.” Billy had seen the girl shaking out her hands in the back of the line. Hand shakers were either criers or screamers, or both.
The blood curdling sound that flew from her mouth when she got within a foot of Ricco meant Billy was now up by eighty dollars.
He could feel Maxi tense beside him. She was one of the most competitive people that he knew and he knew Olympic-level athletes.
The next girl stepped up. He called cry, Ace and Maxi both called scream.
The girl burst into tears before screaming uncontrollably.
Glancing down at Maxi’s grin, he knew she’d thought she’d won or at least tied.
Leaning over he whispered against her ear, “I don’t know why you’re smiling, I won.”
Her head whipped around and through a tight smile, without moving her lips she said, “No you didn’t, she screamed.”
“She cried first, which means I won,” Billy explained.
Apparently, she didn’t want to take him at his word because she spun towards Ace who nodded in agreement. With reluctant resignation Maxi conceded the victory with a snipped, “Fine.”
She was only able to play two more rounds, both of which she lost, before her phone started lighting up and demanding her attention. Billy watched her as she handled whatever crises she was dealing with and tried to silence the little voice in the back of his head that kept bringing up the word he’d managed to keep out of his vocabulary for nearly thirty years. The word that he considered a verb not a noun. The word he never thought he’d utter in a romantic sense. The word that now belonged to Maxi.
Love.
Chapter 13
Maxi shifted her weight from her left foot to her right foot as she scanned the crowd at the after party. Everyone looked to be having a good time and the night, the week, was almost over. Glancing down, she checked her watch for the fifth time in ten minutes. The countdown was on. The cars would be here any minute to take Ricco, who she’d actually grown fond of over the past week and Alan, who’d she’d actually grown to dislike more over the past week, to the airport.
The finish line was in sight, all she had to do was cross it.
“Car service is five minutes out,” Cora chirped as she stepped beside Maxi.
“Great.” Maxi was so proud of her team. They’d all gone above and beyond and she’d already spoken to Jessie about what she could do to reward them.
“This week has been crazy, but now that it’s over, I’m kind of sad.” Cora’s gaze was focused on Ace, but even if it hadn’t been Maxi would’ve known that he was the origin of her melancholy before she made her way back across the room.
Maxi could totally see the appeal. Ace was tall, dark and handsome with the added bonus of being just a little bit dangerous. He’d spent twelve years in the Marines, eight of which had been in Special Ops. His light eyes were perfectly contrasted by his olive skin and dark hair. He was smart. Funny. Had a slight but sexy twang which she’d learned came from his Georgia roots and could probably kill you with one hand tied behind his back.
And Maxi felt nothing for him. The man beside him, however, was a different story. This week had been a marathon and not just professionally. She’d been running from Billy as well. She couldn’t be in the same room with him without her hormones overriding any ounce of logic that her fried brain had left.
This week had taken Billy Marshall out of the fantasy realm of a fictional prince that she’d created and plopped him front and center into her reality, and unlike so many things in life, the reality was so much better than the fantasy. And tha
t was quite a feat considering her overactive imagination.
She’d always wondered what it would be like to have his undivided attention, after this week she knew…it was amazing. He was like Sting from his days in the Police. Every move she made, every step she took, he was watching her.
She’d dreamed about what it would be like with him being the last face she saw at night and waking up to his five o’clock shadow in the morning. Now she knew. It was heaven on earth.
She’d thought about what it would be like to spend more than a few hours a week with him. Would his charm and wit wear off? Would she would grow bored like she had with every other guy she’d dated? Now she knew that time only increased his charm and wit and she was definitely not bored.
She’d imagined what it would be like to be touched by him in more than just a passing graze. Now she knew it was tantalizingly seductive and somehow also comfortingly safe.
She’d fantasized about what it would be like to have him hold her, kiss her, to make love to her…The jury was still out but she was sure just like the rest it would far exceed anything she’d been able to conjure up. Hence the reason she’d kept herself even busier than necessary this week. Alone time with Billy couldn’t lead to anything good.
For that reason, as much as she was looking forward to those cars pulling up, she was equally dreading their arrival. Without work as an excuse to keep them apart, she would actually have to talk to him and not let the fact that his voice was like a shot of whiskey to her inhibitions show. She’d have to look into his caramel eyes and try not to drown in their golden depths.
Yeah. She was so screwed.
When her phone dinged, she expected to see a message from the car service. Instead it was a message from her dad saying that he’d made it to Harper’s Crossing and was going to spend the night there before heading home tomorrow.
Tomorrow.
That was another situation she didn’t want to face. She’d have to tell her dad what was going on tomorrow. When he’d messaged them that he was extending his trip last weekend, for some naïve reason, Maxi had thought that this entire thing would be resolved by the time he returned. But it looked like that wasn’t the case at all.
“What’s wrong?” Billy spoke softly next to her ear as his hand rested on her hip.
Oh my.
His deep timbre and heated breath caused her knees to wobble. She might miss that the most. The way he held her hip and spoke against her ear. It was more than just the sound of his voice, weight of his palm, and grip of his fingers, which on their own were all panty-melting. It was the feelings that it inspired in her. His touch was private. His words sounded intimate. Forget flowers and jewelry, this was what a girl should really want. That feeling couldn’t be bought.
When she didn’t answer his fingers tightened against her hip sending a shockwave of tingles through her.
“Nothing,” she managed to say, although it came out a tad more breathlessly than she would’ve liked. Taking a breath she explained, “My dad is staying overnight in Harper’s Crossing and he’s coming home tomorrow.”
“Are you okay?” he followed up.
No! Everything still felt completely out of control, including her feelings for Billy, especially her feelings for Billy and now she was going to have to tell her dad about everything that had been going on. She was so not okay.
“Yep. I’m fine.” And I’m also a big, fat liar.
“Cars are here.” Cora mouthed from across the room.
Maxi told herself that she just needed to hold it together for the next few minutes. Once Ricco and his people were safely on their way to O’Hare she could go home, lock herself in the shower, sing Pat Benetar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” from the eighties classic Spring Fever and hopefully stave off the nervous breakdown that she actually felt she’d earned.
The next few minutes were a blur of activity as she corralled Ricco and his entourage—which had grown significantly larger over the last few days—to the back of the club where the SUVs were waiting to whisk them away. Once she was able to direct everyone down the hall that led to the back door she could see the metaphoric finish line. All she needed to do was cross it.
With a renewed sense of determination she pushed open the heavy metal door and people started filing out before she registered the mania. Just outside the safety of the club flashes of light were exploding as throngs of people rushed towards them screaming Ricco’s name. And worst of all, from what she could see there were no cars.
“Where are the cars?” Maxi yelled into her headset as she tried to pull Ricco’s people back inside.
With all the confusion she wasn’t even sure where he was. Needing to locate him, she took a step out and tried to lift up on her toes. That’s when a hand clamped down on her arm and pulled her. She reached out to grab the door handle to try to tether herself, but before she was able to wrap her fingers around it a large arm encircled her waist and she was yanked back inside the building like a ragdoll. She blinked and when she opened her eyes her back was pressed up against a wall and Billy was surrounding her, cocooning her in safety.
She started to move, to make sure that her team and Ricco were okay, but she was caged in.
The small space and feeling of being trapped triggered panic that rose up in her throat like bile.
Her eyes were wild with fear as she pushed against Billy’s solid chest. “Let me go! I have to go!”
“Maxi?!” His voice sounded like he was under water, but she could still hear the confusion in it.
The next thing she knew her feet were off the ground and she was being carried through the mob. She buried her head in Billy’s chest and closed her eyes, trying to make herself as small as possible. The sound of a door slamming caused her to open her eyes and when she did she saw that they were alone, in a small office.
Billy gently set her down and when her feet touched the ground he cupped her face with his hands. Maxi didn’t get embarrassed easily, but the fact that Billy had seen her so panicked had her looking down at the floor to avoid his gaze.
“Hey,” he rasped. “Look at me.”
Not wanting to worry him, she lifted her head and met his stare. When she did his eyes searched hers.
“Billy…” She wanted to tell him that she was okay. To thank him for…everything. But she couldn’t find the words.
A moment passed and then another. In the back of her mind she knew she needed to go check on her team and make sure that Ricco was safe, but she just couldn’t seem to pull away from his gaze. In fact she found herself drawing closer to it. Her feet lifted off the ground as his head lowered. Closer and closer they moved until they were a breath apart.
This wasn’t the first time they’d found themselves in this position. The first time it had been on the couch. The second had been in her office, and then there was now. Maxi secretly hoped that the third time would be the charm.
His soft lips barely brushed over hers but her hopes were dashed when the door behind him flew open.
“There you are!” Cora exclaimed rushing in, oblivious to the moment that had just passed and threw her arms around Maxi’s neck. “I’ve been looking all over for you. The cars went to the venue not the club. Ace was able to deliver both Ricco and Alan to the SUVs; they’re safe and headed to the airport. In all the mayhem some of his people got left behind but Martin is handling their transportation. The crowd has died down since word spread that Elvis had left the building.”
Maxi chuckled and it had less to do with Cora’s joke and a lot more to do with the fact that if Cora hadn’t come in when she had, Maxi would definitely have kissed Billy Marshall. Unlike the other two times, this time there was contact…and it wasn’t nearly enough.
As the three of them left the small office, Billy’s hand rested on Maxi’s back and all of the nerves disappeared instantly and were replaced with a different sensation. The world righted itself.
Uh oh.
Note to self: Do not actually fal
l in love with Billy Marshall.
Maxi feared this was a case of too little too late.
Chapter 14
Billy drummed his fingers on the kitchen table as he listened to Maxi singing a song that he thought he remembered from Dirty Dancing. He was doing his best to clear all visions of her naked body beneath the water, but he was failing miserably. He was wound so tight he was about to snap and not just physically. He’d taken his own shower to try alleviating some of the pressure, but it hadn’t even taken the edge off.
After tonight he knew that something had to give.
Maxi was keeping something from him and avoiding him and he wanted to know why. He and Maxi needed to talk. He had questions that needed answered.
When he heard the shower turn off, he knew it was just a matter of time before she’d be out to get her water. Every night, either after her shower or, if she didn’t shower, then after washing her face, she came out and grabbed a water.
He heard the soft padding of her feet about a second before she came into view looking like his wet dream come to life. She was in profile, wrapped in a crisp white towel, her dark hair was falling over her bare shoulders and her long legs were glistening with moisture.
“Damn,” he said under his breath with a groan of appreciation.
He hadn’t meant to, but like he said something had to give.
Maxi shrieked and spun around at his soft moan. Her hands flew up and grabbed her towel, holding it in place. Small lines appeared at her nose as her lips pursed and her face scrunched in frustration.
“You scared me!” she exclaimed with displeasure.
All He Wants Page 11