“Even being in a mini-spotlight makes me so uncomfortable. Being stared at and picked apart, like they know about my scars.” Emily swallowed hard. She hated that she was so self-conscious, but they were still so ugly and thick.
“I don’t care about your scars. I only see beauty when I look at you.”
Emily moaned.
“What?”
“No wonder women gawk at you. Sexy outside with a beautiful core, and your ability to use words like that…”
“Tell me.”
“Makes me tingle with desire.”
Jack rolled her on her back. “I have just what you need.”
Their lips met and hands stroked and caressed. He kissed down her neck to the hollow at the base of her throat. His tongue dipped in as his hand caressed her breast. “Mmm, good.” When he took her nipple into his mouth, she arched off the bed. “Oh.” She’d never been so physically in tune so fast with a guy. Now if only her head and heart would catch up.
He dipped his tongue into her belly button, which made her giggle. Over her belly, down her right hip, to her thigh. He’d gotten halfway before she realized what he was doing. She hadn’t meant to tense up. Jack switched to her other leg and kissed, licked, and caressed his way back to her lips. He grabbed a condom and protected them. Jack rubbed his cock between her thighs, coating himself and pleasuring her.
As he entered her, he whispered, “I love you.”
Something deep inside melted. He loved her gently, deeply, until they were both covered in a fine sheen of perspiration. The last thought she had before she tumbled into ecstasy was that she was happy she’d met him.
Long after Jack fell asleep, Emily lay awake. Jack held her so tightly she could hardly breathe. She needed some space, so she lifted Jack’s heavy arm and moved away.
But she was still unable to stop the anxious thoughts whirling about in her head. Tomorrow would be their last full day together, and then the real test would start. She wanted this relationship to work, but she had no idea how to make that happen.
J
I wish I could’ve seen Jackie’s face when he read my love letter. He loves dirty talk. Even though that groupie whore’s still in his room, I know he’s just having fun with her. His last hurrah before we’re together.
I’ve spent months planning my life around his tour so we could meet in New York. That whore cheated me out of my Sleepless in Seattle moment, but I’m adaptable, always have been. I’ll just have to do some rewrites is all. I know Jack better than he knows himself, but I’ll do some research on the groupie, if she’s still around after the band leaves for Hartford on Thursday. She doesn’t look the type to be a groupie, yet here she is, which proves you can never tell.
I still want a memorable beginning to our new life together. I tap the calendar app on my phone and pull up my schedule and compare it to Jack’s. Fuck! I can maybe get away at the end of June while Jack’s in Chicago.
Yes, I can use the excuse I’m going to visit my family. He’ll never question that.
One thing that won’t need to be rewritten is the ending.
Jack and I will be together.
chapter
NINE
Jack woke Wednesday feeling great. They’d had amazing sleepy early-morning sex. He’d woken first and gone down on Em, making her come twice before he eased inside her, loving her until they’d both come and easily fallen back to sleep. She was still nestled into his side.
He’d only gotten up once last night to switch sides with her because she’d needed to move. He didn’t care; he’d do it ten times if that’s what it took to feel her next to him all night.
“Babe, I’m leaving for the gym,” he whispered. She’d made him promise to wake her before he left. She wanted to get her writing in so they could spend the rest of the day together. Their last full day. For now.
“I’m up,” she said.
Except she wasn’t. She’d fallen right back to sleep. Jack whipped the covers back. She was curled on her side, and at the sight of her luscious, naked body, he groaned. Jack wanted to blow off working out. Buzz would understand.
“Go,” she said, as she rolled onto her back. “Buzz is waiting.”
Jack nodded. She was great. He dropped a quick kiss on her lips before using super-human strength to walk out of the bedroom. “See ya later, baby.”
After their workout, Jack and Buzz rode the elevator up together. “Rooster” sounded from Jack’s phone, and he pulled it out and connected the call. “What’s up?”
“We need to discuss the new security measures.”
“When?”
“ASAP.”
“Hold on. Jeff wants to go over the new security. Em will think we’re still working out. Is now okay for you?”
Buzz nodded.
“We’ll be right there.”
“You sure keeping this from her is a good idea?” Buzz asked.
“She hates that I’m famous. I don’t want to give her any reason to break it off. Things still aren’t settled between us.”
Buzz sighed. “Not everyone falls in love as fast as you do, bro. It hasn’t even been a week.”
“I know that, but I’ll feel a lot better when she…” Jack looked down. He was still pushing her, and his feelings were growing even stronger.
Buzz clapped him on the shoulder. “She just needs time. It’ll happen.”
“You sound sure?”
“I have never seen two people more perfectly suited than you guys. As long as you give her time and don’t fuck it up, it’ll happen.”
“When?” Jack whispered.
Elliot and Curt were there when Jack and Buzz entered Jeff’s room. Jeff had several files laid out on the table where he conferred with Brick.
Jack wanted to discuss getting someone to keep an eye on Em, but he’d wait to do that until everyone left.
“Security camera caught a nondescript individual exit the north stairs, walk down the hallway, and slip the envelope under Jack’s door, then leave the same way.”
“What do you mean, nondescript? Was it a man or a woman?” Jack asked.
“Couldn’t tell. Individual was about five foot eight, baggy black sweatpants, oversized black hoodie with the hood up, baseball cap, sunglasses. Nondescript.”
Jack paced the room. “Motherfucker.” He walked to the window and looked out but saw nothing. “I pay you good money—” He looked at Jeff. “Sorry, man. I really thought this was just some bullshit. I guess it’s getting to me.” He sat on the couch, dropping his head in his hands. “Go on.”
“Elliot, I’ve arranged a meeting with Matias Clark. Since this involves your wife, I thought you’d like to meet him.”
“Yes, thanks.” Elliot’s voice wavered.
“I’ve got two more guys coming in, Elijah Vargas and Wes Fletcher. Vargas will meet us in Harford. Fletcher is on his way from the airport now.”
There was a knock on the room door. Brick strode to the door, checking the peephole. He turned to Jeff. “It’s Emily and Nicki. What do you want me to do?”
Another knock.
Jack stood.
“Jack.” Emily’s voice pierced the door. “Tell Jeff to let us in.”
“Shit.” Jack nodded.
Brick opened the door. Emily and Nicki sauntered in with smug expressions.
“Look, Nic, they’re having a party in our honor, but we weren’t invited.” Emily walked to Jack and kissed him. “I’m not stupid.”
“I know.”
“We’ll talk about this later. Sitrep, please, Jeff.”
“What exactly do you think you know?” Jeff asked, trying to hide a smile.
She raised a brow. “Fine. Here’s what we know. Friday, when Jack and I were out, instead of coming with us, you followed us. Same thing Monday in the park. When we went out to dinner, there was extra security behind us. Curt told Nicki that someone’s been screwing around with his equipment.”
>
Emily paused to look at Nicki. “Have I missed anything?”
Nicki tapped her forefinger on her lips. “Let me see, extra security, sneaking around, equipment gremlin… Ah, yes. Last night in the bar, Miller and Polson walked in and tried not to look like they were watching us.”
Emily snapped her fingers. “Right, I forgot about them. Thanks, sweetie.”
“All easily explained. Routine security. The band is very popular, and we’re here to protect them and their interests,” Jeff said.
“Their interests? Hmm, that’s a new word for it.” Emily turned to Jeff. “Jack has a stalker.”
Every guy that wasn’t trained security looked down or away from Emily and Nicki.
“That’s a leap, don’t you think?” Jeff asked.
“No, I don’t. Occam’s Razor.”
“Who’s Occam and why do we care if he has a razor?” Curt asked.
“It’s a theory by William Occam. The simplest explanation is usually the correct one,” Nicki said. She put her arms around Curt and kissed him. “We know something is going on. I wanted to sex it out of you, but Emi prefers the more direct method.” She made a face. “She never lets me have any fun.”
“What makes you think it’s Jack that has a stalker?” Jeff asked.
“His equipment wasn’t screwed with. Whoever it is, probably a girl, is trying to make Jack look good by making Curt look bad.”
Jeff nodded slowly. “Damn, I hadn’t thought of that.”
“So, sitrep?”
Jack was so proud of her. “Go on, we’re busted.”
Jeff gave a succinct explanation of everything that had happened since Jack received the first letter.
“Can I see the letters?” Emily asked.
Jeff looked at Jack, and he nodded. Jeff pulled out copies of the letters and handed them to Emily.
Nicki looked over Em’s shoulder. “Ooh.” Nicki shuddered.
Curt pulled Nicki to him.
“What do you make of this?” Jeff asked.
“Well, the creepy factor is a ten. But smart, no tech trail, no prints or DNA, can’t match a printer. No postmark.”
“The first ones were mailed, but the postmarks were all different. This is the first one that was hand-delivered,” Jeff said.
“When did you get the first letter?”
Jack cleared his throat. “A week after Christie and I broke up.”
Emily placed the letter on the table and turned to him. “Is she in town?”
Jack shrugged.
She turned to Jeff. “Has she been eliminated as a suspect?”
Jeff rubbed the back of his neck. “Yes.”
“You don’t seem so sure now.”
Jeff sighed. “Brick, find out where she is.”
Brick pulled out his phone and left to make a call.
This was a fucking nightmare. Jack felt the walls closing around him. He couldn’t read Em’s expression and it worried him. If this stalker cost him his chance with Emily—
“Person is patient,” Emily said to no one in particular.
“Patient?” Jack asked.
“Yeah, cutting out these letters is labor intensive. They’re all caps, so they’d have to plan out what they wanted to say first.”
“Why?” Jeff asked.
“Because magazines only use this size on the first letter of an article. They’d need a bunch of magazines and have to search out the letters needed.”
Jeff was obviously impressed. He made a quick note. “What else?”
Emily held the first and last one next to each other. “Nothing special about the paper or envelopes, but what about the scissors?”
“Scissors?” Jack asked.
“It’s hard to tell from the copies, but in the first letter, the edges of the letters are sharp. This one, not so much.”
Jeff looked at both letters. “I don’t know, let me make a call.” He walked into the bedroom.
Emily walked to him, and he opened his arms. “I never thought you were stupid.” He was actually relieved that she knew; he hadn’t liked keeping it from her. He was proud that she’d figured it out so quickly, but he was also scared.
Jeff returned. “They’ll look into it. But they’re not hopeful.”
“I assume you vetted the crew?” Nicki asked.
“Handled it myself,” Jeff said.
Emily made a face.
“What?” Jack asked.
She looked at Jeff, who gave her a slight nod, before answering. “Well, background checks are only part of the equation. If someone’s never been in trouble with the law, doesn’t mean they’re innocent, just haven’t been caught.”
Buzz and Curt looked at each other. Elliot and Jack sat on the couch.
“Don’t assume it’s a woman, either.” Emily paced the room.
“You said it was a woman,” Buzz said.
“I said probably. Could be a man, could be a team. Anyone who could develop a sick obsession with another person would be a magnet to a similar person. Maybe she’s in love with Jack, and her boyfriend wants to please her, so he stalks Jack to excite her.”
Jack was fascinated with how her mind worked.
“Or, the man could be fixated on Jack, wanting to be him.” Nicki joined Emily in pacing. “Imagining you somehow have the life he was meant to, getting extensive plastic surgery to look like you.”
Emily nodded at Nicki’s conjecture. At least Jack hoped it was conjecture.
“Why would anyone want to look like Jack-off here?” Elliot asked.
Emily and Nicki stopped pacing and looked at each other. “So he could dispose of Jack and replace him.”
“Dispose of Jack?” Curt looked puzzled.
“Yeah, baby, you know, cchhtttt.” Nicki made a slashing gesture across her throat.
Curt dropped into the nearest chair. “What the fuck is going on here? We’re musicians. This is so fucked up.”
Nicki walked over and sat on Curt’s lap. “I’m sorry, baby. We’re only speculating.”
Buzz still stood by the door. “Jeff, come on, this is just wild imagination stuff, right?”
“Until we can rule it out, anything’s a possibility.”
“Why didn’t you tell us this was so serious?” Elliot sneered. “We thought it was some crazy broad who wants to make Jack her sex slave, not some psycho who might want Jack…”
“I made Jack aware of the possibilities.”
Jeff had a few inches on him, but that didn’t stop Elliot from getting in his face. “Why the fuck weren’t we included? Jack’s our brother, we had a right to know.”
Jeff’s lip twitched, but Elliot didn’t back down.
“Because I told him not to.”
Elliot’s fury turned from Jeff. His faced reddened, and he balled his fists. “Why?” he asked through tight lips.
“Because I don’t want you guys in the line of fire.” Jack hadn’t really thought this was so serious until now. Jeff had mentioned similar scenarios to the ones Em and Nicki had suggested, but Jeff had said the same thing—most likely one person, a woman, who had an unhealthy fixation on him.
“It was at my suggestion,” Jeff interceded.
Elliot’s full fury returned to Jeff. “Why? Because we’re dumb musicians, who can’t wipe our asses without help?”
“No.” At Elliot’s scoff, Jeff nodded. “Okay, yeah, in the beginning, before I knew you, yeah, I thought that. But once I got to know you, I’ve come to respect you as the responsible men you are.”
Elliot’s anger slowly faded. He slumped back on the couch. “You should’ve told us, Jack.”
“Honestly, I hadn’t taken this seriously. The scenarios Jeff laid out seemed more bad Hollywood movie than reality. I’m sorry.”
They all shared a look, and then they were good. Guys were easy. Women, on the other hand…
“Since we’re being all open now, Jeff, I assume you vetted ev
eryone?” Emily asked.
Jeff nodded.
“What do you mean, everyone?” Buzz asked.
“Everyone. The crew, ex-girlfriends, your management and their staff, anyone who ever sent a creepy fan letter, weird third cousins, you guys.”
“Us? Why?” Elliot asked.
“To be thorough.” Emily looked at Jeff expectantly then smiled at Elliot. “Well?”
“Yes.”
Elliot dropped to his knees next to Jack and took Jack’s hand. “My secret’s out. Jack William McBride, will you marry me?”
Jack pushed Elliot away from him. “You’re already married, Black.”
“Siobhan’s been my beard all these years, to hide my man-love for you.”
Jack looked at Em, and her smirk said it all.
Curt and Buzz joined Elliot. “Hey, why do you get Jack? I’ve known him longer,” Buzz said. “Jack, forget Elliot. I’m better looking and nicer. We belong together.”
Curt took Jack’s face between his hands. “I love you, Jack. Marry me.”
Before Curt could kiss him, Jack shoved him away and walked to Emily. “Why?”
“You should’ve told me.” She went up on tiptoes and kissed him. His bandmates, not ones to let a joke go, fell to the ground in agony.
“You know they’re not gonna let this go anytime soon,” Jack said.
Emily smirked. “I’m counting on it.”
Agony turned to laughter. Elliot could hardly breathe, but he pointed at Emily. “Evil genius.”
J
Emily enjoyed the show. The guys would bust Jack’s balls about this for a good long time, and it served him right. They were having a good time laughing their asses off. After the serious conversation, it was a way to blow off steam. Emily couldn’t blame them. She’d hoped she was wrong, but when she brought it up to Nicki, and she’d told her about the equipment stuff, Emily had been worried.
Jeff was smart, efficient, and astute. Jack and the guys couldn’t be in better hands. Still. “How many security guys do you have that know?”
“Three. I’m adding two more.”
“Good.” She didn’t want to be alarmist, but she’d had that creepy feeling of being watched again yesterday, and she was pretty sure it wasn’t because Jeff followed them.
No More Yesterdays: A Rock Star Romance (Rocked in Love Book 2) Page 9