He shook my hand, long fingers swallowing mine in his grip. “Penny it is.”
I didn’t want to let go. Somehow, I did.
“Suraj and I will alternate surveillance shifts. Of course, when you leave the premises, both of us will accompany you at all times.”
“Right.” I shivered. This stalker, whoever he was, was chasing me doggedly. At first, he seemed like a really nice fan. He’d even sent me books because I mentioned during an interview that I loved reading hockey romances. This guy sent me a box of them. I didn’t find out until I tried to thank him once that the return addresses belonged to someone else entirely.
Eventually, he began asking me personal questions. He pried into my relationship with Grant Morris, one of Hollywood’s hottest superhero actors. I’d loved Grant with everything I had and put my career on hold for a whole year to spend time with him. I thought we would be together forever.
When we announced our engagement, my stalker began sending threats. He claimed I was ruining my life, that Grant didn’t love me the way he could. He said he’d rather I die than marry someone else. Eventually, he walked back from that, apologized, and told me he hadn’t meant it, but the threats against Grant continued.
The tipping point was the threat to harm my parents after I moved back to Texas last summer. I hated California’s weather, missed being able to drive a handful of hours to see my mom, and genuinely missed the penthouse Grant had almost convinced me to put on the market.
We couldn’t agree on a final home together, but our choices were at least down to Not-Texas and Not-California, with both of us leaning toward Virginia.
Then, two weeks ago, my stalker sent me a video from Grant’s surveillance system of my fiancé balls-deep in his current co-star in our bed. I cried for days and grieved the end of a six-year relationship, hating my stalker almost as much as I hated the man who cheated on me. I forwarded the e-mail to Grant, creepy message and all.
That was when we learned that my stalker had some elite hacking skills.
But we figured if he was desperate enough to hack a home surveillance system, he would be willing to do anything.
Which he proved by releasing the sex tape to a paparazzi site. All my fans knew the reason for my breakup, and now I had two of the finest men in Texas watching my home’s accessible points and accompanying me everywhere in public. Fleeting guilt told me I was an awful person.
Suraj’s smile turned me too braindead to care.
“Um…”
“I suppose I’ll show Suraj the surveillance cameras,” Nadir said, rescuing me. “Right this way, man.”
I breathed a sigh of relief once they ambled away to inspect my penthouse. Nadir gestured toward the little black camera directed toward the window. “We only monitor the entrance to her home and aim the cameras outside her most prominent windows, including the bedroom. Paparazzi are pretty ingenious these days.”
“We are on the thirty-third floor.”
“Yeah, we are.”
A moment of silence passed before Suraj muttered, “Because of the vaulted ceilings, the seven topmost floors are each twenty-two feet per story. We are well above the four hundred feet permitted by law. And this area…”
I didn’t even know that.
“Yeah,” Nadir replied as they stepped onto my spacious balcony. The two penthouses above me each had a pool. Sometimes I regretted that I didn’t buy one, but then I remembered I didn’t actually like to swim. “These dudes don’t care. If they can catch a photograph of her walking in her bathrobe at night, they make thousands. If you see anything suspicious, we have a fail-safe that activates and shuts all of her curtains.”
“Excellent.”
“Her privacy, as well as her safety, is our first priority.”
I showed them my bedroom, which Nadir had already seen before. They said it was important that, if for any reason they had to enter the premises, they knew the layout of my furniture and any blind spots where an assailant could hide as well as where I was to take cover if, by some stroke of misfortune, they had to fight off an intruder.
Our plan chilled me as much today as it did the first time Nadir discussed it with me.
Once the walkthrough was over, Suraj shook my hand again, his appearance a juxtaposition of gentle giant and tall, dark, and dangerous.
Me: Girl, the new guy is HOT.
Harper: how hot?
Me: Like uh remember that guy in the Bollywood movie we watched over the holidays?
Harper: which guy? there were like a dozen lol
Me: The one who played the villain! Remember how all of us said we’d just tell the hero to fuck off and go with the bad dude?
Harper: omg he looks like him?
Me: Better than him. Like he puts that guy to shame.
Harper: tall?
Me: Taller than Nadir. Maybe 6’5.
Harper: yoga tomorrow at five?
Me: You just want to see him.
Harper: fucking right i do
As my bestie bid me, I sent a text message and scheduled my first evening out with the team.
Chapter Three
Penny
I wasn’t vain enough to put on a full face of makeup for a yoga session, but I did put on a light layer of SPF BB cream and a little cherry lip balm since the winter wind dried the hell out of my skin. A couple of women wore full faces of foundation to the grueling sessions. I thought they were insane. What was the point once you started to sweat and all of that shit melted off?
Twisting my curls into a messy top-bun kept them out of my face. I pulled on a new sports bra, black with a pretty peach print, squeezed into my sexiest high-waist leggings, and tucked my wallet into the hip pocket with my cell phone when Harper let me know she’d reached the building.
I really wished she’d take me up on my offer to live in the guest bedroom.
Nadir waited for me outside the door, dressed, as always, in impeccable slacks and a button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows. I didn’t think I’d ever seen him in something more casual, even during the last mini-tour. I did once catch him in the VIP-level pool in swimming trunks, however, but that was during his own private off-duty time and Brick was running interference as my protector.
“Harper’s downstairs. She just called.” I pulled the door shut behind me and tipped my face up to look at the taller man. He offered his arm.
“Yeah. I know. Suraj is with her.”
Of course, he already knew Harper is here. He knows everything about my life.
Try as I might, the thought was rather depressing. It only reaffirmed the fact that I had someone watching over me twenty-four seven as part of their job.
“Also, Amanda’s already hot on the scent and knows you’re coming. Suraj also relays a message from Randy about whether you want that desktop graphics card upgrade he promised to work on for you.”
I groaned. The building’s staff, while amenable and kind to me, were some of my biggest fans. I frequently had to break free of Randy, and if Amanda crossed my path, I was drawn into at least a fifteen-minute conversation about how much her cats jammed to my music. Randy was worse. The computer nerd talked my ear off whenever he got the chance about the newest MMO since he knew I loved video gaming. About a week ago, I mentioned how I wanted to blast full graphics on Monster Hunter World and couldn’t because my vid card wouldn’t support the hi-def textures. Of course, Randy promised to help.
“Do the rude guard thing and rush me away?”
“Of course. Have you decided where you’ll be eating after class?”
My shoulders slumped. “No. Sorry.”
“Hey, don’t be sorry.” He gently squeezed the hand I had on his arm. “Flexible is the name of the game.”
“I guess the upcoming tour is getting to me. I’m always anxious beforehand.”
“Everything will be fine. We’ve got everything covered, I promise.”
The elevator doors dinged open on the main level. Harper sk
ipped across the marble-floored foyer straight into my arms.
“Holy fuck, you weren’t lying,” she whispered as she hugged me, bringing my attention to the man who waited for us by the doors.
Like Nadir, Suraj wore slacks and a button-down shirt. His dark hair had a tousled look that made me want to run my fingers through the glossy black strands.
With two hot men always nearby, no one would ever look at me.
I guess that was the point.
Heels tapped on marble floor. I froze, anticipating the arrival of the leasing officer who sold me the penthouse. “Ms. Wallace, do you have a moment?”
Nadir intercepted her in one smooth step, blocking my view of her with his tall frame. “Ms. Wallace is short on time and en route to an important appointment.”
I heard Randy trying to get Nadir’s attention as Suraj herded us out. Harper linked her arm through mine and we exited behind my new bodyguard, eyeballing his delectable ass the whole way.
Harry chuckled. Harper wasn’t very discreet.
Nadir exited behind us and offered me a handwritten note from Randy.
“Oh noooo. Did he seriously handwrite you a note for Nadir to pass like you’re both in middle school? Did he ask you to circle ‘yes’ or ‘no’ if you like him?”
“Harper,” I said in a warning voice. Sometimes she could be unnecessarily mean. It was part of her charm.
“Sorry.”
The walk wasn’t far, only a couple of blocks, and the mild weather was pleasant. No one looked twice at me on the street. The same couldn’t be said for my protectors. I would swear that every woman we passed gave them a once-over, and who could blame them? Both men were gorgeous. They should have been on a billboard ad somewhere, not escorting me around.
When we reached the yoga studio, Suraj went inside first to make sure everything was secure. Then Nadir ushered us into the serene environment and walked us upstairs to the private studio.
“You ladies enjoy.”
Harper waited all of two seconds after the door closed before she spun on me and grabbed my shoulders.
“Holy crap, girl, I thought Nadir was all the beefcake we needed. Do you put in special requests for hotties or something?”
“No,” I whispered, quickly searching around the room. Naomi, our instructor, wasn’t here yet. That was typical. She usually gave us ten minutes from our arrival time to get ready. “I didn’t make any special requests.”
“Well I’m not complaining by any means.” Harper pulled off her sweats and set them aside, neatly folded. “Maybe all the company’s protective specialists look that good. Maybe they have a handsome check in their hiring process.”
I rolled my eyes but laughed, which I figured was what she was looking for all along because a smile spread across her face.
When Naomi arrived, our private class began. It felt good to stretch and just clear my mind for an hour. In here, there were no overzealous fans, no dickwad ex-boyfriend, and no stalker. It was me, my best friend, and tranquility.
If only all my days could be like that.
True to their word, neither of my guards had any issue with our last-minute decision to check out a newly opened bistro a block away from the yoga studio. Naomi knew the owner and had made a call to get us a table. Well, two tables. Nadir never sat with us for meals, always picking a table close by so he could keep an eye on the room as well as me.
The manager greeted us personally and led Harper and me to a table against the wall where we could still appreciate the view outside the window without being seen by passersby. The menu was both impressive and affordable, with several artisanal pizzas to choose from, lots of light and fresh dishes, and an expansive wine list. We settled on sharing a fig and prosciutto pizza with glasses of pinot noir and planned to eye the dessert menu when we finished.
“That was delicious.” Harper slumped in her seat after polishing off the final slice. “We need to come here again for sure. I wanna try the Thai pizza next time.”
“Pass on the spicy, thanks.”
“I’ll get it all for me then and you can get your own thing.”
It was an ongoing joke between us. I despised anything spicier than a thoroughly seeded jalapeno, and even then, I wouldn’t touch one unless it was stuffed with cream cheese to balance the heat. Maybe, if I was feeling bold, I’d add a slight smear of wasabi on my sushi. Contrasting me, Harper liked to add sriracha or cayenne to whatever she was making, whether it was mac-n-cheese or snickerdoodles. I became the butt of every joke in the band, frequently asked what sort of Texan I was that I didn’t like spicy food.
“You can’t eat a whole pizza on your own.”
“I’ll share it with the guys.” Harper gestured toward Nadir and Suraj. They’d had pizza as well. Two of them each.
Glancing over, I caught Nadir watching me and quickly slanted my gaze away toward the window, where I noticed a teenaged girl staring from the booth with two older people who had to be her parents. Realizing she’d been busted, she promptly dropped her gaze to her plate. Then she peeked back up again. I’d seen her looking over a few times since her arrival and whispering at her folks with an awestruck look on her face.
“It’s okay. I don’t mind.” I smiled and waved her over. She wore an expression I knew too well—excitement and nerves and embarrassment all rolled into one. Her parents watched from their seats as she made her way to our table, hands shaking.
“I can’t believe it’s really you.” Her gaze then swung to Harper. “And you. You’re, like, the most awesome guitarist ever. I got a guitar for my birthday last year because of you.” She was just an octave short of squealing.
Harper’s face lit up with joy. Like me, she loved when young girls saw us as an inspiration. “Yeah? You playing it pretty good?”
The girl nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah. My friends and I have a band.”
“Sweet. That’s how we started out. What’s your name?” Harper asked.
“Ashanti.”
“That’s a beautiful name,” I said, earning a shy smile.
Harper nodded in agreement and nudged out a chair with her foot. “Well, take a seat, Ashanti, and tell us about your band.”
Once the teen shot a pleading look at her parents and got a thumbs-up, she joined us. I let Harper take the lead since the girl had connected with her, but I didn’t mind. It wasn’t all about me, because my band was like a family. It was all of us together.
We insisted she pick a dessert off the menu and afterward took selfies on her phone and ours.
“Here, these are for you.” I passed her a stack of six tickets to the Houston show. Nadir had already slipped four more to her parents on the down-low. “You and your bandmates should come to the show.”
Ashanti’s eyes rounded and filled with tears. She hugged me first, then Harper, squeezing us both tight. “Thank you. You guys are… You’re so awesome. My friends are going to flip out when I tell them. Thank you.”
Fans like her were the best part of my job. Harper and I wore matching smiles as we watched her hurry back to her folks. Their grateful smiles warmed my heart. Moments like this made all the rest of the hectic lifestyle worthwhile and gave some value to the loss of privacy. I really hoped to see them in the crowd next week.
“Well that was fun, but we’d probably better get going before the uber fans turn up. Saw a few diners snapping pics.” Harper finished the last of her wine and wiped her mouth.
We paid and left just in time. Nadir stepped closer to me and took my arm while Suraj took Harper’s, leading us down the sidewalk away from a gaggle of paparazzi probably tipped off by Facebook and Twitter posts.
“Any other stops?” Suraj asked.
“No. I think this was enough.”
Especially when paparazzi were hounding us. All I wanted to do was enjoy a pleasant afternoon out with a friend. I loved Harper, and I loved hanging out with her, but sometimes I wished I had more girlfriends to hang out with. That seemed like a pipe dream when p
eople only wanted me for my fame and money, not actually me.
Nadir must have memorized every street and store in all of Houston, because he never failed to lead me away at a casual pace and still lose the press following behind us. Without missing a beat, he steered us into the Four Seasons Hotel and out a different entrance, then across the street and around the corner to my building. A glance behind us revealed not a single chasing fan or picture snapping photographer.
Home, safe and sound. At least for now.
Chapter Four
Suraj
Valentine’s Day wasn’t widely celebrated in India. It certainly wasn’t something we observed in my small village.
As the big day approached, the disconcerting explosion of pink and red hearts all around the city turned Houston, and even our lobby, into a gaudy eyesore. It made no sense to me to show love for a person with chocolates and flowers only once a year.
Personally, I thought it should be year-round dedication.
But as strange as it was for me, it was nothing compared to the sadness the day inspired for our client. With Nadir off-duty and out meeting a lunch date, I had the afternoon shift. To my pleasant surprise, Penny called and asked if I’d join her in the building’s gym. The large, well-outfitted space was empty, which turned out to be perfect because she was full of restless energy, flitting from one exercise to the next. Eventually we ended up at the heavy bag.
“Are you all right?” I asked after she’d given the bag several hard punches.
“Yes.” Thud. Thud. When I cocked one brow, she put her weight into it, and may have budged me if I weren’t a shifter with preternaturally augmented strength. “No.” Her fists struck against the bag I held.
“Want to share or should I stay silent?”
“You don’t have to keep quiet. I’m sure you know about—” She huffed and spun on one foot, delivering a well-placed roundhouse kick. My gaze involuntarily dropped to her thighs. She wore high-waisted leggings in vivid cobalt blue that hugged the contours of every curve and left nothing to my imagination.
Jackal of All Trades (The Wild Operatives: MacArthur Security Book 1) Page 3