by Laura Ann
“What is all this?” Everly whispered, her eyes darting back and forth between his.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean this.” She waved a hand between them. “Sometimes I feel like I barely know you, but then I realize I feel more comfortable with you than I do with anyone else, as if we’ve known each other forever.”
Ridge slowly nodded, then leaned his cheek into hers. “I feel the same way,” he murmured against her skin. “I’m falling hard and fast, baby, and I don’t know how to stop.”
Everly stiffened. “Do you want to stop?”
He kissed her jaw, then her ear, then managed to get out, “Not a chance,” before he took her lips. He pulled back when she giggled against his lips. “What’s so funny?” he asked, slightly offended at her breaking the moment.
“You taste like chocolate,” Everly said with a grin. “And I was thinking I must be hungry after all, because I find myself wanting more.”
There was no way for Ridge to answer that except to grab her and pull her onto his lap where he let Everly get her fill. When they pulled back, Everly laid her head on his shoulder and Ridge sunk into the cushions.
Contentment swarmed through Ridge as he held her. I could honestly stay like this forever. He didn’t think it could get much better until Everly began drawing designs on his chest.
“Do you think this will last?” she asked softly.
“Last? Like...” Ridge left the question hanging, wanting her to fill in the blank.
“After this whole stalker thing is over. Do you think you’ll still be interested in me?”
“What?” Ridge pushed her up and frowned. “Honey, if all I wanted was a quick little make-out session, I could’ve had that and been done already. In fact, it would have been much easier to get that with a different woman.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “That’s not what I’m after, Everly. I’ve had an online crush on you for forever. Meeting you in person was exciting, but only ended up enhancing those feelings.”
Tears filled her eyes and Ridge wasn’t sure if that was good or bad, but he decided while he had some of his cards down, he might as well show his whole hand.
“I’m falling in love with you, Everly, and not because you were my celebrity crush, but because you...as a person...are amazing.”
Everly blinked rapidly and swallowed hard. “I think I’m falling for you too, Ridge Lockwood. Every time you’re near, I get butterflies in my stomach and my heart races. No one else has ever made me feel the way you do, and I don’t want it to stop.”
Ridge smirked and gave her a short peck. “I’m afraid it’s going to have to stop for a bit because I need to get back to work.”
Everly stuck out her bottom lip and Ridge laughed, giving it a nip.
“When will I see you again?” she asked, walking him to the door.
“I don’t know. Trying to avoid your brother and not let Harlan know I’m breaking the rules is proving to be more difficult than I imagined.” Ridge rubbed the back of his neck. “But I’ll try to work something out.”
Everly nodded, disappointment clear on her face as she pulled on the knob.
A small tick was all Ridge heard as a warning, but it was enough to have him grabbing Everly and covering her body with his before a loud boom came from the front porch.
CHAPTER 15
Everly twisted her hands in her lap as Harlan and Leon tore into Ridge. They were all gathered in Harlan’s office at the firm and Everly had just about had enough. After the small explosive had gone off on her porch, Sawyer and Ridge had gone into full-on military mode.
Thanks to Ridge’s quick actions, the only injury Everly had sustained was a lump on the side of her head. It ached something fierce, but the fighting going on around her was the true cause of her massive headache.
Naturally, hers and Ridge’s relationship had come to light when Ridge and Sawyer had shown up at the firm with her in tow. Harlan and now Leon were both livid.
I can’t take it anymore. Standing up, Everly pushed her way into the middle of the shouting men. “ENOUGH!” she screamed putting her hands over her ears. When the men quieted down, Everly began turning in a circle to glare at all of them. “First of all, let me just say that you all are worrying about the wrong thing. I nearly got blown up today and it was only because of Ridge’s quick thinking that I’m not in the hospital.”
“He shouldn’t have been there, though,” Leon growled, his glare on the man behind Everly.
“Do you wish he wasn’t?” Everly demanded, stepping right up to her brother. “Do you wish he hadn’t been there and Sawyer or I had actually gotten hurt?”
Leon had the decency to look slightly humbled. “No. But he still shouldn’t be taking advantage of your current anxiety to force himself on you.”
Everly opened her mouth to say more, but Ridge beat her to it.
“Her current anxiety? Really?” Ridge shouted back. “What do you think your sister is? Ten years old? She’s a grown woman, one with a career and a mind of her own. I didn’t force her into anything.” His fists were clenched and he stepped forward, but Everly turned and put her hand on his chest to stop him from getting too close to Leon. “You can’t keep treating her like a kid. She’s old enough to make her own decisions.”
“She’s being stalked and you crossed the lines of propriety!” Leon shouted back.
“Stop it!” Everly cried again, then brought her voice low. All the shouting was killing her. “Get over this little testosterone fight and let’s figure this out. Leon, you’re right. Ridge and I crossed the lines since I was still a client when we started seeing each other.” Leon looked smug and Everly quickly moved on. “But Ridge is also right.”
She nearly laughed at the crestfallen look on Leon’s face. “No one forced me to do anything. I was interested in Ridge from the moment I saw him in the hallway and when I had the opportunity to get to know him, I took it, and not a single part of me regrets that.”
“He lied to you!” Leon tried. “He pretended to be someone else.”
Everly shook her head. “Stop. This argument isn’t worth it. He made some choices that are questionable, but I can’t...I won’t hold that against him. He’s been the bright point in this whole horrible ordeal. I’m honestly not sure I would be sane right now if it wasn’t for him.”
Leon stepped away, pushing his hands through his hair. “So what now?” he said hoarsely. “How do we move on and catch this guy? It’s obvious he’s figured out where Ev lives.”
“Or girl,” Ridge muttered.
Harlan glared at Ridge, then sighed. “Why don’t we all sit down and try to talk this out without screaming at each other?”
Ridge grabbed Everly’s hand and pulled her over to sit by him, which she happily did, ignoring Leon’s scowl from her right side.
After taking a deep breath, Harlan turned to Sawyer. “Why didn’t you get a warning when the package was left on the front porch?”
Sawyer’s scowl was intense as he shook his head. “I’m not sure. I haven’t had a chance to look at the tapes yet since we came straight here after it went off.”
Harlan turned to Ridge and raised an eyebrow in question.
Ridge shrugged. “My phone didn’t beep either. I’m not sure if there was a glitch in the system or if somehow they found a blind spot. Roman and I were pretty thorough, so if they found one, then they’ve been planning this for a long time.”
“Why do you say that?” Leon asked.
“Because they would have had to study the set up. Watching the cameras and figuring out their angles. Any blind spots were extremely negligible, so it wouldn’t have been a fast process to figure out where one was located.”
“And yet here we are,” Leon shot out.
Ridge met his hard gaze unflinchingly. “Here we are.”
Everly squeezed his hand and turned to her brother. “Stay on topic,” she scolded.
Leon huffed and turned back to Harlan. “Question is, what are
we going to do about it?”
Harlan rubbed his hands down his face. “I’m not sure yet. It’s clear they’ve figured out where she lives, and that they want to kill her—”
“That bomb wasn’t meant to kill,” Ridge interjected. All eyes in the room turned to him. Ridge shrugged at their questioning gazes. “Don’t get me wrong. If Everly had stepped onto the porch, it would have definitely burned her skin and hurt like the dickens, and if there had been shrapnel, it definitely would have wounded her. But it wouldn’t have killed her.”
“How do you know?” Leon argued. “Are you willing to risk her life on that assessment?”
Ridge leaned forward aggressively and Everly made sure to keep holding his hand. “Yes, actually, I am. That little thing was homemade and similar to a firecracker. It would have hurt terribly, possibly even left some scars, but it was not meant to kill.” He turned his hard gaze to Harlan. “I’m sure of it.”
“So they’re playing with her?” Sawyer asked.
Ridge nodded and leaned back. “That’s what it seems like. Scaring her, but not trying to get rid of her.”
Everly felt the blood drain from her head as they talked so casually of death and bombs. They might be used to all this, but it still seems like a nightmare to me. She groaned softly and rubbed her forehead.
“Hey, babe. You all right?”
Everly looked over to see Ridge looking at her anxiously.
“Does you head hurt from where you hit the ground?” His countenance fell. “I’m so sorry I didn’t protect you better,” he whispered, anguish in his tone.
“I’m fine,” she replied, bringing their joined hands to her cheek. “Just a little headache.”
“Cora...can you please bring us a couple of pain pills and a glass of water?” Harlan’s voice as he spoke into his phone broke into their intimate conversation, reminding Everly they weren’t alone.
Everly cleared her throat and turned back to the group. Sawyer’s stoic face hadn’t changed while Harlan eyed the two of them as if he were trying to figure them out. All the while, Leon glared and pouted like a small child.
Men, she grumbled in her head.
“So again I ask, where do we go from here?” Leon pushed the conversation back where it needed to be.
Harlan was quiet for a moment. “It’s clear she can’t go home, so we’ll have to set her up somewhere else.”
“What?” Everly cried.
“And I think we need to cancel your music video next week.”
UH-OH, Ridge thought as Everly’s jaw began to tighten. We’re in for it now.
“I understand why you are suggesting that,” Everly said through clenched teeth, “but this is my livelihood we’re talking about. My career. I’ve had fans waiting for this video for months and I can’t just push it back on a whim.”
“This isn’t a whim,” Leon scoffed. “This is about your safety, your life! There’s no way your followers would ask you to risk your life just to bring them a little online video.”
Everly folded her arms, unmoved by her brother’s speech. “I get it, Leon, I really do. And honestly, whoever this troll is, is really freaking me out, but I can’t back out of this.” She turned and met Harlan’s gaze. “This is why we hired you, isn’t it? To help protect me?”
When Harlan nodded, she continued.
“So protect me. But it’s going to have to be on the set of my video.”
Ridge was keeping his mouth shut, but only just. He completely agreed with Harlan that the video was too dangerous of a situation, but he also understood where Everly was coming from. Plus, after his earlier speech about her being an adult and independent, he didn’t think she’d appreciate him treating her any differently.
The heavy silence was finally broken by a soft knock on the door. Sawyer, who was close to it, went to see who it was. After a moment, he nodded and held out his hand, murmuring his thanks. When the door was shut again, he walked across the room and handed the pills and a bottled water to Everly.
“Take these. They should help,” Sawyer said softly.
“Thank you,” Everly replied, popping the pills in her mouth.
Ridge grabbed the bottle and popped the top for her, breaking the seal. I’m pretty useless right now, but I can at least act like a gentleman.
She smiled at him and took the bottle, swallowing down the medicine.
“What if Everly came to stay at our house?” Ridge offered, reluctantly taking his eyes off the disheveled but beautiful woman beside him. “It would be easy to protect her there with so many of us, and we can plan on bringing the whole crew to the music video.”
“Over my dead body,” Leon shouted, rising from his chair.
“Here we go again,” Everly grumbled, rubbing her forehead. “Leon, sit down. Let’s talk this out like adults.” She stood her ground when he turned his glare toward her. “Please.”
Her plea seemed to break through his anger and he deflated. “Fine,” he relented, falling back down to his chair. “But there is no way I’m letting you spend the night in the same place as him.” He jabbed a finger in Ridge’s direction.
Ridge bristled at the unspoken accusation. He knew he shouldn’t have gone behind everyone’s back and the consequences for his actions were his to bear alone, no matter how much he didn’t like them. He understood Leon’s anger because Ridge would have felt the same way if something similar had happened to Goldie. However, that wasn’t what made Ridge struggle to keep quiet. He’d started this thing and he would accept the results, but the fact that Leon thought Ridge would do anything to hurt or dishonor Everly just proved that Leon had no idea who he was dealing with.
He felt a muscle in his jaw tick as Harlan tried to smooth things over and Ridge could no longer keep quiet. “I need to say something,” he said in a low tone.
The room quieted and all eyes turned toward him. Slowly, Ridge sat forward, being sure to look Leon dead in the eye. “I get your anger, Leon, I really do. I have a sister, and if anyone had pulled the stunt I did with her, I’d have had a hard time not sending them to the hospital. However, there’s something you underestimate about me and I won’t stand for it.” He took a deep breath through his nose. “You seem to be under the impression that I’m the type of guy who will take what he wants no matter who it involves. That I’d be willing to run over a woman—in this case, your sister—just to get a little action...and I want you to know that you are dead wrong. I might have a reputation as a bit of a jokester, I like to laugh and I like to tease, but I’m also a man who served his country because he cares about protecting people. I’ve never been the type to hurt a woman, and I’m not about to start now. The connection between your sister and me is something beautiful and sacred, and I would die before I let myself do something that would damage that. So your little accusation that I would take advantage of having her over at my house at night? It was a low blow, man, and undeserved. Everly is very quickly becoming the most important thing in my life and I won’t let you talk about our relationship as if it’s cheap or merely convenient. It’s just as much an insult to her as it is to me.”
“He’s right,” Sawyer piped up. He met Leon’s gaze. “You know me, Leon. You know Harlan. You came to us because you trusted we could take care of her. Ridge is no exception, and believe me when I tell you Everly was just as involved in getting their relationship off the ground as he was.” He grinned at Everly. “She nearly pestered me to death with questions about him. I mean, what was a guy to do?”
Everly grinned back and laughed. “Exactly what you did do...let us meet each other?”
Leon groaned and rubbed a hand over his face. “Sorry, Ridge. You’re right. It was a low blow and I shouldn’t have said it.” He turned to look Ridge in the eye. “But I’m still not comfortable with the idea of her being at your house. No matter how strong your convictions are, people falter all the time.”
Ridge nodded his acceptance of the apology, but didn’t have another answer to their problem.
“What about your apartment, Leon?” Harlan interrupted. “Can she and Sawyer stay with you until the shoot? With the way things are escalating, I have a feeling we’ll be wrapping up this case very soon.”
Leon tilted his head back and forth. “It’ll be tight, but it’s doable. Everly can take the bed and Sawyer can have the couch. I’ll put a blow-up mattress on the floor for myself. But it should keep her hidden. I used my middle name when renting the apartment, so it should be harder to trace me.”
Everly frowned at her brother and he shrugged. “Old habits die hard, I guess. I’ve seen way too much to not be careful.”
Harlan nodded. “That’ll work.” He turned to Everly. “I know it won’t be enjoyable, but we need to keep you completely on lockdown. No coming and going. Stay inside until the video and away from prying eyes. The video is probably our best bet in taking care of your stalker, so we need to keep you out of reach until then.”
“I can’t leave, but others can come visit, right?” Everly asked. “Ridge can come for lunch or dinner or something?” She squeezed his hand and Ridge squeezed back, already knowing Harlan’s answer before he spoke.
“I’m afraid not. There really needs to be no contact with anyone. In fact, I don’t even want you online.” Harlan tilted his head. “Do you have everything in place for the shoot? Because once you go under, I don’t want you surfacing until the day of.”
Everly was blinking heavily. “I can’t see or speak to anyone? At all?”
Harlan shook his head. “No, I’m sorry.”
“I agree with you, but you do realize that will turn the music video into a trap, right?” Leon asked. “We’ll be turning Everly into bait that day.”
Harlan nodded slowly. “I know, and as much as I hate to say it, I think it’s going to be our best option. I’ll have all my men there and since the crew isn’t large, we should be able to handle anything the guy throws at us.”
Everly turned her watery gaze to Ridge and his heart pinched. “I really can’t see you at all?”