Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 112917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
“Yeah, I remember reading the details in the reports, but I thought that behavior ended when Zane got rid of his old publicist.”
While taking a sip of water, I cursed his former publicist again for tonight’s distraction. “It did. Noelle and her team encouraged Zane to get into some trouble. I guess she wanted him to have an edgier, bad-boy reputation.” I fiddled with the bottle cap between my fingers. “And Landry was only too happy to comply. The man is not a good influence on Zane.”
“Meh. I think the guy talks a big game, but he seems insecure deep down.”
“Landry? The model with side-eye for days?” I gave her a skeptical look. “Must have that insecurity buried real deep.”
She nodded. “Exactly. But just to say, he’s incredibly sweet and respectful with the rest of us. If he’s side-eyeing you, maybe you provoked him—”
“I didn’t,” I grumbled, conveniently ignoring that just today, Landry might have caught me looking too intently at the friend he was currently fucking.
“…and if you ask me,” she went on, “the secret affair Landry’s having isn’t with Zane.”
Before I could ask her who else Landry could be sleeping with, Zane’s voice called out for me to come help him with something.
I moved quickly into the bedroom and toward the bathroom door before edging it open slowly. Inside, Zane was still flushed from the shower, wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist.
“Get it off,” he said, turning to show me the target on his shoulder. Water droplets skated down his bare back and into the towel. His hair was a wet tangle pulled over the opposite shoulder, and tension radiated from every damp pore of his skin.
“It’s permanent,” I said gently. “You know I can’t get it off. Remember last time?”
“I need it off, Bear. Get it off.” His voice carried the horror I knew he’d been feeling deep down, underneath the “fine” he insisted on claiming. And the Bear, especially now, did things to me I didn’t want to admit.
“Hey, hey, okay,” I said softly. “Take a breath. I’ll try. Dry off and put on some clothes while I go grab a few things.”
If I remained close to him while his beautiful body was in nothing but a towel, I would embarrass both of us.
After leaving him to dry off, I went back out into the common area of the suite and found the first aid kit in my security bag. I opened the kit to pull out cotton balls and hand sanitizer. Lou lifted her eyebrow at me.
“Another target.”
Her eyes shot wide. “Are you fucking kidding me? When? When were you going to tell me?”
“Just before going on stage. He’s really upset. Gimme a few minutes,” I said before disappearing back into Zane’s bedroom and closing the door.
He sat on the edge of the bed, wearing pajama pants. His hair was twisted up in the towel piled on top of his head. Zane’s entire body was curled in on himself, and when he saw me enter, he immediately turned his back to me and curled up even more to give me access.
I sat beside him and got to work wetting a cotton ball with hand sanitizer and swiping it gently across the mark over and over again.
Earlier in the dressing room, I’d captured a photo of it for my records, but I knew from experience the sanitizer would only fade the mark.
His shoulders lifted as he took a deep breath. “I’m sure it’s just an overzealous fan,” he began.
This was part of his coping process. The man couldn’t imagine anyone having nefarious intentions toward him, so he needed to figure out another explanation.
“I hope it is,” I said softly as I continued to go over the mark with the cotton ball.
“But… but the other times we were in…”
“San Diego and LA,” I supplied, knowing what was bothering him so much about this.
“Yeah. So, I thought…” Zane swallowed. “I thought maybe it was a local fan. Someone who came to both shows. That first time was outside the venue in that VIP crowd, and then the San Diego one was when we got swarmed at the entrance to the hotel. Like… it could have been anyone. But now…”
“Now it means it’s someone who can afford to follow you across the country,” I said. “Or someone on the crew.”
He shivered. I tried not to move my hands over his bare back and shoulder to warm and reassure him, but if wanting him could keep him warm, the man would have been on fire.
Zane’s voice was unsteady. “It can’t be someone on the crew.”
I didn’t say anything even though we both knew it could be.
“I treat the crew really well. Why would they want to scare me?”
At least he was finally able to admit this could be more than a well-meaning prank. He was right, though—Zane was uncommonly generous to everyone on his crew, handing out bonuses and remembering almost everyone’s names and details about their families.