Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 87943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
“Gidget said that the picture of my friends at lunch was helpful, right?” Geoffrey countered. He dropped his head back and smiled at Sven over his shoulder.
“Yeah, this is likely someone from your inner circle of friends,” Quinn said. When Geoffrey frowned at him, Quinn at least had the good sense to wince and blush. No one wanted to hear that someone they considered a friend was trying to harm them. “Sorry.”
“And more pictures of more people who I see on a regular basis would help, right? Particularly people that I normally club with.”
Quinn’s wide grin returned, while Sven groaned softly behind him. That was the “Yes, Geoffrey, you’re right” groan. He looked forward to making Sven groan for other, more wonderful reasons, but that would have to wait until he could convince Sven to join that program.
“We can’t do this on our own.”
Geoffrey turned around at Sven’s words and looked up at him. That wasn’t another no. Sven scratched his bearded chin in thought before looking over Geoffrey’s head at Quinn.
“Even a small club on a Tuesday night, that’s going to be a lot of people. Several potential exits,” Quinn said. He gave a shrug and a weak smile at Geoffrey. “I can try to help, but I’m not the kind of backup that Sven needs to keep you safe.”
“I don’t want you there to protect me. Just to take pictures,” Geoffrey admitted.
“I’ll still need help.” Sven put a hand on Geoffrey’s shoulder. “Someone to help watch your back and preferably one to watch out for Quinn.”
“Really?” Quinn’s voice jumped a few octaves in surprise.
“What if this person catches you taking pictures of Geoffrey and anyone with Geoffrey? The stalker doesn’t want to hurt Geoffrey but might have no problem going after Quinn.”
“Sorry, I didn’t think of that,” Geoffrey murmured. He didn’t want to put Quinn in danger. Sven was trained for that kind of stuff, and Geoffrey couldn’t imagine any of his friends actually being able to hurt Sven. But Quinn was different.
“Oh no! I’m still in. But Sven’s right, we need help.” He pulled his phone out of his back pocket and started quickly typing away. A couple of minutes later, he paused, chewing on his bottom lip and he slowly scrolled through…something. “Looks like Royce, Dominic…and Garrett are off tonight. We could call them. See if any of them can meet us at the club. I think they’d be happy to provide a little backup. Dominic would definitely enjoy the eye candy.”
Geoffrey turned so that his back was to Quinn and he could give his full attention to Sven. He was ready for a fight. This plan made sense. It gave them more of an opportunity to see the people who were closest to Geoffrey, watch them interact, and let Quinn snap some pictures. This could snag his stalker much faster than waiting around for their slow search through the thousands of his followers.
“Where?”
“Aura. It’s downtown at—”
“I know where it is,” Sven said as he grabbed his phone. Geoffrey opened his mouth, surprised since Sven definitely didn’t seem the club type and this place was the complete embodiment of a dance club. “I haven’t been there, but I know about it,” Sven quickly continued before Geoffrey could speak. “Dominic and Royce have definitely been there.”
Quinn chuckled. “I’ll call Dominic. You get to call Royce…and Rowe. I’m not telling the boss about this one.”
“Great!” He clapped his hands together and looked from Sven to Quinn. “You guys make your calls. I’m going to get changed and make the announcement that I’m gracing Aura with my glorious self.”
He started for his bedroom, already mentally rifling through his wardrobe. If he was going to draw out his stalker then he needed to look extra amazing. It also didn’t hurt that he was going to be in a crowded club with Sven. Maybe he could also wear something that caught the bodyguard’s attention. That certainly sounded more appealing.
“Two hours, Geoffrey,” Sven called before Geoffrey could reach his bedroom. He twisted around to find Sven holding his phone away from his ear. “We can stay at the club for only two hours. It’s Dominic’s and Royce’s night off.”
Two hours wasn’t great, but if it didn’t work, then he’d just have to drag Sven out to club after club until it did…or until the bodyguard finally caved.
###
Aura was a furnace. The light cotton shirt with the bold red and black print he’d chosen was now clinging to his sweat-slicked frame and he had little doubt that the hairstyle he’d worked on for nearly twenty minutes was now a disaster, but he didn’t give a damn. He’d looked good when he snapped the final picture in his closet that matched his social media post announcing he was heading to Aura. There had been a few snarky remarks from friends he’d seen at Taste of Belgium, but a couple of quick private messages smoothing ruffled feathers and they were sweet and ready to party.