Steel 7 (Multiple Love)

“Let’s just hope they’re doing a decent job. I don’t think I could sleep at night if I was seriously doubting their capabilities.”

Connor nods at my comment, his eyes closing slowly. He’s going to that solitary place where he searches for solutions to problems. He’s always been bad at asking for help but good at working out what to do. The trouble is, when you face problems alone, you miss the chance to get other perspectives. “If we call Angelica, what will her incentive be for handing over that number? As far as she’s concerned, we’re off the security detail. She doesn’t need to have anything more to do with us.”

“All we can do is try,” I say. “Appeal to her better nature.”

Connor rubs his face and drops his hand into his lap with a thud. “I would recommend someone other than me handles this. Angelica doesn’t hold much affection for me, especially when I didn’t let her into Luna’s room the night that we left Australia. She will probably hold a grudge about that to her deathbed.”

“Mo’s always had a cordial relationship with her,” Asher points out.

Everyone turns to stare at me. “I try to have a cordial relationship with everyone.”

“Well, that’s it, then.” Hudson balls up his napkin and tosses it at me, narrowly missing my head and landing it on the floor behind me. “Luna’s safety now rests solely in Mo’s hands.”

“Way to put pressure on him.” Jax turns to me, and grins, reaching out to pat my hand. “You can do it, Mo. Just turn on that Middle Eastern charm. Angelica has a soft spot for your dark eyes and smooth tanned skin. You know there’s a whole romance genre featuring sheikh billionaires that she probably reads every night.”

“Can we make this sound less sexual?” I say. “I’m phoning the woman to ask for a telephone number, not calling to propose to her.”

“Sheikhs don’t propose,” Jax laughs. “They kidnap and seduce.”

“I think that might be taking things a little too far.” Grabbing my phone from the table, I rise and walk to the front of the restaurant to secure a little privacy. “Angelica.”

“Mo, I don’t have time for this right now,” she barks. “Everything’s a disaster.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” I say, keeping my voice low and smooth, hoping that it might have a calming effect. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Not unless you can find me a missing lighting rig. I swear, the thing is huge, and it has somehow managed to go missing.”

I think again of Marcus, the weird lighting guy, wondering if he might have anything to do with Luna’s troubles. Then I squash my suspicions because I have no proof that he’s anything other than a stand-up employee.

“I can’t do anything about the rig,” I say. “My mom always told me to go back to the first place you thought to look. Sometimes, we’re in such a panic to find something that we skip over it in our haste.”

“I’ll bear that in mind,” she says. “So what can I do for you?”

My heart skips a beat. I’ve gotten her to listen. “I need a number. The telephone number for Mr. Wright, Luna’s bodyguard.”

“What’s this about?” Angelica’s voice has gone from laid back to suspicious in the blink of an eye. Time to get her back to feeling comfortable.

“Nothing important. We just wanted to make sure that the new team has everything they need. I’m sure that Blueday has set them up well. They’re meticulous like that, but just in case. For Luna’s safety.”

There’s a pause and I sag against the wall, already thinking the worst. If she doesn’t give me the number, our only option will be to try and crash one of Luna’s concerts or find a way to get into the hotel. That would leave us looking like stalkers and potentially upset Luna. We walked away to create a clean break. Going back would just muddy the waters.

“For Luna’s safety, I’ll message you with his number. But listen Mo, if anything happens and I find out it’s because I trusted you with this, you and me will have a serious falling out.”

“Nothing’s going to happen, Angelica. You can trust me.”

The words hang between us for a few seconds. I guess maybe Angelica is thinking about the photos in the newspapers and how we abused the trust of everyone by breaking our code of conduct with Luna.

“Okay,” she says eventually. “It’s on its way.”

The relief I feel is immense, not just because I can now do something with the information that I have but also because I haven’t let my friends down. They were relying on me, and I delivered.

When I slump down at the table, six pairs of eyes fix on me expectantly. “So, did you get it?” Jax asks.