“That Angelica is a real hard-ass.” I sigh, hoping they’re all going to take the bait.
“I can think of other way less polite words to call her,” Connor grumbles. “Can’t she see that we only have Luna’s best interests in mind?”
“She can,” I say. “I have the number.”
Four napkins fly across the table at my head and Elijah slaps me on the back. “Sheikh Mo did it again.” When I grab a balled napkin and aim it at him from close range, he puts his palms out to bat it away. “She fell for your exotic charm.”
“Like Luna,” I say, wiggling my eyebrows, but my attempt to keep things light only sends everyone back into gloom. “Maybe I need to become like one of the sheikhs in those books you were talking about and just kidnap her. Would that put the smiles back on your faces?”
“It wouldn’t be what she wanted, so no,” Hudson says.
“Let’s stop wallowing in this,” Connor huffs. “Pass me the number.”
He grips my phone in his left hand and his own in his right, tapping Mr. Wright’s number onto the screen with his thumb. Connor chooses not to leave the table for privacy, so we all sit in silence, waiting to hear the conversation.
“Hi, this is Connor, from Steel 7. I have some news from the Australian police.”
There’s a pause but all we can hear is the rumble of conversation on the other end.
“It’s relevant because you should know what you’re dealing with.”
Connor’s jaw ticks as he waits for a response.
“It’s one individual. They have matched the prints…I know you’ve got her covered. What I’m saying is that one crazy person is following her around the world. You need to up your game. Stick to her like glue. Don’t let a single thing pass her lips if it hasn’t been checked. Don’t let her out of your sight, even backstage, even with the crew. Who the fuck knows how this asshole is getting so close?”
There’s a louder rumble of speech audible through the speaker and Connor pulls the phone from his face and stares at it.
“Seriously, dude. If you have a problem with me, that’s fine. I get it. But don’t let that affect your professional judgement because if anything happens to that girl…I swear to God.”
The phone goes dead, and Connor tosses it onto the table, cursing. “That idiot has a fucking boulder for a head. Nothing I said went in.”
“He’s arrogant,” Asher says. “But maybe he’s just pissed off that you’re telling him what to do. Maybe he heard you and he’ll take action.”
“Or he’s going to ignore me and do the opposite.” Connor slams both his fists onto the table, making the empty plates and cups bounce and the silverware clatter.
“Fuck,” I mutter, the joke I made earlier suddenly seeming less crazy. I could kidnap our girl and ride into the sunset. We could all go to ground somewhere no one knew us until all the bullshit blew over. I’ve gone to ground before. With preparation, it was okay. And with Luna, we’d have no need of entertainment. She could keep us all satisfied without even trying.
“We can’t leave London,” Ben says. “Not until Luna moves on. And when she does, maybe we need to go too.”
“Shadow her, you mean?”
Ben nods in response to my question. “Until the stalker is caught.”
And in my heart, I feel so twisted because staying close to Luna is what I want, and if catching the stalker means that we’ll have to leave her and go home, maybe I don’t want that to happen too soon.
29
ASHER
I’m sleeping when my phone begins to vibrate on the nightstand. I’ve never been one for leaving my phone on overnight but since we left Luna in the airport, I haven’t been able to switch it off. The thought that she might need me has been lingering at the back of my mind. I’m just one of seven men who was caring for her, but we had as strong a connection as any.
I reach over to grab it, my sleep-addled mind anticipating it’s going to be a nuisance sales call from the U.S. They won’t know that I’m in London or realize that I’m in a different time zone, but when I crack one eye open to see who it is, I find Luna’s name on the screen.
“Hello,” I whisper, scrambling out of bed. The air in the room is cool, but even in just my sleep shorts, I feel warm.
“Asher,” Luna’s voice is so soft I can barely hear it. I make it to the bathroom and close the door so that I don’t disturb Ben and Elijah.
“What is it, honey? Are you okay?”
“It happened again,” she says, then I hear her sniff in a way that sounds like crying.
“What happened?” I think I know but bringing up the stalker in the middle of the night when Luna’s already upset wouldn’t be sensitive.