Hillbilly Rockstar (Blacktop Cowboys 6)

“Jesus.”

“Then the letters took an even more bizarre turn toward crazy town. She threatened to kidnap me so she could help me remember my previous life.”

“As her husband.”

He nodded. “I had a two-week break from touring, came home and found her in my house.”

Liberty’s stomach pitched. “Did she hurt you?”

“No. She tripped the alarm when she broke in and evidently she hid in my closet when the cops came. They didn’t find her and locked up the house. When I got home later that night, she was waitin’, naked, in my bed.”

“Oh, Devin.”

“It was so f**kin’ sad. I felt bad for her, but at the same time, it pissed me off she’d gotten into my private space and was snooping through my stuff. It bugged me so much I sold that house and bought one with a gate around the entire property. I also purchased a cabin and some land up by Flathead Lake in Montana.” He offered a sad smile. “I figured if I ever needed total privacy, no one would find me there.”

“What happened to the woman?”

“The cops came and took her in. Her grown children were shocked by her delusions and got her psychiatric help. I didn’t follow up on her. I haven’t seen her since.”

Liberty got up and grabbed a bottle of water.

“Is there something you’re not tellin’ me? Has she been released or something?”

“No. But Garrett did have GSC follow up on her. Just to see if there was a link to the attack on your bus driver. But she’s been in an Alzheimer’s care facility since two weeks after the incident at your house.”

“So there’s no connection.”

“Nope.”

“I think the attack on JT was random. Some meth-heads breaking into a fancy bus, lookin’ for cash or drugs or something to pawn. Not some psycho fan wantin’ to harm me,” he stated flatly.

They were back to this again. The promotion company is overly paranoid and I don’t need you argument.

Liberty stared at him suspiciously. “I might believe that if the reincarnation lady was the only example. But we’ve seen the files, Devin. There have been lots of other incidents. Even paternity cases.”

“One paternity case three years ago. I knew the woman in question would be a problem because she showed up at rehearsal the day after I banged her, claiming I’d proposed to her. She even wore a big fake diamond. After security threw her out for trespassing, she swore she’d get even with me.”

“Is she the one—”

“Who sent her two brothers to my next gig so they could beat the f**k outta me? Yeah.”

She frowned. “I don’t remember a report like that.”

Devin drained his soda. “Because I didn’t report it. Her puny brothers cornered me and had me on the ground when Crash and Sarge, the head of my road crew, intervened. I was so f**kin’ embarrassed about it that I told them if they ever told a soul I’d fire them both.”

“Save me from the fragile male ego,” she muttered.

“After everything I’ve told you, you’re actually surprised I have an ego?”

“No. You have to have some ego in your business.” She leaned forward. “Hiding something like that is due solely to wounded male pride and doesn’t help someone like me who’s protecting you. How many other unreported incidents are there?”

He shrugged. “I haven’t read your reports, so I don’t know.” A challenge lit his eyes. “Which incident were you referring to when you said, Is she the one?”

“The woman who said she cowrote one of your songs. Then, when you wouldn’t meet with her, she would stand outside your bus and throw rocks at you?”

“Another delusional person. She ambushed me at five concerts before we caught her.”

“Getting hit with a rock is better than a bullet.”

Devin lifted a brow. “Ever been beaned in the back of the head with a rock?”

“Yes, and I’ve been shot, so I can say that taking a bullet hurts much worse than getting stoned.”

“Shit. Sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

“What about your relationship with China Marquette?”

He groaned. “Mistake. Big mistake. I’d never dated an actress and had no f**kin’ idea the media shitstorm I was in for when I broke up with her. The woman is psychotic.”

All guys thought their exes were psycho. “She’s the wholesome girl-next-door star on the Disney Channel’s most popular family show. How psychotic could she be?”

Devin leaned forward. “She blew up my car.”

Liberty’s jaw dropped.

“That incident didn’t make the papers. Neither did the one where she unloaded two hundred live chickens in my garage and let them die while I was away on tour for a month. Can you imagine the smell? Of course, there was no way to prove it. There were a dozen other things she did that no one would believe. She only ended her smear campaign when I threatened to release a sex tape we’d made. The raunchy things that girl begged me to do to her would’ve destroyed her career. And no, I don’t feel a damn bit guilty because she was out to destroy me.”

“Nice world you live in,” she mumbled. “Are the other incidents I read about easily explained away too?”

He bristled. “Probably. To be honest, there’ve been so damn many I’ve forgotten some. But I won’t be a prisoner to fame, Liberty. I won’t let the couple of nut jobs out there have power over me and how I live my life.” He stood. “Anything else about me that you wanna pick apart?”