“It wasn’t a lie,” Dante says, and I glare at him, but he stands his ground. “We need to leave.”
“I’m not leaving,” I tell him. “I’m staying right here.”
“Brian has …” he starts to say, and I hold up my hand.
“I don’t give a shit what Brian has,” I snap at him, and now Cori comes to my side, whispering my name.
“Maybe it’s a good idea,” she says quietly. “Whatever happened, he would never put you in danger.”
“Really?” I ask her and then look at Dante who just stares at me. “Because his words hurt me more than any note written on that paper.” I uncover the plate of fries and dip one into the ice cream. “So forgive me if I don’t give a shit what Brian has or doesn’t have.”
“You can’t honestly believe that,” Dante says.
“I believe the words that came out of his mouth. I also believe you are paid to make sure nothing happens to me. I was his meal ticket out, and I’m happy that I know the truth now.”
Dante throws his head back and laughs. “Meal ticket out? You really don’t have any idea, do you?” The question throws me off, and I just stand here. “Newsflash: all those fucking houses he booked …” I stare at him, waiting for him to finish, but a knock on the door has him stopping. When he returns, the manager of the hotel is with him. “We’ve decided that we aren’t going to move, but we want this floor emptied in the morning and also no one can come up without a special key that I have.”
He nods his head. “Whatever we can do to help.” He looks at me. “I’m very sorry, Miss Hudson, for all the inconvenience.” I just nod at him and look out the windows at the sunrise. Dante handles the manager, and Cori makes sure everything is in its place. The flowers are disposed of, and when I turn back around, the door is shut again.
“What did you mean before?” I ask Dante, who is on his phone, his fingers going crazy. “About the houses?” He looks up at me.
He shakes his head. “Nothing,” he says. “Not my story to tell. You want answers, only one person can give them to you.” I nod at him and walk back to my room where Cori is pacing back and forth.
“I have to go,” she says and then hangs up. “Tommy wants to cancel the rest of the tour.”
“No,” I say, getting under the covers. “I just want it over with, and then I’m going to disappear for six months.” My head sinks into the pillow. My eyes are heavy, but I still look out the window.
“Kellie,” she says softly, sitting on the edge of the bed, “I think you should consider canceling the rest of the tour for your safety … and your sanity.” I look at her, and she stops talking. “I’ll go tell Dante we are going to sleep.”
She gets up and walks out of the room. My eyes go to the soft glow of the sunrise in the dark morning. I fight sleep, afraid of my dreams. I fight sleep because I know that when I wake up, I’ll still be here, and I’ll still be without him.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Brian
“When I said we need to assess the situation, I did not mean let’s stalk the fuck out of Kellie,” Hunter says, getting into the Range Rover waiting for us on the tarmac. We just took a private plane from Dallas to New York, the last stop of the tour. Tonight I’m going after her, and nothing will stop me.
It’s been a week since she sent me away. A week of hell. Anyone would have gone away with their tails tucked between their legs but not me. I got on the plane and went on the tour with her. I just wasn’t the guy out front like Dante was. It also gave me time to go over everything, but all the surveillance videos show nothing. Everything was clean, no fingerprints except hers and mine. I’m now waiting on the amethyst heart lead I got.
I followed her to Dallas, and she got another flower arrangement this time with a note that said:
Every day is a step closer to us being together. Only a matter of time, my love.
Your future husband
It took Hunter and another security guy to stop me from storming upstairs. The only reason I didn’t get there was because I was on the phone with Dante, and he told me he had the situation under control. He already had the flowers being sent to Rachel so she could take care of trying to get prints off them. And then Cori. Yeah, Cori, after she told me to go fuck myself and hung up on me ten times, she finally let me say more than don’t hang up on me.