“I disagree,” Raid said firmly.
Her eyes widened. “But they’ve arrested the shooter and it obviously wasn’t personal.”
“I’d feel better if KGI accompanied you to Paris,” her father said, a stubborn set to his face.
Her eyes narrowed. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Ryker slid his arm around her shoulders. “Cut us some slack, Eden. You were almost killed. It would make us all feel better if you had tighter security for your Paris shoot. Besides, they’re already here and plans are in place.”
“Lay off the emotional blackmail,” she muttered. “Raid has already poured it on thick enough.”
Her father walked over to her and framed her shoulders in his hands, his expression serious. “Do this for me, Eden. Please. I’d sleep better if I knew you had the best protecting you.”
She heaved a heavy sigh. “Okay, okay, whatever. But I’m going on record that this is totally unnecessary.”
“Miss Sinclair.”
Startled, she swung her gaze up to look at Swanny, who’d spoken her name softly.
“I think it is necessary,” he continued. “You’re already all over the news as having been involved in yesterday’s shooting. There are hundreds of crazy-ass people out there, and the likelihood of a copycat is possible. You should absolutely tighten your security for the next while at least. Wait for things to calm down. You can’t take this too lightly.”
The rest of the group looked as surprised as she was that he’d said so much. There was a firmness to his voice that told her he was absolutely serious.
“He’s right,” Raid said grimly.
She held up her hands in surrender. “I already said I would go along with it.”
“But you have to take it seriously,” Swanny said. “Which means you do what we tell you and don’t resist. Our job is to keep you safe, and we can’t do that without your full cooperation.”
She blinked but held his gaze, warmth invading her veins as he stared intently at her. This time he didn’t avert the side of his face. He looked at her almost challengingly, daring her to look away first.
“You’ll find I’m not a difficult person,” she said softly.
Swanny grimaced. “I didn’t mean to imply that you were. If I did, then I apologize.”
She shook her head. “No, no offense taken. I just want you to know that I’m not some spoiled diva who throws a tantrum if I don’t get my way. I’ll cooperate fully. I don’t want to make your jobs harder.”
“We appreciate that, Miss Sinclair,” Joe interjected.
“Please, call me Eden,” she said, sweeping the entire group with her gaze, including them all in her request.
“All right, Eden,” Swanny said.
It did funny things to her stomach to hear her name on his lips. She broke his gaze and looked to her father, sure that her cheeks were flush with color. The last thing she wanted was to be obvious. Or come across as desperate.
“When do we leave?” she asked, to cover the awkwardness.
Joe took over then, briskly telling her of the arrangements that had been made. It awed her that they could pull something together this quickly. They were, in fact, taking this very seriously, and for the first time, she felt a kernel of unease. What if they were right? What if some idiot decided to take a shot at her now that she was splashed all over the news?
“We’ll see you off and then catch a flight back home,” Raid said. “I have to be back to work, but we expect you to check in with us often and if anything happens, we want to know about it immediately.”
Eden nodded, swallowing the knot in her throat. Everyone was acting as if it were a foregone conclusion that something would happen.
CHAPTER 9
EDEN relaxed in the back of the jet, curling her feet underneath her as she leaned against the arm of the couch. The others were still up front in their seats, but she’d retreated to the back as soon as they’d taken off.
She didn’t like the fear that gripped her. That wasn’t the way she lived her life. Always fearing the worst in others. Her fame hadn’t changed her, at least she didn’t think so. Underneath the glamour was still the same girl she’d always been.
Her father and brothers kept her grounded. Even if she’d tried to become someone she wasn’t or let her fame go to her head, they would have reined her in quickly.
A noise alerted her that she was no longer alone, and she swung her gaze upward to see Swanny standing in the entryway to the lounging area. He had an inquiring look on his face as he stared at her.
“Everything okay?” he asked in a quiet voice.
She stared back, drinking in his appearance. Then she nodded and gestured to the space next to her on the couch. “Sit, please. I’d like the company.”
He hesitated and then to her disappointment, he sank into one of the armchairs catty-corner to the sofa.
“I figured you didn’t want company since you came back here right after takeoff,” he said.
She lifted one shoulder into a shrug. “It’s not that. I just don’t know any of y’all and this all came out of the blue for me. I actually don’t like being alone and in fact I rarely am. When I’m not working, I go home and stay with Dad and spend time with him and my brothers.”
“You keep pretty busy, it seems,” Swanny said. “This Aria thing is a big deal for you, isn’t it?”