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Lyra must have felt the evil-eye because she looked up from her phone and flipped Jade off in response.
“I’m reconsidering your ‘best friend’ title,” Jade said.
Lyra laughed. “You’ll thank me for this later. I promise,” she said.
“Highly doubtful.”
Lyra and Jade were friends long before they became bandmates. They’d become quick friends in elementary school and stuck together since.
They formed their punk rock band Lovely Oblivion with Polly, Bex, and Maggie, three other musicians they’d met during college. They hit it big and signed a record deal in their early 20s.
Jade loved it and wouldn’t have changed a thing.
Well, except this stalker thing. If she’d known the fan’s actions would escalate like this, she would have nipped it sooner. Now, it impacted other fans.
The third date of the new tour. A sold-out rock show. Out of everything that happened, the potential cancellation probably pissed Jade off the most. She hated disappointing the fans. Thousands of people rearranged their schedules, spent money, and made plans to see their performance, but one selfish jerk might ruin everyone’s night.
Jade growled loudly right as the door opened.
Blue eyes met hers, first with surprise, then with what she guessed might be amusement, at her outburst.
Their owner — a tall, toned hunk with dark hair — strolled into the room behind Tawny, the band’s tiny female tour manager. Four other built guys followed them. Tawny looked even smaller than normal standing beside them, even wearing her favorite high-heeled boots. These guys practically screamed “badass military” with their chiseled bodies, tattoos, and overall demeanor.
As Tawny closed the door tightly behind them, Jade glimpsed their normal security guard, Tyler, standing watch in the hallway.
“Hey, ladies,” Tawny said. She moved further into the room.
Tawny looked meek to those who didn’t know her, but she was really a force to be reckoned with — her job required backbone and grit. As their road manager, she coordinated all their stops, hotels, crews, and venues. She made everything run smoothly while the band was on the road.
Their actual manager, Paige, ran the image, tour schedule, and financial side of things; Tawny made the tour happen efficiently.
“Meet your new security team,” Tawny said.
She pointed to Mr. Blue Eyes.
His dark hair was longer on top and shorter on the sides. No wedding ring. A tattoo peeked out from the neck of his blue dress shirt. Though he wore dressy clothes currently, he had a predatory look about him that signaled he wouldn’t hesitate to fight at a moment’s notice. The gun on his hip amplified the intimidating image.
Jade’s interest piqued immediately. This guy had an interesting story to tell, and she wanted to hear it all.
Tawny continued, “This is Ryker Vittroli. He’s your new head of security. Whatever he says goes. No fighting him, ladies.”
The words were out of Jade’s mouth before she could stop them, “Oh Tawny, I plan to fight with him — All. Night. Long.”
Ryker’s eyes flicked to Jade. He said, “I’m going to have my hands full with you, aren’t I?”
“I sure hope so,” Jade said with a grin. “You can fill your hands with me anytime.”
Ryker held her gaze but cleared his throat. There was definitely amusement in his eyes, and she thought she almost sensed a smile under the stoic surface.
Tawny scowled. “Jade, behave. There will be no harassment on my tour,” she warned. “Ladies, I expect you to give Mr. Vittroli your full cooperation. His team is here for your safety, not your pleasure. Consider them off-limits unless it’s safety-related.”
Tawny settled on a nearby chair, an irritated look on her face, and she gestured for Ryker to start.
Ryker’s voice rumbled, “Good afternoon. I’m the director of Vittroli Security Specialists — VSS for short. We are a private team of former Navy SEALs who specialize in security for high-profile clients. Your record label hired us to protect you all until Jade’s stalker situation resolves. We stay until we catch the stalker.”
He rapped his knuckles against the table. “I understand you’re used to a relaxed security regime, so I need you to pay attention.”
“Don’t dodge us. We can’t protect you if you disappear on us. We will take you wherever you want to go so you can do whatever you want to do — as long as it’s safe. We’re on your side. We want to keep your lives as normal as possible. But we have to keep in mind that stalkers are persistent, crazy, and could go after any of you to hurt Jade. So there will be some necessary changes to your routine. Especially yours, Jade.”
