SHEP
THE CROWD ROARED as the Swansea City team scored their first goal of the night, the majority of those packed into the stadium pulling for the home team. Theo shook his head where he stood in the executive box with the team owners from both sides, but he really couldn’t be too disappointed, considering AS Monaco had taken the lead early on and never relinquished it. There wasn’t much time left on the clock, and from the little I knew about football—or soccer, as we called it in the States—it seemed impossible for the home team to score enough goals to come through victorious.
Not that I’d been watching much of the game. Theo had my full attention, and after the messages he’d received on the plane, I wasn’t taking any chances. He, on the other hand,onlytook chances, because if it were up to me, we wouldn’t even be here. There were too many people, too many ways someone could get to him before I could, and that had me so tense I could’ve cracked steel in my fist.
Who the fuck had the audacity to think they could threaten him and get away with it? I was in those photos too, yet whoever this was hadn’t reached out to me directly. The fact that King hadn’t brought it up meant he hadn’t been sent those pictures—yet—but I wasn’t stupid. The threat hung over our heads, which meant Theo and I were on borrowed time, unless we could catch the motherfucker.
A sudden move out of the corner of my eye had me jerking in that direction, but it was only someone in the crowd jumping up after a kid spilled an entire drink in their lap. I turned my attention back to Theo, who was laughing and nodding as the man on his left pointed out something on the field.
God, how much longer did we have to be here? It felt like there was a ticking time bomb, and I was ready to get us both somewhere safe, somewhere we were not surrounded by tens of thousands of people. Theo had done his duty, supported his country’s team and made an appearance, so did he really have to stay for the whole game?
A collective groan reverberated throughout the stadium as a Swansea player missed the goal, and with the time running out, many around me were starting to pack up and leave, not wanting to see their team get annihilated.
That was good enough for me, and I quickly got to my feet. Theo saw me stand, our eyes locking across the distance between us, and he must’ve seen how on edge I was, because he nodded and began to say his goodbyes to the men beside him.
No one bothered looking my way as I passed, and that had a lot to do with the way I’d temporarily darkened my facial hair and kept things casual in a ball cap and Swansea City jersey. Theo had practically rioted when I put it on, but I’d managed to convince him that I’d stand out more wearing the guest team’s jersey, and that was the last thing we needed. He’d backed down, but only after I promised him he could take it off later.
A wall of security walked him through the building, so I stuck to the back of the pack, and as we reached the exit, a sea of cars greeted us. The valet team were in a frenzy of activity that seemed disorganized at best. Several of the security team headedoff in different directions to find out what was going on, but I wasn’t going to let Theo stand here like a sitting duck while they figured it the fuck out.
I glanced at the tracker I’d put on the private car that had brought us to the stadium, and it was somehow still stuck on the far side of the lot.
Shit, it would take longer for it to get to us than it would for us to walk to it.
Fuck it.
I moved in beside Theo and flashed the tracker’s position at him. He rolled his eyes.
“It’d be quicker to hike there,” he said.
“My thoughts exactly.”
He looked at me, but I continued to stay vigilant, scanning everyone around us as if they were a direct threat.
“Come on, then,” he said, knocking my shoulder with his and then turning around to dismiss the rest of the security team. “My bodyguard will take it from here. Thank you for your help today, gentlemen.”
I didn’t waste time leading him out of there, done with dealing with people for the day. I wasn’t used to having to be in bodyguard mode all the time, even though I always stayed aware of my surroundings when I was public facing, but this shit was exhausting. I wasn’t going anywhere else tonight except for our suite, and Theo was just gonna have to suck it up and enjoy room service.
“Oh, we’re running now, are we?” he said, keeping pace beside me.
“I’m not running.”
“Could’ve fooled me.” He pulled at his tie, loosening it. “Jesus, slow down. No one’s chasing us.”
“I’m just ready to get out of here, that’s all.”
“For someone who’s known for being in the public eye, you sure as fuck don’t like it all that much.”
“Excuse me if I don’t find watching out for your friendly stalker my idea of a good time.”
We rounded the corner, and when his car finally came into view, I nearly cheered. Freedom was a mere block away.
“I mean, can you blame them?” Theo continued. “Iampretty interesting. Good looking, too.”
I glanced over to see his smug smile, and shook my head. “Not to mention stubborn, arrogant, and self-involved.”
“That’s not true. Take now, for instance.” He moved in close enough that our arms brushed. “I’m not thinking about myself at all, rather, how quickly I can get you back to the hotel and out of that horrible jersey.”
“Which, in turn, will benefit you.”
