He shrugs. “No clue. We made sure to cover all the entrances. If someone on the crew hadn’t recognized the picture we put out, he might have just slipped through.”
I look over the guy again. He has a cap on and more facial hair than in his picture, but besides that, his disguise is not elaborate.
Fuck.
I know Gemma’s onstage as soon as the crowd starts going wild. Then I hear her voice echoing through the stadium and I know she’s performing. She’s right where she should be. For some reason, that thought makes my shoulders fall with relief.
The police arrive then, and everything is fast. Brian starts screaming about his bride and I know he’s too far gone to give me much of anything to go on. But I have a feeling I know exactly who I should be talking to.
And I find him in a matter of minutes, looking out at the crowd with a satisfied smile on his face.
“Good show, isn’t it? No matter how many times I see it, I can’t help but be amazed by it. The crowd fuckin’ loves it. They eat this shit up.” On stage, a burst of glitter covers the stage and Gemma steps out, still in that sexy bodysuit. Her dancers follow up behind her as she starts singing about revenge.
I clamp a hand down on his shoulder and he glances up in my direction, but not directly into my eyes. My grandma always said you could tell what kind of person someone was by their eyes. Right now, his eyes are shifting around like crazy.
“You know, it took me a little time to figure out how this guy was getting into all these private spaces. I mean, even before Heartline took over, her security wasn’t bad. Wasn’t nearly as good as us, but they should have been able to catch this guy. And then there’s how he got around the alarm…I mean, that makes no sense. He obviously had to have some insider knowledge. He has a history of being good with tech stuff, but not to that extent.” I pretend to think things over. “But I guess what really clinched it for me was those damn notes he wrote. I knew I had seen that stationary before.” I rub my chin and I can see when it hits Marty. His face whitens and fear enters his grey eyes. “I sawit on your desk once.” I shift my stance and place a hand on his upper arm. I tighten my hold gradually. “The only thing I can’t figure out is why you would be in cahoots with someone who is terrorizing your meal ticket.”
At the end of the day, I couldn’t figure that out. Marty grew up in poverty in the South. He had nothing to gain from Gemma being hurt.
“I…I, um…” He stumbles over his words while I pull out my phone to text Frank and King. Time to take down the last threat to my woman.
I startle when I feel a tap on my shoulder. John Sparks stands there, grinning like a fool. “I heard we got him. Our girl’s going to be safe from now on.”
He looks from me to Marty, as if expecting us to agree with him. Marty is now staring down at his feet though and his face is still devoid of color.
“We’re happy about this, right? Marty?” John senses something is obviously amiss.
“I…um, well…” Marty opens his mouth, then closes it again.
“We were just talking about how this guy probably had someone on the inside, John. And it’s look like Marty may know something about it.” I frown and glance over at Marty again. “The guy’s been writing his notes on Marty’s stationary after all.”
“He’s been…” John’s face reddens and I can see his fists ball up by his side. “You son of a bitch…you mother fucking asshole…”
I stop the rant with a hand up. “He was just about to tell me why he would do this.”
John’s eyes narrow. “I would like to know that too. I would really love to know that.”
Marty finally looks up. “You know what? Fuck this. You’ll never know what it’s like. Seeing someone give you crumbs when you know you deserve the whole damn cake. And this stalker thing made Gemma bigger than ever. It made her fanssympathetic to her and even gained her more media attention.” His voice is full of venom now. “She’s raking in millions from this and I’m going to get my piece. The guy was never going to hurt her,” he scoffs. “He was harmless. I did my research. He never hurt anyone before.”
I study the odious man. “He had a taser, rope, and tape on him. I don’t think he was taking her for a walk in the park, asshole.”
His cheeks turn pink. “Well…well, I didn’t know that, but I’m sure she would have been fine.”
I glance over at John. I didn’t think it was possible, but his face is even more red.
“Can I hit him now?” he asks in a low voice and Marty emits a squeak.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I can see Frank and King approaching along with a few police officers. “No need. He’s about to get taken away. Somewhere where the accommodations aren’t as comfy as he’s used to.”
I watch with satisfaction as Marty is taken away. His head hangs low, and he doesn’t say much. My biggest concern is how I’m going to explain this to Gemma.
John pats my shoulder again. “Thanks for getting him, Gabe.” He sighs. “Despite how much I don’t want to admit it because it might mean losing my little girl, you’re a good man.”
My mouth quirks up in a half grin. “Glad you think that sir, because there’s something I need to ask you.”
Chapter Seventeen
Gemma
