I glance over at my girl again where she sits with Kate and another friend, Bella. Lana throws her head back to laugh at something Bella said. I find myself unable to look away.
“You’ve got it bad, lad,” John booms in his deep, booming Irish brogue. “I’ve never seen you like this.” He claps a hand on my shoulder. “Got to say it’s a good look for you.”
I grimace and swing my gaze his way. “I didn’t bring you all the way up from Savannah to make fun of me, O’Rourke.” I gaze over at Lana again and then sigh.Why deny the obvious?“And I’m not going to deny I have some feelings where Lana is concerned. Man, I shouldn’t feel this way about a client. No way. I’m breaking all my rules.”
His grin is unrepentant. “Mate, do you remember the way Molly and I met? Pretty similar and we both survived. And made a life together out of it and a baby. Nothing better, Grainge.” He shrugs. “Sometimes love just sneaks up on you.”
I snort. “Sometimes love just sneaks up on you?” I shake my head. “I think you may have to give up your man card soon, O’Rourke.”
“There’s not a thing wrong with my manhood. Molly can attest to that.” He flashes his white teeth again.
I shift my feet and feel my cheeks redden. I think of last night with Lana. There are no complaints from either side when it comes to that. I’ve never felt more in tune with another person. I’ve never felt like I was truly part of them while making love before.Fuck. I’m in so deep.
I clear my throat. “Anyway, I didn’t bring you up here to discuss my love life. I brought you here to look over the clues with me. To use that wicked spidey sense thing you have going on and tell me who the hell is terrorizing my girl.”
O’Rourke immediately turns into a professional. It’s like a flip is switched within him as his gaze turns somber. He has an uncanny ability to read people and emotions. I know he’ll have some good ideas about who can be doing this. Normally, I would just call him, but I made him make the four-hour drive because I wanted him to know what we were up against. I needed allthe help I could get in protecting Lana. I also wanted his honest input.
“Well, I’ve looked over everything. Examined the pictures and her trailer…” I wait for his next words with a feeling of trepidation, “and I’ve got a few ideas. Main one being you’re lookin’ for the wrong type of person.”
I swallow. “What do you mean? It’s got to be someone close to her.”
He nods. “It is, it is. Just not in the way you’re thinkin’.” He shoots me an indecipherable look. “It’s a woman, mate, not a man, doing this.”
My body goes still. I never thought of a woman harassing her. It never even occurred to me. A male stalker seemed so likely…
“Why would you think so?” I ask quietly.
He rubs his chin. “Because the messages sound more like a woman who is jealous of your girl than a guy who is obsessed with her. They make references to wanting her but more in reference to wanting her life than actually wanting her sexually.”
I think back to the garbled messages left behind.He’s right.A lot of the messages refer to wanting fame or prestige, not wanting her body, or even admiring her beauty.
“Shit,” I mutter. “This whole time I thought it was a guy. I just assumed…”
He raises an eyebrow. “You assumed because it was violent that a man did it? Need I remind you of some of the women stalkers we’ve seen?”
Fuck.
I glance over at my girl again. She’s holding up her drink to cheers with the other girls. She looks happy. She appears as if, for a moment, she was able to forget being stalked and hunted like prey.
I’m about to ruin all that. Because I’m about to ask her what woman in her life could possibly want all that she has.
Shit. Sometimes I hate this job.
Chapter Eleven
Lana
He’s the only thing in my life that makes sense. -Lana
“He’s looking over here again,” Bella stage whispers.
I giggle, feeling like a teenager again. “He’s my bodyguard, Bella. I think he’s supposed to be watching me.”
Kate grins and shakes her head. “That’s no protector look he’s giving you. That’s a “you’re hot as hell and he can’t look away” look. She sighs. “I wish I had a guy look at me that way. Especially one as tasty-looking as your guy.”
I almost protest. Kate has almost every man in the country captivated. I can’t stop the small twinge of jealousy that flows through me. Kate is one of the sexiest women in America. I’m considered cute and lovable, America’s sweetheart. That’s why I’m so relatable as my ever-struggling character in the show.
Bella props her chin up on her hand. “I would just kill to be noticed by any guy.” Bella Porter was once Kate’s roommate.They’ve remained close friends despite their different careers. Bella is a photographer looking for her big break and Kate is already beloved by millions. Bella is gorgeous but doesn’t seem to notice that about herself. She has massive red curls that frame her small, elfin face and a sprinkling of freckles across the pale skin of her cheeks.
