Chapter 16

 

Elle

 

The next two days passed in a whirlwind of events, both spontaneous and calculated. 

Levi took me out to breakfast on Monday morning with Pierce and Dom.  They drove separately in the rental Dom picked up when his flight arrived early that morning.  I attributed their need to go in a separate vehicle to the outburst I had in the hotel room that morning and, to be honest, couldn’t blame them for their choice.

On an empty stomach, I was feeling livid about everything I had learned that morning.  There was little that would calm me down and alleviate the rage coursing through me knowing someone was likely having fun doing what they were doing.  Once I had food in my stomach, I came to my senses and went from being angry to being smart.  I’d let this witch be stupid enough to bury herself with the evidence.  Trent said he wanted me to be more active on my social media accounts, so that is what I was going to do.

As the four of us sat together at breakfast, we came up with a plan.  This was, again, after I had put a significant amount of food in my body. 

Trent was going to be collecting the evidence.  He was taking screen shots of her public posts in case she attempted to alter or delete them at any point in the future.  When it came to keeping me safe, the guys collectively concluded that it was best to remain on high alert since we were unsure of just how far Becky would take things.

I didn’t disagree with this assessment.  Clearly, the bitch was overly obsessed and extremely unstable.

Next on our list of things to cover was strategy. 

I wanted proof.

Concrete evidence of this sick and twisted obsession. 

“I continue what I’m doing,” I stated.  “But I kick it up a notch.”

“How so?” Levi wondered out loud.

“I give her more of me.  More posts.  More information.  It’s only going to get her working overtime to follow what I’m doing, which is eventually going to result in her making a mistake in the end.”

“What is your plan to accomplish this?” Dom asked.

“Ok, so I don’t know what this woman’s motivation is.  I can’t understand the intensity of the fixation this woman clearly has with me, but if any of you had to guess, what would you think her reason for it is?”

“With women?” Dom started.  “Jealousy.  It’s always about jealousy with bitches.”

I cocked an eyebrow at him and explained, “We aren’t all bitches.  That said, that’s precisely what I believe is the issue.  Or, at least, that what I’m rocking with right now.  For whatever reason, this Becky character is jealous about something.  What?  I have no idea.  But, if she can see that I’m still blissfully happy, doing well, and enjoying my life it’s only going to infuriate her more.  She knows what she’s doing to me, so she knows what I’m dealing with right now.  I’m going to let her see that she’s not affecting me.  And the reality is, I am all those things I just said.  Sure, this is like a thorn in my side right now, but when it comes down to it, what she’s doing doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.  She’ll eventually be exposed for the person that she is and I’ll still be blissfully happy doing what I love with my life.”

I paused a moment letting that sink in.  It was the truth.  I could spend my time worried about what this woman was doing or I could continue going about my business, focusing on myself and my life.  Yeah, I’d always wonder why, but I wasn’t going to allow it to put a damper on my happiness and all of the good that I had in my life.

“I’ll need your help, though.  All three of you, for the remainder of the tour, starting now.”

“What do you want us to do, sunshine?” Levi asked from beside me.

I gave him a huge grin before I described my next move.  “She can copy the words of my post all she wants.  She can attempt to put down the places I’ve been or the things I’ve experienced.  No matter how hard she tries she’s not going to be able to take away what those places and experiences mean to me.  She also will never take away what the people in my life who truly love and care for me mean to me.  So, you’re all going to need to be ok with your faces on my social media.  Last night, I did that live session.  Trent found her.  As you know, after my fans went crazy over you, I promised them a peek at Dom and Pierce.  Today, we’re going to give them that.”

“Fucking hell,” Dom swore.

“Not again,” Pierce added.

I turned to the two of them, practically batted my eyelashes, and begged, “Please?”

They both looked to Levi before they turned their attention back to me. 

Pierce took in a deep breath and blew it out before he asked, “What specifically do you want us to do?”

I grinned at him. 

They were going to cave.

“I’ll ease you into this.  We’ll start with just pictures, but soon enough I want you guys on a live session with me.  If it’s jealousy that’s fueling Becky’s obsession, seeing me surrounded by three hot guys whose mission it is to keep me safe will have her beyond envious.  I’m just going to keep throwing all the goodness I’ve got in my life at her and see how she responds.  Hopefully Trent is monitoring her account like a hawk.”

The looks on their faces told me they weren’t thrilled with this idea, but they knew that Trent had asked for me to be active on my accounts.  If this was going to help the case, they were willing to do what was necessary, despite how much they did not want to do it.

The rest of breakfast was spent with Levi and the guys discussing the game plan for my performance that night.  A trip to the venue was in order, but unfortunately, we wouldn’t be able to get into the place until after two o’clock. 

As we walked out of the restaurant, I stopped a woman and asked her if she’d mind taking my picture with Levi, Dom, and Pierce.  I huddled up next to them and she snapped the photo.  I thanked her and walked with Levi to our rental.

Dom and Pierce followed us to a local convenience store so Levi could do as he promised and buy me some chips.  I took the time on the drive there to post the photo of me with my bodyguards.  Levi called Trent to let him know what our plan was thus far and that he should follow up with any further updates.

LA had the complete opposite vibe of what I was craving at that moment, so I spent most of the day at the hotel relaxing before my show.  I called and talked to Charley.  I felt so bad about the last time I spoke with her and how the call ended that I needed to redeem myself.  Levi kept himself busy with Cunningham Security stuff, so I didn’t need to worry about him attempting to have his way with me while I was on the phone with her. 

Leah called not long after I hung up with Charley.  She was supposed to be meeting me out in California in time for the San Francisco show, but ended up needing to cancel her flight.  Unfortunately, there was an emergency at the clinic and she needed to stay.  She was so disappointed, but I did my best to reassure her and let her know that I wasn’t upset.  On that note, we planned to get together when I was back in town.  She said she’d definitely be at my show at Lou’s when I returned to Wyoming.  I chose not to fill her in on the stalker situation update.  With her not being able to come out for the second leg of the tour, if I dropped that news on her she’d have gotten all worked up. I figured I’d wait until I returned home and things settled before I’d drop that on her.  I knew if the roles were reversed I’d have worried myself sick thinking someone was doing to her what they were doing to me. 

That night, I was thankful for a reprieve from Ms. Blunt.  Obviously, we had no idea when she’d strike next, but I couldn’t help sitting there wondering what she was doing during those times she wasn’t actively scheming.  It frightened me to think that she was always thinking of ways to get to me and how she could kick it up a notch.  If I wasn’t being given flowers with notes, having notes hidden in my car, or having the edge of a knife pressed into my back, I worried that she was spending her free time planning her next move.  Considering the severity of contact was escalating, I often wondered what would happen next.  Regardless, I tried my best to be grateful when there wasn’t any scary stuff happening. 

Immediately following my performance Monday night, we went back to the hotel.  This was not before Dom texted a few photos he took with his phone for me during the event.  He thought it would be good to show Becky that not only was I continuing to do what I loved, but also that tons of people were coming out to watch me perform.  I thanked Dom for the photos, posted a few, and the four of us took off for the night.

I was going to be performing in San Francisco the following night and wanted to get a good night’s sleep.  Making love to Levi was part of my plan that evening, so it was even more reason to not waste time hanging around.

The next morning, Levi and I packed up our things and checked out.  Once again, he offered to drive me to my next destination so that I could avoid the flight.  Honestly, I think he secretly craved the time alone with me without the threat surrounding us.  Given my disdain for flying, I immediately agreed.  Dom and Pierce also decided to drive.  They figured the drive wasn’t that bad and a couple hours on the road was no big deal.    

The drive was only a bit over five hours, so we knew we’d have plenty of time to get there and get settled before I needed to start getting myself ready.  We didn’t have the same amount of time on the second road trip that we did on the first, but I still enjoyed having that time alone with Levi.  I learned a lot more about his family, his childhood, and his decision to start his own private investigations firm.  The conversation then shifted to me.  Levi knew about as much about my family as I did his.  In fact, I felt like I knew his brother, Zane, better because he and Wes were always together.  I gave Levi my story, which really wasn’t anything crazy.  My childhood was typical, much like his.  We were both fortunate to come from very loving families.  I mostly talked to him about my music career and how I always knew that singing is what I wanted to do with my life.

Aside from spending most of my time learning about Levi and jotting down a few more words in my song inspiration notebook, the only other thing I did on the drive was catch up with Emme.  Apparently, she had watched the live feed with Levi the previous night.  She ended up sending me a private message through my social media account and told me how happy she was for us.  Seeing how we were with each other for those brief moments had solidified for her and Zane that Levi and I were meant to be together.  She wanted the four of us to get together when Levi and I got back into town for a double date.  I told Levi and he agreed, so Emme and I planned a get together later in the week after I returned from the tour. 

Emme also went on to tell me that Zane told her he hoped things continued to go well for the two of us.  He wanted to see both of his brothers get what he got when he found Emme.  He was convinced Levi had found that with me.  I told her I thought he was being a little presumptuous and rushing things a bit.  Zane didn’t think so and was now only hoping his younger brother, Cruz, wasn’t far behind.    

We were having such a good time on our drive that before I knew it we had arrived in San Francisco.  As soon as we got into town we checked into the hotel and, unfortunately, ended up ordering room service.  I knew it wasn’t Levi’s idea of a great meal, but we didn’t have the time we’d need to go out to a restaurant.

When the food arrived, I apologized.

“I’m sorry about the food situation.  This tour has made you go so far outside of the normal diet you’d eat.  At least, it’s almost over.”

“It’s fine, Elle.  You don’t need to apologize.”

“I feel bad, though.  You’re doing this for me and you aren’t even able to maintain your strict diet.”

“Really, sunshine.  I’m fine.  Besides, every hotel we’ve stayed at has been in a suite with a full kitchen.  I could have very easily made runs to the grocery store and picked up food if I wanted to do that.  Considering we’re spending so much time on the road or with you getting ready for your shows, I’d much rather spend the little time I do get alone with you not cooking food.  When we get home, it’ll settle down and I’ll get back to my normal routine.  Until then, though, I’m good spending my time with you.”

I stayed silent a moment letting his words sink in and warm me to my core.  He was making all of these little sacrifices for me along the way. 

“I’m thinking that I’m going to need you to finish your dinner and then join me in the shower for some fun before I have to get myself ready for the show tonight.  Then, after we get back here tonight, I’m going to see to it that you get rewarded handsomely for the wonderfully sweet things you’ve said and done for me lately.”

Levi set his hand on my thigh, squeezed, and whispered softly, “Kiss me, sweetness.”

I swallowed a bite of my food, leaned over, and kissed him.  He didn’t allow the kiss to be just a simple peck on the lips.  This was full-fledged, open-mouth kissing.  I let out a delicate moan, which led Levi to squeeze my thigh again and pull away.

“Finish eating, Elle.  If you take too long to do that, you should know now that you’ll be late to your show tonight.”

My body visibly reacted to his words.  Levi couldn’t miss it.  His eyes traveled the length of my body, but ultimately came back up and settled on my eyes.  I’m certain they were his favorite shade of honey. 

“Ok, love.”

With that, I got back to my food and finished eating.  When I popped the last bite in my mouth, Levi bent over, picked me up, and carried me into the bathroom, where he made sweet love to me up against the wall of the shower. 

In the end, I was a little late for my show.

It didn’t bother me in the slightest because sex against the wall of the shower with Levi was just that good.

I began to wonder if I was on a lucky streak because the San Francisco show went off without a hitch.  There was no contact from the stalker and my fans seemed to really enjoy the show.  I stayed for another hour following the conclusion of the performance to sign some autographs.  We were catching a flight to Las Vegas in the morning, so I really did not want to stay out late.  Knowing that I really wasn’t fond of the idea of doing another tour, I wanted to give my fans, who might not ever be able to see me perform again, the opportunity to meet me in person and get an autograph.

Later, Levi took me back to the hotel and, as promised, I rewarded him handsomely.  Levi learned that he liked being rewarded.  I learned that I loved how he held me afterward. 

As I soaked up the warmth and happiness there in his arms I realized that what I had said earlier was the truth.  I was blissfully happy.  The stalker situation sucked, but we were making headway on figuring it all out.  I had faith in Levi and his guys to do what they do and bring an end to the green-eyed monster of envy that was trying to trample on my happiness.  Aside from that, being held in Levi’s arms I realized that I was feeling full of joy at what this situation brought to my life.

Levi.

Love.

Clarity. 

It was funny.  On our drive to San Francisco, I told Levi how I always knew that I wanted to be a singer.  Beyond that, I had no specific thoughts of what else I wanted in my life.  Now that I had him, I finally knew.  I knew what I wanted to experience, feel, and live every single day from that point forward. 

I wanted peace.  I wanted the freedom to not be bound by schedules and deadlines.  I wanted to sing.  I wanted to be obsessive about lip balm and coffee mugs and potato chips.  I wanted my family and friends.  I wanted all of that and I knew, more than anything else, I wanted to have it all with him by my side. 

It was on those thoughts that I pressed my body closer to Levi’s.  As his arms tightened around me protectively, I took in a deep breath and drifted off to sleep.