Chapter 4

   

Elle

 

It was approaching seven-thirty and I needed to be out the door in the next fifteen minutes if I was going to make it to Lou’s on time to warm-up and prepare for my performance.  I was standing in the bathroom putting the finishing touches on my makeup.  All I needed to do after this was throw on my jewelry, grab my guitar and my bag of potato chips, and I was ready.

Since we were now officially in summertime, the weather was warm and I could rock a pair of shorts and tanks.  This is precisely what I did for tonight.  I threw on a pair of cutoff jean shorts, a loose-fitting, scoop-neckline tank, and a pair of cowgirl boots.  My hair, which fell to just below the middle of my back, was done up in loose, beachy waves.  I kept my makeup natural, except for my eyes.  I did dramatic, smoky, rose gold eyes.  Satisfied with my makeup, I ran out of the bathroom, into the guest bedroom to grab my jewelry.  I didn’t wear anything too fancy; I put a few dainty silver chains around my neck and a pair of dangly silver earrings in my ears.

Having completed my look, I grabbed my oversized purse, applied my peach-flavored lip balm before tossing it in my handbag, and took off down the steps.

I should mention that after we left Wes and Charley’s place earlier and after Levi took me to get my tea, he brought my back to his place.  He wanted to go into the office to get an update on my stalker situation.  At the same time, he told me he’d make sure that my car was brought back to his place by the end of the day.  So, he left me at his place to do my own thing after he set the alarm and programmed his cell and office numbers into my phone.

I spent the afternoon working out my set list, strumming on my guitar for a bit, and making a call to my manager slash publicist slash agent slash assistant slash best friend, Leah Price.  I’ve known Leah for eight years now.  We met each other our freshman year in college and were inseparable during our four years there.  After college, I pursued my music career and she went on to become a veterinarian and work in her family’s business.  Not long after getting her D.V.M., which was less than a year ago, she realized she wasted the last four years in school just to get a degree that would allow her to do something that was expected of her instead of something she could be passionate about.  We’ve had so many discussions about it and I’ve tried to tell her to follow her heart, but she’s too stuck on not wanting to disappoint her family.  It’s frustrating for me to see my friend so unhappy with who she is pretending to be instead of who she wants to be.  That said, I don’t know exactly who she wants to be since she hasn’t really given herself the opportunity to be that person.  So, she spends her days caring for animals, happy to provide that to them, but miserable all at the same time. 

During our call, I brought Leah up to speed on what happened yesterday.  I told her that I was currently staying at Levi’s place, which required another explanation. 

She went crazy.

That is, she went crazy over the stalker situation, not over me staying with Levi.  I assured her, as best I could, that Levi had everything under control.  She was still so worried and insisted on coming out to Lou’s to see with her very own eyes that I was still ok.  I understood her concern and appreciated it; I knew if the roles were reversed I’d be feeling the same way about her.

I needed to set aside some time to bring my parents up to speed on what was happening, but there was no way I was going to do it right before my performance.  My parents would have completely lost their minds and I didn’t need that on my conscience before I stepped out on stage.

Now, I descended the stairs and went in search of Levi.  He promised me earlier that he’d be back from his office in plenty of time to make sure he could take me to Lou’s early.

He made good on his promise and arrived back at his place a little more than an hour ago.  I was in the middle of getting ready, but he knocked on the bathroom door as I was fixing my hair and yelled in that he had returned.

As I stepped out into the kitchen, I saw Levi standing with his back to me downing a glass of water.  He pulled the glass from his lips, turned toward me, and did a full body scan.  His eyes heated and a playful grin spread across his face.

I tried to remain focused.

“I just need to grab my chips and I’m ready to go,” I announced.

Levi said nothing, but walked over to me.  He stopped in front of me, brought a hand to my hip, and the other to cup my jaw.

“You look beautiful, sunshine.”

I squirmed under his gaze and muttered, “Thank you.”

His eyes held mine and it seemed as though he was struggling with something.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, slightly panicked.  “Did you find anything out about the photo when you were at the office?”

His hand at my jaw moved to the side of my neck, where the fingers of that hand and the one at my hip squeezed my skin.

“No,” he answered, his voice husky.

Confused, I pressed, “Ok, so what is wrong?”

“I’m just trying to figure out if you’d be pissed at me if I kissed you right now.  I know there’s a whole makeup thing I’d probably get in trouble for messing with, and I’m not looking to start this off with you slapping me across the face for not being mindful of that.”

My body quivered at the mention of him wanting to kiss me.

“Lip balm is easily reapplied,” I rasped.

I was beginning to tremble at the excitement I felt.

“What?”

“I don’t typically wear lipstick, just lip balm.  What I’m trying to say is that you won’t mess my makeup if what you’re looking to do is put your lips on mine.”

A sexy grin spread across his face and his thumb began to graze back and forth along the skin at my throat.  Slowly, he lowered his head and closed the distance between the two of us.  Before I had time to think, my eyes closed as I felt the gentle pressure of Levi’s lips against mine.  My hands were at his sides, balling his shirt in my fists as I held on for what I knew was coming. 

The pressure against my mouth increased.  Then, Levi’s tongue came out to tease my lips.  I wasted no time parting them and allowing him to taste me.  His hand at my hip wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer to him.  I felt his arousal between us.  I don’t know what came over me, but one of my hands traveled down from his sides and went to his ass.

He groaned.

My tongue slipped into his mouth.  

His hand at my neck went to the hair at the back of my head while the other hand at my waist traveled down to cup my ass.  He squeezed me there and pulled me tighter to his body.

I moaned.

Levi tore his mouth from my lips and rested his forehead against mine.

He didn’t say anything.

“Levi?” I called softly.

He pulled his head back to look at me. “Yeah, Elle?”

“I never would have slapped you,” I confessed before I smiled at him.

He chuckled, “Good to know.  Are you planning on performing tonight?”

I nodded, though I wondered why he was asking.

“Right.  Then, I’m going to need you to get your hands off my ass,” he teased.

Disappointed, I dropped my hands and tried to take a step back.  Levi didn’t let go of me.

“Just to note, when we return here later on tonight, I expect your hands to go back to where they were.”

This felt good to hear, so I wiped the look of disappointment off my face and gave him a coy smile.

He still didn’t let me go.

“I need my chips,” I reminded him.

Levi grinned, shook his head, and dropped his arms from my waist and head.

We were out the door two minutes later.  This was only after I reapplied my lip balm and grabbed my guitar and a bag of chips.

Just over an hour later, I had finished my final warm up for the evening.  Levi gave me my privacy in what had been officially dubbed my dressing room at Lou’s, but waited just outside for me.  I had a couple minutes to spare before I was set to start, so I made my way out of my dressing room to the saloon.

As I had expected, and as was always the case, my loyal group of supporters were there.  Not quite a year ago, that group consisted of Wes, Zane, and their two best friends, Stone and Luke.  Recently, that group has grown.  Wes is now married to Charley; Zane is engaged to Charley’s best friend, Emme.  To everyone’s shock, Stone had settled down and was very newly engaged to Charley and Emme’s best friend, Monroe.  Lastly, there was Luke who had some kind of a relationship with Nikki, who was also best friends with the girls, but nobody knew the extent of their relationship.  Nothing had been made official that I was aware of other than the girls talking and knowing that Luke was giving it to Nikki regularly.

Levi and I made our way over to them and greeted everyone.  I got a round of hugs from the entire group.  When Zane pulled me into his hug he whispered in my ear, “Happy to hear that you and Levi have decided to stop ignoring what’s between you.  You should know that you both have my full support.”

My belly flipped hearing those words from Zane.  Levi was his older brother and I was glad to know that he wouldn’t be an obstacle for us the way that Wes was.  Though, I will admit that I was surprised at how quickly Wes caved.  To top it off, it was nice to know that Wes’ initial disapproval of it was only due to his worry over my safety given Levi’s line of work and that it didn’t have anything to do with how he felt about Levi as a person.

I pulled back from Zane, gave him a smile, and thanked him.

The girls surrounded me and pulled me out of earshot of the men.  I could tell they were just about to launch in with their questions when I felt a hand on my shoulder and a sweet voice declare, “My bestie has lots of details to fill me in on, the first of which is that fine piece of man over there.”

I turned to the side to see a mass of red hair in my line of vision. Leah had arrived.  She immediately wrapped her arms around my body and squeezed me tight.

Leah was tiny.  She was just under five feet tall with red hair that fell right to the middle of her shoulder blades.  She had fair skin, so when we hit the summer time her freckles were out in full force, which is precisely what I was noticing now. 

“Hey, love.  Looks like you’ve been out in the sun.  I’m so happy you’re here,” I started as I hugged her back.  When I pulled away, I gestured to Charley and continued, “You remember my sister-in-law, Charley, right?”

“Of course, I do.  It’s good to see you again.  Congratulations on the wedding,” Leah said, looking to Charley.

“And this is Emme, Nikki, and Monroe,” I added, pointing to each of the girls.

They all exchanged pleasantries, but Nikki was quick to dive back into the issue at hand.

“Charley gave us what is, I’m guessing, the shortened version of your troubles, babe.  Sorry to hear about what’s happening, but how lucky for you that you’re now staying with Levi?”

“I know.  I was so panicked yesterday when I got that photo, but within minutes of being around Levi, I felt safe.  I ultimately tried to tell him that he didn’t need to take me in; however, at the mere mention of me staying in a hotel for a few days, he got all tough guy on me.  I realized I wouldn’t win the battle and figured I’d take advantage of being able to be around him on a very consistent basis.”

Emme chimed in.  “Charley told us that Levi pretty much told Wes that you were no longer going to be staying in his guest bedroom.  I can’t believe Wes didn’t lose his shit, but I’m happy to hear that Levi is pursuing you.”

I was, too.  I didn’t get a chance to respond to Emme because Leah interrupted.

“What?!  You didn’t tell me that when I talked to you earlier today.”

I tilted my head to the side, feigned innocence, and shrugged my shoulders.  “I didn’t want to make a big deal about it.  Nothing had happened between us at that point, so I figured it was best not to jinx myself.”

“Has something happened since I spoke with you earlier?” she pressed.

I bit my lip and nodded slowly at my friends.  “Before we left his place to come here, he kissed me.  It was hot and I really, really want to do it again.  The good thing is, he made it clear he really wants to do it again, too.”

“Oh, this makes me so happy,” Charley beamed.

“Me, too,” Emme added.  “I can’t wait to share the good news with Zane.  He wants to see each of his brothers settle down with a good woman.  I hope you’re it for Levi.”

“They’re not married yet,” Leah chimed in.  “Elle’s got all her quirks that Levi’s going to have to look past.”

I rolled my eyes.  “He already knows about my chip obsession and he doesn’t seem to be the least bit bothered by it.  He has seen my lip balm collection…well, that is, he saw the purchase I made yesterday before I went home.  It was a big buy.  He hasn’t said anything about it, though.  Either he thinks I’m a freak or he doesn’t care.”

“You’ve got to keep us in the loop, babe.  Once he’s given you the goods, we need the juicy details,” Monroe added. 

My body shuttered at the thought of him giving me the goods.

“Oh my goodness,” Leah began.  “She’s practically salivating now and she needs to perform in less than five minutes.  As your acting publicist, I’m going to be honest and tell you I’m not sure I have a way to spin it if we end up canceling your show tonight because you were too busy drooling and couldn’t find your voice.  Enough with the sex talk until after you perform.”

“Alright,” I lamented. “I’m going to go find my voice and get ready.  See you girls afterward.”

They all wished me luck and I took off.  I didn’t go to Levi to tell him, but the minute I started walking away he followed behind me.  When he caught up to me he put his hand to the small of my back and leaned in.

“I’m going to be standing off to the side of the stage throughout your performance.  I’ll be scanning the crowd throughout looking for anything or, more precisely, anyone that’s out of the ordinary.  Lou’s guys do a decent job at the door spotting oddball individuals, but I’m not relying on that.”

I nodded as I listened, but this wasn’t helping to calm me.

“I don’t want you feeling nervous, but I need you to know where I’ll be and what’s happening.  You do what you’ve got to do here tonight and trust that I’ll do what I’ve got to do.  Ok?”

Having reached the side of the stage, I stopped walking, looked to Levi, and admitted, “I trust you, Levi.  That’s the reason I came to you yesterday.”

His eyes warmed and his face softened.

Not even a minute later, Lou announced me and I took the stage.  My hometown crowd always made me feel special, cheering the moment Lou said my name.  I loved them all.

I had to be honest, though.  As much love as I was feeling from them and even though I trusted Levi implicitly to keep me safe, I was nervous.  It was unnerving looking out into the crowd and not knowing if one of the people there was the person that had been in my apartment.

I looked back to Levi, who was hidden off-stage, got a wink from him, and decided to do what I came to do.  After turning back to the crowd, I took a deep breath and started my set.  Once I got through the first song, the anxiety was gone.  I was lost in the music and didn’t have the space in my mind to think about anything but that.

Just over an hour later, I finished my last song.  I received my usual round of applause from the crowd, thanked them, and walked off the stage toward Levi.

“Everything was all good, I assume?” I asked as I stopped in front of him.

He nodded.

I gave him a coy smile and shared, “Normally, I’d stay for a bit and hang with everyone, but I’m not really feeling up to that tonight.  Are you cool with heading out now?”

“Do you really need to ask that question?”

“I figure it’s good to be sure.”

He laughed, put his arm around my shoulders, and confirmed, “Yeah, I’m cool it.”

“Alright.  I’m just going to grab my bag out of the dressing room and I’ll be set.”

With that, Levi walked me back to the dressing room.  When I opened the door and walked in, I looked to my purse and saw a bouquet of flowers lying next to it.  My lips tipped up into a smile.  Occasionally, I’d come back here after performing to find a fan had sent flowers to me.  I loved it.

“Yay,” I began as I walked over to them. “Someone sent flowers.”

Levi followed me.

I picked up the bouquet and brought them to my nose.  I inhaled the scent with my eyes closed.

Fresh flowers.

There was a card attached so I set the bouquet down, opened the envelope, and pulled out the card.

I’ll be watching you tonight.  Don’t choke, bitch! - B.B.

My blood ran cold.

My stomach roiling.

I was shaking immediately.

Levi noticed and took the card from my hand.

My eyes went to him.

His jaw was set.  His knuckles were turning white.

He looked to me with worry on his face.  That’s when I lost it.

Levi pulled me into his chest.  I cried and trembled in his arms.  He held on to me as he pulled his phone from his pocket and while he spoke, “Need you in Elle’s dressing room.  Bring Wes.  And the girls.”

The door swung open not even a minute later.  I pulled my tear-stained face from Levi’s chest and watched as Wes, Charley, Zane, Emme, and Leah walked in.

“What’s going on?  Elle, are you ok?” Wes asked.

I shook my head, but couldn’t find any words.

“I called Zane because I needed you guys to come back here with her,” Levi started.  “I’m here solo tonight and don’t want her left alone.  I also don’t want to parade her around out there.  We came back here so she could grab her things and these flowers were here.  This is the card that was attached.”

Levi handed Wes the card.  He read it while Charley looked on.  Wes looked pissed and angry.  Charley was worried.  The same was the case when Wes passed the card off to Zane and Emme looked on.  Leah glanced at the card as Zane held it and turned her frightened face to me. 

“I’ve got to talk to Lou and find out who brought these flowers.  Can you stay here with her until I get back?” Levi asked.

“Of course,” Emme vowed.

“She does not leave this room,” Levi ordered.

“Levi,” Wes started, his jaw clenched.  “Go figure out who sent the flowers and is torturing my sister.”

Levi gave me a quick squeeze on my shoulders before he walked to the door.  “Lock the door.  Nobody comes in, nobody goes out.”

“We’ve got her, bro.  We’ll stay with her until you get back,” Zane assured him.

At that, he gave Zane a nod and walked out.  Zane locked the door behind him while Charley, Emme, and Leah came over to me.

“I’m so sorry, E.  This is terrifying,” Leah murmured as she took my hand in hers.

“Why is someone doing this to me?” I cried.

“We might not ever know that, babe.  What I do know is that Levi will find out who is doing it and he’ll keep you safe,” Emme answered.

“I’m really starting to worry,” I squeaked out.

Zane walked over and pulled me into his arms.  His voice was low when he said, “I see the way my brother looks at you, darling.  He’s not going to let anything harm you.  You’ve got to believe that he’ll do whatever it takes to figure out who’s doing this.  Once he does, trust me when I say that he’ll put a stop to it.”

I was too upset to talk, so I simply nodded.

“Elle,” Wes called softly.

My eyes went to him.  Helplessness was written all over his face.  Seeing him like that sent me over the edge.  My body began shaking again.  Zane held on to me until Wes moved to where we were standing.  He put me in Wes’ arms where I cried my eyes out.  Wes held on tight, offering me the comfort and security I needed for a long while.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough and I couldn’t settle. 

It didn’t matter, though, because Wes refused to let me go.  His hold only changed when we heard a knock at the door.  His arms tightened as my body went solid.

“It’s me,” Levi yelled.

Wes relaxed.

I was still tense.

I turned my head toward the door, my cheek pressed to Wes’ chest, and looked to Levi as he gave us what he knew. 

“I found Lou and talked to him about what’s going on.  From what we managed to find out, the flowers were delivered downstairs to the restaurant earlier this evening.  One of the waitresses was going to bring them up then, but it got busy and she got sidetracked.  By the time she got a free second, Elle was already on stage.  The flowers were delivered by the floral company.  I don’t know yet how the order was placed, but I intend to find out.  Trent’s my IT guy, so I’ll have him look at the details of the order if he can.  With any luck, it was placed online and we’ll be able to track an IP address.”

“I want to get out of here,” I pleaded.

“Sure.  I just have one question,” Levi responded.  “Do you know anyone with the initials B.B.?”

I thought about it for a minute, but couldn’t recall anyone with those initials.

“I can’t think of anyone.  Wes?  Leah?  Any ideas?”

They both shook their heads.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I gasped.  “I didn’t introduce you.  Levi, this is my best friend since my first year of college, Leah Price.  Leah, this is Levi, aka the guy that’s risking his life right now to protect mine.”

“Please tell me you’re going to catch this guy,” Leah begged.  “When Elle told me what was going on, I didn’t realize just how bad it was.  Now I know how serious this whole situation is and I’m petrified for her.”

“I’m going to find him; there’s not a doubt in my mind.”

“Is there anything we can do to help, Levi?” Emme asked.

Before Levi could even respond, Zane answered, “You aren’t getting involved, sweetheart.  I know you love Elle; we all do, but you are not putting yourself in danger.  Levi and his team will take care of her.  You, of all people, know that’s the truth.”

She nodded and Levi offered, “There is one thing you can do.”

Zane looked like he was about ready to murder his brother when Levi quickly explained, “Be there for Elle when she needs you.  Call her regularly to check in on her.  She’s staying with me, but I’m working on this case until I figure out what I need to figure out.  That means I’m out of the house a lot.  You’re all welcome to visit with her at my place.  I’m ok with her being at Wes and Charley’s house or Zane and Emme’s house considering I know what security is at both spots.  So, to help me, when you can please try to make yourself available to Elle and be a good friend to her.  In doing that, I can work on this knowing she’s not alone all the time.”

“We can do that,” Charley assured him.

“I want updates, Levi. Regularly,” Wes demanded. 

Levi gave him a chin lift in acknowledgement before he brought his gaze to mine, “Ready, sunshine?”

I dipped my chin in agreement, grabbed my purse, and walked to him.

“I talked to Lou and told him I’m taking you out the back door.  If this person is still here, I don’t want them watching you.  Before I went back to your dressing room, I took your guitar and put it out in the truck.”

“Ok.  Thank you,” I answered.

He put his hand to the small of my back and ushered me out of the room.  We made our way down the hall toward the backroom offices, where Lou was waiting with anguish in his face. 

“Elle, my darlin’, this news shreds me.  I don’t know how anyone could want to see harm come to you.  You stay safe and don’t go anywhere alone until Levi and his guys find out who’s doing this.”

I nodded to him, having found it very hard to talk about what was happening. 

“Promise me, darlin’,” he demanded.

“I promise, Lou.”

Lou’s eyes went to Levi and he shared, “This girl is like a daughter to me.  You keep her safe.”

“I fully intend to.”

Satisfied with Levi’s determination, Lou stepped aside and allowed Levi and me to pass.  We made our way outside, where he helped me into his truck before rounding it and getting in on the driver’s side.  He pulled out of Lou’s lot and got on the road back to his place.  It wasn’t until Levi’s hand reached over and wrapped around mine, giving it a gentle squeeze, that I finally felt some comfort and safety.  Only then did I start to settle.