Chapter 42

 

 

Shannon couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t eat. He felt like a fool. He stared at the coffee mug, wishing he hadn’t brewed any. Shit, he just wanted to stop his brain, but his heart hurt too damned bad.

The knock on his door brought his head up, but he didn’t move. He didn’t want to deal with anyone.

They kept pounding.

Only one person it could be without the front desk calling. Peter. At least he was safe. Bastard always had his back.

He climbed to his feet and trudged to the door. Peter stood there with his arms crossed over his chest and a big envelope in one hand. “What the fuck is going on with you?”

“Ryan’s a bitch.” He turned, walking inside.

Peter followed. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Bastard ass-dialed me while giving someone the best head of their life. Probably pretty boy Max fucking Snyder.”

Peter frowned. “Why would he do that?”

“Doubt he meant to. Fucker is dead to me.”

“Right, okay. Well, we have a problem. Ryan’s agent called to hire us to protect Raven Star, who has a slew of gifts from her stalker. He’s broken into her trailer on set and two separate hotel rooms.”

“I know about that. But what does this have to do with me?”

“They’re still filming for several more months and I can’t leave Annette that long. Which leaves you. Besides, this is the type of shit you wanted us to start doing. She needs the best security.”

“Don’t want the job. I’m not going anywhere near Ryan, who is her best damned friend.”

“That shit shouldn’t stop you from a job.”

He thumped his fist on his chest. “He ripped out my fucking heart, Peter.”

“So what? You come up with a brilliant idea to grow and expand our business, and now you’re going to puss out because you had a falling out with your man? This is no damned different than dealing with Juno after he dumped your ass. You still saved his life. Didn’t you?”

Shannon moved across the island and turned to glare at Peter. “That was my fucking job.”

Peter tossed the envelope on the counter in front of him. “And it’s your fucking job now. Or are you going to make me leave my wife alone for that long?”

“You’re a bastard, you know that?” Shannon snarled.

Peter smirked. “That mean you’re going to man up and do this?”

“And if I can’t?” Shannon countered.

“Then you aren’t the man I know.”

“Damn it. I wouldn’t make you go help Annette if she was stupid enough to cheat on you while her phone was on.”

“She wouldn’t. And honestly, I have to wonder if Ryan was really the one you heard.”

“It was his damned phone. The guy was calling Ryan’s name like he was coming his brains out.” He moved back to his office, swept the phone off the floor, and came back while trying to get the screen to come on. “Fuck,” he growled.

“Look, you and I know there are ways to manipulate a situation. Yeah, I get it. But take a step back and look at all the evidence.”

“Like what?”

“Like what time did you get this call?”

“Why does it fucking matter?”

“What time, Shannon?” Peter demanded.

“One in the fucking morning.”

He nodded. “Which is about the time I was on the phone with Raven’s agent, who is hiring us. Ryan was with her, trying to calm her down. Really think he was slobbing knob while one of his closest friends was leaning on him for support?”

“Their agent called you? How do you know he’s not lying for Ryan?”

“Dude, why would he? Maybe if he called you, but he called me. Why the hell would he do that?”

“Then who the hell had his phone?” O’Neil demanded.

“Fuck if I know. I’m just pointing out that their agent is hiring us to stop some psychopath from getting their hands on Raven Star. And do you really want Ryan to be the only thing standing between her and this psycho?”

Fear flowed through Shannon. As pissed as he was, he didn’t want anyone harming Ryan. Fuck, what a damned mess.

“I see that look,” Peter said. “Do yourself a favor and at least go out there, see if you can figure out who is stalking Raven Star and make sure our client is safe. While you’re at it, you can find out if Ryan really did cheat on you, or something more is going on, because I suspect it’s something more.”

Shannon leaned forward, his hands braced on the counter. “Why are you on Ryan’s side?”

“Because I saw the way he looks at you. I saw how you are with him. He’s not the men in your past. And I’d hate to see you walk away from someone without getting to the bottom of this.”

“His phone, and some bastard was calling his name while he came like crazy, Peter. What other explanation can there be?”

“Did you hear Ryan’s voice?”

Shannon squeezed his eyes shut.

“Did you?” Peter demanded.

He didn’t. “Ryan’s mouth was full.”

Peter snorted. “Just fucking do your job. Please.”

“Yeah. When do I go out?”

“You hop on a flight tomorrow morning. You’ll have access to the hotel’s security footage and their personnel. Then you go to Tuscany to set up the mansion they’ll be renting. Full works on the security. You can pick the team to protect them. Meeker and Jonas will be out there to shadow Ryan and Raven. I’ll figure out the other one. You’ll have to head out to Tuscany before Raven to ensure everything is the way we want it.”

“Looks like I need to fix my phone first. But I can’t deal with Ryan. You can’t expect me to. You better warn him to stay the fuck away from me.”

“How about you fix your phone first? Then go out there, watch the videos to see if he was at the hotel with Raven. And go from there.”

“You really don’t think Ryan could have done it?”

Peter shook his head slowly. “No, I don’t. Why would he? He’s a big name and pissing off the wrong person with shit like that could get his secret out in the open. He’s been in the closet all along. Do you really think he’d be that careless? I’ve never even heard a rumor he might be gay, Shannon. That should tell you something.”

“I don’t have much hope you’re right, but I’ll go. And you will need to find someone else to stay in Tuscany if I find out he’s a cheating bastard.”

“Fine. Just go. This was all your bright idea, so at least make sure everything is in place to prove we can do this shit.”

“Fine. Give me all the information on the hotel and the house you can.”

“I’ll do better. I’ll see if there is anything else I can dig up while I’m at it.”

“About the stalker?”

“That too.” Peter walked out of the condo.

He didn’t want to look. He wanted to drown his damned heart, make it stop beating painfully in his chest as that call played back through his head.

 

* * * *

 

Ryan rolled over, swiped up his phone, and shut off the alarm. He glanced at the notifications, hoping for a message, anything.

Nothing.

He rubbed at his eyes. Still nothing.

Sighing, he dialed Shannon, hoping he would answer. Even if he heard his wrath, it would be better than total radio silence. He needed his voice. God, if he’d just cuss him out, Ryan might have a chance to fix shit.

He climbed from the bed and pulled on gym shorts and a shirt, then stepped out of the bedroom. Raven sat on a chair, reading a book.

She sat it down and stood. “Ready?”

“You could have knocked. I didn’t sleep much.”

She sighed. “But I figured you might. Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I just need to figure out what to do about this mess.”

“Maybe you’ll get a bright idea while we’re working out.”

He dipped his head. “Doubtful. Can’t do much if he won’t answer.”

“Peter knows him. He’ll come up with something.”

“I fucking hope so. Come on.”

They headed down and he thought about stopping by Luke’s room, but he’d be down on his own. And he thought about calling, but it would mess with him if no one answered.

“At least today you get to be an emotional mess for your part.”

One corner of his mouth tipped up. “True. Let’s hope I don’t make a total fool of myself.”

“You never do.” She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I almost wish we were still in that hotel.”

“Why?”

“I want to dump hot coffee on Max.” She winked.

He sneered. “I’d do a lot worse, but I already fucked up his face.”

“And your knuckles.”

Ryan looked at his hands and shrugged. “He’s lucky Luke was there to pull me off him. I wanted to do a lot worse.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Yeah. And you know what?”

“Dare I ask?”

“Max called. Begged me to tell him where you are so he could grovel. Fucking prick.”

“He can go to hell.”

“Yeah, well, he feels like an asshole now. And rightfully so. He asked how you were. I told him you were a mess.” She gave him a once over. “And you are.”

“I am.” There was no sense in denying it. “Why did I keep messing around with Max? If I had just dumped him and never looked back I wouldn’t have wound up here.”

Raven sighed. “And I’m in a similar boat. Why do I keep letting Rocco back in?”

Ryan’s head dropped forward. “At least we’re stupid together.”

The elevator opened, and they went to the gym. Thankfully, there was no one there. They started on a treadmill.

“You know, Rocco thought you might forgive Max and wind up with him again. All because it was a desperate act of love.”

“Fucking moron.”

“I told him if he ever tries shit like that with me, he would regret the day he met me.”

“And what did he say?”

She glanced away.

“What did the fucker say?”

“That I was too scared of my own shadow to follow through. He doesn’t seem to understand exactly how bad the stalker situation is.”

“This was on the phone last night?”

“I told him I never want to hear his voice again.”

He sneered. Fucking bastards. He would never listen to those pricks again. “Want me to kick his ass? While I’m at it, I can go after Max too.”

She gave him a side-eyed glance. “Let’s not delay filming.”

“Fine.”

“Besides, Sam already sent a text. C&O Security have taken the job, and their former Navy SEAL is heading our team. So worst-case, you’ll see him in Tuscany.”

“Doesn’t mean he’ll listen.”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s a start and gives you the opportunity to talk to him.”

“What’s that?” Luke asked as he came in.

“Shannon won’t answer his phone. Max is a bastard. Apparently, he wants to grovel. And Rocco is a dick to Raven. We need to find her a new man.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so. Right now, I want to focus on my career and get rid of this stalker.”

Luke nodded. “I wish I knew how to help you. Leona and I were talking, trying to come up with a plan.”

“As imaginative as she is, I don’t see how that’s possible. The guy is smart. Bastard knows to avoid the cameras, he hacked into both hotels’ security systems, and only one was caught in time. To see that someone had broken in, but not anything that could identify him.”

“Doesn’t hurt to try.”

“Besides, soon we’ll be in good hands.” Raven gave Ryan a smile. “Shannon is going to oversee our security. Now we just need to figure out how to get him to listen to Ryan.”

Luke grinned. “It’s all going to work out.”

Ryan rolled his eyes. “How?”

“That, I don’t know,” Luke answered.

“But we’ll figure it out,” Raven promised.