Chapter Four
Evie only had a few days after the wedding to prepare for the first rehearsal of Love and Regrets. She finished up her work at Lone Wolf, dug out her old scripts and music, and practiced the songs she had learned for the workshop. Despite the exhaustion, she felt great, and it also meant she didn’t have time or energy to think about Connor. He was obviously so not into her, and it was better she forgot about him and concentrate on her career.
Though she was disappointed she wouldn't be playing the lead, Evie tried to look on the bright side. She was going to perform on a real Broadway stage. Just the thought of being up there, bathed in lights and looking down at the audience, thrilled her. Plus, she'd get some great contacts in the industry. Atlantis Artist produced many of the last decade's Tony Award-winning musicals, and if she played her cards right, this could advance her career.
"Evie!" Annie Fox, the composer and Jane Collins' writing partner, greeted her as she entered the stage door of the Nina Haas theater on West 45th St. The older woman, dressed in her usual black leggings and a colorful, flowy top enveloped her in a hug. “I’m so glad you decided to come back and work with us. I was afraid you wouldn’t want to be part of this.”
"Are you kidding?" Evie laughed. "This has been the best news I've had all year. I'm so excited to be part of this. I know this is yours and Jane's big break, too."
Annie's blue eyes sparkled with excitement. "I know! We've been writing for years, and, finally, we're going to see one of our musicals on Broadway." She put an arm around Evie and led her to the backstage area. "C'mon, almost everyone in the cast came back. I'm sure they'll be happy to see you." They walked down a darkened hallway, which led to the stage. There were already a bunch of people there that Evie recognized, and they greeted her warmly. The excitement in the air was evident as everyone was chatting, laughing, and joking.
After Jane's initial call, Evie met with her and Annie over coffee, and they explained the situation to her. Atlantis Artists thought Love and Regrets had the potential to be a big hit, but, to do that, they needed to sell lots of tickets. These days, that meant bringing a big star into the production. The executive producers from the production company had signed a young, rising pop star by the name of Janelle Edwards, who took the music world by storm last year with her hit album, Girls Rockin’ Out. Though it seemed her stardom had cooled off as she had yet to release another album, she also had two million followers on her various social media accounts. The producers thought it was an excellent way to get some butts in those theater seats, as many other shows had done the same to revive ticket sales and stay open. Evie understood, of course. That was show business. Still, she couldn't help but feel a small pang of hurt. But, she was a professional and she wanted to impress the producers by being a team player.
“Okay, everyone,” Jane said, as she called everyone’s attention. “I’d like to thank all of you who came back to work with us. We’re thrilled to bring this show to life.” There was a cheer from the group. “Now, I’d like to introduce you to Andrew McAllister, our executive producer.” She motioned to the squat, balding man in a tan suit beside her.
"Hello everyone, glad to be working with you," Andrew said. "I'm happy to be helping you bring this show to Broadway. And I'm excited to introduce you to someone special. Everyone, meet our new leading lady, Ms. Janelle Edwards."
Everyone turned to the figure who strode out from offstage right. Janelle Edwards was dressed in a tight designer bodycon dress, and her boobs pressed up in a gravity-defying way. Her long blond hair curled around her shoulders and down her back, while her lips were painted red and her eyebrows were drawn within an inch of their lives. Her platform heels clattered on the wooden surface as she sauntered to center stage, and two huge men in suits followed behind her. Waiting in the wings were three people, each one carrying a large roller bag.
“Hi everyone, I’m Janelle,” she greeted in a sweet, syrupy voice. “I just wanted to let you know how excited I am to be working with you all. This is my first time on Broadway, but I’ve done tons of concerts and live appearances. And, as you know, my hit single, Obsessive Love, was on the Billboard charts for over 40 weeks and I won MTV’s Best New Female Artist last year.” She flashed them all a blinding smile and then raised her phone. “Let’s take a selfie! Now that the press release was sent out this morning, I can post it on my Instagram and let all my fans know!” Everyone crushed behind her, trying to get into the tiny screen. Of course, it was impossible, as Janelle’s face took up half the photo.
"Thanks, everyone!" she said, then turned to Jane. "Now, where's my dressing room? I need to freshen up."
"Our stage manager, Nicole Lawrence, will show you the way," Jane said, motioning to the young woman in black jeans and a red tank top beside her holding a clipboard. "But we need you to be on stage in five, okay? With your schedule limiting us to five days a week for rehearsals, we don't have much time. Steven Ali, our director, will be here any moment. He's just talking with our tech director up in the booth."
Janelle’s eyes narrowed. “Well, Atlantis assured me that my schedule was no problem,” she said in a miffed voice.
“As long as we get to opening night, we’re good,” Annie interjected.
“Fine.” Janelle flipped her long blond hair, then turned to Nicole. “Show me where to go.”
Evie watched as Janelle and her entourage left the stage. She had a feeling things weren't going to be as simple as she thought they would be.
***
Connor kept his back against the wall as he looked down at the stage. Although the Nina Haas Theater was still closed to the public, it was easy enough to sneak in. Security was a joke, and, since most the people inside were gathered on the stage, he remained undisturbed in his hiding spot in the farthest box on the right side of the theater.
After the wedding, he tried to stay away from Evie, especially after he held her in his arms. He had been too close, and he nearly gave into his primal urges to kiss her. Who knows what else he could have done on that secluded beach?
Fucking hell, his cock had never been so hard in his life. Sure, like Killian said, he wasn't some monk. For fuck's sake, he knew what it was like to be teenage boy full of hormones. But, as soon as he was old enough, it seemed he kept attracting the wrong kind of women. They only saw his size and his scar, and they boxed him into a certain type of guy. It was exciting the first couple of times, and, while he used those women as much as they used him, it got old after a while. All those women wanted one thing. Harder … more … spank me … rougher … do it until I bruise. He shook his head in disgust. Already, he'd been holding back his Lycan strength to stop from hurting them, and they wanted more pain? Wanted him to get rougher? Women were fucking weird, at least those who were attracted to him. He decided he'd had enough. He stayed away as much as he could and lost interest in sex.
Maybe that was the problem. These days, he might as well be a monk. Being near Evie and her delicious, sweet peaches scent was making him horny because it had been too long since he fucked a woman. Too bad both Killian and Quinn were settled down, and he didn't have any wingmen left. How the hell did people hook up these days? Damn, he felt ancient, and he was only thirty years old.
He pushed those thoughts away and turned his attention back to the stage. An hour had passed, and, still, nothing had happened. Everyone was standing around, waiting. Was this what being in the theater was like? How could Evie handle all the inaction?
Finally, that blonde anorexic-looking chick strode out onto the stage like she was some queen, moving among her lowly subjects, her head bobbing as she walked among them. "Thanks for waiting, everyone," she said in a high-pitched voice that made Connor's ears hurt. "I had to freshen up my makeup and check my stats. Oh-Em-Gee, our photo got one hundred thousand likes in the last hour!"
Connor wrinkled his brow. Was she even speaking English?
"Okay, well, now that we're all here, let's get started." A tall man dressed in track pants and a black shirt gathered everyone around him. "Janelle, nice of you to join us. I'm Steven. Your director,” he sneered.
“Oh, hi,” she greeted. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get started.”
“You heard our star.” Connor didn’t miss the sarcasm in Steven’s tone. “Let’s proceed. Janelle, you’ve had the script for two weeks now, so you should already know your lines.”
Janelle giggled. “Well, I’ve been super busy. And Jane and Annie said I’d have some help with the lines and stuff.”
Steven let out an exasperated sigh. “Right. Evie, please come forward.”
Evie emerged from the crowd and introduced herself to Janelle, holding out her hand. The blonde sized her up, her gaze going from the top of Evie’s head to her toes. Finally, after intense scrutiny, she took Evie’s hand.
“All right, let’s get started,” Steven called. “From the top.”
Connor continued to watch the rehearsal play out. He'd never been to any live show, so he wasn't sure what the hell was going on. Evie was feeding that Janelle girl her lines and showing her where to stand and move. Strange. He thought the director did that.
“Ugh, I know the line,” Janelle said to Evie in a dismissive tone. “You don’t have to keep following me like some puppy.”
“I’m just trying to help,” Evie muttered.
“Well, go and help somewhere else,” Janelle retorted. “Preferably somewhere far away.”
Connor's blood began to boil when he saw the expression on Evie's face falter. Who the fuck was this woman? And why was Evie letting this bitch walk all over her? She didn't take anyone's shit, not his, not even Quinn's. And yet—
His ears suddenly perked up as he heard a strange sound. It was … metal scraping against metal. And then footsteps overhead. A shadowy figure crossed the bridge hanging over the stage. What the fuck?
Connor’s instincts went into overdrive, screaming danger as the sound of bending metal grew louder, at least to his ears. Glancing above the stage, he saw one of the large overhead spotlights hanging precariously by its wires. And it was right above Evie.
Blood roared in his ears. There was no time to circle back and take the stairs, so he climbed on the railing and jumped down. The drop was maybe twenty or thirty feet, and his heavy boots landed with a loud thud. Hopefully, no one had seen him in the darkened theater.
He ran toward the stage, then leapt up and lunged at Evie. There was a loud snap as the wire broke under the heavy weight of the lights. He didn't even stop to watch it fall as he tackled her. They landed a few feet away from the pile of mangled metal and broken glass. He braced his palms on the floor to prevent his body from crushing her.
A loud shriek broke out, nearly deafening Connor. Bony elbows poked at his ribs, and he realized Janelle was underneath him. She must have stepped right in their path as Connor tackled Evie. Motherfucker.
"Get off meeeee!' Janelle screamed, pushing up at him. Her two bodyguards came rushing forward, and Connor quickly rose to his feet to get out of their way. He grabbed Evie by the waist and pulled her up. "Are you all right?"
Evie looked up at him, her face pallid and hair disheveled. Soft brown eyes blinked. “Connor? What are you doing here?”
Shit. What was he going to say?
“What’s going on here?” Andrew Macallister pushed his way to the front of the small crowd gathering around him. “Who the hell are you and how did you get in here?” He looked at Evie. “You know you can’t have boyfriends in the theater during rehearsal.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Evie denied, pulling away from Connor. “He’s … uh, he’s my manager.”
“Your manager?” Andrew asked. “You have a manager?”
“At my day job, I mean,” Evie explained. “I work for a security firm part time.”
“Creed Security,” Connor said. “You can look them, er, us up.”
Andrew frowned. “That’s good to know. But what the hell are you doing here? This is a closed rehearsal.”
"He was saving me!" Janelle shrieked. She pushed her two bodyguards out of the way. "Unlike these two idiots." She gave the men a dirty look and then sauntered to Connor. "Oh, my … you're so … big …"
Connor tensed, his skin crawling at the way Janelle’s eyes devoured him. Just like all those women.
“How did you get in here?” Andrew continued. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Well, your security’s a joke,” Connor said. “I saw someone tampering with the lights overhead.”
Janelle let out a gasp. “Oh-Em-Gee. Someone was trying to hurt me?” Two fat tears rolled down her cheeks. “It must be one of my haters!” she cried. “Thank you so much … if it wasn’t for you …”
She launched herself into his arms, her octopus-like limbs wrapping around his torso. Connor went very still, not sure what to do and annoyed his last clean shirt was now getting wet with Janelle's tears. Beside him, Evie tensed and slowly began to back away from him.
Andrew cleared his throat. “Mr. …”
“Connor,” he provided.
“Mr. Connor—”
“Just Connor.”
Andrew cleared his throat. “Right. Anyway, I’m going to call your boss and get to the bottom of this. Stay here.”
Connor wanted to tell him to eat shit and die. No one could stop him if he wanted to leave. But he remained rooted to the spot, not just because of Janelle's strangely strong grip on his torso but because of the look Evie flashed him. Her face was red and drawn into a scowl, and she crossed her arms over her chest. She let out a puff of breath, and her eyes turned stormy as she stared at Janelle. Evie was obviously upset, and it made something in his middle ache. He didn't want to see her that way, and he couldn't leave until he knew she was okay.
***
“What the fuck did you do?" Sebastian bellowed as he stepped into the small meeting room where Connor had been waiting for almost two hours. Behind him, Killian and Aiden James followed. Both men did not look happy, either.
Connor kept his tough-faced exterior, though he flinched on the inside. No man could ever make him lose his composure, but Sebastian Creed was no ordinary man. He had a beast inside him, a fully-grown dragon that could breathe fire and lava and crush anything in its talons. And, right now, he could feel the dragon lurking at the surface.
As he threatened, Andrew MacAllister called Creed Security. The producer must have been someone important, as Creed himself came down to the theater, dragging Killian and Aiden James with him. The three of them spoke to MacAllister privately before they came to the room where the stage manager had asked Connor to wait.
“I’m sure Connor has a perfectly good explanation.” Killian gave him a warning look. “Right, Connor?”
He shrugged. "It was a good thing I was here or Evie would’ve been crushed under those lights." A unfamiliar lump in his throat grew, as he thought of what could have happened to her.
“I don’t give a shit what you do on your personal time,” Sebastian growled. “But telling them you were part of Creed Security? What the fuck was that about? You’re putting my company and reputation on the line.”
“Technically, Lone Wolf is under Creed Security.” Connor glanced briefly at Aiden, then turned his gaze back to Sebastian. “And you know why I had to tell them that.”
“I should have thrown you under the bus,” the dragon shifter said. “If you weren’t such an asset to the company …” He straightened his shoulders. “Well, seeing as you brought us into this mess, you’re going to get us out of it.”
Connor’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Ms. Edwards seems to be convinced someone is trying to hurt her,” Aiden said. “And the only way Mr. MacAllister was able to stop her from walking out of the production was to hire Creed to protect her.”
“Specifically, you,” Sebastian added. “She only wants you.”
“No fucking way. I don’t got time to play bodyguard to some skinny pop star.” And he didn’t like the way that woman treated Evie as though she were beneath her.
“And you think my company does?” Sebastian retorted. “I had to agree to a contract and a reduced fee in order for them to drop any lawsuits. You were trespassing here.”
“That’s fucking bullshit.”
Aiden stepped forward and put a hand on Connor’s shoulder but quickly withdrew it when Connor gave him a death glare. “Look, I know you don’t do any of the contract negotiations on whatever jobs you do, but I usually take care of these things. Entertainment lawyers are even scarier than the toughest criminal defense attorneys. They also have to deal with insurance companies. If you had been hurt and their insurance provider heard about it, they would have hiked up their premiums or refused to continue coverage. You could have derailed the entire show.”
Connor didn’t understand half the things coming out of Aiden’s mouth, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to be intimidated. “I don’t fucking care. There’s no way you can make me do anything. I’ll quit Lone Wolf if I have to.”
"Connor," Killian began. "You're right; we can't force you to do anything." Sebastian opened his mouth to protest, but Killian ignored him. "Aidan, you do a lot of Creed's contracts with private security. Surely, a vice president getting personally involved in the matter should make things up." He glanced at Connor from the corner of his eye. "And Evie will be there, too. I'm sure she'd appreciate Aiden's hands-on approach.”
Fucking Killian. “Fine,” Connor relented. “I’ll do it.”
"You'll both do it," Sebastian said. "You and Aiden will both be working here. Aidan will take lead on the security plan, and you’ll make sure Ms. Edwards is safe while she's on the premises."
Connor gritted his teeth. At least he wasn’t going to be following around that bitch like a puppy dog wherever she went. “Fine.” And he could keep an eye on Aiden James and make sure he didn’t creep on anyone, including Evie.
“Good. You’ll start tomorrow.”