It was strange being here because I didn’t feel out of place.

I felt out of place most everywhere I went… sometimes even my own home. I always thought maybe something was wrong with me, like perhaps I didn’t belong anywhere at all.

Then Nate walked into my life, rooting around in my bag for Lifesavers, wearing random T-shirts, making stupid jokes, saving kittens, and creating songs with me that seriously stirred my soul.

He was completely my opposite but everything I sort of wished I was. Maybe the old part of me, the part I thought got lost in all the fame, recognized him. Maybe it reminded me of who I might have been if this life hadn’t changed me.

Even when Derek gave me long, calculating looks out of the corner of his eye and his body language sort of told me he wasn’t thrilled I was here, I still felt in place.

Cradling the mug of coffee Nate made, the warmth seeping into my palms, I glanced down at Cheeto, a little orange puffball of fur. Was this what peace felt like? A settled calm, quietness that draped over everything beneath my skin like a thick, warm blanket on a snowy day. No urgency, no stress.

Sipping the brew, I rested my head back against the headboard, smiling at the fact I was a girl sitting in the center of an all-boy room. The blanket was plaid, sports posters cluttered the walls, and none of the furniture matched. I glanced over at Nate’s small bed, a bed he hadn’t even bothered to make. The blankets were rumpled, the pillow lumpy.

He’d only spent half the night in there. The rest he’d spent with me.

I sipped at the coffee a few moments longer, basically daydreaming about what it had been like to share a bed with Nate. It wasn’t the first time I’d shared a bed, but this feeling was brand new. We hadn’t been two bodies in a single bed.

We’d been a couple… intertwined.

Daydreaming was nice. I could even write a song about it. But it wasn’t reality.

Lifting the phone from the folds of the blankets, I starting making the calls I couldn’t put off. My home couldn’t sit unprotected, and we’d left sort of in a rush.

I still couldn’t believe Nate refused to leave me there…

Mac answered and pulled me back into the present. “Ms. Boone, is everything okay?”

“Hey, Mac. Everything’s fine,”

“Are you coming back to L.A.?”

“No, not yet. I’m actually not even in Tennessee at the moment.” I went on to explain what happened and asked him to get a team together and fly to my house to upgrade the security and do a sweep of the property. It was going to cost me a pretty penny, but really, I had no choice.

He agreed, and after we hammered out a few details, I let him go. I trusted him to do what needed to be done. He was one of the few people I’d met during the past few years that I actually knew would keep his word and truly wanted to protect me.

Once we got off the phone, I had to make calls to my cleaning crew, house manager, and groundskeeper. By the time I was done, I felt I’d relived it all and wanted to pull the plaid covers over my head and hide.

Instead, I pulled up my big girl panties and phoned the officer in charge of my case. It was depressing. He had no new information to relay, and the man they took into custody lawyered up with some fancy counsel and made bail.

Apparently, it left the entire department scratching their heads on how a criminal could afford such a good attorney. Clearly, ripping other people off paid well.

The case wasn’t over, of course, but there wasn’t anything I could do today. Before I disconnected the call, I made sure he knew I was having work done on my property, and he generously offered to go out there a few times and make sure everything was going the way it should.

With that done, I melted in the covers, but Cheeto had other ideas. He appeared out of nowhere, a string in his mouth.

Laughing, I slid onto the floor and spent some time playing.

After I took a shower (in a bathroom that was totally maintained by boys), I went back into the bedroom to get dressed. The flicker of my cell phone screen caught my eye, and I picked it up. I had three missed calls.

Back to back.

Before I could even pull up the caller ID, it rang again.

Will’s name flashed on the screen, and my stomach twisted. Those missed calls must have been from him, and clearly, he didn’t like being ignored. That meant he would just keep calling.

Against my better judgement, I answered the call. “Hello?”

“Jesus Christ, Aerie! You couldn’t have answered your phone the first ten times I called?”

“Actually, it was only three.”

My calm, sardonic reply made him pause. He cleared his throat. “Are you okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because your front door is open, the windows are smashed in, and your place looks like a tornado hit it. And because you aren’t fucking here!”

My hand tightened around the cell. “You’re at my house?”

“That’s what I just said. Are you somewhere in the house, hiding? It’s okay now, babe. I’m here. I’ll protect you.”

And odd feeling creeped up the back of my neck. It felt like a long-legged spider on the prowl.

“What are you doing at my house, Will?”

“I heard about what happened. I couldn’t get here fast enough. I knew you needed me.”

“What did you hear?” I asked.

“Some guys broke in, trashed the place… tried to kidnap you. You’re safe now. Just come out. I’ll protect you, just like I always do.”

The only person I need protection from is you.

“How did you hear about this?” I tried to remain calm, even though my heart was thundering.

“News travels fast, babe. You know that. Of course someone called me. You’re my wife.”

Swift, pungent denial shot through me. “We are not married.”

“You can’t argue with a marriage license, babe.”

“My name is Aerie,” I ground out.

“Aerie.” He corrected, placating me. “Where are you? Tell me so I can come get you.”

“I’m not hiding.”

“Are you staying at a local hotel? Which one?”

“I’m not there at all. I left town.”

“What?” The shock in his voice practically echoed.

“I left.” I enunciated the words dramatically. “I don’t need you to save me, Will. I can take care of myself.”

“You’re scared. Rightfully so. You didn’t know what to do. It was good you got out of here. My God, Aerie. This place is trashed. Where did you run to? I’ll bring the jet, bring you back to L.A. where you belong.”

It was like he wasn’t listening, as if he had his own agenda…

Like he wants me to be afraid.

I gasped.

“Babe?”

Shock rendered me silent for long moments. Not even I could believe the thoughts suddenly filling my head.

“It was you,” I whispered.

The fancy lawyer, making bail… how Will “heard” about what happened. He had planned this.

“You hired those men to break in. To hurt me… You knew. You told them exactly what kind of security I had. You practically handed them a key.”

“You’re exhausted, not making any sense.” His voice was tighter than before.

“I’m not exhausted!” I yelled, shrill. My hands were shaking. “You’re sick. He had a gun, Will! I could have been killed. Nate could hav—”

“Roth was there?” Will growled into my ear.

Holy shit!

“Ah, did your hired thugs forget to tell you that?” I mused. “Maybe that high-powered attorney you hired advised them to not say a word, even to you.”

I could hear his ragged breathing. “Where are you?”

“You think I would tell you? You told the world I cheated on you, that I have an STD. You branded me a toad.” I paced across the carpet, my mind whirling. “But this… this, Will. Your days of controlling me are over. Hear me? I’m not running back to you. I won’t. Not ever again.”

“You’re going to lose it all. The only person who can save your tattered reputation is me.”

I laughed.

Then I disconnected the call.

He tore me down, scared me, isolated me—all in the name of control.

This was over. I was older now. Stronger. I had resources, ways to help myself that I didn’t used to have. I was only a victim if I allowed it, and I was done allowing it.

Will might be the prince of the music industry… But I was a princess.

That put us on even ground. Didn’t it?

I wasn’t about to give up my crown without a fight.