Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 46751 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46751 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
This isn't a sick prank. It's not a joke. Someone really is watching me. They've been watching me for months.
Chapter Seven
Gideon
"What the fuck?" Kane roars when he sees the dressing room after the show.
Kenna cut it half an hour short. She was wrecked after seeing the dressing room. I don't know how the fuck she even got back on stage at all, but she did it. She may think she lacks courage because she's afraid of loving and losing, but she's one of the strongest people I've ever met.
It takes courage and balls of brass to get up there and face an entire crowd with a smile after seeing some shit like this, but she did it. She sang her heart out. Unless you know her, you would never have guessed that five minutes before she jumped back on stage, she was crying in my arms, staring at the evidence that someone has been following her for months.
I'm mad as hell that the motherfucker was here, and I didn't know it. I should have been paying closer attention. That's why I'm here. To protect her and keep shit like this from happening. But tonight, I let her down. I failed. That's on me.
"This is on me, Kane," I say, blowing out a breath. "I should have been doing my fucking job instead of enjoying the show."
"This isn't on you," he disagrees with a sharp shake of his head. "You were sitting front and center by that stage. If anyone tried to get to her, they would have to go through you. You can't guard her and the dressing room at the same damn time."
"We need to step up security at her shows."
She and Maya are locked in Clive's office right now, waiting for us to finish documenting and cleaning up this mess. I don't want her to see it again, but I don't want anyone else touching it, either. If there are fingerprints on any of these photos, I want them preserved.
"Yeah, no kidding." Her brother rattles off a string of curses, snatching up a photo from the desk. "You don't leave her fucking side. I don't care what she says, you're at her side unless I am."
"Not a problem. I have no intention of leaving her side."
He meets my gaze, his expression sharp, assessing. "Is there something going on between you and my sister, Carmichael?"
"If you're asking if I'm sleeping with your sister, that's between me and her," I say. "But if you're asking if I have feelings for your sister, that's a different answer. Which is it?"
"Jesus Christ," he mutters. "I fucking knew you were catching feelings when I saw you watching her on stage tonight."
"It doesn't change the fact that I'm the best man for this job, Kane. If anything, it guarantees I'm the best man for this job. You think I'm going to let anything happen to her when I'm pretty goddamn sure I'm falling for her?"
"You're pretty goddamn sure?" His narrowed eyes tell me that isn't the answer he wants to hear. "We're talking about my baby sister. If you're sleeping in her bed, you better be real fucking sure, Carmichael. There's a reason I've chased off every man who comes sniffing around. They don't deserve her, and they aren't worthy of her."
"No one is, Kane. Especially not me," I say frankly. "I never have been and never will be. There isn't a motherfucker on this planet worthy of her. But that doesn't change the fact that you won't be chasing me off. She needs me, and I'm not going anywhere. No disrespect to you, but she's the only one who gets to decide what path her future takes and who she shares it with. I plan to be that man. Get used to it. If you break her heart, it'll piss me off."
"And if you break it, they won't even find pieces of you," he growls.
"I can live with that." The last thing I'm going to do is break her heart. Once she gives it to me, I plan to guard it like the treasure it is. She won't ever have to worry about me destroying it. "Just so you know, she's terrified of falling in love. She's afraid of losing someone else she cares about like you guys lost your dad."
"Shit," Kane says, raking a hand through his hair. "I'll talk to her."
"No need. I'm working on it. I just thought you should know that she's been carrying that since he died."
Kane jerks his head in a nod. "Appreciate that. They were close." He sighs. "Our Ma kind of fell apart without him. I guess I get why she's so fucking afraid to risk it. Some people, you never get over."
"Yeah," I say quietly. I'm beginning to get that. I think Kane's wife might be one of those people for him. Kenna is for me. If something happened to her, I wouldn't move on. I wouldn't get over it. She's been in my life for such a short time, but she's already left such a massive impact.