I’m about to lose my shit, and I think Cori feels it because she finally speaks. “Children”—she raises her hands—“this is getting nowhere.” Then she looks at Kellie. “Eat.” She points at Kellie’s plate, and then she looks at me. “I will look into it and find out why Juan let you in.”
I nod at her. “You have a security system in this castle?” I throw in castle because I know it bothers her, and I’m not wrong when she grumbles.
“There is, and I will start using it,” Cori says. “Now, can we talk about what is expected of us during this tour? I will make sure we do our absolute best to follow all rules.”
“She doesn’t speak for me,” Kellie says, chewing.
“I do speak for her when it comes to her safety.” Cori’s voice gets louder, and Kellie rolls her eyes.
“I’m sitting down with my team tomorrow, and we are going to go city by city and have things set up in case something happens.”
“Oh my God, like London has fallen?” Cori asks, her eyes going wide.
“What?” I ask, confused as to what the hell she is talking about.
“The movie with Gerald Butler,” Cori says, fanning herself. “He was so hot in that movie.”
“I haven’t seen the movie,” I tell her, and she looks at me horrified, “but I’ll get on that.”
“You should.” She nods her head and puts her hand on my arm.
“It’s the best ever.”
“Are you done?” Kellie asks. Pushing her stool away from the island, she carries her plate to the sink, then rinses it off, and places it in the dishwasher.
“We will be in each other’s space for ninety days,” I say, looking at her as she stands with her back to the sink and her arms crossed over her chest. “There will be times we get on each other’s nerves.”
“That’s an understatement,” she says. “We aren’t even on the road, and I’m already ready to throttle you.”
“Children,” Cori starts, and then she adds, “what is the hotel situation?”
“We are sharing a room,” I tell them, and Kellie shouts, “No fucking way!”
“Kellie,” Cori says softly.
“No!” she shouts again. “No way.”
“Don’t worry,” I tell her, pushing away from the island. “You don’t have anything I haven’t seen before. But just so we are clear, you also don’t have anything I want to see.” Her eyes form slits as she glares at me. “My job, my rules.”
“Then you’re fired,” she says. “I’ll talk to Tommy, and he’ll get me someone else.”
“Do that,” I tell her, and I’m done. It’s safer if I leave before I say something else to piss her off. “Cori, it was a pleasure meeting you.” I turn and look at Kellie, who doesn’t bother looking at me. Instead, she pretends she’s looking out the window.
“I’ll walk you out,” Cori says, and she follows me out of the room. “I’ll talk to her,” she says softly, “and make her understand the danger.”
“Did she see the letter that was sent to her with the roses?” I ask Cori, who shakes her head. “This man is fucked up and delusional. It will take nothing for him to snap, and it’s my job to make sure that, if he does show up, he doesn’t get to her.”
“She didn’t see it, but I did tell her about them. Maybe if she sees it, it’ll be better,” she says quietly. I walk out of the house and toward the gate that is opening now. As soon as I walk out of the gate, it closes back. I get into my car and take off toward the gym, the only place I know I can let off steam. I pull up and park in the back, then grab my gym bag from the trunk and make my way into the small gym. It’s where most guys come to train, so there aren’t many machines. Punching bags are scattered around, and a boxing ring is set up in the middle of the room. Pulling open the door, I see that it’s almost half full. Men are sparring in the ring, a couple are on the side skipping rope, and some are in the back lifting weights.
“I was wondering if I was going to see you here?” I hear from the side of me and see Tommy taking off his boxing gloves, his chest heaving. Sweat pours off his forehead. “I just got a call.”
“Did you?” I try to play stupid. “Not sure I need to know this.”
He laughs now, shaking his head. “She’s pissed.” He looks at me and grabs his water. “What the fuck did you say to her?”
“Nothing.” I shrug. “I just thought we should set some ground rules.”
“She threatened to shank you in your sleep if you step over that line,” Tommy says, and I almost want to laugh. “I’ve known her since she was eighteen.” I don’t say anything, just wait for him to continue talking. “She’s calm as a cucumber, and today, I thought she was going to have an aneurysm while she was talking to me.”
“I have a job, and that’s to keep her safe,” I point out to him. “You can be rest assured I’m going to do that. Even if I have to tie her to a fucking chair,” I say, walking away from him and his laughter.
“She’s from the South!” he shouts to my back, and I turn around. “She can probably shoot you in the foot at the same time she smiles at you.”
“Thanks,” I say to him. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He gives me a chin up. Turning around, I push my body for the next two hours till it screams at me. I punch that bag with all the frustration that I have over her and her sassy mouth.
Chapter Five
Kellie
“You can’t be serious, Tommy,” I say into the phone. “How is he the only one in this whole universe who can do this job?”
“Kellie, you know I love you,” he says calmly, “and you know that the only thing I care about is keeping you safe.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I tell him and roll my eyes.
“I promise you that, at the end of the ninety days, you can go away to Montana for six months, and I won’t bother you.”
“You promise?” I ask him, then look at Cori. “Make a contract and send it to Tommy. Six months off, no exceptions.” I hear his laughter in my ear.
“Okay, I’m at the gym. Go do what you need to do, and I’ll call you tomorrow.” He disconnects his phone, and I look over at Cori.
“Don’t look at me like that.” I point at her while she closes her laptop.
“I’m not looking at you any way.” She avoids my eyes and then looks up at me. “But I will say this. He’s right.”
I throw my head back and groan. “Oh my God.”
“No, Kellie,” she says seriously, and I look at her, “this is not like the stalkers online who send you messages, and we block them or have them deleted. This one sent flowers to your house, Kellie. To your front door. It’s a whole different ballgame.”
“I’ve gotten them before,” I point out to her.
“Yeah, and how serious do you think it was that even Tommy is worried about it now?” I sit up, and she doesn’t stop talking. “I promise that I will make sure it’s as smooth sailing as it can be.” She looks down, putting her papers in order. “But you have to promise that no matter how annoyed you are with him, or no matter what he says, when it’s time, you listen to him and don’t fight him.”