“I’m so sorry to hear that,” I say, keeping my voice low and smooth, hoping that it might have a calming effect. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Not unless you can find me a missing lighting rig. I swear, the thing is huge, and it has somehow managed to go missing.”
I think again of Marcus, the weird lighting guy, wondering if he might have anything to do with Luna’s troubles. Then I squash my suspicions because I have no proof that he’s anything other than a stand-up employee.
“I can’t do anything about the rig,” I say. “My mom always told me to go back to the first place you thought to look. Sometimes, we’re in such a panic to find something that we skip over it in our haste.”
“I’ll bear that in mind,” she says. “So what can I do for you?”
My heart skips a beat. I’ve gotten her to listen. “I need a number. The telephone number for Mr. Wright, Luna’s bodyguard.”
“What’s this about?” Angelica’s voice has gone from laid back to suspicious in the blink of an eye. Time to get her back to feeling comfortable.
“Nothing important. We just wanted to make sure that the new team has everything they need. I’m sure that Blueday has set them up well. They’re meticulous like that, but just in case. For Luna’s safety.”
There’s a pause and I sag against the wall, already thinking the worst. If she doesn’t give me the number, our only option will be to try and crash one of Luna’s concerts or find a way to get into the hotel. That would leave us looking like stalkers and potentially upset Luna. We walked away to create a clean break. Going back would just muddy the waters.
“For Luna’s safety, I’ll message you with his number. But listen Mo, if anything happens and I find out it’s because I trusted you with this, you and me will have a serious falling out.”
“Nothing’s going to happen, Angelica. You can trust me.”
The words hang between us for a few seconds. I guess maybe Angelica is thinking about the photos in the newspapers and how we abused the trust of everyone by breaking our code of conduct with Luna.
“Okay,” she says eventually. “It’s on its way.”
The relief I feel is immense, not just because I can now do something with the information that I have but also because I haven’t let my friends down. They were relying on me, and I delivered.
When I slump down at the table, six pairs of eyes fix on me expectantly. “So, did you get it?” Jax asks.
“That Angelica is a real hard-ass.” I sigh, hoping they’re all going to take the bait.
“I can think of other way less polite words to call her,” Connor grumbles. “Can’t she see that we only have Luna’s best interests in mind?”
“She can,” I say. “I have the number.”
Four napkins fly across the table at my head and Elijah slaps me on the back. “Sheikh Mo did it again.” When I grab a balled napkin and aim it at him from close range, he puts his palms out to bat it away. “She fell for your exotic charm.”
“Like Luna,” I say, wiggling my eyebrows, but my attempt to keep things light only sends everyone back into gloom. “Maybe I need to become like one of the sheikhs in those books you were talking about and just kidnap her. Would that put the smiles back on your faces?”
“It wouldn’t be what she wanted, so no,” Hudson says.
“Let’s stop wallowing in this,” Connor huffs. “Pass me the number.”
He grips my phone in his left hand and his own in his right, tapping Mr. Wright’s number onto the screen with his thumb. Connor chooses not to leave the table for privacy, so we all sit in silence, waiting to hear the conversation.
“Hi, this is Connor, from Steel 7. I have some news from the Australian police.”
There’s a pause but all we can hear is the rumble of conversation on the other end.
“It’s relevant because you should know what you’re dealing with.”
Connor’s jaw ticks as he waits for a response.
“It’s one individual. They have matched the prints…I know you’ve got her covered. What I’m saying is that one crazy person is following her around the world. You need to up your game. Stick to her like glue. Don’t let a single thing pass her lips if it hasn’t been checked. Don’t let her out of your sight, even backstage, even with the crew. Who the fuck knows how this asshole is getting so close?”
There’s a louder rumble of speech audible through the speaker and Connor pulls the phone from his face and stares at it.
“Seriously, dude. If you have a problem with me, that’s fine. I get it. But don’t let that affect your professional judgement because if anything happens to that girl…I swear to God.”
The phone goes dead, and Connor tosses it onto the table, cursing. “That idiot has a fucking boulder for a head. Nothing I said went in.”
“He’s arrogant,” Asher says. “But maybe he’s just pissed off that you’re telling him what to do. Maybe he heard you and he’ll take action.”
“Or he’s going to ignore me and do the opposite.” Connor slams both his fists onto the table, making the empty plates and cups bounce and the silverware clatter.
“Fuck,” I mutter, the joke I made earlier suddenly seeming less crazy. I could kidnap our girl and ride into the sunset. We could all go to ground somewhere no one knew us until all the bullshit blew over. I’ve gone to ground before. With preparation, it was okay. And with Luna, we’d have no need of entertainment. She could keep us all satisfied without even trying.
“We can’t leave London,” Ben says. “Not until Luna moves on. And when she does, maybe we need to go too.”
“Shadow her, you mean?”
Ben nods in response to my question. “Until the stalker is caught.”
And in my heart, I feel so twisted because staying close to Luna is what I want, and if catching the stalker means that we’ll have to leave her and go home, maybe I don’t want that to happen too soon.
29
ASHER
I’m sleeping when my phone begins to vibrate on the nightstand. I’ve never been one for leaving my phone on overnight but since we left Luna in the airport, I haven’t been able to switch it off. The thought that she might need me has been lingering at the back of my mind. I’m just one of seven men who was caring for her, but we had as strong a connection as any.
I reach over to grab it, my sleep-addled mind anticipating it’s going to be a nuisance sales call from the U.S. They won’t know that I’m in London or realize that I’m in a different time zone, but when I crack one eye open to see who it is, I find Luna’s name on the screen.
“Hello,” I whisper, scrambling out of bed. The air in the room is cool, but even in just my sleep shorts, I feel warm.
“Asher,” Luna’s voice is so soft I can barely hear it. I make it to the bathroom and close the door so that I don’t disturb Ben and Elijah.
“What is it, honey? Are you okay?”
“It happened again,” she says, then I hear her sniff in a way that sounds like crying.