He grinned. “That’s fine. I mean, you have to make an entrance at this event.”
She was pleased that he understood. It was challenging to ride the line between having him be her bodyguard and having him be her boyfriend. Wait. Was he her boyfriend? She wasn’t sure they had moved to that level yet, but she had a good feeling about the future.
They walked together to the garage, and after he helped her into the back passenger seat, he got behind the wheel and off they went. As they drove, they chatted comfortably, which lifted Chloe’s spirits so much. With him by her side—okay, maybe not by her side, but certainly nearby—this evening was going to be awesome.
With every passing minute, Jake was feeling better and better about his relationship with Chloe and was glad he’d made the decision to believe her. He did believe her, so it wasn’t really a decision so much as a recognition that she was being honest with him. Which made him really, really happy.
They arrived at the event and Jake pulled up to the curb, right in front of the red carpet. Fans lined the path Chloe would walk, several people deep. Suppressing a frown at the potential danger, Jake hopped out of the Rolls and opened Chloe’s door, taking her hand to help her out. At the touch of her skin on his, he felt the burst of attraction and desire that he was almost becoming accustomed to, except that he wasn’t because every single time it was like the first time and he loved it.
Chloe barely glanced at him as she got out, keeping her eyes on her fans, a wide smile on her face. Despite the fact that she wasn’t acknowledging him—and he didn’t expect her to because she was doing her job and he was doing his—he knew she wanted him there as much as he wanted to be there.
She released his hand, and after stopping to take pictures at the Step and Repeat, she slowly walked the red carpet, which was long. Jake gave the keys to a valet and followed Chloe, staying close. She stopped to chat with fans and sign autographs and take selfies, then paused to do a brief, live interview with an entertainment reporter. Then she continued on, again stopping to talk to fans.
Watching her, Jake only felt more attracted to her. She was good at the schmoozing, even seemed to enjoy it. And everyone loved her. He could see it in their eyes and in the way they reached for her, called to her, loved her. Yet he was the one she wanted.
Wow. The notion did crazy things to his head and his heart. Why though? Why did she want him when she could so clearly have anyone? It kind of blew his mind.
He was falling for her. There was no doubt. At that moment he didn’t even care if he ended up getting hurt, all he knew was that she was the most important thing in his life and he wanted to be with her.
Lost in his thoughts, Jake didn’t see a man lunging at Chloe until the man had already reached her. The man—medium height, but muscular—had a grip on her arm. He was tugging on her, his face much too close to hers, and she was shouting for him to let go as she frantically attempted to yank her arm away from his grasp. Jake bolted toward Chloe. He peeled the man’s fingers from her arm, bending them until the man cried out and released her. Jake twisted the man’s arm behind his back, taking him to his knees. Event security appeared and took over. Jake turned his attention to Chloe, who was visibly shaken.
“Jake,” she whispered, her terror-filled eyes only on him.
“It’s all right. You’re safe now.”
She nodded, then slipped her hand into his, intertwining their fingers. He gave a gentle squeeze to let her know he would take care of her, but inside he was mentally flogging himself for not watching close enough to prevent the man from reaching Chloe. He’d been too much in his own head and had missed the signs. It was a huge failure on his part. Huge. If the man had had a knife or some other weapon, Chloe could have been injured or worse. The thought sickened Jake.
This was bad. This was very, very bad. Not only because he cared so deeply for Chloe that he would never have been able to forgive himself if something had happened to her, but he’d failed at his job. Miserably.
Then Jake realized that Chloe’s hand was still in his. And everyone was watching. With their camera phones trained on them.
He tried to extricate their hands, but she was holding on too tight, like she had no intention of letting go.
Crap. If Tyler found out about their secret relationship…
“Let’s go inside,” he muttered in her ear as he used his free hand to disentangle their hands.
She nodded.
Jake placed his fingertips on her back to urge her forward without touching her with too much familiarity. She led the way with him close behind.
Once inside and away from prying eyes, she sank against him, her body trembling. Jake held her close and murmured reassurances, concerned more for her well-being than for his job, although to be honest his job was high on his list of concerns as well.
“That was terrifying,” she said, her voice shaky.
What was he supposed to say to that? That he’d failed at the one job he had? Shame, hot and bright, drenched him. She deserved better than this, better than him. But he wasn’t ready to give her up.
Crap. Crap crap crap.
“I didn’t know what he was going to do,” she went on. “And he whispered in my ear that…” Her voice trailed off.
Jake pulled away from her and looked into her eyes, unaware that there had been more to this than an overeager fan. “What? What did he whisper?”
“That I belong to him and that…” Worry bracketed her eyes as her words trailed off.
“Tell me. What else did he say?”
“That he would have me one way or another.”
This had gone from bad to worse. The man wasn’t just a fan but a psycho who thought Chloe was his. Who was this man and what lengths would he go to to make his fantasy come true? Jake had to identify him, had to neutralize him somehow.
“I’m just glad you were there,” Chloe said, her lips trying to form a smile.
“Me too,” he said, and though he meant it, he was also furious with himself for letting it happen in the first place. He smiled softly at her. “How are you feeling? Do you still want to attend the event?”
“Yeah. I mean, I have to.”
Right. Because unlike him, she was good at her job. She stayed the course no matter what and didn’t let her personal life distract her from what she had to do.
Chapter Thirty-Three
After delivering Chloe safely to her table and making sure the extra security people Tyler had sent would keep a close eye on her, Jake went to speak to Stuart, the man in charge of security for the event
“What did you do with the man who grabbed Chloe Ross?” Jake asked Stuart.
Stuart frowned. “We spoke to him then let him go.”
“Let him go? He grabbed Chloe.” More concerned than angry, Jake audibly sighed. “Please tell me you at least go his ID.”
“Of course. Come with me and I’ll give you a copy.”
Jake followed him to an office where Stuart printed off a photo of the man’s driver’s license. “The guy was apologetic,” Stuart said as he handed the printout to Jake, “said he’d just been excited to see her and that it wouldn’t happen again.”
Jake skimmed over the image of the man’s license. Charlie Lewis. That was the man’s name. And his address was local. Still, Jake would prefer to have a chat with the man immediately.