by L A Dobbs
“Thanks.” She leaned against the doorjamb, arms crossed. “Did you find anything on your sweep?”
“Nope.” He shoved his phone back in his pocket and stood. “Nothing on the camera footage from outside either. So far, so secure.”
“Good.” She rubbed her arms as if she’d caught a chill and lowered her gaze. From where he stood, several feet away, Dino heard a low, loud rumble. Jan bit her lips and grasped her stomach, her freshly scrubbed and makeup-free cheeks flushing pink. “Sorry.”
He grinned. “Hungry?”
“A little.” She wrinkled her nose. “We did leave before dinner.”
“Yeah, we did.” Dino rocked back on his heels. “I’d say we could order out, but that probably isn’t the wisest move considering what’s happening. We could go out and get something, but you’re already changed.”
“It’s fine.” She waved him off and turned toward the foyer. “I’m fine.”
Annoyance sizzled through his bloodstream. If he heard once more about how “fine” she was, he’d scream. Jan was not fine, and neither was this situation. Still, he might not be a five-star chef, but he had a few basic culinary skills. He walked out of the living room and passed her halfway across the foyer.
“Where are you going?” Jan called from behind him.
“To make us some dinner.” He stalked into the large, well-appointed kitchen and opened the stainless-steel oversized fridge. Eggs, ham, cheese, a few fresh veggies in the crisper drawer—all the makings for his favorite dish. Omelets.
“You know how to cook?” she asked, trailing in after him.
“I’m a single guy who gets tired of takeout every night,” he said, piling up his ingredients on the island then turning to search in the dark mahogany cabinet for a mixing bowl. “Of course I can cook. What about you?”
“I used to have a cook come in several times a week, but then I was gone so much it didn’t make sense to keep her on the payroll.” He turned back around with a large ceramic bowl in his hands, and she shrugged. “Now I just make do.”
Dino shrugged out of his tux jacket and draped it over the back of one of the nearby stools then removed his cufflinks and laid them aside before rolling up his shirt sleeves and loosening his bow tie. “You do that a lot, don’t you?”
“What?”
“Make do.”
“No sense cooking a big meal for one, unless you want leftovers for days on end.” She slid onto a stool on the opposite side of the island to watch him while he chopped, her chin resting on her hand. “Most nights I’m too tired from being at the studio all day to care much about what I eat anyway. PB and J is my go-to meal.”
“That’s not very healthy.” He frowned over at her. “You need your strength for touring.”
“God, now you sound like Lou.”
“I’m glad somebody keeps an eye on you.”
“Well, I wouldn’t call what Lou does keeping an eye on me exactly.” She straightened and sat back. "Unless he thinks it’ll sell more records.”
The slight plaintive tone to her voice broke his heart, but he focused on the meal preparations and not the ache in his chest. The big chef’s knife he’d pulled from the rack slid through the vegetables like a hot laser through butter. “You keep your knives awfully sharp for someone who doesn’t cook."
"That one’s for protection."
Dino glanced up, remembering their earlier conversation about guns. At least she had some kind of weapon on hand. "You got a frying pan anywhere in here?”
“Yep.” She hopped down off her stool and walked across the room to a large cabinet. Inside appeared to be every conceivable size and shape of pot and pan imaginable. She pulled out one and held it up for him. “Like this?”
“Maybe a little bigger?”
“How about this?” Jan hoisted a slightly larger fry pan in the air, and he nodded. “Lid too?”
“Nah. Just the pan.”
“Okey dokey.” She walked around behind him and placed it on one of the large gas burners on the stove. “Oil?”
“Yes, please.” He couldn’t help but smile at just being with her, spending time doing normal, domestic stuff that other couples took for granted. Except, he reminded himself, he and Jan weren’t a couple, and this situation was far from normal. Dino cleared his throat as he mixed together the ham and veggies he’d diced into four eggs then tossed in a large handful of grated cheese before turning to face Jan. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” She poured a large dollop of olive oil into the pan and lit the burner for him. Once the oil heated, he poured in the contents of the bowl then stood watch while it cooked. Jan leaned back on her elbows against the island and crossed her feet at the ankles. “It’s weird.”
“What?” he asked over his shoulder, keeping an eye on the sizzling food.
“I moved back to Las Vegas two years ago and never saw a soul from the old days. Now, in less than a week, I’ve seen three people I knew from high school.”
“Three?” Dino divided up the large omelet into two smaller portions. “Plates?”
“Sure thing.” Jan grabbed them out of a cupboard near the fridge and handed them to him then gathered silverware and napkins for them. “What do you want to drink?”
“Water’s fine for me.”
She filled two glasses with ice and water and set them near the place setting she’d put out on the island. “Yeah, three. You, Blake, and Erin.”
He turned with the plates then halted at her words. “Erin?”
“Yeah, Erin.” She watched him through narrowed eyes, and Dino got the distinct impression he was under a microscope, though he couldn’t say why. “You remember.”
“You mean the redhead cheerleader girl?”
She gave him a disgusted look and plopped onto her stool, snatching her plate from his hand. “Yes. Her. She was at the party tonight. Lent me the shoes. Don’t act like you don’t remember her.”
Dino shrugged. "Only vaguely."
Jan was giving him a strange look, but he was too tired to start a fresh argument now. He slumped into his own seat and concentrated on his food. Truth was, he was starving too. He’d missed lunch earlier due to errands, and he’d been so distracted at the gala event that he hadn’t even snagged a single fancy appetizer those waiters had paraded around on their silver trays.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Jan said around a bit of food, “This is really good.”
“You sound surprised.” He hazarded a glance at her, only to find her staring at her plate.
“I never pictured a guy like you needing to cook.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.” Tiny lines of concern formed between her dark brows, and he had the crazy urge to reach over and stroke them away with his thumb. Instead, he shoveled a huge bite of omelet into his mouth and kept his own head down. “Figured you had women lined up around the block just dying to do your bidding.”
“My bidding?” He snorted. “Sounds sort of medieval.”
“You know what I mean.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I really don’t. I’m not seeing anyone, if that’s what you mean, and maids aren’t really my style.”
She raised her head and stared at him then, her expression an odd mix of satisfied and skeptical. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
“For dinner.” She devoured the last few bites of her omelet then took her plate to the sink. He followed suit. “I really was hungry.”
“Me too.” He rinsed off their plates and stuck them in the nearby dishwasher then turned and smiled down at her. “And you’re welcome. I can show you how to make those some time if you want. It’s really easy.”
“I’d like that.”
Jan stared up at him, grinning, and for a moment, all the years fell away, and he found himself back in high school again, in her bedroom, the need to be near her, to hold her, to touch her, damned near overwhelming. A tiny bit of egg clung to the corner of her mouth, and before he
knew what he was doing, Dino raised his hand and brushed it away with his thumb. She shivered beneath his touch, and it took all of the self-restraint he possessed not to pull her in his arms and kiss her senseless.
Instead, she stepped back, and his hand fell away, his arm dropping to his side as they stared at each other across the expanse of three feet. It might as well have been a mile for all the distance he felt between them now. She swiped the back of her hand over the area he’d touched as if he’d burned her, her voice tense as she said, “I’ll get you bedding for the sofa.”
He watched her walk out of the kitchen and forced his heavy feet to move. This is exactly what he deserved for staying here. A head full of memories, and a heart full of pain. Served him right for trying to be so damned noble.
Jan returned with sheets, blankets, and a pillow and handed them to him. Their fingers brushed, and their eyes met, and for one brief moment the awareness between them burned brighter than the sun. Then Jan pulled away again and stepped back toward the door.
Wise woman.
“I guess I’ll see you in the morning, then,” she said, hesitating in the doorway out to the foyer. “The lights will go off by themselves in a few minutes after you stop moving. They’re all eco-friendly. Do you need anything else?”
You. “No.” The word emerged as little more than a rough grunt from his constricted throat, and he coughed hard before trying again. “Uh, no. I’m good. Thanks.”
“Great.” She walked away then stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “Good night, Dino.”
“’Night,” he called, keeping his back to the doorway, not trusting himself to look at her again. Looking led to wanting, and wanting led to taking, and taking would be a colossal no-no at this point. He kicked himself for kissing her in the alley in the first place. He could tell this stalker thing had her frazzled, and he knew when Jan got frazzled she made rash decisions that she regretted later. He didn’t want to be one of those rash decisions.
Dino quickly made his bed then stripped down to his boxer-briefs and stretched out on the super-long, super-comfortable sofa. With one arm slung over his eyes, he did his best to fall asleep, but his mind was crowded with thoughts of keeping Jan safe from a dangerous stalker.
14
“I need a break,” Jan said to Lou the next day as she passed him on her way out of the production area of the studio. She’d been working on the title track again all morning. The “happy” song that Lou kept berating her for singing too maudlin. Honestly, she wasn’t sure she had enough “happy” in her to make it work today. She was feeling jittery about the stalker, just waiting for him to make his next move. Having Dino on her couch the night before did help ease her anxiety, but it brought up a whole new set of feelings that put her off her game.
It was likely that Dino felt the same considering she’d not seen him since he’d dropped her off at the front door of Treble Studios at nine a.m. sharp then took off, claiming more errands to run.
“Wait!” Lou called from behind her, mercifully breaking into her thoughts. “Don’t take too long. We need to nail down this track today.”
“Whatever,” she called back while heading downstairs. “Give me fifteen minutes, okay?”
Lou grumbled something under his breath that she didn’t quite catch, but at this point, she didn’t care. Jan needed some time and some space alone to breathe and regroup. Pace brisk, she charged into her dressing room then closed and locked the door behind her, leaning back against it to catch her breath.
Eyes shut, she concentrated on relaxing her tense muscles and centering her scattered thoughts. The fact that her stalker had gotten as close as the same location, the same party, as her the night before only added to her ever-increasing stress levels. Something had to give pretty soon, and she’d be damned if it would be her. She’d worked far too hard to get where she was to give it all up over some whacked-out fan.
Moments later, Jan opened her eyes and gazed across her dressing room. The cleaning people had tidied up the night before, and Blake had, thankfully, removed all those creepy, cut-up magazines and taken them with him when he left the day before. Things were finally back to normal in here, except…
A small box sat atop her vanity table, wrapped in plain brown paper.
Straightening, she walked over and peered down at it. No address, no card, just her name printed on a computer label stuck to the top. After checking all sides, she raised it near her face and listened. No ticking. That was always a good sign. And it felt light—so light, she wondered if there was anything inside it at all.
A chill ran up her spine. Was it from the stalker?
Then she reminded herself not to be so jittery. Rockford Security had installed cameras all over the place, and it was broad daylight. There was no way the stalker could get in here. Plus, she’d gotten packages here plenty of times. Flowers. Gifts from fans. This was probably just one of those.
Jan grabbed a nearby letter opener and used it to tear through the paper and packing tape sealing the small parcel. Once inside, she pulled out the contents—a folded torn-out page from a magazine and a wad of something wrapped in pretty glittered purple tissue paper. She opened the magazine page first and gasped.
In vivid Technicolor was a candid photo of her and Dino kissing in the alley behind The Venetian’s ballroom the night before, splashed across the top-selling tabloid in the music industry. Hands trembling, she dropped the paper and peeled back the tissue-paper bundle next. Lingerie, red and slinky and just the size she wore. Bile rose in her throat as she spotted another tiny computer-printed label stuck to the front of the impossibly tiny thong panties:
For you and your new lover’s enjoyment
Shit. She needed to call Dino.
Jan fumbled to pull her phone from her pocket and dialed his number.
He picked up after the first ring, his tone abrupt. “What is it?”
“A package. The stalker left a package in my dressing room. Where are you?”
“Just pulled into the parking lot. I’m on my way. Stay right there.”
She ended the call and wrapped her arms around herself, feeling sick and tired and entirely too vulnerable. How had the package gotten in her dressing room? She’d expected with Dino here and Blake installing the new cameras, things would get better, not worse.
Seconds later, Dino knocked then called through her dressing room door. “It’s locked.”
“Sorry.” She let him in then stood to the side while he inspected the parcel and its contents. “What do you think?”
His stern expression held no small amount of concern. He shook his head and stared at the tabloid photo and the lingerie. “The stalker came back. He might be starting to escalate. I was afraid that might happen, good thing we installed the cameras.”
“Escalate?” Jan stepped closer, her overwhelming anxiety brimming over into anger. “You said it probably wouldn’t get any worse.”
Dino stuffed the items back into the box. “I didn’t want to worry you.”
“Too late.” Jan thought about the envelope on her counter at home. She’d assumed that one of Blake’s people or the housekeeper had put it there … but what if the stalker had been inside her house? No. Impossible—the place was under surveillance. Still, she should probably tell Dino about it, but the disapproving glare he was piercing her with stopped her.
He stared down at her, hands on hips. "Why did you open this? You should have called me first. It could have been something dangerous."
"Well, I …" Who the hell was he to tell her what to do? "I get packages a lot. I didn’t think it could be dangerous because you told me I had nothing to worry about."
Dino’s face softened, and he turned toward the door. "From now on try to be more careful."
She followed him, determined to get the full story from him one way or another. This was her life, her career, at danger. If anyone deserved the whole truth and nothing but the truth, it was her. “Where are you going now?”
“Security office.” He gave her a quick glance then stalked across the lobby to the guard’s office. “I need to check the footage. With all the surveillance in that dressing room, at least one of the cameras should’ve caught who put this in there.”
“I’m coming too,” she said, sticking close to his heels.
“Fine.”
“Fine.” They pushed into the small room, and she stood shoulder to mid-arm with Dino while he instructed the guard on which footage they needed to see. Soon, the grainy black-and-white footage ran on three flat-screen monitors before them, and a familiar face appeared in the frames. Jan leaned closer and squinted. “That’s Bobby—he’s one of the morning-shift guards. He must’ve brought it in while I was upstairs rehearsing.” Her stiff posture slumped. “But why would Bobby bring me something like that? He’s a nice guy—wife, kids. He doesn’t even listen to country music. I don’t think he’s the stalker.”
Dino reached past the guard at the controls and rewound the tape then played it again. “Is this Bobby still here?” he asked the guard.
“I’m not sure,” the guard said. “Sometimes he hangs around to pick up extra work. I can check, if you’d like.”
“Yeah, I need to talk to him.” Dino stopped the tape, and the guard stood.
“Be right back.”
Jan watched the guard leave then turned to Dino again. “I’m telling you, it’s not Bobby.”
“Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I still need to talk to him. Even if the package isn’t his, he might’ve seen who brought it here, give us some clue who might’ve asked him to put it in your dressing room.”
Minutes later, the first guard entered with Bobby by his side. “Found him.”
“Great.” Dino escorted the large guard back out into the lobby. Jan patted Bobby on the arm after she’d taken a seat next to him. She’d known Bobby since her first day at Treble. No way would he do something like this. No way.
“So, Bobby.” Dino took a seat across from Jan and leaned forward, his forearms resting on his knees and parcel in his hands. “What can you tell me about this?”
