Wicked Bad Boys

by Bella Love-Wins

  Two new responses to stonefaceviper79 post.

  I slid my finger on the screen to close it out, but a memory stirred. My finger stopped.

  Stonefaceviper79. Why did that sound familiar to me?

  I tried to figure out where I had heard it before.

  Then it hit me…

  Horrified, my nervous fingers fumbled over the screen, but eventually, I managed to pull up another browser tab and log into my own social media page. There it was, staring back at me…

  Johnny was stonefaceviper79—my biggest fan.

  My body went ice cold. I started to shake. The lunch that had been so enjoyable turned into a wave of nausea. No wonder he had known what cookies I like, and from what bakery, I thought, mentally connecting the dots. The room was spinning, or maybe it was my head. I frantically scrolled through all of my past posts. I had never shared anything too intimate on my pages—there were a lot of weirdos in the world. Still, there were little sprinkles of me and my private life scattered all throughout.

  And Johnny knew it all.

  Oh. My. God.

  I dropped the tablet to my lap. My fingers clutched the edge of the couch cushion. All the pieces fit together now. I could see everything. The web of clues he dropped along the way all joined. It all made sense. The hints culminated in a whopping, anguish-filled realization.

  This assignment was a sham.

  Johnny did not hire me for my capabilities as a security professional.

  But why?

  Shit. I had made some “pity me” post on my blog about wanting to break free and start my own security firm. The new realization sent me over the edge. I folded forward, trying to catch my breath and keep from throwing up.

  I was still reeling when I head the click of the front door opening. I grabbed the tablet and made a mad dash for the bedroom. I rushed inside and shut the door behind me. I lay against it, panting for a moment, my heart racing from more than just the exertion of the scramble. I locked the door and sat on the edge of the bed, tracking back through all Johnny’s stonefaceviper79 messages on my social media page…all the way to the beginning.

  The first message he had responded to was dated three years earlier. He had been following me on social media for three years.

  “Oh my God…oh my God…” I was hyperventilating.

  I didn’t know whether to scream, throw the tablet against the wall, run to the bathroom and throw up, or wait for Johnny to get home, put him in a headlock, and demand answers.

  I was Paralyzed. Frozen. Numb.

  Pretty soon, that dull, shell-shocked feeling turned to something between heartbreak and rage.

  Until someone knocked on the door.

  Rocked Part Six

  Chapter 1 - Amanda

  It was Larry on the other side of the door. Behind him there were several of the private security guys. Fred rushed in from the other suite as well. Everyone looked agitated.

  Great. Not even a second to pull myself together.

  “Yes?” I answered.

  “Amanda. We need you out here for a few minutes.” His tone seemed dark and ominous. It quickly set me on edge.

  “Was there another message?”

  He nodded.

  “Can you give me ten minutes? I need to take care of something.”

  “No problem. Kevin and Johnny will be back by then too. They’re over in Kevin’s suite finishing up some business.”

  “Great. I’ll be right there.”

  I shut the door and feverishly began to pack up my things. I was not sure where I would sleep tonight, but it was not going to be in Johnny’s bed. Once everything was in order, I put my suitcases near the door. I walked out to the dining room table, right past Johnny and Kevin, who were sitting on the sofas. Something about seeing them sit there reminded me I had a little piece of my heart ripped to shreds in that sofa.

  I also remembered something else.

  “Larry. I don’t understand. I was on Johnny’s pages less than twenty minutes ago. I didn’t see anything.”

  “It was only added a few minutes ago. Take a look.”

  He turned his laptop screen to face me.

  What’s meant to be will always find a way. I’ll work my way from Kevin, to your new girlfriend, to you. Call her Rachel Preston, or Roxy Punisher, or Amanda Baker. A thorn by any other name can be disposed of just as effortlessly. Don’t worry, Johnny, I’ll find you all soon.

  A brief wave of fear passed through me, but it was quickly replaced with anger.

  “Why can’t we find her? Do we at least know whether she was the one who hurt Kevin?”

  “We’re working as quickly as we can with the resources we have.”

  It didn’t make sense anymore. We had been at this for over a week. This woman was getting more and more aggressive and had now crossed over a line from virtual to physical contact. The words glowing on the screen were sobering; if we didn’t find a way to get to her, she would make her move soon, and was ready to take me out.

  Fucking stalker bitch better know who she’s dealing with.

  As confident as I was about being able to protect myself, I had some lingering doubts about whether I could cover Johnny too.

  “It’s the same firewall cloaking technique as the last time. We can’t find the location based on the IP. We have scoured the profile for any clues, but she doesn’t post anything personal in her profiles, and the owners of the social media sites she is a part of won’t allow us the information without a court order.”

  “Can’t we get one?” I asked.

  Fred came over and sat at the table. “Not yet.”

  “She attacked Kevin with a knife,” I said. “That has to be enough probable cause, or whatever it is the judge needs to issue a court order.” I wasn’t a lawyer, but it seemed like there had to be some provision for a situation like this; some way for us to access her accounts. My legal knowledge was mostly based on late-night crime shows on TV, but an option had to be possible.

  “We’ll have the lab results back today. For now, we don’t know with certainty that she attacked Kevin. We’re working on it, Amanda, but there’s a more important set of issues to consider.” He turned to Kevin and Johnny over at the sofa and waved them over. “Gentlemen, you should hear this as well. Have a seat everyone.”

  Johnny gave me a confused look, when although there were empty seats on either side of him, I sat between Larry and Fred.

  Once we were all seated, Fred launched into it. “This latest message was posted only five to eight minutes ago. We caught it pretty quickly, but there are broader implications that affect our investigation…and the public perception of the tour.”

  Kevin asked, “What are we even talking about?”

  Fred read the message aloud.

  “Oh. Okay. So what are the implications?”

  “For one, the stalker has just outed Amanda publicly. The message was only up for a few minutes, but there’s a possibility it was seen by fans or the media.”

  “Shit.”

  Johnny turned to Kevin. “What’s the big deal about Amanda being outed?”

  “Think about it, Johnny. You did a photoshoot, for Christ’s sake. You sat in an interview about meeting her at a coffee shop…your amazing and sweet romantic relationship. It’s no big deal if it comes out on our terms…long after the tour is done, and with the messaging we want to spin it with. If this story gets out before we can control it, you’ll look like a media-hungry snake swimming in pond scum.”

  Johnny brought a hand up to his temple. “Oh. Shit.”

  I was not impressed either, but my rage about Johnny’s deception took precedence at the moment.

  “She may also leak it to the media herself…at some inconvenient time.” Kevin worriedly ran a hand through his hair. “Fuck. I’ve got to get PR on this now. Maybe we can beat her to it.”

  “See, Kevin?” Johnny added. “This is why I said we needed to be straight up about who Amanda was, right from the start.”

&
nbsp; How ironic. Coming from the guy who misled me from the day I met him. Pffft.

  Fred got their attention again. “Gentlemen. That’s one consequence. Another is the stalker’s intention to lash out at Kevin and Amanda too.”

  “I don’t see how that matters,” Kevin remarked. “The woman has already tried getting to me, and Amanda can protect herself. She knows the risks. So what’s the problem?”

  “The problem is we now have more targets than FBI resources to monitor you all. As long as everyone around the table understands the risks that go along with this reality, we can move forward. I don’t suggest any change to the current plan. Once we have the analysis from the evidence today or first thing tomorrow, I’ll update you all. Any questions?”

  “Not at the moment.” Kevin stood up and began to walk to the main door. “I’ll take care of any potential media backlash now.”

  I searched for ideas, something, anything that would help us get more information on the stalker. I was too upset to come up with any suggestions. I thanked Fred and Larry, and returned to my room…which was also Johnny’s room.

  Crap.

  He was following two steps behind me. Fuck. He must not have seen the imaginary daggers shooting across the table from my eyeballs to his vital organs during that meeting. Well, it was better he felt my wrath now instead of later.

  Chapter 2 - Johnny

  I followed her into the room, mentally rolling through what I would say to her. Lady had been right when she called me a few hours ago—I needed to get everything out in the open. I don’t know why I had taken her call. I was in the middle of a meeting with Kevin and an event promoter, and for some reason, I excused myself answer the phone. Lady had found out about Amanda from Kevin, and wanted me to come clean right away. “There’s no place for secrets at a time like this, Lorne,” she had said. Her words made me think. I told her I would tell Amanda the second I came through the door…except this stalker message put a monkey wrench into my plan.

  A fresh surge of hesitation rocked me as I stood at the master bedroom door. I didn’t need to work myself up again. I had a doozie of a poor performance at Whiskey River last night. Kevin made a point of reminding me that my disconnection from the crowd set the stage for the outbreak of fighting. With another big show set for tomorrow, I needed to be level-headed and on point.

  I realized I was trying to rationalize not telling her again. I stopped myself. I had to tell her now. She meant too much to me to leave her in the dark, or to have her find out another way. I wanted her. She was mine. Things had to fall into place the way it was supposed to be. At the moment, none of that positive self-talk bullshit was doing any good. What was worse, was seeing the darkness in her eyes at the dining table. I could not tell what she was thinking, but it could not be good.

  I made sure the door was closed behind me, and as my gaze darted to the floor, that’s when I saw them. Her suitcases were lined up beside the door.

  She was leaving?

  A cold chill ran down my spine at the thought.

  She couldn’t leave. Why would she leave?

  “Your suitcases are packed?” My words came out more like a statement, rather than a question. “Amanda, what’s going on?”

  I wanted to reach out and take her in my arms. My gut told me she would not allow it.

  Chapter 3 - Amanda

  So what’ll it be, Amanda? Bitch-slap him? All-out throw down? Sleeper hold headlock? Or my famous arm bar move? He would feel it from his arm and shoulders, all the way down to his spleen.

  My indecision about how to handle Johnny next left me paralyzed. I sat in an armchair. It felt like hours ticked by, my brain swirling, still frozen in thought. I could tell he was silently looking at me when he moved over to sit at the edge of the bed.

  “Amanda? Come on, talk to me. What’s going on? You’ve been acting weird since I got back. Why are your bags packed?”

  At the sound of Johnny’s voice, my thoughts narrowed, suddenly clear about one emotion…rage. I whipped around in the chair and glared at him. My body was shaking. The anger almost scared me. I couldn’t remember being this worked up for a long time.

  “You have quite the pair of balls on you,” I growled at him, lips snarled back, nose flaring.

  Johnny glanced at the door, and back at me.

  Smart guy, this one, checking for exits while he still had time.

  The obvious confusion on his face only infuriated me further. Maybe he thought I’d never find out…or that I had to be some kind of idiot.

  “Amanda, what are you talking about?” He asked. “Can you start from the beginning? I’m completely lost over here.”

  I let out a high-pitched laugh. “Oh, no no no. I don’t think so. Don’t give me that ‘I’m lost’ bullshit.”

  “Jesus Christ. Would you just tell me what the hell is going on?”

  I vaulted from the chair and walked over to his tablet. Sliding it off the desk in the corner, I slammed it into his chest. He scrambled to grab it before I released my grip. I did not want my fingers in contact with his chest any longer than necessary.

  “Here, you tell me what’s going on.”

  He looked from me and down to the tablet a few times, struggling to understand the situation.

  I rolled my eyes. The screen was off.

  “Turn it on.”

  He pushed the power button and the screen lit up again. I had left it on his social media page, his user name in big bold letters at the top.

  “Stonefaceviper79? That’s you, right?”

  “Oh fuck,” Johnny murmured. He flicked his thumb over the power button, as if darkening the screen would really make a difference at this point. “Amanda, I can explain!” He said, putting down the tablet.

  “Oh really? Well this I gotta hear. Although, don’t think an explanation will make any difference now.”

  I crossed my arms, my nails digging into my own rib cage, waiting for him and whatever pathetic excuse he was about to give me.

  Johnny sighed and raked his free hand through his hair, spiking up the ends. Two hours ago, I would have found it adorable, even sexy, but now, looking at him made me feel ill.

  “I… Amanda, I made this profile a long time ago; it was anonymous on purpose. My Johnny Q Venom accounts get clogged with so much spam and crap, I don’t even bother to log onto them. This profile was a way for me to be normal, like any other guy, and not have it attached to my rock-star name.”

  I tapped my foot and narrowed my eyes, deliberately showing my impatience.

  “Okay, okay. I know, I’ll get to the point,” he said. He held up his hand. “Hell, I don’t know. I saw you fight and I wanted to know more about you. I looked you up, followed you on social media…innocent stuff. Eventually, that wasn’t enough, and I used this profile to send you a message. I swear, I never thought you would reply, but you did, and—” His voice broke. He looked out at the window. His jaw was tense, and he struggled for a moment before looking back at me. “Amanda, I fell for you.”

  “Don’t even think that’s gonna soften me up right now.”

  He groaned. “It’s true, but believe whatever you want. Whenever you had a shitty day, if I could bring you some joy by posting some encouragement… well, it made my day so much better.”

  I sucked in a breath and held it, trying not to let Johnny see the effect he was having on me. The anger, the feelings of invasion and violation, and betrayal were still there, but something else was creeping in. I shoved it aside, not wanting to let it in right now.

  “So you became my stalker? Then you got me to come here under this pretense of a job opportunity? And I’m supposed to believe I can protect you from your own stalker now?” I almost laughed again; the irony was beyond ridiculous. I threw my hands up in the air. “Johnny, that is so fucked up! Don’t you get it?”

  He nodded. “I never meant for any of this to happen.”

  “That’s bullshit! You’re the one who made Kevin hire me in the first place!”
He flinched. “Surprised I’m smart enough to figure it out? You really did think I was an idiot, didn’t you?”

  “No…but how did you—Christ! Well, okay, yes. I’m not going to lie to you.”

  “Not going to lie to me? You’ve been lying to me the whole time!” I was yelling now, unable to keep my voice under control for one more second. The shaking was getting worse and I could feel hot, frustrated tears rising up. I did my best to tamp down the emotional hurricane, but my efforts would only be able to hold on so long. I needed to get away from him. From this house. From the whole disaster.

  “Amanda, listen to me,” he said, raising his voice over mine.

  He was losing control. We both were. This was not going to end well. I had nowhere to go…unless I wanted to camp out in the living room or throw a blanket on the treadmill in the den.

  His face softened. He grasped my shoulders to pull me into him.

  Bad idea.

  Really bad idea.

  I wrenched myself away and kept a hold of one of his arms, locking it behind his back. He couldn’t move in this submission hold, and he was not going to touch me.

  “No, Johnny, you listen to me.”

  “What are you going to do, Amanda? Beat me up? If that’s what it’s going to take to get you to calm down, then fine. Go ahead. Get it out of your system.”

  I let him go and took a step back. I didn’t like where it was going. I was a fighter. I would so win this, but then what? I stared him in the eyes. God, I wish he didn’t look so damned endearing as he stood his ground.

  I squared my shoulders. “I am going to finish this job.” My voice dropped several octaves.

  “I appreciate that__”

  “I’m not done talking. I’ll finish it because I made a commitment, but to be honest, all this does is make me question whether you hired me on merit in the first place. From where I’m standing, I highly doubt it.”