HERO (The Complete Series)

by Bella Love-Wins

  I was unable to hold back anymore. “What about the website message? Could that be considered a direct threat?”

  “It’s circumstantial at best. No one has outright said they will attack at the show, and even if they had, the organizing committee still won’t acquiesce.”

  “Can you override them somehow? It’s a matter of public safety, isn’t it?”

  He shook his head. “The threat is a public safety issue, but it’s unsubstantiated. That being said, we’re basing our recommendation to cancel on the unsub’s profile. It’s a private event, so the FBI will not force their hand unless we have confirmation of a significant threat.

  Kevin spoke up. “Otherwise, all major events could be shut down at the whim of online comments. Look, the best I can agree to is ramping up Johnny’s security.”

  “Kevin’s right,” Johnny said, his eyes deeply serious and intense. “It’s not an option. I have to do the show.”

  My heart sank, but I could not blame him. This is how the entertainment industry worked.

  Agent Carlson pressed his hands together and was about to continue speaking when Jenny returned to the room. She spoke quietly with Fred, and handed him a file folder before leaving just as quickly as she had entered. We all watched as he opened the envelope.

  “Kevin, is this the woman who was in the car?” He asked, holding out a letter-sized glossy, black and white photo.

  Kevin stretched out his arm and took it to look more closely. “Yes. That’s her.”

  “You’re sure?”

  He handed it back to Fred. “Positive.”

  “Okay. With this high-resolution shot, we have lots to work with.” Fred held up the image so Johnny and I could see it. “By the way, Amanda or Johnny, do either of you recognize her?”

  “No,” I answered.

  I had not seen her before. Johnny studied the picture. He crinkled his brow, and for a moment, I thought he might say yes and reveal the identity of this horrible woman who had been overshadowing his life.

  “No, I’m sorry,” he finally said.

  Fred was about to slide the picture back into the envelope when I stopped him. “Wait. I’d like to keep this picture handy so I can study it. If this is the stalker, I want to be able to make out this face in a crowd if she shows up again. Can Jenny text the image file to me? ” I took out my phone and snapped a close-up shot of the picture in any case.

  “Yes. I was going to hand it out to my team, but it’s a great point for you and the others to have it as well.” He set the image on top of a stack of papers on the table in front of him. “So that’s it for this evening. Jenny and I will accompany Kevin and Mrs. Dame home. Larry will follow you and Amanda, Johnny. We can brief you all on the rest in the morning. And until we leave for Vegas, Johnny, you should remain at home.”

  We all got up to leave, and Kevin pulled Johnny aside to speak privately with Lady. Larry, Fred and I waited in the hallway. As I waited, I let this new reality sink into my system. The threat was real, and that message came dangerously close to home.

  Chapter 2 - Johnny

  “Why didn’t you answer the phone when I called?” Kevin hissed in my ear as soon as we were away from the others. The pain and disappointment in his voice only added to my guilt. “I tried you three times after it happened.”

  “Kevin,” Lady stood up and squeezed his arm. “This isn’t the time.”

  I was grateful to Lady for trying to intervene, but he was right. I should have been around to help him.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t answer your calls, Kevin. The truth is I didn’t want to talk to you. We’ve not had each other’s backs for a while now, and although I can’t take all the blame for that, I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”

  Kevin did a double-take. He was probably expecting my usual rebuttal or aloof dismissal. “Well…it’s been a busy year. A lot of stress on everyone. I guess I’m sorry too.”

  Coming from Kevin, that was about as gracious an apology I would ever get, so I nodded and accepted it. I wished he had ended it there, but as per normal, he had to run his mouth off.

  “Look Johnny. We need to do something about Amanda.”

  “What does she have to do with anything?”

  “We need professionals now.”

  I walked to the door and shut it. I did not want Amanda hearing this crap from Kevin. “She is a professional. She’s kept me safe up to now. Look. Let’s leave Amanda out of it. Go ahead and add more security if you want. Add a dozen, or more. I don’t care. But Amanda stays. You agreed to it the last time you tried to fire her. You gave your word to me, and to the FBI.”

  “Yes, but have you seen his bandage on my neck?”

  He had to go there. “I have. Maybe you need to think about getting a team to protect you and Lady. I don’t want anything happening to you.”

  “Tell me the truth. You can’t stay out of her pants, can you?” Kevin scoffed.

  I spun and stopped in my tracks in the middle of the room. Kevin’s eyes were glued to Amanda through the glass window. Her back was turned. She was speaking to Fred and Larry. I did my best to keep my anger at bay. “I’m trying to make peace here.”

  “Why can’t you leave her alone and focus? And don’t think I didn’t hear about what happened after I left the studio earlier. You think that soft ballad, cry-your-eyes-out love song will ever fly? You’re dead wrong, Johnny.”

  He struck my last nerve with that comment. “I’m done with this, Kevin!” I roared. “Done. I want out of all my contracts.”

  “Lorne. Timothy.” Lady stepped in, her voice sharp, warning us to stop.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Agent Carlson and Amanda turn back to see what was keeping us. At this point, I wanted nothing more than to go to Amanda, get her out of there and drive far away from this place, this town, this man.

  “Lorne, I’m your manager. I know what’s best for you.”

  I focused back on Kevin. “Not anymore. I’m serious, I want out. I don’t care how much money you take away. This isn’t about the money anymore. You refuse to treat me like I have an ounce of discretion, judgment or value, other than standing on a stage like your puppet. I’ve had it!”

  Lady grabbed my arm as she spoke, slowly turning me to face her. “Lorne, I know you’re upset, but I’ll have no more of this talk. We’re family. You’re not going to cut ties and run away over this. We’re all going to go home and get some sleep. Tomorrow, Kevin and I will come over so the three of us can talk this out…as a family.”

  I took a deep breath and nodded with Lady. As much as I wanted to deck Kevin, I could not hurt Lady. “Fine.”

  Fred read our faces through the window and returned inside, shutting the door behind him. “Is there a problem?”

  He was probably exhausted himself, and hoping the last task of the day would be to get us back to our respective houses in one piece, as opposed to unpacking a decade worth of family drama.

  “No, Agent. We’re leaving now,” Lady said with finality. “We will work this out later.” She touched Kevin’s arm gently and they started out of the room, walking past Larry and Amanda as they made their way down the hall. Fred followed them out, and I trailed behind.

  “Johnny, what’s going on?” Amanda asked. She and Larry fell in step beside me.

  “Kevin’s being a prick.”

  “About what?”

  “It doesn’t matter anymore. I told him I want out of our contracts.”

  “Let’s get you to the car,” she said. “We can talk about it later.”

  Jenny was waiting at the precinct entrance as we all walked out. She and Fred left in Kevin and Lady’s vehicle, and Larry followed our limo in the car Fred had been driving.

  I continued as Charles took us home. “Amanda, I swear, I’m going to finish this tour, and then you and I can go away. Anywhere you want, for as long as you want.”

  Her head turned quickly to looked over at me. “Sorry, what?”

  “Let’s go somewh
ere together. I don’t care where. Mexico, Paris, Bora Bora, Arizona, Milan. It doesn’t matter. I want some time with just us.”

  She shook her head. “Can we talk about this when you’re not this upset?”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry.” I leaned my head back on the headrest and closed my eyes.

  She pressed a hand on my knee. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes. I can’t wait for this day to be over.”

  “We’ll be home soon.”

  I looked over at her. “Wow.”

  “What?”

  “You called my place ‘home’. I like that.”

  “Come on. You know what I mean,” she answered quickly with a slight smile. “Your place.”

  “Okay. But just know, you’re welcome to stay as long as you want.” That was as close as I could come to saying ‘move in with me’ without scaring her off again. Amanda had finally begun to warm up to me, and now was not the time to say something this drastic.

  “Thanks,” she answered, and rested her head on my shoulder.

  “Listen, I know this doesn’t seem like good timing…”

  She looked up at me. “What’s up?”

  I leaned forward to close the tinted glass partition between Charles and us. “I want you right now, Amanda,” I whispered in her ear. “I wanted to take you since we left the bar. I need to be inside you.”

  She moaned and tipped her head away slightly, inadvertently exposing her neck to me. I didn’t wait for her to say a word. My arm snaked around her waist and pulled her in as I kissed her neck softly. “Come sit on top of me. Grind that hot pussy down on my cock.”

  “Oh God,” she groaned.

  My cock twitched from the sultry sound she made. I pulled her onto my lap, and met her waiting lips for a kiss so fierce and passionate, I could rip her clothes off. She kicked off her shoes and straddled her legs to face me. My body was already aroused before, but now, I felt the smoldering heat coming from between her legs. My primal need to possess her took control.

  I trailed kisses down her neck to the where her shirt met the tops of her breasts, and moved lower still to find a nipple through the fabric. I tore myself away to undo her buttons, sliding the cup of one bra aside to take her nipple into my mouth. I grazed my tongue over the hardened peak, and she held on to my biceps, arching her back and grinding on my stiff bulge. I cradled her back and began to suck and lave at her nipple, almost ripping the bra to send her more pleasure. She rocked on my hardness, and brought a hand to the back of my head, pressing my lips tighter on her flesh.

  “God, Lorne,” she whimpered, nuzzling her lips at my forehead. “I want you so bad.”

  I lifted her off my lap and tugged at the waistband of her pants. She shifted herself and put her feet on the floor, dragging the pants off her hips and down to her ankles.

  She looked at me as she carefully took her panties off next. “Get your pants down, baby. I want to sit on your cock.”

  “Fuck,” I groaned.

  I scrambled to unto my belt and zipper, pulling my slacks and boxers down to release my throbbing manhood. Her tiny hands were wrapped around my shaft before I could shift them all the way down. She climbed back on top of me and positioned it at her hot, wet pussy. When it felt right, I held on to her hips and pulled her down hard, driving my cock deep inside her.

  “Oh fuck! Amanda…you feel so fucking good, baby.”

  She moaned so loudly I couldn’t hold anything back. She gripped on to my shoulders, leveraging herself as she raised and lowered on my shaft. I picked up the pace, tilting my hips up to thrust inside her sweet, tight warmth. Her beautiful breasts bounced at my eye level—I could not resist taking them into my mouth, devouring them one by one.

  “Fuck me harder,” she whispered.

  I grasped her ass tightly, dragging her down hard onto my swollen cock, but not quite certain I was delivering the force she begged for. I put my arms around her and shifted to the side, lowering her to lie on her back. She wrapped her legs around my waist and I slammed into her, finally able to drive so deeply inside her, right to the hilt. She gasped at the brutal force as I penetrated her. “Oh fuck. Yes, Lorne.”

  “Come for me, Amanda.” I growled my demand and pumped harder into her, jerking my hips as I got closer to the edge. Her nails dug into my arms.

  “Fuck!” She let out a muffled squeal.

  I felt her body begin to shudder and her channel clenched around my shaft as she climaxed. I impaled her, rocking faster, following her to a powerful orgasm that rolled through me. She buried her head into my neck, still breathless.

  “How do you feel?” I asked.

  “Good.”

  “How good?”

  “I’m tingling all over…really good, baby.”

  “Nice.”

  We were just minutes from my place now, so I got off her, pulled my pants back around my waist, and gathered up her clothes. “Here you go.”

  “Thanks,” she said breathlessly. She sat up and slipped her feet into each pant legs, arching her back to get it all the way up her hips. As she buttoned up her shirt, she asked, “Oh. What did you want to talk about? Before we got the call about Kevin.”

  I did not expect her to remember that. It was not the right time for a confession. “Oh, nothing big.” I searched for some tenacity, but came up short. “How about we talk when we settle in, or in the morning?”

  “Yes. I mean no.”

  “You don’t want to talk?”

  “Yes. But not tonight.” She bit her bottom lip as she looked over at me with dreamy, seductive eyes.

  I didn’t mind having such an easy out, but I was curious. “Why not?”

  She climbed back into my lap and whispered into my ear, “I want you to make love to me, Lorne. All night. And hold me when we sleep.”

  Chapter 3 - Amanda

  The look in his eyes overpowered me. The way he looked, the way he smelled, the way his hands had firmly wrapped around my waist, and God, the way he made me come…it was all so…perfect.

  I could barely believe I had emotionally dumped my family story onto him in the bar. It had been an out-of-body experience, to some degree. I couldn’t even pinpoint the moment when I had decided to spill all my secrets to him. Let alone why. For a split second, I was warm with embarrassment. I wandered what he thought of me now, but then I didn’t care. All I wanted was to enjoy him. From my seat on his lap, I cast a sidelong glance at him. He stared straight ahead, and I wished I could read his mind.

  “I’m sorry about all that stuff I shared about my messed up childhood.”

  “Sorry for what? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “I don’t know. I feel like I said too much back there.”

  “You didn’t,” he said, moving a hand up and down my back. “It’s okay, Amanda.” He pressed a kiss against my hair and held his lips there. I nestled even closer as he stroked his fingertips down my arm and made little circles against the exposed skin at my wrist.

  I was comfortable in his arms, and was beginning to feel something new. I felt safe.

  “Thank you for listening to me,” was all I could muster.

  “Anytime,” he replied.

  I stared out the window, my head still resting on his chest.

  * * *

  We made it home safely, and Larry arrived a few minutes afterward. In spite of the troubled circumstances around Kevin’s absence at the house, I was relieved he was not waiting to pounce on us as he had done several times before. Larry said a brief good night and headed to the guest bedroom on the main floor. With Fred and Jenny staying with Kevin tonight, it would be quiet here. I looked forward to changing out of these clothes, having a long shower and unwinding from the day’s events.

  Before this gig, I had grown accustomed to being alone. I was comfortable with solitude. Tonight though, all I wanted was to be wrapped up next to Johnny. He put his arms around me and we took the stairs up to the second floor. When he stopped at the door of my room, I didn’t
want to break away from his comforting warmth. I let my hands settle at the low waistband of his jeans.

  I rest my head sideways on his chest as he held me. “I’m going to grab a quick shower and change out of these clothes. See you in a bit, okay?”

  “No.”

  I snapped my head to look up at him again. “What?”

  There was a resolve in his eyes, which seemed to shine brighter than I had seen them before. “I’m not letting you out of my sight tonight.”

  I smiled. That should have been my line, given I was there to protect him. He took my hand and led me into his room.

  “Let me just grab my pajamas,” I said, pointing back to my room.

  “You won’t need clothes tonight. Not in my bed.”

  He walked me over to his bed and we sat on one side. He tugged back gently on my shoulders so we were stretched out across the bed. I turned my body to face him. Our eyes locked. I let one hand slowly drift down to the spot where his legs met his hips. He groaned, and his eyes darkened as my fingers lingered for a second, before sliding under the waistband, teasing the sharp contour of his v-cut.

  Johnny’s lips floated to mine, slowly. When his lips finally met mine, they were soft and gentle. He groaned at the touch of my fingertips tracing over his very sensitive skin, but kept control, and made me wait. He held me in that slow, deliberate kiss, and after a beat, his lips opened and he let the tip of his velvet soft tongue glide over my full bottom lip, lightly teasing the skin. Flames of need raced across my body, sinking through my skin, all gathering at my core. Johnny reached around my waist and pulled my body into his until I was halfway lying on his chest.

  Our lips met again and it was even sweeter. Wild sensations flooded my body, and I wanted Johnny, but so much more than just physically. Something had tipped over inside me, and as I pressed against his solid torso, I realized what it was, in the back of my mind. I wanted to enjoy it, to take things slow and let him lavish his attentions on me. His lips pulled at mine, deepening the kiss before his tongue parted my lips and entered my mouth. A whimper got caught in the back of my throat when he traced my lips and then went back to roll around the tip of my tongue. I wanted those lips to touch every part of my body, and felt my insides throb at the very idea.