Bulletproof Weeks

by Taryn Elliott

  She must have dozed off because she woke to a quiet room and the bouncing icon for her DVD player on the dark screen. She stretched her neck and slid off the chair. What the heck had woken her?

  The shrill bleat of the alarm system and wash of floodlights in the backyard made her jump. Nic shrieked and rolled off the couch.

  The landline phone rang and Bella rushed for the handset, grabbing the remote for the house on the way by.

  “Hello.”

  “This is Whole Home calling. Are you in danger, ma’am?”

  With shaking fingers, Bella tried to read the remote like Logan had taught her. She moved to the larger panel outside his music room. “I’m not sure. The floodlights in the back went on and the alarm is going off. Something was tripped? I guess in zone seven.”

  “Yes, I see that. Could it be an animal?”

  “I can’t tell with the alarm.”

  Nic glommed herself to Isabella’s back. “B. What’s going on?” She slid her arm under Bella’s and pointed. “Maybe one of the coyotes got too close?”

  Bella lifted her shoulders.

  “Do you want us to send the police?”

  God, she’d feel stupid if it wasn’t anything. “Yeah. Could you? It’s just me here with a friend.”

  The shrieking alarm went silent and she heard typing on the other end of the phone.

  “Requesting now. Please stay on the phone and in the house, ma’am.”

  “Yes.”

  Nic slid her hand into hers. “It’s probably a coyote. Jacob said he found one scavenging at the back of the butcher shop.”

  Bella nodded. She hoped so. Then Shakira blared out of her cell phone on the table. She nodded to Nic who went to answer it.

  It was going to be Logan. He had an app on his phone that was hooked up to the security system. This wasn’t the first time the alarm had been tripped, but it was the first time the entire backyard went daylight bright with lights.

  “We’re on the phone with the security people. No, Logan, we’re okay.”

  Bella blew out a breath as Nic talked to Logan.

  “Ma’am, everything all right?”

  “Yes. Just my boyfriend checking in.”

  “Police are seven minutes out.”

  So long? “I’m going to hand off the phone to my friend so I can talk to my boyfriend for a moment.” She waggled her fingers to Nic and they swapped phones.

  “I’m fine, Logan.”

  “Sweet Christ, what’s going on over there?” His voice was panicked and even deeper than usual.

  “The alarm went off again. No break-in, just something outside. The police are coming to make sure.”

  She heard the audible intake of breath and slow exhale as he tried to rein himself in. “And you’re on the phone with the alarm people.”

  “Yes. I’ve got Nic here with me obviously. We were having a girl’s night doing some festival stuff. No big thing.”

  “I hate this. I should be there.”

  “You’re out doing your job. I signed up for this whole long distance relationship deal and I’m completely fine.” Bella moved to the front door to see if she could see any patrol car lights. Still none. “We’ve had some coyote sightings in town, so that’s probably all it is.” If she sounded calm and collected then he would too.

  Even if it took every bit of acting talent she had, she wouldn’t get him riled up again.

  “Why aren’t the cops there yet?”

  “Babe, we live in the middle of nowhere. You like your space and privacy, remember?”

  “Fuck that. I’m calling Marcus.”

  Dammit. That had been an ongoing debate since he’d left. “Logan, please wait. Let the cops come and figure it out and then we’ll make a decision about having someone out here, okay?”

  The gate intercom buzzed and Bella crossed to answer it.

  “Ma’am, this is Officer Quinn, may I come up?”

  She peeked out the door and saw the familiar Sheriff car for the county and flipped the microphone on. “Yes, thank you. I’m opening now.”

  “Is that them?”

  “Yes. I have to go. I’ll call you back.”

  “Son of a bitch.” She could hear frustration, but also fear. This was one thing that they did fight about. A lot. She’d learned to wait him out. “All right. Keep me in the loop.”

  “I will.”

  “You be safe, Iz. I mean it.”

  “I love you, babe. Relax, I’m covered. I promise.”

  He blew out a breath. “Love you, too.”

  She tucked the phone in her pocket as she went to the door. “Hi. I’m sorry, but it looks like there might be something or someone in my backyard.”

  The stocky man came up the porch stairs. He wore a uniform top and jeans. He held a shotgun with a flashlight mounted to the top, his other rested at his belt. “I’ll check for you, ma’am.”

  Man, she was getting tired of ma’am. She slapped on a smile. “Do you want to go around or come through?”

  “Let me check inside first.”

  “Can I see your badge?” He moved his hand and she read the number off the silver emblem. She nodded and stepped back. “Thanks.”

  “Can’t be too careful.”

  She blew out a breath and went to Nic, taking the phone back from her. “Hello. The police have arrived.”

  “May I have his name and badge number.”

  Bella rattled it off. She remembered the drill from the last time she’d had the police check out the area. That had been a bobcat tripping one of the perimeter sensors. She was hoping it would be the same again.

  The floodlights hadn’t gone on that time. What made this one different?

  Time crawled by as the officer checked all the windows and spoke to the security person on the phone. Officer Quinn stepped out the back door with his shotgun at the ready.

  He didn’t exactly need his flashlight with the freaking stadium lights Logan had. Okay, so maybe a little bit of an exaggeration, but not by much. She kept a running text commentary with Logan and finally collapsed onto the couch at two in the morning.

  Another patrol car had come, but they wouldn’t give her any details beyond that there was an animal attack.

  “Hips Don’t Lie” pealed out of her phone. “Hey.”

  “Hey, yourself. What the hell is going on over there.”

  “I don’t know. The only thing I’ve gotten out of the officer is that there was an animal death.”

  “I’m coming out there. I can get a flight—”

  “No.” She had to be firm or he’d be on a private jet. “I’m fine. We live in the mountains. There’s going to be animals eating each other.”

  “There’s an image.”

  “Like that?” She laughed. “Adam is on his way up if that makes you feel any better.”

  “I like Adam, but he’s a fucking stick. No, that doesn’t make me feel better.”

  “That’s okay, it’s Nic that does the ass-kicking anyway.”

  “This doesn’t surprise me.”

  She leaned her head back. Their house was full of people now. Two more officers and one of the security people from Whole Home had showed up to reset the alarm system.

  She didn’t tell Logan that part. That would put him on a freaking private jet no matter what she said. If the alarm system needed to be reset, then something had either malfunctioned or been broken.

  As two slipped into three, she gave up trying to convince Logan everything was all right.

  “I’m leaving,” he growled.

  “No, you have two sold out shows in Denver. Yes, I know your schedule because that’s how I roll.”

  “Dammit, don’t joke.”

  “Babe, I gotta joke. Besides, we have our three-day-stretch right after that. I’ll go stay with Adam and Nic if that makes you feel better.”

  “I already called Marcus.”

  She slumped down on the couch. “Why?”

  “I’m not stupid. If the cops are there
that long, something’s wrong.”

  “It’s just an animal. They probably have to get the wildlife people involved since your property butts up against the state park land.”

  “Now don’t talk to me like I’m stupid, huh?”

  She didn’t want a bodyguard underfoot again. “Do I at least get Sarah?”

  “She should be there by dawn.”

  “Crap. I hate when you do this.”

  “You being safe if a little higher on my priority list. You knew it going into this. I’ve let you—”

  “Let me?” She surged up in her seat to the edge.

  “Isabella, I don’t fuck around about this. Ever.”

  “You don’t know if she’s doing this—”

  “She is.” She heard the rasp of his palm against his stubble through the phone. “Aimee hasn’t been able to get into the last six shows.”

  “Maybe she’s finally losing interest. Or, sorry next dude, maybe she found someone else to focus on?”

  “You have no idea how much I wish that was the case.”

  The front doorbell rang and Nic ran for the door. Adam came in and hugged his wife, ushering her back inside so he could close the door. He came over to sit beside Bella and squeezed her leg before he wrapped an arm around Nic.

  “You have to get some sleep, Logan. You have a radio show in a few hours.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “Sarah will be here soon and I don’t think the cops are going anywhere. At least try and lay down to rest your voice.”

  “Did I mention that I hate this?”

  “You certainly did.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m hanging up. My phone needs a charge anyway. I even killed my little backup battery guy.”

  He sighed. “Text me when Sarah gets there.”

  “I will.”

  “Don’t do anything stupid. Listen to the cops and listen to Sarah. Please?”

  “Lucky for you, I know you’re just worried and didn’t really just insult my intelligence.”

  “I love you.”

  “Back atcha, pain in my ass.” She plugged her phone in and stood. “Hi, Adam.”

  “Excitement never ends, B.”

  She rubbed the back of her neck. “Oh, yeah.”

  Nic had her fingers laced through Adam’s fingers as she hugged his arm. “The officer wants to talk to you.”

  “Finally.” She headed over to the kitchen island where the cops had congregated to drink all of her coffee. “Hi, Officer Quinn. Is there something you gentlemen need?”

  “No, we’re fine. Thanks for the coffee.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “The thing is, it was a little more than an animal tripping the alarm.”

  She forced herself not to shudder even as her skin flooded with goosebumps. “How much more?”

  “Someone gutted a deer and hung it off your fence.”

  “Oh my God.”

  “That, of course, tripped the sensor. But then the coyotes we’ve been having so much trouble with couldn’t give up that kind of feast.”

  “How big was the deer?”

  “It wasn’t a tiny one. I’d say a buck sixty.”

  Holy crap. “Is there damage?”

  “Yeah, that’s what took us so long. It’s a sturdy fence, but there was a lot of carnage because of the coyotes. With the help of the alarm guy, we were able to tack it up for now, but you’ll need to get someone out here for repairs. We took pictures for the report and so did the alarm people. So you’ll have that for insurance.”

  “Thanks.” She didn’t know what else to say.

  “Ma’am. Have you been having trouble out here? Where’s your husband?”

  All of the officers were looking at her with the steady, reserved way that cops seemed to have. “I live with my boyfriend. He, um…” What exactly did you say to someone? Oh, my boyfriend is a rockstar. He’s out of town a lot.

  Nic came up beside her. “Her boyfriend travels for work.”

  Bella sighed. “This is Logan King’s place.”

  The cop’s face didn’t change. Not a music fan. That would make this a whole lot easier. Before she could say more, a cop behind him made a low whistle.

  Officer Quinn turned. “That’s probably supposed to mean something?”

  “Don’t mind him, ma’am. He just transferred to the sheriff’s office from South Dakota. He hasn’t had to work the festival yet.”

  Bella smiled stiffly. “He’s a musician. We have a big summer festival here in late August.”

  “Oh.” The officer scratched the back of his neck with a rueful smile. “I’m more likely to get excited about Garth Brooks.”

  She smiled more naturally this time. “I like Garth, too.”

  “When I asked you if you were having trouble, I got the feeling you wanted to tell me something.”

  Bella crossed her arms over her chest. One of the cops in the kitchen was a local from town. They’d tried really hard to keep things under wraps, but if Sarah was coming to stay, that was probably going to end anyway. “Maybe we should sit down.”

  She kept it general, didn’t mention exactly who was stalking Logan, but she did give details about the fact that the stalker had escalated and knew where they lived. Quinn took a lot of notes, but didn’t say much. He asked a few questions, but kept his own counsel.

  “We use a security agency out of New York City and they’ve been notified.”

  Quinn’s eyebrow rose. “You do?”

  “Roth Defense. They also do the festival security so they’re familiar with the area. Logan sent someone to stay with me until we can figure this out.”

  “From the look of this place, and the security he uses, I think he can afford it.”

  She folded her hands on her lap. “Money isn’t the issue, no.”

  “It’s a good idea. If this stalker is as dangerous as you say, then it can’t hurt to be careful. You have a good security set-up. The deer seems more like a prank than anyone actually trying to break in.”

  Or a message. That was the part she didn’t like. Was this just Aimee getting bolder because she couldn’t get to Logan on tour, or had she figured out that they were back together?

  The front gate buzzer saved her from having to talk about it further. She excused herself and went to the intercom.

  “It’s Sarah Webster from Roth Defense.”

  “Come on through.” Bella hit the code and took a moment to collect herself in the hallway.

  The cops were packing up and the alarm system person probably never actually did calls like this. When Logan wanted something done, it was done. But nothing else was going to happen tonight.

  Aimee had gotten what she wanted, as always.

  Attention.

  The sharp rap at the door jolted her back to the present. She moved to the door and found Sarah there in a black blazer over black dress pants and a blue t-shirt with the RD logo on it. Her blond hair was scraped back in a tail, a half smirk on her face.

  “Miss me, princess?”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “Wakey, wakey, princess,” Sarah yelled and slapped the palm of her hand on Bella’s bedroom door.

  Bella rolled onto her stomach and pulled the pillow over her head. “Fuck off!”

  “I let you go about giving me details last night, but now we gotta talk.”

  She stretched across the mattress to the bedside table, kicking out in temper and frustration because the covers were trying to strangle her. She sat up in the middle of the wreck of her bed and slumped back against the headboard.

  “You awake?”

  “Go away. I’m up. Make coffee or something. I’ll be down in ten.”

  “Make it five.”

  Bella banged her head against the padded leather. She flicked her phone to life and groaned. It was only ten in the morning. She’d had like three hours of actual sleep. Between pushing everyone out the door, getting Sarah settled into a room, and talking Logan out of flying home—again—dawn had been well on its
way.

  There were four messages from Logan, three from Nic, and even one from Adam. Knowing that would start a slew of replies she went to email instead. She answered a few that couldn’t wait then tossed the phone to the end of the bed.

  “Do not make me come up there again.”

  Bella swung her gaze to the bookcase. One of the smart house screens lit up on the wall. “Are you kidding me?” she growled and rolled off the bed. She went to the screen and flew through the menu until she found intercom. Then it was per zone in the house.

  The house phone rang and she yanked it off the base. “What?”

  “Izzy?” Logan’s voice was deep with fatigue and worry.

  “Oh, don’t you start. It’s been a fucking morning. What do you want?”

  “Did something happen?”

  “No. Nothing happened. I’m fine. I promise I’m fine. The militant crazy bitch is downstairs and I just found out we have an intercom system in our fucking bedroom. Did you know about this? Is there a fucking camera in here?”

  “Um, yes and no.”

  Her blood pressure shot into the stratosphere. It had to have. “Yes, there’s a camera?”

  He cleared his throat. “Yes on the intercom, I just never used it. No, on the camera. I figured that would be taking it too far.”

  “You thought right, pal. There will be no creepy videos of me unless I’m the one that turns the camera on.”

  “Of course not—wait, what?”

  “Shut up.”

  “Shutting up. We’ll revisit that.”

  She could hear the smile in his voice. “Not any time soon, bucko.”

  He laughed. “Shit.” He let out a long breath. “I needed that.”

  She dropped into one of the club chairs near the back of their room, pulled her knees up to her chest and looped her arm around them. God, she wished he was home. She’d used up all her strong, independent female juice the night before. “I miss you.”

  “I know, babe. You don’t know how many times I picked up my phone to call for the jet.”

  “It was seventy degrees last night and I have on one of your thermals right now. It was as close to a Logan hug as I could get.”

  “Just a few days. I’ll be there and I’m not going to let you go.”