Then the car headed right, and he let out a sigh.
“I’m sorry,” Holly said softly.
“What?” He hadn’t caught what she’d been saying. He’d inadvertently tuned out of everything but that car.
“I said I’m sorry that you’re caught up in the craziness of my life.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it.”
“Shall we listen to some music?” Holly turned on the radio.
“Sure.” He didn’t mind at all. There was so much going on in his brain. And what about that reporter raising the topic that Bryce was Holly’s boyfriend? What a disaster!
They got to his street, and Jaxon slowed down. He hadn’t received a phone call from Aidan, which meant there were no paparazzi or fans lying in wait. But he asked Holly to duck anyway.
“Can you see anyone?” Holly whispered.
“No. I think you can sit up.”
“Are you sure?” Holly stayed down.
He waited until the gate had closed behind him. “Yes. We’re inside now.”
Holly straightened. “Hah, this place always relaxes me.”
He smiled, happy to hear that. “I have to make a phone call to check on a few things at work. I’ll join you upstairs in a few minutes.”
“Okay. I think I’ll go out the back. I haven’t had a good workout in a while. I want to get reacquainted with your obstacle course.”
“Okay,” he said with a laugh.
He parked the car and went inside his apartment. He texted Xavier and Eve that they’d arrived at Avalon without a problem, then he called Aidan and told him about the media speculation on Bryce and Holly.
“Shit,” Aidan said. “This makes it very complicated for you.”
“I know. It’s easy to keep my mouth shut and not give Joseph any reason to feel nervous. But he might still get scared anyway. He might take the offensive and make things worse. So I think I have to see him and assure him I won’t break the status quo if he won’t.”
“Yeah. It might be your only chance to stave off a big scandal. Now that you and Bryce have been linked to Holly Stirling, any news about you—especially a juicy family saga—would be gleefully bandied around in public.”
Jaxon scrunched his face. He’d been waiting for years for an opportunity to take down Joseph’s threat. Now, he’d have to promise to keep it to himself for the rest of his life. But if he had to do it, then he’d do it.
“Anyway,” Aidan said. “That’s not the only bad news. We’ve identified the bearded man with Bryce.”
“Who is he?”
“Alfie Farmer. He’s a member of a known drug syndicate, and he’s one of the guys who’d stayed at a private island in the Whitsundays when Bryce worked there.”
Disappointment landed on Jaxon with a thud.
“We now believe that the security company Bryce worked for in the Whitsundays are in bed with the syndicate,” Aidan added.
“Fuck. That’s big.”
“Yes. That’s not all. It seems that, from time to time, they make their money from other means, especially when authorities catch some of their members and confiscate their contraband.”
Jaxon gulped, not looking forward to what Aidan would say next.
“Three years ago, the five-year-old daughter of a billionaire businessman was taken by two unknown men from one of the islands. Some of the workers there said they were sure it was kidnapping. Apparently, a day after the girl was taken, people carrying several bags arrived. Then that night, another boat came. The child was on the boat. She was released to her parents while men took the bags, then left. The island workers were told it was nothing, but they believe they witnessed ransom being paid. And police never came, so it was probably never reported.”
“Three years ago,” Jaxon murmured. “Bryce would have been working there then.”
“Yes. It was also the same time when members of the drug syndicate stayed on the neighbouring island where the billionaire family stayed.”
Jaxon slumped down on the couch, holding his head.
“They’re after Holly, Jax,” Aidan said quietly. “Bryce applying to be her bodyguard seems to confirm that. For some reason, they hadn’t acted yet, but they’re after her.”
Jaxon exhaled harshly. “I’m glad we’ve made the call to push Bryce out.”
“Yes.” Aidan paused. “How’re you doing?”
He stared at the ceiling. “I’ve been praying that my own brother wasn’t involved in any of this.”
“I’m sorry that it’s the way it is. Are you up to continuing with this assignment?”
“Of course,” he said without hesitation.
“Okay. We have to up the ante. Plant those listening devices in Bryce’s place when you’re there for dinner. And do your best to get some information out of him.”
“I will.”
“And Jax, we’ll have to let things play out as if everything’s normal. It means not being too protective of Holly. Let Bryce get close if he tries.”
Coldness clutched Jaxon’s heart. “She’s the bait…”
“When they make their move, I promise you we’ll be ready to swoop in on them.”
“What if something goes wrong?”
“Something can go wrong at any time, but you know how we operate. We’re gonna throw in a lot of resources in this.”
Jaxon rubbed his face. He knew this was the best way, and he trusted in the expertise of the Indie Rebels. But damn, it was Holly’s safety they were talking about here. And his own brother was one of the people they were trying to catch.
“Can you handle this, Jax?” Aidan asked sharply.
He took a deep breath. “Yes. Have you told Xavier the plan?”
“I’ll update him. I know how hard it is for you guys. But if you let your fear for Holly—and Bryce—get in the way, you won’t function effectively as part of the IR team. You’ll risk the success of this operation.”
“Got it. I know what to do.”
“Tell me.”
“Keep Holly safe, but let Bryce in—”
“No. Focus on Bryce. Pry out of him any intel we can act on. Shadow him everywhere he goes. We can’t afford to wait now. We have to act fast.”
“What about Holly?”
“Take her to her parents’ tonight. I know she doesn’t like staying there because of the paps, but they’ll actually help to keep her safe. I doubt the thugs would do anything with those paps as witnesses.”
“Can you send an IR to at least watch her parents’ house tonight?”
“I’ll see who we can pull out from another assignment. And Xavier and Eve can take over tomorrow when they come back.”
“Thanks.”
“Sorry to ruin your romantic plans, but I’m afraid there’s no time for that right now.”
“Copy.”
“And…wait… Bryce is leaving his place. I’ll watch from the CCTVs as far as I can. Drop Holly off to her folks’ right now, and I’ll tell you where he’s heading. Hopefully, we don’t lose him.”
“Copy.”
Jaxon hung up and hurried to the backyard. He found Holly sitting on a deck chair, drinking from a glass of water.
“Hey, Hols…”
Jaxon suppressed a sigh as Holly stood and sashayed to him, a flirty smile on her face. He hoped she didn’t get too amorous out here. There were cameras everywhere.
Holly placed her arms around him. “Do you realise we haven’t made love out here yet?”
“The neighbours might have binoculars.”
“What are you talking about? No way can anyone see us.” Holly pressed herself against him, kissing him passionately.
Damn, who was watching the cameras right now? For all he knew, several IR agents had eyes on them.
“Hols,” he said, stepping back. “Why don’t we save this for later? I’m afraid I have to go to work for an urgent meeting.”
“Right now?”
“Yes. I’ll take you to your parents’. You’re safer there than al
one here.”
“What if there are paps or fans out there?”
He smiled grimly. “That can’t be helped.”
“I can wear my wig—”
“No. We don’t want them knowing your disguise. That’s important to you or you won’t be able to walk around unnoticed.”
“Um… Okay.”
Jaxon tried to appear relaxed as he ushered Holly back to the car. He didn’t want to scare her, especially when he couldn’t tell her what was going on.
“Jax,” Holly said quietly when they hit the main road.
“Yes?”
“This isn’t working for you, is it?”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“All this media intrusion and speculation. You know this is even tame compared to what you might get later. Complete and utter lies could be said about you and, even if you tell the truth, no one might believe you.”
“Well, I have to admit, it’s annoying.”
“Any boyfriend of mine will get scrutinised and talked about much, much more than my family. So if you think that you can somehow avoid the public glare because Xavier and my parents have been able to do it, you’d be wrong.”
“What are you saying, Hols?”
Holly shrugged. “I’m just saying that’s what you can expect. Are you ready for them to dig into your life? They love looking for scandalous things that would make headlines. Your mum, for example. You said you hardly ever see her. If they find that out, they’ll descend on her and see what the family issue is all about. They’ll try to wear her down.”
Fuck, he couldn’t afford for that to happen. More importantly, neither could Holly. “I just want to keep you safe, damn it,” he said with frustration.
“Jax…if I never had this kidnapping threat… If you’d never gotten involved with my security, would you… Would you have started dating me?”
He inhaled sharply, his tongue suddenly tied. He had no idea how to answer that.
Holly fell into silence. And he didn’t try to cajole her out of it.
His heart twisted painfully at the realisation that he might have been right in the past. He wasn’t the man for Holly.
Chapter 17
Holly blinked repeatedly, trying with all her might to stop the tears from escaping. They weren’t that far away from her parents’, and she just needed to hang on until she got some privacy. Then she’d let it flow.
Right now, she couldn’t even look at Jaxon. It hurt too much. No matter what he’d say later, this silence had already given her the answer.
Jaxon liked her a lot, but if it hadn’t been for these extraordinary circumstances, he wouldn’t have chosen to be with her.
Not that she could blame him. Why would anyone want any of this craziness? She herself only tolerated all the unwanted attention because she had incredibly loving and supportive fans on the other side of the ledger. They and her successful career cushioned the blows.
But what about Jaxon? What did he get out of this deal? Her? Just her?
It didn’t seem fair when Jaxon was already giving up a lot of his time and energy to keep her from getting kidnapped by money-hungry psychos. Like right now, he was hurrying to drive her to her parents’ when he should have never left his office at all. It was a Thursday.
Sooner or later, he’d get sick of all this. No matter how much he felt for her, real-life problems would eventually get in the way. He’d wake up one day and regret sacrificing a lot of things for her—especially when he’d never wanted to date her in the first place.
She didn’t want that for him. He deserved better.
So where did this leave her?
More tears rushed to the surface, pooling in her eyes. She turned her head to the side and pretended something out on the streets caught her attention. Then she surreptitiously dabbed the corners of her eyes.
They arrived at her Mum and Dad’s place, and Jaxon slowed in front of the tall, solid gates, which were already opening.
Holly spotted a familiar face outside, the long lens of his camera trained at them. She cringed at what might come out in the media tomorrow.
Her parents were at the door, smiling.
“Can I ask you something before you go?” she asked Jaxon.
“Sure.”
“Let me ask my parents to go in first.” She got out of the car and asked her parents to wait inside. Then she went back to Jaxon. Good thing the gates had already closed, shielding them from prying eyes.
“Jax…” she said tentatively, not knowing where to start.
Jaxon gazed at her, his distress evident on his face.
The tears she was holding back cascaded down. “This is it for us, isn’t it?”
“Don’t say that,” Jaxon whispered.
“Tell me honestly, is this working for you?”
“This is working for me.” Jaxon indicated the two of them.
“But there’s this whole wide world outside the two of us that we have to take part in whether we want to or not. Can you see yourself with the media following us everywhere we go? Do you want to deal with repeated intrusions to your privacy?”
Jaxon looked away, gulping visibly.
She took his hand in hers, her heart twisting. “I can see the answer on your face. I can tell what a hardship it will be for you, and I totally understand. But that’s what you’ll keep on getting if you stay with me and, goodness, we haven’t even admitted to the public we’re seeing each other.”
Jaxon gazed at her, his eyes anguished. “What are you saying?”
“I think you know,” she said past the lump in her throat. She couldn’t bear to say the words.
She looked down and waited, recognising that little hope in her heart that didn’t want to believe this was the end of the road.
Jaxon lifted her hands and pressed them to his lips, his eyes swimming in tears. “I care a lot about you, Holly. I always will. Please take care of yourself.”
She sniffed. “You too.”
For the first time in her life, she wished she wasn’t famous. But she was, and she couldn’t change that.
“Well, you better go back to work,” she said with a brave smile, still hoping he’d keep her from leaving.
But he didn’t. He simply smiled back.
She opened the door, still reluctant to go. “Bye, Jax.”
Jaxon inhaled deeply. “Bye, Hols. I’ll see you around.”
Merciless fingers crushed her heart, and the dim light of that little hope disappeared, leaving her bereft.
She hurried out and walked briskly towards the house. Her parents came out to greet her. Obviously, they had been watching from the window.
She dared look back, and Jaxon was exiting the gate. She hurried to the front porch, which couldn’t be seen from the outside.
“Darling?” her mother asked worriedly.
She attempted a smile through her tears.
“What happened?” her dad asked, stunned.
“We broke up,” she whispered, her tears flowing unchecked.
“Oh, sweetheart.” Her mother took her in her arms. “We didn’t even know you were going out.”
She sniffed. That was true. No one even knew she and Jaxon had dated except for Xavier and Eve. And even they had no idea just how happy and content she’d been with Jaxon.
Now they were over, and she didn’t know if she’d ever be that happy with anyone ever again.
“What’s he done?” Gerald asked in an ominous tone as they walked to the house.
Holly shook her head. “Nothing. I broke up with him.” And she never got to tell him she loved him.
“Why?”
“Because I know he hates all the attention. He’ll end up being bitter about it.”
“Do you really know that?” Adele asked gently.
“He didn’t dispute it when I asked, Mum.”
“Oh.”
Gerald cleared his throat. “Well, I’m sorry about that, darling. But if it makes you feel better, we have gr
eat news.”
“What?”
Gerald opened the door. Inside the front lounge room was a big bunch of flowers, a bottle of champagne, and letter-shaped balloons spelling Congratulations.
“What are these for?” Holly asked in confusion.
“Christine was here half an hour ago. She said your last album just reached fifteen million copies sold worldwide. And counting!”
Despite her gloom, Holly had to smile at the pride in her father’s voice. “Thanks, Dad.”
Gerald’s brows furrowed. “What? You’re not excited? That’s huge! Fifteen million people love my daughter’s work!”
She hugged her parents. “Thank you.”
Gerald continued to frown at her.
“Oh, darling,” Adele said to her husband. “She’s not in the mood for that right now.”
“Is it okay if I go to my room? I just want to be alone for a while.”
“Sure.”
“Thanks.” She dialled Christine’s phone as she walked up the stairs to her old bedroom.
“Congrats!” Christine said.
“Thanks!” she said, ensuring she sounded suitably enthused. “Sorry I missed you. Just imagine me giving you a hug right now for the balloons, flowers and champers.”
“Where were you? I went to Xavier’s house to surprise you there, but no one was home. So I rang him, and he said you’re at your parents’. But when I got there, Adele said Jaxon was driving you home. Where did you guys go?”
“Oh, I wanted to pass by the shops. Xave and Eve were running late for their flight and Jaxon happened to be at their place. He offered to drive me.”
“Right. Anyway, I got a request for you to sing live at your favourite show next week to celebrate your milestone. I think you should do it.”
“My favourite show?”
“I’ll give you a clue,” Christine said dryly. “It’s the show that launched your career.”
“Oh, right,” she said with a laugh.
“They also made some noise that they might invite you to be a judge for next season.”
“Really?”
“Of course, the price has to be right. So we’ll see what they put on the table first.”
Holly suppressed a sigh. She appreciated all this, but right now, all she wanted was… to lie in her bed and reminisce about Jaxon.
Jaxon: The Assignment: Indie Rebels, Book 2 Page 15
