Guarding Hearts (Living Again #3)

by L. L. Collins

  “No one knows yet. All we know is that a neighbor heard a commotion and called the police about two a.m. When they arrived, they found no one but Amelia was beaten unconscious and has lost a lot of blood. It’s not looking good.”

  “She may not survive?” Ellis felt for Brian. He liked the guy a lot and knew just from their brief conversations that he lived and breathed Amelia.

  “It’s not likely. Brian won’t be back for some time, as it seems. I know you need to get back to work in Florida…”

  “I’ll stay,” Ellis said immediately, hoping Andrew would agree with him. “I’m not leaving her.”

  “I figured you would say that,” Samuel answered. “Ellis, I know that things are escalating between you. I’m okay with that, truly. She’s my little girl, but I want her happy. What I don’t want to see is her getting hurt, so if you aren’t going to be able to handle her life, please back out now.”

  Ellis felt that cold feeling creeping back in. He couldn’t handle any of this, but his stupid heart didn’t seem to remember that. “Sir, I would never intentionally hurt her.”

  “You’re a man of your word,” Samuel stated. “So thank you. Okay, so we need to meet to decide what to do with the security team if you are going to stay. You will be the head and Sam’s bodyguard, of course. But since Brian is out for the foreseeable future, I’m going to come up and figure out a plan with you. I’ll be there in about thirty minutes. That good?”

  “Good,” Ellis agreed. “See you then.” Hanging up the phone, he picked up his cell and typed a quick text to Andrew, then Devin. He wasn’t waking them up at this ungodly hour.

  He tapped on the bathroom door, but he could hear the shower running and knew she didn’t hear him. The urge to go join her in the shower was overwhelming, but he turned instead and slipped on his clothes to wait for her father.

  “I feel terrible for Brian,” Sam said, sitting next to him as they made their new security plan. “For someone to come into their house while he’s not even home and hurt his wife so terribly that she may not survive! He must feel so guilty.”

  Samuel turned to his daughter. “He’s a wreck. But he has an idea that might help us, and then we won’t have to wait for someone to replace him that we can trust.”

  “What’s that?” Ellis sipped a cup of hot coffee, watching Sam out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t think she had stopped looking at him since she came out of the bathroom. He would be lying if he said he didn’t love it. She reached over and rested her hand on his thigh, and his body instantly reacted. She was getting bold with her dad around, but he guessed that she knew he was okay with them. For now. There would be a time when he wasn’t going to be okay with Ellis, and he knew it.

  “Brian’s son Sean is a police officer in Nashville,” Samuel explained.

  “Sean’s going to come?” Sam sat up, a smile on her face.

  Samuel nodded. “Yes. I called him after I talked to Brian. He’s agreed to come take Brian’s place until he can return. He’s been granted a leave from the Nashville PD.”

  “That’s so nice of him!”

  Ellis looked at her quizzically, and she laughed. “Sean and I have known each other most of our lives. He’s a great guy. You’ll really like him.”

  “Well that’s great,” Ellis agreed. “I’m sure Brian can get him up to speed on things, and he can hit the ground running. When does he arrive?”

  “Tonight, probably right after we arrive in South Carolina,” Samuel answered. “Ellis, talk to Andrew when you get time and see how long he’s willing to let you stay for. We don’t want to jeopardize your job, but we certainly will make it worth your while.”

  Ellis nodded, knowing that no matter what Andrew said, he wasn’t leaving her now. He wouldn’t rest until this idiot was caught. “Okay. Are we ready to load up?”

  “Ellis, this is Sean, Brian’s son and my lifelong friend,” Sam said.

  Ellis outstretched his hand, grasping the man’s hand. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m sorry to hear about your mom.”

  “Stepmom,” Sean answered. “My mom passed away when I was 12. And thanks. Nice to meet you, too. You’re the head guy now?”

  “Yes,” Sam answered for him.

  Ellis couldn’t help it, he saw him as competition. They had been friends their whole lives? He probably had been in love with her his whole life. Sean was a big guy, taller than Ellis, and muscular with blonde hair and blue eyes. He resembled Brian quite a bit.

  “Okay, let’s get this plan going. I’ve been updated a little bit on this stalker you’ve got, but let’s make sure I understand it all.”

  “I’m going to rehearse,” Sam said, standing up. “I’ll leave you two boys to your plan. See you in a bit.”

  Ellis smiled as she stopped in front of him. She leaned over to press her lips to his, and he felt like cheering. She had kissed him in front of Sean. His ego inflated tenfold.

  As she walked away, Ellis saw Sean watching her go, and he knew his feeling was probably right. Who wouldn’t love that girl?

  Sean looked at Ellis and their eyes locked, each of them reading the other for a moment. “So you two?” he asked.

  Ellis nodded. “Just recent.”

  “Well, I would say so. You’ve only known her a little over a week, right?”

  Ellis bit his tongue. Was this the way this guy was going to play it? “Let’s get to work.”

  This was going to be fun. He had hit a little roadblock earlier, but it was all taken care of now. It was the beginning of the end of Samantha’s little infatuation with her bodyguard. He had found some interesting tidbits about the man, the myth, and the legend, that should seal his exit from her life immediately. After he was out of the way, she would be free to be with the real person she belonged with. Him. He watched as the video uploaded, then hit send. Before long, it would all be over. No one would stop him from getting what he had wanted as long as he could remember.

  “Thanks, April,” Sam said to her makeup artist. It was her last show of her Southern States tour, and she was so happy. The last week with both Ellis and Sean here had made her feel safer than she had a in a long time. There had been no further contact from him, but she knew it didn’t mean anything. Last time they thought he had moved on and he had broken into her hotel room and trashed it.

  After Ellis had gotten over his ‘pissing contest’ with Sean (yeah, she knew he was marking his territory), they had actually gotten along very well. Even though she wasn’t going to be ‘on tour’ after tonight, until next month when she started her Western tour, she still planned to try to convince Ellis to stay. She couldn’t bear to think that he would be going back to Florida. Things with them had been good, though they hadn’t had the time to make love again, or really even be alone. Sean had been staying with them in the suite as well, so that put dampers on their romantic plans. They did, however, have fun spending time all together during those days. It was nice to see a fun, playful side of Ellis that Sean seemed to bring out. Jason and Luke had taken to hanging with them more too, and every night had been like a big party after her shows.

  Brian’s wife was still in critical condition. She was in a coma and she had had to be resuscitated several times since the attack. At this point they were worried about her brain activity, and were planning to do tests to see if there was a likelihood she would ever wake up. The police had no leads to her attacker. The house hadn’t been ransacked, though there were signs that the door had been jimmied open. It looked like someone came there with the intention of harming her, but they had no idea why. She was a high school English teacher and didn’t have any enemies that they knew of. They were looking into anyone who might have beef with Brian, but it seemed like mostly dead ends.

  Brian and Amelia had married when Sean was fourteen and had no children of their own. Sam ached for them and hoped that Amelia would wake up and tell them what had happened. Sam planned to go see her the second she made it back to Nashville tomorrow
. Amelia was like an aunt to her.

  Lacey was going to come with her for a few days of her next tour, since she would be on break from school. It would be great for Lacey to finally get to meet Ellis when she got home, since he was all Lacey had heard about for the last several weeks.

  The door opened and Ellis stepped in, closing the door behind him. He walked with a purpose towards her, and her stomach tightened in fear.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “No,” he answered curly, pulling her up out of her chair.

  “You’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”

  “I miss you,” he said, running his hands along her hips. “It’s been over a week, Sammi. I haven’t been alone with you at all. It’s killing me.”

  She laughed. “Ellis! You made me think something was wrong!”

  “Something is wrong,” he said seriously. He pressed against her. “Feel that? That’s what’s wrong. I’ve been pacing outside the door for over an hour waiting for them to finish with you so I could get in here.”

  She giggled, loving the need he was expressing to her. “I have ten minutes until show time,” she said.

  “And you’re going to go out there with a satisfied smile on your face,” he stated. “Because if I have to wait any more to touch you, I’m going to be a very cranky man, and Sean might have to take me down.”

  He cupped the back of her neck, pulling her closer. He ran his nose up her exposed neck and put his mouth on her ear. “This is just going to be a preview, Sammi. Tonight we’re going to find some time to be alone, because tomorrow you are going home.”

  She wanted to ask him if he could stay, if he was planning to stay, but he lifted her dress and moved her panties to the side, sinking two fingers into her, and she forgot everything that was on her mind.

  “Yessss,” he hissed, curling his fingers at her sensitive spot. His erection pressed against her leg, and she squirmed, wanting it where he could rub against her. “Sammi, you unravel me. I can’t say I’ve ever waited outside a room for someone because I just couldn’t take it anymore.”

  She brought her hands up to his face, looking him in the eyes as he continued taking her to the brink of ecstasy. She knew the feeling she had right now, she just knew she shouldn’t verbalize it. He wasn’t ready. To keep herself from saying something she shouldn’t, she sucked his lips into her mouth, biting down gently on his bottom lip. When he moaned and picked up the pace of his fingers, she slid her tongue into his mouth and he responded, pulling her body even closer to him.

  She reached into his jeans and touched his hot skin, ready for her. He grunted, pushing into her hand as she started coming apart.

  “Ellis,” she breathed into his mouth.

  “That’s it, baby, let go.” His remaining hand brushed her sensitive nipples as his thumb hit her right where she needed, and she let go. A knock on the door announced it was time, and he smirked, pulling his fingers from inside her.

  “Think about that while your fans are screaming your name,” Ellis said. She knew she was flushed and her makeup and hair was probably a wreck, but she couldn’t care less. She watched as he put his fingers in his mouth and sucked. She swore she felt that all the way in her core.

  “Ellis, you’re killing me.” She watched as he adjusted himself in his pants. “And that wasn’t fair. I’m the only one that got anything out of that.”

  “If you think that’s the case, you are sadly mistaken,” Ellis said into her ear, smoothing her hair back into place. “I’m going to go watch you kick ass on stage now and know that the blush on your cheeks isn’t makeup. I did that.”

  “Caveman,” she teased, wiping lipstick off his lips.

  “You have no idea,” he said, raising his eyebrows. “Tonight, Sammi. One way or another.”

  He twitched in his pants. It was only a matter of hours now, not minutes. By the time her show was over, the whole world would know.

  Sam stood next to Jason as they belted out one of her favorite songs, Last Chance. It was one of the best songs she had ever written, and she loved performing. It was her last song of the show, and while she was into it, her mind was thinking of what Ellis has said before the show.

  ‘One way or another, Sammi, we will be alone tonight.’ She was afraid that this was a sort of goodbye from him. She knew she couldn’t keep him forever, but she hoped that he would want to stay.

  Singing the last note, the lights went out on the stage and the crowd screamed. “Sa-am, Sa-am!” No matter how many times she performed, she would never get over the feeling of people loving what she did. She had been a singer and songwriter for so long, she didn’t remember not doing it. Every single night, she was thankful. She might have to deal with crazy things that she never fathomed before this, like a stalker, not having privacy, and everyone watching every move she made, but despite all of it, she was living her dream.

  Ellis had been very careful with not wanting to seem to the public that they were an ‘item’. He didn’t want her to get negative press for being with her bodyguard. He said it was too cliché, too Hollywood. While she didn’t care who knew that she was with him, she knew that part of his insistence was that he was afraid to be in the public eye himself. While he never said that, she could tell that the thought of his name being out there for everyone to scrutinize made him more than a little nervous.

  That worried her, too. What if he could never get used to this lifestyle that she was in? You’re getting ahead of yourself, she thought. He’s never made any indication that he wants to be with you long term. They had never had any conversations about what they were ‘officially’, and she was too afraid to push that issue.

  Sam nodded at the lights manager, and he flicked the lights back on, the stage flooded with red, yellow, and blue. The fans screamed as Jason and Luke started the chords of My Girls, her fun song that she had written with Lacey one night when they were hanging out with a bunch of their friends. She stomped her boot on the stage as she belted out the lyrics about her girls being there for her, no matter what.

  “Thank you, Knoxville!” Sam yelled into the microphone, and the crowd’s response was deafening. “My Tennessee fans are always the best ones!” More screaming ensued and she laughed into the microphone. “Give some love to my wonderful guys, Luke and Jason!”

  The crowd screamed for them as they stood and joined her in the front of the stage, each of them taking a turn twirling her in a circle and then bowing together. With that, the stage went black and she ran backstage, Luke and Jason right behind her.

  “That was fabulous! I think that was the best show of this tour,” Jason said, grinning.

  “I agree,” Luke said. “You were on fire tonight!”

  Sam caught Ellis’ eye, who was waiting right where he always was, and she couldn’t stop the giggle that came out of her mouth at his expression. He looked like the cat that ate the canary.

  Sam took a picture with the last fan, trying hard to keep the smile on her face. She was exhausted. Ellis and Sean were standing right next to the person taking the picture, as they had been all night. She hadn’t been more than two feet away from them since the show ended. She was grateful, because with a hundred fans at her after party, anything could’ve happened. She had entertained them with a private concert backstage, followed by drinks and appetizers. She had signed countless t-shirts, programs, ticket stubs, and even body parts.

  No matter how fun it was to interact with them, her heart was heavy. Her tour was over, and with that she felt so was her relationship with Ellis. She doubted he would be able to come to Nashville with her. The security team escorted the last fan out of the backstage area, leaving her alone with just Ellis and Sean.

  “Whew,” she breathed. “I’m so glad that’s over. I’m so tired. I was on edge all night, wondering if he was here.”

  “You and me both,” Ellis muttered. “I need a drink or two after all of that.”

  Sean nodded his agreement. “Let’s get ready to get out of here and
head to the hotel. Your parents left already, Sam.”

  “Any news from your dad tonight?” Sam asked. “My mom said that they were doing the brain testing on Amelia earlier.”

  “No, I haven’t had time to talk to him,” Sean answered. “I’ll see if I can call him on the way to the hotel. There’s a ton of paparazzi out there tonight, way more than normal. We’re going to have to be extra careful with diversion tonight.”

  Sam sighed. She didn’t want to deal with the flashing lights and shouted questions from them tonight. “Let me go grab my things from my dressing room. Everything is clear back here?”

  Sean talked into his mic, then nodded. “All clear.”

  “Okay,” she said. “I’ll be right back.” She walked down the hall to her dressing room and pushed open the door. Before she could even react, a hand reached around and covered her mouth. She started thrashing, but it was no use. Oh my god. There was someone in her room.

  “I told you that we belonged together,” the voice said into her ear. She knew it was male, but she couldn’t pick out anything about him except he was strong and holding her tightly. His hand still covered her mouth, but she knew she had to do something or she may not make it out of here alive. “Where’s pretty boy now, huh, ‘Sammi’? He’s not going to save you because he doesn’t love you the way I love you. We’re going to be together forever, you and I. You’ll see how I can make you so much happier than he could ever make you.” Using his free hand, he touched her breasts and made his way downward, stroking her on the outside.

  She started wriggling, making noise behind his hand. “Oh, you like that don’t you, Sam. I’m going to give you a lot more where that came from. Feel what you do to me?” With that, he pressed up against her behind, and she almost gagged at the feeling of his erection against her. She had to do something, and now. Where was Ellis? There was no way that he would think she’d take this long to grab her things. He would be here soon. Unless something happened to him, too, but what about Sean? Had someone done something to both of them? Did he have an accomplice?