Her Billionaire Bodyguard (Her Billionaire CEO Book 1)
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Contents
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CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
EPILOGUE
Her Billionaire Prince
Special Thanks
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About the Author
Books by Jewel Allen
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Books in Her Billionaire CEO series:
Her Billionaire Bodyguard
Her Billionaire Prince
Her Billionaire Cowboy
Her Billionaire Spy
Her Billionaire Santa
CHAPTER ONE
Country superstar Madison Kay paused at the start of the tunnel leading to the wings at Dallas’ largest stadium. Two security employees were waiting for her in their yellow vests. She hesitated, peering at their faces to make sure they were trustworthy.
Goll, Madison, chill.
As though she were in an echo chamber, she could hear the crowd making noise. They were revving up.
All these strangers filling one place. Anonymous in the darkness. Like Frank Dell.
Her stalker from a year ago.
Frank had sent Madison weird letters over the years, but no one thought anything of it. Not until he somehow broke in backstage and walked right up behind her. One moment, Madison was singing a ballad, the next moment, Frank was trying to drag her off the stage.
He had papery dry palms. He smelled like a musty attic. When she pulled back, he put a gun to his head and told her he would pull the trigger if she didn’t go with him.
The memory made her woozy. She took a deep breath.
You’ve got this, Madison. You’ve performed to thousands of people before. There’s security in case something were to happen.
Of course this was possibly the biggest crowd she’d ever played to. She was crossing over to pop but she mostly sang country.
That Nashville bunk.
Her ex-boyfriend’s voice jarred her out of her positive place. She hadn’t thought about Luke Parker in a long time. She had been so in love with him until he showed his true colors. If he could only see her now. She shoved aside his memory and focused on the concert, letting the security guys escort her up the tunnel.
“Ready, Miss Kay?” the backstage crew manager asked her.
“Ready.” She took the mic from him and strode onto the stage. The stadium erupted into deafening applause. Spotlights went crazy and the band exploded into a high-energy riff. The crowd’s enthusiasm was infectious. Madison’s spirits lifted as she belted out her first rocking tune.
She went through her playlist, alternating fast songs with her ballads. And then finally, she got to the end of her repertoire, her signature song, “Back When.”
“I wrote this song five years ago,” Madison said. “I was thinking back to my childhood in Sunnyridge, Colorado. Anyone been there?” When some people cheered, she said, “Good, the rest of y’all stay home. We don’t want any more traffic.”
After the audience’s laughter died down, she said, “My momma always told me to remember my roots. So just like how I floss and put on sunblock because of her, I gotta do my momma proud.”
She settled onto a bar stool, put her guitar strap over her shoulder, and plucked the opening chords. Her rich contralto flooded the stadium.
I grew up in a town so small if you blink you’d miss it
Where everyone knows where you’re at and why….
The first two verses segued into the refrain:
I haven’t changed, I’m still that cowgirl
Who rode her horses in her dreams at night
I guess you could say I never did leave
I’m still me
I’m still me
From back when.
The instrumental kicked in and the crowd swayed to the music. Thousands of cell phone flashlights shone down at the stage. Madison felt full in her heart. She loved this life and her fans. Their devotion energized her. She poured her heart into the last verse and a repeat of the refrain. As the last note died down, spotlights scanned the dark stadium.
Suddenly that sense of well-being fled, replaced once again by fear.
Like slow motion, the light focused on a man holding up a sign.
“I still love you,” it said. “Always, Frank D.”
And then that corner went dark. Madison couldn’t breathe.
Frank Dell is out there.
It was time to get off the stage but her body refused to move. The lights, the crowd, the possibility that her stalker was out there…it was all too much. The world swirled and taunted her with voices and applause.
Why is it so loud here? Where is the exit? How can I get off the stage?
“Madison.” From the stage wing, her manager Sally Reeve was holding out her hand, beckoning for her to move her direction. The applause had died down. The crowd and stage crew silently watched her. Madison staggered from center stage while camera flashes went off.
Sally opened her arms and Madison collapsed into them. “He’s out there,” Madison gasped out.
Sally looked back at a security employee in a yellow vest. “We need to get her to the limo.”
With Sally and her stylist Thelma Lopez shoring her up, security opened the back door. Reporters and news crews swarmed to life. Everyone was asking questions, shoving microphones in Madison’s face, crowding her in.
“Madison!” a reporter asked. “What happened up there? You looked scared.”
“Is it true that you had a nervous breakdown at the last concert?”
“Is this related to an eating disorder?”
“She has no comment,” Sally said.
Madison stumbled into the open limo door followed by Sally and Thelma, who shut the door to the media. As the limo pulled away, the paparazzi stepped back. And then the limo was mercifully gliding down the freeway.
Madison shivered in her summer dress. “I saw Frank Dell.”
Thelma’s Latina features grew fiery. “That low-life,” she growled.
“Are you sure it was him?” Sally asked.
“Yes.” Madison’s voice cracked. “Sally.” She put a shaking hand to her face. “I can’t do another concert, not while he’s out there.”
Sally soothed, “We’ll beef up security, don’t worr—”
Madison interjected, “It’s not enough.”
Sally and Thelma exchanged glances.
“Four more concerts with Frank on the loose?” Madison took a deep breath. “Sally, something’s gotta change. I feel so exposed out there. I don’t even know any of the security people. What if they’re all in on it, too?” She exhaled slowly. “Sorry, I know that’s paranoid.”
“I would be, too, to be honest,” Sally agreed. “Hon, what if we get you your own personal protection service?”
Madison blinked. “My own what?”
“Your own bodyguard.”
CHAPTER TWO
Luke Parker stood in front of the ceiling to ceiling window of his penthouse office suite at Parker Protection Services, surveying the Dallas early morning rush hour. Bumper-to-bumper cars inched forward in the morning traffic. He was glad he didn’t have to deal with any of that. His “commute” nowadays involved a quick glass elevator ride from his sixteenth-floor condo to the top of the premier real estate buildings in Dallas, Texas.
A far cry from where he was a decade ago.
After getting out of a Special Forces unit in the Army eight years ago, he’d built his private protection company into an international business. A self-taught entrepreneur, he’d been a risk-taker early on. When offers for partnerships came in, including a security software company that sold for crazy, he took them, and the gamble paid off. In the billions.
He had more money than he knew what to do with, sports cars in a multi-level garage, and houses in many of the key cities around the world.
He was a self-made billionaire and dang proud of it.
His gaze took in his office: his carved mahogany desk, gleaming leather chair, shelves of books about self-defense, weapons and laws, a plaque from the Chamber of Commerce for launching his first million as the Up-and-Coming business of the year when he started. Autographed photos of him with celebrities he’d worked for covered an entire wall.
Despite all his worldly accomplishments, he still felt this hollow emptiness in his gut. It couldn’t be from loneliness. There were plenty of girls who were willing to be his date for the evening. If he had time nowadays to date, that is. His business was all-consuming, but it was no big deal.
The intercom buzzed. “Excuse me sir, but someone without an appointment would like to see you. Wait ma’am. Where are you going? You can’t go--”
The doors to Luke’s office opened unceremoniously. A woman in a pantsuit glanced over her shoulder at Luke’s secretary. “I can explain to him,” she said. Then proceeded to shut the door and march right up to Luke. “Sally Reeve,” she said with a slight southern accent, offering her hand.
He hesitated. He’d had plenty of interactions with loonies before but he could protect himself, if needed. “Luke Parker.” He shook her hand. “Please, have a seat.”
She looked from the chairs at the desk to the couch near the window. ”Can we sit on the couch?”
“Of course.” He sank down in its supple softness beside her.
“I apologize for the intrusion,” she said, “but I have a plane to catch at three and I’m desperate. I need to know if you are able to help my client.” When Luke didn’t say anything, she continued. “Your schedulers said you had no one available and I didn’t want to take no for an answer.”
“If that is the case,” Luke said, “I’m afraid neither can I help you.”
“Just hear me out. Please.”
“Okay,” he said, resisting the urge to look at the clock pointedly. What did this woman think he did all day? Count his money? He was perfectly comfortable telling her no, but he didn’t want to burn bridges. “Go on.”
“I’d actually considered contacting you before, but I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this.” She paused. “My client had a stalker a year ago. He attacked her in the middle of a concert but he got away.”
Luke stared at her. He knew about this incident. It was all over the news. Luke had felt sick to his stomach when he’d heard, but of course he couldn’t do anything about it because of who it involved.
Sally said, “Madison thinks she saw him in the crowd at the Dallas stadium.”
He was right. It was Madison.
Luke stood and faced the window to hide his shock. He’d never, in a million years, expected someone from her staff to come to him for protection service.
Just the mention of her name made him feel dizzy.
Breathless.
“Madison Kay, the country superstar?” he asked over his shoulder.
“Correct.”
He studied the line of high-rise buildings reaching up to the sky. “Does she know you came to see me?”
“Yes.”
His head swung in surprise. “And she agreed for you to ask me?”
Understanding dawned in her eyes. “Oh, I meant, yes, she knew I was going to talk to a service, but not to you in particular.”
“I thought so,” he said to himself. Luke surveyed her low-heeled shoes, short haircut and direct glance. Everything about her smacked of sensible. “Ms. Reeve—”
“Sally.”
“Sally. May I be frank with you?”
“Of course. I appreciate frankness.”
“My services are not inexpensive.”
“I know.”
“I built my business specializing in clients who demand a lot, and my prices reflect that.”
“Divas, you mean?” She grinned.
“Well, yes.” He smiled back. “But I can assure you that you will get your money’s worth.”
“Based on what my friends in the business tell me, I believe that. By the way, Madison’s not a diva. She’s really a sweetheart. Except for this little blip, she is so easy.”
He pictured Madison as he remembered her ten years ago—gentle and kind. Even to a punk like him from the wrong side of the tracks. It was one of the many reasons he fell hard for her.
Until he no longer fit in her perfect life plan.
“I can see that,” he admitted. “I actually know her.”
Her voice rose. “You do?”
“Correction. I knew her. She and I went to the same high school.”
And dated, fell in love. Kissed a lot.
Broke up.
A dull ache constricted his chest.
“No kidding!” Sally said. “Small world.”
“Yes it is.” He cleared his throat. “I’m sure she’s changed. I have yet to meet a celebrity who isn’t spoiled a little by her success.”
“Perhaps,” Sally said. “But in Madison’s case, it’s really the opposite. I worry about her sometimes. Fame has been tough for her. I can almost sense her withdrawing. And this stalker business definitely hasn’t helped. The poor thing can’t eat or sleep and jumps at every noise.”
He imagined Madison raising vulnerable eyes to his. “Then why does she do it?” he asked.
“Because she loves the music. And the fans love her.”
“Too much,” he said wryly.
“Unfortunately.”
“Don’t they already have pretty tight security at the venues?” he asked.
“I just think she’d feel a lot more confident going out and performing if she had a bodyguard 24/7.”
“I see.”
“So. Can you take on a new client?”
Luke should just say no. He hated losing a potential client, but Madison could hire someone else. “How long is the concert tour?” he said, trying to buy time.
“She headlines in the Nashville Country Bonanza in two weeks. We’ll get there early so she and the crew can do some much-needed R&R. Then it’s Chicago, New York, and Florida.”
“When would you need someone?” Luke asked, thinking through his staff allocations.
“Today. We’re flying to Nashville this afternoon.”
Luke felt a twinge of guilt. Would she be as anxious to sign his company on if Sally knew he and Madison had dated? Wouldn’t that change the equation
? Wouldn’t she think hiring the company of Madison’s ex was asking for trouble?
But that was all in the past. Besides, Luke was a professional. His company protected their clients and he could do just as well for a country superstar.
Even Madison Kay.
He smiled and turned. “Okay, Sally. You’ve got yourself a deal. I will get someone assigned to her in a couple of weeks—”
“I need someone right now,” Sally said coolly.
He frowned. “As the schedulers said, no one would be available, but I’m sure we could juggle things around for the next leg of the tour.
She cocked her head. “How about you?”
He blinked. “You mean have me provide the service?”
“Yes.” Her eyes glittered.
He paused before answering. The idea was appealing, in a crazy way. Still, he said, “You don’t understand. I run my company. I can’t—”
“Well then.” Sally stood up. “Thanks for your time.”
He watched her walk like an army general to the door. His lip twitched. “Do you always hardball your way through life?”
She stopped, showing her profile. “If I need to. Why?” She smiled. “Did you change your mind?”
For anyone else, he wouldn’t put up with this. He’d just have security escort them out.
But this was Madison’s manager.
Luke could say he had no one to spare. But the truth was, he could do the job. At least through Nashville, then he could pass it off to someone else. One of his friends kept telling him he worked too much. Maybe this could be the working vacation he needed.
R&R in Nashville. That actually sounded nice. Throw a bit of Madison in there…
But this was no fun and games. This was the real deal. This was why Luke decided to go into the industry in the first place. To protect people from the bad guys. The thought of someone hurting Madison made him rigid with anger.
He wasn’t all noble, though.
This was also his chance to get back at the girl who broke his heart.
How he’d love to see the expression on her face when she realized who was going to be joint at her hip the next little while. Of course, she’d probably feel ambushed when she finds out.
He heard himself saying, “I’ll do it.”
Sally turned around and smiled fully. “It’s all contingent upon Madison meeting you and agreeing to this, you understand.”