Page 20 of Until The Stars Don't Shine

He imagined his trailer being burned by the wildfires and Bud being taken away and forced back into a cage. The vision made his hands become fists. Bud sighed as if he too could see it only too well, though Kane questioned her motives for doing such a thing.

Most celebrities did “charity” work, though they generally weren’t in it to help those in need. It was performed as an act of publicity, another way in which to play the fame game and find favor with the masses.

Animals and children were the go-to charities of choice, in particular sick children. It was why whenever some scandal was about to implode an A-Lister’s career, you would suddenly find them doing a “low-key” visit to a children’s cancer ward that would somehow still find itself plastered all over social media.

YouTube was full of these visits.

“The shelters are struggling, especially the no-kill ones. Help is needed now, and this is the best way I can do the most good. As soon as the money is pledged to me, I can start giving it to the ones who need it the most.”

She spoke earnestly, as if she truly meant it, but Kane wasn’t quite ready to drink the Kool-Aid just yet — it was entirely possible that Mandy wasn’t the only actress in the family. Even so, he had to respond.

“In that case, this will be a bigger operation than usual. My men will have to search every guest and staff member who arrives, even at the party. It won’t be popular.”

“I don’t care if you have to strip search every single one of them,” Stonewall glowered from across the room, his eyes narrowing into slits.

“If it’ll keep my family safe, you do whatever is necessary.”

8

With a gentleman’s handshake agreement and a confirmation sent from Stonewall’s email to Wilson, the contract was granted much to Todd Philips’ disgust, who, it turned out had waited anxiously outside, expecting his company to have won the job.

The women retreated to digest what had been discussed, leaving Kane to address the elephant in the room.

“Your daughter needs to be told about the threat to your lives. Not only is it negligent not to inform her of the dangers, it will also make my job that much harder. If she is unaware that someone potentially means you harm, she won’t take any of this seriously.”

Stonewall considered his comment before brushing it away with the blink of an eye.

“No. You just need to do your job and keep her safe. She doesn’t need to know about that.”

Kane couldn’t understand why he was so dead set against the idea. Lexi was as she had pointed out already — a grown woman. As far as he was concerned, she didn’t need to be coddled like this.

“I think that is a grave mistake.”

He knew the moment he had crossed the line. Stonewall crossed his thick arms over his chest, pinning him in place with eyes that had turned icy.

“Lucky then that you’re not hired to think. If you don’t like my opinion, there are plenty of other firms desperate for our business. Philips probably hasn’t even left the property.”

He left the threat dangling between them.

Normally, Kane wouldn’t have balked at quitting. If it were up to him, he’d walk away and leave the Rockefellers to their fate. One less job working for demanding celebrities was no skin off his nose.

But this meant a lot to Wilson, his buddy who had thrown him a lifeline right when he’d needed one, when no one else had given a damn. He owed him, and this was the first time he had asked to collect.

This wasn’t a job he could walk away from.

“I’ll do as you request for now. That’s all I can give you.”

Stonewall wasn’t the only one who could play this game. Kane knew he was the best, and the man wasn’t a fool: he’d already seen what he could do.

After several moments, the other man nodded. “Fine. I need to return to work, but you have free rein to do as required. If you need help with logistics, speak to Ruth.”

Kane nodded that he would do exactly that.

Business handled, Stonewall bent suddenly and patted Bud on the head. “He’s a great dog.”

The unexpected compliment took Kane by surprise. “I might be biased but you’ll get no argument from me.”

“Lexi’s always wanted pets but Mandy’s allergic.”

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