Page 17 of Until The Stars Don't Shine

The door in front of him opened, revealing the office beyond.

Mandy perched on an armchair, sipping from a glass of white wine as Stonewall greeted him by the door.

“Come in.”

Kane walked inside, Bud close at his side, toenails clipping on the wood floor. There was no sign of the other security man, and looking at the Rockefellers’ faces, he couldn’t tell either way if they had come to a decision to hire him or not.

“Have a seat,” Stonewall gestured at a bank of sofas on the other side of the room. Kane sat where he would get the best view of the entire room. It was another part of his training that had stuck: a smart man made sure there were no blind spots at all times.

“Why don’t we skip the introductions and jump straight to what you discovered on your little recon trip?” Stonewall stood leaning against the wall, looking every inch the tough guy he was.

“Fine by me. You’ve already heard what I think about your security guard.”

Stonewall’s eyes went darker. “He’s already been taken care of.”

“Yes, but he’s not the only one on your payroll, is he? I’d like to speak with them all after this meeting, find out for myself what they are like.”

Mandy crossed her arms, diamond bracelets jangling. “You haven’t got the job yet. Don’t you think you’re being a little presumptuous?”

“No. I’m the best there is, and the sooner you realize that, the sooner we can start talking about the real threat here.”

He’d no sooner said the words when a side door opened as Lexi came inside breathing heavily.

Her hair wasn’t as wet now, having been run through a dryer briefly. The roots were dry, though the tips still clung to her damply. She’d pulled on a pink sweater that was thin enough for him to see the tank beneath, that she’d paired with a pair of jeans. On her feet, she wore flip flops. A pale peach polish gleamed on her toe nails.

It was a simple look, understated, carelessly thrown together even, but she could have just been styled for a shoot. Apparently, the girl could not look bad even if her nerves were frayed.

Her sudden appearance wasn’t what drew their attention, however, but the manner of it.

Despite their altercation, Lexi barely spared him a glance, her gaze fixated on the phone she held in her shaking hand. Her eyes were wide with horror as her complexion went from tanned to porcelain.

“What is it, honey?” Stonewall strode the few feet to her side. She wasn’t able to tear her eyes away from whatever it was that disturbed her on the screen. She lifted the phone so he could get a better view of it.

“What the…” Stonewall’s neck began to flush an angry shade of Merlot. “Who the hell did this?!”

His voice was husky, heavy with regret, yet colored by a terrifying rage that even Kane could feel way across the room.

Uneasy by their reactions, Mandy hurried toward them. “What is it? Show me.”

As soon as she took in the phone’s display, her hand flew to her throat, and she gasped. “Oh no. Honey… I’m so sorry.”

Kane couldn’t keep silent any longer. If there was a new threat, then he needed to be made aware of it as soon as possible.

“Has something happened?”

Stonewall tried to contain himself in an effort not to upset his daughter further, though he had to spit out the words.

“Pictures of Lexi have just been released all over the gossip sites. Pictures where she is dressed in only a bikini…. Some of the positions look… suggestive.”

As he said the words, Lexi became more shaken. Mandy threw an arm around her, steering her to one of the couches. They sat, Mandy taking hold of Lexi’s ice-cold hands in hers.

“We deliberately kept her out of the limelight — by her request — to the point where there aren’t even any photographs of her as an adult. We wanted her to be able to live her life free from the shackles of our fame,” Stonewall explained, voice hoarse with feeling.

“But now the world has seen me practically naked, and we’ll never be able to get those pictures back,”Lexi whispered, numb with shock.

“Do you mind if I see them?” Kane asked.

It seemed likely that this was done by the same person who had been sending the threats to the family. It could be that they were ramping up, making good on their promises to “make them pay.” It was crucial to learn as much from the images as possible.

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