The thought of that happening makes me shiver.
When I look over at Brent, he’s eyeing me curiously with a frown on his face. If there’s anyone that can see through my bullshit, it would be him, and that has me fidgeting in place.
Mia clears her throat behind me. “I’d like to speak with Evan if that’s okay.”
Watching her in action tonight, even if it was only to search the dressing for any signs of my intruder, was fascinating to say the least. There was such a sheer level of determination on her face that nothing else was able to tip her focus, not even when me and the rest of the guys muttered curses at the sight.
The anger that she exuded while talking to the security detail made her blue eyes shine even brighter and I couldn’t take my gaze off of her.
Everyone nods their head, although Carmen looks as though she wants to stay in the room with us to be on the same page. She pauses, only for Mia to narrow her eyes and that’s enough to have Carmen scurrying back to the room that’s labeled as hers for the trip.
Once we’re alone, Mia nudges me toward the leather couch and I sink into the cushion with a heavy sigh. “Where did you learn how to do all of this?”
Mia arches a brow at me, her blue eyes somehow brighter than before, and I’m lost in the depth of them far longer than I should be.
She clears her throat, pulling my attention, and says, “I was in the army for four years, went overseas a couple times, then started doing private security once I got out and have done that for the last five years.”
“That explains your reaction.”
Mia cocks her head to the side, confused, and I chuckle. “You acted like everything was normal in that room.”
She shrugs. “I’ve been through, and have seen, much worse than that, Evan.”
My heart aches for the woman who fought for her life overseas, but I tamp the emotion down and try to focus on what she really wants to talk to me about. I want to know more about her, but maybe now isn’t the time.
I watch as she sets her phone on the coffee table in front of us, then places her hands carefully onto her lap while looking at me with a serious expression. Her phone pings, catching my attention, and I take note of the image that pops up.
It’s a white piece of paper, with scribbles of crayon all over it, but I can tell that it’s a drawing of two stick figures standing in front of a large house, with a dog laying on the ground between them. There’s also a bright sun in the sky, and a tree on the edge of the paper that looked like it had apples on it.
Or is it? I ask myself in response to my statement before the image caught my attention.
“You’ve got a kid?”
Her face pales and she snatches the device away, shoving it deep into her pocket until she’s sure I won’t be able to reach over and take it from her. “Uh, yes.”
“How old is he?”
She blanches further, if that’s even possible, and shakes her head with a nervous chuckle. “How about we talk about you?”
“Okay, what about me?”
“You’ve been getting threats. Small ones, according to Carmen.” I nod in response, aware of the threats I’ve been getting – apparently I’m the only one who thinks they’re fans being stupid, or else Mia wouldn’t be here.
Her phone pings again, her posture shifting until she’s got her back straightened, and she asks, “Is there anyone that you know of who would want to harm you?”
This is the same question Carmen had asked me when the threats first started about a month ago, and I’ve still got the same answer as I did then. I shake my head and sigh. “No, Mia, I don’t know of anyone. Most of my fans are pretty great, but I guess there’s a chance that one of them could be worse than I thought.”
She arches a brow, then pulls out her phone and waits until the screen lights up to ask, “Any idea who that would be?”
“No, I’m just saying that it could be a possibility – not that I’ve seen it first hand.”
“Is there anyone I should talk to that might know more about things?”
I rub a hand over my chin and shrug. “You could try talking to our PR manager, Lance, maybe there’s something on our social media that we haven’t been notified about?”
Mia nods, giving me a small smile – the first real one I’ve seen since she started working for us – and I find myself wanting to see more of it. Once again, a sense of deja vu comes over me and I study her features as I try to figure out where it’s coming from. I know her from somewhere, I can feel it, but from where?
It must be the sleep, that’s all.