“Bodyguards? What are you talking about?” I sound surprised and I think that’s earned. Since when have I needed bodyguards? Holly’s eyes come to me and she dips her chin in acknowledgement.
The blond one steps forward with a warm smile. “I’m Scott Wolcott, miss. This is my partner, Jax Dannon. We’re happy to be here to help you feel more safe. I want you to know we will stop at nothing to ensure your safety. We’ve got your back, no matter what.”
Rafe crosses his arms. “She’s just fine but thanks for the offer.” I don’t miss the cold edge to Rafe. The dark he usually keeps leashed is alive and well. Tension fills the room when Jax tilts his head and gives Rafe a once over.
“If Miss Salizar was doing just fine then why are we here? Nothing about what we’ve been briefed on seems ‘just fine.’”
“I feel like they’re gonna fight if we keep them in the same room,” Alana tells me. She’s right. There’s no way they won’t and Grant isn’t even here yet. I wince, thinking about what will happen when he catches wind of Jax and Scott.
Holly clears her throat. “Look, I know you don’t want them in your space but you could use extra eyes on you with everything that’s happened. We all know it’s been an intense time for us,” Holly holds up her hand to stop Rafe when he opens his mouth, “and before you say this isn’t necessary, it is. I know you’re moving to a different location but Jax and Scott will be helpful with that transition. They will be able to watch Kit here when you’re filming, Rafe. We are going to need them to be an extra set of eyes off set. We both know there’s days coming up that have both you and Grant on set.”
My gut twists because this is not good. We don’t need strangers watching us, following our every move. It’s one thing for a stalker to do it but these men could give away Rafe and Grant’s secret if they watch us too hard.
“Excuse me, can I get the agency name that sent these two men over?” Alana leans out from behind me and gives them an appreciative smile. “I feel safer already and would love to meet other qualified professionals.”
I want to bang my head against the wall and vanish when everyone in the room turns to look at us. “Alana.”
“What? I’m just saying they exude safety and security. I need safety and security, Kit.”
Holly doesn’t pick up on the fact that Alana is interested in far more than security when it comes to Jax and Scott and starts to answer her. “They are privately contracted but I’m sure that I can-”
Her words are cut off by two quick knocks, I don’t even need to hear the pause and the three following knocks to know its Grant. There’s something in the way the knocks sound that give away it’s him. Rafe looks Jax and Scott over when he opens the door for Grant and lets him in.
“Fucking storm slowed me down,” Grant announces as he walks in holding three pizza boxes and a bag that I know has to have those wings in it. Grant takes a whole step inside the cabin before he clocks Holly and the men. Instantly, his whole demeanor changes and he narrows his eyes at the newcomers and stands next to Rafe.
“Who the fuck are the commando twins?”
“Bodyguards,” Rafe supplies but that’s all he says.
Grant makes a hmph sound and ignores Jax and Scott. “Why do they look like the bargain bin version of us?” Grant asks Holly and the other woman rolls her eyes at him.
“They do not look like you. Don’t be ridiculous.”
“No, wait, he’s kinda right,” Alana supplies and I can’t help the smile that comes to my lips when she turns to me and gives me an awkward pat on the shoulder. “Sorry about being into your men’s twins. I know that’s not very girl code.”
I shrug. “It’s okay, I get it.”
“Well, obviously.”
“Let’s stay on task here, please.” Holly sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. “Scott and Jax do not look like Rafe and Grant. They’re men with the same hair color. That’s it. Can we please focus?”
Rafe doesn’t miss a beat. “Kit doesn’t need bodyguards and especially not from the woman that has half the fucking production crew thinking she had something to do with what happened to Jane.”
Holly colors and clears her throat. “I was shocked and emotional at that moment. I didn’t know what to make of the fact that we had just come up on Kit in a circle of blood in the woods, but there have been certain developments that make this necessary.”
“Like what?” I ask. For a second I think Holly won’t answer me but she does.
“It wasn’t real blood. None of it was.”
I suck in a breath because that’s news to me. “You mean even in Jane’s room? That blood wasn’t real?”
“The toxicology report came back and it was deemed fake blood had been used in both Jane’s room and the woods. Corn syrup and blackcurrant juice for color. I am–I’m so very sorry that I said what I did to you, Kit. I didn’t-I wasn’t in my right mind. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
Holly sounds remorseful and the look she gives me is pleading. I get it. I don’t know what I would have done in her shoes, either.
“It’s okay, really. Please don’t apologize,” I tell her and she smiles at me.
“Thank you, Kit. That means so much and-