Page 68 of Protector

Shay lets out a sigh, puts her brave face back on. “Thank you. I’ll take them.”

I hand them over, keeping my eyes connected to hers, hoping to instill some confidence in her.

“Promise me you’ll be careful,” she says.

“Always.” Slipping an arm around her waist, I press a soft kiss to the top of her head before she steps away. I watch her retreating form until she disappears behind a door, and I head back out for one more sweep of the area. Everything in me tells me he’ll be here tonight. The fact he was here last year and his presence at the house shows he’s getting antsy for a closer connection with her. So it was clear she didn’t back out, Shay posted a teaser video this morning, which I’m sure pissed him off since he warned her against coming. But mostly, it’s the spine-tingling foreboding sensation I can’t seem to shake that I’ll be facing off with this guy. And in fact, I welcome it. I’m ready to end this thing, and the best way to do it is to stop him in his tracks. If I can spot him before the show starts, Shay can rest easy and do what she needs to do.

* * *

The show is more than halfway through, and there’s been no sign of Aaron. That doesn’t mean I’ve let my guard down one bit or that I feel any less certain he will show. It just means he’s smart, calculating, and choosing the best possible time to make his move. The only time my focus slipped a moment was seeing Shay on stage for the first time. She truly looked like an angel floating down a long, billowy cloud. It was all I could do to not get lost in her beauty and elegance. People don’t understand what goes into these shows, the months of preparation, the organized chaos of backstage. There’s literally people sewing hems and filing heels seconds before the models have to go on stage.

As Shay makes her way backstage, Harvey, Souza’s man, pops into my earpiece. “Got a possible suspect entering the floor. About five nine, stocky, can’t see the hair. He’s wearing a beanie.” I try not to react, just glance over my shoulder to see if I can spot him. When Shay disappears into the dressing area, I double back and step into a shadow, next to a pillar. “Where is he now?”

“He’s standing at the back, close to the west exit. He’s got a backpack on. Gotta bad feeling about that.”

“Shit,” I say under my breath. From my vantage point, I can’t see him. As much as I want to confront this guy,ifit’s him, I can’t leave Shay. My pulse beats faster as I wait for both a report from Harvey and for Shay to appear dressed in her next outfit.

“What the hell?” Harvey says with a rasp in his voice. “He slipped off the backpack and is walking away, toward the exit. I’m checking it out…”

“Son of a bitch. Don’t let him get away!”

“No choice. I can’t risk what could be in that sack.”

I glance over my shoulder and see Shay already emerged along with some other models. One of the brand security walks by, and I tag him on the shoulder. “Follow that line all the way to the stage.” He nods, moving in position, and I rush toward the back to where Harvey said the suspect was. I see a man matching the description just about to reach the exit door. When I get to Harvey, he’s got the contents spilled onto the floor. I’m about to race toward the exit, when he says, “Just clothes.”

“Dammit!”

“I don’t get it. Either this guy’s messing with us—”

“Or that was a fucking decoy,” I realize aloud and take off at a sprint back toward the stage. I have to push my way through the backstage area to get to where Shay should be at this moment, waiting to walk out. The security guard is partially blocking my view, but when I arrive, I don’t see Shay. “Where the hell is Shay?” I shout to the guard, the other girls, anyone within earshot.

“She broke a heel, said she needed to get new shoes.”

“Happens all the time,” a tall blonde wearing a baby blue lingerie set covered in so many feathers a few linger in the air between us says.

I push past the guard and race back to the dressing area, shoving the door open with force. There’s a collective gasp from those near the front.

“Hey, you can’t come in here, meathead!”

I barely register the woman helping a model dress as I move farther into the room. I scan back and forth a few times to be sure. “Shay!”

“Dude, she’s not here.”

“Get out.”

The voices come at me, but I don’t acknowledge any of them and sprint back into the hall, red-hot fear shooting through me.

Instinctively, I pull my gun out as I run down the hall toward the back exit, the only logical place he’d go if he has her. Someone screams as I run by, but I keep going.

Two of the event staff rush me, pointing and yelling. “Some guy just dragged Shay out the back door.”

Their confirmation is all I need; I don’t stop until I burst through the back door and into the dark lot, my pulse thrusting adrenaline through my system.Please, God, no…

I freeze when I hear faint but strained voices. My gun drawn, I edge along the side of the building and peek around the corner to where there’s a loading zone, some trucks and cars from the event staff.

There is Shay, wearing an all-black bustier and matching boy short underwear, being dragged along the lot toward a lone white truck. In the dim lighting and from this distance, I can’t see if she’s all right, but I notice she’s struggling to walk.Motherfucker, I’m going to kill him.

I rush forward, gun ready, heart pounding, the sound echoing in my head. As I get closer, I can see Shay has only one heeled boot on, her other foot bare. He drags her next to a van, the side displaying a large green smoothie, but the letters underneath I can’t make out. Based on his dark pants and white polo, I’m assuming he posed as a vendor to get in, and the man in all black from moments ago sent in to distract us.

---