Page 29 of Protecting Mr. Fine

I pressed my lips together and inhaled. “No. I think it makes more sense to go somewhere unexpected, where we’ll know you’re safe while Violet and the team assess the risks of continuing the tour.”

“I’m not canceling the tour,” he said with a slight flare of his nostrils. “Tell Violet to figure it out because we’re going to the rest of the European stops and the fundraiser in Berlin as planned. The fans freaked out when we added those dates, and I’m supposed to be debuting my new song with Jude Marian in Berlin. We’re going to raise a ton of money for LGBTQ programs. I’m not reneging because some asshole is trying to scare me.”

His passionate response didn’t surprise me. Zane would rather throw himself across train tracks than disappoint his fans or, worse, contribute to the loss of income for his employees and all of the contractors who depended on him for their livelihoods.

“I’ll let her know,” I said, trying to remain calm when what I really wanted to do was put my foot down and demand he cancel every show from here until the end of time.

That wouldn’t be fair to him. It was bad enough that the Stamper had taken his peace of mind. I wouldn’t let them take away the things Zane loved most.

He let out a breath and stewed for a few minutes before finally reaching for a carrot stick. He snapped off the end and crunched before turning to me. “We could go to Majestic.”

I looked up from where I’d been texting with Violet. “We’re not going anywhere connected to you.”

“It’s tiny and in the middle of nowhere. People there notice and comment when their neighbors got a haircut. They’d notice if a stranger came to town?—”

“They’ll also definitely noticeyou’rethere, and word will get out,” I countered.

Zane’s face fell.

I was trying to remain calm and not let it show, but the email had ignited a strong need in me to grab Zane and bolt this minute. My rational brain knew that with Lou, Boomer, and me here, guarding a vetted and controlled property like his gran’s house, Zane was most likely safe in the short term. But my rational brain was trying veryhard to fuck off to parts unknown, leaving my irrational caveman gut in charge.

And the caveman wanted to grab Zane and run far, far away, right the hell now, to a place where no one could find him.

So, I made a concession to the caveman.

“I’m going to rent a place in a random location. You, Lou, and I will be the only ones who know where it is. Boomer will continue to the first tour city as planned and be Violet’s local liaison.”

I messaged the pilot to let her know about the change of plans and ask about filing flight plans to White Plains and being prepared to continue straight on from there to a Northern European destination. Then, I started searching for a place to hole up.

I immediately knew where I wanted to bring Zane, if the house was available on such short notice.

The front door banged open, and someone’s shouted greeting made us both jump. I glared at JK and ground my teeth together to keep from snapping at him.

He approached Zane with a fist bump. “Hey, bro. I told Kenny and them we’d hit up Peaches tonight and maybe you’d play a set with the house band. What do you say?”

Zane tried to fake being chill, but he was definitely not. “Yeah, so… no. We have to go. Duty calls, you know?”

JK frowned. “I thought you were staying till Wednesday? Gran has a whole thing planned for Rinny’s birthday tomorrow.”

Zane’s shoulders fell. I half expected him to shoot me a pleading look before promising to stay. He adored his aunt, and she was the only one besides his grandmother I actually liked enough to feel guilty about ditching.

Instead of agreeing to stay, though, he surprised me. “I hate to miss it, but something’s come up.”

“Aww, man. Okay. I’ll text Kenny and tell him they all need to come here if they want to see you.” He pulled out his phone and wandered away as he began to type.

After texting Lou and Boomer that we mighthave an influx of JK’s friends showing up again, I went back to booking the place I’d found for us and making sure we’d have access to everything we needed when we got there without having to leave the property.

After a few minutes, I felt Zane’s eyes on me. I glanced up from my phone to see him scraping his top lip with his bottom teeth, looking so uncertain I wanted to take him in my arms.

“What’s up, b—Zane?” I asked.Not my baby. Not my baby. Not my baby. No matter how much I wish he could be.

“Can we leave now? I don’t… I don’t want to talk to a lot of people.”

Thank fuck.

“Of course,” I said softly. “Go pack your stuff and start making your goodbyes. I’ll get Lou and Boomer on board and make sure the driver’s ready to head to the airport.”

Zane hopped up and made his way upstairs while I made the arrangements and packed my own things. Within half an hour, we were on the road, and a half hour after that, we were in the air.

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