Page 14 of You Found Me

“I’ll let you know when we get there.” At the moment, there wasn’t enough to get law enforcement involved. The guy had been a nuisance, but not an illegal one. His gut told him that would probably change, but until it did, they had to take a more subtle approach.

An hour of traffic later, they were driving down the tree-lined street of celebrity retreats that surrounded Piper Bellamy’s house.

“Nice neighborhood,” Annie said. “No graffiti, no noise, and no tourists. Della will hate it.”

“It’s nirvana,” Spencer said with pure envy in his voice. “It’s so quiet, and look at the security on that fence. Military-grade cameras, with infrared and motion detection.”

Ward pulled up to the guard house and rolled down the window.

Romi greeted him with a wave. “Donovan Ward. I am glad they managed to obtain your services. You have Annie Laurence and Spencer Mathews with you?”

Romi looked past him to his passengers.

Annie gave a little half wave. “Nice to meet you.”

Spencer rolled down his window and poked his head out from the back seat. “Heya.”

Romi looked down at her monitor, then gave a nod of acknowledgment. “Your principal and her personal protection are waiting for you in the main house. Do you have a perimeter team?”

“I figured I’d just hire yours. Sure would save some time and hassle.” Ward tilted his head and flashed a quick come-on-be-a-pal smile. He’d worked with Romi several times. If she had a trusted team already in place, they’d be well trained, reliable, and more than worth whatever he had to pay to get them. Especially since he had Renic’s unlimited budget to pay them with.

She gave him an impenetrable stare down for a few seconds before her expression eased into a ghost of a smile. “You are in luck. As it happens, we have experienced a merger which has left us a little overstaffed. There is a solid team of five waiting for you in the pool house, which should be enough when combined with your own. Renic has already approved the cost.”

“Thanks.” Ward glanced at the trees that hid the house from view. Somewhere behind them, Della Bellamy, pop star and stalker target, waited. Since she hadn’t hired him directly, he had no idea what mood she was in. “Any advice on handling my new protectee?”

Romi looked toward the house. “If I were you, I would sedate her until the threat is eliminated.”

“Thanks,” he said again, this time with heavy sarcasm.

Romi clicked a button and the gate swung slowly open. “Good luck. Just so you know, Diggs is not thrilled that he was left out of the decision to hire you.”

“Understood.” Ward gave her a wave of acknowledgment and continued up the drive to the main house.

Diggs and two Bellamy sisters were waiting on the porch when they pulled up in front of a house that could have doubledas a movie set. If he had to guess, they’d interrupted an argument, if Diggs’ expression was anything to go by.

The man dressed like a cross between a boyfriend and a groupie in a black Bellamy T-shirt and dark jeans. He stood on the lowest step with his arms crossed over his chest, the human equivalent of a steel wall or maybe a battering ram.

He glowered at them like he’d rather watch them all die in a fire.

His protectee pouted on the next step up, just to Diggs’s left. Even if he hadn’t seen a thousand pictures of her, he’d have known who she was. Della Bellamy looked like a woman in search of an audience. She wore hot-pink sequined shorts that drew attention to her tan, well-toned legs, a white blouse that fell strategically off one shoulder in a sexy look-at-me way, and her feet were bare. She wore enormous sunglasses and her hair billowed around her face as she immersed herself in her phone. She was every inch the heroine of her own movie, which made everyone around her the supporting cast.

Including him.

He thought of the crowds that usually surrounded her and suppressed a groan. She would draw attention like a bonfire on a beach.

Piper Bellamy, several inches shorter and several shades darker, stood so close to her sister that their shoulders touched. She was dressed to blend into a crowd in plain yoga pants and a T-shirt and her hair slicked back in a ponytail. Her easy, low-maintenance style matched the low-key house behind her.

Piper’s apologetic smile said, “Yes, I know my sister is a handful and her bodyguard is about to be an ass, but please don’t let that stop you from doing your job.” She tucked her hands around Della’s arm either as a supportive gesture or to anchor her in place.

Ward killed the engine.

“Well, they look…happy.” Annie glanced at Ward. “They didwantus here, right?”

“Thelabelwanted us here,” Spencer said. “That doesn’t mean she does.”

“Renic assured me she was on board,” Ward said. “Meet and greet first. We might need to test the water before we get started.”

“You think?” Annie said with heavy sarcasm.

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