Page 29 of Say You Won't Let Go
Lame.
This is all so lame. A bodyguard…and not just any bodyguard. No, he had to get me one that’s a mix of the Hulk and Thor. Wade is six-foot-two and I’m a dwarf when I’m next to him. His brown eyes narrow as I repeat after him.
“Nowhere.”
I raise my hand in the Girl Scout salute. “I promise.”
He grumbles and crosses his arms over his chest.
Wade is unlike the other security guys around the tour. He’s dark, broody, and he exudes masculinity. Basically, he’s scary as fuck. We have bodyguards on staff. I don’t know why I have to have a designated one. Luke was more than capable of giving me one of his guys. After telling him about the incident, he promised his team would be on it, but Cooper wasn’t having it.
Hence why Wade is here now.
“So,” I say, rocking back on my heels.
“So?”
“Cooper says you guys have known each other a long time?”
“Yup,” he replies while scanning the area.
“You both did rodeo?”
“Yup.”
Okay. Wade only gives one-word answers, got it. Cooper is on the flight now, and I long to talk to him. My show is in twenty minutes, and I should be backstage, smiling and drinking a beer with the crew. Instead, I’m worrying about the crazy person sending me letters and trashing my bus.
“Am I bothering you?” I ask.
“Nope.” Wade drops his sunglasses over his eyes, and I bite my lip. Looks like he’s done with our conversation.
Cooper couldn’t have found a friend who looks like he actually wants to be here?
I send him a text.
Me: I wish you were here.
“Emily!” Vince comes over with his arms up in the air. “Let’s go, girl!”
I glance over at my new best friend, who nods.
Here we go.
The music blares, alerting the crowd that the show is about to begin. I stand at the edge, and my legs feel like Jell-O. I can’t move. What if the guy is out there? What if he’s a part of the stage crew and he’s planning to drop lights on mePhantom of the Operastyle? Maybe the guy is just going to bum-rush the stage and run away with me.
My eyes meet Wade’s dark glasses, and I try to breathe.
“Are you okay?” His deep voice is low.
“No. I can’t go out there. You can’t go out there, and I—” My heart pounds in my chest.
Wade pulls his glasses off and steps closer. “I will always be in your line of sight.”
“But what if I’m inhisline of sight?”
“That isn’t what you should worry about,” Wade tries to reassure me. “All you should worry about is doing your job. I’ll worry about the rest.”
That sounds easy enough, only it’s completely irrational to think I’m not going to be scared. There’s no way I can do this. I just can’t. I want to go home to Bell Buckle where no one gives a shit who I am.
