Chapter 9: Crippling Fear

Genevieve:



I couldn’t let him get to me. That’s what he wanted.
I tried to steady my hand as much as possible as I poured more of my chardonnay into my glass. My chest was already light and airy, despite the stress I’d been under, and my cheeks burned with the buzz that stung my system.
I wanted to forget. To pretend like that party never happened. That I was back home, safe, without a psycho stalker on my ass.
I downed half my glass before I looked across the island and locked onto Vin who was slouched across my couch, a tablet in hand. He acted nonchalant, as did Gunner, when it was their turn to cover me, but even from here I could see that he was swiping through the video surveillance of the hotel. He was still alert and on duty.
It made me slightly more relaxed, but only by a fraction. Even with all three men protecting me, I was vulnerable at the party. He could get to me anytime he wanted, even with such an elite protection agency on my payroll.
I shuddered at that thought. What was I, some crook? I should have gone to the police after last night. He had made contact and even though my life wasn’t in danger, they should take me seriously now. They would be able to protect me.
But then I’d have to send Vin and Gunner away. Raphael too…
I shook my head, nope. I won’t allow that thought to even tickle the edges of my mind.
I downed the rest of my glass, poured it back up from the bottle, and sucked in a deep breath before I moved around the island of the kitchen. Vin barely flinched, his finger poised over the screen of the tablet as he watched the lobby of the hotel.
“Are you sure you don’t want anything to drink?” I called out to him. He hadn’t spoken much tonight, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure if he even liked me. I was only a client, so that was a given, but still. It was too godd*mn awkward with this silence.
Vin shook his head and tossed back, “Nah, I’m good. Thanks, though.”
Well, at least he was polite.
“Suit yourself,” I huffed before I slumped against the opposite side of the island and fiddled with the leaves of the bouquet next to me. It had arrived that morning, a delivery man at the door bright and early. Gunner was on watch, and he had opened the door to accept the package.
Of course my first instinct was to throw it away. It was obviously from the stalker, but after I stared at it long enough, I realized that there was an odd change in the presence of the gift. It wasn’t a bundle of roses with a greeting card that had some sleazy comment about my body on it.
No, this was a bouquet of lilies with a card that congratulated me on my sister’s engagement and to never give up on my writing. They had signed off personally with a scribble for a name that was unrecognizable, but the words themselves left a light tickle in my chest rather than the normal gut-wrenching nausea. It wasn’t my stalker, but another fan that had sent them. Though I wasn’t sure who would have known about my sister’s engagement when I just found out, I wasn’t so worried.
“It’s a sweet gesture,” I murmured.
“I’d be careful, even if it’s not the current stalker. They could easily become the next.”
Vin was standing next to me, tablet at his side, and his large frame towered over me. I tried not to jump, but a few droplets of the wine splashed over the rim of the glass and onto my blouse. Shit.
“Fuck!” I took a moment to clear my throat and set my glass down before I tried to wipe the sweet liquid off my shirt. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you get up.”
“I don’t make much noise. Sorry if I scared you.” He leaned around me to check out the card, though Gunner had already joked about it with him earlier. He smirked before shaking his head. “I can’t believe he said ‘your eyes are like embers that warm my heart’. Cheesy fuck. I’m sure he meant something else.”
The last part Vin mumbled before he stepped away, but I was still able to catch it. Whoever sent it probably did mean another body part than their heart. I mean, it was the first thing I thought of too, but still, it was the thought that counted. It was sweet and whoever was the sender meant well.
“I think it’s cute,” I countered.
Vin shrugged and swiped through the different camera angles on the tablet once more as he stood behind the chair that held his jacket. “Whatever floats your boat, I guess. I’m not much of a romantic, so I’d be caught dead before I did anything like that for someone.”
“Do you even have a girlfriend?” I scoffed.
Maybe it was the wine talking, or I was simply becoming more comfortable around these men, but blurting out such invasive questions didn’t seem like much of an issue.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Vin shot me a mischievous grin before he set the tablet down on the coffee table and threw on his jacket.
“Uh, yeah, hence the question. Duh.”
“Well, you’re not going to get the answer you want, so sorry about that.” Vin pushed his arms into his jacket as I brought my glass of wine up to my mouth. “There was a change of plans. Gunner needed the night off, so Raphael is covering overnight.”
I sputtered, wine lodged in my throat as my brain tried to both remember how to breathe and not choke on the substance at the same time. Raphael was going to be here? Tonight? When I was already out of my makeup and in a now stained shirt. Not to mention I stank of alcohol, and my mind was on the edge of the drunk cliff, ready to dive off.
This was not good.
“Oh, and to answer your question, no I don’t have a girlfriend. Gunner and I are together,” Vin shot over his shoulder as he made it to the front entrance.
“What?”
Wait, where was he going? Don’t tell me, was Raphael here already?