Go Away, Darling - Alexis Anne Page 0,66

idea either of us could come up with.

“No. That’s what people like this want. They enjoy seeing their victims panic. They want to throw us off and get us to change our patterns. They feed on the chaos.”

“You’re really pretty and smart. And...wait, have you done this before?” She sounded experienced.

She shrugged. “My mom had a stalker when I was in high school.”

“Whoa.”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “Even sculptors have their mega fans.”

“What happened?”

“Nothing but letters for a long time. Then at one of her exhibits the stalker handcuffed himself to my mom. After that he was in jail for a little while, but when he got out I had a bodyguard. So did my mom. That went on for months until...”

“Until?” I really didn’t like the way she looked away. It sent a chill down my spine.

“Until he snuck into our house with a gun and held my mom hostage. He died in prison five years ago.”

“Were you home?” Fuck, I’d never wanted to bring someone back from the dead so I could kill them all over again, but I sure wanted to now.

“No. I was in college at the time. Mom was living with her boyfriend then.” She squeezed me again. “So you see, there are many reasons why I like life to be quiet and steady, and I’m not about to turn down professional protection when there is a known danger.”

I knew she meant all of that to comfort me, but it didn’t. It just made me feel even more helpless. We lived in a world where anything could happen and there wasn’t a whole lot I could do to change that.

“Will you travel with me for the rest of summer? After camp? I think I might go nuts if we’re constantly apart.” I was already coming out of my skin at the thought of being away this week.

“Of course. We’re all yours until school starts.” She smiled. A secret, shy kind of smile. “I’m looking forward to all the travel and...being an official WAG.”

I groaned and kissed her. Just thinking about Liv being with my team as an official team wife, officially mine, brought the caveman back. “There’s something else we need to discuss.”

“What?” She only stopped kissing me enough to get that one word out and she didn’t open her eyes.

“Roman thought...maybe it might be a good idea to keep the engagement under wraps until this stalker blows over. And I think he might be right.”

Her eyes opened and locked on mine as her shoulders sagged. “I agree. I don’t want to upset someone who’s already obsessing.”

I cupped her face. “I’m telling my brothers though.”

She smiled up at me. “I hear we might not be the only ones with good news soon.”

My gaze drifted over her face. She was my fiancée. Soon to be my wife. “Seems the Kaine brothers have a thing for Calusa Key women.”

“We are pretty special.”

I kissed her forehead, her nose, her lips. “I love you so much.”

22

Personal cheering section

Olivia

I did not like staying home. Not one little bit. Before we got engaged it seemed so logical. I would work while Linc enjoyed his summer camp. Chris would travel. But now that we were engaged I hated it. It felt wrong to be apart. It felt even wronger to be apart knowing there was someone out there watching us.

I didn’t mind the bodyguards. They might be the only thing keeping me sane, actually. So I settled into our fancy hotel suite in Houston with a great sigh of relief.

It felt good to be away from the tension on Calusa Key. It felt even better to be with Chris.

“I HAVE MY OWN ROOM!” Linc yelled from down the hallway, as if he didn’t always have his own room at home. I suppose a hotel room was different somehow.

The Four Seasons had a separate residential tower and this was where they placed their high profile guests. Not only did it have a second, guarded entrance, but the suites had more apartment like features. In this case we each had our own bedroom, plus a regular, small living room and kitchen. It wasn’t opulent but for a hotel it was spacious.

And apparently, exciting.

The team knew we were dating (but not engaged) and so far had treated us to a bottle of champagne and a little welcome basket of snacks. Linc liked the bucket of bubble gum and couldn’t stop giggling over the sunflower seeds.

I wore my engagement ring on a chain around my neck that was