then followed after her, knowing if she was still pissed at me, it was the only way I could get her to speak to me.
Having ridden with my parents, I guided Arella to her car that was waiting in the church parking lot instead of the line of limos. No one tried to stop us, but they probably figured I would just drive her over to the cemetery.
There was no way I was putting her through that, though. Not with the way she was still trembling against me.
I took her keys as I opened the passenger door and helped her sit. Leaning in, I fastened her seat belt and then pressed a kiss to her forehead before straightening. “I’ll get you warm, baby,” I promised.
“I’m not cold,” she denied, but she pulled my jacket around herself a little tighter.
Her car was so tiny and I was a tall man, so I had to practically fold myself behind the wheel. It had been uncomfortable as hell sitting in it Christmas Eve, but I’d sat there anyway, desperate to see her.
The limo procession filed out onto the road, but when I went to follow, I turned left instead of right with the others. Arella sighed but didn’t stop me. “I need to see Cathryn. Could you drive to her office?”
“Your agent?” She nodded, and my hands tightened around the steering wheel. “Baby, I need to talk to you. Can’t this wait until tomorrow or later in the week?”
“Please, Jordan,” she whispered. “It’s important. And then I can explain what has been going on.”
Releasing a heavy exhale, I gave in. “You’re going to have to tell me where to go.”
She sat quietly in the passenger seat, giving me directions every few minutes. Every time I glanced at her, I saw that she looked a little more fragile, and no matter how high I cranked the heat in the car, she still shivered like she had hypothermia. When I grasped her hand to entwine our fingers, she felt like a block of ice.
“Arella, tell me what’s wrong,” I commanded, lifting her hand to my lips.
“I didn’t block your number.”
“Yeah, I heard you before.” My jaw hardened. If it were anyone else, I would have called them a liar and just made her tell me why she was playing games with me. But this was Arella. I knew she wouldn’t do something like that. “If you didn’t, though, who did?”
“I-I don’t know,” she muttered.
I stopped for a red light and glanced at her. She was looking down at her phone in her lap, her face pale, locks of her glossy dark hair falling forward. She appeared so fragile, as if the slightest wind would knock her over. In all the years I’d known and loved this girl, I’d never seen her like this. She was normally so strong, a fighter.
“Turn left up ahead,” she instructed.
It wasn’t long before I was pulling up in front of a tall building. After parking, I got out and walked around to open Arella’s door. She was still shivering, and I tucked her close as we walked inside.
Cathryn Schneider’s office was on the fifteenth floor. When we walked in, a receptionist lifted her eyes from a computer screen and smiled. But when she saw the look on Arella’s face, she grabbed the receiver on her desk. “Arella Stevenson just walked in.” After a moment, she hung up and gave us a tight smile. “Go straight back.”
My girl led the way into her agent’s office. Cathryn, an older woman with a short blond bob, stood as we entered and came around to embrace Arella. “Did something happen?” she questioned as soon as she stepped back.
Arella held out her phone. “Someone blocked Jordan’s number in my phone, Cathryn. I…I think it was him.”
The agent released a harsh sigh and took the phone from her. “Let me call Kirtner. Have a seat, doll.” Her gaze lifted to me. “You too, cutie.”
I guided Arella over to the leather couch against the wall and sat beside her. “Him who?” I asked her softly while Cathryn spoke to someone on her cell.
Arella sucked her bottom lip between her teeth for a moment before releasing the tortured flesh, causing it to plump. Unable to stop myself, I traced my thumb over it, making her mewl in pleasure.
“Him who, baby?” I repeated when she just sat there, staring up at me.
“My stalker,” she breathed.
My blood turned to ice at those two words, and I pulled her onto my