Page 20 of Unstable

Knox sounded a little short of breath, but as an early riser like the rest of them, he guaranteed he’d been up for well over an hour working out.

“Hey. Any update on the brake lines yet?”

“Not yet. The guys from the precinct are checking the valve for prints, but I haven’t heard anything yet. One of the guys will be over after the locksmith leaves. He wants the old doorknob from the garage to see if the internal mechanism has been tampered with.”

“I’ll make sure to bag it and set it aside.” He fell silent for a moment, his mind spinning, anxiety making him jumpy. “So with no evidence, what does that mean?”

“You’re stuck for now,” came Knox’s reply. “Louis and the studio still want her under surveillance until they get this guy.”

“Do they have any leads?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” Knox said. “At least, nothing solid.” He seemed to know instinctively that something was on his mind, because he cautiously continued. “Why?”

“Just thinking,” he said slowly. “It occurred to me that we might be able to get this guy’s attention, get him to slip up.”

“What are you thinking?”

The words felt thick and heavy on his tongue. “He’s obsessed with her, right? What if we make it look like she’s off the market?” He held his breath and waited for Knox’s response.

Nearly a minute later, he let out a soft sound. “This could blow up in our faces if we’re not careful.”

“I know,” he conceded. “But think of it like this: if this dude sees her with someone new, he’ll either get the picture and leave her alone, or…” He trailed off, and Knox picked up his train of thought.

“He’ll do something stupid and get caught.”

“That’s my hope.”

“So has Ms. Sterling considered this at all?”

“It was actually her idea,” he said. “She brought it up last night, but I wanted to make sure she didn’t change her mind before I ran it by you.”

“Fair enough. And she’s thinking of having someone pose as her boyfriend?”

“Not a boyfriend—husband.”

Knox chuckled softly. “Even better, I guess. Who’s the lucky guy?”

“That would be me.”

There were several seconds of silence before a bewildered laugh came from Knox’s end. “You’re kidding me, right?”

He grimaced. “Who better than the guy hired to keep her safe? I’m already staying with her.”

“Ink…”

“We can spin some story about how we’ve been engaged for a while but were waiting for her tour to end.”

“It’s not the worst idea in the world,” Knox said, “but… Are you sure about this?”

No, he wasn’t sure at all. This could be a mistake of epic proportions. She was a walking temptation, and he was practically throwing himself at her feet.

“I don’t like the idea of my guys being in the spotlight,” he warned.

Roman didn’t, either. He had no desire to be flaunted around like that. Personal protection agents were supposed to be silent shadows, and he couldn’t do his job properly if he got dragged into the spotlight. If the media caught wind of his name, it could create a storm for Vantage. The only upside to this at the moment was that once the gym on the upper floor of Vantage was set up, he would take over the role of primary instructor for the self-defense courses and wouldn’t be needed in the field as much.

“I don’t want to jeopardize the business, but better me than one of the other guys. We don’t have to release my name to the public,” he said. “Plus, it’ll only be a few months—just until they find the guy, then we can break things off amicably, just like every other twenty-something celebrity.”

“Mhmm…”