Page 6 of Unstable

She hated that he refused to use her real name. She’d reminded him time and again to call her Irina, but she seriously doubted he listened or even cared. She bit her lip to keep him from seeing her irritation, then made her way into the living room where she sank into the corner of the loveseat. Aster gingerly sat next to her, and Roman hovered nearby, a silent but powerful visual. Louis’s eyes darted to him before meeting hers. “We received another note.”

This time, she couldn’t help the outright eye roll. “So? This guy has been sending me stupid letters for months.”

Every actor, athlete, and singer had groupies and obsessive fans. For whatever reason, this guy had latched on to her, sending strange love letters and poems to the studio in the hopes that she would receive them. She’d read the first couple, but they hadn’t made a bit of sense. The guy apparently had followed her journey since she’d moved to Florida. He’d spoken of how her music affected him, and how much he’d love to see her perform in person.

She assumed from that tidbit that the guy had heard her on the radio, read about her in the tabloids, and had developed some kind of fascination with her. She really wasn’t that interesting, and he appeared to be more infatuated than dangerous. He was just an odd duck, probably some forty-year-old virgin living in his mother’s basement who wanted attention. For the past month and a half, she’d been content to just let Louis deal with it.

“Regardless,” her agent continued, “we’ve decided to increase your security. Beginning now, Mr. Incardona will be with you 24/7.”

Hot tea splashed all over her lap as she jerked upright. Aster hopped up and ran to the kitchen for a towel, and her eyes jumped to Roman then back to Louis as she struggled for words. “That’s—but—this is ridiculous!”

She didn’t need the arrogant, overbearing bodyguard breathing down her neck every second of the day. Especially after last night. She opened her mouth to argue, but Louis held up a hand. “The label isn’t willing to jeopardize your safety.”

She sat back, disgruntled. What Louis meant but didn’t say was that Stargazer Records had too much money invested in her to risk her being hurt. God forbid should they lose their gold ticket.

Louis turned to Roman. “Mr. Castillo is aware of the situation, and he’ll be sending someone over temporarily so you can go get whatever you need.”

“Yes, sir,” Roman replied. “I’ve already spoken with him.”

She glared at Roman. The jerk had known but hadn’t said anything? “I don’t understand. Isn’t there some other way to⁠—”

“This is nonnegotiable.” Louis pushed his wide girth to the edge of the couch, then stood. “I need to get going. I’ve got an appointment downtown at ten.”

The doorbell rang, and Roman nodded at Louis. “That’s my guy.”

Swiftly moving toward the front of the house, he checked the peephole, then held the door for the other man to enter. She glared at him from across the room, but he ignored her completely.

Louis’s words snapped her attention back to him. “The police are looking into the issue, so it hopefully won’t be too long.”

He tried for a smile, but it fell flat. Without another word, he turned to leave, exiting the house just as the other man from Vantage arrived.

Roman closed and locked the door behind Louis, then led the man toward her. “Ms. Sterling, this is Zane.”

She lifted her chin in greeting. “Hi.”

“Nice to meet you, miss.”

Roman turned to Zane. “I’ll be back in an hour or so. She’s not allowed to go anywhere.”

Zane nodded, and she jumped to her feet. “What do you mean, I’m not allowed to go anywhere? All Louis said was that someone had to be with me all the time.”

“Too bad,” Roman said, his expression hard. “My game, my rules.”

“Screw your rules, you both suck.” She stomped toward the bathroom, her anger growing when she saw the still-wet clothes lying in the sink. She picked them up and hurled them toward the shower where they landed with a wet thwack, then slid to the ground.

Seriously. Could this day get any worse?

CHAPTER

THREE

Rina stomped off toward her room, and he ground his teeth together before turning to Zane. She could act like a spoiled brat all she wanted, but it wasn’t going to stop either of them from doing their jobs. Zane lifted his eyebrows at him, and he bit back a sigh. “I’ll be as quick as I can.”

He felt bad for saddling the new guy with her, but he didn’t have an option. He just prayed to God that Zane could follow directions. Rina was sweet and charming when she wanted to be—ironically, she was nice to pretty much everyone but him—and Roman was more than a little worried that she would try to talk Zane into doing something she shouldn’t.

Together, he and Zane walked toward the door. “She doesn’t go out, and no one comes in. If something happens, you call the police, then Knox.”

Zane gave him a tight nod. “You got it.”