Page 7 of Unstable

He stepped outside, listening for the tell-tale snick of the lock behind him. As soon as it snapped into place, he cut across the short, winding brick pathway to Rina’s driveway, then climbed into his truck. He backed onto the street, then headed toward home, pulling his phone out as he went. He tapped Knox’s number, and Knox answered on the first ring.

“Everything go okay?”

He didn’t mince words. “She’s pissed. She wants nothing to do with security, let alone having me around every minute of the day.”

“Tough,” Knox replied. “Her studio is the one footing the bill, and if they want 24/7 surveillance, that’s what they’re going to get.”

“Fair enough,” he responded. “Zane’s with her right now, and I’m headed home to get my things. What do we know so far?”

Though Knox had texted him earlier to let him know there would be a change in plans, he hadn’t been able to go into detail. “Another note was delivered last night,” Knox replied. “This one is the worst of all.”

Some obsessive nutcase had been sending love letters to Rina over the last couple of months, and the tone of the letters vacillated between adoring and possessive. Recently, they’d become increasingly threatening. “How bad?”

“This last one basically said that if she didn’t choose him, she wouldn’t be with anyone at all.”

“I assume the police are aware?”

“The letter was found in the studio’s mail yesterday morning. They called the police right after,” Knox continued, “and they’re tracing the postmark to see if they can nail something down.”

He blew out a breath. “Okay. So what kind of timeline are we working with?”

“Plan to be with her full time for two weeks, possibly more.”

He rolled his eyes. He could only imagine how badly he and Irina were going to butt heads over the next fourteen days. “All right. Last thing—tell your contact at Stargazer to tighten their leash on Colt McKay.”

He explained to Knox what had happened last night at the bar. It didn’t matter if the drink was intended for the woman Colt was trying to take home or not. If he’d knowingly drugged Rina—or any other woman, for that matter—he was going to murder the bastard.

Knox sighed. “I’ll let them know.”

“Keep me posted.”

He disconnected and shook his head. It wouldn’t be so bad if they could just be nice to each other. Unfortunately, she tended to pull her Queen Bitch act any time he was around, and he snapped right back. And that was only the tip of the iceberg. He couldn’t get the sight of her out of his mind. The image was burned into his brain, and he remembered the way her body felt against his, her curves conforming to his hardened muscles like she was made for him.

The next two weeks would be pure torture, and he had no idea how he was going to survive the temptation of being around her every minute of the day. As it was, he went home each night and jerked off to the thought of those tiny denim cutoffs and fringed cowgirl boots. Her tongue was sharp and deadly, but her body… her body was made for long, sweaty nights between the sheets. The memory of her pressed against him sent heat spiraling through him, and he broke out in a sweat.

He swiped the back of his hand across his forehead, wiping away the perspiration there. It was a lose/lose situation. He needed to get his head in the game, focus on keeping her safe—and keeping his hands off.

He quickly packed his things and was back at Rina’s place less than an hour later. Noticing that Aster’s little black Corolla was still in the driveway, he parked along the street to give her more room, then let himself into Rina’s house using the code. He opened the door and almost bumped into Zane, who stood like a sentry inside the doorway.

He closed the door behind him and lifted his eyebrows in question. “Everything go okay?”

Zane nodded once. “They’re in the kitchen. Good luck.”

Rolling his eyes at Zane's sarcastic tone, he locked up behind Zane, then followed the sound of hushed, angry voices. As soon as he stepped foot in the small kitchen, Rina speared him with her icy blue gaze. “Thought you might have gotten lost.”

Despite her syrupy sweet smile, her words dripped with venom. He bristled at her sarcasm but refused to let his ire out. “No such luck. I wouldn’t deprive myself of your scintillating company for a second.”

Though he continued to glare at Rina, he could feel Aster’s anxious gaze jump between the two of them.

“Well then…” Aster fidgeted nervously. “I should probably get going. Oh, before I forget.” She pulled a small orange bottle from her purse. “I’m supposed to give you one of these.”

She popped off the lid, then shook one tablet into her hand and offered it to Rina. For the first time, he noticed the half-empty glass of red wine in front of her. Though it wasn’t quite noon, he guessed it was five o’clock in Rina’s world.

She snatched the tablet from Aster’s outstretched hand then popped it into her mouth. He could see it hovering on her tongue as she lifted her wine glass and took a healthy sip.

Once she was done, she set her wine glass down with a hard click on the granite countertop.

He watched the entire thing with no small amount of distaste.