Forever Rockers (10 page)

“What is it?” She kept her voice low so that no one could hear her on the other side of the door if they happened to be listening in.

Peterson’s jaw was clenched hard enough to break his back teeth as he pulled something from the bookshelf where Harper kept a few pictures of us, our family and even Ranger. There were framed pictures of her favorite covers of
Rock America
that she was particularly proud of and a handful of her favorite books.

Stepping forward, Peterson showed us what was in his hand and I had to move closer to see what it was. It was a tiny little box that no one would have noticed had they not been looking for something specifically. “This is a camera. It’s on a live feed. Someone has been watching Harper.”

My blood turned to ice. “The stalker from the tour?”

The other man shrugged. “That would be at the top of my list of suspects, yes.”

Emmie blew out a frustrated breath. “So…” She shook her head. “So are you saying that whoever did all that shit over the summer
works
here?”

“It’s a big possibility.”

C
HAPTER
F
IVE

Shane

I’d known that the stalker bitch from the summer tour was still out there. That she was probably waiting and planning her next move. Now she obviously had, only further confirming that the cunt was someone from my past.

Rage boiled in my veins, my heart like a block of ice while guilt churned through me.

That this person could actually work in the same building with Harper had never crossed my mind. That the most precious thing in my life was so close to the psycho, probably saw this person on a daily basis and possibly spoke to them regularly was almost too much to take in.

Who the hell was doing this to my wife? Who was doing this to us? Why did it fucking matter that we were together?

“I’ll call Seller and have him bring a team in to do a sweep through the house,” Peterson was telling Emmie now, pulling me back to the present with a vengeance.

“The house?” I bit out. “You mean this shit could be in our home?”

Peterson shrugged. “It’s possible. They could have snuck in and planted them while we were all gone for the summer. Or…” His face clenched yet again. “It could be someone you know and have let into the house.”

“Motherfucker.” I thrust my fingers through my hair as I yelled and turned away from the three people watching me. I wanted to hit something—wanted to fucking destroy whoever was doing this to us. I wanted to protect Harper and it was possible—so very possible—that I’d let this lunatic in our home.

Emmie’s soft hand touched my back, calming me slightly. I cupped my face in both my hands and took in one deep breath after another, trying to gain control over my emotions. Her arms wrapped around my waist, hugging me, offering me her strength like she had always done.

“We will figure this out, Shane. I promise you. We’ll find this bitch and deal with her.”

Her promises didn’t leave me feeling any better. This time I knew she might not be able to move heaven and earth to get me what I so desperately wanted: Harper not sobbing so hard that I could hear her even through the closed door of the office. Harper safe.

“He’s going to go through your house too, Emmie.”

We both looked up when Peterson spoke. I felt Emmie tense. “Mine?”

“She targeted you through Mia. She’s not just after Harper. For some reason this person wants to hurt both of you.” He shook his head and glanced at Theo. “Take Emmie home and tell Roger not to let her out of his sight. Seller can send a second to watch over Mia at school.”

“No.” Emmie released me and crossed her arms over her chest, back to being the commanding force that normally kept my life in order. “Call Roger and send him over to stay with Mia. I don’t care how much the school bitches. He’s not to let her out of his sight. I’m not leaving until I make sure Harper is going to be okay. Once the two teams are done checking Shane’s and my house for bugs and other shit, send them over to Jesse’s and Drake’s houses. Then Axton’s. Fuck, Natalie’s house too. We can’t be too careful.”

There was a sharp tap on the door seconds before it opened. Dallas stuck her blond head into the room, her gaze moving from person to person until it fell on me. It didn’t surprise me that Harper had called her best friend instead of me. After seeing those disgusting pictures, I knew my girl needed her bestie to hold her. Didn’t mean it didn’t sting that she hadn’t called me, though.

Dallas’s eyes weren’t full of the frost I feared they would hold, but she wasn’t smiling either. Did that mean she didn’t hate me as much as I was sure Harper did right then? “Good, you’re here. I think she’s ready to see you now.”

I didn’t waste another second as I hurried from the room and followed Dallas down the corridor to the conference room. The door was slightly ajar and I could hear Hannah, the receptionist, talking softly to Harper, offering her a cup of coffee. Entering the room, I saw Harper sitting at the long table, her shaking hands wrapped around a mug of steaming coffee as she sniffed her running nose.

My heart started aching all over again at the sight of her. What little makeup she’d put on before leaving for work was smeared across her beautiful face. Her eyes were swollen and red-rimmed while her lips looked tortured from where she must have been nibbling on them. My earlier fear returned with abundance as she slowly lifted her head and met my gaze.

I stood there, trapped by her violet eyes, as I waited for her hate and disgust to slice into me like a katana. It never came and in the next moment she was out of her chair and stumbling toward me. I met her halfway across the room and wrapped her tightly against me. “I’m sorry,” I breathed against her ear, as tears stung my eyes. “I’m so damn sorry.”

“Hold me,” she whispered brokenly. “Please, just hold me.”

I wanted to take Harper home and just hold her in our bed, but Peterson already had Theo and a full team of security guys running over every inch of the place. So I had him tell Theo to bring Ranger to us and Emmie found us a hotel for the next few days. We could have gone to any one of our family members, but I didn’t want to stress any of them with this shit. I’d already put them all in enough danger as it was.

Promising to send us a case full of enough clothes to last the rest of the week, Emmie handed over the keys to the penthouse suite that took up the entire top floor of one of L.A.’s most exclusive hotels. It had three bedrooms so Peterson and Theo could stay with us, and Peterson was already checking the place out to make sure we were set. Four months ago I might have scoffed at his wanting to take such a precaution. Now I was just thankful that the dude was so good at his job, that he covered all his bases.

Kissing Emmie goodbye, I watched while she left the hotel’s lobby and got into the back of her Escalade that was being driven by another one of Seller’s men. Beside me, Harper buried her face in my chest a little deeper, hiding from the people who were in the lobby. Once Emmie was gone, I tightened my hold on my wife and guided her to the elevators. I used my key to unlock the penthouse floor and punched in the security code the receptionist had given me.

The ride up was quick, over within only a few seconds. Harper held on to me like she was never going to let me go, and when the elevator came to a stop I lifted her into my arms so she wouldn’t have to. She was emotionally drained and could barely keep her eyes open.

Peterson was standing in the living room and when I lifted a questioning brow at him, he nodded. That was all I needed before I was heading for the master bedroom. Holding her carefully with one arm, I pulled the covers back enough before placing her on the edge.

Once she was tucked into bed, I went into the connecting bathroom and dampened a washcloth with warm water. Going back into the bedroom, I used the warm cloth to wipe away the smeared makeup on her beautiful face. Once she was cleaned up I went back for another washcloth, this one dampened with cool water so I could put it over her swollen eyes. She’d been wearing her contacts when she’d left the house that morning but she’d cried so hard and so long that they had fallen out.

Harper let out a sigh as I placed the cool cloth over her eyes and then caught my hand when I started to go back into the bathroom. “Don’t leave me.”

I clasped the hand that had caught my own and brought it to my lips. “Never, beautiful.” I swallowed hard around the lump that had been in my throat from the moment I’d heard her sobs earlier. “Harper…about those pictures—”

She flinched but didn’t pull her hand away. “I’ve always feared having to see proof of your past, Shane. From the first moment I knew I loved you, it was one of my biggest fears.”

“Beautiful…”

She shook her head, cutting me off. “No. Please, I need to say this. I think we both need to hear it.” With her free hand she lifted the cloth from her eyes and propped herself up on her elbow to get closer to me. “It was something I had hoped never to have to see, but I knew you had a past. I knew there had been girls before me. Lots and lots of girls.” She grimaced. “Lana warned me, but I didn’t care. I loved you anyway.”

Tears burned my eyes, but I didn’t bother to blink them away. “Sweetheart, if I could change the past I would. I’d go back and make sure that you were my first.”

The smallest of smiles lifted her lips, making my heart actually stutter in my chest at how beautiful she was. “Don’t you understand, Shane? None of that matters. I didn’t care about the other girls, because I knew that I might not have been your first, but I was going to be your last.”

The first tear fell from my eyes and I pressed my lips into her palm again. “Yes,” I breathed, relieved. She had finally realized the one thing I’d always tried to make her understand. Fuck, we’d come so far. “Yes. It’s what I’ve always tried to tell you, beautiful. You are my last—my only—for the rest of my life.”

We were both quiet for a long moment, but I couldn’t leave it like that. “Baby, those pictures…”

“They hurt, Shane. I’m not going to lie, they hurt so damn bad. Those images will probably haunt me forever.” She gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “But I knew that they were from your past.” 

I clenched my jaw. “I don’t know who it is,” I told her honestly. “It could have been any of a thousand girls. All I can say is that I’m sorry, beautiful. It’s not enough, I know, but I am. I’d give anything to take those images from you.”

“Babe, I know. I know you would.” She sat up completely and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, the one to comfort me when I should have been the one doing it for her. Soft lips brushed over my cheek. “I love you, Shane.”

I couldn’t hold back the sob that escaped me at those four little worlds. Ah fuck. I’d thought for sure that she couldn’t keep loving me after what she’d had to witness. That she did, that she could still hold on to me so tightly and tell me she loved me, meant more to me than every penny I had in the bank. It meant more than my own life. Harper was my everything.

My forever.

If I lost her I’d be nothing.

Those soft lips went from my cheek to the corner of my lips. My body instantly hardened despite the nightmare of a morning we’d both had. Not wanting to push her into something I didn’t know if she was ready for, I started to pull back, but her arms wrapped around my neck, keeping me close.

“Give me new images to replace the ones I had to see earlier,” she whispered almost desperately. “Give me new memories to push the bad ones away.”

There was no way in the world I could have denied her in that moment. If she wanted new memories, I’d give her plenty. I’d erase every fucking picture she’d had to see that morning and give her better ones. I cupped her face in my hands and pressed a soft kiss over each eye, then the tip of her nose, and finally over those lips that owned me.

Harper sucked in a shuddery breath and she fell almost weightlessly against my chest. “I love you,” she whispered against my neck.

My eyes clenched closed against a new flood of tears and I just sat there inhaling her familiar scent for a minute. Savoring the words. Savoring the feel of her. Praying that she would always be mine.

Soft fingers traced up my neck and thrust into the hair at the back of my neck. Unable to stop myself, I turned my head and caught her lips. This kiss wasn’t soft, or tender, but full of all the hunger I had for my wife. Full of the animalistic lust that she could catch fire in me with the smallest touch. She opened her mouth for me, granting me entrance to the hot sweetness of her tongue.

I wanted to be gentle, wanted to make love to her so thoroughly that she wouldn’t ever think about my fucking past. My need for her, my need to wipe away every thought but those of us together, made that impossible. I needed to kiss every inch of her beautiful body, needed to brand every cell as mine so she would know that I was hers. I always had been.