Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 112917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
To Zee,
Do you like wearing my mark? I can get to you whenever I want. You’re not his to protect. Cut him loose.
See you in New York.
Semper in scopum.
The Stamper.
My rage was a feral beast clawing at my skin from the inside. How fucking dare they find another way to get at Zane? How dare they cause him another single moment of fear and worry? How dare they insinuate that I couldn’t protect him when there was nothing I wouldn’t do to keep him safe?
I forced myself to read the words over and over, partly in hopes of discovering new information and partly in an attempt to calm myself down since I knew my anger would only upset Zane further. When nothing new revealed itself, I forwarded it to myself and Violet, closed it in his email app, and then made a folder in his email account to put it into so I could preserve it without him having to see it every time he opened his personal email.
Always on target.
The Latin galled me, but I was grateful for it since it at least offered us a little bit of insight into the sender. Violet’s technical guys could try to trace the email, but I didn’t hold out much hope. If the perp was smart enough to use Latin, they were probably smart enough to mask their virtual identity.
I glanced up at Zane, who’d pulled his legs up to wrap his arms around his knees. “We have to go,” I said softly.
He nodded, dislodging a piece of brown hair to fall over one eyebrow. I reached out to brush it behind his ear without fully realizing what I was doing. “We have to cancel New York.”
“I know.”
I glanced around to make sure no one was close enough to overhear me.
“Where do you want to go?”
Zane’s eyebrows winged up. “I assumed we’d go to LA. Isn’t that what you said you wanted? To meet up with Violet, call in reinforcements, and strategize?”
I pressed my lips together and inhaled. “No. I think it makes more sense to go somewhere unexpected, where we’ll know you’re safe while Violet and the team assess the risks of continuing the tour.”
“I’m not canceling the tour,” he said with a slight flare of his nostrils. “Tell Violet to figure it out because we’re going to the rest of the European stops and the fundraiser in Berlin as planned. The fans freaked out when we added those dates, and I’m supposed to be debuting my new song with Jude Marian in Berlin. We’re going to raise a ton of money for LGBTQ programs. I’m not reneging because some asshole is trying to scare me.”
His passionate response didn’t surprise me. Zane would rather throw himself across train tracks than disappoint his fans or, worse, contribute to the loss of income for his employees and all of the contractors who depended on him for their livelihoods.
“I’ll let her know,” I said, trying to remain calm when what I really wanted to do was put my foot down and demand he cancel every show from here until the end of time.
That wouldn’t be fair to him. It was bad enough that the Stamper had taken his peace of mind. I wouldn’t let them take away the things Zane loved most.
He let out a breath and stewed for a few minutes before finally reaching for a carrot stick. He snapped off the end and crunched before turning to me. “We could go to Majestic.”
I looked up from where I’d been texting with Violet. “We’re not going anywhere connected to you.”
“It’s tiny and in the middle of nowhere. People there notice and comment when their neighbors got a haircut. They’d notice if a stranger came to town—”
“They’ll also definitely notice you’re there, and word will get out,” I countered.
Zane’s face fell.
I was trying to remain calm and not let it show, but the email had ignited a strong need in me to grab Zane and bolt this minute. My rational brain knew that with Lou, Boomer, and me here, guarding a vetted and controlled property like his gran’s house, Zane was most likely safe in the short term. But my rational brain was trying very hard to fuck off to parts unknown, leaving my irrational caveman gut in charge.
And the caveman wanted to grab Zane and run far, far away, right the hell now, to a place where no one could find him.
So, I made a concession to the caveman.
“I’m going to rent a place in a random location. You, Lou, and I will be the only ones who know where it is. Boomer will continue to the first tour city as planned and be Violet’s local liaison.”
I messaged the pilot to let her know about the change of plans and ask about filing flight plans to White Plains and being prepared to continue straight on from there to a Northern European destination. Then, I started searching for a place to hole up.