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CHAPTER 8
BROCK
Brock turned into the alley and followed it up to his house, opening the door to the detached garage with the remote. As they pulled in, Royce walked over to greet them.
“The great thing about having Royce in charge of the team is that it allows me to focus solely on protecting you, and he lives next door.” As the garage door closed, Royce opened her door.
“I understand Camille went shopping for you,” he said with a grin.
Alicia shook her head and returned his smile. “You’re responsible for the smaller sizes.”
“Guilty as charged. You don’t need to hide. We’ll find this guy and put a stop to whatever is going on. Come on, baby girl,” Brock said as he grabbed her packages and offered her his hand.
“You keep calling me that,” she said as he led her across the pavers through the backyard and up the steps into the kitchen of his greystone.
“Is that a problem? It slipped out, and you didn’t object. I can stop doing it if it bothers you.”
“On the contrary, I kind of like it,” she said with a smile. “Your home is gorgeous.”
“Thank you. I bought it sight unseen, and it was kind of a wreck, which I did know. I worked on opening the space up, making the rooms larger and giving them more light. Just like at Cerberus, all three and a half baths are panic rooms.”
“Who bought here first, you or Royce?”
“Royce. Camille entered the picture and re-did the whole thing. When I went to their holiday party, I fell in love with what she’d done. When this place came on the market, they went over and took a look and sent me video and pictures. When I say, ‘kind of a wreck,’ I mean an incredible wreck, but I could see the potential. So, I bought it, renovated the guest house at the back and went to work on this place. After all the construction was done, I had an interior designer come in and do her thing.”
Brock grilled a piece of salmon while Alicia made a salad and got out some artisan bread and made garlic toast. After eating their meal, they headed into the front room where Brock turned on the TV, settling in for the evening.
As he watched the hockey game he’d recorded over the weekend, he kept an eye on Alicia who seemed to become more fidgety and unsettled as the evening wore on. She wandered around—touching things, picking them up and setting them back down.
“What’s bothering you, Alicia?”
“Nothing really. I’m just not used to sitting around, but I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it.”
Brock shook his head, turned off the television, and said, “You need to learn to ask for what you want. I may not say yes, but I might, or I might have a compromise. How often do you perform at the Majestic?”
“Five or six nights a week. I usually take Sundays off.”
“Do you need that much extra money? I can talk to Seth about a raise…”
She laughed. He realized it wasn’t something she did very often. “You have no idea how much Cerberus pays me. I am more than well-compensated. Seth and I have weird arguments over it. He thinks he doesn’t pay me enough, and I think he pays me way too much. No, I do burlesque because like you said about the subs, it takes me out of my regular life. When I’m on stage, I’m not just Alicia Jennings, I become Sonata Royale, and for a few hours, I can live the life and be the person I want to be. I don’t suppose we could go to the Majestic, could we?”
“Not a chance, but I think I might have something that’s close. Why don’t you go change into something Camille got for you—something Sonata would wear when not on stage.”
One thing he was learning about Alicia: when she felt safe, she was up for an adventure and was quick to change. When she came down the stairs, Brock felt as if all of the air had gone out of the room. If he’d thought she was sexy in her frumpy clothes or those of her burlesque costume, he wasn’t at all prepared for the bohemian chic outfit she’d created in no time at all. The slouchy cardigan was there, but in a color that complemented her complexion, eyes, and hair. It was teamed with a pair of jeans with holes and shredded places and a skimpy tank top that made the most of Alicia’s figure.
“Is it too much?” she asked, concerned.
He shook his head. “No, baby girl. I wouldn’t change a thing. I let Royce know we were going out. A couple of our guys will be there, so it’s safe.”
It didn’t take long before they were at a karaoke bar on the fringes of the city. The Uptown Loop was a place where the gang from Cerberus had, on more than one occasion, brought the house down with their antics and choice of songs.
Alicia sat forward. “I’ve never done karaoke.”
“From what I saw last night, you’ll be a knockout.”
They went in and found a booth that had a solid back and gave Brock a good view of the entire place. He made note of where their people were and put on the discreet comm unit one of the team had passed to him surreptitiously. They registered Sonata in the queue and waited for her turn.
“Next up, we have Sonata. If this is the same Sonata I’ve seen perform over at the burlesque bar, we are all in for a real treat. Come on up, Sonata.”
