AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I love you!”
The scream cut through the rumble of “Over here, Chrissie!” and “Sign this, please!” He heard the fierce, yet desperate note in the cry and felt a rush of adrenaline. He scanned the crowd and spotted the man leaping over the metal gate five feet from one guard. The hotel’s hired muscle had his back turned to the guy.
Blond hair.
Military cut.
Wild, blue eyes.
Chrissie Tate T-shirt.
Knife.
“Get back,” Dante shouted, making the split-second decision to stand his ground and fight. He’d rather haul ass. But his goddamn knee might struggle under Chrissie’s weight. Add her sister and he might fall on his butt while running for safety. And he couldn’t leave her little sister behind with the security goons who’d let the man with the knife jump the fence.
Palm flat, Dante zeroed in on the man’s face. He aimed for the nose and thrust his hand to the ceiling. And thank you Jesus! The crazed fan dropped his knife and screamed with pain. Blood flowed down his face, but Dante didn’t wait to inspect the damage. He’d broken the guy’s nose. Years of training in hand-to-hand combat situations all but guaranteed that man’s face would never be the same.
He wrapped one arm around the stunned star. Chrissie’s jaw dropped open as if reaching for the butt-ugly hotel carpet, and her eyes remained wide. With the other arm, he scooped up her little sister and held her against his chest. Tears streamed down the kid’s cheeks, and her breathing was erratic.
“Everything is going to be fine,” he promised the Tate sisters. “You’re safe.”
“He had a knife,” Chrissie murmured, her hoarse tone barely above a whisper.
“Yeah.” He guided them toward the door, moving fast.
“It’s the guy from my trailer,” she continued. “Here.”
Dante mentally added “stalker” to “crazy-ass fan.”
“Call the police,” he barked to the guard nearby. The man nodded, his eyes nearly as wide as Chrissie’s had been a moment ago. But at least the hotel’s hired muscle had the sense to open the door, wait for Dante to rush through with the ladies, and slam it closed behind them.
He headed down the hall for the greenroom, brushing past the remaining crew. Then he closed the door behind him and set Melissa on the brown leather sofa. Gently, he guided Chrissie to the kid’s side.
“He had a knife.” The country star kept her wide-eyed gaze on him. “And you slapped him. You…” She raised an eyebrow. “You hit like a girl.”
Dante shook his head as the adrenaline rush faded. “Most of the women I rescue say thank you.”
“Thank you,” she said, her voice open, honest, and so damn sincere. She drew Melissa to her side and ran her hand over her sister’s long blond hair. “I froze when I saw him. I panicked. I didn’t know what to do.”
The little girl’s crying subsided as her grip tightened around Chrissie.
“If someone gave me a microphone and pushed me out on the stage, I couldn’t sing a note,” he said, withdrawing his cell from his pocket. Now that she was secure, he needed to contact Ronan. He wanted his teammate out there, dealing with the police, with Mason, and making damn sure they knew this guy had been stalking Chrissie.
“But then you hit him with your hand,” she said again, and he glanced down at her. “I think I could do that. With a few lessons.”
Dante heard the implied from you. Now wasn’t the time to crush her confidence. She should know how to defend herself. But he felt like he’d landed himself back at the music video shoot or on the loveseat in her hotel room. And dammit, he wasn’t the answer to all her problems. Maybe this one. But…
He didn’t want to get involved. No flings. No heartache. He’d already given her one orgasm. Another would cross the line. He needed to strengthen his knee and get back to work. He had a job he loved. And it didn’t involve training drop-dead gorgeous country music stars to fend off stalkers.
“Yes, you could,” he said.
“We’ll start tomorrow,” she said, her voice strong, as if the thought of learning how to break a man’s nose had extinguished her fear. Hell, maybe it had.
“I’m fired, remember?” he said.
“I’m rehiring you,” she said. “And offering you a contract extension. Come on tour with me.”
“I have a job.”
