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These sound checks were part of normal operations, but today Julius was even more on edge. Avalynn stood not twenty feet away from him in the center of the stage, and his mind was already working out ways to rescue her if it came to that.
He’d spent the entire ride to this venue watching out the tour bus windows, on the lookout for strange vehicles following them. Oh, they were followed plenty. Avalynn Ray’s bus wasn’t exactly inconspicuous with her face and name on the side, larger than life. Most people were harmless fans waving at the blacked-out windows hoping that she saw them and waved back. But he wasn’t taking any chances with her.
Next, she ran through a few bars of her latest hit song, the slow tune that had been sitting in the number one spot for four weeks. He’d heard her sing it countless times—onstage, for film crews of late-night talk shows, on the bus, in hotel rooms. Even in the shower.
Tonight the sweet words about heartbreak seemed to come with a new rasp in her tone. No doubt she’d been crying those times when she slipped away to the restroom. The rest of the hours she’d spent sleeping, but he knew a depression nap when he saw one. Who could blame her for trying to shut out the world?
As the sound crew mixed her vocals to perfection, Julius scanned the area repeatedly. When he shifted his stare from the empty stadium seats to the wings off to the side of the stage, his hand automatically twitched toward the weapon holstered on his torso.
Two members of the Sentry team stepped out of the shadows and gave him twin nods of greeting. Julius let his hand drop and walked across the back of the stage to meet the guys.
Clay Lexis and Julius’s own brother Jennings gave him room to keep watch over his ward. He stared at Avalynn for a heartbeat, taking in her pose—head thrown back, the long note spiraling on and on. Her long hair in a ponytail reached to her ass that was clad in light gray, low-slung sweatpants she usually wore for these soundchecks.
“How’s she holding up?” Clay headed the Sentry team and had personally recruited Julius and Jennings. Few men were as dialed into their roles as Julius’s boss. Having him present for the first performance since the world saw that sex tape made Julius feel a bit more relaxed than he would be otherwise.
He scoured the side of the stage and the sound booth. “As well as can be expected. It hasn’t been easy.” Thank god her PR team split off into a separate bus. They’d spent so much time in that hotel suite discussing every single terrible post written about Avalynn after she declined to comment that Julius just about lost his shit on them.
“Her team seems to be keeping her reputation intact so far,” Jennings drawled out.
Julius cocked a brow at his brother. “Be better if they didn’t text her nonstop as things unfolded all goddamn day.”
Each time her phone chimed with an incoming text, she’d read it and then hurry to the back of the bus to lock herself in the restroom.
He pushed out a sigh through his nostrils. Suddenly, another teammate, Quaide Livingston, joined them in the wings. Right behind him was Lark.
Stunned, Julius gazed at each member of the team. “You dropped everything to be here?”
Quaide brushed his knuckle under the brim of his black Stetson, tipping it back enough to make out his eyes. “My wife didn’t like the idea of me leaving Colorado, but she’s holding down the fort at the Sentry office.”
“Don’t forget Dove is overseeing the rebuilding of your home after the fire,” Lark interjected. The house fire had been set by some guys they were after, and the entire team had felt that hit.
Just then, Avalynn released one of her long, powerhouse notes. She didn’t use vocals like that as often as many female singers did, but when she did, people stopped what they were doing to pay attention, just like Lark was right now.
“Wow. She’s even more amazing in person.” Lark shook her head.
Julius’s attention shifted to the striking woman all alone in the center of the stage. So small compared to him. Dainty, even. Yet every time he looked at her, he saw the strength of ten men. It hadn’t taken him long at all to spot the trait in her and even less time after that to admire it.
Clay made a grunting noise that brought Julius’s head around. “Lark? Can you stay with Avalynn while the guys and I talk?”
“Sure thing. And don’t worry—I’ve got my sidearm.” She patted her hip. She was trained the same as they were, but Julius was still reluctant to walk away from his charge.
As if understanding his unspoken reservations, Lark met his stare. “I got this, Julius. Really.”
He reluctantly offered her a nod and moved offstage with the others. When Clay led the way to a secluded spot, Julius’s mind remained with Avalynn for a few more beats until Clay spoke.
“Any new developments since we spoke last?” he asked Julius.
He shook his head. “I’ve told you everything I know. Someone knew exactly what they were doing when they leaked that sex tape. Now the world is having a field day at Avalynn’s expense.” His tone came out rougher than he planned.
Clay folded his arms across his chest and broadened his stance. “The bureau’s doing some digging into the list of men she dated, but it isn’t much to work with. You’re sure—”
“I’m sure,” he cut him off. “Believe me, I asked—again. She swears there aren’t any more guys.”
“Whoever it was got close enough to drug her,” Jennings added. “We’re here to dive deeper into the case. From this moment on, every single guy is a suspect.”
Quaide snorted. “Should be easy enough to find him. Just make him take off his pants.”
If Julius wasn’t so invested in this case, he might get a chuckle at the son of a bitch’s inadequate size. But every time he thought about that footage, he saw red at what the bastard had done to Avalynn.
