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“No! Don’t go. Just hold me. Like this. I don’t want you to let me go for a very long time, Julius. I love you. Bodyguard or husband, it doesn’t matter.”
“I’m so damn sorry I let you down.”
She stilled. A heartbeat ticked by. “You what?”
“I let my ego get in the way. If I hadn’t been so damn driven to get that guy—”
She pressed her fingers against his lips, stopping him from going on. “I left the bus. That’s on me.”
He shook his head. “He tricked you with that text message. About that. Hold on a minute, baby. I’m going to give this to Jennings. He’s just outside the door. Don’t move.”
She nodded. He jumped out of the bed and strode to the door of the suite. He whipped it open. His brother was standing guard outside the door, legs braced and arms folded.
He turned. “What’s going on?”
“Take my phone. If you have to, give it to our brothers in the WEST Protection team to analyze how it was hacked by that crazy guy so it never, ever happens again.”
“Christ, these guys are getting smarter and smarter.” Jennings took the phone.
“Then we need to train harder.”
“A trip to the facility in Stone Pass, Montana is in our future, brother.”
He grunted. Then gave a slight smile. “It’s a good time to introduce the rest of my brothers and the WEST Protection team to my bride.”
* * * * *
Avalynn fiddled with the band on her left ring finger. The old-fashioned ring above her wedding band was one that she’d spent a lot of time staring at. The beauty of the setting was striking on its own, but knowing that it was a cherished heirloom from Julius’s family made it so much more beautiful in her eyes.
Now she was about to walk into a meeting with her manager, her PR team and her lawyer to discuss the marriage that they’d all agreed was the only way to save her career.
She stared at the antique diamond.
A fake marriage that might have kept her reputation from ruin, but what about her heart?
She faced the bedroom door. On the other side of it, everybody waited, including Julius.
What was he going to say about this meeting her manager had called?
She stroked her fingertip over the warm metal of the ring, then dropped her hand. Drawing a deep breath, she steeled herself and opened the door.
When she stepped into the main area of the suite, her gaze skimmed the group of familiar faces…and landed on one in particular.
Julius stared back at her, his shoulders squared. His chest moved on a deep inhalation she could only guess at the reason for. Either he was fortifying himself to follow along with what she knew her team had planned for her “best interests” or he would fight to keep her.
He broke eye contact. Gripping the chair, he pulled it away from the table for her.
Aware that everyone was staring at her, she glided to the seat. Julius slid it under her and then sat across from her.
The lawyer shuffled some papers. Heidi avoided Avalynn’s stare, and so did everyone else.
“Miss Ray,” her lawyer began, “we’re here today because the threat to you has been eliminated.”
Under the table, she meshed her fingers to keep them from trembling. She already disliked the path this meeting was taking.
“Specifically, we’re here to discuss the dissolution of your marriage to Julius Abel.”
Not a breath could be heard in the room. Nobody even twitched an eyelid.
