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“You were phenomenal up there,” he said.
“Thank you,” she said.
After she wiped the sweat off her face with the towel, she put it around her neck.
Ryker held out a bottle of water to her.
“Yes! You’re a gem. Thank you!”
She took the bottle, gulped a few swallows, then poured the rest over her head.
She flicked the last few drops from the bottle at Ryker. He pretended to give her a serious look, though the corner of his mouth betrayed him with a twitch upward.
She used the towel to soak some excess water from her hair.
“So, Mr. Head of Security, what are you doing backstage tonight?”
“Hey. You only call me that when you’re angry. For once, I did nothing to deserve it, so I’m a little offended.”
“What else should I call you? Mr. Blue Eyes?”
His eyes danced with amusement, but he still didn’t smile. “Sure, let’s go with that. Ryker is also an alternative if you feel the need to mix it up.”
“Well then, Mr. Blue Eyes, I don’t normally see you backstage. What are you up to this evening?”
“I’m taking over your personal detail.”
“Because of what happened today? How are the guys?” she asked.
“They’ll be okay. Diesel is off work for at least two weeks because of his concussion. He’s going home to New York to rest and heal. Drake has to spend a few days in the hospital for observation, but he got very lucky. Broken arm, broken ribs, some lacerations, and a lot of bruising — but he’ll recover. His injuries could have been much worse. His brother is coming up to stay with him while he’s in the hospital and will take him home. He’ll probably need some rehab for his arm.”
“I’m so sorry it happened to them, but I’m so glad to hear they’ll be okay.”
“Agreed. Since the stalker is growing braver, I’m going to shadow you. Roark and Benny will run down leads, and I’m bringing in some others I trust for backup. Plus, we still have Jake, Max, and Tyler from your regular security team and we’re giving them specialized training. We’ve got you covered.”
“Gotcha. BHB is going to be so happy to be rid of me. But, really, it’s his own fault that I have to irritate him so much. He’s so serious that I have to try to break him. I can’t resist that kind of temptation.”
“BHB?”
“Bare-headed Benny. He barely even grimaced when he tasted the soap I put in his coffee yesterday. The man’s a robot.”
Ryker burst out laughing. Jade beamed at receiving such an open response from him.
“Is that what I have to look forward to as your personal detail?” he asked.
“That depends. Are you going to be a serious, stuffy robot all the time?”
“Maybe. What will you do about it if I am?”
“I will make it my personal mission to bring you back to life, Mr. Blue Eyes. Because I know you haven’t been a robot forever so there’s hope for you.” Her eyes flicked to his neck, where his tattoo peeked out of his shirt collar.
Ryker’s eyes heated and his lips parted, but then he glanced behind her and whatever he saw made his expression return to neutral.
Jade narrowed her eyes at him, which made a ghost of a smile touch his mouth.
“Tawny incoming,” he said.
“Jade,” Tawny said, rushing over. “You’ve got to get over to the meet and greet. We have a long haul tonight and don’t have much time before we have to be back on the road so this needs to be done ASAP. No time to dawdle.”
