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Ryker’s expression didn’t change, but he played along and said, “Pretty please.”
She felt like she had to cooperate with his questions if he would cooperate with her antics. “What do you want to know?”
“Tell me about this ‘BiggesT fan.’ How did it all start?”
She thought back to the first bouquet.
“Flowers. It started with flowers. Someone delivered a mix of roses and sunflowers before every show, both backstage and at the front desk of every hotel on our first tour. All the bouquets were accompanied by anonymous notes that read something like, ‘To Jade — With Love and Adoration — Your BiggesT Fan.’ The T in ‘Biggest’ was always capitalized.”
“Okay. So what changed?”
“I felt flattered at first. It was our first tour and I loved the attention. I’m the drummer so you know how it is — most people just pay attention to the lead singer. The attention felt great. But it got creepy when the flowers continued to show up at Every. Single. Stop. on the tour, THEN they started showing up inside my hotel rooms. The last straw happened when a bouquet showed up inside the bus on my bunk while we were onstage. I filed a police report that night.”
Ryker’s expression didn’t change. “What happened then?”
“The flowers stopped for the rest of the tour,” she said.
“Okay, so why does it sound like that’s not the end of the story?”
“Because it’s not. Last year, on our second tour, the flowers appeared again, though only to venue dressing rooms and hotel front desks that time. About halfway through the tour, more extravagant gifts arrived. Like champagne and candy arrangements. I appreciated the gifts and I was okay with them, as long as this secret admirer continued to respect my privacy. The gifts were always sealed and delivered from companies, so I accepted them and shared them with the girls. The band jokingly dubbed my admirer ‘Rosé,’ like the wine.”
“This is your third tour, right?” he asked.
Jade nodded.
“Is this the first time you’ve heard from Rosé this tour?”
“Yes. Tonight’s show would have been our third on this tour. We haven’t had any hotel stays yet and nothing has turned up in the dressing rooms... Although, maybe Rosé was on the way to hand-deliver something himself last night when he heard me in there with Twisty-Tongue after the show. I don’t know.”
Ryker nodded. “We’ll check the cameras at that venue for anyone suspicious. Do you have any idea who Rosé might be?”
Jade shook her head. “I don’t. I’ve always wondered, but he never signed a name on the cards so I figured he wanted to remain anonymous, and well... I kind of liked the mystery. The secret admirer factor of it all. I should’ve paid more attention. I was just... lost in the newness and mystique of the rockstar lifestyle, I guess. I never felt like he was a real threat. I just wanted him to respect my privacy.”
Ryker nodded again. “Okay. How do you know it’s a him?”
“I don’t know for sure. We, and by ‘we’ I mean the band collectively...” She gestured toward the front of the bus. “We always just assumed Rosé would probably be a guy.”
“Okay. Thank you for the info. Please let me know if you think of anything else.” Ryker stood and turned toward the door.
Jade felt a sense of loss as that warm, comfortable feeling moved away as Ryker did.
“Hey, Mr. Blue Eyes,” Jade said.
Ryker stopped and turned to look at her.
“You want to play video games with me?” She held up the second controller.
A smile touched the corner of his mouth. “Sure. Give me five minutes.”
“Sounds good.”
While Ryker was gone, Jade loaded up A Way Out, a popular two player game where they would work together to break out of the game’s prison. She had a feeling Ryker would excel at that with his SEAL training. She couldn’t wait to find out.
* * *
Ryker
Ryker walked through the curtain that separated the bus driver’s compartment from the band’s. Drake sat up front by the driver, talking and joking as the scenery whizzed by, his long hair pulled back in its usual ponytail. Drake always put people at ease and built a rapport with them. He excelled at it to the point that he might seem like he was goofing off when really he was paying full attention. He swore by the technique and said it gave the best results.
