Chapter 2

Two

Harlowe

Ijammed another sweater into my suitcase and heaved the top over to close it, even though the bulge of clothes that spilled out the sides told me that it wasn’t going to be easy. Sitting on the matte-silver hull of the roll-aboard brought the two sides a bit closer as I yanked at the zipper and cursed under my breath. I bounced up and down a few times, finally tugging the straining zipper all the way around and huffing out a breath. “Take that!”

I scraped a hand through my long hair. I was too young to be this angry, too young to be this burned out, too young to be sick of my life already. But I wasn’t too young to be splashed across the covers of gossip magazines with salacious lies and the occasional painful truth buried inside the pages like precious gold flakes among so much dirt.

Standing, I glared at the suitcase sitting on the impossibly white carpet of my enormous closet, as if it were the reason for my anger. Anger that had been simmering inside me since I’d gotten the call from my dad telling me he was sending a bodyguard with me on my shoot.

“I don’t need a bodyguard,” I’d argued, as I’d paced the cool black tile of my kitchen, the only thing in my new house that wasn’t white. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“I’ve seen the messages you’ve been getting on social media, Harlowe.” My dad—technically my stepdad, but I’d always called him my dad since he’d raised me—had sounded genuinely worried.

I’d stalked from my open kitchen into the living room and flopped onto the armless sofa across from the armless chairs in the house that was too chic to contain any furniture with limbs. “People are upset that Zander and I broke up, but it will blow over.”

I hated admitting that my entanglement with my co-star and love interest on our TV show—which everyone from my dad to my agent to my best friend had advised against—had blown up in my face. It didn’t matter that he’d ended it. All fans saw was the show’s temptress breaking Zander’s heart on TV, so they decided that I was the villain in real life. Forget the fact that Zander was the one with the actual wandering eye. I couldn’t prove that his other parts had wandered, but I had serious suspicions.

“Maybe, but I don’t like the threats you’ve been getting. It only takes one…” His words had trailed off, but I didn’t need him to finish the thought to know what he meant.

Although I claimed not to read social media comments, that was a lie. I’d seen what fans had posted about me, and I wasn’t blind to the threats. Threats menacing enough for the studio to insist on extra security on set, and for me to be glad that I had a wall and gate around my house as well as a top-notch security system. I thought of the one fan who had made the scariest threats—and posted photos of himself outside my house—and I took a breath to steady my nerves.

I peered out the sliding glass doors that led to the terrace and the long pool overlooking the city. The gray haze huddled over LA was the only reason the view of so much glitz wasn’t blinding in the mid-day, California sun. “This is supposed to be a relaxed location shoot. It’s not even for the show. No one knows where I’m going or that I’m going.”

“Not yet.”

I released a tortured sigh I immediately regretted. I was twenty-three, but every time I talked to my dad, I felt like I was a little kid again. I got that he felt responsible for me, especially since it was his proximity to actors that had made me want to become one, but I hated that he made me feel like a child. Then I thought of what my scary fan had said he wanted to do to me, and a shiver slid down my spine. “Fine. One bodyguard, but he has to be low profile. I do not want to feel like I have a babysitter.”

“I’m going to get you the best.”

I stilled, a flicker of unease tickling my spine. I knew my dad used orc security exclusively, which I didn’t mind. Having a hulking orc as a bodyguard usually scared off anyone who dared to approach you. I’d wished that the studio hired orcs more than once, since their human security details hadn’t done much to dissuade the throngs of fans that hung around the studio gates. I imagined an orc bodyguard body slamming one of the guys who yelled out things he wanted to do to me, and I grinned.

Then my grin faded. As long as my dad didn’t assign his friend Roc to protect me. Even the thought of the hot part-orc made my breath hitch in my throat. It had been years since I’d seen him, but I couldn’t imagine that the green-skinned guy with dark hair he wore in a ponytail and serious don’t-mess-with-me vibes had changed much. He’d given me butterflies when I was a teenager, and even now, the thought of him made my mouth go dry.

But Jack hadn’t mentioned Roc in ages, and I hadn’t even heard of the owner of Orc, Inc. providing security for anyone in a long time. He used to appear in the background of celebrity photos every so often, but that had stopped. As far as I knew, the guy could be retired.

“Only for this shoot.” I matched my stern tone to my dad’s. “This is not permanent.”

He’d sighed, making me feel like I was fulfilling every stereotype of a spoiled starlet. “Fine.”

“Everything will be okay, Dad.” My voice softened. “I promise.”

“Do you also promise to be nice to the bodyguard I’m sending? No running off or trying to ditch him.”

I opened my mouth to protest before I realized he must have talked to the studio and heard about the times that Zander and I had given our security detail the slip. That had been more Zander’s idea than mine, but no one believed that the golden boy was trouble. Not when I was around to blame for all the bad behavior.

I was too tired to argue anymore or explain my side of the story. “I promise.”

Now that I stood in my closet, packed and ready to go, I regretted making that promise, especially since all I wanted to do was grab my suitcase and make a run for it. I eyed the silver case, wondering how far I could make it alone before I was spotted by an overeager fan and my photo ended up on social media. Maybe outside my front door?

The gate alarm jangled me from my pointless fantasies, and I grabbed my phone from a tufted bench, glancing quickly at the time and cursing that the orc bodyguard was a few minutes early. I shoved my phone into the pocket of my hoodie and released the handle of my suitcase so I could drag it from the closet, through my bedroom, and down the hall with me.

“If my fans could see me now,” I muttered to myself with a laugh. I’m sure everyone would have expected Hollywood’s newest diva to have a cadre of staff to do everything from pack to carry, but the truth was I despised having strangers underfoot. I’d always loved time alone, which was yet another reason I hated the idea of a bodyguard who would be with me all the time. Even if it meant dragging a suitcase so heavy it was giving my palm a blister.

The bell rang again, making me regret sending my assistant away early. “Chill out. I’m coming!”

I paused at the front double doors and gave a final glance at the Spartan interior of the house I’d only occupied for a few weeks, all white and glass and sharp edges. I wouldn’t miss this place, even though it was exactly the kind of modern chic house everyone expected me to have. A location shoot in a quaint small town in the middle of nowhere was exactly what I needed, even if I did have to put up with a bodyguard tagging along.

Taking a quick glance at the monitor that showed me who was at the gate, I saw a driver in a limousine holding up studio credentials. No surprise there. The studio and my new bodyguard were apparently working together to coordinate my security and transportation.

I pressed the button to open the gate then made a quick dash to the kitchen to grab a can of water—eco-friendly so fans wouldn’t see me with a single-use plastic bottle and call me out—before I ventured into the Southern California heat. A rap on the door told me that the limo hadn’t wasted any time winding up the short, circular drive.

I opened the door and stepped aside so my orc bodyguard could come in and get my bag. “Just the one suitcase…” My words drifted into nothingness as my new bodyguard turned around. He might have been older and the slightest bit bulkier, but Roc had the same black hair pulled half up and dark scruff that I remembered so well. If I hadn’t been holding onto the doorframe, I might have sagged to the floor. My childhood crush was my new bodyguard?

Fuck me.