15

Christian

Hailey ran onto the stage and the audience jumped up from their seats and chanted her name. "Hailey! Hailey! Hailey!"

Standing behind the black curtain, I could see the faces of the fans in the front row. I pressed on my earpiece, connecting me to the security guards. "The girl wearing the yellow T-shirt is holding something pointy in her hand. Someone needs to check it out now."

One guard immediately ran over to the woman and pointed at her hand. She opened it, revealing a stuffed unicorn. "She says she wants to throw it on stage for Hailey."

"Collect it and tell her we will give it to her. I want to examine it first."

"Got it."

Reluctantly, the fan parted with the purple unicorn but resumed jumping up and down once the security guard left.

I surveyed the rest of the room. The crowd sang along with Hailey as she performed one of her more lively songs. A few people cried while others danced, but everyone appeared to be engaged in the show. Experience taught me to look out for people not living in the moment. If someone had something planned, they either looked for escape routes or weakened security details. Scanning the room again, I confirmed no one fit that description.

I exhaled, not realizing how stressed I'd been leading up to the concert. Fortunately, everyone's background check came back relatively clean. Which reminded me of Frankie. I kept an eye on him as he, too, watched from backstage.

If what Hailey said was true and he had set up Trey and Hailey without letting Hailey know, I questioned whether he had her best interest at heart. Or was he only interested in his bank account?

He checked his watch.

"Do you have some other place to be?" I asked while keeping an eye on the crowd.

His head snapped up. "W-what?"

"I asked if you're late for something else since you keep checking your watch."

"No."

I sucked my teeth.

"I know about Detroit," I said, referring to his last drug arrest.

"What? How… that was all a big misunderstanding."

"I'm not bringing it up to judge you."

He snickered. "Then why?"

"I'm letting you know that I have my eye on everyone. I'm here to protect Hailey. Even from those she trusts."

He turned to me. "I'm not going to hurt Hailey. You don't have to worry about me, man."

"That's good," I replied, "because you don't want to have to worry about me."

He swallowed, but stared out into the crowd. I hoped it was enough warning for him.

Hailey pulled up a chair and sat with her guitar. "This next song is about finding love in unexpected places."

She played the first chord, and I recognized it as the one she played in the living room earlier that caught my attention. She sang the song in a lower chord, her voice deeper, sultrier than in the other songs. The tone flowed through my veins and my chest swelled. I'd been her bodyguard for a little over a month and her lover for less than a day, and yet, I felt like I'd known that voice forever.

"Christian," one of the bodyguards called over the radio.

"Yes. I'm here. What is it?"

"There's someone at the front door. His ticket isn't scanning. But it looks legit. Should I let him in?"

"Absolutely not. If it's not scanning, it's fake. Send him on his way."

Then a thought popped into my head. "Send me a picture of the guy before he leaves."

I wanted to know what he looked like in case I saw him hanging around Hailey again.

"Will do."

The next forty minutes went by without any incident. The guards all performed their duties as instructed and the audience remained on their side of the room without attempting to rush the stage.

Everyone was told they would be kicked out immediately, along with the rest of their party, if they attempted it. No questions asked.

That seemed to have worked. No one wanted to risk leaving one of the biggest secret concerts of the year.

After the last song, Hailey bowed to the audience and waved. Her face beamed with relief and she gave one last low bow and shouted. "Thank you and good night!"

Sam rushed past me and hugged Hailey. "That was perfect! Oh, I'm so happy it went so well. We're going to post this on social media and everyone is going to be talking about it."

"Not until I get Hailey home," I warned Sam.

She waved me off. "Fine. Fine." But then, with a hand on her hip, she gave one final warning. "I mean it, you two stay away from each other. At least in public."

She rolled her eyes and walked away.

Frankie came up to Hailey. "You looked great out there, Hailey."

She smiled. "Thanks, Frankie. But we need to talk."

"I know. Your mom warned me about Trey. I did it for you, Hail."

"Everyone keeps saying that without asking me if it was what I wanted. The next time you want to do something for me, Frankie, ask me first. Got that?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Good. Now, I'm going home to celebrate."

"Home? A few of us are going to Lively. You've got to come with us."

Hailey shook her head. "No thanks. I still haven't gotten over what happened the last time I was there."

He grimaced. "Fair enough." He kissed her on the cheek and I looked away. I hated to see another man's lips anywhere near her.

"Do you really want to go home?" I asked her when we got inside the car.

She shrugged. "I don't care. I just want to be with you. And if I can only kiss you in private, then that's where I want to be."

It was one of the nicest things anyone had ever said to me, and my lungs seized. Shit. This woman was turning me inside out.

I nodded. But as I drove down the road, another idea came to mind. "Is it true that you've never been to Disneyland? I heard you say that to your cousin."

She nodded. "I haven't stopped working since we moved here. I've never had a chance."

Looking at the time, it was almost ten o'clock. It would be dark, and no one was expecting her to be there. Also, with the security checks at the gate, it would be safer than a club.

I took the exit toward the highway. "Christian, where are we going?"

I turned to her and smiled. "We're going to Disneyland, baby."

She sat up in her seat and laughed. "What?! Are you serious right now?"

I nodded. "Damn right. If this is where you want to go, I'm not wasting another minute."

She reached over, grabbed my face, and kissed my cheek. Then she squealed and clapped her hands. "I'm so excited!"

My face hurt from smiling so much. I wasn't used to this, but I never wanted it to end. Not this night, not this date, not this feeling.

***

Hordes of people were leaving the park just as we breezed through the empty security line to get in. Shortly after entering the park, I bought Hailey a princess jacket and baseball cap with mouse ears. The items were meant to disguise her, but she ended up looking so damn cute. I pulled her in for a kiss.

"None of that or Sam will have our heads."

I growled, but let her go. This was about her, after all. I would kiss her senseless when we returned home.

"Where to first?" I asked.

She pointed to the mountain. "That one first."

I groaned. I hated rollercoasters but for her, I'd bear it. "All right. Let's do it." Most people were already leaving the rides to save themselves a spot for the fireworks, which meant there was hardly a queue.

Hailey made me ride that atrocity three times. But she loved every moment of it, raising her hands in the air while I tried to keep the contents of my stomach off the ground.

We dashed from one ride to another, Hailey nearly skipping from line to line. It was darker than I'd imagined it would be, but no one would have recognized her for the pop star that she was since she acted like everyone else who was there to have fun.

It was the moment I knew I was falling for her. Not the pop star. Not the client. But Hailey.

The teacup ride sparkled under the colored lights above it, and the large tree beside it provided shelter from the crowd. I pulled Hailey aside and kissed her under the branches' twinkling lights.

Boom!

We turned our heads toward the sky and watched as fireworks lit up the night sky. Hailey snuggled into my chest as I held her tightly against me. Our hearts raced next to each other, but it was the most beautiful feeling in the world.

"I love you," I whispered, and she squeezed me tighter.

Then, raising herself onto her tiptoes, she kissed me slowly. "I love you, too."

We held each other until the last spark fell from the black sky. Then she pulled my arm, giggling as she led me to the next ride.

***

"Uh," Hailey groaned in the passenger seat. "I shouldn't have eaten all those fries."

We stopped at a fast food restaurant on our way home, and I chuckled at the discomfort on her face. "You'll feel better once I make you a cup of tea."

She nodded. "That sounds perfect."

When we were just a few minutes away from her house, an alert went off on my phone. There was movement at Hailey's front door. I pulled over to check it out.

"Is everything all right?"

"I just need to check something."

I watched the video. A sports car pulled into Hailey's driveway and a man walked out.

"It's Trey," I said. "He just got to your place."

"Trey?" Hailey sat up in her seat, her stomach ache forgotten. "What's he doing there?"

She sounded cautious instead of angry. I wasn't sure what to make of the difference.

I drove back to the house. "Do you want to wait in the car while I find out?"

She shook her head. "No."

When I pulled into the garage, she opened her car door and headed straight inside.

"Trey," she shouted as she searched the house. I followed closely behind her.

"Hailey, baby. Where did you go? I've been looking all over for you?"

Hailey's brow furrowed. "What are you doing here, Trey?"

"I told you. I've been looking for you. I went to the club, but you weren't there. Frankie told me you came home, but… were you out with him?"

Trey narrowed his eyes, trying to intimidate me, and it felt like a fly trying to push me over. I crossed my arms and waited to see what Hailey wanted to do next.

"What do you want, Trey?" she asked.

Trey's eyes lit up when he pulled out his phone. "Have you seen the response?"

Hailey shook her head. "You know I'm not on social media much. What's going on?"

"They love you, Hailey. Everyone loved the concert. It's all they're talking about."

Hailey smiled. "That's great. Such a relief."

Then Trey pulled Hailey closer to him and nuzzled her ear, but she pushed him away. "What are you doing?"

"Don't you know what this means? We can be together again, baby. And I think I know exactly how I want to celebrate." He waggled his eyebrows, and I wanted to rip his face off.

I hadn't even realized I'd stepped closer to them until Hailey placed her hand on my arm. "I can handle this," she said.

Then, turning to boy wonder, she asked, "Are you serious, Trey?"

"What?"

"Do you think I would get back together with you after everything that happened?"

"I was honest about the reason I had to take a step back."

"That's not it. You kissed that girl."

"You kissed your bodyguard," he yelled, pointing at Christian. "We're even."

"This isn't a game, Trey. You left me when I needed you the most. You only cared about yourself."

Her voice cracked, and I placed my hand on the small of her back. Trey's face flushed red, and he shouted, "Are you with him now, then?"

"Yes."

"Well, that didn't take very long."

"Shut up, Trey."

"It took you forever to put out with me, but for him, your legs are wide open."

My fist tightened at my side. "Shut up, Trey," I reiterated Hailey's words.

"Fuck that. Make me."

I rarely got pushed into a fight. It was pointless. I'd seen too much bloodshed in my life to want to spill any more. But for the first time since I'd left the army, I wanted to hurt someone. Because he had hurt her. But I knew I could hurt him badly.

"I think you should go," I told Trey and walked toward the front door to open it for him.

"Don't do this, Hailey. We need each other. I don't even care that you kissed him."

"Well, I care, Trey. I care that I kissed him."

Trey looked at me standing at the door and back at Hailey. He pulled her aside and whispered something in her ear.

"No, Trey," she said.

"Come on, Hailey."

"No!" She slapped him and he froze.

Tension built around us and I felt the pull in my gut even before he raised his hand. I wasn't sure if it was my military training or my instinct to protect her, but I reached him before he could touch her.

I pushed him away from her, and he staggered back. I stepped forward to hit him because I wanted to hit him so damn bad, but a voice in my head stopped me.

He's not worth it. Don't lose everything because of this asshole.

But Trey rushed at me. He swung towards my face. I easily stepped back to avoid the punch. Off balance, he tried again, but I swatted his arm away.

"Ahh!" he screamed in frustration and ran towards me with his shoulder down. I braced for the impact and managed to keep us both up. This only aggravated him more.

"Stop it, Trey." Haily smacked his arm, and he swung and backhanded her.

Something in my head snapped. A roar, so fierce that it drowned out Hailey's cry. I gripped Trey's T-shirt and pushed him up against the wall. My hands circled his neck and squeezed.

Blood pounded in his veins. His pulse fluttered against my fingers as he choked for breath.

Perspiration gathered around my fingers and his forehead, and his skin became clammy and turned blue.

"Stop. You're going to kill him," Hailey cried from behind me. But it wasn't until I felt her hand on my arm that my muscles relaxed and my fingers fell from Trey's neck.

He gulped in a huge breath, and then another. "You're a fucking psycho, you know that?!"

"Get out, Trey," Hailey said and pushed him towards the front door. "Get out and never come back."

"You're kicking me out? He's the one with the anger issues."

Trey's words hit harder than any punch he could have landed. I'd never lost control like that before.

Trey left, and Hailey slammed the door behind him.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Am I okay?" I repeated. "Hailey, I'm so sorry. But when he came after you, I reacted. It was instinct to protect you. I'm not a violent person."

She caressed my cheek. "I know. I know, baby. He tried to blame it on you when he was the one who would have hurt me if you hadn't stepped in."

She rubbed my arm, and I inhaled sharply. This woman understood me better than I understood myself. I thought it was over. I thought after nearly killing her ex-boyfriend, as shitty as he was, I would have scared her off for good.

"I don't deserve you," I said, "but I will earn you."

Picking her up, she held onto my neck. I kissed her until she moaned into my mouth. "I will fly you to every single Disneyland in the world if that makes you happy."

She laughed. "What will make you happy?"

I didn't hesitate. "You. You make me happy, Hailey. You are my world. You are my happiness."

She pressed her lips onto mine, and I was lost in her kiss.