Chapter 27

TWENTY-SEVEN

ZANE

Black bears are known for their independence and resourcefulness. When it comes to nourishment, they don’t just stick to one menu—these bears can eat a whopping 200 different types of foods! And if something doesn’t suit their taste, they’re not afraid to wander off and find something that does. They prioritize their needs and desires because they know true bear happiness comes from following their own path.

—Bear Facts for Insomniacs, Episode 61

Keeping busy with the new project recording was a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it distracted me from the fact that Ryan wasn’t there. On the other, it was pretty fucking unfair to suddenly find myself with a boyfriend and not be able to touch him or kiss him or feel his cock inside me or sleep in his arms.

I was bitter and resentful. I hated the king of Ventdestine. I didn’t much like Violet right now. And I resented the fuck out of the fact I had hundreds of millions of dollars… yet my money couldn’t solve this problem because my boyfriend had fucking principles.

“I hate principles,” I muttered.

Kenji continued to tap on his iPad as the plane cut through the California sky on the way toward Wyoming. “Girl, same. Mrs. Rowland. She thought the jocks deserved precedence because they worked so hard to represent us. Meanwhile, those of us who were mathletes could suck eggs. Please tell me what a stinky junior varsity wrestler ever did to deserve second helpings in the lunch line? If you asked me—which no one did—it was the scrawny kids that needed the extra food.”

I ignored him and continued grumbling under my breath.

“Please tell me you at least pleasure yourselves at night over FaceTime because you seem a little… frustrated.” Kenji’s voice was as dry as it would have been if he’d been explaining quarterly estimated tax payments.

“I would, but we’re on completely different schedules! When I finish my workday, Bear’s in the middle of all the royal family’s evening commitments. It’s been impossible. He tries calling me when he’s done, but by then, I’m at dinner with the artists from the project this week. You know how it’s been. I’m at my wit’s end.”

Kenji finally looked up and met my eye. “Maybe you should reconsider this relationship.”

I glared at him. “I hope you’re joking. I’m not reconsidering it! I’m just… sad. I miss the hell out of him. It’s been ten days!”

“See, this is why I stay away from entanglements. The pining. I fucking hate pining. It’s beneath my dignity, and quite frankly, it’s beneath yours, too. You’re better than this. I say you put the moves on hot Sheriff Foster this weekend.” Kenji bounced his eyebrows. “He’d be up for it. Probably. And he’s a big muscular guy, which is clearly your type.”

I stared at him. “What the fuck are you doing right now?”

“You’re like a baby bird. You took one step outside the eggshell and imprinted on the first thing you saw. It’s common. Nobody blames you. But maybe this isn’t the guy. Maybe you don’t need one guy. Maybe you need lots of guys. I’d like to see you decide to sample all the… the forest… because there are plenty more animals out there, Zane.”

I felt like he was trying to make a point, but I was too annoyed to see it.

“I’m in love with Ryan Galloway. It’s not a whim, Kenji. And I’m not a fucking baby bird. I’m a man who knows what he wants. I’m a business owner, a billionaire, a motherfucking global rock star. And I want to be with the man I love.”

“Mm,” he said, going back to tapping on the tablet. “If only there was a way. But your hands are tied, really. I mean, between the label’s strict rules and Violet’s new policy.” He pursed his lips and shook his head sadly. “Even billionaires have to play by the rules, I guess.”

I finally saw through him. Saw through this ridiculous bullshit. He was provoking me into taking action.

“I fucking hate you. Why can’t you just say what you mean?”

He shrugged. “Chaska Inira says the map to the answer is already drawn on your heart.”

I had no patience for his Peruvian faith healer right now. “What the fuck does that mean?”

“It means maybe you need to be provoked before you realize you already know what you want to do. You already have the answers, Zane. I’m just trying to get you to drop your fear so you can get to it.”

I opened my mouth to snap at him that it wasn’t fear, but I stopped before the first word came out.

It was fear. Fear of fucking up. Fear of letting people down. Fear of upsetting people.

Fear of being abandoned.

“I’m worried it’ll be too much. That he won’t want to be with me,” I admitted softly.

Kenji set his tablet aside and turned to me. “What else?”

“I’m worried the record label won’t want to renew me?”

He shrugged. “Do you need them? ”

Of course I needed them. Every big performer needed a big-name label behind them.

Didn’t they?

I met Kenji’s eyes. Whatever he saw in mine made him sigh and pull back out his tablet. “If only you could afford to start your own label,” he muttered sarcastically.

Nervous butterflies began to riot in my gut. “Surely I can’t just start my own label…”

“Check your email,” he said mildly. “The business plan is already there, along with a list of ten artists who are up for contract renewal and would switch to you in a heartbeat. I also scheduled that call you mentioned with the Irish woman who plays the mandolin. You know she’s unsigned, right?”

What’s the point of any of this?

“Holy shit.” I felt my chest rise and fall with excitement. “We’re starting a record label, aren’t we?”

“The attorneys are just waiting for you to choose a name before submitting the paperwork. I found a director-level executive I like for this, but I put together a short list of other options in case you don’t like him. You’ll like him, though. He’s gay. I think it’s important since you’re going to focus on LGBTQ talent, but if you disagree, I’ll allow it.”

The edge of his lip quirked up as I shoved him. “I hate it when you know what we’re all going to do before we do it. It’s unnatural.”

Kenji met my eyes. I could see he was as excited as I was. “You’re going to be amazing at this, Zane. The brotherhood will be proud of you… and your Bear will, too.”

Tears sprang to my eyes. After all these years of making money, making decisions, making moves in my multiple endeavors, this was the first time I felt the soul-deep certainty that I was on the right path. “Thank you for your support, Kenji. I don’t know what any of us would do without you.”

“I should have invested in a waterproof interior for this plane since it’s seen so many tears,” he muttered, patiently allowing me to kiss him on the cheek in thanks.

“I can’t wait to tell everyone. Who all will be there when we arrive?”

He went back to tapping the tablet, probably initiating some of the business tasks that had been waiting for my approval. “Everyone. You’re the last one in except for Landry, and god only knows when the prima donna will arrive. It’s not like he keeps me informed of his movements.”

I wanted to ask him why he was so bitter about Landry, but I honestly already knew.

Landry was everything Kenji hated. He was paid for being beautiful instead of smart and diligent. He didn’t take things seriously. He got into trouble often—everything from missed flights to misdemeanors—and every time, he’d call Kenji to help sort him out. While Kenji was officially the personal assistant to all of us in the brotherhood—and ran a small army of under-assistants and various vendors to help, too—dealing with Landry alone could easily have taken all Kenji’s attention if he let it.

I didn’t think this was a coincidence. Landry was a brilliant strategist, and I was pretty sure he wanted as much of Kenji’s time and focus as he could get… even if he had to get in trouble to do it. But for all that Kenji was insightful (and practically psychic) when it came to figuring out what the rest of the brotherhood needed and wanted, he seemed absolutely clueless when it came to Landry.

Or maybe when it came to himself .

My phone buzzed with a text from Bear.

Bear

About to go wheels up. Heading to Mount Rushmore for the night, then on to Majestic. T-minus 24 hours until I see your beautiful face.

I saw an ad on Instagram for a pop-up contraption soccer moms use to help their kids change clothes at practice when there’s not a restroom nearby. It’s like a tube-shaped tent. I keep fantasizing about whipping one of those things out when I see you and hopping into it so you and I can greet each other properly without anyone seeing us.

Bear

… that’s not what I fantasize you whipping out, Z.

I grinned at my phone like a fool.

Will you be able to take a break and come to Dev and Tully’s house?

Bear

Working on it. I’ll see you at the Bells event, and then once I help get the family settled back at the lodge, I plan to come see you for a few hours. We need to talk about the future, and I need to feel your skin under my hands.

I shivered.

Perfect. I vote twenty minutes talking, all the rest, hand-ing.

Bear

You think twenty minutes is enough to sort our whole future, huh?

Honestly? I think twenty is excessive, but I want to be considerate of your needs. laugh-cry emoji

Bear

Zane…

Nope. I know what I want, Bear. I know who I can’t live without. And as some people have reminded me recently, it’s okay for me to sometimes ENJOY the benefits of being a billionaire rock star, so that’s what I’d like to do. But what you want matters more to me than anything. I know you love your job. So, we’ll talk.

Bear

Yeah. We’ll talk. But Z? There is nothing in this world I love more than you. So fuck the job. Fuck anything that keeps us apart. I know who I can’t live without, too.

I sniffled a little, my need for him making my chest ache.

You’re not allowed to say nice things when you’re so far away. Disallowed.

Bear

I’ll keep that in mind. No more being far away.

Just as I prepared to type a response, an email alert flashed up. The words Semper in scopum grabbed my attention immediately.

To Zee,

He’s back where he belongs.

See you in Majestic.

Semper in scopum.

My head felt like a helium balloon that had just been released into the sky. He’s back where he belongs? What the fuck?

“Kenji,” I breathed. “Kenji, fuck. Help. What does this mean? Does this mean what it looks like? Is Ryan the target ?”

I handed him my phone so he could read the email. There was no point in panic-dialing Bear if I was off the mark.

“You need to send this to Ryan immediately.”

I forwarded it to his email, copied Violet, and then dialed Bear with shaking hands.

There was no answer—he might have his phone in airplane mode—so I dialed Violet.

“Check your email,” I said as soon as she picked up the call. “I think the Stamper’s after Ryan. I think it’s…” I hesitated before accusing someone in the royal family of a crime. “I think maybe Ryan is in trouble, Violet.”

“Hang on.” I heard sounds of her shuffling things as if getting to her laptop. “That makes no sense, Zee. Why would Ryan be the target?”

“I don’t know. The royal family wants him back. They offered him a ton of money in Amsterdam, and he said no. Maybe… maybe they think getting to me somehow will make the record label lose faith in Ryan and replace him? Maybe then they think he’d go back to Ventdestine?”

“That’s an awfully convoluted way to go about recruiting someone for a job, Zee,” Violet said with excessive patience. “The stamp is the logo from your album. They got to you at your shows. You’re one of the world’s largest celebrities right now. How could it not be you? No offense to Ryan, but close protection officers aren’t hard to find. They couldn’t need Ryan that badly.”

I shook my head in frustration. “You don’t understand. They have this weird superstition. King Asger thought it was fate that Ryan saved him. That the winds of fortune had blown him to them at the exact right time. What if… what if King Gerhard thinks his father died because Ryan wasn’t there? What if he thinks fate wants Ryan back?”

“I still think they would have made him a better offer,” she said matter-of-factly. “If the king of Ventdestine wanted Ryan Galloway so much, he could make the offer tempting enough for Ryan to say yes, Zee. Everyone has a price.”

I thought about the man I loved. About how I’d offered to support him so he could travel with me and we could be together. About how living in Ventdestine meant Ryan had been forced to deny an important part of himself. “The price isn’t always a financial one, Violet.”

She hesitated. “You’re right. Okay. I’ll run this down, Zee. I promise. Hang tight. I’m also going to check with Lou and make sure Noelle is accounted for, too.”

I had to admit, I hadn’t even considered Noelle since Amsterdam. But I supposed she was doing PR liaison stuff for the royal family, wasn’t she? It wouldn’t hurt to run it down and see if she had any helpful insight.

“Do you have a way of tracking Ryan? He’s not answering my call, and he’s stopped texting.” Why hadn’t it occurred to me to ask him to share his location with me? What kind of boyfriend was I that I couldn’t look out for him the way he looked out for me?

“His last location was Teterboro. They’re probably in flight.”

“I’m sure there’s Wi-Fi on the plane. Why isn’t he online?”

I could hear the sound of her typing. “Not sure. Let me go and see if I can contact someone else on their team. I’ll be in touch. But Zee?”

“Yeah?”

“If Ryan’s the target, that’s good news for you.”

My mouth dropped open as I tried to figure out how I was possibly misunderstanding her words. She couldn’t mean that, could she?

“How so?”

“It would mean you’re out of danger. If this is about Ryan, we can deal with that separately. But at least you’d be able to breathe a little freer.”

I felt Kenji’s hand slide into mine and squeeze it tightly. I turned to him with incredulity on my face as I tried to remain calm and keep from outing Bear without his permission or getting him fired on the spot.

“If you think I’ll breathe freer knowing someone was using me to get to him, you don’t know me very well. Please get in touch with him and keep me updated, Violet. I want to know as soon as you hear from him.”

As she ended the call, the flight attendant notified us we were landing. Majestic’s private airstrip had become a familiar landmark in the past couple of years. I looked out the window as we left the Rockies behind us and flew above the tumbling foothills. The Majestic River meandered out of the hills and onto the flats, curving around a tiny speck I knew was Way and Silas’s tiny house on the Fletcher Ranch.

Something about Majestic anchored me. Even though I was terrified for Bear, I was relieved to finally be returning to the place where I felt loved and supported. The place where my family lived.

The brotherhood’s roots here had been planted as tiny seeds when Silas had accidentally married the local mayor. Fresh shoots had sprouted up when Dev had followed him and settled here with Tully and their daughter, Lellie.

And now, I was buying up a fucking enormous piece of the land I’d come to love, in hopes Bear would want to build a life with me here and follow our dreams together. A winter sports camp. Apparently a freaking record label. A family. A home .

But in order for that to happen, we needed to take care of the threats to our happiness and security once and for all.

When the plane touched down, I told Kenji I wanted to refuel and immediately fly to Rapid City.

“We can intercept them,” I explained. “It’s not that far.”

Kenji’s eyes flicked ahead to where Paul and Miguel were placing bets on whether it would snow today or tomorrow.

“That’s not happening, Zane,” Kenji said softly. “He’s not in actual danger. If the king wants him in the royal guard, they’re not going to hurt him. And if you suddenly show up trailing the kind of lookie-loo media attention you always attract, it would turn a currently secret situation into a sensational story on a global scale. You need to let Violet’s team handle it. I promise, if I thought there was something you could do right now, I’d make sure you were doing it.”

I blew out a breath. Kenji was right. If it was the royal family behind the threats, that probably meant Bear wasn’t in personal danger. But my mind spun wildly out of control.

“What if the king kidnaps him and flies him to Ventdestine? What if he won’t take no for an answer? What if?—”

“Then we will get him back. But for right now…” Kenji pointed across the tarmac to the waiting SUVs, where a familiar clutch of humans stood, and a bright-eyed little girl happily shook a little string of jingle bells in the air. “Take a breath, Zane. We’re home.”

I glanced over at him, surprised to hear him call Majestic home since he lived in New York. But then again, this little Wyoming town had charmed us all.

I made a beeline for Lellie and grabbed her out of Tully’s arms to hold her tight. “Lellie-girl,” I said, suddenly feeling tight-chested with affection and a true sense of family. She smelled like apples and peanut butter sandwiches.

“Zay!” she said happily, patting my face. “Zay sing me.”

Dev stepped in behind her and hugged us both. Other than Shaky Knees in Atlanta, I hadn’t seen them much in person, but Lellie knew me from the lullaby videos I’d sent them. She could play them on an iPad at night or whenever they needed to keep her entertained or distracted for a little while.

I loved being able to be a part of her life even when I wasn’t there. “Thank you, guys, for coming to get me. I think my security team arranged for vehicles, but maybe they’ll let me ride with you if you have enough room in the truck.”

“Dev got me a minivan,” Tully said with a shit-eating grin.

“It’s not a minivan,” Dev corrected with a sigh. “And it wasn’t for you; it was for all of us. How many times are you going to give me hell for this? It’s a luxury touring van. For when we want to drive through Yellowstone or go on a longer car ride as a family?—”

“ Pfft . Says you . I freakin’ love my minivan. Someday, I’m gonna be driving that beast to soccer practices. I’m gonna be rockin’ the school pickup line. Lellie’s gonna say, ‘Can you take me and twelve of my closest friends to the mall, but make sure you walk ten steps behind us so no one knows you’re with us?’ and I’m gonna say, ‘Heck yeah, kids, pile in.’ The minivan isn’t a car, Devon. It’s a way of life. And I’m here for it.”

We made our way out to the parking lot, where, sure enough, a luxury Mercedes touring van shone like a beacon alongside the pair of dark SUVs my team had hired. Paul gave me a nod before accompanying me to the van with Dev, Tully, and Lellie, while Kenji went with Miguel so he could take a phone call in relative peace.

I checked my phone obsessively during the drive in hopes of getting a response from Bear or Violet, but there was nothing. My fingers itched to text both of them again, but I’d already texted Bear several times, and if I texted Violet again, my newfound obsession for my personal protection officer would set off alarm bells, especially given the current “no frat” situation.

By the time we got to Dev and Tully’s place, I was starting to get very scared.

The rest of the brotherhood was waiting for us at Dev’s house, but I’d barely gotten through a chaotic round of hugs and greetings before my phone rang with an incoming call from Lou. I immediately seized it and stalked into the kitchen, dimly aware that Kenji was hurriedly explaining the situation to the others in a low, urgent tone.

“Lou?” I demanded. “Is everything okay? Have you heard from Ryan? Is he?—?”

“Zee?” Instead of Lou’s rough cadence, I recognized the familiar voice of my former publicist.

“Noelle?” I blinked. “What’s going on?”

“Lots of things, apparently,” she said in a hurt voice. “I’m here with your bodyguard, answering her questions—which, seriously, am I actually being investigated , Zee? Because that is incredibly insulting. You and I wanted to take your career in different directions, I know, and I admit I made some mistakes, but I thought we were over that. In Amsterdam, I tried to thank you and explain how I’m actually way, way happier now. I’m a public relations liaison for visiting foreign dignitaries, and I freaking love it. I’m really good at it. And no offense, but like… you’re gonna have a hot career for, what? Another ten years? Tops? Royalty lasts forever?—”

There were the brief sounds of a tussle, and then Lou’s voice clipped, “I’m gonna nutshell this for you since Chatty Cathy here will take all day.”

“Harsh,” Noelle muttered in the background. Lou ignored her.

“I asked if she could explain how she’d come to be in every single location where we’ve had an, um… incident,” Lou said carefully, not revealing too much information. “Apparently, she was in San Diego meeting up with the head of the royal guard?—”

“Kasper,” Noelle called into the phone.

“Kasper. He was supposedly meeting her on behalf of the royal family to discuss publicist stuff for this holiday trip to the US. Noelle is working as a publicist for a company that provides domestic media support to visiting dignitaries.”

Noelle tried to butt in again, but Lou spoke over her. “He met with her in San Diego and Los Angeles, both times at your shows there because he’s supposedly a huge fan. Such a big fan Noelle ended up giving him a bunch of swag. You know, things like pens, temporary tattoos, a novelty rubber stamp from your first album .”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Kasper? But… he couldn’t have been at Shaky Knees.”

I thought of where Bear was right now. On a plane in the air over god-knew-where with the royal family.

And Kasper.

My chest was tight, and it wasn’t until I felt a hand on my shoulder and heard Kenji’s low voice in my ear reminding me to breathe that I realized I was hyperventilating.

“Apparently, he was. He met up with Noelle there, too, and someone didn’t seem to think that was an excessive amount of in-person meetings to arrange PR for a two-week trip, but whatever. ”

I heard Noelle complain in the background.

“Lou, did you tell Violet all this?” I demanded.

“She got the longer, Noelle-narrated version, but yes,” Lou agreed. “She said she’s checking on a few more things.”

“Good. Please, please keep me posted. I need someone to notify me as soon as they contact Ryan. He needs to know to keep an eye on Kasper?—”

“Kasper’s not with Ryan. That’s the other thing.”

I let out a sigh of relief. “Couldn’t you have led with that? Jesus, Lou. I was worried. Where is he?”

“According to a final logistics text from Ryan, Kasper is going with the advance team directly to Majestic. We’re waiting for confirmation now, and Violet is contacting the sheriff in Majestic.”

I sucked in a breath, suddenly panicked. He was coming here? What would Kasper do? How far would he go? Would he step up his fear campaign and actually try to hurt me? Oh, god, Bear would never forgive himself.

And all for what? Because Kasper thought if Bear stopped protecting me, he’d immediately run back to Ventdestine? Like there weren’t a billion other jobs he could do instead?

Clearly, the man wasn’t thinking logically. He’d believed in the winds of fortune too hard and had lost sight of reality. How could I make it clear that Bear was no longer coming back to Ventdestine under any conditions? How could I get Kasper to leave us the hell alone? How could I protect Bear from someone who couldn’t see the truth when it was right in front of him?

How could I reveal the truth without spilling our secret?

I bit my lip as a memory of playing Secret Sauce tickled the back of my mind. “…the best way to deal with multiple potential scandals was to let them all blow free at once…”

Maybe I didn’t want to divulge one truth but five truths.

“Noelle,” I said slowly. “I need to write a few press releases.” I bit my lip and gave Kenji a nervous smile. “Do you think you can help?”