Blame It On The Carols (Sugarplum Falls #6)

Thirty | Makayla

Thirty

Makayla

T he days leading up to Christmas flew by, and before I knew it, it was already Christmas Eve. Aiden had gone in to work early this morning, which was nice because I had a whole night planned for us and didn’t want to have any interruptions.

I’d spent the morning wrapping the last of the Christmas gifts I’d purchased throughout the week. Who knew shopping in Sugarplum Falls could be so fun? Or maybe it was just that I liked how there was so much handmade stuff here, and I loved supporting local artisans.

My mom and I were supposed to be having lunch today, but I was waiting for her to get home before I headed over. Something felt off, but I tried to shake the feeling as I waited for her to text me to say that she was ready.

I did a load of laundry, making sure everything I needed for tonight was ready. Aiden hadn’t stopped talking about the lingerie I had purchased, so I went out and bought more. It was weird because I didn’t have a set time that I would be in Sugarplum Falls, and we both knew that. We’d talked about what would happen when I had to go back to LA, and we promised that we would find a way to make a long-distance relationship work.

My phone dinged with a new text message, so I picked it up, hoping it was my mom.

Aiden: Just wanted to say how much I miss you, and I can’t wait to see you when I get home.

A grin spread across my cheeks, making them hurt from how big it was.

Me: I can’t wait to see you too.

Aiden: Aren’t you supposed to be meeting your mom for lunch?

Me: Yeah. I’m just waiting for her to get home.

Just then, another text message came through.

Mom: I’m home.

It still felt weird to be going to her house for lunch instead of Brock’s since that’s where she had been staying. But she wanted to make lunch there since we had spent so many holidays together in that house. It didn’t bother me any since we had an entire security team watching everything, and deep down, it felt nice to have something that felt familiar and brought the comfort I’d remembered when I was little.

Me: Okay, I’m on my way.

I grabbed my purse from the table and sent a text back to Aiden.

Me: My mom just got home, so I’m heading over there now. See you later!

Aiden: Have fun. I’ll see you tonight. Love you.

Me: I love you too.

I shoved my phone into my pocket and opened the door, smiling when I saw Tony waiting for me.

“Perfect timing,” I said, pulling the door closed behind me and locking it. He smiled and walked behind me as I headed to the car where Patrick was already inside. It felt weird having my security detail double as my chauffeurs, but it worked. This was just another means to ensure my safety, which I was fine with.

The drive to my mom’s house was quick, as was everything in Sugarplum Falls.

Before I was allowed to get out of the house, Tony and Patrick checked the cameras for any signs of trouble before Tony got out and escorted me to the front door.

I knocked, not bothering to look for my keys. A few seconds later, my mom answered the door, and my stomach immediately dropped.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” I asked, stepping inside and reaching for her.

She was pale and looked like she had seen a ghost.

“Nothing, dear. Everything is fine. Did you bring the fruit cake?”

I pulled my brows together in confusion as I stared at her. What in the world was she talking about? Fruit cake? When had we ever eaten fruit cake together?

Her eyes widened, almost as if pleading with me.

“Shoot. I totally forgot to grab it. Why don’t you run with me to the store?” I offered, completely worried now as I reached for her hand. She pulled away quickly, making the hairs on my arm stand straight.

“Oh, no. I can’t do that. I need to stay here and watch the turkey in the oven.”

I glanced past her, noticing the oven wasn’t on, nor was there the familiar smell of one cooking.

“Okay. It’s fine. I can go real quick and come back.” I leaned in to hug her and whispered quietly in her ear. “Mom, you’re scaring me. What’s going on.”

“Leave now,” she whispered, pushing me away with tears in her eyes.

My blood turned cold as I noticed a small cut above her eyebrow.

“Where’s Brock?” I whispered, forgetting that he was supposed to be joining us. Why hadn’t he protected her from whatever was going on?

Tony stood at my side, and I noticed the moment his hand reached for his holster. His body angled close to mine as his eyes constantly scanned the room.

“He had to go to work today.”

Something was wrong. Very, very wrong. Brock had the day off, which was why we were having lunch together.

“Okay. I’ll go get the fruit cake, and then we can figure out lunch when I get back.”

I turned and faced Tony, my eyes wide and brimming with tears. He gave me a subtle nod, confirming he knew something was wrong as well. He leaned his head to his shoulder and spoke quietly into the microphone.

Within seconds, the front door flew open, and Patrick grabbed me, moving me to the kitchen before a handful of security guys rushed through the house. I reached for my mom, thankful when one of them guided her to me before sweeping the house.

“Drop your weapon now!” Tony yelled from the back of the house.

I closed my eyes and hugged my mom, terrified over what was happening.

There was a heavy thud and then a few other loud noises as more security rushed inside.

Patrick stood in front of me and my mom with his gun drawn and aimed in front of him.

A few minutes later, Tony came out with a man I’d seen plenty of times before handcuffed in front of him.

“Sean?” I asked, stepping out from behind Patrick before his body immediately blocked mine again. I squinted to try to see better, barely recognizing him with the full beard and long, shaggy hair.

“Stand back,” Patrick commanded, his weapon still aimed as Tony and Sean moved through the living room.

“What in the world is going on? Sean isn’t a threat. He runs my fan club,” I insisted, trying to get past Patrick so I could explain to them that they had the wrong guy.

But then it immediately hit me that there wasn’t any reason for Sean to be in my mother’s house.

It had been a while since I’d seen Sean, given that he moved two years ago and was now working remotely. Curtis took over managing him, which meant there wasn’t a need for me to be involved anymore. My heart sank when I realized that my issues with a stalker started shortly after Sean had left.

The rest of the security team came out, two of them assisting Brock, who had a bloody face. They helped him to the recliner and then stood guard beside him.

I covered my mouth and looked up at Sean with more tears filling my eyes.

“They weren’t going to let us be together,” he said, shaking his head. “I was your biggest fan, and you never even noticed. You don’t care about your fans or anyone other than yourself.”

“That’s not true,” I objected, my mind racing as I struggled to put all the pieces together of what was happening.

“It is, and you know it. I’ve done everything for you, Makayla. Everything!” he shouted, making me jump back behind Patrick. “You’re so caught up in yourself that you didn’t even see that I was in love with you. I tried to tell you, but you blew me off so many times. I didn’t get your attention until I pretended to be someone else.”

“Kevin,” I whispered, shaking my head, the reality of it sinking in.

“Yeah. And even then, he still wasn’t good enough for you. You had to come back to this hell hole and crawl back to your stupid ex-boyfriend. He didn’t care enough to make things work the first time. What makes you think he will now?”

“That’s enough out of you,” Tony said, shoving him forward as the sheriff took him into custody.

“I love you, Makayla! One way or another, I will be with you!”

His voice floated outside before the door slammed shut. Patrick secured his weapon in its holster and then turned to me and my mom.

“Are you two alright?”

“Yeah,” I said, nodding my head, though I was pretty shaken up. “She has a cut on her head, so someone needs to tend to that.”

“We have medics on the way,” one of the officers from the sheriff’s department answered.

I followed my mom over to the couch and sat down as officers and my security team rushed around us. They were securing the scene and collecting evidence, so we sat there, out of the way. Brock sat across from us, holding a towel against his forehead where a massive cut was bleeding.

“I am so sorry,” I said with a sob. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

“This isn’t your fault, honey,” my mom assured me, squeezing my hand gently.

“Yes, it is. If it weren’t for me, Kev—Sean wouldn’t have come here and hurt you guys. I mean, look at poor Brock. Are you sure we can’t do something for you until the paramedics get here? That looks pretty bad.”

“I’m fine,” he said, waving me off. “I told them I could suture it myself in the bathroom, but they refused to let me. So now I’m just applying pressure to stop the bleeding until someone else can do it for me. It’s honestly not as bad as it looks. A couple of stitches, and I’ll be back to normal.”

“How did he even get in here?” I asked, turning to where Patrick was talking to the other guys on my security detail with an iPad in front of them.

“He was able to disable the cameras somehow. That’s why no one saw him enter the house. The guys watching the house were monitoring the front and back door since the cameras should have caught any motion along the side of the house. It appears he came in through a window in the guest room.”

“Where I was supposed to be staying,” I said quietly. “I left the stupid window open because I was hot that first night I got here. I closed it but didn’t bother to lock it because it always sticks, and I didn’t want it to wake you up. Plus, there’s never any crime in Sugarplum Falls.” I rubbed my hands over my eyes and shook my head in frustration.

“You didn’t know any of this was going to happen,” my mom continued, rubbing my back soothingly. “We all tried to be as prepared as possible, but at least now they caught him. He can’t bother you anymore, Makayla. All of that is over now.”

I lifted my head and let my shoulders fall as I exhaled a heavy breath. Just then, Aiden came flying through the door, eyes wide as he searched the room for me.

“I’m fine,” I said, immediately pulling his attention to me.

He rushed over and sat on the couch beside me, squeezing into the little space left between me and the armrest.

“I came as soon as I heard,” he said, rubbing his thumb lightly over my cheek. “I can’t believe this happened.”

“I can’t believe it’s been Sean the whole time,” I replied, leaning against the cushion behind me. “He’s been running my fan club for the past five years . How could I have been so blind?”

“You weren’t blind. You just didn’t have any reason to suspect him.” Aiden’s eyes were soft as they looked into mine. “People often show us what they want us to see.”

“True, but I feel like so much of this could have been prevented if I was more involved or less distracted.”

“You hired someone to manage your fan club because you didn’t have the time to,” my mother softly reminded me. “That’s a normal thing to do, especially in your line of business. If you were busy taking care of everything, you’d have no time to record new music, no time to tour. Delegation was created for a reason.”

“Your mom is right,” Brock said. “There was no way you could have seen this coming. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

I allowed Aiden to pull me into his side and hold me as Patrick updated everyone on what was happening. No one on my security team had recognized him since he wasn’t considered a threat. It also helped him stay mixed in with the tourists because he wasn’t at the LA office anymore and was now working remotely.

I talked to Curtis, and he gave me some updates as well, including Sean’s immediate termination and the request he’d sent to collect the company computer he had been given when he moved. All in all, the good news was that this part was over. I didn’t have to keep watching over my shoulders, and even though it was already Christmas Eve, I had hope that my security detail could all get home to their families for Christmas.