Write or Wrong (Common Threads #9)

Chapter 24

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

TIMES LIKE THESE

ASA

He woke up that morning to a very naked Zara pressing soft kisses to his chest and neck. What followed could only be described as fantasy levels of perfection.

She’d never had shower sex before—which frankly was almost a crime—and he was happy to introduce that to her life.

They’d had coffee and breakfast and forced themselves to get dressed before Cas arrived.

But it wasn’t easy.

When they arrived at the studio it was as if they had the same mind about work. While the desire to touch her and kiss her and hold her was still very powerful, he had the self-control and wherewithal to know they’d have time later. And the waiting added an intoxicating layer to how much he craved her.

In his mind they were very careful about how close they stood, how much they touched, how long his gaze lingered. They hadn’t discussed what, if anything, they would tell the people around them.

He was fine with taking their time during this transition.

And he wasn’t exaggerating when he thought the music they made in the studio was the best of his life.

It was like discovering everything he loved about music and songwriting for the first time. Like the dream he had long ago wasn’t lost. It had just taken a detour and this was where he was always supposed to end up.

Making music with her.

Making love to her.

He felt alive and on fire and he hoped it never stopped.

Apparently he wasn’t the only one who thought what they were making was amazing. At one point he glanced up to say something to Zara in the vocal booth and realized the control room was full of people. Nikki, Johnny, Hannah, Shawn, Justin, and Sunshine were all silently watching and listening to the magic being made.

Also, he finally understood Nikki’s warning. Because it couldn’t be explained. It didn’t make sense. But there was definitely something special about that studio. He was so glad he’d decided to do his bestie a favor all those months ago.

A couple hours later he came out of the bathroom and nearly jumped out of his skin.

Hannah Lee was standing around the corner, her arms crossed, back to the wall, eyes on him.

“Whoa. Hey, Hannah,” he said, hesitating before moving past her. He had a weird feeling?—

“We need to talk,” she said, hooking his elbow with a hand and tugging him across the hall.

Yep. That checked out.

He went into the small storage room and turned around just as she closed the door.

The closet was packed floor to ceiling with boxes and gear and smelled like rubber and old electronics. A single light bulb hung from the center of the ceiling and Hannah yanked the string, casting the small space in a yellow glow.

She blinked the slowest blink ever over her icy blue eyes and Asa fought the urge to freak out.

“Anything you want to tell me, rock star?” she asked.

He grimaced. “Is it that obvious?”

Hannah glanced to the side. It wasn’t an eye roll but it also wasn’t not an eye roll. “To me? Or to normal people?”

Asa took a deep breath. “It’s not a fling,” he said.

“No shit,” she deadpanned.

He frowned. Maybe he didn’t know what this was about then.

“Do you know what you’re getting into?” she asked. Not in a snarky, smartass way, but in all sincerity.

“What do you mean?”

Hannah sighed and looked past him for a second. She came back and her expression shifted to something softer, more compassionate.

“She’s not just Zara,” Hannah said. She held her hands up, curved like they were holding a ball. “There’s a whole world of crazy that surrounds her. Fans, record executives, media, touring, travel, lack of privacy. She’s at the center. But you don’t get her without all the rest. You know what I’m saying?”

The tension in Asa’s stomach loosened and he nodded. “I know that.”

Hannah’s eyes narrowed. “Those things aren’t optional. Just because you guys have had this little bubble all to yourselves doesn’t mean it’s going to stay that way—what?”

As she’d continued her very valid warning, Asa started to smile. Because he wasn’t afraid of any of that. And wasn’t that what he’d told Zara months ago in that hotel room in LA?

“I know the job,” Asa said, nodding.

Hannah pressed her lips together and eyed him critically.

She had every right to be skeptical. She’d been there, on the side of fame where it got intense and unmanageable. Having an authentic relationship was a rarity.

“What’s in it for you?” Hannah asked, her blue eyes glowing in the dark room like she was peering into his soul.

“I get to be hers.”

The next week was a blur of creativity, music, bliss, and the best sex of his life.

He fucking loved that he’d been the one to ignite her sexual awakening. It made him feel like he had superpowers. And he planned on only ever using those powers for good.

Her good, specifically.

After his conversation with Hannah, he was more confident than ever in what they shared. It wasn’t normal. It was better than that. And he wasn’t worried about his anxiety. He’d figure it out. He’d go to therapy, get medication, do yoga. Whatever it fucking took. Never again would he let his internal fears take away something he loved. He was done being anxiety’s bitch.

Those were the thoughts on his mind as he slipped from the bed to make her coffee. He slid on his boxers and headed for the stairs.

He hit the kitchen and stopped short.

Cas sat at the island, coffee in hand.

Asa pressed his mouth into a firm line and met the bodyguard’s gaze head on.

So far, they’d successfully hidden their intimate relationship from everyone else. Or so they thought.

No reason to pretend like nothing had happened. They were all adults after all.

Cas’s cool gray eyes scanned Asa’s almost naked appearance and narrowed slightly.

Shit.

Asa swallowed down his brief apprehension and went to the coffee maker. He got two cups down and the half and half out of the fridge.

“We have to talk,” Cas said, voice stern.

Asa nodded, figuring as much. Everyone who cared about Zara was going to want to have a conversation with him. It was a testament to how much she was loved. And for good reason.

He turned around and met Cas’s glare. “What do you need from me?”

Cas was silent for so long that Asa was able to start the second cup of coffee.

When the bodyguard still didn’t say anything, Asa spoke again. “This isn’t casual for me. I care about her.” He almost said he loved her but he didn’t want to say that for the first time to anyone else but her.

“I know that,” Cas replied, slightly offended.

Asa’s eyebrows dipped. He did?

Cas rolled his eyes at Asa’s expression. “That’s not what we have to talk about.”

It wasn’t?

Cas glanced toward the stairs and then huffed an exasperated sigh. “I’ve been protecting her since she was sixteen. You think I don’t know the difference between someone who wants to use her and someone who’s in love with her? If I thought you were the former, I’d have made up something about your background check to keep you away. It wouldn’t have been difficult.”

Asa’s eyebrows climbed higher the longer Cas spoke. In all the months he’d been around the big man, he’d never used so many words at once outside of orientation.

“Then what do we have to talk about?” Asa croaked.

Cas sighed and took out his phone. He tapped on the screen a few times and slid it across the island. Asa picked it up and read the opened article.

brEAKING NEWS—The man arrested early last week after being found by staff in Zara Lorna’s NoHo penthouse was a no-show to his hearing yesterday morning.

Authorities were called to the pop star’s residence just before dawn last Monday. The man had broken in some time in the night and had fallen asleep in her bed. Zara Lorna was not home at the time of the break-in. The intruder’s possessions included zip ties, duct tape, several pairs of latex gloves, and prescription tranquilizers.

He was charged with trespassing and posted bond after three days in jail.

The man, identified as Lyle Kramer, spoke to news outlets outside the jail after his release.

“I just want to know she’s okay,” Kramer said. “I haven’t been able to get in touch with her and we usually speak every week. I need to know she’s safe.”

Sources say that Kramer has been on the watch list of Zara’s security team for two years. Kramer’s social media reveals several lengthy posts and videos of how he believes he’s in a romantic relationship with the singer and has been for years. He claims she’s being held against her will by her management team and he has a plan that will free both of them forever.

His trespassing hearing for yesterday morning was rescheduled after he didn’t show and a bench warrant was issued. Later that day, security footage was released of Kramer allegedly breaking into Zara Lorna’s management’s office. Police were called but he had already fled the scene by the time authorities arrived.

Sources say no one knows Kramer’s whereabouts. Authorities have asked that if you see Lyle Kramer to please contact your local police and do not approach.

“What the fuck is this?” Asa asked, reading the article again, his stomach twisting in on itself.

“She’s not going to want to talk about it,” Cas said. “But we need to make some changes to her current arrangements.”

The hair on the back of Asa’s neck stood up and he rubbed at it reflexively. “Why? Is she in danger?”

Cas took in a careful breath, his gray eyes unflinching as he studied Asa’s reaction. “It’s not immediate?—”

“But it could be pretty fucking immediate in a minute,” Asa finished for him.

Cas nodded once.

This was part of it, he tried to remind himself. He’d been so proud of himself for accepting all the extra stuff that came with loving Zara like the paparazzi and the super fans, but for some stupid reason, he’d blacked out on the dangerous stuff. Hadn’t she mentioned a stalker in LA when she’d first come to Chicago? Why did he have a feeling it wasn’t the same one?

Zara hit the room with her customary radiance wearing only his Black Flag t-shirt, big hair and bare legs. She felt the tension immediately and her smile faded. “What’s going on?” she asked slowly.

Cas took his phone back and put it away. Asa wondered why he hadn’t shown the article to Zara but he had mentioned she didn’t want to know any of it. How often did shit like this happen? So often that she couldn’t stand to see the details anymore?

“There was an incident this week with a trespasser,” Cas said.

“You mean stalker,” Asa corrected him.

Cas’s big shoulders rose with his deep breath.

Zara’s expression darkened. “Which one?”

She knew them by name? Was there a list he should know about? Did they have a newsletter with their mugshots and stats that got sent out once a month?

“Kramer.”

The shudder that rolled through Zara was subtle but he noticed it. He went to her and she melted into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He pressed his mouth to the top of her head.

It would be okay.

It had to be okay.

He would make it okay.

Somehow.

“We need to talk about moving you to a place with better security,” Cas said after a beat.

Zara stiffened in his arms. He was pretty sure he knew what she was thinking because he’d had the same thought. Their privacy was getting ready to evaporate.

But it didn’t matter. She needed to be kept safe.

She tipped her head back and looked at him. A thousand emotions swam through those amber gold eyes. All at once they stilled, settling on one he wasn’t too familiar with. “I’m going to go shower.” She squeezed him and let go, grabbing her coffee on her way to the stairs. “Will you take us to the studio in a few?” she asked Cas on her way by.

Cas nodded.

She left and Asa stared at where she’d disappeared. What the hell had just happened?

He shook his head once, trying to clear it. “Uh,” he started, not sure where to go.

Cas sighed and rolled his eyes. “She doesn’t like to talk about it.”

Who would? But that wasn’t the point.

Asa scrubbed a hand over his face. “What do you want to do? Maybe I can talk to her.”

Cas tapped on the island with his fingers as he worked his jaw back and forth with thought. “I’d like her to be in a place that was more secure. I have a couple calls out to some colleagues for suggestions.”

Asa’s mind immediately went to where Hannah Lee James and Sunshine Capone lived. Maybe he could ask them about that.

“I don’t want to increase the detail surrounding her until we have more of a cause. We tend to draw attention without meaning to. If she’s still flying under the radar here, I want to keep it that way.” He measured his next words before saying them. “She can’t be alone right now. Not with Kramer in the wind.”

Ice settled in the pit of Asa’s stomach. “He’s that much of a threat?”

Cas’s cheek twitched. “He’s persistent and slippery. I don’t like that he broke into Sonja’s office. It doesn’t sit well with me.”

Asa laced his fingers together behind his head and stared up at the ceiling.

They dealt with this all the time. This was just another regular part of her life, wasn’t it? This was why she didn’t want to stay long term with her family, because it put them in this kind of risk. It wasn’t just the media frenzy. It was the deranged fan that followed the trail the media left.

“Go shower. She’s going to want to leave soon and you’ll want to be ready,” Cas said, interrupting Asa’s internal freakout. “And you’re going to want to brace yourself.”

Asa righted his head and frowned at Cas. “What do you mean?”

Cas’s head ticked to the side as he lifted his cup of coffee to his lips. “She has a stubborn streak you haven’t met yet.”

Instantly, Asa was irritated at the implication that Zara was going to be unreasonable. She wasn’t unreasonable. She had a reason for everything. They just didn’t always agree with it.

He shook his head and headed for the stairs going up.

Cas made a noise of warning but didn’t stop him.

He reached her bedroom, his eyes darting to the French doors on the opposite side. Sure, Cas had installed extra sensors on the terrace outside and the door itself, but it wasn’t a moat. Anyone with a brick and a screw loose could just walk right in here.

“Babe?” he called, stepping into the bathroom.

“In here,” she replied over the running water of the shower.

“Can we talk?” he asked, leaning a shoulder against the wall. He could see the fogged-up shower window in the mirror from where he stood, the shadow of her body moving beyond it.

“You don’t want to join me?” she asked.

He did want to join her. Obviously.

Instead of answering her, he got right into it. “Maybe we should think about leaving Lincoln Park.”

She didn’t say anything and he chewed on his lower lip.

The timing for this was shit.

Not that there was ever a good time to have a stalker.

But they were in the middle of writing and recording…something. They still hadn’t discussed the endgame for their project. And moving houses could very well stop the creative flow they’d been on.

The water turned off and he realized she still hadn’t replied.

She stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around her hair and another around her body. Walking past him, she let her fingers trail over his abs and he automatically flexed them.

“Are you going to shower before we go?” she asked, moving into the bedroom and then the closet.

“Can we talk about this?” he asked, following her.

“What’s there to talk about?” she asked. “I’m not going to turn my life upside down just because some guy somewhere is unstable.” She took something off a hanger and started rummaging through a drawer.

“He’s dangerous,” Asa said, his frown deepening and his heart getting heavy in his chest.

She snorted. “They’re always dangerous.”

Asa blinked, taken aback by her casual remark. How many times had she been in this position? How many stalkers were never addressed in the media? How many were smart enough not to have been noticed yet?

The idea of her being in danger was a thick fog that cloaked all his previous confidence. No amount of anxiety medication and therapy would make her safe from a fucking stalker .

His mind raced with horrible possibilities. Selena, John Lennon, Dimebag Darrell, Christina Grimmie…all killed by fans.

Suddenly their little bubble seemed more fragile than ever.

She set a pair of black panties and a matching bra on top of the first piece of clothing. Then she took a pair of jeans out of a different drawer and set those aside as well.

Not waiting for him to turn around, she dropped the towel. He beheld her glorious naked body for a moment before averting his gaze and turning around. Was she trying to distract him? If so, well played. His mind scrambled to remember what it was he’d been about to say.

“Maybe just temporarily,” he suggested. “Until they find the guy.”

“Then they’ll be another threat. It never ends.” She hummed a melody they had been working on yesterday. “Do you think you could distort a tornado siren? Like make it kind of sad sounding and slowed down? I was thinking about how to open ‘Runaway Soul’ and I keep coming back to like a whiny, ominous like…” She made the noise best she could.

Adorable as usual.

He squeezed his hands into fists in response to the swift subject change. “Zara?—”

“Then fade it out and back in at the end? I think that might be cool. Can we try it when we get to the studio?” She moved past him, fully dressed, and went back to the bathroom.

He followed.

She hung up her towel and then removed the one around her hair. Her eyes met his in the mirror.

There was something there… something she wasn’t saying.

“Can we please talk about it?” he asked, trying again. Because he’d always try again. As many times as he had to. For her. Forever.

She sighed and turned around. “Okay,” she relented. “Let’s talk about it.”

He breathed a short sigh of relief. “Is there a reason you won’t consider moving? Even if it’s temporary?”

Her lips twisted to the side. “Because I like it here. I like living here with you. No one knows I’m in Chicago so there’s no reason to start panicking just because the police are looking for someone a thousand miles away.”

“But what if someone finds out you’re here?” he asked.

She shrugged. “There’s always a what-if. I don’t want you to think I’m not taking it seriously. I am. I do.” She blinked rapidly as her eyes glossed over. “Shit.” She swiped at her eyes.

He stepped toward her and grabbed her gently by her shoulders. “What’s going on?” he asked softly.

She closed her eyes and took a breath. When she opened them he could finally see all the turmoil, the hesitation, the doubt and worry and responsibility she felt.

“I hate this part,” she said. “I don’t talk about it because I know it comes with the life and there’s nothing anyone can do to change it. It’s just one more reason that being with me is an impossible ask.”

He wanted to correct her but waited because it felt like she wasn’t done.

“I just don’t want to talk about all the ways I’ve prepared for the worst possible thing to happen.” She shrugged. “It’s not fun or sexy to go into detail about all the med kits I have in nearly every room of every place I stay. And I really hate talking about how I’ve taken Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Training multiple times so I can be prepared for a variety of horrible scenarios such as gunshots or stabbings to myself or the people around me. In fact, all of the people who work for me are required to take it.” Her eyes drifted to the side.

“I don’t like to talk about how many times I’ve participated in an active shooter simulation. Or how I’ve never made it through one without crying even though I know it’s not real. It could be real someday and that terrifies me. And all of it might not even matter. None of it is guaranteed to save my life if someone is that determined to hurt me.”

While she spoke his entire world view crumbled at his feet.

“You shouldn’t have to do all that,” he said just above a whisper. “I’m so sorry.”

Her gaze dropped to the center of his chest and her shoulders slumped under his hands. “I’m afraid that it’s going to be those things, the things I can’t control that will make you…”

She didn’t finish. She didn’t need to.

“Hey,” he said, catching her chin with a finger and thumb. “I’m not stupid.” He cracked a smile. “I know who you are. I’m all in this with you. Both eyes open.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, trying to ignore the injustice of it all. She shouldn’t have to know how to do those things. She was a pop star, not a field medic.

“Whatever you want to do, I’ve got your back,” he said.

She glanced up at him, eyes round and curious with just enough hope to make his knees weak.

“This is your life. I trust you to make the right call.”

“Yeah?” she asked. “If we left, you’d come with me?”

He knew the answer before she’d even asked the question. Of course he’d go with her. He’d follow her to hell and back if she asked him to.

Maybe that was crazy.

But he didn’t think so.

He was pretty sure it was just what you did for someone you loved.

CELEBX

Don’t forget to send in your “celebrity sighting” every week! CelebX will post your pics online and tag your account. We couldn’t do our jobs without you!

One celeb to be on the lookout for is Zara Lorna. She hasn’t shown up in our inbox since last April. No one seems to know where she is these days. If you see her, let us know!