Page 77

I’d arrived after the start of the show, so Stef didn’t know I was there. The way her eyes lit up when she led the band into the room had my heart hitching. I wanted nothing more than to drag her into my arms and kiss her senseless, but I had a problem. So before she could come to me, I gave a subtle shake of my head and held up my hand in a gesture to stop her. Confusion flashed in her eyes, and she frowned.
“Well done on an excellent return to performing.” My voice was cold and formal.
“Thank you.” She shook my hand, not meeting my eyes. She was hurt and I couldn’t blame her. Hopefully, if I could get her on her own, I could explain myself.
I gestured to the food and drinks I’d arranged. “Everyone, eat. You’ll be hungry after such a brilliant performance.”
Evan and Reggie didn’t need to be asked twice, jumping on the platter of sandwiches like it was their last meal. “Thanks, man. It’s always good to eat after a show like that,” Evan said, his mouth full.
“No problem.” I was talking to Evan, but my eyes were still on Stef. “Eat something, Stefania.”
She arched her brow at me. It seemed she’d gone from hurt to furious in two seconds flat. I gave her a look and she rolled her eyes, picked up an egg sandwich and shoved it in her mouth, staring at me defiantly. If the situation wasn’t so deadly serious, I would have laughed at her antics.
“Stef! It’s so good to see you back on stage! What a performance.”
Stef swallowed her oversized bite hastily. “Uh, yeah, thanks Marcus. it’s amazing.”
“I mean it! You’re really something. One of the best I’ve seen…”
I tuned out whatever else Marcus was saying, vaguely aware that it was highly complimentary, and that Stef was actually blushing. She still wouldn’t look at me, though. I’d had enough. I needed to speak to her privately, and I needed to do it now. “I’ll,uh, I’ll leave you all to your celebrations. Welcome back, Miss Moretti.”
That drew her gaze to mine and I held out my hand. She took it and I squeezed her hand lightly, trying to convey my meaning. She looked at our clasped hands for a moment, then back up at me. The hurt gave way to confusion. Then she gave me a slight nod. She got the hint. I blew out a breath of relief and left the room.
I walked through the venue and out to a back alley where my limo was waiting. I climbed in and waited. And waited. And waited. I started tapping my fingers on my knee impatiently. I’d look like a fucking idiot if I had to go back in there and drag her out.
Finally, the back door opened and Stef climbed in. “Grayson! What the fuck was that about? You never said anything about keeping whatever this is a secret! I mean, I’m not asking for fucking marriage, or a ring, but I have zero damn interest in being hidden away! How fucking dare?—”
“It’s not about that.” It cut me up to think she believed I’d ever do that to her. “Drive, please, Andrew.”
At least Stef had the sense to wait until the privacy screen rolled up before she started in on me. “Then what is it about? And it better be good, because that felt very fucking awkward in there and I didn’t like it.”
“It’s about this.” I pulled my phone from my pocket and brought up the image and showed it to her.
“It’s…about your jet? I don’t get it.”
“It’s about a hacker or a group of hackers. Or a stalker. Or… fucked if I know what else. It’s been an ongoing issue for months, but this is quite an escalation.”
“I’m none the wiser.”
I gritted my teeth in frustration, because I was fucking this up badly. It was so damn important that Stef understood the stakes here. “This is an image of my jet, parked at the airstrip near the beach house.”
“Okaaay.”
“Date stamped the day we left to come home.”
“I seeee.”
It was clear that she didn’t see and that she was humoring me. That almost made me smile. “I don’t think you do. This is a satellite image that could only have been obtained through illegal means.”
“Hacking?”
Now she was getting it. “Yes. And it was sent to my personal number, which has all the secrecy and privacy settings and software you can imagine. This fucker knows what he’s doing. And he wants me to know he knows. He’s telling me he’s getting closer to me. If he gets close to me, he gets close to you.”
“What are you saying?”
“We have to keep public interaction to a minimum. For your safety.”
“But we can still see each other? Like, I can still visit and stuff?”