Page 27

Ethan

I leaned against the kitchen counter, coffee mug clutched in my hand, watching the extra security personnel I’d hired patrol the grounds of Nova’s estate. Three days since the roadkill incident, and my nerves were still raw. The memory of Mel’s face when I’d broken down that dressing room door haunted me—pale, terrified, her eyes wide with shock.

We’d gotten through the final show before the break somehow. I’d insisted on personally checking every single person who came within fifty feet of Nova, regardless of how long they’d worked with her. No one got backstage without my direct approval. It had been exhausting but necessary.

Now, with Nova’s house locked down tighter than Fort Knox, I should have felt some relief. But I didn’t.

Because of Mel.

I hadn’t seen much of her in the last three days, but what I had seen worried me. She moved through the house like a ghost—jumpy at small noises, her usual sharp focus completely absent. The incident with the package had broken something in her, and watching her struggle made something twist painfully in my chest.

After discussing the situation with the team, we’d decided to keep what had happened between just us and Mel. Letting Nova and her entourage know that there had been a stranger in their circle would have caused untold panic. Instead, my team had implemented a plan of personally inspecting any note, package, delivery, or fucking singing telegram that got anywhere near Nova. The official story about Clark was a mugging gone wrong—even Clark didn’t know more than that.

We’d told Nova there had been another security incident but hadn’t provided any details. Not surprisingly, she hadn’t asked for them since it hadn’t seemed to directly affect her.

I checked my watch. Six in the morning. Most of the house was still asleep, including Nova, which gave me some time to think. To plan.

“You’re up early.”

I turned to find Logan in the doorway, fully dressed and alert as always.

“Couldn’t sleep.” I took a sip of coffee. No point lying to him—he knew me too well.

Logan grabbed a mug from the cabinet and poured himself some coffee. “You look like hell.”

“Thanks.”

“Not a compliment.” He joined me at the counter, following my gaze to the window. “So when are you going to do something about it?”

I frowned. “About what?”

“Mel.” Logan’s bluntness had always been both his best and most annoying quality. “She’s struggling. She needs to get out of here, away from all this for a few days.”

“Not possible.” I set my mug down harder than necessary. “My job is here, protecting Nova. ”

“Bullshit.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Excuse me?”

Logan shrugged, unoffended. “We’ve done split security details before. If you can’t trust your own team to keep a pop star safe in what’s basically a fortress, then what the hell are we even doing in this business?”

“It’s not that simple?—”

“I think it may be exactly that simple.” Logan cut me off. “This isn’t about security. It’s about you being afraid to let yourself be vulnerable with the first woman who’s gotten under your skin in years.”

That hit too close to home.

“You may be my best friend in the world—” my voice dropped low “—but you’re crossing a line.”

He didn’t back down. “You know what I saw yesterday? Mel standing in the kitchen for ten minutes staring at a coffee mug like she’d forgotten what it was for. She’s falling apart, and you’re hiding behind your job.”

“I’m not hiding?—”

“Mel is not Samantha.”

The name of my ex hit me like a ton of bricks. Logan had been there through the whole mess with her—watched as she systematically chose her career over our relationship at every turn.

“That’s not what this is about,” I insisted, but my voice lacked conviction.

“Isn’t it?” Logan challenged. “Mel is organized and efficient, sure. But she’s not cold or career-obsessed. She’s kind and loving, and right now, she’s scared out of her mind. And you’re standing here pretending that your job is more important than helping her.”

I ran a hand down my face, the truth of his words sinking in. “She’s been through a lot.”

“No shit.” Logan’s voice softened. “Look, I can handle things here. So can Ty and Jace. Take Mel somewhere quiet for a few days. Let her decompress without hired hands being around everywhere.”

I stared out the window again, considering it. The idea of getting Mel away from here, away from the constant stress and fear, was appealing. And Logan was right—my team was more than capable of handling Nova’s security.

I knew exactly where I could take her.

I set my mug in the sink. “I’ll talk to Nova first. Make sure she’s okay with Mel being gone for a few days.”

“And if she’s not?”

I shrugged. “Then I’ll deal with that when it happens.”

Before I could go looking for Nova, I wanted to check on Mel. I found her by the pool, sitting alone on one of the loungers. She wasn’t reading or looking at her phone—just staring at the water with vacant eyes. The sight made my chest ache.

“Hey,” I said softly, taking the seat beside her.

She startled slightly at my voice, then tried to cover it with a weak smile. “Hi.”

“Mind if I join you?”

“Sure.” She shifted slightly, making room even though there was plenty of space.

I studied her profile. Dark circles shadowed her eyes, and her usual vibrant energy had dimmed to almost nothing. She looked exhausted in a way that went beyond physical fatigue.

“How are you doing?” I asked gently.

She shrugged. “Fine.”

“Mel.”

She looked at me then, really looked at me for the first time, and the raw vulnerability in her eyes nearly crippled me.

“I don’t know,” she whispered. “I just… I can’t seem to focus on anything. Every time I close my eyes, I see that…thing. ”

I reached for her hand, relieved when she didn’t pull away. “That’s why I want to take you away from here for a few days.”

Her brow furrowed slightly. “What?”

“Just a few days. Somewhere quiet where you can rest and recover.” I squeezed her hand. “You need a break, Mel.”

She shook her head. “I can’t. Nova needs me here. The tour?—”

“Nova has a week off, and you’re in no condition to help her with anything right now.” I kept my voice gentle but firm. “In order to be effective, you need to take some time to recuperate.”

“But—”

“Let me take care of you,” I said softly. “Please.”

Mel stared at me for a long moment, indecision warring in her eyes. Finally, she swallowed hard. “I don’t know what to do anymore, Ethan.”

I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Then let me decide for now. Pack a bag—jeans, comfortable clothes. Nothing fancy. We’ll leave this afternoon.”

“Where are we going?”

“Somewhere safe. Somewhere you can breathe again.”

She hesitated, then nodded slowly. “Okay. I need to tell Nova.”

“You go pack. I’ll handle everything else, including Nova.”

I watched her walk back toward the house, relief mixing with concern at how fragile she seemed. This was the right decision—I was sure of it now. Mel needed to get away, and I needed to be the one to take her.

Finding Nova took longer than expected. She wasn’t in her bedroom or her private studio. I eventually located her in the kitchen, surprisingly alone, eating yogurt at the island counter.

“Nova.” I nodded in greeting.

She looked up, spoon halfway to her mouth. “Security Man. What’s up? More protocols? More restrictions?”

I ignored the sarcasm. “I need to talk to you about Mel. ”

Nova set down her spoon, her expression shifting to something more serious. “Is she okay? She’s been so weird since Houston.”

“That’s what I want to talk about.” I leaned against the counter across from her. “I’d like to take Mel away for a few days. Give her a chance to decompress and recalibrate.”

I braced myself for the tantrum, the demands, the insistence that she needed Mel here. I didn’t want to mention the roadkill incident, but I was willing to if necessary. Instead, Nova surprised me.

“Thank God,” she sighed. “She needs it. I’ve been worried about her.”

I blinked, momentarily thrown. “You have?”

“I’m not completely self-absorbed, you know.” Nova shot me a look that was equal parts defensive and sheepish. “I’ve seen how stressed she’s been, especially the last couple of days. She jumps at everything, can barely look me in the eye.”

“You’re okay with her leaving for a bit?”

Nova toyed with her spoon. “I know I get caught up in my own world sometimes. A lot of the time,” she corrected when I raised an eyebrow. “But Mel’s my sister. I love her. I want her to be okay.”

“That’s…surprisingly mature of you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t sound so shocked. I’m not a complete asshole.”

“I never said you were.”

“Where will you take her?”

“My family’s ranch in Colorado,” I said. “It’s remote, peaceful. Just what she needs right now.”

Nova brightened. “I can charter you a plane! Get you there faster.”

“That’s not necessary?—”

“Please. It’s literally the least I can do. And I mean that both ways—it’s the absolute minimum I can do for Mel after everything, and it’s also the least difficult thing for me to arrange.” She was already pulling out her phone. “I’ll have it ready in three hours.”

I shook my head, bemused by this unexpected side of Nova. “Thank you.”

She looked up from her phone, her expression suddenly serious. “You’re good for her, you know. You really see her.”

“She’s easy to see when you’re paying attention.”

“That’s probably true.” Nova’s gaze drifted to the window. “Thousands of people see me every night, but sometimes I feel like nobody really knows me at all.” She gave a small, self-deprecating laugh. “Not that I’m complaining. It’s what I wanted.”

“Fame has its price,” I acknowledged.

“So does being in the background.” She refocused on me. “Don’t hurt her, okay? Mel’s…special. She pretends to be tough, but she’s not. Not really.”

“I know.”

Nova studied me for a moment longer, then nodded, apparently satisfied with what she saw. “Good. Now, go get her out of here for a while. I’ll be fine with your team watching over me.”

As I left to find Mel, I realized that maybe we’d all been misjudging Nova Rivers. Behind the diva antics and demanding personality, she might have more depth than any of us had given her credit for.

On the way to Mel’s suite, I passed Jace’s mobile command center. He was hunched over his computers, monitoring security feeds.

“Everything quiet?” I asked, pausing in the doorway.

He glanced up. “All clear. Just doing a routine facial recognition scan of everyone who’s been on the property in the last week.”

“Good.” I stepped inside. “Logan fill you in?”

“That you’re taking Mel away for a few days? Yeah.” He swiveled his chair to face me. “It’s the right call, boss. She needs a break from all this.”

“That’s what I’m hoping.” I leaned against the desk. “You’ll keep me updated if anything happens here?”

“Of course.” He nodded toward his equipment. “I’ll have a secure line set up for you. Daily check-ins, immediate alerts for anything suspicious.”

“Thanks.” I straightened. “I should check on Mel.”

Jace returned to his monitors, and I continued down the hallway to Mel’s suite. When I knocked, there was no answer. I tried the handle and found the door unlocked.

Inside, I found Mel standing in the middle of the room with an empty duffel bag open on the bed. She hadn’t packed a single thing.

“Need some help?” I asked gently.

She turned, and the lost look in her eyes made me want to pull her into my arms and never let go.

“I don’t know what to bring,” she said, her voice small. “I started, but then I just… I don’t know. I couldn’t decide anything.”

I crossed to her closet. “Let me.”

With efficiency born from years of packing for missions, I selected a couple pairs of jeans, comfortable shirts, a sweater, practical shoes. I added toiletries from her bathroom, making sure to include the vanilla-scented lotion I’d noticed she used.

Mel watched me move around her room, something like relief on her face at having the decisions taken from her hands.

“I talked to Nova,” I said as I zipped the bag. “She’s chartering a plane to get us to where we’re going.”

“And where is that?”

“Someplace quiet and remote, safe.” I turned to face her. “We won’t have to worry about anything.”

“But what about your job? Nova’s security? ”

“The team will handle it. Logan’s more than capable of running things for a few days.”

Mel wrapped her arms around herself. “You don’t have to do this, Ethan.”

I set the bag down and crossed to her, gently unwrapping her arms so I could take her hands in mine. “I want to. Let me help you, Mel.”

“I don’t understand why I’m falling apart now,” she whispered. “We’re home. We’re safe. The tour is on break. Everything should be fine. Even the… incident wasn’t that bad.”

“You’ve been running on adrenaline for months. Now that there’s a moment to breathe, everything’s catching up to you.” I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s normal. You’re not weak for feeling this way.”

A tear slipped down her cheek. “I’ve never felt like this before. Like I can’t trust my own mind.”

“I know.” I pulled her against my chest, wrapping my arms around her. She felt so small, so fragile.

She nodded against my chest, her fingers curling into my shirt. We stood like that for a long moment, her breathing gradually slowing to match mine.

“Let me take care of everything. All you have to do is breathe.”