Page 5

Ethan

“The break-in happened in here,” Mel said, gesturing to the kitchen as we entered.

I’d already reviewed the police report that my detective friend Corey Hollis had shared with me, but I wanted to hear it directly from her. The spacious kitchen gleamed with high-end appliances and marble countertops, sunlight streaming through the large windows. Too many damn windows.

“We were upstairs,” Mel continued, her voice steady despite the memory. “Nova was taking a bath, and I was with her, taking notes about the tour. The power went out, and I came down to check the breaker box.”

She walked toward a serving cart near the door, wincing slightly as she reached up with her left arm to touch the edge. The involuntary reaction caught my attention immediately.

“When I got back, Nova had come down here and found the flowers…” She trailed off, gesturing to where the roses had been left .

“No alarm system went off?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“We have one, but it wasn’t armed.” She crossed her arms, the professional mask

slipping just enough to reveal her frustration. “Nova doesn’t like dealing with the codes.”

Ty made notes beside me, but I kept my focus on Mel.

“And the side door was unlocked?”

“Yes.” She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s concerning how easily they got in, isn’t it?”

“Concerning is putting it mildly.” I moved to examine the door in question. “If this stalker had planned violence instead of delivering flowers, there would have been nothing stopping him.”

“Him?” she questioned.

“In situations like this, it’s almost always a male perpetrator.” I tested the lock, frowning at how easily it turned.

“And the fact that he left two notes with the roses is interesting.” I continued, shaking my head when I turned back to find Mel looking at her phone. “Almost as if his attention is fragmented.”

“Nova has also been receiving threats through other channels,” Mel pulled her gaze away from her phone to look at me. “Emails, text messages, DMs on social media platforms, even physical letters delivered to her fan mail address.”

I nodded, studying the room. “You and Nova were fortunate that whoever did this only wanted to leave a message. A stalker who’s both obsessive and shows signs of violence…” I let the implication hang in the air.

Mel swallowed hard. “I know.”

I was about to say more when murmuring began floating around us. Mel straightened immediately, masking every trace of unease from her expression. The shift was subtle, automatic, as if she’d spent years perfecting it .

Then Nova Rivers swept into the kitchen.

And there was no other word for it— swept .

She moved like she was stepping onto a stage, every detail carefully curated for maximum effect. Long waves of platinum hair, perfectly tousled. A fitted, high-fashion tracksuit in a shade of blush that probably cost more than Ty’s truck. Diamond studs in her ears, a fresh manicure tapping impatiently against the back of her phone.

Her choreographer Dexter Deeds walked with her, a half step behind, looking thoroughly bored with the proceedings.

Nova barely glanced at us before tossing out an exaggerated sigh toward Dexter. “Oh, great. The bodyguards have arrived.”

Ty let out a barely audible snort beside me. I ignored him, keeping my expression neutral as I assessed Nova Rivers in person for the first time.

Nova moved toward the fridge, Dexter following, retrieving a bottle of something bright green and unscrewing the cap. “Can we just cut to the part where you tell me not to post on social media, I roll my eyes, and you all waste a bunch of time pretending I’m actually going to listen?”

I didn’t blink. I could already tell she was going to be a problem if we took this assignment.

Mel gave a tight smile. “Nova?—”

“No, no,” Nova interrupted, waving a hand dramatically as she took a sip of her drink. “Let’s not start the whole ‘Nova, take this seriously’ thing again. You already did that for, like, an hour this morning. It was boring then. I’m sure this will be just as boring now.”

Her little entourage of dancers and sycophants chuckled from where they’d filled the doorway. Nova giggled back, clearly performing for her audience.

“You think this is funny?” I asked, my voice steady.

Nova finally looked at me—really looked at me.

I watched as her expression flickered, her mind processing me in real time. Taking in the hard lines, the military cut, the fact that I wasn’t smiling or particularly impressed.

Her brows lifted slightly, a flash of something unreadable in her eyes. Then, just as quickly, she dismissed me.

“I think it’s dramatic,” she said breezily. “Which, in my line of work, is not bad.”

Mel exhaled softly beside me, her fingers tightening around her tablet. The tension in her shoulders spoke volumes about how often she’d had this conversation with her sister.

I tilted my head. “Dramatic?”

Nova shrugged. “I mean, look at my engagement stats.” She pulled up her phone, angling the screen toward me. “Ever since the roses incident, my numbers have been through the roof. People love a little mystery.”

I stared at her, wondering if I’d heard correctly. “You’re saying you’re fine with someone breaking in to your house and leaving you dead flowers because it’s good for social media?”

She grinned. “Well, when you put it like that, it sounds bad.”

More chuckles from her entourage that I ignored.

“That’s because it is bad.”

My tone was flat, unyielding. I turned my gaze to Mel, arching a brow. She gave me a helpless, tired look, like she’d had this conversation too many times to count.

I exhaled sharply. Another reason not to take this job. Nova Rivers was the definition of a difficult client—the kind who’d fight us every step of the way, making our job not just harder but potentially impossible.

Mel took a step forward. “Nova, we’re hiring Citadel Solutions because this is serious. If someone was able to break in once, they can do it again. You need to?—”

“I know, I know.” Nova groaned, rubbing her temples as if we were all giving her a headache. “Fine, do your security stuff. Do the whole fortress mode thing. Just don’t make it ugly.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Ugly? ”

She pointed at me. “No weird cameras, no ugly bars on the windows, and definitely no creepy Secret-Service-style guys following me around twenty-four seven.”

Ty let out an actual laugh. “I mean…we kinda are Secret-Service-style guys.”

Nova rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”

I glanced at Mel again. She was pinching the bridge of her nose, exasperation rolling off her in waves. For all her polished demeanor, I could see the exhaustion etched in the lines around her eyes, the slight droop of her shoulders when she thought no one was looking.

Nova flicked her hand toward the door. “Anyway, you guys can do your little sweep now. Knock yourselves out. Just let me know when we get to the part where I actually have to be involved.”

Then, without another word, she breezed out of the kitchen like she hadn’t just made it crystal clear she was going to fight us every step of the way.

The second Nova and her posse were gone, the air in the room shifted. Less…performative.

Mel exhaled and turned to me, pressing her fingers to her temple like she was fighting off a headache. “I’m sorry about that.”

“We can’t do our job if she won’t take this seriously.”

Ty turned away, eyebrows raised, saying The Bodyguard in a singsong voice only I could hear.

A pop star who wouldn’t take her security seriously? Made a much better movie than real life.

“Nova doesn’t take anything seriously except herself and her success,” Mel admitted quietly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. The gesture seemed unconscious, a rare moment of vulnerability in her otherwise controlled demeanor.

This was looking less and less like a case I was willing to take on, but there were still other factors we needed to evaluate either way. “Let’s do the force protection survey.”

Mel straightened. “We can start outside. I’ll come with you.”

“In those shoes?” I pointed to her impractical heels. “We’re going to be walking a while and through grass.”

“I’ll be fine.”

I didn’t know why her refusal to worry more about practicality and less about looks bothered me so much. I should be used to it by now, given what I’d learned from my ex-fiancée. I hadn’t understood it then, and I didn’t understand it now.

With a shrug, Ty and I followed her out, stepping onto the back patio. The moment I took in the property, I was already running assessments in my head.

Wide-open space. Too open. A sprawling backyard that led into a tree line with no barriers. High-end outdoor furniture, a pool deck, even a cabana tucked into one corner. All thought had gone into luxury rather than security.

I tilted my head, tracking movement. The perimeter was dotted with cameras, but their angles were wrong. A few sections weren’t covered at all.

Ty whistled low, his hands on his hips. “This is a damn security nightmare.”

Mel looked between us, her brows furrowing. “What’s wrong with it?”

I turned to her. “The tree line. It’s a perfect cover for anyone watching the property. They can get close enough to see movement inside the house and never be spotted.” I gestured toward the side fence. “That fencing isn’t high enough to keep anyone out. Hell, I could scale it in under ten seconds.”

Her lips pressed together as she jotted down notes on her electronic tablet. At least she was taking all of this more seriously than her sister. Beside me, Ty was already examining the camera placements, shaking his head in disapproval .

But then Mel’s attention flipped back to her phone. So, maybe not.

Ty pointed to the cameras. “And those? Useless. You’ve got massive blind spots.”

Mel let out a sigh and nodded. “So what do we do?”

“Reposition the cameras first,” I said. “You need full coverage, including motion sensors on the back perimeter. The biggest problem, though?” I turned to face the house. “Your biggest vulnerability is all this glass.”

The entire rear of the house was designed to look sleek and modern—massive floor-to-ceiling windows, wide sliding doors, open access points. It was a damn invitation for an intruder.

Mel followed my gaze and exhaled. “Nova loves natural light.”

I gave her a look. “Natural light isn’t going to stop a stalker.”

She swallowed but didn’t argue. Good. At least one of the Rivers sisters seemed capable of rational thought.

Ty and I spent the next hour checking access points, evaluating locks, and noting every weak spot. Mel stayed with us the entire time, attention torn between listening to us and text messaging whoever needed her so badly on her phone.

If she had this much work, she needed a damned assistant. Because nothing else mattered if someone got in here and hurt her or her sister.

Each time she looked down at that screen, I felt my irritation grow. It wasn’t just unprofessional—it was dangerous. She couldn’t maintain situational awareness if she was constantly distracted.

When we made it back inside, we moved through the rooms systematically. More of the same problems. Weak locks. Untrained staff. A security system that was basically for show.

Mel looked up from her phone as I tested a window lock in the living room. “So…how bad is it?”

I turned, leaning against the frame. “On a security scale of one to ten, with ten being the best you can have? You’re at a three. Barely.” And there was no excuse for it with the money Nova had.

Mel’s shoulders dropped, a flash of genuine concern crossing her features before she composed herself again.

Ty shot her a lopsided smile. “The good news is, we can fix it.”

Yeah, we could. If we took them on as a client. And that was becoming a bigger “if” by the minute.

Mel sighed, glancing toward the hallway. “Nova’s not going to like this.”

“She’ll like being dead a lot less,” I said bluntly.

Mel flinched slightly, but I didn’t sugarcoat things. Not with a real threat in play.

Before I could say more, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye.

Nova again. She’d been waiting to make her entrance.

She waltzed into the room, dropping onto the couch with a dramatic sigh. “Okay, summarize for me. Give me just the sexy parts.”

I turned my head slowly. “The sexy parts?”

She waved a hand. “You know, the action-movie stuff. Chase scenes, night vision goggles, maybe a helicopter.”

Ty muffled a laugh. I just stared at her, momentarily speechless. This woman truly did not grasp the severity of her situation.

“The sexy parts,” I said flatly.

Nova beamed. “Exactly.”

I crossed my arms. “Fine. Here’s your summary.”

She perked up, leaning forward as if I was about to deliver the most enthralling speech of her life.

I locked eyes with her. “Your security sucks. You’re an easy target. If someone wanted to get to you, they could. They’ve already proved it. ”

Nova blinked.

For the first time since I met her, she looked genuinely speechless.

Then she laughed, shaking her head. “God, you are no fun at all.”

I didn’t move. “And you’re reckless.”

That wiped the amusement right off her face. Her eyes narrowed, the carefree diva slipping for just a moment to reveal something harder underneath.

Mel took a step forward, her voice gentle but firm. “Nova, please. We need to do this right. Citadel Solutions comes highly recommended.”

Nova didn’t respond immediately. She stared at me instead, like she was finally— finally —realizing I wasn’t like the people she was used to dealing with.

I wasn’t impressed with her.

I wasn’t interested in catering to her.

I was here to keep her alive.

She exhaled sharply, running a hand through her hair before throwing up her hands. “Fine. Do whatever it is you do.” She turned on her heel and disappeared down the hallway, her usual air of detachment back in place.

I turned to Mel. “If this is how you and Nova do things, Citadel Solutions isn’t the company for you.”

She turned back to me, brows pulling together. “What?”

I didn’t soften my words. “If you and Nova won’t take this seriously, we’re wasting our time.”

“I get it. Nova is… a lot . But you’re lumping me in with her too? I’ve been following you around for hours taking notes.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “In inappropriate footwear while texting on your phone every five seconds and only half paying attention.”

Mel blinked those big green eyes at me, clearly caught off guard by the brisk, almost cold tone of my voice. Even Ty was taken aback at my demeanor.

This wasn’t how I normally dealt with clients. Almost all of them started with bad security habits—like having their faces buried in their phone rather than being aware of their surroundings—we had to help them break. And even if we weren’t going to take on Nova Rivers as an assignment, I was generally much more patient with communicating that sort of thing.

I couldn’t explain my deeper irritation, even to myself. Maybe it was the phone or those ridiculous heels. Maybe it was the business attire even though she was only walking around her own house.

Or maybe it was this damned attraction I couldn’t wrap my head around and that didn’t make a bit of sense to me.

“Citadel Solutions isn’t Security-R-Us. We’re not a quick fix,” I continued. “We wouldn’t be here to slap a few cameras on the walls and call it a day. It’s more than that.”

She swallowed. “How much more?”

I held her gaze. “Continuous threat assessment. Reworking schedules. Security rotations. Controlled access points. New staff protocols. Guard shifts at all hours. Restricted movement for Nova, especially at public events and while on tour.” I let the weight of that sink in before I added, “It’s invasive. It will change how you live. How she lives.”

Mel’s lips parted slightly, like she wanted to protest but couldn’t quite find the words. I saw the struggle in her eyes, the weight of responsibility for her sister’s safety battling against the reality of what implementing proper security would mean.

I pressed forward. “Neither of you is ready to do that, so I think it’s best if we just call this a day right here. We’ll write up our site survey report and send it to you so you can provide it to whatever security company you find that best suits your lifestyle.”

“But… ”

“I don’t think there’s anything left to say. We’ll see ourselves out.”

I gestured to Ty, who looked between us with surprise but knew better than to question me in front of a client. As we turned to leave, I caught one last glimpse of Mel’s face—the professional mask had slipped completely, revealing something I hadn’t expected.

Not anger. Not resentment. But genuine fear.