Jake nods, waiting for me to continue. From the moment we met, I wanted his attention on me, but now? He has an intensity that makes me squirm and squeeze my thighs together.
“The letters started getting more personal. Details about my life that weren’t public knowledge. Then he started mentioning specific things about my performances, places I’d been. It quickly became obvious that he was going out of his way to find out about my private life.” I take another sip of beer. “He started asking about how I liked things I’d done or places I’d been, when I hadn’t posted about it on Instagram or Facebook.”
“He’s been following you.” It’s not a question, and the flat certainty in Jake’s voice makes my skin crawl.
“Yeah.” It frustrates me how small my voice sounds. “I figured if I disappeared from the public eye for a while, he’d lose interest and move on to someone else.”The incident that finally sent me running flashes through my mind—him sending me a picture from inside my condo. I don’t know how he got past my security alarm, but seeing pictures of my bedroom with an outfit laid out on my bed that he captioned “I’d love to see you where this”? It was too much.
Jake’s jaw tightens, and something dangerous flickers in his eyes. “I’m sorry to tell you, but that’s not how these guys work. He’ll probably see your sudden disappearance as a personalchallenge to find you before anyone else does. You did the right thing coming here.”
“My agent thinks I’m destroying my career.” The words tumble out before I can stop them. “Two weeks. That’s all she’s giving me before opportunities start disappearing forever.”
“Fuck your agent.” The vehemence in his voice surprises me. “Your safety matters more than any career.”
“Easy for you to say. You didn’t spend ten years clawing your way up from nothing.” The snap in my voice surprises me. “Sorry. I don’t know your story. I didn’t mean—”
“You’re scared,” Jake says quietly. “And angry. Both are justified.”
The simple acknowledgment eases something inside my chest. When was the last time someone validated my feelings instead of trying to fix or minimize them?
“You’re an attractive and accomplished woman, Izzy,” Jake says after a moment, his voice gentler. “If you stay in the spotlight, which I presume is your intent, it’s inevitable that situations like this will happen. But don’t let it stop you from pursuing your dreams.”
I turn to look at him, surprised by the support in his statement. In the golden light of sunset, his features are sharper, more defined. A thin, white scar runs along his left temple.
“You look like you’ve seen things.”
Something shutters in his expression, walls sliding into place. “Yeah. We all have.” He pauses, and I see all the things he’s not saying flash across his eyes. “Let’s talk about something better. I always wondered how your singing turned out. Haydenmentioned it a couple of times when we were deployed. He talked about you a lot, and he’s very proud of what you’ve accomplished already.”
“Really?”
Jake chuckles, and it catches me by surprise to see him with his guard down, even if momentarily. “Oh, yeah. There were times he wouldn’t shut up about you.”
My brother was supportive of me once I started singing in high school and later performing. Still, it means a lot to hear that he bragged about me to other Rangers.
When I look back at Jake, he’s watching me closely.
“I like that you’re not backing down.”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes at him. “That’s not what it feels like right now. It feels like the stalker has already won by making me run away from my home.”
“No, Izzy,” Jake says firmly. “That’s the wrong way to look at it. You were cornered, so you retreated to safety to reassess and neutralize the problem.”
“I’m scared,” I admit, fidgeting in my seat and swatting at a mosquito flying in front of me.
“I know.” He reaches over and covers my hand with his, the contact sending electricity shooting up my arm.
I turn my hand palm up, threading our fingers together before I fully understand what I’m doing. “Thank you. For helping to protect me and figure this out. It means a lot.”
Something shifts in Jake’s expression, and heat blazes in his eyes. He traces a thumb across my knuckles, and my core blazes to life.
The moment stretches between us. His eyes drop to my mouth for a second, so quickly that I might have imagined it, but it’s enough to make my core explode in molten desire.
Before either of us can move, Jake’s phone buzzes. The spell breaks, and he pulls his hand away to read the message.
“I have to take this,” he says, standing quickly and walking out into the yard.
As he stands in the yard, running his hand over the top of his head, I lean back in my chair and try to process what just happened. The way he looked at me...like he was seeing me not as Hayden’s little sister or as a singer he’d seen on TV, but as a woman he wanted to know.
For the first time since fleeing LA, I feel something other than fear. I feel like everything might turn out okay.
