Chapter Eighteen
The letter was of the most graphic nature. It described, in great detail, as to what the culprit would do to not only JC, but Alana as well once he finally got a hold of them. And there was an assurance at the bottom that it wouldn’t be long before that came to pass.
He thought he was going to be sick, just reading it. He walked over to the bed and sank down onto the mattress beside her. He seriously thought about not letting her read it. She was his girlfriend, and even though she was an FBI agent who enjoyed going around and kicking people’s asses, in his eyes, it was his job to protect her from life’s unpleasantries.
However, doing so could possibly lead to the kicking of HIS ass, and that was the last thing he wanted. He looked over at her, his eyes dull and hollow as he passed the letter to her.
He dropped his gaze to the floor in front of him, still fighting the sick feeling. Who had he pissed off enough to go around making threats like that? Well, he supposed they were more than threats… more like promises.
Alana allowed her eyes to skim the letter, though it hadn’t affected her quite as much as it had him. She was an agent. While he would never dream of something this bad in his wildest dreams, this was her reality. Once she finished reading it, she folded it back up neatly and got up to walk over to the dresser where the envelope laid. She slid it back in and then dropped it back onto the dresser before she walked over to where he sat.
She took his chin gently in her hand and forced him to look at her. She could read the fear in his eyes. “We’re going to get through this,” she promised, as she leaned over to drop a kiss to his lips. “We’re going to get through it.”
~*~
“You want to go out tonight?”
The question startled JC. They had just finished up an interview and were in the van, on their way to the venue for sound check. It was Chris who had spoken.
“Huh?”
“Clean out your ears, sonny. Do you want to go out tonight? After the show.”
It had always been a ‘thing’ that they did after the show. It would help them to rid themselves of the extra energy after a concert, to wind themselves down. However, ever since the emails had started, JC had made himself scarce with the “extra-curricular” activities. Being out in public had not been high on his priority list, due the fact that he had no clue who was sending this crap to him.
However, in the month and a half since he and Alana had been together, he’d never taken her out on a proper date. Their day consisted of going to the interviews, photo shoots, and shows and then going right back to the hotel. And though he knew she didn’t expect anything of him, he was beginning to feel like a lousy boyfriend.
“Yeah,” he said with a slight nod. He turned to Alana who was engulfed in the book in her lap. He wasn’t sure she had been paying attention to the conversation, so he nudged her gently. “What do you think?” He asked once he’d gained her attention.
“About what?”
“Haven’t you guys ever heard of q-tips? Get the gunk out of your ears,” Chris interjected. JC simply rolled his eyes at his friend.
“Do you want to go out tonight after the show?”
“Are you asking me out on a date?” She asked, her lips curved slightly into a smile.
“Maybe. So are you up for it?”
“It’s about time,” she teased before she leaned over to kiss him gently on the lips. “I’d love to.”
As stupid as she felt about it, she couldn’t help the giddy feeling that came over her. They were going out. Together. On a date. Sure, there would be four other guys and a couple of guards in attendance. But hey, she was willing to take what she could get!
~*~
It was not the kind of date that Alana had in mind. The club was loud, crowded, and over run with fans who insisted on stealing her boyfriend’s attention away from her. She’d never been good at sharing.
She was sitting in the booth that they’d picked out when they first came in, her eyes glued to JC as he was in the middle of a crowd of girls, taking pictures. She scowled as she reached for her glass and picked it up, downing the soda inside of it in a quick gulp.
She hadn’t even noticed that JC had excused himself and was making his way over to where she sat. He was not the most attentive man in the world, but even he could see that she was not having fun.
“You want to get out of here?”
The question startled Alana. She glanced up from her empty glass, forcing a smile to her lips. “No,” she lied. “You look like you’re having fun.”
“Yeah, but you don’t.”
“I’m just tired, Josh. It’s not a big deal.”
“Nope. Come on. We’ll go tell the others and then we’ll get out of here.”
“Josh, really, we don’t—“
“Don’t argue with me, woman. You won’t win.”
She rolled her eyes, though inside that same giddy feeling overtook her. They were going somewhere quiet. Together. She grabbed her purse and slid out of the booth before reaching for his hand. After making the necessary rounds to inform the others that they were leaving, they headed outside to one of the vans.
Despite the fact that the hour was late, and many places were closed, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness when they pulled up in front of the hotel. So much for their date. She tried to hide her feelings, but she was failing miserably. Her disappointment was written all over her face.
JC could clearly see that she was not happy with his choice of destination, but he knew before long, she would change her tune. He was sure of it. Or else he’d have a lot of sucking up to do!
When they got into the hotel room, he looked over at her. “Why don’t you go ahead and shower and get ready for bed?” He asked, trying to hide the smile that threatened to form. The look on her face broke his heart, but he was determined to not give anything away.
Once she was out of sight and out of hearing range, he picked up the phone and made a phone call. He had to make this good!
~*~
It was almost an hour before Alana climbed out of the shower. She changed into her pajamas before brushing her hair and teeth, and then stepped out of the bathroom. She saw JC sitting on the bed in his pajama pants and a hoodie. When he saw her, he smiled in her direction.
Getting up from the bed, he walked over to his suitcase and pulled another sweatshirt out before handing it to her. “You’re going to need that,” he assured her. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her cheek before pulling her to the doorway.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll have to wait and see,” he said with a smile. He grabbed the room key and shoved it into the hoodie pocket before heading out of the room. He made sure that the door was locked before he led her over to the elevator.
“Uh… Jace? We’re in our pajamas.”
“I know,” he said with a shrug. “It’s late.”
“So where are we going?”
“I told you. Wait and see.”
He pushed the button on the elevator and the car immediately started moving, though instead of down, they were going up. She was more than a little confused. She kept her mouth shut though. No point in asking questions that wouldn’t be answered!
When the elevator finally came to a stop, she allowed him to step out first. She had no idea where they were. It wasn’t a normal hallway. There were several doors, but they were all marked with custodial labels. At the far end, there was another door, marked “stairway”. She was a little surprised that JC was leading her towards that.
He pulled the doorway open and allowed her to step inside the narrow staircase. It only went up. She frowned slightly, but headed up, and came to a door that was unlocked.
“Go on.”
She rolled her eyes and pushed the door open, a slight breeze hitting her face. They were on the roof! She looked around and stepped out onto the roof, looking back at JC. In the center of the roof, there was a small table with a covered dish and a candle in the center. An empty lounge chair was to the left of it.
One lounge chair for two people.
“I promised you a date,” he said with a smile. “It’s not much, but I figured we could talk, you know? Without having to shout,” he said with a laugh. He wrapped his arm around her waist and walked to the lounge chair.
He paused slightly to grab the covered dish before motioning for her to sit. Once she was situated and comfortable, he took a seat on the other end so that he was facing her. He placed the covered dish in the middle and pulled the lid off. He’d ordered her favorite dessert—with one spoon!
“How the hell did you do this?”
“You take a long shower.”
~*~
The candle had long since gone out, and a coat of morning dew had settled on the table and the ledge of the roof. By the time the date was over, the sun was beginning to rise in the distance. Luckily for them, JC had the morning off, giving them some time to catch up on the sleep they’d missed the night before.
By the time they reached the hotel room, they were both exhausted. The two of them walked over to the bed and Alana pulled off her sweatshirt as JC turned the covers down. Just as he was about to climb in, she spoke.
“Hey.”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you… for last night… this morning, whatever,” she said with a laugh. “It was amazing.”
He gave her a lazy smile as he leaned over the bed to press a kiss to her lips.
“You’re welcome baby,” he said softly. He pulled away and got situated in the bed, waiting for her to join him. He waited until she climbed in beside him and then he wrapped his arm around her middle, holding her close to him. “Good night… or, good morning… whatever you want to call it,” he said quietly as he kissed her temple gently.
He let out a soft sigh as he squeezed her gently. He opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated slightly. He took a deep breath as he leaned over to kiss her temple once more.
“I adore you, Al,” he whispered. “Absolutely adore you.”
What he didn’t add, however, was that he was falling absolutely, madly, head FIRST in love with her.
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