Rock Your Body: A BWWM Romance (2 page)

“This afternoon would work. Tomorrow the man himself is coming to record with me.”

“Yeah? Docta Hop, the biggest hip hop star is coming to New Jersey?”

“Yep, Del Barton confirmed this morning.”

“Nice. That should be some good music.”

“Yeah, that’s why I think, too.” Colin said. “Despite what my stalker thinks.”

“You don’t have to worry about your stalker anymore. Tamra will have things under control.”

“Tamra?”

“My friend whose company is in charge of security of you from now on.”

“Tamra. Okay. You said she’s a friend?”

“Yes for a long time. I’d trust her with my life. And I trust her with yours.”

“Guess that’s all that matters. I better get back in there before I lose them. I think their lunch was a salad and it’s wearing off.”

“Salad?”

“Yeah - the kind you smoke.”

***

Tamra looked at the large house where she was to meet Colin Brennan.  Her whole apartment building could fit inside.

Hopefully she wouldn’t get lost.

She’d done a Google search on him to have some idea who he was before their meeting. He was an American of Irish parents and he’d made it big with hard rock hits and now he was pairing up with hip hop and R & B artists to expand his audience.

At least that was what Wikipedia said. She’d confirm things with the man himself if necessary.

She didn’t think it mattered too much although she’d do a better background check on the star and those he was hanging out with these days. The type of music he played was not important.

There’d been another story about some of the women in his life so she’d made a list of them. Probably not a lot for rock star but anyone of them could be the stalker. Maybe someone he’d dated before he became famous. They tended to try to get back into the good graces of the famous person.

As if whatever traits they hadn’t liked were gone because of a bigger bank account.

She had stared at his picture. He wasn’t bad to look at. Dark blue eyes and black hair.  Not nearly as many pictures of him naked as she’d expected. In fact, none.

She knocked on the front door using a large knocker since she couldn’t see any doorbell. The sound probably traveled to Manhattan it was so loud.

The door opened and three men came out, none of them Colin. These men were black and dressed in baggy jeans.

“Hey, what is a fine Mama doing at a white man’s door?” one said.

He smiled and showed off a gold tooth.

“Is Mr. Brennan here?” she asked, not expecting an answer. These guys were posers. They dressed like gangsters but had never even seen an actual gang.

Nothing to be afraid of but she didn’t want to tussle with anyone right now. This was the type of business which she hoped brought her far from her ghetto roots. Yes, she used some of the techniques she’d learned on the streets, but those had been refined by her martial arts training.

She hated using them unless it was in the line of duty.

“What do you want with him? A brother can do anything he can,” Gold Tooth said.

She shuddered. She hadn’t felt this way since she left the hood. Their gazes roved over her like she was a piece of meat and if she’d wanted to, all of them would be writhing on the ground. She took the high road instead.

“You boys need to run along. I have business with Mr. Brennan.”

Gold Tooth’s gaze attempted to undress her one more time then he walked away. “Lucky Mr. Brennan.”

She watched as they all climbed into a limousine then left. She turned to see a tall, lanky man with black hair in the doorway. He had his hands in the pockets of his ripped jeans that fit him perfectly. A small smile occupied his face.

He cocked his head. “Excuse them. They’re off their meds.”

She had to laugh. “Really? They aren’t just assholes?”

“They won’t be back. I caught them getting high and I have no need for high musicians.”

“I see.”

He took a step away from the door. “Come in. You must be Tamra. Larry said you’d be here today. I’m Colin.”

As she approached the door, he held out his hand. She held it for a moment, a strange tinge going up her arm.

“My partner Kelly will be along in a moment.”

He nodded as if he had people in his house every day. Maybe he did. “Can I get you anything? Soda, coffee? I’m sure there are some drugs lying around if that’s how you roll.”

“No, drugs. Nothing to drink. Thanks.”

He closed the front door then padded in his bare feet down the hall. “I’m dying for a Diet Coke so I’m getting one. We can meet in the kitchen if you want.”

Tamra looked around the front hall. Based on its size she might get lost if she didn’t follow him. “Kitchen is fine.”

She hurried to catch up to him.

For some reason, her gaze was drawn to his ass. It was a small one. Just enough to fit into her tiny hands. Before he entered another doorway, he looked back at her and she knew she’d been caught checking out his butt.

If she could blush, she would . She wasn’t normally one to check out men. She had no time for them when building her business. Now that she probably did, she liked her life how it was.

“We also have water. Bottled, still and sparkling.”

“Nothing for me thanks. Will Larry be here?”

“Yes, oddly enough. That would be three days in a row he got out of Manhattan. Probably a record.”

“Doesn’t he go on vacation?”

Colin laughed. A melodic sound if she’d ever heard one. “Have you known Larry long?”

“Since high school. Dumb question.”

***

Colin pulled a can of Diet Coke out of the refrigerator then opened it. This was his security detail? She came up to his chest
.
How would she ever take down a bad guy? He sipped the soda then put it down on the granite
countertop
.

She stood in the doorway. Her gaze hadn’t stopped, as if she were taking it all in. Those eyes were amazing.

“You’re welcome to take a seat at the island. I don’t bite.”

“Your proclivity to bite or not was not my concern. I was merely looking around. I’ll want a tour when Kelly gets here.”

Proclivity? “Sure enough.”

“Is there an alarm system?”

“Yes, but I haven’t ever engaged it. Not sure I know the passcode.”

“Find out what it is. You renting? Ask the landlord.”

“Okay.”

She moved farther into the kitchen, her gaze still bouncing all over the place. “I’m getting the impression you aren’t worried about this stalker.”

He leaned against the counter and crossed one foot over the other. He was going to have to trust Larry that this woman could do her job, but he thought he might have to save her instead of the other way around. “When you’re in the public eye, crazies think they know you. They think they own you. It’s nothing new.”

“Larry seems  concerned.”

He laughed. He paid people to do things that he didn’t want to or wasn’t good at. Doing that freed him up to create the music that paid everyone’s salary. His face was known the world over so he couldn’t exactly hit the supermarket when he had a craving. “That’s Larry’s job.”

“Is there anyone in your past that might want to hurt you?”

He laughed. Where would he start? He hadn’t stepped on anyone on the way to stardom but there were people who had felt that way. “That list could be pretty long.”

“Then maybe you should get started on it.”

“When you are successful there are others that think you don’t deserve it
,
  that
t
hey do and not you.”

“Anyone you’ve fired recently?”

This woman certainly can talk the talk. “No. Most of the people closest to me have been around since I was an unknown. I figure anyone who was supporting me when I was poor is supporting me when I’m rich. I can trust them.”

“Good policy but you’re sure none of them have a long-standing grudge?”

“Not that I know of.”

“I’ll need a list of those people closest to you. Ex-girlfriends, too.”

“Hey. Wait. You aren’t going to go around accusing my friends.”

She didn’t flinch. Those blue eyes stared through him. “Everyone is a suspect, Mr. Brennan.”

“Colin. Mr. Brennan is my father.”

“Just trust me to do my job. Larry does.”

Colin wondered if Larry had a history with this woman. He’d have to pick his agent’s brain at some point. She was pretty hard ass, but on her it was sexy.

The doorbell rang.

*

“That’s probably Kelly,” Tamra said

Colin left her in the kitchen. She’d never met a man who had such a presence. When he left she felt she was now in a vacuum. He had taken the life of the room with him. No wonder people were drawn to him.

Which came first? The fame or the presence?

She walked around the kitchen looking to see the quality of the windows. Kelly chattered as she walked toward the kitchen. Of course she would. He was probably already eating out of her hand.

Too bad she was fresh from a divorce and not interested in the male population.

Kelly smiled at Tamra when she entered the kitchen. “Have you taken a tour yet?”

“No, I was waiting for you,” Tamra said.

“Then let’s go,” Colin said.

He led them up a back stairway.

“Two sets of steps to the second floor?”

Kelly typed it into her phone. She always took notes as Tamra noted problem areas.

“Is that a problem?” Colin said.

“Not a problem, just something to note,” Tamra said.

“What do you do with all of those notes?” Colin said.

“Kelly is a whiz with gadgets and she’ll install cameras and such so we can keep a recording of things that go on. It’s useful if someone breaks in when the house is empty.”

“So no walking around naked for me anymore,” Colin said.

Kelly didn’t flinch but the statement stopped Tamra in her tracks. She had a lovely vision of this long, lean and pale man in the buff. Damn. Would he be all sinewy muscles? This guy was driving her nuts. She didn’t think like this on appointments. She had to get her libido in check.

She cleared her throat and caught up with them. No one had noticed her reaction. Good. That would have been embarrassing.

“How many bedrooms?”

“Six,” Colin said.

“Which one do you use?” Kelly asked.

He pointed to the end of the hall. “The master suite.”

“Sorry to intrude on your personal space but we do need to look at it,” Tamra said.

He opened the door for her. “You wouldn’t be the first two ladies in my bedroom.”

Tamra cleared her throat. She was not good at flirting or being on the receiving end of it so she let the statement stand. “Bathroom attached.”

“You need to look at that, too? See where I shower?”

She thought he was goading her. “If there is a window, yes, we need to see it.”

He pointed to a door on the opposite wall. “Right through there. Hopefully I don’t have anything embarrassing in there.”

Tamra let that one slide also. One of these days he’d get tired of trying to get a rise out of her. She entered his bathroom. The shower was a large one with clear glass walls and doors.  There was a rain shower head in it.

A window sat on the opposing wall from the shower. It was opaque. “We’ll have to check what’s under this window. Make sure there is no way to get up to it.”

“Noted,” Kelly said.

She’d been quiet throughout this trek and Tamra really wanted to know what she was thinking.  Guess they’d talk after the tour.

***

He cut the letters from several different newspapers. They couldn’t be traced. All had been printed in different locations. No one would figure out what he was doing.

No, he was smarter than all of them.

He laughed as he glued the letters onto the paper. He liked the message this time. Worse than his last.

She’d see the threat. She knew all about stalkers and would know that this was more serious. He wouldn’t. He was a dumb rock star.

He bet that Colin didn’t even understand the seriousness of a stalker.

No matter. They would. All of them would see his success. All of them.

He laughed again. How easy this was. He’d already paid someone from the neighborhood to deliver it. Not yet. In due time.

The person couldn’t identify him because he’d worn a disguise. He should have been in show business instead of babysitting the talent.

No more. They would all know his genius. The campaign would be a success.

Then everyone would give him the respect he deserved.