Jett Read online

  “Jett, you brought me here to do a job. I’ll sleep on the couch. A bed isn’t necessary. If Crazy Jack got into your room once, then he’s planning on doing it again. So, leaving you alone isn’t an option for me.”

  “Oh,” she said, curtly turning away from me. “I see. Yeah, you’re right. Business.”

  “Yeah. So, um, where is Rex anyway? I thought he would be here.”

  “Normally, he would. But I sent him to do something else. I figured if you’re with me, that’s enough.”

  “Well, I don’t know about that. With the amount of people still chanting your name outside, we might need more than one person. I’m beginning to think I may need to call the club to send me another guy.”

  “Well, we can figure it out later. I have to get ready for this party tonight first.”

  “What kind of party will this be?” I asked.

  “Suits. Lots of suits. Industry people. It’s going to be really fucking boring.”

  “Oh,” I said, the heaviness of my cut on my shoulder reminding me that I had never worn a suit in my life. “I think I might be overdressed then.”

  Jett’s laughter echoed through the penthouse.

  “Oh, they’re going to love you, Colt,” she said. “You’re perfect just the way you are.”

  “You like to stir up trouble, don’t you, little one?” I asked.

  “Maybe a little,” she replied. “Honestly, I just think people need to loosen up a little, that’s all. I have to make an appearance, but we don’t have to stay all night. We’ll bolt early.”

  “Okay, excellent. What’s the security going to be like?”

  “You know what? You should talk to Rex, in fact, he should be here any minute.”

  At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

  “Ah, I bet that’s him now.” She headed straight to the door, her hand on the doorknob before I could stop her.

  “Hey! Wait!” I said. “You should let me do that.”

  She laughed again, stepped back, and gestured at the door.

  “All yours,” she said, bowing slightly.

  I opened the door to a pissed off Rex holding a suit bag. He shoved it in my arms, and turned to Jett.

  “Anything else, miss?”

  “Yes, Rex. Thank you. Come in, Colt here would like to talk to you.”

  Rex grimaced, looked at me, and reluctantly stepped into the room.

  “What’s this?” I asked, holding out the bag.

  “Your suit for tonight. I sent Rex to get it for you. I hope I got the size right,” Jett said with a mischievous smile.

  “Suit? Fuck…” I said.

  “Yep. Now, you boys talk while I go get ready. Hey, Rex, did you ask Sam about my leather jacket? I still can’t fucking find it.”

  “Yes, ma’am. She said she looked everywhere. She even called the last three hotels we stayed at, and nobody has seen it.”

  “Goddammit,” Jett muttered, as she walked into the bedroom and closed the door.

  Rex and I squared off after I put the suit bag on the couch.

  “So,” I said, rocking back on my heels, sizing Rex up. He was a big guy, but he didn’t seem menacing or threatening in the least. He was like a big, grumpy, bear. He looked like the worst he could do to a person would be to hug them to death.

  “So,” he echoed, doing his best to give me an intimidating stare. “You know, Jett doesn’t do the security hiring. Her manager, Seth, is my boss. I work for him. Not you.”

  “Oh, yeah? I hear you, man. But the way I see it, since it’s Jett’s body that needs protecting, Jett is the one that should say who’s doing the protecting.”

  “Maybe so, but it doesn’t work like that,” he said, crossing his arms over his massive chest.

  “Well, I think it does. How about this, Rex? I’m not trying to step on your toes or take your job away. We’ll work together. Just the sheer volume of people around makes me think she needs more than just one person watching over her. Especially if someone was able to make it into her room to leave a fucked-up note.” I raised an eyebrow, looking right into his eyes pointedly.

  “Yeah. I don’t know how that happened. Jett, well…she’s a little too trusting.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, she likes to party. Sometimes, things get a little out of control.”

  “Okay, but isn’t it your job to make sure she’s safe at all times?”

  “Yeah, but…look, man, you don’t understand. I have to sleep, too, you know? And Jett? She gets wild and then she doesn’t listen. She’ll bring complete strangers to her room, stay up all night long, and there’s nothing I, or anyone, can do to stop her.”

  “Tell you what, Rex. You just keep doing your job, and I’ll do mine. We can play it by ear. Now, my intention is to stay by Jett’s side until we can ensure she’s completely safe, and until that happens, I’m not going anywhere. What can you tell me about this guy anyway? Are the police involved? What’s going on with trying to find Crazy Jack and stopping him?”

  “Well, I’ve been kept in the dark about that, Colt. You’ll have to talk to Seth, Jett’s manager. He’s the one in charge of all that.”

  “Will he be at this party tonight?”

  “Oh, yeah. He wouldn’t miss it. Jett’s his bread and butter.”

  “I see. And yours, too, huh?” I asked. He squinted his eyes at me.

  “Yeah, I guess so. I’ll be waiting in the hallway until Jett’s ready.”

  After the door closed behind him, I walked over and unzipped the bag. The black suit was sleek and expensive looking. The inside label told me it was made by Armani, and I whistled under my breath.

  Did she really expect me to wear this shit?

  ****

  The party was in full swing by the time we reached the hotel ballroom. Jett was right. Suits everywhere, along with perfectly made up trophy girls dripping diamonds on their arms.

  I groaned without realizing it, and Jett laughed and squeezed my arm.

  “You look amazingly handsome, Colt.”

  I grimaced, pulling at the tie Jett had helped me put on.

  “I don’t feel so handsome. This shit is uncomfortable. I prefer leather,” I said.

  “Me, too!” Jett said. “Unfortunately, my favorite leather jacket is MIA. I could just kill Sam for losing it,” she said, looking up at me.

  She looked incredibly beautiful, and I told her so. It was nice to see the soft smile spread across her face.

  “Thank you, Colt, you’re a sweetheart. Just one hour, then we’re out of here,” she whispered, before turning away from me and greeting a couple to her right.

  After the first one, they kept coming. Everyone wanted to meet her, tell her about the first time they heard her sing, and how much they loved her. It was painfully awkward to stand there listening to them go on and on. I felt sorry for Jett having to endure it, but she did so gracefully, politely smiling and feigning interest skillfully.

  I shouldn’t have been impressed, she had been doing this for years, but she was such a far cry from the Jett I grew up with that I couldn’t help it.

  I scanned the room constantly, looking for anyone that might seem out of place, but nobody really caught my eye. They were all a bunch of grey-hairs trying to pretend they weren’t aging. From the men draped in designer suits to the young, gorgeous women that were obviously there for decoration, it was a complete, fake, shit-show.

  I couldn’t wait to get out of there. Luckily, Jett did her thing, allowing me to linger in the background and watch the circus dance around me.

  After we had been there a few minutes, a short, stocky, accountant type guy walked up to Jett and began talking to her animatedly. She looked annoyed, but she stood there listening to his every word and nodding her head. After a few minutes, she began gesturing my way, and then they both walked over to me.

  “Colt,” she said, “this is Seth, my manager.”

  We shook hands, his tiny hand engulfed by mine. He stared up
at me, smiling a smile so fake I wanted to punch him right then and there. This was the guy in charge of her safety?

  “Seth, I’m happy to meet you. I hear you’re the guy I need to talk to about Jett’s safety. I have a lot of questions.”

  “Yes, so I hear,” he whined, shifting his weight uncomfortably from side to side. “Jett got ahead of herself, Colt. We have everything under control, and another bodyguard isn’t necessary.”

  “Is that so? How do you explain the fact that someone was in her room with her while she was sleeping? That doesn’t sound like anything is under control to me.”

  “That was an isolated incident. I assure you it won’t happen again.”

  “That’s interesting,” I said, towering over him. “Because I was just about to assure you that it won’t happen again, because I’m not going to let it.”

  “Sir, with all due respect…”

  “Shut the fuck up, Seth!” Jett whispered under her breath. “I don’t want to make a scene, but I will, goddammit! Colt stays. End of story.”

  “Fine,” Seth said, clearly exasperated. “I suppose we can move some things around in the budget.”

  “Yeah. Move some of my money around. It’s my fucking money, Seth! For fuck’s sake!” Jett was pissed. She turned on her heel, and walked away. I watched her head to the bar, and sighed.

  “Colt, listen, I’m sure you have the best intentions, but this isn’t some…some…” Seth hesitated, his gaze racking over me with disdain. “Some backwoods party where you have to break up a couple of fights. This is a highly organized production, and there are certain procedures that must be followed.”

  “Is that so?” I asked. This guy was beginning to piss me off. “Look, buddy. Jett called me. Jett called me because your procedures failed to keep her safe. You need to reevaluate how you do things. With massive crowds like that following her, you need to have more than one guy on her. What the fuck are you thinking? No, Seth, I’m not going anywhere. You might as well get used to me.”

  He stared up at me, his beady eyes squinting at me through his glasses. Beads of drool were forming at his mouth, and his lips were moving, but nothing was coming out. What an unpleasant little prick, I thought to myself.

  How did he ever end up being Jett’s manager, I wondered? I was going to have a few more questions for Jett later. As for this guy, he didn’t have much else to say.

  He stammered a terse agreement, and walked away.

  “Hey Seth!” I called to his back.

  He jumped, and turned quickly.

  “What?”

  “I’m going to need to get together with you first thing tomorrow morning to find out about the investigation.”

  “Fine! Fine!” he muttered, before walking away again, dismissing me with a wave of his hand.

  Between Sam, King, Rex, and now Seth, I was even more convinced that Jett was in danger. If this was the team in charge of making sure she remained safe, there was no wonder they were failing miserably.

  I wandered around the ballroom, watching as people mingled and danced, and drank. Lots of drinking. I kept one eye on Jett at the bar. She wasn’t left alone for a minute. One doting person would leave and another would take its place. Jett handled it all the same way every time. Drinking while they talked, nodding her head and smiling, asking a question here and there, and then laughing.

  I made my way around the ballroom, looking at every single face, and still not seeing anything suspicious or out of place. Jack could have been anyone here, though. By the time I made it over to Jett, it was obvious she was well on her way to wasted.

  “Hey, you…” she slurred, as I approached.

  “Hey.”

  “Some party, huh?”

  “Yeah, it’s a real rager,” I said dryly. She laughed and grabbed onto my arm.

  “Let’s go. I’m done. We’ll finish the party in my room.”

  I followed behind her, and it still took another twenty minutes for her to make her away across the room, as numerous people stopped her to say goodbye.

  So much schmoozing, I thought. It was so boring.

  When we finally escaped, the quiet of the elevator was a relief. Jett leaned her head against me on the way up, and I leaned down to kiss her forehead again, as far as I would let anything go. Her hair smelled like apples - sweet, ripe apples.

  “I’m exhausted,” she whispered.

  Her penthouse was empty, and I looked up and down the hallway before closing and locking the door.

  When I turned around, she was gone. I walked through the room looking for her, and found her already passed out on her bed, her shoes kicked off, and her clothes still on.

  My cock twitched as I drank in the sight of her long limbs stretched across the bed, her olive skin smooth and inviting me to caress it. I took one step towards her, and stopped dead in my tracks.

  What was I doing?

  Remember why you’re here, Colt. Business.

  I found a blanket and gently laid it over her. Of course she was exhausted. Not only had she traveled hundreds of miles on her bus and performed, but then she had to get dressed up again and go to a stupid party. And all the while drinking her ass off. I shook my head as I walked out of the room, realizing I was ready for a little sleep myself.

  I took my gun from the holster on my hip, and ripped the suit off as fast I could.

  “Well, that was awful,” I whispered to myself.

  I fell asleep on the couch in my boxers, my gun right next to me.

  ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

  She has a new man. I hate him. He looks so stupid in that leather vest. When they left the hotel this morning, I followed the limo to the shopping district downtown.

  She smiles at him in a way I’ve never seen her look at anybody, in all these months of watching her. Why does she smile at him like that? Who is he?

  If she’s fucking him, if she lets him touch her…no, I can’t even imagine it. The filth. Disgusting.

  I watched from my car as they strolled down the street together, dipping into the fancy shops, laughing.

  Why is she laughing?

  She never laughs. It’s beautiful, though. Her smile is the smile of an angel. A dirty, filthy, sinful angel.

  Someday soon, she’ll be mine. The first thing I’ll do is scrub her clean. Everything is waiting. Sandpaper, steel wool scouring pads, bleach, everything I need to scrub away all traces of everyone who came before me.

  And once she’s clean?

  Oh! My body shuddered as I dreamed of that moment.

  She would be all mine, finally, and I could do all the things I had fantasized about for so long. It had been years.

  And now, we were so close.

  So close to being together. So close to her being mine.

  I would get to smell her hair again!

  My hands caressed the black leather I was wrapped in, my fingers playing with the fringe. I lifted my arm to my nose, inhaling her scent deeply, remembering the smell of her hair the one time I was able to get close to her. She had looked so peaceful that night, sleeping soundly, not aware of my presence at all. I had wanted so badly - so badly! - to touch her then. But I couldn’t risk waking her.

  Taking her jacket was the next best thing I could do to stay close to her, to keep smelling her sweet fragrance until I had her all for myself.

  My cock was painfully swollen, and as I watched her walk down the street, I opened my pants, wrapping my cock in the fringe from her jacket until I shuddered, the release so much more pleasurable now that I could smell her.

  Soon, Jett, soon.

  ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

  Colt and I spent the morning shopping in Phoenix. I told Rex to take the morning off. We had a few hours before we had to get back on the bus, and I was looking for another jacket like the one Sam had lost. I was tempted to fire her for it, but Seth wouldn’t let me. He told me to just buy another one, but he didn’t understand how hard it was to find a vintage jacket like that. You didn’t just p
op into any store and buy a leather fringed jacket.

  It was nice, though, having Colt around. He was easy to hang out with, even if he was just a little too serious for me. I was determined to find a way to get him to loosen up a little, and since alcohol wasn’t an option, I was forced to find another way. It was a challenge that I was actually enjoying.

  I had woken up before him this morning, in the early hours of dawn, and when I wandered out to the living room of the penthouse and saw him sleeping half naked on the couch, he took my breath away. Just like he had when he first walked into my dressing room.

  Colt James had grown up. No more lanky boy from our childhood, he was now a grown fucking man. And how well he had grown, indeed!

  He was at least six three. He had grown out his long blonde hair, and it framed his weathered, rugged, handsome face. His blue eyes had a way of piercing my soul, and it was almost difficult to look at him. If it didn’t feel so fucking good to see him smiling down at me, I wouldn’t have been able to take it. And those lips. My, god! Those thick, full, masculine lips. It was crazy to think they were the first lips I had ever kissed, even if it had been an accident.

  We were six and seven. It was Field Day at our elementary school, and Colt and I had been paired up together.

  We barely knew each other back then. He had been held back a year, and was in the same grade as me and Ciara. When they paired us up on the field, I was mortified. Every girl in the class was paired up with a boy, to somehow make things seem fair. It was embarrassing, as I wanted nothing to do with boys at that point.

  Colt must have felt the same way, because when I walked up to him, he would barely look at me.

  “Hey,” I said, holding two ropes the teacher had given me so we could participate in the three-legged race.

  “Hey,” he replied, his eyes darting around. He was so skinny, and his blue eyes looked sadder than anyone else in our class, even then.

  “So, I guess we have to tie our legs together?” I said, almost apologizing. Neither of us would have thought to disobey our teachers or ask for another partner. We were just helpless kids there to endure the cruelty of the people in charge of our lives.