that, he was gone, leaving Amanda and me alone in the living room. I sat next to her, finally able to look over her shoulder at the notepad that still lay in her lap.
“Doesn’t that freak you out?” she asked, turning her face to me, her sultry, light green eyes locking with mine.
I shrugged. “I try not to take it too seriously. What did these new ones say?”
“I only wrote down part of it, but the newest one is a bomb threat at each of your concerts. It makes sense the FBI wants to look at it. It easily falls into their definition of cyber-terrorism, and as your concerts are all over the country, local and state police just aren’t enough.”
“The FBI will know what to do. And…you can handle the rest. I trust you.”
She smiled. “You do?”
I nodded. “Completely.”
“Why? You literally just met me. What makes you so sure?”
I shrugged, realizing a little too late that I needed to dial it back. Damn, it was so hard to play it cool around her. “It’s a hunch. And you have a…I don’t know, an aura about you.”
She laughed again, and I worked to memorize that sweet sound.
“I really am in LA now. It’s less than a few hours in, and my aura has already been assessed.”
This was going to be fun. For the first time…ever…I found myself wishing the tour dates would happen sooner. Normally, I had a love-hate relationship with tours. It meant entirely too much time shoved in a small space with Kevin in a limo, on a bus, or on a plane. And sure, the girls and the after-parties were always fun. But what people didn’t realize was we had a lot of downtime on the road.
Back when I started in the music business, my bandmates were some of my best friends. Touring was a blast back then. We could be stuck in the middle of a snowstorm and still have the time of our lives. Ever since Kevin came into the picture, everything changed. One of the first things he did to piss me off was replace my band, one member at a time.
“Are you okay?” Amanda’s voice broke into my distracted thoughts. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sure it will all be fine. Most of these turn out to be harmless. We just have to be careful and take each one seriously.”
I looked at her. She seemed genuinely concerned, the way she leaned toward me and placed a hand on my shoulder. I was all tensed up before, but her touch chased all that away. Suddenly I wasn’t angry at Kevin anymore. I could figure that out later, given the new information he had shared with me wasn’t actually all bad.
I smiled at her. “Yes, I’m fine, really. It’s just been hectic, that’s all.”
She asked me about my music. I was starting to get into a relaxed conversation with her when Kevin re-entered the room.
“I just got off the phone with the FBI. They’re on it.”
“That was fast,” I answered.
“They’re sending an agent out here tomorrow morning.”
“What? You mean for protection?”
“I don’t think so. They’re still investigating. But as an extra precaution starting tonight, they recommended that we beef up the security here at the house, and wherever you go, Johnny.”
Shit. Like I didn’t have enough going on already.
Kevin looked at Amanda. “Is there any way you can stay here with Johnny tonight and start the assignment early?” he asked. “We have perimeter guards on the grounds, but I’m not sure they’re trained for personal security.”
Kevin was on board! On the inside, I was pumped at the thought of Amanda under the same roof with me tonight. I did my best to stay neutral at the news. That was incredibly difficult—all I wanted to do was kiss Kevin for suggesting it, then get him out of my house so I could focus on this woman who had plagued my thoughts for years.
“Tonight?” Amanda asked. “My things are at the hotel, but, yes. Definitely. Does that means I got the contract?”
I couldn’t help but smile. We needed her. Kevin needed her, and he was miserable. He hated being backed