“Everything’s great.  My agent thinks I married you.  I mean my agent thinks I married Pauli. Oh hell, I don’t know who my agent thinks I married.  And if I don’t get some sleep soon, I may never be able to figure it out.”  She laid back down and pulled the pillow over her head.

Joey sat on the bed.  “I was the only one here, obviously you married me.”

She lifted the pillow and peered out at him. “We didn’t get married.”  She pulled the pillow back over her face. She lifted a corner of the pillow again.  He was sitting at the foot of her bed, the muscles of his chest rippling.  Was he smiling?  God, maybe she should just shoot him again but he had a welt the size of an egg on his chest where she’d shot him before.  She pulled the pillow back over her face.  She was so tired.  Why didn’t he take his muscles and go sleep in Jake’s room?  She pushed at him with her feet.

“Go away.”

Why was he in her room with his bare chest?  She sat up.

“How the hell did you get in here?  I know the door was locked.  I always lock the door.”  The strap of her camisole fell off her shoulder.

He was smiling, that million watt Bellini smile.  He got up and walked toward the door. “It might be our second date, but I’m still not giving away any of my secrets.”

Luckily for him he’d pulled the door closed before she pulled the trigger.  Neon pink paint splattered and then dribbled down the door.  Thank God it was water soluble.  Felix, Jess’s pet name for her Mother, would kill her if it left a stain.

She rolled over and, much to her surprise, went right to sleep.

Joey stood in the hall shaking his head.  Damn, he was glad the girl didn’t have a real gun.  He’d thought she may be pretty good at shooting a target that was standing still right in front of her, but obviously she had very little trouble with moving targets.  He wouldn’t underestimate her again.

*****

Joey was making himself at home in the kitchen when Jamie got up.  Bacon was frying and pancakes were on the griddle.

“Wow, man.  No one’s usually up at this time.”  Jamie, who had always been an early riser, usually worked out before he went to school.  “Let alone cooking breakfast.”

Joey nodded toward the breakfast bar.  “You know what they say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”  He started putting pancakes on a plate.  “How many you want?”

Jamie grinned, “How many you got?”

Chapter 17

that’s not funny

Jamie finished off half a dozen pancakes and put his plate and glass in the dishwasher.

“Keep an eye on her, will you Joey?  She acts tough, but she’s so little, you know?  I know she can be prickly and she never lets anyone in, but I know she was crying when she called me the other day and Jess never cries.  Never.  Just keep an eye on her.”

Joey nodded.  “Yeah, kid.  I got this, you go to school.”  He sat at the breakfast bar drinking coffee.  He didn’t know how much longer he could stay in K.C.  He had a casino to run.

Jamie ran back into the kitchen.  “You better come out here.  Someone left something for Jess.  Or should I say Kit and Kate?”

Joey followed Jamie outside.  Sure enough there were two packages outside the garage door where the Escalade sat.  Joey walked around them.  They were each about the size of a shoe box.

He looked at Jamie.  “I told you, Jamie.  I got this.”

Jamie nodded and walked toward his truck.  “You gonna call Dad?”  If Joey wasn’t calling Ben, he was.

“Already dialing, kid.  Already dialing.”

“Joey?”

“I know you have court this morning.  Someone left packages at the Parkers’ for Jess.”

“For Jess or for the characters?”

“The characters.  A package for each of them.”

“Do they look safe?  Lane’s already driving the Navigator home.  Do I need to call and divert her?”

“They aren’t ticking, and they look safe enough.  The paparazzi know where you live too, so that’s not safe.  I think we’d all better stay at Uncle Sal’s for a few days.  No one’s getting close out there.  You know?”

“Yeah, I know.  Wake Jess.  Wait for Lane.  Help them pack up some things.  Have Lane call me when she gets there, but don’t tell them about the packages.  Hide the things.  Push them behind those thorn bushes, put them in your bag, whatever.  Neither Jess nor Lane sees them.”

“I get that you want to protect them, but the kid, Jamie.  He found the packages and got me.  Won’t he say something?”

Ben laughed. “You have a lot to learn about the Parkers.  He won’t tell either his sister or Lane.  And it goes without saying, we don’t call the police on this.  Jess doesn’t need, nor would she welcome, this kind of publicity.”

Ben ended the call.  He’d worked out at the hotel gym this morning, showered and woke Lane.  She’d dropped him at the courthouse before taking the SUV to go home so she could get ready for work.  He wasn’t sure how much to tell her so that she’d understand that they had to stay at Sal’s and yet not frighten her.  Being frightened couldn’t be good for either her or the baby.

Uncle Sal had an estate near Parkville, Missouri. It sat on 10 acres and had advantages.  It was well away from the city, was defensible and the paparazzi didn’t know where it was.  The question was, how was Joey going to get Jess there without alerting the paparazzi?  Because what the paparazzi knew, the stalker would soon know too.

Joey walked around the house, securing the perimeter, before he picked up the packages and went in.  He would hide them in his duffle bag.  He knew Lane would be home soon and he went back outside to wait.  She pulled into the drive and he met her and opened the driver’s door.

“Welcome home.  Ben wants you to call him,” Joey said as he helped her out of the Navigator.

“Thanks, Joey. I’ll call him while I change.  Is everything okay?”

Joey smiled.  “I think he just misses you.”

Lane went into her bedroom, closed the door and dialed Ben’s cell.

“Red.”

“Hey, Joey said you wanted me to call.”

He hadn’t decided what to tell her yet

“I just wanted to say I love you, Mrs. Bellini.”

Ben had called her Mrs. Bellini last night as he held her, but she still wasn’t used to hearing it.  She looked at her left hand.  Her ring finger now held not just the enormous engagement ring, but an eternity band encrusted with diamonds.  She smiled, wondering how long he’d had her wedding ring and his.  They were the kind of rings that had to be custom made.

“I love you. Now, I need to get ready for work.”

He couldn’t avoid it forever.  He had to prepare her for Joey packing them up.  “There is something else.  You know the paparazzi caught Jess and Joey outside the church last night and think they got married.  He’s going to take her to Uncle Sal’s acreage near Parkville.  I think maybe we should all go.”

“Ben, is there something you aren’t telling me?”

Sure there is. He thought. “It’s just that if the paparazzi know where she is, then the crazed fan might show up.  I’d rather err on the side of caution, you know?  Uncle Sal’s house sits on 10 acres.  It’s out of the way, he doesn’t stay there a lot, and there are two master suites.  There’s a lot of room.”

“Okay.  Do I need to pack some things now or can I do it later?”

“It’s probably best if you do it now and give the suitcase to Joey.  You and I can go tonight after I get out of court and you leave work.”

Lane shook her head.  If there was a stalker after Jess, the first priority was to keep her safe.  Lane just wondered why he thought the stalker would come to Kansas.  Unless he was already there.  Hmmm.

“Okay, I love you.  Now, I really need to change for work.  Call me later if you get the chance.”

Joey knocked on Jess’s door.

“Jess?”

Ugh. Was she ever going to get more than six hours of sleep at a time?