There were more. Lots more. All mailed originally from Keene post offices or the surrounding area. All with bible verses printed in the same spot, in the same font. I had no doubt it was just one person, or one group, writing them.

“You’ve never gotten anything like this before?” Mike grilled me for the fourth time as we sat on the empty bus a little while later. The ‘Bama Boys, realizing something important was going on, had fled the bus along with Nikki and Emma, leaving the two of us with Nate and Lia.

“No,” I snapped, agitated that he wasn’t hearing me. “These are the first I’ve seen. I would tell you if there were others.”

Mike stood, pacing the small trailer with his fingers knotted behind his neck, elbows in the air. The waves of anger he had rolling off him made me nervous. Stopping, he turned to Nate. “We need to beef up security.”

Nate nodded. “Done.”

“No.” I shook my head. “That’s just silly. These people aren’t dangerous—they’re cowards hiding behind words from an ancient book. They can’t even bring themselves to insult me directly, Mikey. They’re nothing to be scared of.”

“Roxy is fucking nuts, Mols. I wouldn’t put violence past her.”

Nate watched me, closely. He’d had to speak to my sister on the phone once, but he’d heard the horror stories. “I agree with Carson, Molly. There’s no telling how far someone like that will go. You may think it’s just words, but it might be more to whoever is doing it.”

I threw my hands in the air. “No. She is just trying to scare me. I will not give her the satisfaction. I have Mike. I don’t need someone else following me around and watching me all the time.”

“Fine. We’ll be more careful. For now. First sign of worry and I’m bringing in more guys.” Mike pointed his finger at the tote. “Hire someone to go through her mail. Every time she gets one of those letters, I want to see it.”

Lia nodded. “I’ve changed her address for mail to go where Nate’s does. Nikki said she has a friend, someone she trusts, who needs help starting over. I’m calling her tomorrow.” Holding up a hand to me, she stopped my protest before it could leave my lips. “Everyone has an assistant, Mols. Even Nate. Plus, think about the fact that you’d be giving this woman the second chance Nikki says she so desperately needs.”

Well, when you put it that way… “Fine. Call her. But, I want to meet her first.”

“Absolutely.”

I wasn’t worried. I wasn’t scared. Hell, I wasn’t even mad. The worst part was that I wasn’t even surprised. Well, maybe a little shocked that it took my sister this long to do something so shitty. It was pathetic and just like her, though.

Mike, on the other hand, was not taking this lightly. When we stepped off the bus, he grabbed my upper arm and held it tight, surveying the parking lot before he led me across, hand still firm around my bicep. He dropped me off at makeup and then stood outside the door in the hallway, arms across his chest, looking like the ex-SEAL he was—all badass and shit. It was hot, even if it did piss me off.

It wasn’t until I stepped on stage a few hours later that I realized I’d never gotten the kiss I’d been so sure I was going to get earlier. Damn my sister. Damn her straight to the hell she was so afraid of.

Chapter Twenty-Two

~ Mike ~

My phone vibrated in my pocket for the fifth time in two songs. I ignored it, instead crossing my arms over my chest to keep myself from reaching for it, and focused my attention on the woman on stage and the fans moving around in front of it. This was not the time or place for me to deal with Julie’s drama. Not that there ever was a time for me to handle her bullshit.

I shouldn’t care. It wasn’t my problem. The term ex-husband meant that all things Julie Samms were no longer my business. She wasn’t my responsibility. The woman performing in front of a sold-out audience, though, was.

Molly should be the only woman on my mind. This shit with her sister bothered me a hell of a lot more than it bothered her. Something was off. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it yet, but I could feel it. A gut instinct that had served me, and my unit, well for years.

Her sister was certifiably insane, yeah, and a fucking bitch, but what did she have to gain from sending hidden messages that called Molly a slut? There was something more to this. Something I was missing. Knowing I didn’t have all the pieces nagged at me, keeping me awake at night.

At least, that was part of the reason I stayed awake for all hours, staring at the ceiling of my bunk. The other was that I knew the hottest fucking woman alive was sleeping right above me. Right fucking there. I could easily slip out of my bunk and into hers and no one would know. That fact kept me up, and hard, for hours.

My phone started vibrating again. Jesus! The woman was persistent, I’d give her that. But she always had been, hadn’t she? I’d get Mols off stage and secured in a room and then I’d call Julie back. She could wait a fucking half hour.

I shook my head in annoyance at the fact that I’d just made a plan to accommodate Julie.  If only I could turn off my feelings as easily as it was to sign the divorce papers. Then I could tell her to get bent and not worry about whether or not she was drinking herself half to death in front of my kids. Her kids.

I couldn’t do that, though. I could sit here all day and try to convince myself that I was only concerned about her because of the kids or because I hated hearing the worry in Jake’s voice when he talked about his mom, but it would be a lie. The old Mike may have tried to overlook the truth, and lied to himself constantly, but I didn’t do that anymore. I looked at the facts, no matter how painful they were.

I didn’t love Julie. I had never been in love with Julie. Molly had been right a few weeks ago when she’d accused me of never loving Julie like I had Lia. I may have never looked at it like that, but I could see now that it was the truth.

My feelings of protectiveness, or my need to make it right, had nothing to do with love. Or misguided loyalty. Maybe, once upon a time, I would have thought so, because even though I didn’t love Julie, I’d been devoted to her. I would have been faithful to her until the day I died. She’d destroyed that the moment she started fucking another man while wearing my ring. And if not then, the moment she’d passed off his daughter as my own.

The love may have never been there, but Julie and I had shared a life, a home, memories, children, and so much more. She’d always hold a special place in my life because she gave me the most important thing in the world—Jake. There were many things about the woman that drove me crazy, and most of the time, I had the unmanly urge to throttle her, but at the end of the day, she’d always be my son’s mother. It was my job, as his dad and someone I wanted him to look up to, to help her when I could.

Molly finished up on stage, coming into the wing with a giant smile on her face. The roar from the crowd was almost deafening as they called her back for an encore. She hesitated for a moment, then walked to me, lifting her hand to my cheek.

“What’s wrong?”

This woman never stopped surprising me. This was her moment, fans were screaming for her, chanting her name, but she ignored them all, stepping closer to me. Her eyes searched mine, and I knew that if I told her I needed to leave, to go make a phone call, she would come with me.

“Nothing.” I offered a smile that even felt fake. Reaching up, I closed my fingers around hers and pulled her hand to my mouth. Without thinking about it, I kissed it. “You kicked ass out there.” Dropping her hand, I nodded toward the stage. “Go. Give ‘em hell, kid.”

Her lips curved into a grin as she backed away, but her eyes were still full of concern.