Page 7 of Guarding the Rock Star
Her eyes narrowed like she wasn’t sure if I was joking. I got that a lot. In the military they’d nicknamed me Cucumber because no matter what happened I was cool and calm. I also had a dry sense of humor, so even when I was joking, half the time people couldn’t tell.
“I’m on tour for months at a time,” Tasha told me. “I don’t have time for a dog.”
I raised my eyebrows but didn’t respond. She turned to Chloe.
“So what are we going to tell Mark and his crew?”
I knew from the file this was her current security team. They accompanied her if she went out in public to protect her from paparazzi and overzealous fans but didn’t cover her living spaces. I was familiar with the company. Everyone they employed was a big linebacker sized meathead without two brain cells to rub together. Of course they were all humans too. Amateurs.
“We’re going to tell them I’m your cousin Wanda, visiting from Cleveland.”
Tasha wrinkled her nose. “You live in Cleveland? Ugh.”
I gave her a cold glare that I’d used to stop subordinate soldiers in their tracks. Tasha was completely unaffected.
“I live in Seattle, but I was raised in Cleveland. Your cousin,” I emphasized the word, “lives in Cleveland which explains why no one has seen her around here. Picking somewhere I’m familiar with means that I won’t have any problems answering questions about my life at home if the need arises.”
“But you don’t look anything like me,” Tasha argued.
“So?”
“So, you’re white as a ghost. No one’s going to believe that you’re related to a half black half Puerto Rican person.”
“Ever hear of adoption?” I asked. “Or maybe one of your Puerto Rican relatives had a baby with a Caucasian or something. It doesn’t matter. Besides, I’m actually half Mexican, so just say I’m your cousin as if it’s no big deal and people will believe it.”
“I don’t think they will.”
I could feel my blood pressure rising. My mate was incredibly stubborn.
“They will believe it,” I said firmly. “Now let’s review your schedule and create a plan to smoke this guy out.”
“How do you know it’s a guy?” she asked curiously.
“It’s a guy. No woman is that offended by the idea of someone being a lesbian. Trust me on this.”
“I don’t trust anyone but Chloe,” she retorted.
“That’s too bad, because you’re gonna need to trust me with your life, whether you like it or not. Now quit arguing and finish your sandwich, Princess.”
Tasha
I stared at the table while Chloe and Wanda hashed out my schedule. My new bodyguard – make that cousin – had nixed several events that she’d determined were either too dangerous or where it would look weird for me to bring an entourage that included a visiting cousin.
Cousin. I wanted to snort at the very idea. The attraction I was feeling for Wanda was decidedly uncousinly. I was both fascinated by her and irritated by her. After being famous for so many years I was used to getting my own way. Maybe that made me spoiled – okay it definitely made me spoiled – but the fact is, once you got to a certain level of fame you found yourself surrounded by yes men and yes women.
The only person who would remotely entertain the idea of disagreeing with me was Chloe and even she did it in a very sweet and passive aggressive way. Being shut down so firmly by Wanda was a new experience. I didn’t know what to do with it.
I’d only met a few vampires over the years. There weren’t a lot of them in the community where I grew up. It was a bit too sunny in Miami for folks like Wanda. I wasn’t bothered by her being different from me. I was, however, bothered by the fact that she was acting like I was a kid when I was thirty five years old and managing a multi-million dollar music enterprise that employed dozens of people.
“How old are you anyway?” I blurted out.
Wanda frowned at the sudden interruption.
“My personal life is none of your concern.”
She had this cold way of speaking, her face almost perfectly expressionless, but her eyes were fiery, burning every time she looked directly at me. Something made me want to poke at her, to see if that fire inside could melt her icy exterior.
I couldn’t say for sure why I was having such weird reactions to her, but I was determined to find out why.
