Guarding Hearts (Living Again #3) (20 page)

“Samantha,” her dad’s curt voice boomed through the small room. “The video of you and Ellis in your dressing room before tonight’s show. It’s everywhere.”

Sam’s eyes met his. “Dad, I can explain.”

“There’s nothing to explain, Samantha. The whole world is watching your private moments in this video. Thank
God
it wasn’t worse than it was, and you weren’t…”

“Stop!” Sam shrieked. “Do you even care that I almost
died
tonight? That I had a crazy
stalker
in my dressing room? Hello? I’m your only child and you call screaming at Ellis about the video? Do you even know how that video got there? Do you even care?”

Ellis watched, entranced, as she stood up for herself with her dad. He knew she was crushed over the video, and that she had been through hell tonight. But she didn’t deserve the way he was speaking to her.

Samuel paused. “Samantha, of course we’re relieved that you’re okay. I’m glad that Ellis, Sean, and the team were there to make sure this idiot gets put away for a long time. We can all rest a little easier tonight knowing that you no longer have to worry about him. But now we have a PR nightmare on our hands.”

Sam started pacing the room. “This
freak
videotaped us, Dad. There was a hidden camera in my dressing room. My privacy has been violated, and you’re worried about PR? What about Ellis, and his career? This isn’t just bad for me, Dad.”

She was the strongest woman he had ever known. Here she was, after being threatened, touched, and harassed by that maniac, her privacy shattered, and she was standing up for him.

“I’m going to get the label on this, see if they can shut down these news stations from running it. Maybe the police department could help as well, since this video is part of an ongoing investigation into this guy. Do you even know what his name is?”

Sam looked at Ellis, and he shook his head no. “No, but we are supposed to go to the police station so I can give my statement, so I’m sure we’ll find out then. Sean said it’s a paparazzi nightmare outside, so I’m not sure what’s going to happen when we leave.”

“If any of them say anything about the video,
do not
engage them. Ellis, get her safely to the police station. We’ll meet you there as soon as I try to get this video taken off.”

“It’s too late,” Sam said. “Once it’s on the internet, no matter how many news stations you get to stop running it, it’ll be there. If someone wants to find it, they will. Let’s just focus on what we
can
control.”

“Sir, Sam has had a hell of a night. I’m going to get her to the police station so that she can try to get some rest after that. What time are we heading out in the morning?”

“I’m not sure
we
are heading out,” Samuel responded, his voice cold. “I think it’s about time you head back to your job in Florida. Sean can stay on until Brian comes back. We’ll be at home anyway, and now that the sick freak is captured, we can rest easier.”

Sam’s eyes flew to his, and she gasped. “Dad! This isn’t his fault!”

“Samantha, you and I will discuss this later.”

“No, Dad! I want Ellis to stay. If he wants to stay, that is. You aren’t making this decision.”

“Samantha, you aren’t thinking clearly. I’m still your manager, you know. I can make whatever changes to your staff I see fit. In this case, I feel that Ellis has done a fabulous job, but it’s time for him to head home.”

“You’re my
manager
, Dad, but if it wasn’t for me, there would be nothing to manage. I think that gives
me
the right to have a say so on who is hired and fired around here. You treat me like I’m a five year old child. I’m an adult, and last time I checked, the super mega country star Samantha Kerrigan.”

Ellis had to check to see if his mouth had dropped open. “Sam,” he started, but she turned her steely gaze on him, silencing him.

“Ellis, get her to the police station and I’ll meet you there.” With that, the line went dead.

Sam screamed in frustration. “He doesn’t even
listen
to me, Ellis! He acts like I’m a toddler!”

Ellis stepped forward, grasping her hands in his. “Sammi,” he said softly. She stopped, looking up at him. “Maybe he’s right.”

Tears filled her eyes. “No.”

“The guy’s caught, baby. I probably should get back to my real life.”

Tears dripped down her cheeks. He was breaking her heart, and he knew it. “So you’re going to leave, just like that? Just because my dad said you should? Is that all I am to you, a job that you’re finished with? Really, Ellis? After all this, you’re going to be a coward after all?”

Her words were like a punch to his gut. Everything she said was true, that was exactly how he was treating this. “I know we never talked about how long I would stay,” he started, “but even if I wanted to stay forever, I can’t.”

“Why can’t you? I’m not worth it?”

He felt like the wind was knocked out of him. How could he tell her that she was worth
everything
, but that if he stayed, the rest of it would all come out? He couldn’t risk it. Not even for the best thing that had ever happened to him.

“Let’s get to the police station,” he said, avoiding her question. “Then we can talk.”

“You know, I was a fool. I thought that the past few weeks had meant something to you, Ellis, that you actually opened yourself up to me. I guess I was a fool to believe that I meant more to you than just an easy lay. That’s what I was, right? You played the game, got me, now you’re leaving when the going gets tough. Tell me, is this what you’ve done your whole life? You’re too damn afraid to own up to your feelings, so you just run away?”

Ellis bit his lip, hard. She had hit the nail on the proverbial head on all counts. She knew exactly what he was doing.

“I guess I was wrong about you,” she said softly, her voice shaking.

He wanted to tell her she wasn’t wrong, that he cared more about her than anything he had ever had in his entire life, but he wouldn’t allow his mouth to open and the words to come out. Instead, he led her silently out of the dressing room and to the side door, where Sean and the rest of the team were waiting.

“Paparazzi are everywhere,” he warned. “So when I open the door, I’ll lead you directly to the waiting car. Don’t look at anyone, and don’t respond to any comments. Ready?”

Sam shook her head, and Ellis felt her shudder as she sucked in a deep breath. It was for the best. Or so he kept telling himself.

The door opened and it seemed like a million stadium lights were in their faces. Bulbs flashed repeatedly from all directions. Sean led them through the yelling crowd. “Sam, is it true that you’re pregnant with your bodyguard’s baby?”, “How do you feel about a sex tape being public?”, “Who is he, Sam?”, “Was there really a stalker, Sam?” plus countless other tasteless questions were peppered at her from all directions. Ellis gritted his teeth to keep from reaching out and punching someone. If it wasn’t for him, she wouldn’t be in this right now.
If it wasn’t for you, she might also have been kidnapped and killed
, a voice reminded him. He immediately shot it down, knowing that he was now going to do what he should’ve done all along, and that was to let her go.

He sat next to Sam in the hard plastic chair, listening to her recount the harrowing events of Tanner Bauer’s attack in her dressing room. She stared straight ahead, her hands clasped in her lap, her voice strong as she answered everything they asked. They were recording her statement, and she hadn’t cracked once. She also hadn’t looked at him in two hours and thirteen minutes. He knew because he had felt every single second of them. He knew he should be okay with her being angry with him, but instead, it stung. He didn’t blame her. He had acted like a grade-A asshole.

The ride to the police station had been silent, Sam looking out the window the entire time, her body curled into the door so she was as far away from him as physically possible. Once they had gotten there, she had done all of the talking, even when her parents arrived and Samuel tried to take over. Now they were sitting in the waiting room while he was next to her in the interrogation room. Not that it mattered. She hadn’t even acknowledged his presence.

The man had been identified with a rap sheet a mile long and warrants out for his arrest in many states. He had been a transient for so long that the authorities had no leads on where to find him. His case would be rather open and shut. He had admitted to all of the previous creepy flowers, jewelry, and notes. He refused to admit that he had anything to do with the hotel room in Florida, or the erasing of tapes.

He felt his phone vibrating in his pocket, and he excused himself to see who it was. Stepping out into the hallway, he saw that it was Devin.

“Hey,” he answered.

“Ellis,” Devin said back. “Dude, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?”

Ellis sighed. So Devin had seen the video. “Man, it’s a long ass story.”

“You better call Andrew. I’m not really sure he’s going to be happy about this.”

“The video? I know, Dev. I’ll take care of him after I get home tomorrow.”

“Video? What video? I’m talking about the story on all major news channels right now flashing your juvie picture and talking about how you misrepresented yourself to Samantha Kerrigan and how a juvenile delinquent could become a police officer.”

Ellis’ legs gave out on him, and he sunk to the floor, his head in his hand. “What the?”

“Tell me they are wrong, El.”

“This isn’t how I envisioned telling you,” Ellis said quietly. “And I’ll tell you everything, Devin. I promise. It’s been years in the making anyway. But please know this. I’m not illegally a cop. My records were expunged and I’m not that person anymore.”

“I believe you,” Devin answered. “But you still may want to call and talk to Andrew. Unless he already knew this.”

“He didn’t. No one does. I have to go, Dev. Thanks for telling me. I’ll be home soon.” Ellis stood up, looking back at the room where Sam was still talking. This was it. His worst fears had happened, and he had to get out of here. She would be better off without him.

He walked out of the precinct without seeing anyone and headed down the street to a gas station. He had no idea where to go or what to do, but he knew he could never look her in the eyes again. If someone had found out that much about him from that long ago, the rest was going to be right behind it. He wondered if the few weeks he had had with her was worth the fallout of his life.

Seeing a cab pull in, he walked over and slid in the backseat. “Airport please,” he said. He didn’t have any of his things, but it didn’t even matter. He knew where he had to go. The only place that had ever been home for him.

The Florida sun beat down on him as he stood in the driveway. Ellis had sat all night in the airport, waiting for the flight that would bring him here. He wasn’t even sure that Carl was home, but he didn’t care if he had to sit there all day waiting for him.

He walked to the front door and knocked. It opened almost immediately, and his knees collapsed with relief.

“Ellis!” Carl stepped out and hugged him tightly. “What a surprise!”

Ellis pulled his shades off and Carl’s smile immediately disappeared. “Son? Are you okay?”

For the first time in ten years, Ellis dropped to his knees and started sobbing so hard, he couldn’t breathe. He could hear Carl saying something, lifting him, but he couldn’t understand him past his crying. He had no idea how long he cried, Carl sitting on the floor with him in his living room, rocking with him like he was a toddler needing a nap.

“Ellis,” Carl’s voice reverberating through him. “Tell me what happened, son. I’m here.”

Ellis put his head in his hands, embarrassed at what he had just done. “It’s over, Carl. It’s all going to come out. Everything I worked so hard to move past.”

“Does this have to do with Samantha Kerrigan?”

He nodded, the mention of her name so painful it felt like a knife had just been shoved in his heart. He had walked away from her without so much as a goodbye. She would never forgive him. And she shouldn’t.

Ellis sat back against the couch and told Carl everything, from beginning to end. He sat and listened, as he always did. Carl never judged. Even when Ellis was a punk kid, he never told him what he thought he should do. He was always just there.