Chapter 12
The scream of the crowd was deafening as Ricco finished his last performance of the week and exited stage left. Billy watched as Maxi applauded while simultaneously speaking into her headset, most likely putting out a small fire before it turned into an uncontrollable blaze. She truly was the queen of multitasking.
It was Friday night and over the past four days the only time he’d seen her stop was the three or four hours sleep that she grabbed each night, which he thought it more accurate to describe them as naps. He was running on fumes just from trying to keep up with her.
Wednesday night they’d had a two-hour break when Ricco was visiting his family. Billy had assumed that she would use the time to rest or eat. But that hadn’t been on the agenda. Instead they’d paid a visit to Carter Simpson. Since they’d only been back at the condo for a few hours in the early morning, they hadn’t seen him since the police had questioned him. After talking to him it was painfully clear that the poor kid had been through the wringer, but Carter’s main concern was that Maxi knew he had nothing to do with anything that was going on. Maxi took her time assuring him she believed him. Billy knew they could’ve gotten out of there with an hour to spare, but instead of leaving Maxi had invited Carter out to pizza.
Paranoia had never been something that Billy had struggled with, but he was really starting to think that Maxi was avoiding any time alone with him. What had started after they left the police station on Monday continued throughout the week. If they were in the car, she was on the phone. If they were home, she always made an excuse to be in a separate room than him. If they ended up in an empty room together elsewhere, again, she was on the phone or furiously answering emails. It was odd to be with someone twenty-four hours a day and not actually be spending any time with them.
Not that that was his purpose for being here. He was here to keep Maxi safe. And she was. Since the bogus tip that had implicated Carter, all had been quiet on the stalker front. Which should make Billy happy, but instead with every day that passed he grew more unsettled. Someone was out there and he hated the idea of her being a sitting duck.
Neither the Chicago PD nor Elite Security were any closer to finding out who was behind this. But whoever it was had Maxi in their sights. Chances were they also knew the real reason that Billy was here, and if they didn’t they would soon. After tonight his cover as working for Ricco would come to an end. This was the last event the kid had in Chicago and then he would be on a plane back to New York.
“The after party is just down the block. We’ve rented out the entire club,” Maxi informed him and Ace. “Ricco has a VIP meet and greet in the green room and then we’re leaving through the back alley with a police escort”
This was all the information that both men had, but another thing that Billy had observed over the past week was that Maxi didn’t just dot her i’s and cross her t’s, she looped her g’s and swooped her s’s. Everything was double, triple, and quadruple checked and confirmed. At first, Billy had thought it was a bit of overkill, but after she’d caught mistakes on the third and fourth pass, he’d seen the error of his ways.
As the group navigated through the organized chaos that was backstage, he clocked every person to make sure that they belonged there. Other than the three girls that were obviously wearing fake VIP credentials everyone checked out from his visual sweep.
Ace spotted the teeny bopper intruders, too. He led them behind a large set of speakers as he spoke into his radio and announced the girls’ location. Ricco had four bodyguards that traveled with him everywhere and they along with Ace were all on the same channel.
Unlike Maxi, who had been as distant as a person possibly could be while being in such close proximity, he’d gotten to know Ace better this week and couldn’t be happier that he was on the team. He was the kind of guy you’d want on your side. He was professional, efficient, had good instincts, and most importantly a great sense of humor. Which came in handy when spending a week with a teenage pop star and all the people that he attracted.
Once they arrived at the green room Ace, Maxi and Billy all took their places beside the large area where Ricco was taking pictures with his fans. After four nights of this Billy could spot the criers, the screamers and even the fainters, which sometimes turned out to be the parents. He and Ace had wagered ten dollars a pop over predicting what a fan would be. Billy was up by seventy bucks.
“Crier,” Billy quietly spoke as a blonde girl with braces wearing a Ricco Kingsley T-shirt and headband approached the singer.
“Fainter,” Ace countered.
Billy watched the girl’s color drain from her face a second before her knees gave out on her. She was caught by one of Ricco’s personal bodyguards before she hit the floor.
“Shit,” Billy cursed under his breath. Now he was only up sixty dollars.
Maxi, who was standing directly in front of Billy, turned her head, giving both Ace and Billy the side eye.
“Are you two betting on who cries and faints?” she whispered.
“And screams.” Both men clarified.
“How much?” Her brow furrowed.
“10.” Billy answered, unsure what her reaction would be.
At the gym, Maxi could hang with the boys better than the boys half the time. He’d seen her win more spitting contests than she lost. But this wasn’t a boxing gym, this was her career and he braced himself for a lecture.
Taking one step back, she positioned herself between Billy and Ace. Looking straight ahead she stated, “I want in.”
Billy couldn’t help the smile that spread on his face as he thought, that’s my girl.That’s the girl I love.
As soon as the word formed in his mind he froze.
Love… Did he love Maxi? He cared for her. Respected the shit out of her. Would take a bullet for her. Yes, he loved Maxi as a person, but that didn’t mean he loved her. Did it?
“Cry,” Maxi said under her breath as a girl with auburn hair and braces made her way to the front of the line for the photo op.
“Faint,” Ace predicted once again.
Billy was distracted as he tried to process the whole love word when he felt both Maxi and Ace’s stare directed at him.