Page 71 of Not Another Rockstar
He was more worried about her than the clothes. He would buy her every T-shirt in the universe if he could get the person who was behind this to stop—if it was just one person.
He rubbed his hands over his jaw, trying not to overreact. Getting upset would only stress her out, and they had been home less than twelve hours.
“We should’ve put a stop to the hate months ago. The moment it was suggested that you were the driver, we should have protected you.” His stomach tightened. “We’ve failed you.”
Phoebe took his face in her hands, forcing him to look at those big eyes. “Please don’t talk like that. You didn’t fail me. If any of you had come out and refuted the video, it would’ve just sparked a debate. There is no winning, and you could never fail me. You’ve made the last few months tolerable and made me feel safe when I thought the world hated me. Even if it does hate me, I still have you.”
“Are you trying to flirt with me to stop me worrying about you?”
“I’m thinking if I bat my eyelashes long enough you might stop frowning. Or maybe you want to join me in the shower and help me wash off the paint?”
“As enticing as that sounds, I have to make a call. You hop in the shower, and I’ll be waiting when you come out,” he said. The sight of the blood-coloured paint covering her terrified him.
“To who?” she asked.
“Someone who can help us.” He didn’t want to wait until morning.
“It’s the middle of the night, and we aren’t going to solve who did this now.” She had a point, but they had waited long enough.He didn’t want to worry Autumn by disturbing her so late, but she’d understand his desperation.
“I can’t talk you into waiting, can I?” she asked, turning on the bathroom light.
“Afraid not.”
He took his phone from his back pocket. While he dialled, she grabbed some clothes.
She hesitated. “You won’t leave, right?” Fear tainted her soft voice.
“Not going anywhere,” he promised, sitting on the bed as she closed the bathroom door.
Elijah answered Autumn’s phone gruffly. “Axel? It’s late, Autumn is asleep. Is everyone okay?”
“Sorry to disturb you both, but it’s you I wanted to speak to. I didn’t want to wake you up, but it’s urgent,” he said quickly.
He heard movement, and guessed Elijah was leaving the room.
“Go ahead, I’m awake now. Brinkley will want her morning walk now that I’m up.”
“I don’t know where to start, but you’ve seen all the harassment Phoebe’s been getting on the news? Autumn probably told you the situation.”
“Autumn has shown me some of it—she’s been worried about the two of you—but I’m not sure how I can help.”
“You had a friend help with Autumn’s case, right? With the stalker? Would he be able to help us figure out who’s targeting Phoebe, if it’s one person or more? We got back from Italy tonight, and Nick threw a party. Someone painted ‘leave bitch’ on the back of her bedroom door.”
Elijah let out a long sigh.
“Michael. He’s the detective that helped us, but he’s on holidays for the next couple of weeks with his husband. However, I can reach out to his old partner, Isaiah Rivers. He’strustworthy and wouldn’t mind looking into your case off the books.”
Axel wasn’t going to be picky.
“If you trust him, so can we. We were talking to two officers after the studio break-in, but then it was leaked to the press. I don’t want anything else getting leaked.”
Water was running in the bathroom. He walked to the door and heard faint sobs from within. His heart broke as Phoebe concealed her hurt.
“Isaiah is discreet. He wouldn’t share information with anyone unless necessary,” Elijah assured him.
“Thank you, and I’m sorry again for calling so late.”
“Don’t be, I know what you’re going through. You’re doing the right thing, reaching out,” Elijah said, but Axel hated to have brought up memories of their own experience. “Call us if you need anything else.”
