Geez. What the fuck was going on? He was pretty sure he just got himself involved in a situation, and not the good kind.
Just as Carson was about to ask Sienna exactly what he could do, the damn waiter walked in with their coffee. Carson gave him a quick nod and word of thanks, and made it clear they wanted their privacy.
“Sienna, what’s going on, babe? I imagine you deal with paparazzi from time to time. This can’t be unusual, but who is this Sam guy you keep mentioning? Is he bad? Did he hurt you?” He slid his chair catty-corner to hers, and moved his entire body closer so he could absorb the nerves and anxiety rolling off her.
Sienna was visibly flustered, obviously not wanting to answer. She waved a dismissive hand and said, “He’s no big deal, some crazy fan or something. He’s the guy who rushed the stage last week. Mike has it under control.”
Carson could tell it was all a put-on, an act. He was ex-FBI; did she really think she could fool him? He didn’t want to stress her out any more than she already was, so he let her think he bought the nonchalant act. He motioned to pay the tab, so he’d be ready to let some other dude come and rescue them.
He was capable of watching over Sienna and getting her out of there safely, if she’d only told him what the hell was going on, but he was stuck waiting on Petey. He knew without a doubt that Sienna wouldn’t ignore Mike and Asher’s instructions.
Sienna went quiet, obviously in her head, so Carson let her stay there while keeping a hold of her hand and rubbing her thigh up and down with his free one. She didn’t even notice he was touching her. How could she?
After all, he was in his own head, devising a plan for him to gain control. He thought those guys were nice enough, but if he was going to date Sienna, he was quite capable of being in charge of keeping her safe.
He was a big, bad boy, too. No one was going to outsmart Carson in taking care of Sienna, once he had all the facts. He knew better than to ask Sienna for more details. She was totally clammed up at the moment.
But he had an idea, though. Carson decided to pal up to Mike later at the club under the premise of thanking him for taking such good care of Sienna. Just two guys sharing a beer, and he would make Mike tell him what he needed to know. He didn’t leave his interrogation skills along with his badge when he left the Bureau.
Carson continued to caress Sienna’s leg, warming the goose bumps that kept rising to the surface, while he worked this all out in his mind. Sienna, he was certain, was crafting all kinds of excuses for what was actually happening.
That’s okay, I’m going to circumvent all this bullshit.
Within ten minutes, Petey texted to let Sienna know he was out back. Carson didn’t let go of Sienna’s hand as they walked out of the private gaming room and straight to the emergency exit at the far end of the casino. He took notice she didn’t even try to let go, either. She was scared.
He didn’t need to feel her pulse racing to know she was fighting a fright-versus-flight reflex, he could see it in her eyes, and feel it in the way she alternated gripping his hand in a death grip and fully releasing his fingers.
He wished he could let her know that staying close to him was the smart choice, but then Petey was there as promised in a black SUV with blacked-out windows. Carson opened the back door for Sienna and she got in, then slid over, making room for him to get into the seat next to her.
As soon as he was in the backseat, Carson made a point of staring Petey down in the rearview mirror. This was his date with his woman, and he was going to see her through this, no matter who was driving the damn car. Petey might have picked Carson and Sienna up, but she was on a date with Carson. End of story. He’d pick his car up later.
With traffic, they were at the Tunnel within fifteen minutes. Sienna was in her dressing room approximately two minutes later with her door locked.
It looked like he wasn’t going to have to wait until later to feel out Mike, since they were both standing like two chumps outside her door, effectively locked out.
Carson leaned one shoulder into her door in feigned defeat. “Hey, want to go grab a drink and let her shake the mood off?” he asked Mike. “I could stand to unwind a little after that scene. It would be a load off if you joined me.” He held his hand out to the club, motioning for the big dude to lead the way, surrendering control and already playing his part.
Mike shrugged. “Yeah, all right, man. One beer, because I got to work tonight.”
“I got ya,” Carson answered. He spoke bouncer.
Taking a sip of his draft beer at the bar a few minutes later, Carson said, “Shit, that was something today. When the paps saw us, I didn’t think it would be such a big deal.”