Heavy Metal (A Badboy Rockstar Romance) Read Online Free PDF

brighter. 
    Though he may not know it, Brandon’s kindness had made all the difference in the world to me.  It had restored my faith in humanity and my belief in the kindness of strangers.  It had given me something I had been without for a long, long time:  hope.
    Brandon was a good guy.  I knew it.  I felt it.
    When we reached the main floor of the hotel, I was surprised to find we weren’t in the lobby.  Instead, the door came out at the back of the building, which appeared to be a place for hotel staff to park. 
    Brandon’s rental car was out there waiting for us, black, shiny and sleek looking.  I recognized it immediately, mostly because the luxurious sports car looked out of place next to all the other, less impressive vehicles. 
    We climbed in, Brandon once again opening my door for me.  As I was buckling up my seatbelt, I happened to glance over my shoulder.  There was a huge, sunglasses wearing man climbing into a black SUV behind us.  And when Brandon pulled out, the SUV followed us.
    I kept an eye on the vehicle that was tailing us for a few blocks.  Every time we turned, it turned.  Before long I was pretty sure my mind wasn’t playing tricks on me.  I knew what I was seeing and it worried me immensely.
    That was when Brandon noticed the expression on my face.
    “What’s wrong?” he asked, clearly concerned.
    “This is going to sound crazy, but I think that guy back there is following us,” I told him.
    “Oh, yeah...he is,” Brandon confirmed, nodding as though it was perfectly normal.  “That’s Steve.  He’s part of the band’s security team.  It’s kind of a drag having to be tailed by a bodyguard but some of our fans can get pretty crazy.  We had a bit of a scare in Germany last year and ever since then security has been beefed up.”
    I stared at Brandon as his words sunk in.
    “You’re really famous.”
    He seemed to find that funny.  “Not famous enough for you to recognize me,” he teased.
    I reddened.  “I don’t watch much TV,” I admitted.  I didn’t add that when I did watch television, it was usually only because Carl was insisting I feign interest in football, hockey or wrestling.  He didn’t like it when I changed the channel – or did anything independent of him, come to think of it – so I rarely did.  It was easier to comply and avoid confrontation.
    “I’m just playing,” Brandon assured me.  “To be honest I completely loved not being recognized yesterday.  But anyway, don’t worry about Steve following us.  He’s a good guy, and my entire security team knows to be as unobtrusive as possible, since being babysat kind of drives me nuts.  Steve will just sit near us in the restaurant and keep his distance unless we need him.”
    “Okay,” I replied, thinking to myself that Brandon lived a life completely unlike anything I was used to.  Suddenly the ball cap he kept pulled down low over his eyes and his apparent desire to fade into the background made sense. 
    He was one of those celebrities who longed for the privacy and solitude fame had stolen away – I was almost sure of it.  It certainly explained his self-admitted habit of renting a car and setting out by himself to explore the countryside whenever he had time off.  What must it be like to live a dream life?  And what must it be like to want to escape it every moment of every day?  I couldn’t even begin to imagine.
    When Brandon and I pulled up to a small family restaurant, we didn’t immediately go inside.  Instead, we sat in the car and waited while Steve, who had pulled up beside us, talked to someone on his phone.  Only when he leaned out his rolled down window, caught Brandon’s eye and gave a slight nod did we get out.
    “What was that all about?” I asked.
    “Steve was making arrangements for security.  It can be tough to walk into a place without causing chaos,” Brandon explained.  “Of course, some cities are worse than others – but it’s easiest