Vigilante Shit // Taylor Swift

I walk into Brianna's production offices, Perfectly Pink Productions-a name I wouldn't have chosen but no one asked me-and run headlong into the receptionist, Rachel. I'm not her favorite person since I had her arrested for suspicion of mail fraud.

A long ass story that ended with catching the culprit and owing Rachel a huge debt of thanks. A debt that I'll never pay off considering the person who's holding it over my head.

She's fucking scary.

"You, again. What do you need now?" Rachel asks. She raises her eyes a fraction when I step off the elevator then scowls, looking back down at whatever it is she's working on. She could be reading a magazine, but she's probably sticking pins into a small doll with my likeness.

"Just here to do my job." I say.

Rachel scoffs. "You kind of suck at that job."

Now I say nothing. Rachel likes to bait the hook whenever she has a potential victim. It's like a lion going after the weakest gazelle. I'm not weak, however, so her efforts always fall flat.

She shakes her head as I walk by. "Better hope no one rushes the stage to beat up the band this time around."

Ouch. She knows how to hit me where it hurts. I fully admit, mostly to myself, that I was off my game last tour. The situation between Char's brother and the former drummer of our opening act, Curt, was not on my radar. And it absolutely should have been. The signs were all there. I had my head up my ass worrying about my daughter.

But not this time. Colleen is helping me more than she realizes. Bringing Katie to stay with me a few times over the length of this tour will get me through.

Leaving Rachel to stew in her bitterness, I move past the entrance and into the lounge area. Rather than a closed off conference room with an extended table for suits to sit around and glare at each other, Brianna converted part of the office space into a plush seating area with cushy sectionals and floor to ceiling windows overlooking the famous Hollywood sign. Zack calls it the club. He's right, there is a club-like vibe minus the strobe lights and house mix.

Brianna, Char and I have a scheduled meeting to go over the security details. I find a spot at the end of a sectional and place my files on a side table. They already have digital copies of the plan but I didn't add my hen scratching to that version. As soon as I present my plan, I'm shredding the hardcopies.

"We have a long day ahead, so let's get started." Char speaks as she walks into the space, no preamble whatsoever, followed by a beaming Brianna Royce. No idea what could make the popstar so happy, but it doesn't concern me anyway.

Char takes a seat with Brianna by her side. I lean back against the couch, crossing one ankle over my leg. "Did you check my notes?"

Char nods. "Quite detailed, yes."

"I have some changes to add." I feel a swell of nerves ahead of the request I'm about to suggest but it makes no sense. I'm just making arrangements to have my daughter visit. Not really a big deal.

"Hit me," Char says as she's poised to take notes on the itinerary.

"I'd like to book an adjoining room at four stops so Katie can come out. Colleen's planning to bring her. I'll take care of the plane tickets and you can take their room fees out of my fees."

"Absolutely not," Brianna says. "I'll cover their room. I'm so excited for Katie to visit you on tour! She can be my special guest."

I rub my chin, a habit I've formed since starting to grow out my beard. "Yeah, I'm glad this worked out."

"And you got Colleen to bring her? That's so great. She loves spending time with Katie."

I look over at Brianna to find her beaming, a twinkle of something I don't understand shining in her eyes.

"She offered," I say, lamely.

"Oh! This is why I love her."

Char nudges her. "I thought you loved me." She says it with a smile. These two go back years. Decades practically. No two women are closer friends. Char isn't actually threatened by Colleen. Although just the possibility has me feeling defensive. Colleen is a giver. Not deserving of jealousy from anyone.

"No one means more than you do." Brianna nudges her back. "I'm just glad Colleen was willing to make the big move out here. I could tell how excited she was when she visited but it's not easy leaving everything behind to start something new."

Char hums, nodding her head. "It is, but she had some good motivation to get out of dodge, you know?"

I don't know. That statement wasn't said to me, but now I'm all ears. What had Colleen leaving town? Suddenly I want name, rank and serial numbers of anyone who put Colleen in a position to bolt from her hometown. Even though it brought her out here and I don't know what I'd do without her.

Fuck. That thought hit me like a sledgehammer. I need her. The exact emotion I was working like a demon to avoid is what's gripping me now. Need.

It's all I can do to remain seated and not pace the room with a full-blown melt down. I swallow and roll my neck, willing away the tension.

"Well, luckily for her I don't think she's heard from him since she moved here."

Brianna says the words as a throw away comment but all they do is destroy my efforts to remain calm.

"Heard from who?"

The way both women turn slowly to eye me, I must have said it with much more intent than I realize. Because I have intent. Even I'm shocked by the dark turn of my thoughts.

"Her ex. The guy she dated in high school, Ross."

I roll my hand. "Go on."

"They broke up right before prom. Zack ended up taking her. Just as friends, of course. Anyway, she didn't talk to Ross again until she'd moved back home after college. I guess he was campaigning hard to date her, but she shut him down."

The story is innocent enough, but my back is up regardless. Something about it doesn't sit right. An instinct that this has bad news wrapped around it slaps me hard, right between the eyes. I need a last name and a birthday, and I'll be able to find everything I need to know for sure. I'll hit Zack up for that soon enough.

My attention returns to the task at hand and we get deep into the details. The back of my mind, however, is already formulating a plan to dig into this Ross asshole.

***

One restless hour later, I'm done presenting the protocol and itching to start my deep dive into Rosshole. I text Zack to see if he's available to talk. Footsteps echo through the hallway not even a minute after hitting send.

"What's up? Everything good with your security plan? I just got here otherwise I would have sat in." He looks down at his phone. "Oh, you texted me?"

"Yeah, yeah. The plan's all good. Listen, I have questions about someone from your hometown."

"Oh?"

"What do you know about someone named Ross." A heavy look greets my inquiry. A look that weighs as much as I do, but it does nothing to deter me. "I want every fucking detail."

"Damn. What did this guy do to get on your radar?" Zack fills in the blanks when I don't say anything. "Does this have anything to do with Colleen? Did he contact her?"

"I definitely don't like that question. Or the tone you used to ask it. I'll ask you one more time. What do you know about him?"

"I told you why my mom got me into karate. I had some guys on my back she worried would make things physical, so she signed me up. She wanted me to have some self-defense."

"Same reason I signed Katie up to work with you." Zack ran a highly successful dojo where Katie has learned a lot about the art of defense. "Let me guess. Ross is one of the shitheads who harassed you." Fuck. Someone with that mentality was impossible to reason with because they thought they knew fucking everything. "She left to get away from him? I need a last name and his birthday."

"You don't need to worry about him."

"He's already got a track record. You told me yourself. I want to keep tabs on the guy." Truthfully, I wanted to do more than just keep tabs, but I keep that to myself.

"That was a long time ago, man. He's a small brained, small town bully. She's out of sight, out of mind."

"This coming from a guy who can hardly let his girl out of his range of vision?"

"Hey, Brianna is a public figure. You know firsthand how out of control fans can get."

I'm effectively chastised. "You're right." It doesn't ease the sixth sense in my gut. "I'd still like to look into the guy and see what he's up to."

Zack stays quiet long enough to cool down some of my steam. I can tell he's trying to get a read on my motives. I decide to throw him a bone.

"She's one of my best friends. She's bringing Katie to see me. You know me and my need to keep everyone out of harm's way." While true on all fronts, it's not the entire story. But judging from the tone in Zack's voice, it's enough for now.

"Very true." Zack rises from his seat. "I have to say, when I asked you to help me out with Brianna's stalker, I didn't see it leading to a scenario where you write detailed plans of protection for my girlfriend."

"Neither did I. Looks like it was meant to be."

He taps his chin. The rightness of my statement settles between us. We make a good team, something I'm about to say out loud when he speaks first. "Do me a favor," he says. "Keep an eye on Ryan."

Citizen One's lead singer? I sit back in my seat, confused by his request. "What's he done now?" The guy is a bit of a loose cannon where his public persona is concerned, but he's not one to cause trouble.

"Nothing. Yet. But He's been baiting Curt. And I have a feeling that will amp up with the tour and the trial colliding here in a few months."

I nod in understanding. The band is embroiled with their former drummer in a defamation lawsuit and countersuit. It's been going on for months, but the trial date is looming and tensions about it are high.

"Curt is unhinged. I don't want Ryan setting him off which could reverberate into Brianna's pathway. I'm not about to sit back and let that happen."

"I'll keep watch over him. And maybe a conversation is warranted." I've had my fair share of come-to-Jesus talks with the guy. This would be par for the course.

"Couldn't hurt." Zack gives his verbal approval for my protection plan before heading up to the rooftop patio to hang out with Brianna. She's taken over the entire top floor of the building therefore has access to the roof which she's turned into an oasis. She retreats up there often to unwind, especially after any kind of stressful decision making. Zack's the one who needs the let-down, now. Hopefully he'll find that upstairs with her.

Twenty minutes later Zack texts me the information I need. I have just enough time to start a deep dive into Ross Johnson, 24 years old. And look, his birthday is a few weeks away. Depending on how this goes, a little visit from me might be his gift.

Starting off with a bang! Clinton does not mess around with that protective vibe. I can't wait for him to get all growly and mutter "keep your hands off her." Sigh *heart eyes*

Vigilante Shit felt like what Clinton's about to appropriate, haha! He certainly likes to take matters into his own hand 😅

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Thank you so much for reading!! See you next week ❤️❤️ And as a reminder, here's some of the tropes we get in this one. 😘