The living room remained silent as everyone looked at one another.
—What?
Ethan noticed the three women watching him expectantly and spread his hands in confusion.
—What's your plan now? —Chloe asked impatiently.
Ethan looked at her. How the hell was he supposed to know what the plan should be?
He had never received any training as a bodyguard.
He was making it up as he went along.
Then an idea occurred to him.
—My job is to keep you safe, right? —Ethan said quickly—. I'll focus on staying with Taylor. You handle everything else. For now, just find a hotel where we can spend the night. We'll figure out the rest tomorrow.
After giving that less-than-helpful answer, he looked at the singer again.
—You're not thinking about staying here after everything that happened, are you?
—Of course not.
Taylor quickly shook her head, making her blond hair sway. First, she had awakened with a cat's head beside her, and then a cake had exploded in the middle of her living room. No matter how brave she was, she had no intention of spending another night in that house.
She turned to Megan and quietly gave her a few instructions. The woman nodded and immediately pulled out her phone. Although they wanted to avoid attracting attention, by that point it was already impossible. In addition to a presidential suite, they would reserve several more rooms for the rest of the staff.
Thanks to Megan's arrangements, everyone began moving. Soon afterward, Ethan saw firsthand what traveling with a celebrity entailed.
The security staff moved in and out carrying boxes, suitcases, and bags until they had practically filled an entire van.
According to Chloe, it was only clothing, shoes, accessories, and other personal belongings. A considerable portion of Taylor's things had already been taken to the concert venue; otherwise, there would have been far more luggage.
Ethan left Chloe and Taylor to continue their discussion and moved away from the rest of the staff. He walked down the hallway, entered the study, and closed the door behind him.
As soon as he was alone, a familiar chime rang inside his head.
[Ding!]
Ethan stopped.
He had been expecting it.
From the moment he agreed to protect Taylor personally, he knew the system would react sooner or later. There were too many threats, too many attacks, and a killer still hiding among the people surrounding her.
The screen appeared before his eyes.
[Special Mission Activated: Until the Last Song]
[Keep Taylor Swift alive, uncover the identity of the person attempting to kill her, and stop the culprit before they carry out their final plan.]
[Rewards:]
[Talent Evolution: Detective's Instinct → Shadow Hunter]
[Allows the host to mentally reconstruct crime scenes and detect any clues, mistakes, or patterns the culprit may have left behind.]
[Skill Point ×1]
Ethan silently studied the screen.
—Keep her alive and find the person responsible...
The mission did not seem particularly complicated. The problem was that the enemy knew Taylor's movements and had already proven willing to sacrifice anyone to get to her.
Ethan took out a cigarette, lit it, and slowly exhaled the smoke.
—All right. Let's see who finds whom first.
Ethan waited outside the room, looking down from the upper floor as the entire staff moved back and forth throughout the house. A moment later, Taylor came out.
She wore a baseball cap, enormous sunglasses, and a different outfit. Ethan did not know much about fashion, but even he could tell that her appearance and demeanor had changed completely.
Her face remained hidden behind the dark lenses, revealing no emotion.
She had managed to conceal the fear still lingering inside her. Only the hurried pace of her steps betrayed that she remained shaken.
—Do you really need all that at this hour of the night?
Ethan regarded her outfit with a smile.
Although he knew he was standing in front of a superstar, he still did not quite see her that way. Taylor could clearly sense his casual attitude.
Curiously, it did not bother her.
On the contrary, Taylor found it comforting.
When you were constantly surrounded by people flattering you, someone who simply treated you like everyone else could be a relief.
—The time doesn't matter —Taylor explained quietly, with a faint smile—. If there's any chance someone might photograph us, we have to try to maintain a perfect image.
Before heading downstairs, she casually handed her purse to Megan.
When everyone reached the front of the house, several vehicles were already waiting in a line outside the entrance.
Ethan's Ford Interceptor was parked a short distance away.
Hank and the others had arrived in their own vehicles, so no one was available to take it elsewhere.
Taylor pointed toward the car.
—I'll have one of the staff drive your car. We'll take mine.
She then started walking toward a black Range Rover.
—No, that's not happening. You and your assistants are riding with me.
Ethan's response was immediate.
Taylor stopped.
There were several firearms inside the Ford Interceptor. Frankly, Ethan had no intention of handing the keys to anyone on the security team.
If anything went wrong, the responsibility would fall entirely on him.
Taylor remained still for several seconds. She was accustomed to very few people directly refusing anything she asked.
She had not expected friction to arise so soon after the beginning of that strange temporary job.
But Ethan had made his conditions clear.
After a few seconds of hesitation, Taylor had no choice but to change direction and walk toward the Ford Interceptor.
Chloe, who had already been about to climb into the Range Rover, also had to turn back.
Megan was particularly displeased and reluctantly settled into the vehicle.
Ethan did not seem to care.
He continued idly spinning the keys between his fingers.
In truth, his insistence served another purpose.
He wanted to see how willing Taylor was to cooperate whenever he made a decision.
The result had been satisfactory.
Ethan was the last to enter the vehicle. Before climbing in, he surveyed the surroundings once more and then looked at the three women already waiting inside. After making sure everything was in order, he inserted the key and started the engine.
Until that day, he had never imagined he would end up working as a celebrity's personal bodyguard.
The other vehicles began moving and left the property one after another. The Ford Interceptor's headlights cut through the darkness, and a moment later, Ethan joined the convoy before disappearing with them into the night.
The convoy traveled all the way to the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Chicago.
Following Megan's instructions, the Ford Interceptor separated from the rest of the vehicles.
Ethan drove into an exclusive lane, and from there, the group gathered their belongings and reached the presidential suite floor using a private elevator.
At Ethan's suggestion, the hotel employees took care of bringing up the staff's luggage.
Unless absolutely necessary, they needed to minimize contact with other people.
When they entered the presidential suite, Chloe and Megan seemed to be waiting for Ethan to make a fool of himself. Every now and then, their gazes drifted toward him.
After all, the man was still only a detective earning a few thousand dollars a month, and that place belonged to a world entirely different from his usual line of work.
Even Taylor watched him from the corner of her eye.
Throughout the entire trip, Ethan had maintained his casual, self-assured demeanor.
She had to admit that she was also curious to see how he would react.
To the surprise of all three women, the young detective appeared completely at ease, without the slightest sign of discomfort.
Truthfully, to Ethan, it was nothing more than a suite—nothing particularly extraordinary.
However, when he approached the enormous glass window and looked out at the illuminated city beneath him, even he was slightly impressed.
Once they realized Ethan was not going to react as they had expected, the women quickly lost interest and began arranging their rooms.
As expected, Taylor took the master bedroom.
There were four other rooms.
Chloe and Megan each occupied one, while Ethan chose the room closest to the entrance.
Unlike them, he had brought no luggage.
While the three women remained busy putting away their belongings, Ethan walked over to the bar, took a bottle of bourbon, settled comfortably onto the sofa, and turned on the television.
It was his first time working as a bodyguard.
And, honestly, he did not know much about the job.
As long as Taylor remained alive, everyone else could do whatever they wanted.
It was only three days.
He could handle it.
—Here is the employment contract and a confidentiality agreement. Please read them carefully and, if you agree to the terms, sign at the bottom.
After taking care of the other arrangements, Chloe approached Ethan with a tablet in her hand.
—It's standard procedure. I hope you don't mind.
If he was going to accept money to work for Taylor, it was only logical for both parties to put certain conditions in writing.
—Of course not.
Ethan took the tablet and began reviewing the documents. It was a fairly straightforward temporary employment contract. Most of the clauses concerned confidentiality, his responsibilities, and a few basic obligations, with nothing that struck him as unusual.
Even so, he read everything carefully before signing his name and returning the tablet.
But Chloe was not finished yet.
She asked for his phone number and email address, then sent him all the details of the planned itinerary for the next few days.
—You need to remember all of this. We'll also have to remain in constant communication because the itinerary could change at any moment.
Once she finished explaining the details, Chloe set the tablet aside and adopted a more serious expression.
—There are also a few matters that require your particular attention.
Ethan looked up and waited for her to continue.
—You're Taylor's personal bodyguard now, so we'll all be staying in the same place —Chloe explained—. However, there are certain private areas that I expect you not to enter without permission.
—You don't need to worry. I have no intention of making a move on Taylor.
Chloe regarded him with obvious disbelief. With a face like that, Ethan certainly did not look like a man who had trouble attracting women. What truly unsettled her, however, was how casually he had made the statement, as though they were discussing the weather.
—All right —she finally replied.
She shook her head in resignation before adding:
—And when you leave your room, please make sure you're dressed and look presentable, okay?
—No problem.
Ethan raised his glass in a mock toast.
Chloe cast a concerned glance at the bottle of bourbon resting on the table.
—This isn't going to affect your work, is it?
—You don't interfere with how I do my job, and I won't interfere with how you do yours.
Ethan finished the whiskey in a single swallow. He then removed the holster secured around his waist and placed it on the table, with the gun still inside.
Chloe immediately remembered one of the conditions Ethan had imposed before accepting the job: no one could tell him how to protect Taylor.
Therefore, she simply nodded and trusted that the detective knew exactly what he was doing.
After Chloe left, Ethan continued drinking in peace.
If the job consisted solely of accompanying someone for three days, he could almost consider it a short vacation.
Ethan changed the channel several times. He was about to keep searching when a familiar figure appeared on the screen.
He stopped pressing the remote.
—Pop superstar Taylor Swift will perform this Saturday night at Soldier Field, and more than one hundred thousand fans are expected to gather inside and around the stadium —the presenter announced enthusiastically.
The image changed to show some of Chicago's main avenues.
—Downtown will be packed this weekend, and traffic is expected to be especially heavy. We recommend that anyone planning to travel through the area use public transportation and avoid private vehicles whenever possible.
The presenter smiled at the camera.
—We now go live to Soldier Field, where Serra will tell us more about this major event.
—Hello, everyone.
A bald man appeared on the screen and greeted the audience enthusiastically before gesturing toward the stadium behind him.
—This will be one of the biggest events in Chicago this weekend. Seventy-five thousand tickets, all sold out. Can you believe it?
He extended an arm toward the area surrounding the stadium.
—And that's not all. We also expect a massive number of fans who couldn't get tickets to gather nearby and enjoy the atmosphere.
The camera panned around and showed several tents pitched near the venue.
—As you can see, some people are already camping outside the stadium. It's complete madness.
Ethan stopped paying attention to the reporter.
And obviously, not every ticket cost a hundred dollars.
The total box-office revenue was surely well over ten million. Prices varied enormously depending on location: for a hundred dollars, you would probably end up watching the stage through binoculars; the closer the seat, the more absurd the price became.
And that was only one concert.
The woman's ability to generate money was impressive. Ethan now understood far better why everyone was so desperate to keep the threats secret. Too many interests were at stake: promoters, sponsors, employees, vendors, and tens of thousands of sold tickets.
If the concert were canceled, the losses would be enormous.
—Can't sleep? —Ethan asked.