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  “Yeah, I sent him to obedience school after hiring him.”

  “What can I do for you?” he grinned.

  “I wanted to thank you, for one. I’m not a bad person, really. I’m sure you have all kinds of ideas about me.”

  “It’s not my job to formulate opinions,” he said.

  “Still, it can’t be helped. I have to ask—is there any way you could reassign my personal guard?”

  “You mean you don’t want Spencer here with you?” He looked over my shoulder to where Spencer still stood on the balcony. He had to be chilly out there—the day had gotten cooler, fast—but he wouldn’t come in for some reason.

  “I don’t think he likes me very much.” I chewed my lip, looking up at him from under lowered lashes. I knew how to wrap a man around my finger when I needed to.

  “I’m sure there’s nothing personal involved,” he assured me. “Spencer is one of my best agents, I assure you. He’ll be there when you need him, and he’ll stick to you whenever you have to leave—including when you go to work. You’ll be most vulnerable then.”

  “That’s why I have a bodyguard,” I reminded him.

  “And like Spencer already reminded you in the hospital, your bodyguard was on-site during the attack. He went to get something to eat, didn’t he? And was gone for, what, a half hour at least?”

  I blushed. Zach was in the kitchen, fixing himself something to eat. He was a big guy. He ate a lot. “Everybody needs a break every once in a while,” I said, and even I could hear how lame I sounded.

  “Two heads are better than one at a time like this. Somebody has to have an eye on your surroundings at all times.”

  “You might want to explain that to Zach,” I chuckled. “I don’t think he’ll like it very much when he feels like he’s being replaced.”

  “Maybe he should be replaced, if he can’t protect you.” Paxton’s expression hardened. “Not that it’s my place to speak up, of course, but it seems to me that he didn’t do much to help you yesterday.”

  It was like talking to a wall. I bit my tongue and dug my nails into my palm to keep from blowing up at him. That wouldn’t be a very smart move. “I guess I’m wasting my time, huh?”

  “I wouldn’t say that. You have a right to your opinion.” He smiled down at me. “Don’t worry. You’re in good hands.”

  It wasn’t Spencer’s hands that worried me. It was the way his eyes bored holes into me. Like he could see inside me and didn’t like what he saw. He didn’t have a very good poker face. I could see the disapproval written in every line of his face.

  I saw him out, then closed the door with a heavy sigh. Brian was sitting in the chair I’d taken when I came in, in the center of the large, airy living room. He looked like he might as well have been sitting in his own home. Sometimes he forgot what was mine and what was his.

  He looked up at me as he crossed one ankle over the other knee. “So. Looks like we have a houseguest for the immediate future.”

  “We?” I put my hands on my hips. “What makes you think ‘we’ have anything?”

  He looked around. “Where do you expect me to stay while I’m out here?”

  “In a hotel, like anybody else would.”

  “When you have all this room available?”

  “Brian, I swear, I don’t have the energy to go through this with you right now. It’s bad enough I have one guest. I don’t need more than that.”

  He got huffy, like I could have predicted he would. “That’s gratitude. I fly out here at a moment’s notice, and this is what I get.”

  “Sorry. The next time I’m almost killed, I’ll be more hospitable.” I sank into the couch, then remembered that Spencer would be sleeping there. “You know how I feel about personal space.”

  “But this isn’t the same as living in a crappy little apartment with seven brothers and sisters,” he argued.

  “Could you not?” I glanced out toward the balcony. If Spencer had overheard, he didn’t give it away. “I don’t appreciate my life being flung around in front of strangers.”

  “Sorry, sorry.” He threw his hands into the air. “Well, if that’s the way it’s going to be, I guess I’d better get started on finding a room. Hey, Janine?”

  “She’s my assistant, not yours,” I reminded him. “Don’t you have an assistant of your own?”

  His eyes widened like I’d slapped him. “She’s on the other side of the country.”

  “She can still work a computer, can’t she? Janine is here for me, not you.” Sometimes I was sure he forgot who worked for who. I paid him, and handsomely. It was necessary for us to go over the ground rules two, maybe three times a year, whenever he forgot his place. It looked like that time was coming around again.

  He jumped to his feet. “Call me when you’re not feeling like such a bitch,” he spat. One of his typical responses.

  I rolled my eyes. “If reminding you that I pay your salary is the same as being a bitch, I won’t be calling you at all.” I sat there, staring straight ahead, as Brian stormed out of the apartment. It was the same thing all the time. He’d call up later in the day, or maybe the day after, all sweetness and sunshine and apologies. And I would accept it all since, at the end of the day, he was really a very good manager.

  Zach came in from the kitchen, holding a sandwich in one of his enormous hands. He reminded me of The Incredible Hulk, only his skin wasn’t green. “You need me around anymore tonight?” he asked, chewing as he did. A real class act. Stereotypical meathead.

  “I don’t think so. You can go.”

  “You working tomorrow?”

  I shook my head. Brian had already told me at the hospital that the producers were giving me a few days off to rest and recover. “I’ll have Janine give you a call.”

  “Okay.” He took his sandwich with him when he left. I couldn’t help laughing softly.

  Janine would be in the library, which she used as an office. I didn’t envy her the task of handling all the emails, phone calls and texts I’d received since the attack. I turned my head to the right, in the direction of the balcony. There was Spencer, still standing there. I cleared my throat, wincing a little as I did—it was still slightly sore after the strangulation. He didn’t flinch.

  “Hey,” I said. “Are you coming in at any time, or did you plan on making a bed on the balcony?”

  “I’m considering the bed,” he shot back over his shoulder.

  “It’s pretty cold at night, in November. Fifteen floors up.”

  “I’ve been through worse.”

  “Would you please come in? I’m tired of raising my voice.” I rubbed my throat. “Don’t worry. I’ll go in and lie down and you won’t have to look at me.”

  He didn’t answer. He didn’t even bother telling me I was overreacting. What an ass. I went to my room and slammed the door behind me, even though the sound made my head throb harder than before. Hopefully once I woke up, the pain would have subsided—though the pain on the balcony would still be around. I wasn’t sure which hurt more.

  Chapter Five – Spencer

  Three days passed. Three of the longest, most boring days of my life.

  Not that Charlotte didn’t try to make things interesting for me. Oh, she did. She did her damndest to make sure I wanted to finish the job the person who’d attacked her had started. More than once, I wondered why whoever it was couldn’t have finished her off. I hated myself a little whenever I thought it, since that wasn’t like me at all. I’d put my life on the line to save other people. But I had never met anybody like her, either, and that wasn’t a compliment.

  How that Janine girl managed to work for her, I had no idea. I asked her at one point around the middle of the first day how long it had been since Charlotte hired her. “Oh, jeez. Four years? Five, maybe?”

  I rolled my eyes. “How can you stand it?”

  “What do you mean?” She honestly seemed to not know what I meant.

  I realized how unprofessional I was being and de
cided to shut up. “Eh, it’s nothing. She’s a little more demanding than I’m used to, I guess.”

  She smiled, leaning against the back of the chair across from where I sat. She was a cute girl, for sure. But she always hid behind glasses, and the clothes she wore didn’t do much for her body. She had to have one under all those layers. I guessed she was too shy to stand up for herself. Fact was, Charlotte pushed her around and treated her like a slave half the time. And Janine took it without complaint.

  “Did you go to college, Spencer?”

  “No—I went right into the Army.”

  “Oh, right. I forgot you spent time there. Well, I studied psychology. And I think it’s the best thing I could’ve studied for the work I do.”

  I grinned. “Really? Why?”

  “I understand her. I don’t take it personally when she acts the way she does. Like, right now?” She leaned in a little further and let her voice drop to a whisper. “She’s scared to death, only she doesn’t want to admit it. That would mean admitting she’s human.”

  “So that’s it, huh? She can’t be human.” Well, I could identify with that. The first thing I had to shed when I went into the Army was fear. There was no room for it.

  “When you see her that way, you start to feel sorry for her. At least, I do. You wouldn’t believe how stressful it can be, living the way she does. Always having to diet and stay young looking.”

  “She’s pretty young, though.”

  “Twenty-six? And by the way, she’d kill me if she knew I told you that.” She rolled her eyes, shaking her head at the same time. “It’s ancient in Hollywood. She’s been in movies for over ten years. That’s a lifetime. Like dog years.”

  I laughed. She was smart and funny. She deserved to be something more than just a glorified gofer. Still, she seemed to like it. Different strokes for different folks, I guessed.

  So Charlotte was a human being who didn’t want to come off like a human being. I tried to look at her that way and feel sorry for her the way Janine said, but it wasn’t easy when she was such a raging bitch.

  I turned my focus to the investigation, in the hopes that it would all be over soon. On Thursday night, I called Ricardo’s office. He wasn’t in, but his partner was.

  “Spencer.” Leslie’s voice was deep and rich when she realized it was me on the other end of the phone. “Where’ve you been lately? It’s been weeks since the last time you called me.”

  I winced a little as I stepped out on the balcony for a little privacy. The last thing I needed just then was the reminder that I’d taken things a little too far with her. More than once. “Hey. How’ve you been?”

  “Missing you. What do you think?”

  “Come on. You think about more than me, of course.” I felt my discomfort rising every second.

  “When I absolutely have to.”

  “I wish I could sit around and talk about us all day long, but I was hoping to get a little info on the case.”

  She sighed. “Always business with you, except when it isn’t.”

  I chuckled. “Business before pleasure.” Now why the hell did I go and say a thing like that? Talk about letting my foot fall out of my mouth. All it did was give her the wrong idea. Not that I didn’t like her. Not that she wasn’t fun. But she thought there was way more between us than there really was.

  “Since you put it that way,” she chuckled. I covered my face with my hand. Stupid jackass. “I hate to tell you, but there haven’t been any huge developments. Ricardo’s talking with that costar of Charlotte’s today. That Josh what’s-his-name. The one from that superhero franchise, you know.”

  “No, I don’t,” I admitted. “I don’t get out to the movies much.”

  “Oh, right. I forgot. You don’t have the time for things us mere mortals find interesting.”

  “Sure. So he’s going back for a second round of questioning, huh? Are you looking at him for the attack?”

  “Not him, I don’t think. His wife, more like. He was busy with the director when the attack took place. Plenty of people saw him with his stand-in.”

  “Stand-in?”

  “The person who stands in for the actors when the lighting people are setting up the shots.”

  “Wow, you sound like a real Hollywood pro.”

  She chuckled. “It’s been an education these past few days, to be honest.”

  “So Josh what’s-his-name was with his stand-in and the director.” I frowned. “That pretty much rules him out, I guess.”

  “Well, we’ll see. It seems like he’s covering for his wife, too.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He tried to tell us when we first questioned him that she wasn’t anywhere near the set that day. Turns out, she was.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Somebody taking publicity photos caught her in a few of them. She’s standing in the background.”

  “Maybe he didn’t realize she was there,” I suggested.

  “Maybe. Or maybe he lied because he immediately put two and two together. I mean, you don’t think she would’ve announced her presence? As it is, she tried to give some overblown alibi for that day, saying she’d gone shopping and out with friends for lunch and apartment shopping after that.”

  “Apartment shopping?”

  “Yes, she evidently wants to keep a home in town.”

  “How nice for her.”

  “Only she can’t substantiate any of it. Even claims she paid in cash for lunch, and can’t seem to remember the names of the people she was out with.”

  “So we’re pretty much looking at her for this.”

  “Well, all signs point in that direction.”

  “Let’s hope we you can get it all wrapped up quickly.” The sooner, the better.

  “What, and rob you of the opportunity to spend your nights at the apartment of Charlotte Banks?” She laughed. “I heard it’s a real palace.”

  “Something like that.”

  “The sooner this is over, the sooner you’ll have free time again.”

  I cleared my throat when I heard the obvious suggestion in her voice. “Yeah, I will. Here’s hoping.”

  “I’m hoping you’ll be able to pencil me in for a night in the not-too-distant future.”

  “We’ll see.” I wished she would let it go.

  “Did I say something wrong?”

  “No, of course not. It’s just tough for me to get away, is all. I’m sure as soon as this is wrapped up, Pax will have me on another case.”

  “You should take a little time off. I know he pays you well enough to let you do that.”

  I rolled my eyes and reminded myself to stay calm. The one thing I hated more than anything else was a person who couldn’t take a hint. “He also hates turning down new work, which he’d have to do if I wasn’t working. We’ll talk about it later, okay?”

  “Yeah, sure.” She hung up before I could ask her to keep me posted on the conversation with Josh. It looked like I’d be calling Ricardo on his cell from then on.

  I heard snickering behind me and turned to find Charlotte standing there, arms crossed. And there I was, thinking I could get a little privacy. Stupid me.

  “What are you snickering at?” I slid my phone into the pocket of my jeans, walking past her to go back inside.

  “You,” she said, and the smug tone of her voice made me want to tell her just what I thought of her.

  “Why? Are you into listening to other people’s conversations?”

  “Sometimes, when they take place in my apartment.”

  “I was out on the balcony,” I reminded her. “Not inside your apartment.”

  “No use splitting hairs with me.” She sat on the couch, crossing her long legs as she did. I had to admit, grudgingly, that she looked like a million bucks—especially for somebody who’d come as close as she had to dying. She’d wrapped a long scarf around her head, probably to hide the stitches she’d received, and was wearing a long, flowy dress that didn’t do
much to hide the curves of her body.

  “You’re pretty clever,” I muttered. “But nobody likes an eavesdropper.”

  “I don’t care much if you like me.”

  “That’s obvious.”

  She shrugged. “Now you know how I feel right now. Like everything I do is scrutinized.”

  “What I don’t understand,” I said in a low voice, “is why you keep acting like we’re on two different teams. We’re supposed to be on the same side here. You treat me like I’m your enemy, when I’m here to help you. Believe me, there are plenty of places I’d rather be than in this apartment with you while you’re acting this way.”

  “Like with your girlfriend?” she suggested.

  “She’s not my girlfriend.”

  “Oh, I could tell that much,” she giggled. “You kept dancing around whenever she’d ask if you wanted to get together. I didn’t even need to listen to her end to know what she was saying. You were that easy to read.”

  “Well, congratulations. You’re very perceptive.”

  “More than you. If you had half a brain, you never would’ve gotten involved with that woman to begin with. Don’t shit where you eat.”

  “I guess you’re an expert in that, huh?”

  Her face went red. Her eyes narrowed. “You’re a smug bastard.” She stood up, storming into her room.

  Damn it! I would have to prepare my defense for when Pax called to chew me out, which he definitely would after Charlotte called him to complain about me. I was never, ever unprofessional like that. I never got personal with a client. Why was it so easy to get personal with her? Why did I want nothing more than to throw her history in her face?

  I decided to be the bigger person, even if it meant swallowing my pride. I only hoped I didn’t choke on it.

  I walked to her closed bedroom door and knocked. “Charlotte? I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”

  “You’re damn right, it was. I wonder what your boss will think of that little remark.”

  “Can we talk about it, please? I think we have to get a few things straight if we’re going to go on with this.”