Golden Girl

by Velvet Vaughn

  “Too out in the open,” Ethan told her.

  That made sense. Besides, she did feel better inside the safety of the SUV, especially after witnessing its effectiveness earlier in the day, though that had been Ethan’s vehicle and they were now using Noah’s. She assumed they were all the same. She climbed inside and two minutes later, they were parking in her old spot next to the garage. Before getting out, she called Avery and discovered that Aurora was asleep. She needed the rest, so Peyton wouldn’t stop in and wake her. She let them know that she was retrieving a few things from her apartment in case they saw lights on. Hopefully they would be leaving empty-handed.

  The smell of freshly mowed grass mingled with honeysuckle and locust for an intoxicating aroma that was at odds with the feeling of foreboding as she unlocked the door to her old apartment. She stepped back as Noah and Ethan entered with wand-like devices to scan for recording devices. Curving her arms over her torso, she fought the urge to shudder, especially when Noah’s device beeped an alert almost instantly.

  “Got one.” Reaching up to the fire alarm above the entry, he removed it and opened the case to reveal a hidden camera.

  “Another one over here,” Ethan said, removing the device from the other fire alarm.

  “Oh. My God.” Peyton crumpled to the sofa. “He’s been watching me?” A cold chill racked her body. She felt violated and physically sick. Someone had watched and recorded her undressing, showering, using the bathroom...oh, God.

  “Bathroom’s clean,” Ethan announced.

  She couldn’t even appreciate the small reprieve. What if those images of her undressing were leaked to the internet? She’d worked hard her entire career to stay clean of any scandals or indiscretions. She’d never been arrested or involved in a drug scandal or posed for Playboy, though she’d been offered an exorbitant fee to do so. She’d been labeled with the moniker “Golden Girl” and she didn’t want to do anything to tarnish her reputation. Now, because someone had invaded her privacy in the most depraved way, the choice might’ve been taken out of her hands.

  “Hey, it’s okay,” Noah said, dropping beside her on the sofa and running a hand over her back.

  She was rocking back and forth but she couldn’t stop. “They watched me undress, Noah,” she cried. “What if that footage gets out? I’ll be ruined.”

  “Shh,” he said when she hiccupped a sob. Then she was being lifted into his arms. She burrowed against him, needing his strength and warmth. She was known for staying calm when faced with a challenge. She never showed weakness. She was strong and self-sufficient. She was at her best under pressure. But right now, she felt lost.

  A big hand stroked down her hair. “I know someone who could obliterate the internet if necessary. If there are pictures out there, they’ll never see the light of day.”

  “Really?” She blinked at him, a tear escaping to run down her cheek. He caught it with his thumb.

  “Really. I won’t let anyone hurt you, Peyton.”

  She sucked in a shuddering breath and collapsed against his broad chest. She needed his strength, his calm competence to center her. Otherwise, she’d float into the air and fracture into a million tiny pieces.

  #

  Peyton was breaking his heart. Her sobs were absolutely killing him. The thought of someone invading her privacy, watching her dress and undress, had his hand clenching into a fist. He wanted to find the person and beat the ever-loving hell out of him.

  Ethan executed another thorough scan of the entire apartment, but they’d only found the two devices that looked as if they recorded both picture and sound. Then he stepped outside to try to locate where the video and audio uploaded, and, Noah suspected, to give Peyton privacy. Most devices like the ones they found had a short range. If they could find the source, they might be able to destroy any tapes that were recorded or trace the device.

  He’d told her he knew someone who could obliterate the internet. He only hoped Tyler had that kind of power. He was a freaking genius, so Noah had no doubt he could.

  Her sobs subsided and he lifted her chin. “Better?”

  Her lip quivered. “Not really.”

  He didn’t think his heart could take it if she started to cry again. He did the only thing he could think of. He pressed his lips to hers. She shuddered and melted into him. It took every bit of restraint he possessed to keep from deepening the kiss like he wanted. She was hurting and he couldn’t take advantage of her. With a herculean effort, he broke the kiss. Her eyes fluttered open, still shiny from her crying jag, but gazing at him with a look of need.

  Something banged loudly outside. Peyton jumped, almost falling off his lap. His last-minute grab kept her from hitting the floor.

  The door opened and Ethan stuck his head inside. “Sorry, my bad.”

  Judging from the twinkle in his brother’s eye, he’d seen what happened. Freaking great. Noah would never hear the end of it.

  Peyton’s phone rang. “It’s Mrs. Benton.”

  She scooted off his lap and stepped away to talk. She wasn’t going to like it, but this would be her last phone call. He needed to confiscate her cell since it was ridiculously easy to trace. He had a couple of disposables in his SUV she could use, but they weren’t as sophisticated as her iPhone.

  Peyton returned, her lips swollen from his kisses. “Aurora’s awake now. I’m going to check on her.”

  “We’ll be here.”

  As soon as she crossed the pool deck, Ethan spun around to him with a look of awe.

  “Dude, you and the Golden Girl?”

  “Shut the hell up, Ethan.”

  His brother studied him closely and then whistled. “It’s like that, is it?”

  “It’s not like anything.” He brushed by and headed out the door, hoping the blush he felt heating his cheeks wasn’t noticeable.

  “Noah, wait.”

  He stopped with a sigh.

  “Do you know what you’re doing?” For a change, his brother’s voice was deadly serious. “She’s a client and your friend’s younger sister.”

  It was the same thing he’d repeated to himself over and over. He just didn’t listen. “I know and there’s nothing happening.”

  “I saw—”

  “It was nothing,” he cut off. “A lapse in judgment. It won’t happen again.” He hoped.

  Chapter Eleven

  Peyton was enormously relieved Aurora would recover without any side effects of her overindulgence, but all she wanted to do was go back to the house, crawl into bed and burrow beneath the covers. Someone had filmed her without her knowledge for who knew how long. The invasion of her privacy was a violation she almost couldn’t fathom.

  Peyton knocked on the frame around Aurora’s open door and entered the room that was nothing short of a little girl’s dream. Although Aurora was a freshman in high school, her bedroom still sported unicorns, stuffed animals, netting above her canopy bed and pink everywhere. It was hard to believe this was the same girl who’d drank to excess last night. She was growing up too fast.

  “Hey,” Aurora said meekly.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Better.”

  Aurora was propped up in her bed with a pillow behind her back. Gone was the garish makeup and revealing clothes from the night of the party. With her hair brushed back from her pale face, she looked ten years old. But the emotion in her eyes wasn’t one Peyton had ever witnessed before—humbleness.

  “Are you still planning on leaving?”

  “Yes.”

  Aurora’s lip trembled. “Because of me?”

  Yes, she almost said, but that wasn’t fair. “I need to make some decisions about my future. I’ll see you through the state finals, if you’re able.”

  “You can’t quit.” Aurora burst into tears. “I’ll never become an Olympian.”

  Peyton sighed and dragged a furry pink chair beside Aurora’s bed. Taking a seat, she grasped her cold hand. “Aurora, not everyone is cut out to be a competitive swimmer,
and that’s fine. You can train and race and sometimes win. But in order to take your training to the next level, you need a fire in your belly, one that demands that you do whatever it takes to swim faster than everyone else in the pool. There must be a drive in you to push yourself past limits you didn’t even know existed. Swimming can be a hobby, but competitive swimming can’t, especially Olympic level. It needs to be your entire life. It’s that discipline, that desire that distinguishes champions from the rest of the pack. It’s the difference between standing on the top of the podium or standing on the sidelines. I thought I could instill that mindset in you.”

  Tears dropped down her cheeks. “But you have. I have the desire. I want to win.”

  Peyton smiled sadly and patted her hand. “Wanting to win isn’t enough. You have to need to win.”

  “But I do,” Aurora insisted. “I need to win.”

  “Do you really, or are you doing what your parents want for you?”

  “Well, they want me to do well, yes, but I’m the one who needs to win.” She looked down at her hands. “It took the near-death experience for me to realize how much I wanted this. As I was lying in the hospital bed, all I could think about was that I might’ve done something stupid and jeopardized my swimming career.”

  Peyton wasn’t so sure, but Aurora did sound more determined than she had before. Still, she’d witnessed the girl’s mental fortitude and she’d yet to prove she possessed the mindset needed to compete competitively.

  “Okay, then, we’ll take one step at a time, starting with doing well in practice all week and go from there.”

  More tears gathered in Aurora’s eyes. “I’ll do better, I promise.”

  “That’s all I can ask.” She stood and ran a hand down Aurora’s soft hair. “Get some rest and I’ll see you in the morning.”

  #

  Declan met them at the door as soon as they returned to the house. He told them that after scarfing down two ham and cheese sandwiches and several spirited races around the Car Clash 6000 track, Jamal had fallen asleep, but not before asking if he could camp out on the floor in Declan’s room. He’d carried him to bed a few minutes ago, saying he’d sack out on the couch in the sitting area of the suite.

  Noah filled him in on the listening devices. Hearing it again brought the rush of anxiety back and Peyton shivered. To know someone had not only watched but possibly recorded her at her most vulnerable was devastating.

  Noticing her distress, Noah instructed Ethan and Declan to head to the kitchen so they could go over details on the case. As soon as they disappeared around the corner, he slid his hands around her face. “Are you okay?”

  She hated being weak. It wasn’t in her DNA. She needed to suck it up and go forward. She could deal with any backlash from leaked images if it happened. “I’m good.”

  Noah smiled at her. “Yes, you are.”

  She wanted to cry out when he dropped his hands and motioned for her to proceed him to the booth where the others were sitting. She claimed the spot next to Ethan and Noah slid beside Declan.

  “Do you feel like making a list of any known enemies we can check out?” he asked gently.

  “I’m a swimmer. I don’t have enemies.”

  “What about someone you beat in the past?” Ethan asked. “Could they hold a grudge?”

  An image of Sarah Sanderson flashed in her mind. The woman had hated her from the first time they met over fifteen years ago. They were from the same hometown and had attended the same high school, though several years apart. In her freshman season, Peyton shattered every record Sarah held, so that was probably the beginning of the woman’s hatred. Second was that Kurt was Sarah’s coach first. Peyton didn’t know why they parted ways. She’d never asked.

  Peyton hadn’t even known to be nervous at her first Olympic Trials. She’d been fourteen, swimming against older competitors, sometimes twice her age. Sarah had been ten years older and had won the U.S. Nationals and the World Championships the year before. She’d been everyone’s favorite to win the spot on the next Olympic team, which would’ve been her first. She was arrogant and brash and cocky. She loudly claimed in every interview that no one could beat her. She even tried to intimidate Peyton with childish pranks like stealing one of her shoes from the locker room and bumping into her so that she tumbled into the water and then acting as if it were an accident, though Peyton knew it was on purpose. With Kurt’s guidance, she ignored her, focused on the task, and won the top spot on the team.

  Sarah hadn’t made the cut. In fact, she’d been disqualified for a false start that was patently obvious, despite her coach appealing on the grounds of crowd noise. They lost the appeal and she lost her spot on the team.

  Sarah had been livid. She tried to accuse Peyton of goading her into the false start, which was a lie. No one believed her claims. Irate, she’d screamed and ran for the exit, but in her rush to leave, she’d slipped and busted her chin open on the concrete. Peyton tried to help, but Sarah angrily shoved her away. Someone handed her a towel, which she held to the cut, stomped out of the arena and dropped off the swimming map. Peyton completely forgot about her until she showed up at the next Olympic trials. Now twenty-eight, Sarah was fitter than she’d been before and determined to knock Peyton off the podium as the top ranked swimmer, a title she’d held for four straight years.

  Sarah had indeed been better than their last meeting, but still not as good as Peyton, who easily claimed the spot again. It didn’t matter that other people qualified and Sarah didn’t. She blamed Peyton. For some reason, she took it as a personal vendetta to beat Peyton, something she’d never done head-to-head.

  When she failed to make the Team again, she quit a second time, only to show up four years later and failing miserably in her bid to make the team at thirty-two years old.

  Peyton had tried numerous times to be friendly with her over the years, but her attempts had been met with downright aggression and hostility. She’d given up. She expected to see Sarah at the last Trials, but she hadn’t shown up. Peyton had no idea what happened to her, nor did she really care.

  She gave the men Sarah’s name and a brief rundown of their history.

  “So, she could want revenge,” Ethan surmised.

  “She might feel like you stole her Olympic dream,” Declan stated.

  “But I didn’t. I swam better than her, but there were other spots on the team. That shouldn’t be on me.”

  “Maybe in her mind, it is,” Noah said. “What about the stalker you took out a restraining order against?”

  “There’ve been two, but one is dead. The other is Curtis Milburn. I haven’t heard from him in years. He was committed to a mental health facility. That’s the last I know about him. I was younger when he pursued me, and I think that’s what attracted him.”

  “Pedophile,” Declan guessed.

  “I’m not sure if that’s an official diagnosis, but I always thought so.”

  “Anyone else you can think of?” Ethan asked. “Maybe a disgruntled employee from your swimwear company.”

  She hadn’t considered it might be someone associated with Streamline. “I had to fire a woman a few years ago for stealing designs from competitors. Earla Yount.”

  Noah was taking notes on his phone. “Anyone else?”

  “I can’t think of anyone who’d want to hurt me.”

  Noah glanced up from his screen. “I’ve added Mark Hixon to the list.”

  “Mark?” She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

  “You turned him down,” Noah reminded her. “Besides, his arrival at the dinner winded and disheveled is troubling, especially after someone took a shot at me.”

  Reluctantly, she had to agree. She didn’t think Mark was dangerous, but it was better to be safe.

  “I’m also running Rico Pena and the people who work for the Benton’s lawn care company. Rico seems to pay extra attention to you. Have you noticed his interest?”

  “I’ve caught him staring, but he quickly
averts his gaze. I thought he was just shy. He doesn’t make eye contact with anyone.”

  “Working for the lawn care company, he’d have access to the pool house,” Ethan pointed out.

  “We need to add Jamal’s brother to the list, too,” Declan insisted. “Jamal told me he’s very worried Jamarcus will try to harm Peyton.”

  “He’s on the list, too,” Noah confirmed. “We still don’t know his status. I flagged his name, so if he shows up at a hospital or the morgue, we’ll know. I’ll start running backgrounds on the suspects.”

  “Speaking of Jamal, he said his aunt in Detroit might take him in,” Peyton told them. “I think we need to contact her, the sooner the better since we can’t let him attend school tomorrow.”

  “He has her phone number in his room back at his apartment,” Declan said. “He also wants to grab a few items from the house before he leaves, including,” he turned to Peyton, “the swimming equipment you gave him.”

  She smiled, touched that the items meant so much to him. “I can always replace them.”

  “I think there are other things he wants, too.” Declan smiled fondly. “He let slip about a stuffed bear named Yogi. I think he needs it.”

  That brought tears to Peyton’s eyes. As much as he’d been through, he was still just a young boy. Maybe he’d have the childhood he deserved with his aunt.

  Noah stood. “We’ll go by his place in the morning. The quicker he’s with his aunt, the safer he’ll be.”

  “I’ll go inside with him to retrieve his things,” Declan offered. “The rest of you can stay in the SUV and keep an eye out for any trouble.”

  #

  Dinner had been sandwiches from the stocked refrigerator and then they all headed off to shower before retreating to the living room to watch television. Noah fired off a quick text to Owen, letting him know that he was working on finding out who was sending the medals and notes to his sister. He wasn’t surprised to hear his phone buzzing when he stepped out of the shower.

  In lieu of a greeting, Owen said, “Thanks, Noah. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this. I’m going dark and I’m not sure when I’ll be able to contact you. Knowing Peyton is safe with you eases a huge burden from my mind.”