“The three major networks have confirmed a TV crew. Watch the news tonight and you’ll see. I’m betting cable shows up too. Your sending your movie-star friends made a huge difference. Suddenly it’s the party to attend. Even politicians and government people are showing up. The seating arrangements have been a nightmare.”
“Let Sebastian handle everything. He’s the event planner. I just want you to have fun. You’ve earned it.”
They chatted for a few more minutes and Jas enjoyed Liana’s excitement. This was an amazing recognition for something both Jas and Liana had simply needed to do for their own sanity. Opening the Hope Center for Women was possible because of Jas’ connections to the money floating around Southern California, as well as a heavy investment of her own. But running it was Liana’s baby. It was the road back to being whole for Liana.
Beautiful Liana was no longer a broken shell of a woman. Her spirit had been poured into helping other women in need. The acts of healing performed for others were the medicine that healed both of them. Jas couldn’t take back that one night when she’d promised to look after her friend and failed miserably. What she could do was make up for it. Well, sort of. It was probably a little unbalanced to need to keep fixing what had been broken so long ago.
Liana had never really needed “fixing”. Her strength was not as apparent as Jas’, but it was probably much deeper.
They’d found a way to use the experience, make it a stepping stone to changing others’ lives.
* * * * *
It was after eight in the evening when Barry pulled the door shut in the big editing trailer. It was permanently parked next to the hotel since some of the equipment in it was too sensitive for the rough ride out to location. The only people in it were Blaster, Barry and Jas.
“We need to talk and I thought this might be the most private place to do it. Jas, I asked Blaster to come out here to find out what’s going on. He’s the most dangerous man I know and we need serious help.”
Jas raised an eyebrow. She could believe that, though no power on earth would make her admit it.
“You’re ex-military. You know what a Special Forces unit is, right?” Barry directed the question to Jas. “Blaster was a member of one of the most elite.”
“Hey now,” Blaster interjected.
Jas snorted, “Right.” She sat down on one of the swivel stools as she continued. “Did Huckleberry actually tell you that? He’s obviously compensating for something. Using the term “elite” is handy that way. No way to prove he was in such a unit and no way to prove he wasn’t.”
“She’s right.” Blaster consciously relaxed. Going along with her misconception was neat and simple. He tried to appear sheepish and vaguely guilty. No telling if he managed to wipe the glazed, sexual predator look off his face.
Barry glanced between them. “I see. Then what was the designation of your unit? I’m trying to impress her with your expertise to handle this situation. Help me out.”
Blaster ran a hand around the back of his neck and grimaced a bit. “I’m ex-Special Forces. The unit is now retired. Enough to say we never trained a replacement.” Again he went for a sincere open look. She already knew way too much about his urges. This wasn’t the time to let her focus on them.
Sitting on a stool, Jas leaned her elbows on the console behind her so that long body stretched out in apparent ease with ankles crossed. She gave the impression of being supremely comfortable. Wearing a formfitting tank top that ended above her navel, low hip-huggers and a black silk bomber jacket left open to show off her body, she was jarringly beautiful. The jacket was useful to cover a multitude of weapons she didn’t seem to be working that hard at concealing.
Both eyebrows rose as she looked at Blaster. “Never had a replacement? Your unit didn’t lose one man? What were you, Special Ops Kiddy Care? No functioning unit retires the original members.”
Blaster grinned as he lounged against the equipment table behind him. “Yep. We’re damn good at babysitting.” It wasn’t his habit to defend the Unit. Facts were simple and sticking to the ones that were unclassified was his only concern. That, and doing his damnedest not to physically drool while looking at her. Her casual sprawl was deceptive and dangerous. It allowed her instant access to the weapons he knew were on her body. She was such a sexy sort of deadly and he couldn’t look at her long enough.
Exotically tilted eyes regarded him for an unblinking moment. Jas’ forehead wrinkled for less than a second at his refusal to brag. It wasn’t natural for a guy as arrogant as she assumed he was. That fact whispered a little strength into the possibility he told the truth about the Special Forces service claim. Checking his facts wouldn’t be difficult, just a bit time-consuming. He should know better than to lie. Her gaze slid to Barry. “So you’ve hired security. Good job. What do you need to tell me for?”
“Because I get to baby-sit you.” The heat in Blaster’s deep voice dripped with Mississippi sweet.
“Oh?”
“What he means is, I think you need protection,” Barry rushed on before she could interrupt. “Come on, Jas. I’m not an idiot. You come to the set armed. Every one of the incidents has happened around you. What’s going on? Do you know who’s doing this and why?”
“Are you accusing me of something?” Jas’ tone remained softly conversational.
“No. Absolutely not, but I think you’re in danger, Jas. You and I have sweat blood over this movie. It’s your big break and even more so, mine. You’ll be a star and I’ll be the director of a smash hit. We are that good. But none of that will happen if our crew is scared shitless and continue to quit like the three who did today. We’re around a week away from getting this one in the can. Fuck! We’ve got to finish location filming and we’ve got to do it within budget.
“I brought Blaster to ensure we make it. I know you don’t trust men much, but you trust me. Can you extend some of your trust in me to him? Tell us what’s going on and let him take care of it. I promise, it’ll go away.”
“Barry, you can’t sublet trust. I know you. I don’t know him from the next hillbilly and besides, he’s military. Where do you think this kind of trouble comes from? Don’t get your shorts in a wad. No one is trying to kill me. They’re trying to intimidate me.”
Blaster felt a little stab of satisfaction. “So you do know exactly what’s going on?”
Jas ignored Blaster’s comment. “An old idiot must have gotten nervous. Someone who assumes he can control everyone with fear. And this,” Jas jerked a thumb at Blaster, “is probably one of his lowbrow fuckups. You may think you called him but I bet he didn’t have a thing to do when he got your call. Isn’t that a little bit odd for such a talented guy? Didn’t you wonder why your buddy boy had nothing better to do?”
“No, Jas. You don’t understand. Blaster is my family. He has nothing to do with whatever you’ve got following you. And what the hell is it? My shorts are in a damn tight wad and if anyone else quits on the production, both our asses will be feeling the heat. We can’t afford this, Jas.”
“He’s family? I thought you didn’t have any family? Which statement is the lie, Barry? I have to tell you, I wanted to trust you.” Ice-cold calm entered Jas’ voice with that statement.
“Stop it, Jas. Stop it right now. I’m not one of your monsters.” At this point Barry lost all surface sophistication. “He and I spent time in hell together, better known as the Beckley household. Foster parents who not only did it for the money but were sick enough to enjoy stripping away a child’s humanity. They loved the process. I know you had a grim childhood but don’t damn well assume you’re the only one. This is the person who at twelve, knew what mental toughness was and could teach it to a ten-year-old. He is family!” Barry stopped and drew a deep breath. “Look, I’m not trying to deceive you. There’s too much at stake.”
There was silence for a moment and Jas looked at Blaster. “Nothing to add?”
“Nope. If he can’t convince you, nothing I can say will.
This is your life. Your future, honey. Sometimes you just have to trust someone.”
Her gaze had the hard look of a veteran. Blaster wasn’t exactly sure what she was a veteran of, but she’d seen too much of whatever to trust anyone easily. Ugly suspicion began a slow burn low in his gut. Suddenly the reasons she was beauty with a beast within began to matter in a personal way. He didn’t like the conclusion he was coming to about why trust was the unattainable prize with her.
Her lovely face had no chance of reflecting the wealth of bitterness in her voice, “Poor lil’ white boys have a sob story. Go tell it in the Hamptons coz it don’t even rate in the District. It is my life. I don’t need a babysitter. This ain’t no thing, so rest your shiny white hiney and relax.”
“We get it! You’re a tough chick from D.C. who can kick some ugly ass,” Barry snapped. “If it were just you, I’d stand back and enjoy the show. Kicking ass is sexy as hell when you do it, but this is about ninety million already invested in a movie. It’s not just you. It’s about someone trying to shut down this production.”
Jas regarded Barry with a cool look. Abruptly she stood.
“No, no,” Barry held up his hands to stop her when Jas jolted off the stool. “No one blames you for having a life, a past. I don’t care what the problem is. The solution is all I’m interested in. Don’t let them steal your future, Jas, because if it doesn’t stop, the three of us are gonna be the only ones left. People don’t hang around and get shot at just to make a movie.”
Blaster forcefully schooled his body to stay relaxed, a difficult task when watching female perfection, armed to the teeth and coiled to spring. She was so intoxicatingly sexy, totally dangerous. At the moment she carried at least two guns. He’d only seen the print of them, the faint outline, and was certain that was intentional. It was a warning most men would pay attention to and back off. She had no way of knowing it drew him like an aphrodisiac.
She’d relaxed on the stool again. Her long body once more stretched out with legs extended and elbows resting on the sound console behind her. Predatory awareness rippled around her. Sleek and firm, she flowed with the fascinating hills and valleys of a woman whose body was more weapon than not. Undulating muscles were defined with utterly feminine grace. There was not one hard angle of the fashionably slender sort on her. Every bone was coated and rounded with a generous layer of muscle.
Jas sighed and glanced around the trailer meaningfully. “You’re right, but consider the fact that we’re in a sound and editing trailer. You can’t sweep it for bugs. The whole thing is a giant bug. I get it that the problem has to go away. This isn’t the smartest place to discuss the details.
“Anyway, how do you plan to install a new head of security? Mark is also your second unit stunt coordinator. He’s not gonna be a happy white boy about losing half his job.”
Barry shifted uncomfortably as she regarded him. “I thought we’d sorta not tell Mark. Blaster is good at undercover work so we’ll call him your boyfriend. That way he’s with you 24/7 and by extension on the set all the time. We figured it was a disgruntled lover, someone who isn’t quite ready to give you up. Blaster makes it clear you’ve moved on and perhaps does that personally if you tell us who he needs to visit.”
“Oh hell no! You have got to be joking!” Jas stared at Barry and allowed her jaw to drop a bit.
“What?” Blaster frowned. “Don’t tell me you’ve never dated a white guy? Are you prejudiced?” Her instant rejection nipped at his ego a little too viciously for his liking.
“Look at you. I mean it, Huckleberry. Look at you and look at me. What crack-induced fantasy would put the two of us together? Wait, let me guess. You have one suit and it’s done you just fine for the last fifteen years? Your idea of a fun date involves all the ribs you can eat and if she’s really special, imported beer?”
Jas stood and slowly walked toward Blaster, fingers of one hand stroking her exposed midriff absently as she moved. “And you like your little woman simpering and spineless too, don’t you, Huckleberry? A brainless chick who doesn’t mind a fast ride to nowhere?”
Jas walked directly into his body, leaning against him from knees to chest, letting her hands trial slowly up his arms to lightly loop around his neck. Ever since they’d met, he’d been turning up the wattage on the sexual current zipping between them. Edgy erotic rolled off him in suffocating waves. She needed to take control of this, show him who was in charge of “invitations” so his vanilla ass would back off already. All this throbbing sexual junk was messing with her concentration.
She expected to have him under her control in about two seconds. If the weapons didn’t do the trick, sexual aggression usually reduced a male as obviously eager as this one to slobbering compliance in record time.
Blaster stood perfectly still, absorbing the burn of her gently swaying hips rubbing his bulging crotch. A lazy smile tilted his lips as he let her purr that last taunt into his ear.
Her undulating stroll and then the full-body drape had sent fire crawling across him at an agonizing rate. Turning his head slightly so the breath from his words bathed her neck, he said, “Delicate idiot doesn’t do it for me, baby. I’m damn easy, but I refuse to go it alone. Test the length of the ride anytime you want, sugar, but if you’re looking for bullet train speed, you’re gonna hafta go to China or wherever the hell it is.”
Blaster inhaled her scent deeply as she stilled. It was a heady mix of tropical spice, woman and gun oil. He was probably one of the few males on the planet who’d pick up how well she cared for her weapons this way and then be turned on by it.
Her sensuous body caressing his was a perfect fit. They matched hipbone to hipbone, chest to chest. Her intention might have been to intimidate him with her brand of formidable sexuality but that certainly wasn’t the result. Oh yeah, she’d affected him. Course she could do that from across the room, but she wasn’t going to get his idiot head in command of his body just yet.
Blaster’s voice rumbled up from the knot of lust below his belt buckle. “And unless you mean for us to show Barry how very carnal a sex scene can be, ease up on the teasing. You have my full attention in every way.” That wasn’t the most brilliant bit of reasoning. Was the best he could come up with from a brain currently starved for blood. He’d have to send out a rescue party to coax some of it back north again. Up close and personal, she was kryptonite to his Superman.
Jas slowly peeled herself off Blaster, watching him closely. She was surprised. He met her gaze without blinking. The heat in his expression left no doubt that he’d enjoyed her play, though he’d not moved a muscle to touch her. She suspected she hadn’t won that little skirmish. His warning to ease up followed by a confession of lust was aggression followed by surrender. Sly shit. He flung the command to stop out there then canceled the aggressive move too quickly for her to respond to it. That tactic left him in control.
Barry chuckled. “I can see the sparks from here. No one is gonna believe you two aren’t sleeping together. See how easily that works? I even give you permission to dress him up if you want to, Jas, but let’s get back to the problem.”
“Dress me up? What the fuck is that supposed to mean and who are you to be giving permission?” Blaster couldn’t look away from her as he flung the indignant question at Barry. He was trying to drag his eyes off her. Lord knew he needed to for sanity’s sake.
Jas grinned as she turned her back on him and strode away. It was a view she knew he enjoyed. He might have won that one. No reason not to make him pay a price for winning.
Both Barry and Jas ignored Blaster as she moved to the door. “I’ll see what I can do with him. He could be a handy item to have around.” She smiled at Barry then sobered. “I know you’re worried, but as I said, I don’t feel comfortable discussing the details in here. Nothing can be done about it tonight. Let me sleep on it and I promise, tomorrow I’ll take care of the problem. See you in the morning.” She was almost out the door when an arm slipped around her waist.
His hand came to rest low on her hip, not impairing her reach to most of the weapons on her body. Jas glanced at him and Blaster grinned. “Can’t have my girlfriend all vulnerable out in the night alone,” he murmured in her ear.
“If you think you can put an arm around me, then I get to dress you, Huckleberry.” Jas smiled sweetly as Blaster fell into step beside her. The stroll was leisurely as they crossed the motel parking lot.
The only motel in town, or out of it for that matter, it was just a strip of rooms with parking spaces in front of them. Probably built in the fifties, the place had seen better days—thirty years ago. Now it just looked sad. However, for possibly the first time it was completely filled. Film personnel seemed to overflow around it with several temporary equipment storage units as well as living quarters trailers parked on the far side of the parking lot. The establishment had one security light at each corner of its long structure, but three of those security lights were not functioning. Jas and Blaster were easily swallowed in the dark, vehicle-jammed parking lot as they headed for the last room at the end of the building.
Wanna Play (Ghost Unit, Book Three) Page 3