“What’s up?” Cooper asked.
Alyssa jumped.
Hunt wrapped his fingers around her hip to steady her. “Easy. It’s just Coop.” The other man moved swiftly, but Hunt had seen him glide up next to them.
“Oh, sorry.” She pressed a hand over her chest. “I didn’t see you.”
“Lucky you,” Coop muttered, staying back in the shadows.
Hunt stiffened, old regrets skidding into his chest. The torchlight flickered over Coop’s tall, rangy frame. He had on black camo pants, a T-shirt, and a windbreaker to cover his gun. The scar running from his jaw to his eye, mixed with that dead look in his hard gaze, usually had people avoiding him.
Lyssie took the covered plate from Hunt and held it out to Coop. “You scared the server when he tried to get your order.”
Coop stilled, his attention flicking down to the serving tray then up. “I told him no. Can’t help it if the word no scares the dude.”
“Probably it was the ‘Get the fuck away from me’ that did the trick.”
Hunt choked on a laugh.
Coop tilted his head. “You were listening.”
“Half the room heard it.” She balanced the plate and lifted the lid. “If this doesn’t work, I can order something else. They make a great rib eye taco. Would you rather have that?” She shifted slightly, clearly anxious to make Coop happy in spite of her tough-girl attitude.
He raised his eyebrows, but one side of his lean face didn’t quite match the other. Nerve damage.
Lyssie held up the plate. “I didn’t tell the server it was for you so he probably didn’t spit in it.”
Coop glanced at Hunt, half his face pulled up in a grin. “Fine, but no damn waiter better bring me fancy ass cake, especially if it’s chocolate.” He took the plate gently, as if afraid to touch Alyssa.
She crossed her arms and tapped her foot. “I’ll bring you the cake myself and you’ll thank me for it.”
That was his girl. When he introduced her to Coop, there’d been the usual flicker of surprise and sympathy on her face, then it was gone. She started talking away to Coop, somehow getting him to tell her he’d flown choppers in the Marines and she was all over that, trying to talk him into teaching her how to fly a helicopter. Coop scoffed at her.
Lyssie had started torturing him, asking if he was afraid she’d be better than him at flying.
Jesus, Hunt had nearly split a gut laughing at Coop’s expression. Most people were afraid of him, or at least wary. Not her. As Alyssa started inside, Hunt scanned the deck. No one was out here yet since they were just finishing dinner. “Any trouble?”
“No, and nothing from the men watching Madden.”
He nodded and caught up with Lyssie before she got to the table, stopping her. Curious, he said, “You haven’t asked about Coop’s face.”
She looked up. “If I want to know, I’ll ask him. I have enough people discussing me like they have a right to dissect and judge my life, to amuse themselves with my personal heartbreaks. I won’t do that to your friend. His scars are his story to tell if he chooses.”
Transfixed by the passion coloring her skin and making her eyes glow, he touched her cheek. “That’s what you’re doing with your photography, videos and Streets of Valor website, letting people tell their own stories of their scars.”
She leaned into his hand. “I hope so.” They walked back to their seats.
“Alyssa,” Maxine called out. “My mom doesn’t believe that story about the two reporters who snuck into the party on campus.”
Hunt looked over at Alyssa. “College?”
She nodded and turned to Maxine’s mom across the table. “It’s true. They were from RevealPop. They looked young, dressed down and got into a frat party Maxine dragged me to. No idea how they knew I was there. But they cornered me outside.”
Hunt stiffened. “Were you alone?”
“Yeah. It was hot and smelled like beer in the house, so I went outside and they started taking pictures.”
Maxine’s mom pushed her plate back and leaned across the table. “It really happened? Maxine chased them off?”
Alyssa laughed. “With pepper spray. She kicked off her shoes and chased them, shouting specific threats to their manly parts. A bunch of guys saw her, and started chasing the reporters too. One of them got their camera and erased the pictures.” She shook her head then said to her assistant, “You idiot, you could have been hurt.”
Her mom nodded. “Maxine, why didn’t you call campus security?”
“I wanted to test my pepper spray. The way one guy was crying, I think it worked.”
Hunt half listened while watching the servers clear the tables. He loved that Lyssie was having fun, but that edge kept riding him. What would Madden do?
“After that,” cut in Jeff, Maxine’s brother, “a group of us guys walked the girls to and from their dorm. I hadn’t realized who Alyssa was, but after that I got up to speed. Maxine should have come and gotten me.”
Maxine frowned at him. “What for?”
“To save your ass. The usual. Just like I had to bail you out of jail this week.” He sighed heavily.
Alyssa stiffened next to him.
Hunt glanced over. “Give it up, princess. He’s not taking your money for getting his sister out of jail.” Lyssie and Jeff had gone at it yesterday about that. Hunt had learned something—this family cared about Alyssa, not her money and fame.
Jeff laughed. “Alyssa doesn’t like to lose.”
Hunt grinned at her. “Nope, and she cheats to win.” Then he grunted when she elbowed him.
Leaning across the table, she said to Jeff, “It’s my fault Maxine got arrested.”
“You put that shit in her car and called the cops?”
Lyssie opened her mouth to argue when her phone began frantically buzzing on the table. She picked it up, thumbed the screen, and paled.
Adrenaline slammed through him. “What?”
“Nate. He sent me a link to RevealPop.”
…
Don’t do it. She didn’t want to click the link. The last text Nate sent had been Maxine getting arrested followed up by the vile threats in the phone call.
Hunt slid his warm hand beneath her hair to cup her nape. “Here, let me—”
“No.” She had to do this, had to be strong enough. Maxine was here, Eli and his family safe. What else could happen?
“Alyssa.”
Her assistant’s eyes darted down to her phone then back up. “Is this you on RevealPop?”
A roar filled her ears, turning all the voices around her into white noise. What had Nate done? He had Maxine’s cell number. Had he texted her the same link? Her hands shook as she cradled her phone and hit the link.
Others around the table were pulling out their phones, probably loading RevealPop.
Finally the image materialized and the room tilted sickeningly. Nausea erupted in her stomach. No, no, no. There was no denying the picture of Alyssa at seventeen, her hair scraped back in a ponytail, her face puffy, tired from the delivery, and in her arms was Eli. Her baby boy. That was the one single picture she had before she gave him up.
Gave him away forever.
Scrolling the screen, she saw the headline. Breaking news! Alyssa Brooks had a baby at seventeen! Gave him up for adoption! Nausea boiled in her stomach as she saw a second picture, the one Nate had shown her on his phone. That headline read, Is Alyssa stalking the family who adopted him? A quick scan said the family had been forced to flee their home from harassment and were now hiding in an unknown location.
Her phone slid from her nerveless fingers, clattering to the table. Everyone stared at her, even the servers had pulled out their phones. Nate. He’d done this. Not only had he exposed her secret, but he twisted everything to make it seem like she was stalking her son.
“Fuck.” Hunt snarled low and mean. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. “Lyssie, you have to breathe.” Tucking his fingers beneath her chin, he tilted
her head back. “Eyes on me. You’re holding your breath.”
She was? “Eli,” she croaked out. Icy chills broke out on her arms, making her tremble. “What if his parents believe it?”
“Stop it,” he said. “Pull it together. We have to get you out of here.” Hunt pulled back, slid off his sports coat and wrapped it around her. “Stay here for a second.”
Grabbing his arm, her gaze caught on his shoulder holster with the ugly-looking gun tucked into it. She shook it off. “Where are you going?”
“I have to talk to Coop. This is going to unleash more media and batshit crazies on you. It just takes one person to tweet that they saw Alyssa Brooks at Jinx and the media will descend.”
She forced herself to let go of him, struggling to control the sick panic flooding her. “Okay.”
Hunt vanished out on the deck.
The stony silence pounded at her side from all the guests at the tables. She didn’t know where to look, what to say. Her deepest pain was displayed on RevealPop for everyone to discuss over coffee or a beer.
Maxine dropped into Hunt’s empty seat and took her hand. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a baby? Was this after you lost your mom?”
The betrayal in her friend’s eyes was like the betrayal she’d seen in Erin’s. How many people was Alyssa going to hurt? “I didn’t tell anyone until Nate. Then he threatened him.”
Anger chased out the look of betrayal in Maxine. “That slimy bastard. Swear to God, I’m going to neuter him with kitchen shears.”
“Not if I get to him first.” Hunt returned, reached down, and cupped Alyssa’s elbow. “We’re going through the kitchen. Cooper’s bringing the car around back.”
Maxine stood up and hugged her. “I’m a phone call or text away.”
“That helps, thank you.” Releasing her, she added, “I want you all to stay and celebrate. It’s your favorite cake, chocolate raspberry.” The restaurant already had her credit card, so that wouldn’t be a problem.
Maxine compressed her lips, her expression mutinous. “I’m not—”
“Yes, you are.” Leaning into Hunt’s hand on her back, she lifted her chin. “Nate won’t break me. He won’t.” Determination gave her the strength she needed right now. She said to her friend, “You and I will be fine. We’ll talk tomorrow and I’ll explain. Tonight, you party.”
“We have a couple guys here keeping watch. You’ll be safe, but you don’t go home, Maxine, understood? Stay at Jeff’s,” said Hunt. His hand on her back tightened. “Let’s roll.”
They headed down a back hallway, with two Jinx security guys flanking them so that Alyssa was in the center. Grateful, she let them guide her, keeping her shielded at the same time. They passed through a hot kitchen bursting with energy, cooking sounds and chatter, and stopped at a thick door.
“Stay here.” Hunt went out the door, she assumed to check the alley, then a minute later ducked back in. “Let’s go.” The two guys followed them out into a wide alleyway. It was completely dark, but wall-mounted lights spilled down pools of illumination. Hunt’s Jeep idled less than a dozen feet away with Cooper in the driver’s seat.
She wanted to go home and crawl into her bed, or better yet go back to Sonoma and hide there. She’d meant it that she’d be okay, but tonight, she just needed—
A loud roaring noise startled her. Lights flooded the alleyway, coming right at them.
“Go.” Hunt shoved her toward the car.
Alyssa’s heel caught in the uneven asphalt. She stumbled, windmilling her arms, struggling to keep from falling. The dizzy sensation of nothing being there to stop her descent further threw off her balance. She began to tumble. The roar grew. Lights brightened.
Hunt’s hands clamped around her waist, catching her before she slammed into the ground. Alyssa jerked her head to the right.
“Oh.” Two headlights came barreling at them. Not a car but two motorcycles.
“Shit. RevealPop,” one of the security guys said.
They were barreling down on them, their helmet-mounted cameras running. They were known for their trick riding while filming, so fast and nimble that they got their footage and were gone before anyone could stop them.
Hunt lifted Alyssa off her feet, swung her around, and pushed her toward the door. She stumbled, slamming her knee then shoulder into the wall before another security guard caught her. “Easy there.”
Pain ripped into her knee and her shoulder ached. “I’m okay.” Her shoes were making her klutzy. Leaning back, she ripped off her thousand-dollar Louboutins.
Cooper flew out of the car, and chased down a photographer on the back of a third motorcycle that had stopped to get still shots. When Coop got close, the bike roared off.
RevealPop had this down to a science.
“Get inside, Lyssie,” Hunt snarled. “Now.”
She really should listen to Hunt. Everyone knew the trick riders made at least two passes. “You come in with me.” His back bulged beneath his T-shirt and shoulder holster, his legs were spread, his hands loose at his sides.
Not a single finger twitched.
“Inside now.”
He didn’t look back, just snapped the order much like when they’d been at the cliffs. She knew the drill, but normally he’d get her inside himself, not wait out here. Something felt off. Her entire body went on alert.
Sniper mode.
“Miss Brooks—”
One of the two other security guards tugged her arm toward the opened door.
Automatically she took a step, but the second her foot hit the ground fire shot up her right knee. She yelped, shifting her weight off the leg.
Hunt spun.
Even in the vaporous light, Alyssa saw the ice-cold rage in his eyes. His stare dropped to her knee then to the man holding her arm and back to her face. Beneath his jacket gooseflesh popped out on her arms, her body twanged at the rage in him.
He took a step, reaching for her, no doubt to drag her into the kitchen.
Alyssa cringed back, gritting her teeth. “Wait.” Her knee, damn it. When she tried to put weight on it, it cramped. Leaning back against the wall, she held up her hand. She needed a minute.
Three riders roared back down the alley.
Cooper jumped back in the idling Jeep, gunned the engine, and swung it into an angle that blocked off Alyssa, forcing the riders to swerve. At the same second, Hunt leaped toward her, throwing his body over hers against the wall. He didn’t hurt her, just pinned her there, keeping her covered.
Once the sound of the motorcycles faded away, she shoved him. “Move.” Her knee hurt, her shoulder twinged, and she was damned sick of this whole night.
Hunt stepped back, reaching to steady her, but Alyssa ignored him. She had dropped her shoes at some point, but didn’t care. She limped to the back of the Jeep idling three steps away, yanked open the door and got in, careful of her stupid knee.
Hunt followed her, easily lifting her and settling her in the other seat. Another guy shut the door and tapped the car in that universal signal of all clear, go. Hunt reached past her, grabbed the seat belt and secured her in it.
Coop tore out of the alley. “Where to? Alyssa’s house or does she need a doctor? You threw her into that wall pretty hard.”
The dome light snapped on, flooding the car. Hunt touched her knee. “Fuck. Hospital. Her leg is bleeding and swelling.”
Alyssa leaned forward. “It’s not that bad. It’s only a cut. I’m not going to the hospital.” They were over-reacting. She lifted her gaze to Hunt. “It’s not your fault. My stupid shoes, I tripped and you pulled me out of the path of that motorcycle.” God, she wouldn’t blame him. “You saved me.”
“I threw you into a goddamned wall.” He reached under the seat, digging out a first aid kit.
Oh, he was not doing this, not now. “I tripped into the goddamned wall. You didn’t throw me.” She leaned forward until her face was right up in his. “Don’t mistake me for Rachel. I’m not scared of you.”
“You cringed.” Hell. Shut up. She’d had a bad enough night, he didn’t need to dump his shit on her. If she didn’t want him to touch her, he wouldn’t, except to protect her and get her knee to stop bleeding. He tore open the medicated wipes and carefully swabbed at the cut.
It wasn’t too bad, probably wouldn’t need stitches, but the knee had some swelling, redness and was a little warm to the touch. She’d definitely banged it up. They were absolutely going to the hospital and getting her checked out. Adrenaline was a powerful drug and could mask serious pain for the short term.
Cold hands landed on his cheeks and pulled his face to hers. “I wasn’t scared, I was in pain and pissed, and I’m upset. That picture…” Tears welled in her eyes. “Those were my moments with Eli. Mine. They were all I had of him before he became someone else’s child.” Tears spilled down her face. “And now they’re saying I’m the one stalking him. It’s too much.”
Her tears ripped his chest wide open. Hunt burned with hatred for Madden. What the fuck was his game here? Destroying Lyssie in the media? What would that gain him?
For a few seconds out there in that alley, Hunt had thought it was a hit, but no, just asshole paparazzi. Tossing down the wipes, Hunt slid next to her and wrapped his arm around her. “I’m sorry, baby. I wish I could undo it.”
“You didn’t do it, Nate did. He obviously found my computer file of Eli’s pictures and stole that. I never showed anyone that picture. It was mine.” She turned into him.
Hunt held her close, rubbing her back through his jacket. She wasn’t crying really. The tears were more of an overflow from what he could feel.
“Almost there,” Coop said. “No tail, no trouble so far.”
Hunt nodded, then glanced down Lyssie’s legs. “What’d you do with your shoes?”
“I took them off when I kept tripping. Stupid shoes.”
She sounded so disgruntled that he smiled despite their shitty night. “They looked sexy.”
“You wear them then. They pissed me off.”
Coop snorted in the front. “I’d pay to see that.”
Hunt ignored him and stroked Lyssie’s hair. As long as she let him hold her, touch her, the cold burn in his veins eased up. They’d get her looked at and then take her home to figure out Madden’s game.
Exposing the Heiress Page 15