Billionaire Bash: The Complete Steele Series

by Natalia Banks

  “Okay,” Kerri said, “action!”

  Britany and Carl ran down the hallway to the foot of the stairs, hands clasped as they descended.

  Several red-robed actors ran up the stairs below them, halting Britany and Carl in their tracks. They turned to run back, but another cluster of villainous goons ran toward them from behind. Carl and Britany looked around in a panic, then Britany spotted a chandelier not far from the side of the staircase.

  Britany pointed it out and said, “It’s our only chance!” She wrapped her arms around Carl’s heroic neck and the two prepared for their life-or-death leap of faith.

  “Cut!” Kerri looked up from the bottom of the staircase. “Let’s take it again.”

  The murmuring and shuffling of actors and crew and equipment rose up to fill the soundstage. Then a small voice from somewhere in the soundstage said, “What’s that smell? Something’s burning!”

  Thoom! A flash of bright orange flame leapt out of one of the set’s upper rooms, kerosene heavy in the air even against all that sudden black smoke. Screams leapt up immediately, actors running out of the faux room, one whose red robe had caught fire. He tore it off and left it burning as he joined the other actors to race down the stairs.

  Carl ran, leaving Britany behind, and she was soon rushed by the panicking crowd of actors as the flames spread fast, heat and smoke filling the soundstage. Britany was pushed down the stairs, falling and creating an actor avalanche spilling down that fake staircase.

  Kerri looked around in shock, a quick-thinking teamster ushering her from off the soundstage.

  The cast and crew were running in every direction, screaming while the set succumbed to the fire. The flames crackled and whooshed, chunks of wall and sheets of drapery falling, people scrambling and ducking with their arms over their heads.

  But more screams rose up from the four side walls of the soundstage. “The doors are jammed!”

  “We’ll be burnt alive!”

  The screams reached a dizzying pitch, the air hot and unbreathable. Kerri’s eyes were burning, throat parched and hot as she tried to inhale. The teamster guided her through the increasingly heavy smoke to one of the big doors on the wall. People were pounding the doors, sheet metal reverberating, the set collapsing with a thunderous eruption, fire spreading, smoke thickening, blinding and terrible.

  The big doors finally slid open in front of Kerri and she, with the teamster and the others around her, poured out onto the movie lot, pushed forward by the fleeing crew, firetrucks getting louder in the distance.

  The investigation was rushed but intense. There’d been so much confusion, and the complexity of a movie shoot necessitated some danger of fire from lights and electrical equipment. The possible sources of the fire were numerous and it would take a long time to settle.

  To make things worse, there were so many people on the crew, and so many robed actors, a saboteur could easily have slipped in and set fire to the set without ever being discovered. The doors had been locked deliberately, but that had been due to the filming, and it didn’t further the investigation. But Kerri had serious doubts about the fire being an accident.

  Of course, she didn’t tell the press that.

  “We’re just glad nobody on our amazing cast and crew were hurt. And of course, we’re cooperating fully with the investigation. Though at this time, it’s hard to say if there was any foul play at all. Unfortunately, movie sets are prone to these mishaps. But the set will be rebuilt and the production will continue to its completion.”

  One reporter asked Kerri, “Do you think there’s any connection to your campaign against the pharmaceutical industry? One of your billboards was vandalized as well.”

  “Was it? I didn’t know.”

  “Somebody went up, painted a big RX over the picture of Mark’s, um, the picture of Mark McCall.”

  “I didn’t know about that,” Kerri said, using her actor’s skills to disguise her new doubt and concern. “But again, that’s really for investigators to handle.”

  “What are you going to do while your sets are being rebuilt?”

  “It’s really just a matter of shuffling a few things around. We’re taking a few days off, then shooting on location, and we’ll resume in the soundstage once that’s taken care of.”

  “There’s word going around that this billionaire auction block thing is real; is that so?”

  “It is, though this movie is a work of fiction, obviously. Still, it was…inspired by some factual events.”

  “A lot of people say it’s just an urban myth.”

  Kerri could only shrug it off. “They can say whatever they like.”

  Another reporter said, “There are some people who do believe these gatherings really do happen though.” Kerri nodded. “But those people also think the cabal that organizes it is none too happy about your movie.”

  This was the first Kerri had heard of it, though it rang with a sense of truth and logic. “Is that so?”

  “Maybe you can tell us?”

  “I can’t, no. But look, all this talk about secret societies and conspiracies—I think you guys are making too much of all this. I hate to put it this way, but there’s just no there there.” Kerri left them in a flurry of photographs and questions, unable to satisfy their endless thirst for conflict, no matter what the price or who the sacrifice.

  Chapter 6

  Shooting was cancelled for three days, and Kerri took the opportunity to do some chores and other errands. She had a personal assistant for the movie, but she reserved that for on-set use only. Kerri had always despised big-shot Hollywood types who abused their assistants, sending them to pick up dry cleaning, wash the family dog, other demeaning tasks.

  And Kerri really didn’t mind it too much. It was nice to be away from the hectic life of a film director, just to be doing a little grocery shopping, pick up a new pair of running shoes.

  After a workout and a spin class, Kerri headed into the massive, multi-level parking lot. She felt good, strong, and ready to get back to the mansion to start dinner. She stopped and glanced around, a strange sensation creeping up her spine. There was nobody behind her, or anywhere in sight, so Kerri turned to walk on.

  Don’t be ridiculous, she had to chide herself, shaking her head. But a vague thunk behind her made her turn again, the hairs standing up on the back of her neck. But once again, there was nobody behind her. Well, something had to make that noise…

  Kerri scanned the garage—nobody in sight. She turned and walked toward her car, a faster pace than before. Take it easy, Kerri, you’re still wound up about the fire. But there’s no proof that it was anything other than an accident.

  She spotted the staircase about fifty feet ahead, where she would go one flight up to her car. But a young man came walking down the stairs in a red tracksuit and mirrored sunglasses. He paused at the staircase, lingering in front of it, blocking Kerri’s way. He said nothing, brooding and bulky.

  Kerri stopped, a lump rising in her throat. Her legs froze, heart pounding. Kerri turned and ran in the other direction. She turned to see the young man giving chase, walking toward her with a casual certainty, as if he knew he didn’t have to run to catch her.

  She ran faster, moving as quickly as she could past a row of parked cars on either side. Her own footsteps clacked in the parking lot, the thick thuds of her pursuer’s footsteps echoing behind them.

  A car engine revved in the background, bouncing off the concrete walls and getting much louder fast. Kerri kept running, the entry to the mall getting closer. An engine roared, tires squealed, and a black Dodge Charger barreled around a corner, skidding in the turn. Kerri screamed and jumped, the nearness of the car pulling at her. It was a narrow miss.

  Too narrow.

  Kerri reached out, hands finding the doors to the mall and yanking it open. She ran into the mall, a security guard turning to her, hands on her arms. “You okay, ma’am?”

  Kerri looked back: the hoodlum had given up the chase, the C
harger long gone. She panted to recover a normal heart rate. She stood panting, leaning against the security guard before giving him a second glance. “Ma’am?”

  Harden paced around their massive living room, Kerri sitting nervously on the couch. “He could have been some random punk, a mugger or maybe a rapist. Those come to subterranean parking lots like that all the time. I mean, it could be, and I’m just saying it’s possible, that the guy was working with the driver of the Charger, that they were going to shove you in, drive away and, well, that’s that.”

  “But…a Charger?”

  “They don’t always use vans, Ker.”

  “Should we go to the police?”

  Harden scratched his chin. “ It’s fine with me. You didn’t get a plate on the car?”

  “No, of course not. Everything happened so fast.”

  “And you didn’t get a good look at his face?” Kerri shook her head. “It doesn’t give them much to go on, does it? Hate to say it, but they’d laugh us out of the station.”

  Kerri stood up and started pacing. “Then what do we do?” Kerri paced a bit more, shaking her head. “I dunno, I mean…maybe he was just a fan, and the car may just have been there. It was a parking lot, after all.”

  “Yeah, that’s possible. Look, we’ll hire some extra security for the film shoot, maybe post a few out front.”

  “No, Harden, that’s… I don’t think we need guards in front of the house. I guess I’m just being silly, with the fire and everything.”

  Harden smiled and wrapped his arms around Kerri, pulling her close, arms squeezing. “You’ve got a lot going on right now, Kerri. Don’t be too hard on yourself.” Harden gave her a kiss on the forehead, and she sank into his loving embrace, sighing and letting her mind go blank.

  Stalked in a parking lot, she thought, honestly.

  Yvonne Suggs wasn’t as easily convinced. They sat by her pool, basking in the sunshine in their bikinis, Kerri’s blond hair a pretty contrast to Yvonne’s black bob. Yvonne’s husband, Harvey, worked in the garden. “I don’t know, Ker, I don’t think you should be so cavalier. Sounds like you could have been seriously hurt…or worse.”

  “The more I think about it, the more I think it was just my imagination. This isn’t one of my stupid movies.”

  “No, not exactly. But there is that cabal to think about, your billionaire auction people,” Yvonne clarified. “You’ve heard the rumors that they’re mad you’re making the film. And they’d have the power to torch your set, send goons, and thugs after you—”

  “Harden explained all this to me, Yvonne. They’re not really a cabal, that’s just in the movie. These guy are bankers, mostly German. Harden would put money into an escrow account, and then it gets released; I can’t remember how it works exactly.”

  “And these people don’t mind their whole secret deal being exposed in a big Hollywood movie?”

  Kerri wanted to shoot the theory down, but it was already getting more difficult.

  “And how does he contact them? If you wanted to reach out, make sure everything was kosher, how would you?”

  “I-I’m not sure, to tell you the truth.”

  “Could Harden?”

  “I suppose he could. Remember I told you those mafia thugs came after us. Harden had one of ‘em pinned; his name was Chaz the Cheater, I think. So Harden called the guy’s mafia don directly and then waited, calm as a cucumber, while the mafia don called the man back on his own phone and ordered him to kill himself!”

  “Yeah, trippy.”

  “It was horrible. The guy was begging Harden, ‘I got a wife and kid!’ I shudder just to think about it.”

  “Sounds like Harden’s pretty badass.”

  “Definitely.”

  “Like the kind of man who might not reveal everything he knew about a secret society, the kind of man who wouldn’t flinch at something like forcing a person to kill themselves.”

  “He didn’t force the guy, the mafia don did. Harden just made the call, and he didn’t have a choice.”

  “Still…”

  Kerri glanced at Yvonne. “What are you saying? That I shouldn’t trust Harden? I’m marrying him!”

  “That’s what I’m saying, kiddo. It wouldn’t be the first time a girl got in over her head.”

  “Why would Harden want to hurt me? He loves me, and we’re great together…in every way.”

  “Maybe he’s acting at the behest of those auction people. Maybe they want you out of the way and he’s got something to do with it. He’d have access to you and your set—”

  “He wasn’t there when the fire was set.”

  “No, of course…he wouldn’t be if he had anything to do with it.”

  “No, Yvonne, no. I appreciate what you’re saying, that you’re just trying to look out for me, but I love Harden and I trust him. And if says there’s no cabal, then there’s no friggin’ cabal.”

  Yvonne held her flattened hands up to calm Kerri. “Okay, Ker, I got it. Maybe Harden’s right and it’s all in your head, after all.”

  “Right,” Kerri said, “exactly.” Kerri leaned back in her chaise lounge and closed her eyes.

  Chapter 7

  Harden shook his head, stepping out of the changing room in his bathrobe. “What do you mean, reach out? Why would you want to do that? You’re not thinking of renting some young man for the weekend?” Kerri chuckled and waved him off. Harden went on, “It’s not this whole stalking business?”

  “All I’m saying is that’s a very big coincidence. And they might have a reason to be mad about the movie, I don’t know. Do you?”

  Harden turned his head a bit, shifting position for a new perspective on Kerri. “I do not.”

  “Then let’s find out. You call them; they’ll talk to you, just to make sure we’re not out there making enemies.”

  Harden huffed. “Kerri, making enemies is like your new hobby! Big Pharma, that actress Melody Whatever — ”

  “Madison, Melody Madison. You don’t think she could have had something to do with that fire?”

  “It’s possible, I suppose, and about as likely as your so-called cabal.”

  “So what you’re saying is that you can’t call them?”

  His voice sharper, tone a bit lower, and a bit louder, he said, “Yes, Kerri, that’s what I’m saying.”

  “But you turned over a million dollars to them; how did you do it?”

  “Wired it. But that’s just an escrow company, really. White Gold Holdings is no cabal.”

  “But they must have a phone.”

  “No, actually. They send texts out from numbers that come back unavailable; the money’s transferred online.”

  “And that doesn’t strike you as suspicious?”

  Harden shrugged. “Considering their line of business, it’s not that odd, tell you the truth. I wouldn’t want anybody calling me like that.”

  “But they do have your phone number.”

  “Yes, Kerri, yes, they do. But I already received one text in the past year, and I sent it back with a no and deleted it. I’m not about to go back, now that I have you. I may not be on their list anymore.”

  Kerri sighed, and Harden said, “If they ever text me back, I’ll see what I can do.”

  “What are the odds of that if they’re out to hurt me?”

  Harden had to shrug. “Zero, probably. Unless they try to set us up or something.”

  “So you admit there’s a weird group of shady men who—”

  “No, Kerri, I don’t, I just… Now you’ve got me doing it, that’s all.” Harden chuckled, and Kerri almost did too. With a wide smile, Harden said, “I don’t want you to worry anymore about them; they’re not the villains from your movie.”

  “No, I know you’re right. Is that why you used your real name?”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “At the auction, and for our first weekend, you used the name Harden Steele, but you led me to believe that it wasn’t your real name. Is it?”

  “Te
ll you the truth, I had it changed after we met.” Kerri was stunned, lips parting in wordless shock. “Who I was before you, Kerri—my life—it all changed when we met. I knew none of it would ever be the same, so why should my name be the same? Harden Steele, I like it.”

  “Well, me too, but…what was it before?”

  “Does it matter?”

  A chill ran up Kerri’s spine. “No, I-I guess not.”

  “And that business in the parking lot? Isolated incident, probably.”

  “Yeah, I suppose.”

  Harden said, “It’s an interesting theory. A dangerous and powerful man you thought you could trust. A man without a name, without a face, a man you thought you knew. A secret society, a pretty damsel in distress, it’s certainly a fascinating notion.”

  Kerri cracked a nervous little smile as Harden stepped closer to her. She spun on her heels but didn’t run, Harden standing behind her with his powerful arms hovering near the sides of her arms. His voice became low, gravelly—a tone Kerri could hardly resist.

  “But this man, you wouldn’t want to reveal your mistrust of him, of me.”

  “No, I-I didn’t mean I don’t trust you, Harden.”

  “Are you sure you should?” Kerri trembled as he neared, hands approaching her soft skin. “What if I were standing here right now deciding whether or not I had to get rid of you, once and for all? What if you’d become a threat to my plans, my…secret cabal?”

  “Harden, don’t even joke about it—”

  Harden’s hands finally found her smooth, slender arms, but his touch was very light, not even a caress. But when his calloused fingers brushed against her skin, she felt like she was about to convulse.

  “I’d probably say something like, ‘I’m really sorry I have to do this, Kerri. But now that you know what you do about me, about us… I’m sorry, but I just can’t risk it, Kerri.’”

  “I don’t…I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kerri said, just the right amount of fearful whine in her voice for her part in their little game.