After a second, Sean jumped from behind the car and intended to go after them, but not before checking on his father. He let out a whimper as he saw the man he thought was made of steel lying flat on his back, clutching his stomach.
“Dad!” Sean put his gun in the holster, kneeling at his father’s side. “Oh my God.”
“I’m . . . okay,” Charlie said, feeling the warm blood ooze between his fingers.
“Jesus!” Sean stumbled for his cell as he dialed 9-1-1. This couldn’t be happening. “Dad, press harder.”
Sean placed his hand over his father’s, but the blood wouldn’t stop flowing. When someone came on the line, he identified himself as an officer and gave his badge number and location. “I have an officer down! Shots fired! Chief Jackson has been shot! Get here now!”
Sean felt his chest beginning to cave in and fear taking over. Taking off his shirt, he quickly balled it up and added it to the pressure against the wound. This couldn’t be happening. “Dad, please stay with me. Think of Mom, Dad. Please, think of Mom.”
Carlos, the evening security guard for Hope Clinic, opened the door for Leigh as she stepped outside. A very intimidating man in stature and size, he was actually one of the kindest, most gentle people Leigh had ever met. He always had a smile for her, but tonight’s seemed exceptionally warm.
“What’s making you so happy?” Leigh asked.
“It’s nice to see you make an early night of it for once, Dr. Chase.” He nodded to the dress she had changed into just five minutes ago. “A date?”
“I wish,” Leigh answered. “It’s a family thing.”
“Whatever the case,” he said, “it’s nice to see you get out of here before it’s dark out.”
Leigh didn’t have any life outside of Hope Clinic, and that had been what she needed for a long time. But now she thought she might be ready to look for more. Just how was a single sister to go about that these days? “I do what I . . .”
Any white person would stand out in this neighborhood, but the man who stepped in front of Carlos and Leigh as he walked her to her car would stand out anywhere.
“Dr. Chase?” he asked, looking at Leigh with a charming smile highlighted by a dimple in both cheeks.
“Who are you?” Carlos stood in front of Leigh speaking in that tone that would make even a serial killer think twice.
Lyndon halted, clearly intimidated. “I, uh, I’m not a criminal or anything, dude. I’m an actor. Don’t you recognize me?”
“No,” Carlos answered. “Now get the hell away from—”
“Lyndon Prior?” Leigh peeked out from behind Carlos.
Lyndon smiled again, seeming to relax. “She recognizes me.”
Carlos turned back to Leigh, who nodded her approval. He lowered his arm, letting her step beside him, but still not in front of him.
“I don’t recognize you,” Leigh said. He actually looked much better than any picture she had seen him in. “Your agent called me earlier today.”
Lyndon nodded with a Tom Cruise–type cocky grin. “I have to apologize for James. He lives in Hollywood and thinks everyone else does or wants to.”
“I don’t,” Leigh said. “Let’s go, Carlos.”
“Wait.” Lyndon took a step closer, but jumped two steps back as Carlos held his hand up to him. “Dude, I’m not—”
“I’m not your dude! The doctor has someplace to be.”
“I get it.” Lyndon turned to Leigh. “Dr. Chase, if you’ll just give me a minute.”
“That’s all I have,” Leigh said, taking Carlos’s arm. They started toward her car, which was parked right in front of the clinic. “I’m not interested in your offer.”
“I just want to follow you,” Lyndon said. “I won’t get in your way.”
“You will.” Leigh turned to him as they reached the sidewalk. “The work at the clinic is very serious and important. I won’t let it be used for your entertainment.”
“You’ve got it all wrong,” Lyndon said. “This is a very serious movie.”
“Mr. Prior, I—”
“Doctor, just hear me out.”
There were those damn dimples again. Leigh found them hard to resist. He was pretty hot. “I have someplace I need to be.”
“This character I’m playing is a rich kid who went to medical school to get chicks and make money. He doesn’t give a shit . . . I mean, he doesn’t care about people. Then his parents die. He finds out that, before he can inherit their millions, he has to run the community clinic named in his grandfather’s honor in the roughest part of Oakland for a year.”
Leigh frowned, pressing her lips together. “That sounds stupid. Like a . . . I don’t know. Like an Adam Sandler movie or something.”
“It’s not,” Lyndon said. “His life is changed while he works there. He comes to understand the real purpose for getting into medicine, the value of working your ass off even when you get nothing for it. He comes to understand people and realizes the inequity in health care for the impoverished and the working poor. He connects with people he once considered invisible.”
“That actually sounds kind of good,” Carlos said as he nodded his head. “You put a couple of car chase scenes in there and I’d go see it.”
Leigh couldn’t hold back her laughter, but despite the satisfied look on Lyndon’s face, he was about to get something he probably never got: turned down. “I’m sorry, Mr. Prior—”
“Lyndon,” he corrected, his smile fading.
“Lyndon, I’m sorry.” Leigh stepped around to the driver’s side and opened the door. “There are plenty of clinic doctors who would love to help you get into their minds. I’m not one of them. Good night, Carlos. Good luck, Lyndon.”
As she drove away, Leigh glanced up at her rearview mirror and he was standing in the street looking as confident and comfortable as if this were his block. She hadn’t seen any bodyguards or entourage. Maybe they were too chicken to come down to this neighborhood. Lyndon Prior was either brave or just crazy; and considering what world he lived in, Leigh assumed it was the latter.
Everyone wanted an invite to Chase Mansion in View Park. It was why they always slowed down when driving by the gated estate. Its exclusiveness only made it more appealing, intriguing. Money alone wasn’t enough to get invited to one of the many charitable events Janet held there every year. Where and how you made the money and what you did with it made all the difference in the world.
Once you were invited, the black iron gates would open and you would drive up to the circular, black driveway in front of the redbrick and white-columned house. A valet would park your car somewhere along the front gardens or in the multicar garage that kept the family’s luxury sedans, sports cars, and SUVs. The treat wasn’t seeing what was inside the place, which seemed more likely to fit in Hollywood Hills or Bel Air. Everyone had seen the house, which was previously two large houses torn apart to make one gigantic home, in countless magazines featuring its seven bedrooms, nine baths, exercise room, game room, media room, library, and more. They had also seen the two-thousand-square-foot guest house beyond the pool, party area, and court out back.
What they were eager for was the feel of being inside the home themselves, seeing the ornate, elegant decorations with their own eyes. Nothing was garish and glowing like you would find in the house of the newly rich eager to prove they had money. You had to have taste and class to understand the value of the art, furnishings, marble, and glass Janet selected.
They wanted to see the pictures of the family spending time at their many homes across the world: Italy, London, Maui, the Hamptons. They wanted to see the countless awards and tokens of recognition for their charitable mastery, educational achievements, and business prowess. They wanted to see how one family could collect the accolades a dozen couldn’t achieve together.
Most of all, they wanted to witness the family in action, see them in person inside their own home. Was it anything like they imagined? Although the tabloids always found a way to get
the Chase family inside their folds, there was still an unattainable mystery about them that made people—even those considered to be in their own circle—curious.
Only a small group of fifty people were invited to tonight’s event, which was supposed to be a family occasion. However, Janet always found a way to turn a party into a chance to raise money for a good cause and elevate the family’s name. Since tonight’s party was celebrating Carter, everyone invited was encouraged, emphasis on the word encouraged, to make a donation to Carter’s favorite charity, the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, of which he was on the board as well.
Steven stole a kiss from his wife while he had her. He knew how precious it was to get a hold of Janet while she was entertaining at their home. Both she and Maya, the family maid, worked nonstop to insure everything was perfect and everyone couldn’t be happier.
“Don’t mess up my makeup.” Janet pushed against his chest even though she enjoyed every bit of his attention. “Have you spoken to Congressman Wornton yet? He’s come just to talk to you.”
“What about your lecture earlier saying this evening wasn’t about me?”
“You know what I meant.” From where they were in the great room, Janet could tell someone had just come in. Everyone’s attention had turned to the foyer. “Maybe that’s Leigh.”
“Where is Carter?” Steven asked.
Janet pointed to their eldest, leaning against the wall talking to a beautiful young woman. “Engaging in his favorite new hobby, flirting with every pretty girl he meets.”
Steven grinned. “You prefer he stand there staring like someone just tore his guts out. I’m glad that phase is over.”
Janet had invited the young woman to meet Michael. “He’ll be so happy when he sees your present.”
“For what that thing cost,” Steven said, “he better jump up and down and kiss me.”
Janet laughed. “That would be the day. Just be happy you’re both getting along.”
Steven grumbled as he turned toward the foyer. “Oh, shit.”
Janet’s head swung around just as Michael and Kimberly entered the foyer, the twins circling them. “What the . . .”
“This will be interesting.” Steven was disappointed. This would only upset Janet, and when Janet was upset, nothing went well. “I’ll talk to him.”
“No.” Janet grabbed him before he could get away. “Just ignore her. I’m sure she’s hoping to start something.”
“Whatever you say.” Steven headed for the first waiter he could find with a drink.
“I need a drink,” Kimberly said, leaning into her husband. “Now.”
“There’s Maya!” Evan pointed to the maid who had practically raised them, and he and his brother rushed to her open arms.
“You gonna leave me too?” Kimberly asked.
Michael shrugged his shoulders. “You can’t expect me to hold your hand all night. I’m gonna go holler at Carter. Grab a glass from a waiter.”
“I don’t want wine,” she said. “I want a drink.”
Michael shook his head. “The last thing you need is to get drunk. Take it easy, Kimberly.”
As he walked away, Kimberly knew Michael was right. She was in enemy territory and she needed to keep a clear head. She had to be smart, and that started with finding out where Janet was and keeping as far away from her as possible.
“Oh, hell,” Kimberly said to herself as she grabbed a glass of wine off a passing tray as Janet made her way to her.
“Crashing the party, are you, dear?” Janet could only imagine what seduction the little tramp had pulled off to get Michael to agree to this.
“I was invited by my husband.”
Janet’s head fell back as she laughed out loud. “I’m sure you coaxed the invite out of him between the sheets. I don’t blame you. You must have heard of all the single, available, much more socially desirable women I invited here to meet him.”
“You don’t scare me,” Kimberly said.
“Yes, I do.” Janet leaned into her, making it seem to anyone looking that they were sharing a friendly secret. Janet always placed appearances first. “You see that one he’s talking to now?”
Kimberly followed Janet’s directing finger and saw Michael, standing next to Carter, speaking to a young, beautiful, caramel-skinned woman with long auburn hair that flew in the air as she flipped her head back and laughed.
“She’s interested in Carter,” Kimberly said, if only to reassure herself.
“Every single woman is interested in both of them and you know it.” Janet placed her hands on her pleasing hips. “Kathryn Tibbin will be graduating from the Darden School of Business, one of the top MBA programs in the world, in a couple of months. She and Michael will have so much in common. Steven is eager to hire her for our finance department.”
“You’re wasting your time,” Kimberly said. “Michael has forgiven me. Our marriage is fine.”
“Of course it is,” Janet said. “But even if Kathryn isn’t the one, Julia Hall over there will be perfect for him. They’ve already met. This is the third event I’ve invited her to, and she and Michael get along great. She comes from a wonderful family in Dallas. So suit—”
“Stop it.” Kimberly could feel her nails digging into her palms. “No matter what you say, Janet, I am here. You see, I’ve already won. Because I’m here and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it.”
“Mrs. Chase.” The photographer, hired often by the family for events, knelt down a few feet from them. “The L.A. Times wants a pic.”
Both women smiled for the picture as if everything was perfect. Years of being a Chase had taught them both to smile even if the world was falling apart.
“Enjoy it all while you can, dear,” Janet said with a pasted smile. “You’re on a thin line and you’ll slip up again. And that will be it for Michael. You are on your way out.”
“You trying to steal my thunder?”
Leigh turned away from the group of women she was talking with to see her younger sister, Haley Chase, standing behind her. “Hey, schoolgirl. How’s it going?”
“Don’t call me that.” Haley turned her button nose up. “What are you wearing?”
Leigh always felt like she might as well be wearing a potato sack when she was standing next to her soon to be twenty-four-year-old sister, the cinnamon-colored siren.
While Leigh was always described as very cute and pretty in a sweet kind of way, Haley was the fiery beauty. While Leigh was always seen as the gentle, softhearted feminine one men wanted to love and take care of, Haley was the sexy, difficult temptress that men wanted to kill and die for.
“You can’t insult my dress this time,” Leigh said. “It’s yours. I stole it out of your closet this morning.”
Haley’s mouth flew open as she looked Leigh over again. “That is mine! I can’t believe you managed to make a Dolce and Gabbana look like off-the-rack for spring. Only you, Leigh.”
“I was actually in the middle of an adult conversation,” Leigh said. “Something I know you want nothing of, so . . .”
“Why were you late?” Haley asked. “I’m the one that gets to show up late.”
“Don’t you have homework to do?”
Leigh loved teasing Haley about being in graduate school at UCLA. She had fought going back to school, but their mother guilted her into it and their father used his control over her trust fund to keep her there. It required unfamiliar discipline for the reckless debutante who only wanted to shop, vacation, and party.
“I pay people to do my homework,” Haley said. “Poor, smart students are in abundance on that campus.”
“Taking the path of least resistance,” Leigh said. “The pride of the Chase family.”
“I’ve been behaving, haven’t I?”
That was mostly true. Haley had done her best to stay under the radar. After last year’s sordid, masochistic affair with club manager, illegal-casino owner, and wanna-be pimp Chris Reman, Haley wanted to take a break from trou
ble. She had almost been killed twice in less than a year, once by Chris and once by a drug dealer named Rudio whom she saw kill someone. Being a college student and getting into regular college student trouble suited her fine for now. Just for now.
Leigh put her hands on her hips with an unbelieving grin. “Really? I thought I heard Mom on the phone asking someone not to kick you out of that school.”
“That was an empty threat,” Haley said. “So I slept with one professor. He’s a visiting and they don’t count. Besides, Daddy donated a hundred and fifty thousand to that damn school last year. I’m not going anywhere.”
“For now.”
Haley smiled. “Until then, being the last Chase to show up at family parties is still my thing.”
“Stop being childish.” Leigh leaned against the back of the sofa, waving to a family friend she needed to hit up for a donation to the clinic. “I was unexpectedly delayed. You would be interested in why.”
“I doubt it.”
“Does the name Lyndon Prior ring a bell?” Leigh smiled as Haley’s eyes widened.
“What about him?” Haley asked. Lyndon was currently one of the top actors on her he-can-get-it list.
“He came by the clinic. He wants to shadow me for a film he’s doing. He’s playing a clinic doctor.”
“Sounds boring. When can I meet him?”
“I said no.” Leigh winced when Haley socked her in the arm.
“You can’t have said no,” Haley said. “Not even someone as dense as you would turn down that sweet piece of ass.”
“Okay, first, e w.w.w. Second, I run a serious clinic for people with serious health concerns. I’m not going to have actors and agents running around studying on how to keep it real.”
“For someone so smart, you’re such an idiot.” Haley shook her head. “You’re always complaining about needing money for the clinic. You could’ve used him for publicity.”
Leigh paused, wondering if she had been too hasty. “I’m not taking advice from someone who thinks charity is showing up for a party with a check written by her daddy.”
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