by Leslie North
His sleep-roughened voice sent a thrill of need straight through her, but Alex resisted the urge to curl around him and kiss him until they both forgot about leaving this room and this house and just decided to stay in bed and make love all day. That wouldn’t help them find Bea. Nor would it go over very well with the producer of the TV show she was booked to shoot today.
After stretching, Alex pushed away from Hunter reluctantly and stood. “Morning.”
He rubbed a hand over his face then checked his watch. “Five after six. Seems Cam was right for once.”
“Yeah.” She looked away from his rumpled appearance and sexy stubble-covered jaw and slowly backed out of the room. “I’m, uh, going to hit the shower. Busy day ahead.”
“Right.” Hunter got up too, his expression unreadable, but a hint of disappointment in his tone. “You take the master bath. I’ll use the guest one down the hall. What time do you have to be on set?”
“Producer wants me there at eight.” She waved a hand over her outfit. “I’ll need to go back to my house to change first though.”
“Sure. Fine.” Hunter grabbed their clothes from the night before then followed her out of the safe room and back into the rest of the house. The metal door hissed shut behind them and he punched in the lock code on the keypad. “Meet you in the living room in forty-five minutes then.”
“Sounds good.” Alex took her cat suit and boots from him then watched him walk away, feeling oddly bereft. Silly, since they weren’t involved in any way other than professionally. Forget about the fact she’d snoozed last night away in his arms or that he’d made the warmest, cuddliest pillow she’d ever had. They were partners in finding Bea. That had to be her top priority now. Her only priority.
After a quick shower, she pulled last night’s outfit back on, feeling more like a hooker and less like a strong, confident dominatrix in the harsh light of day. She twisted her damp blond hair up into a messy top knot, neatly folded the sweats and T-shirt she’d worn to sleep in, then zipped up her boots and headed for the living room where Hunter was already waiting. He looked as handsome and hard-edged as usual in his wrinkled T-shirt and jeans.
“I just got off the phone with Cam and Loki at my agency,” he said when she walked in, his gaze darting to her before quickly looking away again. Perhaps she wasn’t the only one affected by this sizzling connection between them. “Loki wants you wearing a tracking device whenever you’re out in public now. In case they decide to snatch you too. I’ve got one in my stuff at the hotel. I’ll have the driver stop there first so I can pack and check out, then we’ll head to your place so you can change and I can get you wired up.”
“Is that really necessary?” Alex sat down at the opposite end of the beige sofa from Hunter. “Seems kind of invasive. I doubt the boss is going to come after me, at least not until they deliver the sex slaves.”
“I’m sure Bea didn’t think they’d take her either,” Hunter said, his gaze lowered. “I’m here to find her, but I’m also here to keep you safe. I can’t do that if I don’t know where you are.”
“How big is this tracking device?” she asked. She’d have wardrobe changes on the set today and didn’t want to have to deal with nosy questions from the dressers.
“Not big. The one Cam gave me is about the size of a chocolate chip. They’re made to slip into someone’s pocket or purse without them knowing.” He pulled it out and held it up. Yep. Looked like a tiny black square. “I’m guessing it won’t be long before the sex boss makes the connection between his cat suit-wearing Dom and America’s comedy sweetheart. Your disguise was good, but it wasn’t that good. This will allow me and the team to keep track of you no matter what.”
“Huh, okay. Very James Bond of you.” Alex laughed. “Time to get our spy on, huh?”
“To act the spy, you must be the spy.” Hunter winked. “Did I get that right?”
“Close enough.” She peeked out the curtains behind them and spotted the limo pulling up to the curb. Alex also noticed several neighbors taking note of the new arrival. Guess she’d have to ditch her private driver for the time being. “We’ll be staying here until we get Bea back then?”
“Yeah.” Hunter stood and shoved his phone into his back pocket. “Cam’s going to walk me through some adjustments to the security system here so that the guys back at the Norse Security offices back in Virginia can monitor what happens here as well. We don’t want anything slipping through the cracks.”
“Okay then.” Alex crossed her arms, feeling unsettled. Being an actress meant she was used to the spotlight during her working hours, but not so much in the privacy of her home. Still, she’d put up with just about anything to save her friend. “We should get going. Don’t want to be late for my job.”
By the time Hunter got checked out of his hotel and Alex got changed and a bag packed to take to the safe house, it was nearly time for her to be on set. Miraculously, the driver maneuvered through the mid-morning traffic and got her there only a few minutes late. She apologized profusely to the director who graciously didn’t dwell on it.
Hunter stayed close as Alex made her way through hair and makeup and wardrobe, not getting in the way, but hovering on the perimeter of things. Always watching. She could feel the weight of his stare on her even though she wasn’t looking at him, and she found it oddly comforting.
Her part today was a kindergarten teacher who comforted a child in her class after he’d been bullied. The kid playing the part of the bullied student was the child star of the TV show and single-handedly brought in the second-quarter revenue for the network. Impressive stuff for a boy of nine. Hunter remained just off set as the director blocked out their scene and ran through their lines with them before shooting the first of many dallies for the editing department to use. Between takes, Alex found herself toying with the tracking device in her pocket, glad for its presence, and feeling somehow more closely connected to Hunter because of it.
Finally, the emotional comforting scene was ready to shoot and they closed the set to all non-essential personnel. Alex somehow convinced the director that Hunter was essential, so he stood off to the side, watching everything.
When it was over, both Alex and the kid were crying and she knew deep inside that she’d given a good performance. Funny thing though, when she searched for Hunter, he was nowhere to be found. Strange, after he’d hovered so close all day. After watching the digital takes with the crew and getting the all-clear from the director, Alex asked some of the stagehands if they’d seen Hunter. They pointed her toward a side door where he’d stepped outside for some air, he’d said.
Sure enough, she found him leaning against the side of the white-washed metal building, staring off into the distance, his usual icy façade brooding. She walked over to him and leaned back against the warm metal beside him. “I wondered where you got to.”
He shrugged, but remained silent.
“Everything okay?” she continued to prod, sensing everything was most certainly not okay.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Hunter shoved away from the wall and she reached out to take his wrist, stopping him when he turned his back on her. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?” Alex asked. After waking up in his arms this morning, and knowing that he was tracking her every move, she felt like she knew him, felt like they shared something that she wasn’t quite ready to walk away from yet. “What’s wrong? Please tell me. Is it Bea? Did you find out where she is? Did you find—”
She stopped abruptly, fearing the worst. Oh God. Had they found Bea’s body? Was she gone, dead, never to return? Bile rose in Alex’s throat before she swallowed it down hard. If anything happened to Bea, she’d never forgive herself.
“No.” Hunter swore under his breath, facing her once more. “Nothing like that.” He raked a hand through his short dark hair, still in that military buzz cut ex-soldiers the world over seemed to love. “It’s that scene…the one you were shooting in there. I just…” His gruff voice
trailed off and he turned away. “Forget it. It’s stupid. Never mind.”
Intrigued now, Alex let her hand slide down until she laced her fingers with his. “Tell me. Did you not like the scene?”
Dots of crimson colored his high, tanned cheekbones and he kept his eyes lowered. “It was fine. You’re a really good actress. So is the kid. Maybe too good.”
“How do you mean?”
“He reminded me of someone.”
“Who?”
“Me.” He shook his head and gave a humorless chuckle. “Hard to believe, right? This brick wall of muscle was bullied as a kid? But it’s true. In a lot of ways, it’s shaped who I am today.”
“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” Alex said. She squeezed his hand tighter in a show of support. “No child ever deserves to experience that.”
Hunter moved back in beside her again, leaning against the building, but not pulling his hand free from hers. “I was a big kid, always the tallest in my class from first grade on. Because I grew so fast, I wasn’t exactly the most graceful guy around. Took me a while to figure out how to move right with all this extra height and bulk, how not to intimidate people with my size.” He shrugged, his smile sad. “Anyway, because of all this, I was pretty awkward and shy, didn’t talk much in class or out of it. I did spend a lot of time watching people though, sizing them up. There was this one guy, Tommy Martin. He was a real prick. Used to bully pretty much everybody but me in class. Seems like every week he’d pick a new target. Well, one day, I’d had enough. I decided I’d come up with this elaborate plan to stop him.” He laughed, the sound deep and self-deprecating and the sheer intimacy of it made Alex’s toes curl inside her shoes. “Don’t even ask me what the plan was because I don’t remember now. The only thing that comes to memory is that it was complex and involved three paperclips and a yoga mat. Hey, what can I say? I was a fan of MacGyver back in the day.” Hunter laughed and Alex giggled. “So, I had this plan and I was going to trap him in his bullying and then humiliate him in front of the class. Except this all took place during math and right when I was about to start, the teacher called on me to answer her question. Hell, at that point I didn’t even remember my name, let alone what the fuck she’d asked me. I ended up looking like a total doofus in front of everyone, including Tommy, who never let me forget it after that. Even the teacher joined in, telling me that it was a good thing I was big and athletic because I’d never amount to anything academically.”
“That’s awful.” Alex’s heart ached for the boy he’d been and the hurting man he was now. “I’m so sorry, Hunter. She had no right to say that. And look at you now, you’re smart and accomplished and you’ve achieved so much in your life.” When he didn’t look at her, she tried a line from the scene, thinking it might lighten the mood. “Hey, niceness is priceless.”
Instead, it only earned her a dubious look from Hunter.
“Seriously?” This time he did pull away, his demeanor shifting from friendly to frosty. “If you’re done in there, we should get back to the safe house. I’ve got a lot of work to do with Cam on the security system to get things set up.”
Alex sighed as he walked away, feeling like an idiot. He’d opened up to her and she fed him a stupid line from the script as though his pain meant nothing. As she went back inside to change and grab her stuff, she hoped she’d get a chance to explain herself and make it up to him later.
9
Hunter finished tweaking the last of the hidden security cameras at the safe house according to Cam’s instructions. “Are you getting the feed?”
“Hang on,” Cam said over the speaker phone. In the background, the sounds of Everly—Cam’s soon-to-be wife—and their newborn baby cooing echoed through the line. Hunter felt a pang of loneliness deep in his chest. He’d always wanted a family of his own someday, but first the military life and later his work for Norse Security wasn’t exactly conducive to settling down. Lately though, it seemed to be on his mind more and more.
Maybe it was Cam settling down or maybe it was the breezy California lifestyle.
Whatever it was, he didn’t want to be thinking about that right now. Not with his promotion in the balance and the life of Alex’s friend at stake. There’d be plenty of time to dream about a spouse and kids and something to come home to besides frozen dinners and a cold bed after he successfully wrapped up this mission.
“Yep. Got visual. Have the actress go to the basement and say something so I can confirm audio down there,” Cam said.
“Alex?” Hunter called from atop his ladder. She peeked around the corner from the kitchen, frowning at her phone screen. “Run downstairs and say something so we can confirm sound works down there.”
She looked up at him and raised a brow.
“Please?” Hunter amended.
Alex raised her chin and walked to the stairs with the regal air of a queen. Seconds later he heard through his earpiece, “Check one, two, three.”
“Got it,” he said.
“Got it here too,” Cam confirmed. “Awesome. You should be all set for the sting.”
“Great.” Hunter sounded about as enthused as he felt, which wasn’t much. Not that he didn’t want to find Alex’s friend and wrap this up as quickly as possible, but the thought of dealing with that scumbag from the sex club again made him sick. He hated bullies of all kinds, but there was a special place in hell for people who hurt women, children, the elderly, and animals. Basically anyone smaller or more vulnerable than themselves.
Hunter closed up the camera he’d been working on, then climbed down off the ladder. “I’ll text you guys when the meeting with the boss is set up,” he said to Cam before tapping his earpiece to end the call.
“About the meeting,” Alex said from behind him, back upstairs again. “I just got a message from the manager at Club Xcite. He said the boss will be here tonight at nine to check out the location and make sure it’s adequate for their needs and secure enough for their business affairs. And we’ll have to plan on having at least ten people to house. From the shipments I’ve seen come in through the club before that’s an average number.”
Scowling, Hunter texted the info to the guys then stalked past Alex to grab a bottled water from the fridge in the kitchen. They’d done all they could to get this place ready. Depending on the number of girls and men the boss had, they could easily accommodate six in the basement and a couple more upstairs if need be. He’d made sure there were sufficient bathroom facilities, bedding and food for that many, plus him and Alex. Wasn’t much left to do now except wait. He cracked open his bottle and took a long drink before watching Alex over the rim. “Guess that means I’ll be your boy toy again, huh?”
“It’s what the boss will be expecting, given last night.”
“Yep.” Hunter squeezed his bottle harder than intended, the plastic crackling loudly in the quiet house. It wasn’t the submission that bothered him, it was how being under the control of this particular woman affected him. Jesus. He damned near embarrassed himself in that club, his cock hard as iron and all his senses completely attuned to her. All it took was one crack of that whip of hers and he was all but begging for her. And that was unacceptable, especially tonight. He’d need all his wits about him to stay on top of the situation and handle things if he needed to. “What time is it now?”
“Going on seven.” She leaned her hips back against the counter opposite him and shrugged. “Hungry?”
Yes. His cock twitched despite his will. She’d meant for food, he knew that. Hunter cleared his throat and turned to face the sink, shoving his wicked thoughts aside. “We should eat now, if we’re going to, then get ready.” He hazarded a glance back at her over his shoulder. “I want everything planned out between us so there are no surprises on our end.”
“Yes, sir.” She gave him a mock salute then held out several takeout menus. “What do you want? Pizza, subs, or Chinese?”
“Where’d you find those?” Hunter asked.
“In the
drawer over there. Why?”
“No reason. They must be leftover from a previous mission here.” Most likely from Loki, who had a penchant for junk food and tended to eat when he was stressed. He stared at the menus in her hand. “I honestly don’t care. You pick.” She handed him the menu from a place called the Double Dragon and he picked out his usual. “Kung Pao Chicken and an eggroll.”
“Spicy, huh?” She grinned. “No problem. I’ll call it in and have it delivered.”
“Thanks. And make sure you tell your limo driver to take off now. I don’t want that sex boss to send thugs over here to check it out ahead of time and find a limo parked out front. We’re taking enough chances with you going to your film sets every day. Why make it any easier for them to connect your dots?”
She nodded and wandered into the living room to call the restaurant while he kept busy setting out plates and silverware and napkins. Alex eventually walked back in and set her phone on the counter to charge. “I don’t think I said it before, but thanks.”
“For what?” Hunter looked up at her from setting the table.
“For setting this up.” Her voice was uncharacteristically demure. “And for earlier. I like that you told me about you getting bullied as a kid. It makes us seem closer somehow.”
“Hmm.” Embarrassed heat prickled up from beneath the collar of his gray T-shirt. He’d not meant to spill his guts like that and tell her about his issues growing up, but he’d been upset and she’d been there and there was something about Alex that made it so easy for him to talk to her. He turned away to grab a couple glasses from the cabinet. “Whatever.”
“Not whatever,” she protested. “That was obviously a defining moment for you, an incident that hurt you deeply and helped form the man you are now. I feel like I can relate to you better.”
“Perfect.” He plunked the glasses down on the table, not wanting to get into all that again. Not now when they had that asshole from the club about to show up in a few hours and pollute the place. “How long until the food gets here?”