by G. K. Parks
He pressed the button on his earpiece and requested someone else guard the outer door to Dinah’s suite. As soon as a second guard was on duty, Scar took me on a tour of the floor, showing me what he had set up. One of the other suites connected to Dinah’s, which would allow for an easier escape and two-way access should a breach occur. The other suite on the floor was full of surveillance equipment. They stuck pinhole cameras on the stairs, near the elevator, and throughout the hallway. No one would get to Dinah without security noticing.
“I spoke to the hotel. Maid service has been suspended. They will be given the all-clear only after Dinah has left the building, and we will sweep for bugs after the maid finishes. Room service orders will be called in from a room I reserved on the floor below, and one of the members of my team will bring them up after the bellhop leaves. No hotel employee has access to Miss Allen.”
“Show me the room you have downstairs,” I insisted.
We went down a floor. It was just a regular room with two double beds. Nothing special about it. A few duffel bags were tossed in the corner, and I gave him an odd look.
“The team will be using this to sleep. We will be six on and two off until the stalker is identified. We’re rotating shifts on a six hour basis.”
“What about Dinah’s people?” I asked. “Who knows she’s here?”
“Cherise knows, and so does her assistant. Elodie has to bring the sides and scripts over at the end of the night, so Dinah can prepare for the next day. But Elodie is legally bound to keep those facts to herself.” Scar didn’t sound pleased. “I tried to convince Dinah otherwise, but she wouldn’t know how to navigate the set or be prepared for the day without Elodie. It was a necessity.”
“She’s the client. She gets what she wants.”
He scoffed, muttering under his breath, “More like what her manager wants.”
With little else to do, I returned to Dinah’s suite. The newest guard, who I didn’t recognize, opened the door without a word, and Scar and I went inside. Dinah was sipping her cocktail and absently flipping through the channels. She looked up when we entered, and for a moment, I saw the fear. If I told her it wasn’t safe, she’d most likely pack up and follow me home again.
“What’s the verdict?” she asked, the mask slipping into place.
“Alex didn’t find any issues,” Scar said. He looked at her for a moment, acknowledging the tension between them. “I suppose your impromptu meeting will be acceptable, but he’ll need to be searched before he’s permitted to enter. And I want to remain present while he’s here.”
“Fine.” Dinah stared at him, and Scar practically bowed and went out the door, leaving me in the lion’s den. “I know what you’re going to say. To be honest, I’m not sure how I went from utterly freaked out and ready to call it quits to this.” She yawned and finished her drink. “I’m worn out. Maybe I’m just too tired to care.”
“That happens,” I said, perching on the chair across from her. “What happened on set today?”
“Nothing. We shot a few scenes. Neil didn’t like the way Kurt’s choreography looked on yesterday’s dailies, so most of today was reshoots. Since it was a showdown between Clay and Lance, I spent most of my time in the trailer. My personal trainer came, and we did an hour of yoga. I thought I could use the time to re-center myself.”
“Did anyone mention anything about last night’s call?”
“No one knows, and whoever does is too smart or scared to confront me in person. I just don’t understand. Last night, this whack job threatened me, and today, it’s like nothing happened. If you hadn’t been around to hear the phone call, I might have thought I dreamt the entire thing. It doesn’t make sense. Is this how stalkers normally behave?”
“I don’t know. This isn’t my area of expertise. Generally speaking, stalkers want to isolate the object of their fixation. It’s about control and domination.”
“But the notes and the call don’t make the stalker sound strong. They make him sound weak and desperate,” Dinah said, “like he’s obsessed with getting close to me.” The light bulb went on, and her mouth formed an oh. “The call made me come here. Could that be part of his plan?”
It was something I hadn’t considered. The point of the call was to get Dinah to tell him where she was, and when she didn’t, he called her security detail in the hopes of convincing Scar to force Dinah back to the hotel. I had my own ah-ha moment. “I need to make a few calls.”
“You’re on to something.”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Well, when you do know, I want to hear how I helped you crack this case wide open.” She blinked. “That is what you’d say, right?”
“Yes.”
She looked proud of herself. “Cool.”
Taking my phone, I ducked into one of the other rooms and called the office. Whoever the stalker was, he knew enough to contact Scar. The number of people who had access to her security chief’s phone number and Dinah’s room key couldn’t be that extensive.
I requested someone get started on analyzing Scar’s phone records. I should have realized it sooner. Dinah’s stalker called the security chief after calling her which meant the stalker had to be in a position to know key details about Dinah’s routine. Hell, he might have even known about the quasi-relationship between Scar and Dinah. It could make Scar a target, albeit an unlikely one.
It took nearly an hour to get the details sorted. The entire thing would have been easier if I was in the office doing it myself, but instead, I was babysitting again. Just to be thorough, Cross was going to obtain phone records for every member of Dinah’s security team. There was the possibility the stalker had called before without the voice modulator and under the guise of whatever his normal role in Dinah’s life was. The one thing I was certain of by the time I hung up was Dinah’s stalker was regularly present. He knew her routine. He knew the people in her life, and he knew precisely what strings to pull.
“Hey, Dinah,” I said, opening the bedroom door and stepping back into the main room, “I’m going to need a list of everyone you encountered today. Actually, you should do that for the entire week.”
“You can start with him,” Dinah said, smiling. My attention went to Martin who was seated in the chair I had vacated. “This is James Martin.”
“Alex?” he asked, clearly surprised to see me in Dinah’s suite.
“You two know each other?” she asked.
“We’re acquainted,” I supplied before Martin opened his mouth.
Martin gave me a funny look. “You could say that.”
“How?” Dinah asked.
“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that,” Martin began, but I gave him a sharp look.
“He hired me as a security consultant,” I said, communicating with my eyes that he need not elaborate further.
“Oh.” Dinah sounded disappointed. Then she said, “Oh,” like that tidbit was the missing piece of some puzzle. She turned to him and gripped his forearm excitedly. “You must have stories.”
“No, he doesn’t,” I supplied.
Martin grinned like the cat that swallowed the canary, his eyes never leaving mine. “I’d love to stay and regale you with tales of Alex’s heroics and wicked deductive skills, but I actually have several overseas calls to make. I’ll have the contract drafted tomorrow and messengered over in the afternoon. Is that acceptable.”
“Of course, it is, Jamie,” she replied.
The nickname made me bristle, and I turned around and pretended to take great interest in reading the instructions for the in-room coffeemaker. The only other person who I’d ever heard call him Jamie was his ex-fiancée.
“I am truly sorry. I wish I had known sooner or realized what was happening. I would have done something to stop it, but it all happened so fast. She really was the best. It would have been her year. I’m glad you reached out when you did. Christian was planning to auction it off as his own,” Dinah said sadly.
“I know.�
� A dark cloud came over Martin, and he stood. His eyes fell, and he shoved his hands into his pockets. I saw the heartbreak and failure in the way his face contorted, and I could hear it in the way his voice dropped “That was nearly fifteen years ago, and it’s taken me this long to track it down. If it wasn’t for you,” his eyebrow twitched, and the joint in his jaw jumped, “it might have been another fifteen years.” He looked up, hiding the anger that burned in his green eyes like the showman he was. “It really was lovely to see you again, Dinah. I appreciate all you’ve done. This means the world to me.” He gave her a polite kiss on the cheek.
“I hate that you have to run off. Promise we’ll get together again for an entirely social engagement before I leave town. Shooting wraps at the end of the month. We’ll have plenty to celebrate by then.”
“Sure.” He winked at her and strode to the door, moving close enough that his fingers brushed against mine. “I’ll see you later, Alex.” My eyes searched his for a moment, silently asking if he was okay. He nodded and ducked out of the room.
I went back to the coffeemaker, and Dinah let out a knowing hum behind me. “What was that about?” I asked, turning to see her sprawled out on the couch, her manicured nails tapping a rhythm on the backrest. “Business or pleasure?”
She let out a soft laugh. “For now, business.”
Deciding to play with fire, I dug a little deeper. “Is he the guy you were texting the other night? The one that made you smile?”
“That depends.”
“On what?” I asked.
Before she could answer, an alarm blared and a white flashing light filled the room. “What the hell is that?”
“The fire alarm,” I replied.
This was precisely why I should keep my mouth shut; my question set off the damn alarm. I didn’t smell smoke, but I didn’t believe this was a coincidence. My mind raced through the possibilities. Dinah’s stalker didn’t like her interactions with men, and Martin was one hundred percent male. Shit. Was the stalker escalating again?
“Shouldn’t we evacuate?” Dinah asked.
Scar swallowed. “There isn’t any smoke. The sprinklers haven’t turned on. I think someone pulled the alarm intentionally. We should assess the situation before we take action.” He pressed the button on his radio and sent two members of his team to investigate.
“I’ll go check it out,” I declared, running for the door.
“Phone us when you know something,” he called after me.
Like Scar, I had a feeling this was another elaborate attempt by the stalker to lure Dinah out into the open, but my priority wasn’t on saving the client. It was on saving the man I loved.
Twenty-nine
Martin left two minutes ago. He couldn’t have gotten far, but he wasn’t waiting in the hallway for the elevator. Dammit, the car must have already been stopped on this level from when he arrived. I raced down the stairs, which were quickly filling with people evacuating the building per the broadcasting instructions. I did my best to go around them, but I gave up and burst through the door on one of the floors below. A group waited for the elevator to return, and when it did, I climbed into the packed car and rode to the lobby. This was taking too long. Impatiently, I dialed Martin’s number, but he didn’t answer. Service was spotty inside the metal box. I needed a better carrier.
What if the psycho was outside with a gun trained on Martin? The stalker made it clear he didn’t like the men in Dinah’s life. That probably meant all the men. They were his competition.
The doors opened, and I pushed my way through the crowd and out the door. Most of the guests were being herded to safety across the street. Jogging past the hotel staff who tried to corral me away from the building, I darted to the side, hitting speed dial as I ran. Pick up, pick up, the words looped through my mind.
“Sweetheart,” Martin said, and I sighed in relief, “what’s going on?”
“Where are you?”
“Outside. The alarm went off when I was in the elevator. The staff forced me outside. Is everything okay?”
“Get to your car. I’ll meet you.”
Martin’s town car had bullet-resistant glass, and with any luck, his bodyguard would be waiting inside with his driver. Like they said, there was safety in numbers.
Spotting the town car, I sprinted to it and climbed inside. Without a word, I put my arms around Martin and kissed him. “Listen, I don’t have much time.” My eyes went to the exterior security cameras. Cross would inevitably watch the footage. And being in Martin’s car would be next to impossible to explain, but at the moment, I didn’t care. “Dinah’s stalker killed someone a few days ago. We just found out about it. Last night, he called and threatened her.” My gaze briefly drifted to the evacuating hotel. “I can’t believe this is a coincidence. I want you to stay at our place. I want Bruiser with you at all times. Stay away from the windows and keep the drapes drawn. This guy’s crazy. I don’t know what he’ll do. I don’t know what you and Dinah are involved in, but you need to stay away from her until this thing is settled.”
“Is she okay?”
“I’ll keep her safe.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“It’s okay,” I insisted. “I just need you out of here and away from this. Whatever business you have, do it through an intermediary.”
He shook off my instructions, as he so often did. “What about you? I don’t want you running into a burning building or going toe to toe with a psychopath.”
“For once, being a woman has its perks. I’m not a threat. He won’t target me.”
“How can you be sure?”
“I just am.” I opened the car door. “I have to go. Get the hell out of here and stay safe. I’ll get home as soon as I can, but it might be an all-nighter. Don’t worry about me, just watch your back.” I leaned toward the front seat and gave Marcal, his driver, instructions on how to navigate around the mess.
I closed the car door and headed back into the thick of things. Halfway to the front door, I turned and watched the town car disappear from sight. After I was positive Martin wasn’t being followed, I forced my way back inside the lobby, despite the protests and pushy hotel staff.
The hotel manager was at the front desk on the phone. I went up to her. “I work private security for one of your guests. What’s going on?”
She looked exasperated. For a moment, I thought she was going to have me removed, but at this point, she had so much to deal with that I was the least of her problems. “Someone was smoking in the restrooms. It started a trash can fire which set off the smoke detector. One of the staff put it out with an extinguisher, but it’s protocol to evacuate the entire building until the fire department gives the all-clear.”
“I’m going to need copies of your security footage.”
“Are you insane?” she asked. “Who the hell do you think you are?”
“I appreciate your position, but in a few minutes, a guy that does a mean impression of a refrigerator is going to come down here and ask the same thing. I’m not sure what kind of mojo he’s going to work, but you might agree to his demands. If not, my boss will be down here, and quite frankly, he’s just a pain in everyone’s ass.”
“First off, don’t try to intimidate me. And second, you need to wait outside with everyone else until the fire department says it’s safe to come back inside.” She signaled to hotel security who hovered around me. The guard knew better than to touch me, but he herded me toward the exit.
Giving up, I went out the front door. The first call I made was to Scar. After alerting him to the situation and the likelihood the fire department or hotel staff might try to force them to evacuate, I hung up and dialed Lucien. He would get access to the footage one way or another.
In the meantime, I had a job to do. Dinah’s stalker was here. He had to be. I just wasn’t sure if he was hiding somewhere inside the hotel or if he was out here with the crowd. I sent a quick text to Scar since I couldn’t exactly do a sweep of the
hotel floor by floor to see if the stalker was inside. His team was already on it. The bastard probably hoped to corner Dinah in the chaos, if his plan wasn’t to knife Martin in the back. If Scar’s team was half as good as they claimed, they might be able to sniff him out. If he wasn’t inside, that meant he was out here. Waiting. If he was here, I’d find him.
Skirting the edge of the crowd, I scanned for familiar faces. The hotel guests were clustered into small groups, talking amongst themselves. A few were angry. Most were nervous or scared. The bar-goers had dispersed once the hotel evacuated. The group of women headed down the street toward another watering hole, and I looked around but didn’t see any of the lawyers or investment bankers in the throng, not that I suspected any of them.
Movement at the periphery caught my eye, and I saw a dark shadow disappear around the corner. Dashing down the street, I turned and saw a figure in a dark hoodie walking along the sidewalk. It was hard to tell from the back, but the build was a close approximation to the person who placed the call the previous night.
“Excuse me,” I yelled, hoping to catch up to him. “Sir, wait.”
At the sound of my voice, the figure broke into a run. The man ran into a public parking garage, and I pursued him. Chasing suspects into parking garages always resulted in injury, usually mine. I slowed my pace and reached for my weapon.
He clicked the remote on his keys, and headlights flashed on a green SUV. He jumped behind the wheel and gunned it. The tires squealed as he shifted into drive from reverse. He drove right at me. I dove out of the way, rolling and coming up in a crouch with my gun raised. I didn’t fire. Instead, I tried to read the license plate before the SUV vanished into traffic. I only got a partial plate, but it would have to be enough.
On the trek back to the hotel, I called O’Connell. “Tell Mr. Homicide Detective I have a lead on Relper’s killer. Some bastard just tried to mow me down with his SUV.” I gave him the plate number, a description of the vehicle, and what little I could discern about the driver.