Gage: A Love Under the Lights Novel

by Paige, Rochelle

  “As are the police,” Detective Wakeland added. He’d been assigned to the case by the Commissioner after the second Mini was destroyed. “Until the perp does something else, we don’t have much to go on.”

  “The tapes from the gate at the entrance of your neighborhood didn’t turn up anything suspicious in the hours leading up to the destruction of the second car. All guests were approved by one of your neighbors, and we’ve looked into each and every one who hasn’t visited before,” Brax explained as if it wasn’t something I’d already heard from him and the cops several times before.

  “And the notes were all printed on run-of-the-mill paper that can be bought in any store. Nothing special about the ink. No fingerprints. Mailed from different post offices each time, and the best we can tell, they were dropped into collection boxes so there’s no chance of spotting the culprit on video surveillance.”

  At first, I’d been relieved that the stalker backed off and resorted to sending threatening notes. But that was before I’d realized that it meant we’d have fewer leads to follow. “Is it normal for a stalker to back down like this? Destroying Morgan’s car at her place could’ve been an impulse decision because the security is crap and the garage door is left open a lot of the time. But getting into this neighborhood isn’t an easy feat. They had to have put some thought into it, even though they had less than twenty-four hours to plan because nobody knew about our relationship before then.”

  “You make an excellent point.” Brax turned to Detective Wakeland and asked, “Have you ever seen anything like this before?”

  “No, once the perp begins to escalate, they don’t regress to less threatening behavior unless they have a damn good reason,” he answered. “If we can figure out what made them back off, then we might be able to uncover who’s behind all of this. But that could still be difficult as hell since we have no idea why they’ve targeted Ms. Kelly in the first place.”

  “Let’s think about what we do know,” Brax suggested. “The perp’s first act of aggression wasn’t until Ms. Kelly won her Oscar and announced to the world that she was your girlfriend.”

  “So either of those two things could’ve set them off,” Detective Wakeland replied. “But they also had to have known where both you and Ms. Kelly lived. As well as the fact that she was staying with you since they targeted the car parked in your driveway. If the paparazzi didn’t report on every step you take, I’d say that it has to be someone close to you. But it’s not like any Tom, Dick, and Harry couldn’t find that information with a quick search on the internet.”

  Brax tapped his chin. “With that kind of access to Ms. Kelly’s location, why would they have backed off? The letters are being sent from local post offices, so it’s not because they’ve been out of town and unable to do anything in person.”

  I thought about everything that had happened back then, and it hit me. “The cameras.”

  Both men’s gazes snapped to my face as they asked in unison, “What cameras?”

  “Part of the overhaul to my security system included the addition of extra cameras surrounding the house. There isn’t a single blind spot now, but the coverage wasn’t as good before all this shit went down.”

  Brax leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, a gleam in his eyes. “If they live in the neighborhood or are a regular enough visitor, they would’ve seen the vans in the driveway while they did the install.”

  “And it would’ve warned them off, which would explain why they switched to sending letters instead,” Detective Wakeland continued. “So we go back and give every neighbor and visitor any look. See if anything suspicious pops up.”

  “You and Ms. Kelly can help. Go through the list of your neighbors and see if any of the names pop for either of you,” Brax advised. “Considering what was written on the cars and the tone of the letters, it could be something as simple as a female neighbor who had her sights set on you and thinks if she can get Ms. Kelly out of the picture, then you’d finally notice her.”

  “Or a man Ms. Kelly has worked with who thought there was more to their connection than just being co-workers. Maybe he was biding his time, and then it came out you two were dating and he got pissed off,” Detective Wakeland suggested.

  It might’ve made me a complete douchebag, considering how scared Morgan had been by the whole situation, but the thought of some guy out there thinking she was his had me seeing red. I unclenched my jaw and bit out, “She’ll be home soon, and we’ll work on getting you that list.”

  “The sooner, the better,” Detective Wakeland urged as he stood.

  I led the men to the front door and promised, “It’ll be our top priority, just as I expect this case to be both of yours.”

  * * *

  “Honey, I’m home!” Morgan called out about an hour later.

  “I’m back here,” I replied, getting up and rounding my desk to meet her at the door of my office. It turned out that Morgan’s worries about us living together were completely unfounded. It’d been easier to adjust to than either of us had expected, and we’d quickly fallen into a bit of a routine. We spent basically all of our free time together, which had been plentiful. Morgan and I had both recently wrapped up projects and didn’t have anything big starting up for another couple of weeks. Plus, Allie had been out of town since shortly after everything went down, so she hadn’t been around to hang out with Morgan.

  Allie was due back tonight, though, and Morgan had run out to stock up the hotel room I’d booked for Allie at the Sunset Tower Hotel. I’d insisted on it when Morgan had mentioned that maybe they could move back into the condo since nothing had happened in so long. There was no way in hell she was going back there when her stalker was still on the loose—and maybe not even then since I couldn’t imagine spending our nights apart now that we’d lived together for so long.

  “Hey, gorgeous.” She rose on her toes to give me a kiss, her eyes shining with excitement. “Allie’s room is ready for her, and I got her a bunch of her favorite things to welcome her back home. Thank you so much for hooking her up at the coolest hotel in town. She’s going to be so excited to stay there.”

  “You’re welcome, beautiful.” I captured her lips for a deeper kiss. Reluctantly pulling away, I added, “If you’re happy, I’m happy.”

  “You’ve got the whole boyfriend thing down pat.” She grinned up at me and wiggled her eyebrows. “Want to cash in some of those brownie points for an amazing blow job before I need to head back out to pick Allie up at the airport?”

  “As much as I’d love to say yes”—I pulled her close, thrusting my hips forward so she could feel how hard I was for her—“your safety comes before my need for you, and Detective Wakeland asked us to go through the names of all of my neighbors so we could give him a list of anyone who might be connected to your stalker.”

  “Whoa,” she breathed out, her eyes going wide in shock. “He thinks it might be one of your neighbors?”

  I caught her up on my conversation with the detective and Brax and grabbed the pad of paper I’d been using off my desk. “I jotted down the names of everyone I could think of, but you know how Hollywood is. People don’t advertise where they live for the most part, and this neighborhood is huge. I’m probably missing a ton of names.”

  Morgan scanned the list and shook her head. “Nothing jumps out at me, but maybe we should drive around and scope out your neighbors to see if we can figure out who else needs to be added?”

  I didn’t have a better suggestion, so I agreed, “Sure.”

  “I’ll be ready in a jiffy. I just need to run upstairs and change my shoes, first.”

  Right after she rushed off, my phone rang. “We didn’t even make it a mile away from your house when we got our first solid lead in your case,” Detective Wakeland announced before I had the chance to say hello.

  “How good of a lead?” I asked.

  “The kind that means I just got to slap some cuffs on a crazy bitch because she went bonkers when we k
nocked on her door to ask some questions.”

  By the time he gave me the rundown on what’d happened, I had a huge grin on my face. I had just disconnected the call when Morgan came back downstairs. “We should’ve scoped out your neighbors sooner if it makes you smile like that.”

  “It’s not that.” I picked her up and swung her around in a circle. “They found your stalker, beautiful. And you’re never going to believe who it was.”

  Twenty-Seven

  Morgan

  “Are you shitting me?”

  “I’m absolutely not shitting you,” I assured my best friend. “Trust me; I had the same reaction you’re having when Gage relayed all of this to me.”

  Allie shook her head in disbelief. “I cannot even begin to tell you how insane it is that Kerri freaking Anderson was behind all of this. How did she get caught?”

  Shifting forward on the giant beige couch we were seated on in Allie’s hotel room, I set the container of mixed nuts I’d gotten from the minibar down. I wanted to munch on something, but twenty-two dollars for a small container of nuts wasn’t going to fly.

  “When Gage showed me the list of neighbors in his community, I didn’t even blink when I saw her uncle’s name,” I said. “I had no idea Kerri was living with him until earlier today when the detective assigned to the case canvassed the neighborhood and wound up arresting her. She was so unglued to see the police she outed herself as the perpetrator in under sixty seconds.”

  “I’ve always said she was a shitty actress,” Allie snickered. “This proves I was right.”

  “It does. And now we also know her true talent involves using a tire iron.”

  “A tire iron?”

  I nodded. “Yep.”

  “What happens now?” Allie asked.

  I grimaced. “Not what I’d originally hoped would, that’s for sure. Her uncle showed up at Gage’s house earlier to ask that we not press charges.”

  “Ew. I bet that went over like a lead balloon.”

  “It did until Officer Wakeland called and filled us in on what, exactly, Kerri thought she would get out of this.”

  Allie frowned. “It doesn’t sound like she was thinking at all.”

  “You’d think,” I said, my tone snarky, “but that lunatic always has an angle. She flipped her lid when the police showed up at her uncle's house today. Not because she knew the jig was up, mind you, but because the timing was wrong.”

  I made air quotes with my fingers to emphasize the word timing.

  “Apparently, the first night she vandalized my car was a spur of the moment thing, but what came after happened because she wanted to be arrested for it.”

  Allie gasped. “What the hell? Why?”

  “I’m glad you’re already sitting down,” I said dryly.

  “Oh snap, this ought to be rich.”

  “It’s Kerri, so, of course, it’s bonkers. She had it in her head that if she went a little nuts and got caught, the public would rally behind her the way they did with Britney Spears and Amanda Bynes. She had the whole thing planned out, too. She was going to go back to Gage’s and mess my car up for a third time in full view of the cameras next month after she got back from a family vacation to Greece.”

  Allie’s eyes went wide, and her hands flew to her mouth. “Shut up,” she squeaked.

  I shook my head. “Hand to God, I’m for real. She wanted— and I quote— a good tan and some new highlights to offset the terrible lighting of a booking photo.”

  “She knows it’s not a headshot, right?”

  I rolled my eyes. “She’s so desperate for publicity that there’s no level to which she won’t stoop to get it.”

  The horrified expression on Allie’s face said a lot. “That’s scary as hell, Morgan. I never thought the girl was wrapped all that tight to begin with but this is next level.”

  “It’s like four levels away from next level,” I said. “Anyway. Knowing that she wanted to be arrested and charged for the sake of getting some publicity, we’ve decided not to press charges at this time. We’ve both filed for emergency restraining orders, though. Kerri can go to the press with that— it’s inevitable they’ll find out anyway— but Gage and I have no intention of having this play out in court.”

  “Mmm. From what you’ve said, she probably thinks a trial would give her the same exposure as a starring role. Honestly, I feel a little sorry for her that she’s so jacked in the head.”

  “I know,” I agreed. “To be that self-involved and calculating has to be exhausting.”

  “If you don’t press charges, she gets away with it, right?”

  I lifted one shoulder. “For the most part, yes. When Gage and I talked to her uncle, he agreed to pay for all of the damage to my cars and the cost of Gage’s upgraded security system. He’ll also be putting his house up for sale and moving out of the community because having Kerri around isn’t going to happen. For us, that’s the end.”

  “And for her?”

  I spread my hands. “Who knows. Mr. Montague says that he’s going to get her help, but personally, I can’t see how it’s possible to fix someone who wants to be broken. She needs attention so badly she’ll do anything to get it— negative or positive. I imagine she’s a lot like dealing with an infant or a toddler.”

  A strange expression passed over Allie’s face.

  Pointing at her, I asked, “What was that look?”

  She cringed. “So… um . . . speaking of little humans.”

  I cocked my head. “Yeah?” I prodded when she didn’t continue.

  “I’m late.”

  “Ohhh,” I breathed, surprised. Allie was diligent about taking her birth control pills and always had been because it helped to control her migraines.

  “Did you forget to take a pill?”

  She shook her head. “No, I’ve always taken it at the right time.”

  “But you’re late anyway,” I said.

  She nodded.

  “Are you sure?”

  She gave me a pointed look. “Of course, I’m sure.”

  “Right, right.” I nodded. “How late are you?”

  She looked away for a few seconds. “Um . . . about nine days.”

  “You’re that freaking late?” I whisper-shouted.

  “I thought maybe it was stress, or nerves from being on the set of my first movie, or maybe even the time change.”

  “I don’t think the two-hour time difference would’ve been a huge adjustment for your body. I could see your point if you’d been in London or Australia, but Chicago isn’t a big stretch.”

  Allie let out a long sigh. “I do know that, but denial is a mighty thing.”

  “Does Vaughn know yet?”

  She shook her head emphatically. “No, because I stopped talking to him.”

  I pulled up short. “What? When? And more importantly, why is this the first I’m hearing this?”

  “I told him I was too busy to see him anymore two weeks ago.”

  “What the flip? Why didn’t you tell me any of this? It’s not like we never talked.”

  She had the good sense to look guilty. “Because I didn’t want you to worry about me and that’s exactly what you would’ve done if I told you. It wasn’t a big deal, so I decided to wait until I came back home.”

  The bullshit she was slinging reeked. I cocked my head and considered her for several seconds. “Hmm. Did you change careers while you were gone?”

  Her brow furrowed. “Huh?”

  “I really hope not,” I continued, like she hadn’t spoken at all. “Because I have to tell you, on a scale of Kerri to Oscar-worthy, you’re acting abilities are about a negative five.”

  “Ha ha,” she’s grumbled.

  “Seriously, you’re full of it, and you know it. I know you and Vaughn were a new thing, but I’ve not seen you that interested in anyone ever. Cut the shit and tell me why you told him to go pound sand when I know for a fact that you really, truly liked him.”

  “Another girl moved in
with him shortly after I left,” she mumbled.

  I was stunned. “What?”

  She nodded. “Yep. And I’d have been clueless about it if I hadn’t overheard Mason telling his fiancée that Mila had moved into Vaughn’s.”

  My gaze narrowed. “Who the hell is Mila?”

  Allie shrugged. “I have no clue.”

  “So you don’t know that it’s another woman. Maybe Mila is his sister—”

  “For starters, Vaughn is an only child. And if he isn’t doing something with Mila, he should’ve told me she moved in. When I talked to him, he never said a word. To make matter worse, I knew I heard a female voice calling out his name when I called him later that day. When I asked who it was, he lied and said it was the TV, and then promptly ended the call.”

  “What an asshole!” I shrieked.

  “It’s not a big deal. I mean, it’s crappy that he lied, but we weren’t committed to each other or in love. It wasn’t serious, so it’s not as if I could have expected anything else. I was stupid to have thought it could be anything at all. Lesson learned.”

  Allie could pretend to be unaffected until the cows came home, but I knew her well enough to see beyond the façade. Maybe she hadn’t been all the way in love with Vaughn yet, but there was no doubt in my mind that she’d been falling. That he’d gotten past her laser-like focus on her writing and the nerves about having her first script becoming a movie said a lot about how Allie had been feeling about him. To have him go from being so interested in her that he had her move into his freaking house for a week to having someone else there was more than disappointing. This was particularly true considering that Allie was late.

  I knew that the situation called for me to be blunt. “You need to take a pregnancy test.”

  “I’ll pick one up soon,” she agreed.