Beck: Hollywood Hitman (17 page)

“More like he owes me a couple million bucks.” Natalie took a long breath. Guilt crested in her chest. Why did she always feel like she owed her father and her mother even after the two of them had done so many wrong things to her?

“Yes or no to premiere tix?”

God, she didn’t want him there, didn’t want the possibility of running into him and whatever new bimbette arm candy he brought, but if she said no and he really wanted to attend, he’d simply crash the premiere and cause a horrible scene. At least if she gave him tickets and he misbehaved she could have him escorted away quietly.

“Send him two tickets.”

Ari typed on his keyboard. “He’s back in L.A., by the way.”

Like she wanted to know. She preferred when his whereabouts were unknown. Vegas was really as close to Los Angeles as she wanted her dad.

“He’s working some angle with a YouTube star.”

“Isn’t Daddy always working some angle?” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Mom is going too. Is there a way to keep this entire shit show contained? Is it you or Boom Boom or—”

“Say no more, babe. I’m on it. We’ll totally take care of the family dynamic at the premiere. I’ll assign some baby agents to Mama and Papa Warner. Keep them apart and peaceful. Make them feel important all while minimizing your exposure.”

“Thank you.” What would life be like if her brother were still alive? Would her family still have devolved into this crazy fractured mess if he hadn’t died? Would they all be spending holidays and premieres together, smiling for the cameras? Or would her father still be a money-grubbing gambling addict and her mother a spendaholic? Would she have careened into the abyss of sex and drugs with Rico? Who knew?

“Okay, babe. We’re locked for the next two films. Sent you three more scripts to read. Offers on all three. Read. Start working your way through the scripts, okay? Let me know what you like.”

Ari’s phone beeped. She was one of his biggest clients and even she only got so much of his time. He ran an agency, and there were other stars, producers, directors, studio execs, and a million other people who wanted a piece of him or one of his clients. Ari pressed his Bluetooth.

“Yo, Lydia! How the hell is New Zealand?” Ari chortled into the phone. He pressed the mute button and glanced toward Natalie. “Nat, I’ll see you at the premiere,” he whispered, smiled, then pressed the mute button again. “Right, right? What the hell? Zymar is swimming with sharks? Sounds like when you two are in L.A.”

Natalie looked toward the ceiling. Fatigue rolled through her body. Once these next two films were finished, she was taking a break. A long, exotic vacation to a faraway place without cell service or Wi-Fi. Who would she take? Stacia?

She wanted to take Beck, but he wanted nothing to do with her other than what he needed to do for his job. Natalie opened Ari’s office door. Beck turned his head. His stony-faced gaze belied nothing of their attraction to each other, all those nights she’d spent in his arms, all the times he’d whispered her name. Instead he wore a cool and professional gaze. He waited for her orders. A tiny glimmer passed in his eyes, but not enough. She needed more . . . God, why wouldn’t he give her more? Protection? Her heart hardened. Fine, if he didn’t love her enough to be with her, then she’d make damn sure he didn’t believe he had any effect on her either.

***

Natalie didn’t speak to him anymore, except to tell him where they were going. Her eyes still held pain and hope and anger and desire, but her tone and her words held no emotion, only facts. She sat beside him in the car and kept her head turned away from him. She stared out the passenger window as Los Angeles flew by. He turned onto Natalie’s driveway and pulled toward the house.

The car phone rang, and he answered. “This is Beck.”

“Remi here. Take Natalie directly to Greystone.”

“Got it.” No reason to ask why. He pulled to a stop on the driveway and started to put the car in reverse when Natalie opened the passenger door and was up the walk.

“Fuck,” Beck said.

“What is it?”

“She’s already on her way into the house.”

***

Paint dripped down the living room walls. Sanguine-colored words as though splashed across the white wall by a hose filled with blood. Words. Words that were hard to read. Bitch. Whore. Cunt. Kill. Die. Strung together in threats to Natalie. She stood in the center of the living room, her gaze locked to the giant white wall now splatter-filled with hate.

“Why?” She turned to Remi and Jax. “Who did this?”

“That’s what we’re trying to determine.” Remi’s tone was calm and cool like always, but there was a tenseness that wove over his features and the muscle in his jaw tightened. “The house has been cleared, but we need the premises. You’re going to Greystone.”

“How the hell did this happen?” Natalie’s bottom lip quivered. Anger mixed with her fear and vibrated off her. “You guys are supposed to be the best in the fucking business. Who did this to my house? Who got into my house? How did they even get into my house and how long were they in here, how—”

“These are answers to questions we’re working on now. But at this moment, Beck is taking you to Greystone.” Remi nodded toward Beck, who reached out and put his hand on Natalie’s elbow.

Heat shot through his arm hard and fast, an electric current. He hadn’t touched Natalie in nearly a week and his body craved her. He craved the feel of her skin, the scent of her, the nearness of her flesh, the taste of her lips.

“Find out who did this,” Natalie said, and while her tone was hard, a wide-eyed vulnerability mixed with fear slid through her gaze.

Beck slowly pulled her toward the door. Away from the hate and the threats. She stopped, turned her head, and took another look at those furious words on the wall in her home.

She pressed her teeth into her bottom lips and fought back the tide of emotion that roared through her like a tsunami. The fear grew as they walked toward the door.

“Come on,” Beck said. “You’ll be safe with me.”

Chapter Twenty-one

Greystone was a fortress. Natalie walked through the gargantuan home knowing that she was completely safe in this building but also knowing she absolutely didn’t want to stay here. Cold. The entire place, with its marble floors and stone walls, had a sharp-edged absence of warmth. This wasn’t a home, this was a mission, a business, an agency dedicated to pursuing bad people. And while Natalie could appreciate Greystone’s mission and today, after seeing the hate on her living room wall, was thankful that Estrella had dedicated her life and her home to protecting people, she couldn’t imagine calling this fortress home.

“Estrella lives here?” Natalie whispered as Beck led her up the staircase and down the upstairs hallway.

“She works here and she stays here most of the time.” He opened the door to the suite.

The bright apartment within the giant cold mansion nearly caused Natalie to forget the mausoleum of a building that housed these warm, light-bathed rooms.

“This is beautiful.”

“It is,” Beck said, surprise in his voice.

“You’ve never seen this before?”

Beck shook his head. The fact that she was Beck’s first assigned client for the Greystone Agency often fell from Natalie’s mind. She walked to the windows and pulled back the gauzy white curtains. “Her gardens are amazing.”

“She seems to think of every detail.”

“Do you live here too?”

“I have a suite downstairs. Not nearly as swank as this, but it’s more than adequate for my needs.”

Like heat-thickened air, the tension between them was palpable and yet nothing that either of them remarked upon.

“Remi has some intel for me. If you need anything, you can text me or pick up the phone. Food. Drink. An outside line.”

“And what about you?” Natalie spun from the window, her gaze hot with an intensity that bordered on anger. “What if I need you?”

“You have me.” Beck’s voice was soft. Desire lingered in his eyes. “I haven’t left you, Natalie. I’m still here. My feelings haven’t changed. I’ve only . . . I’ve had to pull back to keep you safe, to protect you. There is a very real threat out there and I don’t want it close to you. Today was too close.”

She walked to him, and the heat between them grew with each step she took. Her heart expanded with his words. She needed to hear them, needed to know, needed to feel the emotional connection between them.

“Why didn’t you tell me those reasons?” She set her hands on his chest and tilted her face up to his. The scent of him, strong and good and male, filled her lungs. God but she wanted to climb him like a tree.

“I assumed you knew.”

She pressed her lips to his neck. His body tensed. His hard maleness pressed to her and her hips rolled forward. He wanted her just as much as she wanted him.

“Maybe.” Her lips pressed to the flesh of his neck. “But these are things a woman needs to hear.” Her nipples tightened against the lace of her bra. She wanted him with a deep and fierce desire.

He grasped her chin and pulled her mouth from his neck. His gaze locked with hers. “I’ve pulled away because I love you.”

Warmth pulsed through her body. She closed her eyes. Beck’s words were exactly what she needed. They were a couple, she wasn’t alone, they’d be together—

“But we can’t be together.”

Her heart careened in her chest and cold thrummed through her veins.

“But we love each other.” Her words, her tone, sounded petulant even to her own ears.

“And that’s exactly why.” Beck turned and her hands dropped from his body. She stood alone in the center of the room while the warmth she craved, the man she wanted, the half of her heart she’d given to Beck, walked assuredly through the door.

***

The next morning, sunlight filled her windows. The day was new. She’d already texted Stacia, who promised to come by Greystone later that day if only for the novelty of the place. Ari was in the midst of finalizing the details of her deal for the next two
Shemax
movies. The premiere was in three days. Her media engagements leading up to the premiere had been canceled. They were telling the press she had the flu, when in reality what she had was a sicko who wanted her dead. Ari had already ordered workmen into the house and Remi had gone with Beck to do a security breakdown of her house, whatever the hell that meant, since someone was obviously still able to get in and out without tripping an alarm.

Natalie grabbed breakfast downstairs and then strode out the back of Greystone. This place was immense. Tucked up on its own hill with huge, lush gardens, she’d never believe that Greystone sat in one of the world’s biggest cities. This whole backyard was like a gargantuan secret garden. White gravel paths wove between rose bushes and hedges and fountains. Amazing. She strolled along with no agenda. Breathing deeply and stopping to smell the flowers. She stepped forward toward a purple flower—

“Beautiful, aren’t they?”

Natalie stopped and turned toward the soft voice that sounded vaguely familiar.

“Monkshood, incredibly poisonous. Impossible to cure, even if you touch it.”

Natalie took two steps back. She’d been ready to press her nose to the flower.

“It would seem you’ve wandered into my poisoner’s garden.”

“Poison?”

The woman walked closer. She wore a white hat with a gauzy netting that drifted from the edge of the hat over her face to her shoulders. A breeze caused the cloth to dance.

“I’ve always been mesmerized by the effects of poisons.” She reached out and tenderly caressed the leaf of a pink plant. “Oleander, not quite as deadly as her bedmate.” She nodded toward the monkshood blossom. “I became particularly interested in poisons after my incident.” She tilted her head toward Natalie. Through the material Natalie saw the hint of a smile. “I’m Estrella, or had you already determined as much?”

Estrella Leone. The infamous actress and socialite. The woman who’d lit the celebrity scene on fire. Natalie remembered her own mother speaking about the amazingly talented and beautiful Estrella Leone.

“Do you have time for a walk?” Estrella asked.

Natalie nodded and fell into step beside the woman who since her abduction had become an enigma to the world.

“Your suite? You have everything you need?”

“Oh yes. My room is absolutely beautiful,” Natalie gushed, and she wasn’t a gusher, but just being in the presence of Estrella, a woman who had survived a kidnapping and attack, made a wave of gratitude for all that Natalie had in her own life wash through her. “Thank you,” she continued, and raved about the interior, and Estrella smiled and nodded.

“Excellent. Remi tells me you’ll return home tomorrow. I was sorry to hear about what happened.” She stopped walking but didn’t turn to Natalie. “I know . . .” She tilted her head toward Greystone. “I know my home is my sanctuary and the thought of anyone coming into it uninvited, well . . . I don’t like that idea, and I can’t imagine that anyone else would either.”

“You’re right there,” Natalie said. “Maybe that’s why it’s been so tough for me to get used to your security guards in my house.”

“Hmm.” Estrella nodded and began to walk again. “I can see that. You’ve fought hard for your independence. You’re very strong and very determined.” She paused again. “But you know why my Hitmen are with you? Why they’re important? Your safety, you can’t ever take your own personal safety for granted. Believe me, Natalie, I speak from experience.”

“I know. What happened to you—”

“Can happen again.” Estrella stopped, and this time she faced Natalie.

Through the filmy cloth Natalie saw that Estella’s face was different on each side. Natalie held her breath. Fought hard not to react. Even with the shield of the cloth, she could tell, she knew, what had happened to Estrella’s face would be horrible to behold.

“He’s still out there, somewhere, this madman, and he’s evil. I don’t want him to ever hurt anyone again. Do you understand? He may have targeted you and until we know or we’ve caught him, it’s . . . we must take every precaution.” Estrella’s voice contained a determined intensity.