Beck: Hollywood Hitman (21 page)

Fucking whores. He would make them pay. He would make Estrella pay. He wasn’t finished with her. He’d complete what he started. He was coming for her and she knew it. Let the fear simmer in her blood until he drained her.

She knew, and she tried to protect herself with her army of washed-up operatives. Hitmen. Has-beens, defunct and defective. Ha! Yes, he was already using her operatives against her.

His phone buzzed. “This is Palook.”

“We’re back. They’re downloading intel from the girl now. They haven’t announced the spy’s return.”

“No, she wouldn’t.” Palook gazed at the ocean. “Estrella will try to bury where he’s been. Attempt to make it seem as though his absence and return has nothing to do with me. I know her, I know her well.”

“Yes, master, you do. Each thing you tell me has come to pass. The closer I get, the more I know that she is evil and must be destroyed so that your mission may succeed and you can bring the glorious reign of our God to this earth.”

“Yes,” Palook said. “The glorious reign.” There would be much blood and many, many faces that would need to be marked. Of this he knew and was certain. Soon his acolytes, the chosen of them, would be trained so that they too could deliver the mark to the whore.

The day of Palook’s glory was coming. The day when the whores no longer usurped the power but took their rightful place behind their men. The time when this world returned to the natural and sacred order.

“Master, I must go. I return to the whore and her people. I will contact you soon.”

“Watch the returned spy closely. I wish to know that he has delivered the information as I wished him to so that we can begin what we have planned.”

“Yes, master, soon. I will contact you soon.”

The line went dead. Palook looked out at the ocean in front of him. Yes, soon, he would finish the artwork he’d begun on Estrella Leone’s face. Very, very soon.

Chapter Twenty-seven

“Worldwide is pushing two weeks.”

“I want to start on schedule.” Natalie held her phone and walked beside the pool, a wide-brimmed hat shading her face.

“Lydia and Ted think it’s best to wait,” Ari said. “The doctor wants your skin to heal. They can take out the stitches and scarring in post, but they want to give you some time. This is a traumatic event. You were
abducted
, Natalie. A psychopath tried to slice and dice you.”

“They . . . they still haven’t found him.” Natalie whispered into the phone, and her gaze drifted to the trees along the perimeter of her yard. Would she ever feel safe? Was this how Estrella felt every day? Suddenly the thick stone walls of Greystone didn’t seem so cold and foreboding.

“Greystone will find him, the Feds—everyone is after this guy. He can’t hide forever.”

No, but he could hide for years, as he’d done after he harmed Estrella.

“We’re telling the press it was a small car accident that happened on the way home from the premiere. I’m telling people you were upset about your dad and left early. This is how everyone wants it played.”

“I
was
upset about my dad.”

Ari sighed. “I know. You’re an amazing woman with real talent and you don’t deserve all this . . . this shit.”

Natalie squinted. Was Ari going to cry? There was so much emotion in his voice. She looked across the pool, where Remi and Beck stood talking.

“Ted wants you and Beck to take Worldwide’s jet and go Ted’s private island for two weeks. Okay? Greystone and Worldwide are handling security. You’re leaving later today.”

“What?”

“Stacia packed your bags. Beck thinks it’s a good idea. We’ve taken care of everything. You leave in an hour.”

Natalie closed her eyes and nodded. She didn’t like being told what to do, but damn, Ari and everyone who cared about her had agreed, and she’d better start listening to the people around her. “Okay,” she said softly. “Thank you, Ari.”

“Don’t thank me, babe. Just go and try to put this behind you. They’ll get this guy, Nat, I promise, they will.”

Natalie nodded. Estrella and all of Greystone wanted to find Palook. She wasn’t safe, Estrella wasn’t safe. Really, no woman was safe with a madman like Palook and his followers free in the world. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Love you. Remember, Nat, you’re the closest thing to family I’ve got.”

“Kind of pathetic, Ari,” Natalie teased. “Maybe you need a girlfriend or a pet.”

“Too much work. I live for my job. Talk soon. Relax, have a good time, get some rest and come back ready to rock the
Shemax
sequel like only you can.”

Natalie pressed the off button on the phone and slipped it into her pocket. She was the luckiest girl in the world.

Beck walked toward her. “Ari told you? You good with this?”

A tiny smile crossed her lips. She doubted she’d be good with anything for a while. “You’re going with me, right?”

Beck reached out and pulled her into his arms. “I’m going with you forever and for always.”

“Then I’m good. I’ll always be good as long as you’re with me.”

“Remi talked to the doctors—Rico is going to be fine. Thought you’d want to know. And we’re nearly one hundred percent that he didn’t know who Palook was or what he was really after. Don’t get me wrong, he was planning on selling your sex tape for big money to get rid of some gambling debts, but he didn’t know that Palook was really after you.”

Even though Rico was a jerk, Natalie felt better somehow, knowing that he wasn’t a complete dirtbag who would sell her to some sociopath who wanted to cut up her face.

“We also have an agent who’s been in deep cover with Palook for the last nine months. Should be able to give us a lot of inside information about his plans and who he’s after, and possibly even what his next moves are. Remi is getting ready to debrief him.”

“And Jax?”

“Good. Surface wound.”

Natalie took a deep, cleansing breath. She looked up at Beck. He’d saved her, he’d been there for her, he was solid and good and kind and had a strong moral compass. Plus he was hot as hell. “We’re good?”

A slow smile curled over Beck’s lips. “We’re better than good. We’ve got a private plane taking us to a private island. I hear the beaches are amazing.” He lifted one brow and heat pulsed between them. “Not that you’ll be getting out of bed while we’re there.”

Desire, warm and molten, slid through her core. After what they’d both been through, she wanted to be alone, far away, and safe with Beck.

“You ready?”

Natalie nodded and Beck’s arms closed around her. He lifted her chin and pressed his lips to hers.

“Then let’s go, baby. Let’s get out of this place for a while.”

The End

Thank you for reading
Beck
, the first book in The Hollywood Hitman Series. If you enjoyed
Beck
, please take a moment to review the book. Reviews help readers find books, and I am grateful for all reviews.

Want more Hollywood Hitmen? Read about the Greystone Operatives in:

Jax

Hudson

King

Trevor

Clint

Coming soon from Maggie Marr!

Enjoy an excerpt from
Jax
, A Hollywood Hitman Novel

“I need you to crack this computer.” Jax stood over Zed who had the laptop in front of him. The tech guy’s eyes shifted around his head like marbles on a table. Nervous. Jax made Zed nervous. Good. Jax would use that to get what he needed.

“I....I can’t simply break into a laptop that you give to me.”

“Why the hell not?” Jax leaned forward. Why was Zed being difficult?

“There’s protocol and guidelines—”

“Since when?” Jax asked though clenched teeth. “Seems protocol goes right out the window when we’re doing things for one of Greystone’s clients.”

“Is....is this for a Greystone client?” Zed swallowed and tilted his head to the side.

Jax lowered his chin and his voice. “I need the information on that laptop. This is important.”

“But is it for a client? Just...because I can do things, simply because we have the capability to do them at Greystone. Capability doesn’t mean we’re allowed to do it. There are rules, there are—”

“Fuck the rules.” Jax’s words bit out across the giant room and he felt the weight of all the analysts eyes upon him. “You hide behind those fucking rules when it’s convenient and ignore them when you need to.” Jax bit back his anger and again lowered his voice. “And I’m telling you, today, I need you to ignore them.”

The color drained from Zeb’s face. He was the same shade as his lab coat.

“Jax, I can’t—”

“Jax!” A hard voice rang out from the doorway of the room. Jax’s hands balled into fists and he backed away from Zeb. “I need you now.” Jax glanced toward Remi.

He was going to get his ass chewed. That was for damn certain. These ex-military guys at Greystone were all the same and that included Remi. Wanted to believe his shady past made him less than them until they needed his ass to bail them out of some real-world shit they didn’t understand. Jax glanced over his shoulder at Zeb who watched him walk toward Remi. Jax was fed up of all these guys pretending like they had some code-of-conduct when really all he saw was a code-of-conduct that applied to do whatever was necessary to protect whoever could foot Greystone’s bill.

Remi’d be a kickass gambler. His face emoted like a concrete wall. But all that muscle beneath that suit seemed tense. Yeah, Jax could get under Remi’s skin. He had that effect of most the operatives at Greystone.

“What you need,
boss
?” Jax let the words roll out of his mouth pretty certain the tone could get more sarcastic even if he tried.

“Estrella wants to see you. Now.”

Jax’s stomach pitted. He swallowed.

Shit.

Estrella. Yeah, that was the one person...damn, Estrella. She....she got to him. Maybe it was her face. Maybe it was her cool demeanor. Maybe it was the idea that even though she’d been bred and born rich as King Midas that she knew, absolutely-fucking-knew what his Jax’s life had been up until Greystone. Or maybe it was simply that fucking white wolf-dog Pearl that was always next to her. But dam, that woman set him on edge.

“She say why?”

“Only that she has a new assignment she wants to discuss with you. Says it’s perfect for your skill-set.”

A new assignment perfect for his
skill set
? Fuck. What the hell kind of mess had he gotten himself into now?

***

Also by Maggie Marr

Available at Online Retailers

The Hollywood Girls Club Series

Hollywood Girls Club

Secrets of the Hollywood Girls Club

Hollywood Hit

Hollywood Girls Club, the Series

The Eligible Billionaires Series

Can’t Buy Me Love

One Night for Love

A Christmas Billionaire

Last Call for Love

Running from Love

Eligible Billionaires Books 1–3

Eligible Billionaires: The Travati Brothers

A Forever Love

A Billionaire for Christmas

A Convenient Arrangement

A Forbidden Love

Eligible Billionaires: The Rashnikov Brothers

Coming Soon

The Powder Springs Series

Courting Trouble

The Christmas Wish

and coming soon

Candy Cane Lane

The Christmas Promise

The Glamour Series

Hard Glamour

Broken Glamour

Fast Glamour

Easy Glamour

Luxe Glamour

Impossible Glamour

The Glamour Series Books 1–3

The Hollywood Hitman Series

Beck

and coming soon

Jax

King

Hudson

Finn

Ryder

About the Author

Maggie is an author and entertainment attorney and producer. She got her start in Hollywood the old-fashioned way—by pushing the mail cart. Maggie eventually became a motion picture agent, where she attended a multitude of premieres and worked with celebrities. While she won’t name names . . . she will tell stories. When she isn’t taking care of her clients or writing she’s binge watching TV, exercising her rescue pup, or chasing children. Maggie lives and works in Los Angeles.

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Acknowledgements

First and always, thank you to my readers because you rock my world! Thank you to my agent Kristin Nelson, who is always working on my behalf. Thank you to Maria Walsh Connor Green for all your help and assistance; you are the absolute best! Kelley Hawthorne Jefferson, thank you for your wisdom and your guidance and thank you to Caitlyn O’Leary for introducing us. Cami Brite, of Brite Designs, thank you for the cover and the amazing branding. Also, Sylvie Fox, thank you for helping me with the ISBN and all the new info I needed to get this book published. Thank you to my editor, Mackenzie Walton, for your patience and your work. Jennifer Brown, thank you for proofreading and making the final pages shine. Sarah Altman, thank you for making my newsletters look awesome!

Thank you to the organizations that support me and my writing; LARA, OCC-RWA, RWA, WFWA, Let it Rain. You provide me with friendships, wisdom, and the opportunity to serve a community that I love. Thank you to The Lady Jane Salon and The Ripped Bodice for supporting Romance.