MARKED (Hunter Awakened) (2 page)

“Remember Rufus Dietz, the PA I got fired and
arrested for harassing that girl on set last year? Well, he's out
and decided he wanted some payback.”

Todd threw me a sharp look. “Why didn't you
get me?”

I was too annoyed to attempt tact. “Because
you were too busy ogling Bethany Evans.”

He opened his mouth to reply when movement
caught both of our eyes. It took me only a moment to realize that
it was a young boy, probably only ten or twelve years-old, and he
was holding out a dvd for me to sign, most likely from the
superhero flick I'd starred in a couple years ago. I took a step
forward, stretching out my hand, when Todd knocked it aside and
moved between the boy and me.

“Back off!” he yelled.

The boy's eyes went wide and he stopped right
where he was.

“I said back off!” Todd yelled again.

By now, the paparazzi had caught the scent of
metaphorical blood in the water and was moving our way rather than
snapping shots of other guests who were entering or exiting the
club.

“She doesn't want to be bothered.” Todd took
a step towards the kid.

Now, this kid was maybe five feet tall, a
hundred pounds dripping wet, and Todd was over six feet, two
hundred plus points. The intimidation factor here was ridiculous. I
had a feeling Todd was just trying to make up for his lack of
attention in the club, so I moved to diffuse the situation.

“Todd,” I started to protest.

My bodyguard ignored me.

“Move, or I'll fucking make you move.”

I'd had enough. I grabbed Todd's arm. “Leave
him alone.”

I don't know if he was just reacting to the
touch because he was so tense, or if Todd actually realized what he
was doing, but whatever the reason, he swung backwards, his hand
catching me across the side of my face. Pain exploded across my
cheek and I stumbled back a few steps. I could hear the reaction of
the reporters, and then I saw the club's security running towards
me. I held up a hand. This was going to make headlines and I'd be
damned if I let it look like I needed to be rescued.

Todd turned towards me and I could see
arrogance in his dark eyes, but no remorse. He may not have meant
to hit me, but he didn't seem to regret it either. “Sorry.” He said
the word but it fell flat. I knew he didn't mean it. If he had, I
might've forgiven him and let the incident slide.

“You're fired.” I resisted the urge to put my
hand on my throbbing cheek. The make-up department on set was going
to have a fit when they saw this tomorrow. “Give me my car keys and
get the hell away from me. We'll mail your things to you.”

The corner of Todd's mouth twitched as he
reached into his pocket. “Come on, Teal, I said I was sorry.” He
held out the keys.

I stretched out my hand, careful not to touch
him. I wasn't finding this nearly as amusing as he was. Still, I
didn't acknowledge his comment with a reply. He was baiting me,
trying to make me look like the bad guy for not accepting his
apology. If I responded to what he said, he'd find some way to
twist things around on me, maybe make it look like I was drunk. Add
this to the fact that I had kind of assaulted Rufus back in the
club and the press might be on his side, I knew it wasn't a good
idea to engage him. If I walked away and proved that I was sober
and in control, the speculation would remain small. There was one
thing I had to do first though.

I crouched next to the wide-eyed, pale-faced
boy, thankful I'd opted for a skirt long enough to allow me to do
this without flashing everyone. I held out my hand for his dvd and
pen. “Did you want me to sign that for you?”

He nodded mutely, his eyes darting back and
forth between me and Todd. I wanted to look behind me to make sure
Todd wasn't going to try something stupid, but I didn't. I trusted
the club security to make sure Todd didn't do anything else
stupid.

“What's your name?”

“Kyle.”

I scrawled a note on the dvd and then added
my signature. “Here you go, Kyle.” I handed the dvd and pen back to
him. “You have a good night, all right? And you're always welcome
to come talk to me, okay?”

He nodded again, a smile breaking across his
face. He ran off and I straightened. It may have still been fairly
early, but I was ready to call it a night. Only a couple more days
filming and then we were taking a break for Thanksgiving. I was
looking forward to being able to stay at home and not have to go
anywhere. A nice, quiet weekend off was exactly what I needed.

Chapter Two

My phone rang before my alarm went off and I
groaned. I hated it when that happened. I rolled over and looked at
the caller ID. Harrison Kyle. I had a feeling I knew why my agent
was calling me at a quarter till six in the morning. This was a
conversation I wished could wait until after I'd had at least one
cup of coffee, but I knew that Harrison was just keep calling until
I finally answered.

I slid my finger across the screen. “Hi,
Harrison.”

“Teal, what the hell happened last
night?”

I sighed and flopped back onto my pillows. If
I had to do this now, at least I'd be comfortable. I gave Harrison
the quick version, skimming over the actual damage I'd done to
Rufus Dietz as well as my own injury. My cheek was aching and felt
swollen. I really didn't want to look in a mirror any time
soon.

“This is a real media shit storm, Teal.”

“Don't sugar-coat it, Harrison,” I said
dryly. One of the things I'd always liked about my agent was his
blunt manner. After everything that had happened with my parents,
I'd wanted an agent who wasn't going to lie to me, not even to make
me feel better. Harrison had certainly fit the bill, and he hadn't
changed his manner over the past five years.

“Here's how we're going to play this.” He
ignored my comment. “I'm assuming you aren't looking to keep things
nice with Todd.”

The memory of him screaming at the little boy
flashed into my mind. “No. He screwed up and wasn't the least bit
remorseful about it.”

“Good.”

I could hear the pleased note in Harrison's
voice. He loved it when he could take the gloves off. Having to
deal with gossip and publicity came with the territory, and I'd
always tried to play nice with everyone, no matter what they said
about me. Harrison never liked being restricted. This, however, was
different. It hadn't been just words, and it hadn't been just me.
My fans were off limits.

“I'm going send out a press release with an
official statement about what happened last night. All of it,
including how Todd wasn't doing his job when Rufus grabbed you.
That asshole's a pedophile, so I don't think we're going to have
too much problem with the fact that you kicked him in the
nuts.”

I smirked at the memory. I didn't like
hurting people, but in that case, I was willing to make an
exception. Anyone who hurt kids was fair game in my book.

“Fortunately, the press got some great shots
of the confrontation between you and Todd, including him screaming
at that kid and you getting hit.” He paused. “By the way, are you
okay?”

It didn't surprise me that he hadn't asked
before. Another thing that I loved about Harrison was that he
didn't coddle me or try to be a parent. He would ask only if he
cared, though it was often later than most people would've. I
didn't care though. I knew it was genuine.

“Fine,” I said. “It doesn't feel great, but
it's nothing a bit of make-up won't cover.”

“Don't cover it up when you go out,” he
instructed. “I know you don't normally wear make-up when you do
your whole morning routines and I don't want you to today either.
Let the press get some good shots.”

“Okay,” I agreed. I wasn't fond of the
paparazzi, but in situations like this, they did have their
uses.

“I'll take care of answering questions, and
all that. The only other thing I need you to do before you go to
work tonight is hire another nighttime bodyguard.”

I scowled, then winced as the movement pulled
at my sore cheek. “I don't need another bodyguard. I'm fine with
just Paul. He can switch to the night shift and I can do without
one during the day.”

“Not an option, Teal. Especially while Rufus
is out on bail, I want you to have twenty-four hour
protection.”

“I can take care of myself, Harrison.” I sat
up. “I'll have Paul drive me to set and make sure everything's all
clear before he leaves, okay?”

“Teal,” Harrison started.

“I appreciate the concern, Harrison,” I said.
“I'll talk to you later.” I hung up before he could protest
anymore. I didn't want to hire another bodyguard. What was the
point if I just had to do it myself anyway?”

I climbed out of bed and glanced at my clock.
I had an hour to run before my trainer arrived. Kevin wasn't just
an exercise trainer, which is why I'd hired him. He held half a
dozen titles in various forms of fighting, all of which he was
teaching me. Part of it was so that I could do more and more of my
own fighting sequences—our editors were geniuses at editing
together me and my stunt double until it was nearly impossible to
tell who was who—but I'd also wanted to learn how to defend myself.
Last night had just been the justification I needed.

When I came downstairs to go on my run, Paul
was waiting by the door as usual, ready to go with me. He raised
his eyebrows when he caught sight of my face, but the fact that he
didn't say anything told me that he'd already heard about what had
happened, whether on the news or from Harrison, I didn't know. One
of the reasons I liked Paul was his ability to know when I wanted
him to talk and when it was best to be quiet. Our morning run was
one of those quiet times. After we'd finished, he went to shower
and change while I did my ninety minute training session with
Kevin. My trainer enjoyed my story about Rufus, his amusement and
pride lightening some of my dark mood.

By the time I was ready to run my usual
Monday morning slash mid-afternoon errands, I was feeling much
better about the day ahead. Even the paparazzi didn't faze me as
Paul drove me to the grocery store. I ignored their questions and
let them take all of the pictures they wanted. As Harrison had
requested, I'd kept with my usual tradition of not wearing make-up
and the purplish-black bruise on my cheek showed up starkly against
my pale skin. It actually looked worse than it felt.

I knew that word was traveling fast when I
arrived on set and was met by three of my four main co-stars,
Simon, Amy Childs and Bryson Jackson, all of whom were worried if I
was okay. It was no surprise that Summer Cooper wasn't present.
Saying that she and I didn't get along was like saying vampires had
a mild distaste for the sun. My three friends fussed over me as we
went into make-up, and then it was Katie and Sarah’s turn to make
disapproving sounds and lament over how this was going to be
covered for the show.

Despite the attention I received when I first
arrived on set, I was quickly able to put aside everything that had
happened the night before and focus on work. I even turned off my
phone after Harrison called twice more to nag me about hiring a
night bodyguard. I was tired of reminding him that Paul had
double-checked with set security, and even made sure they promised
to walk me to my car when I left at the end of the shoot. I didn't
bother telling Paul or Harrison that I'd only do that if someone
was readily available. I wasn't tracking down someone or waiting
around for someone to be free. I wasn't helpless. I thought I'd
proved that last night against Rufus.

By the time I was done for the night—well,
the early morning actually—I'd all but forgotten that I was
supposed to have someone go with me to the parking lot. The idea
was there, but I just left it buried behind all of the other stuff
that had accumulated through the day. The set was perfectly safe
and no one was going to be out and about at four-thirty in the
morning the week of Thanksgiving.

I kept telling myself that as I walked
through the dimly lit parking lot towards my car. Since the time
when Paul had parked it earlier before taking a cab home, one of
the lot's lights had gone out, leaving it darker than I liked.
Still, I refused to go back and ask for someone to come with me.
That would be like admitting I couldn't handle it myself, and that
wasn't going to happen.

Not even if I was certain that I saw shadows
move in ways that shadows had no business moving. I told myself
that I just had an overactive imagination. That was the same reason
I gave when I heard footsteps behind me. I was just imagining
things. I walked a bit faster, fumbling for my car keys. I was just
eager to get home and get some rest, that's all it was. My pounding
heart said otherwise.

I was still trying to convince myself that
everything was fine when I felt a hand grab a handful of my hair. I
cried out, a sound of surprise and pain rather than any real words.
Before I could yell again, call for help, the person who had my
hair slammed my head against the side of a nearby car.

If I'd thought a backhand to the cheek had
hurt, it was nothing compared to the pain shooting through my head.
My legs gave out and I was sure that this was it. I was going to
pass out and be completely defenseless. Suddenly, the hand in my
hair was gone and I dropped to the ground. Just as the world
started to go dark, someone began to scream.

Chapter Three

The first thing I noticed was that my head
felt fuzzy. Not like just waking up fuzzy. More like medicine
fuzzy. I'd never done drugs, but I imagined that it felt a lot like
this. It made it kind of hard to think. Why was I waking up with my
head being fuzzy? I didn't remember taking anything the night
before. I wasn't sick and I only took sleeping aids when my
schedule was screwed up. And even then, they never made me feel
like this. It was like I had cotton candy in my brain. I didn't
like it. The brain thing. Not the cotton candy. I actually liked
cotton candy... my ramblings were proving my point.