MARKED (Hunter Awakened) (4 page)

I doubted he and his previous clients had
spent much time outside the bedroom. He'd behaved like a perfect
gentleman with me, not even a hint of a leer on his handsome face,
but I'd seen the way his eyes had flickered over me, as if
wondering what I was wearing underneath my sweater and jeans, and
if it would be an improvement over his prior clients.

The second man who came in had been in his
mid-fifties and had looked completely lost when I'd talked about
various clubs or made references to various aspects of the movie /
television business. Apparently, he'd spent most of his life
guarding CEOs and trust-fund babies. Unfortunately, I needed
someone who knew the business enough that if I said we had a three
o'clock call time, he wouldn't need me to explain what that meant.
I had enough on my plate at the moment that I didn't have the time
to train someone.

Applicant number three had been a baby-faced
eighteen who'd kept calling me ma'am. He also hadn't been able to
look me in the eye more than once, and that single time had been
enough to make him blush a bright red. Number four had been more
interested in telling me how much he'd loved all of the movies and
TV shows that I'd been in than in actually applying for a job.

Five had talked to me like I was an idiot,
citing his numerous college degrees as if a BA in physics was
really going to be relevant to what I needed. I was still trying to
determine if the attitude had been because I was young, female or
an actress, but it didn't really matter. Arrogance aside, he wasn't
nearly as smart as he'd thought he was.

The young man sitting across from me at the
moment looked to be in his early twenties and the expression on his
face said that he wanted to be anywhere but here. He was wearing
the same suit as the other men, but his tie had been loosened, the
top two buttons of his shirt undone. I'd never been a stickler for
dress codes, but a job interview usually merited being a bit more
well-groomed. Besides his appearance, Mr. Clayton Ames was
slouching in his chair, sullenly staring at a spot above my
head.

I'd had about enough. “Mr. Ames, do you even
want this job?”

The question was blunt enough to get his
attention. He looked over at me and I could see that his eyes were
blood-shot. He was totally stoned.

“We're done here.” I looked up at Paul and he
nodded. It was good to know that he hadn't approved of any of these
men either. Paul didn't talk much, but we appeared to be on the
same page. “Thank you for coming in.”

Ames blinked blearily at me, then pushed
himself out of the chair. I waited until he was out of the room
before closing my eyes and resting my forehead against my hand. I'd
been afraid things would go this way. I tended to be picky about
who my guards were in the first place—no brainless walls of muscle
or scary ex-cons—but this group had been below most people's
standards. It had taken me three months to find Paul, and it had
been Harrison's insistence at a quick pick that had resulted in
Todd being hired. I wasn't going to make that mistake again.

“Excuse me?”

A soft voice came from the doorway.

I opened my eyes... and stared. The man
standing in the doorway had dark brown hair that fell across his
forehead in a way that made my fingers itch to push it back. His
face was classically handsome, the kind of face that would've
looked good in any time period, no matter how ridiculous the hair
or dress. He was tall, close to six and a half feet, and muscular,
easily dwarfing Paul, who was by no means small. All of that was
peripheral though, even the high cheekbones and jawline that most
models would've envied.

Once I met his eyes, everything else faded
away. They were a pale green, like no eyes I'd ever seen before.
Like the first bud of spring, just barely peeking out, not yet
darkened by the sun. Like the first shoots of grass poking up
through the melting snow. Even that wasn't quite right. When I'd
been a kid, one of the few times I'd been allowed to do normal
childhood things and color, I'd seen a crayon that said it was sea
green. I didn't know why it called itself that since the ocean
wasn't that shade of green, but I'd loved that color.

That was the closest I could get to this
man's eyes. And it wasn't just the color that I found so
mesmerizing. There was a depth to this man's eyes that made me
think I could get lost in them. They were full of heartache, loss
and pain, hidden by wisdom, compassion and an intensity that made
me shiver. He only looked like he was a couple years older than me,
but his eyes said that he was an old soul already.

“Miss Rhines?”

He'd taken several steps into the living room
without me noticing. His voice was low, cultured, with just a hint
of an accent that I couldn't quite place. I could feel my cheeks
growing hot as I realized that I'd been staring.

“Yes, I'm Teal Rhines.” I stood, fighting the
light-headedness that threatened to make me sway. I didn't show
weakness in front of my closest friends. I sure as hell wasn't
going to show it in front of a complete stranger. “You'll have to
forgive me, it's been a long day.”

“I am hoping that this means you have not yet
made a final decision regarding the open position.” He moved
smoothly in front of the seat and held out his hand. “I am Elias
Bane.”

His hand was cool, his grip firm, not that
different from the six other men I'd interviewed earlier. What was
new, however, was the electricity-like tingle that ran up my
arm.

“I thought the agency only sent over six
people.” I almost smacked myself. That was a stupid thing to
say.

One corner of Elias's mouth quirked upwards.
“I was not sent by an agency. I am here of my own accord.”

Based on looks alone, I would've said Elias
was twenty-three, twenty-four. The way he spoke, however, made him
seem much older. I wondered if that was due to whatever language
was his native tongue. I still couldn't place that accent. Against
my better judgement, I was intrigued. I made a gesture. “Please,
sit.”

We both sat and I found myself feeling much
more alert than I'd felt all day. “So, Elias, you want to be my
bodyguard. Do you have a résumé? References?”

He held out an envelope that I hadn't seen
him carrying. While he silently waited, I opened the envelope and
withdrew several sheets of paper. It took me a couple of minutes to
read through them, but he didn't say a word, letting me take my
time. Everything looked very impressive. Still, there was something
about this man that I couldn't put my finger on, something that
made me think that he wasn't being entirely honest.

“I work on a show that shoots primarily at
night, which means that your shift would start at eight o'clock at
night. You would pick me up here, drive me to set and stay there
until I'm done, which is usually about five o'clock. You'd then
bring me back here, do your rounds until Paul arrives at eight. On
the nights I stay in, you wouldn't be required to be here unless I
specifically needed you, but when I'm filming, it's pretty
continuous.

There isn't much time off. I do have a few
people I can call in an emergency, but this is a time-consuming
job.” I wasn't sure why I sounded like I was trying to talk him out
of it. I both liked and disliked the idea of those eyes on me all
of the time. They made things in my stomach squirm.

“I prefer a night shift,” Elias said. “It is
one of the reasons I love cities. So many opportunities for those
like myself who would rather work at night.”

There was one issue out of the way.

“As for the amount of time this job would
entail, I have no difficulties with working many hours. I have no
family and, if my work is enjoyable, I do not mind being about it
for long periods of time. You will find that I need very little in
the way of rest or vacation time.”

Full dedication should've set off warning
bells. No one was that enthusiastic about their job, not unless
they were some sort of stalker, but I wasn't getting that stalkery
vibe off of Elias. He seemed sincere, and there was nothing in his
portfolio that I would've normally seen as a red flag. The praise
wasn't too elaborate and there were none of the buzz words that I'd
learned to look for, words that employers would put in references
to let another potential employer know about a problem. Everything
appeared to be in order.

I glanced at Paul who shrugged. For Paul,
that was as much of an endorsement as anyone was going to get.
Still, I hesitated. It just seemed too good to be true. A mystery
man who just happened to know about the job and have all the
perfect qualifications? And not only that, he was extremely
attractive too? I had a bad feeling that this was one of those
things that was going to come back and bite me in the ass.

But, as I looked at him, I found that I
couldn't turn him away. It was almost like there was this
connection between us, something stronger than both of us, that was
tying us together. I've always been a big believer in fate and
destiny, and I was certain that Elias was part of that, though I
didn't know what part he would play.

I held out my hand again. “Congratulations,
Elias. You start tomorrow evening. Come by around seven-thirty so
we can get all of the paperwork in order.”

He smiled as he shook my hand. “Thank you
very much, Miss Rhines. I shall see you tomorrow.”

As he walked away, I couldn't help, but feel
like he was trying to hurry away before he said or did something
that he'd regret. What in the world had I gotten myself into?

Chapter Five

After Elias left, I knew I needed to call
Harrison and tell him that I'd found someone. I'd have no peace
until I did. It was a true testament to how concerned he was that I
had six text messages and three voicemails. None were frantic, but
I knew it wouldn't be a good idea to put it off. As Paul did his
rounds to make sure the house was secure now that everyone had
left, I made the call.

“Before you say anything.” Harrison was
talking before I could get a word out. “I'm sorry about the
selection. Two of their best guards are on vacation, one retired
and one broke his leg skiing. The pool was very small—”

“Harrison,” I interrupted. “Yeah, those guys
weren't very good, but there was a walk in.”

“Tell me you didn't hire someone outside of
the agency.” Harrison's tone changed from one of apology to a
sharper one. “They do thorough background checks on every
employee.”

I ignored his protest. “I'm faxing over the
information. Have your PI dig around all you want.”

“That was dangerous of you to let this guy in
without anyone vetting him first.” Harrison's bluster amused me. He
never trusted the agency's background checks. He always did his
own, and even they didn't always work. Case in point, my recently
fired buddy Todd. I wasn't sure anything the PI had dug up could've
predicted just exactly how big of a bastard he had turned out to
be. Then again, maybe the PI's needed to report on everything
rather than just the things they thought were relevant.

Maybe we would've seen Todd being an ass to
some kid. I made a mental note to talk to Harrison about that at a
later time. At the moment, I just wanted to finish the
conversation, get a good book and relax for the rest of the night.
Maybe with some hot chocolate. I was going to be working my ass off
to catch up from being out today. I might as well do what I was
supposed to be doing. Resting. It wasn't like I got that much of it
when we were filming. Bed between six and seven, up again around
noon and no later than one, and pretty much running from the time
she woke up until she laid down again.

I pressed the send button on the fax.
Harrison was still talking. He did like to listen to himself. I
waited for him to take a breath and then cut in. “Harrison, I sent
over the papers. Look it over. The guy's good. Besides, I had Paul
give me the nod of approval.”

“Paul approved?” Harrison asked, intrigue and
reluctance making for an interesting combination. “He didn't like
Todd.”

“Exactly,” I said. “So I'm trusting his
opinion.”

“Please tell me you at least aren't having
him stay at the house tonight.”

“How stupid do you think I am, Harrison?” I
asked good-naturedly. “He's starting tomorrow with taking me to the
set. And don't say that I shouldn't be going in yet. I'm going to
rest tonight and I'll be fine by tomorrow night.”

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

I knew better than to try to lie to Harrison.
“My head's hurting a bit, but no worse than a normal headache.”

“Make sure you're actually resting, Teal. No
reading scripts or memorizing lines. Nothing work related.”

“You act like you know me or something,” I
joked. “I promise, Harrison. I won't do anything even remotely
responsible other than following the doctor's orders.”

“Good.” His voice softened. “Take care of
yourself, kiddo.”

“Will do.” I smiled even though he couldn't
see me. “I'll talk to you tomorrow, I'm sure.”

“Damn right.” He was back to being gruff.
“Night.”

He hung up before I could reply and I
completely understood. Wouldn't want things getting to emotional
between us, right? After I'd been emancipated, another actor who'd
been in a similar situation a few years before had recommend I hire
Harrison. I'd been skeptical at first. After all, I hadn't been
able to trust my parents, how could I trust a stranger? Gradually,
I'd come to realize that Harrison was a good man. I wouldn't say he
was like a father to me, but I could see him being like an
overprotective brother or uncle. I could only imagine what his
reaction would have been if he'd known that I thought Elias was
cute.

Dating was always an interesting mine field
in Hollywood, I thought as I gathered my things together for a
shower. You had your bad boys and girls who were with a new person
every other week, usually other bad boys or girls, and often
crossing from actors to musicians and sometimes delving into the
athletic pool. Then you had the media darlings. These could range
from power couples where both were huge stars in their respective
fields, to the cutesy ones who generally fell in love on set. They
were always in the public eye and everyone knew everything about
them.