The Price of Fame - KJ1 (16 page)

Lynn Ames

professional distance from that gorgeous woman down the hall was proving to be damn near impossible for her.

Still, she was determined to play this by Jay’s rules, and she had no intention of inviting any more rejections of her affectionate overtures.

She was surprised, truthfully, at how much that gentle rebuke had hurt.

Shaking her head to clear it, she set the alarm for 5:15 a.m. It was already 12:25 a.m., and it was going to be a short night for her, but she had an appointment to keep at 6:00 a.m. and she couldn’t be late.

Down the hall, Jay finished unpacking her clothes and toiletries.

Biting her lip, she had to fight hard the urge to sneak down the hall and crawl into bed with the blue-eyed knockout she just couldn’t seem to get enough of. No, she didn’t think that would qualify as professional detachment somehow; instead, she took a quick cold shower and put on her sleepwear, going to the bed and turning down the covers. What she found there caused her to laugh out loud in delighted surprise.

Sitting underneath the covers were three original issue Green Lantern comic books and a flashlight. The note taped to the first cover read:
“In
case you have trouble sleeping, I thought you might enjoy these. Sweet
dreams, Princess. See you in the morning. K.”

That woman is just too much. Is there anything she doesn’t think of?

Jay scooped up the comics, turned on the flashlight, turned out the light and settled down to read
The Adventures of the Green Lantern.

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The Price of Fame

t precisely 7:58 a.m., a disheveled-looking blonde appeared in Athe kitchen, smiling when she caught sight of the coffee, tea, and choices of orange, tomato, and grape juice on the counter. She picked up the note:
“Good morning, sunshine, I wasn’t sure which was your
poison, so I thought I’d cover my bases. After all, this is a five-star
resort. Follow the light to your right and open the door to a world of
total fitness. K.”

Jay turned to the right and noticed an open door leading to a set of stairs. She was struck immediately by a sense of déjà vu as she descended. From above, she had a perfect view of a well-equipped gym and a magnificent body in a pair of short running shorts and a cropped tshirt, perfectly sculpted abdominal muscles glistening with sweat. She smiled as she thought about the last time she had seen that particular sight, the very first time, in fact, that she had ever laid eyes on Kate so many years ago in school.

Jay whistled tunelessly as she cut through the cemetery on her way to
the field house. She needed a break from the paper she was working on
and she thought going for a nice, long swim might be just the thing to
help distract her for a while. Open swim would be going on for another
hour or so, so she took her time.

She wandered past the doors to the basketball court, down the
corridor with coaches’ offices lining either side, and took the stairs to the
second floor. She started toward the women’s locker room at the end of
the hallway, but something caught her eye. She backed up and looked in
the glass at the newly remodeled weight room. The facility housed
several circuits of Nautilus equipment, free weights, treadmills, and
stationery bikes. But what the young co-ed noticed was the lone figure
lying prone on the chest press bench, lifting an enormous amount of
weight without so much as a grimace. The woman had her back to the
window, but Jay could see her quite clearly in the mirror on the opposite
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Lynn Ames

wall. The weightlifter wore only a sports bra and a pair of short running
shorts. The muscles in her chest were prominent and her abdominals
were well toned.
Wow,
she thought.
That is the most magnificent creature I have ever laid eyes on.

Still is,
Jay sighed. “You have a complete Nautilus circuit in your basement?”

“Well, what kind of five-star resort would this be without one?”

“You have a point there. Good morning, Kate, thanks for the coffee and juice, by the way.”

“You’re quite welcome. Did you sleep well?”

“I made it through one and a half comics before I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. Where in the world did you find those, anyway?”

“I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you. And I hate to be violent so early in the morning, it interrupts my routine.”

“You have lost your mind,” her guest laughed, noticing that her friend’s gaze was glued to a television strategically placed on a wall that could be seen from every machine. Reaching the bottom step, she guffawed, “You mean to tell me you’re watching reruns of
Charlie’s
Angels
?”

“Naturally, what else would you work out to?”

“Is that why the workout is scheduled at precisely 8:00 a.m. and the run at 9:01? I wondered about the timing.”

“It might be,” Kate pretended to be defensive.

“Okay, favorite angel.”

“That’s easy, Farrah Fawcett; Cheryl Ladd was a close second.”

“No, no, you’ve got it all wrong; Jaclyn Smith had it all over those two.”

“Hey, to each her own, missy. Most disappointing development?”

“Simple, losing Cheryl and Kate and adding Shelley Hack and Tanya Roberts.”

“Can’t disagree with you there, that’s for sure.”

Having settled that critical piece of business, the “fitness trainer”

handed her guest a set of workout gloves and the two women set about their routines. It wasn’t easy, since each had one eye on the other and the second on the television where Farrah was chasing down one of the bad guys on a racetrack in her Mustang. Kate had to work hard to keep from drooling at her workout partner, who was appealingly tousled and wore a form-fitting sleeveless workout top and a brief pair of nylon shorts.
Good
Lord,
Kate thought to herself.
As if I wasn’t having enough trouble
controlling my libido. Well, I could always blame it on Farrah if my
drool starts to show.

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The Price of Fame

She helped Jay adjust the machines to fit her stature and tried to refrain from making too many short jokes in the process. The petite blonde only called her companion “Stretch” once, and they considered that they were even. At 8:58 a.m. as the credits rolled, the hostess turned off the television and gestured for her friend to precede her up the stairs.

The two spent several minutes stretching side by side before heading to the front door.

Once on the street, the writer thought to ask, “Just how far are we going, anyway?”

“I usually go five miles, but we can go shorter or longer as you like.

What’s your pleasure?”

It took much self-control for Jay not to tell the blue-eyed woman exactly what her “pleasure” would be right then, as it sure as shooting wasn’t in keeping with the phrase “professional detachment.” Out loud she said, “Five is fine.” In truth, that was her usual distance, as well, and she was inordinately glad that she had kept up with her fitness regimen since college; matching Kate’s long stride was going to be no mean feat.

The long-legged woman led them through tree-lined streets and onto a path that followed along the Mohawk River. Along the way, she pointed out spots of interest and explained a bit about the history of the area.

“It’s beautiful, Kate, I can only imagine what it’s like when the leaves are changing in the fall.”

Before she could think about what it meant, Kate said, “Guess you’ll just have to see for yourself, then.”

Jay felt a happy thrill go up her spine at the prospect. “Yes, I guess I will,” she smiled up at her companion.

As they looped around to head back toward the house, a man appeared out of the shadow of a large oak tree, brandishing a long butcher knife and waving it at the anchorwoman menacingly. His eyes glazed and spittle forming at the corners of his mouth, he didn’t seem to take any notice of the other runner. In one easy move, Kate put herself between the man and Jay.

“I told you you were going to be mine, cunt, and I meant it. All those nights you been taunting me in my livin’ room, begging me to take you.

Well, here I am, are you ready?”

Jay was frightened beyond words, but her mind registered that the maniac knew exactly who her friend was. How did he know she would be there at this moment? He must have been watching her. The thought made her blood run cold.

Needing to buy them some time and keep him as far away from them as she could, Kate addressed her assailant as her mind flashed on the thought that being confronted by him might set off Jay’s memories of 101

Lynn Ames

that night in college. That angered her more than having to deal with the lunatic. “I got your letters, what is it that I’ve done to offend you?”

Becoming enraged, the man took a step closer. Kate reached behind her and put one hand on Jay’s waist to make sure she knew precisely where she was and to let her companion know to stay behind her. “I seen the way you look at that bastard. I ain’t stupid, you know. I know what’s going on between you two.”

“You mean Gerry, my co-anchor? What is it you think is going on?”

He took another step, and Kate put subtle pressure on Jay’s waist letting her know to back up a pace, which they both did. The foam was flying from the deranged man’s mouth. “Don’t play with me, cunt,” he roared, “I’m gonna put an end to it right here.” Lurching forward, he began to come at her, still seemingly unaware that there was another person present.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kate caught movement to her right, coming from the direction of the street. As the maniac took one last lunge at her, she used the hand she had resting on her friend’s waist to throw her to the side, out of harm’s way. At the same time, she pivoted in the opposite direction, and her assailant stumbled past her. Within seconds, two uniformed police officers and a detective had tackled the man and disarmed him.

Running to where Jay lay several feet away on the grass, Kate reached out her hand and pulled her to her feet and into a hug. “Are you okay?”

Jay nodded into the chest she was pressed against.

“It’s over now. Can you stay here by yourself for a second?”

Another nod.

Kate walked over to where the detective was speaking into a two-way radio. The uniformed men already had the suspect on his feet and were leading him up to the street and the waiting squad car. “Hi, Bob, that was a little close for comfort.”

“I’ll say,” the detective wheezed, clearly out of breath. “It took us a while to figure out where he was hiding. We saw him watch you leave the house, and then we lost him in the trees for a few minutes. That was some fancy footwork there, for a desk jockey, Ms. Kyle.”

“Thanks...I think. You’re sure this idiot was acting alone, right? Is it finally over now?”

“Yes, we’re confident that we’ve got him and you’ll be safe now.”

“Good work, Detective, and thanks, I owe you,” she smiled at him.

The plainclothesman blushed and scuffed his shoe on the ground.

“Just doing our jobs, Ms. Kyle. Thanks for your patience, we’ll be in touch.” And with that, he, too, headed off in the direction of the street.

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The Price of Fame

Standing several feet away, Jay heard the entire exchange. When her friend turned to her, she said, “This wasn’t random.” It was a statement, not a question. “You knew he was stalking you.”

“No, Jay, I knew he had been threatening me,” Kate corrected gently.

“I had no idea he would take it to that level, or I never would have had you anywhere near me.” She was cursing herself for not thinking of her friend’s safety.

The emerald eyes flashed with anger. “Me. You’re worried about me?

Katherine Kyle, that man wanted to kill you!”

“He didn’t know what he wanted, he wasn’t rational, Jay.”

“He could have killed you,” Jay said softly, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.

“Hey.” Kate lifted her friend’s chin, gently wiping the tears away with her thumbs. When the green eyes finally met blue, she continued.

“Hey, the point is that nobody got hurt, and he’ll get the help he so desperately needs. I was well protected, as you can see.”

“How did the police know to come here?”

The anchorwoman blew out an explosive breath; she wouldn’t lie to Jay. “I’ve been getting letters from this guy for months now. Lately they’ve been getting more violent and more explicit. When the rhetoric escalated, I went to station management and the police were brought in.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “When you’re in the public eye like I am, unfortunately sometimes things like this happen. Usually it isn’t this serious.”

“Thank God for small favors,” the blonde mumbled, adding with a hint of sarcasm, “I feel much better now. You still didn’t answer how the police knew to come to this spot.”

“I’m pretty much a creature of habit, Jay, I follow the same routine almost every morning. The police have been watching my house and me for weeks now, just in case something like this happened. I knew they wouldn’t be too far away.”

Jay still was not satisfied. “That was too close; he could have killed you before they had a chance to get here.”

Kate looked into sea green eyes that brimmed with more unshed tears and obvious concern. “He didn’t, and he won’t be hurting anyone now, I promise. Let’s just go home, okay?”

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

When they arrived in the kitchen, Fred was waiting for them, tennis ball in mouth. Kate looked at Jay apologetically. “I usually spend a few minutes with the big guy playing ball in the back yard before breakfast; I know you must be starving.” In truth, she thought a good, fun distraction 103

Lynn Ames

might be just the thing to take her friend’s mind off of what had just happened.

“Are you kidding me,” Jay said gamely. “Nothing like a good game of fetch to get your blood pumping in the morning when nothing else has.”