Home Bound (3 page)

“Yes. I’ve done my homework.”

I waited to hear about what homework he’d done, but he didn’t offer any details. His eyes raked over me, leaving me feeling almost naked.

What the hell was with this guy’s attitude, anyway?

“Okay. Any thoughts then?”

“Not yet, but I just got here.” His eyes narrowed, and they shifted from me to the rest of the dressing room—which was small and simple, with none of the luxury I was used to. His gaze rested on the large bouquet of roses and orchids, which Jimmy had ordered for me to brighten up the sparse room.

“Okay,” I said again, feeling half-awkward and half-annoyed. Now, I was the first to admit that my life had been privileged in a lot of ways, and people probably went out of their way to please me—just based on my fame and my money. But I couldn’t believe that this guy’s rudeness would be acceptable, no matter who he was talking to. “Just so you know, my current security isn’t too happy about the fact that I brought you in.”

“I could tell. But you shouldn’t get in a fuss about that, since your staff could be part of the problem here.”

“What?” My response was torn between annoyance at his patronizing tone in saying I might “make a fuss” and concern about the idea that my staff was a problem. “What are you talking about?”

“There might be a reason why these threats keep getting through to you, even though you should have more than enough protection. You need to look at your staff.”

I stiffened my shoulders, really bothered by this idea. Obviously, it had occurred to me as a possibility, but I only had a small number of people who worked for me, and they’d all been with me for years. I couldn’t believe any of them would be responsible for something so nasty—something obviously intended to hurt me.

It made me even more scared. Even more vulnerable.

“This is why you brought me in,” the guy said tersely. “Getting pissy about it isn’t going to help.”

I blinked, trying to figure out what he was talking about. Maybe it was the headache, or maybe it was because people normally went out of their way to be nice to me, but it took me several seconds to realize that he thought I was being pissy.

He thought
I
was being pissy.

I sucked in a sharp breath. “There’s no reason to talk that way to me. And I wasn’t inclined to be pissy until you came in here with that attitude.”

“There’s no attitude.” He met my eyes and seemed to tower over me, although I was tall and he was only a few inches taller. “I’m here to do a job. I don’t waste my time with sugar-coating things. I’ll keep you safe, and I’ll find out who’s doing this to you, but I don’t cater to princesses or prima donnas.”

I was so shocked and outraged that I almost sputtered. I felt my cheeks blaze hot, and my fingers tightened at my sides. I actually wanted to slug this guy. I couldn’t remember the last time I fought that particular instinct.

Before I could get any word spoken—much less the frigid set-down his obnoxiousness deserved—Cali reappeared in the doorway.

“They want you out front for the read-through,” she said, looking curiously between the two of us, as if she’d sensed something was off.

I cleared my throat. “I’ll talk to you later,” I said to the guy, hoping I sounded appropriately dismissive. “What’s your name, anyway?”

He’d moved to leave immediately, but he paused at my last question. Turning his head to give me a cool look, he said, “I’m Cole.”

Cole. The name fit him somehow, although Coal would be even more appropriate.

Deciding the thing that would annoy him the most was to not react to his rudeness, I had a sudden inspiration. “If you’ll excuse me, Cole,” I said with my sweetest of smiles, “We can talk later.”

He blinked, looking briefly surprised, but then he narrowed his eyes as he shot me one last look and left the room.

I blew out a sigh as I watched his tight butt and strong back leave the room.

As soon as I got a break, I was going to call Sebastian. There was no way I was going to put up with this asshole for more than a day.

***

“J
ust give him some time,” Sebastian said, sounding like he was smiling on the other end of the phone. “It takes a while to warm up to him, but Cole is a good guy.”

“I don’t care what kind of goodness is buried beneath the surface. I don’t have time or patience to try to find it. I need help now, and this guy is rude and hostile and inappropriate, and I don’t want him hanging around me.” I was alone in my dressing room now after a first read-through, but I glared at the closed door, where Cole had been standing earlier that morning.

“He’s all we can send you. The rest of us are booked up right now.”

“Why can’t you come out? I’d much rather have you here.”

“I know, but it’s just not going to work right now. Cole is just as good as I am. Better, probably. If anyone can take care of this business for you, it’s him.”

“Well, can’t you tell him to try to be nice? I’m under enough stress without putting up with his attitude.”

“I’ll talk to him.”

“It’s not like we have to be friends, but I don’t think it’s too much to expect some basic courtesy.”

Sebastian chuckled. “It might be too much to expect out of Cole, but I’ll talk to him.”

“I mean, normal people don’t pick a fight on first meeting someone. It’s like he has something against me, before he’s even really met me.”

“It’s not personal. It’s just his way.”

“Well, he needs to change his way, because I’m not going to put up with it.”

“You shouldn’t have to put up with it.” He sounded like he was smiling again. “Let him have it. I promise he deserves it.”

“I know he deserves it. Asshole.” I wasn’t sure why I was getting so riled up about the guy. A two-minute conversation shouldn’t have bugged me so much. I breathed out, telling myself to calm down and not get so bothered by something so unimportant.

“He really got on your bad side quick. You’re usually pretty easy-going.”

“I know! But I’m telling you he was horrible. I’ll pay you double if you come out and send him away.”

Sebastian laughed out loud. “I’m sorry, Evangeline. But it has to be Cole. What’s he doing now, anyway?”

“I don’t know. He’s probably interrogating my staff some more. My assistant said he gave her the third-degree for almost an hour. I mean, Cali has been with me since I was thirteen. Does he think she’s suddenly turned into some sort of crazed stalker?”

“He’s probably just trying to get background information. Be patient. I promise Cole will be able to help.”

“He better. Okay, I’ve got to get going.”

“I’ll talk to Cole and tell him to try to rein in his worst instincts.”

“There’s going to be an awful lot to rein in,” I muttered, before I said goodbye and hung up.

This whole situation sucked. It was bad enough to know that someone was threatening me.

It was even worse to have to put up with a guy like Cole in order to keep myself safe.

I honestly wasn’t sure which was worse.

Cole

“I
f you’re calling to check up on me and lecture me on catering to your little princess friend, I’m not interested.” As soon as I’d seen Sebastian’s name on my phone, I knew he was calling to bitch at me. Well, maybe not bitch, but certainly to lecture. No doubt the diva had called and cried because I didn’t bow down and fall all over myself in her presence.

Worst. Job. Ever.

“Man, don’t you ever get tired of being such a pain in the ass?” Sebastian asked wearily. “I mean, honestly, it’s exhausting for the rest of us to have to deal with you. Why can’t you just, you know, be normal?”

“I hate to break it to you, but this is normal for me. If she’s already running to you and crying, that’s her problem. I’m not here to be her friend or part of her fan club. I’ve got a job to do.”

“I get that, Cole, but can’t you do the job without being so freaking difficult?”

“How was I being difficult? She finally arrives here, and after playing the giggly school girl with her fan club, she allows me to hold court with her. I walk into her dressing room and she’s napping. Fucking napping! It was only like...nine in the morning! Who does that?”

Sebastian sighed. “Who cares who does that? You didn’t have to be rude to her.”

I was just about ready to punch something. “I wasn’t rude. I was me. That’s it. I walked in, I took in the surroundings, and looked for anything that was maybe a little...off. She wanted to play at being the happy hostess, and I wasn’t in the mood. Like I said, I’ve got a job to do, and she needs to respect that and stop being so damn sensitive.”

“Okay, fine. Whatever. What are your thoughts so far?”

“Her security team is a joke. Honestly. They all like her, and as long as they’re just dealing with screaming teenage girls and only have to stand there like a wall, they’re fine. None of them are trained for anything beyond that. I’ve seen mall security with higher training.”

“Fabulous. Now what?”

“I’m going to work with the guys a bit to teach them what they need to be looking for, and I’ve suggested they all work on their...shall we say...physical fitness.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means they’re big, but not in a way that’s going to help anyone if we have to actually move and run.”

Silence.

“They’re fat, Sebastian. They’ve been riding the diva’s coattails and spending too much time around the catering truck, eating donuts. They’re in no shape to do much good if someone physically came around and threatened her.”

Sebastian snickered.

“What? What’s so funny?”

“You’re just like Declan was.”

“What do you mean?”

“When he was on the case where he met Kristin and he was guarding the child pageant star. He refused to say her name, and you’re doing the same exact thing.”

I swiped a hand across my face and sighed loudly. “It’s a ridiculous name.”

“You’re going to have to say it eventually. You cannot keep on with referring to Evangeline as ‘her’ or ‘the princess’ or ‘the diva’.”

“How about pain in the ass? Can I use that one?”

“Not funny, Cole. I’m serious. Evangeline is a close friend—practically family—and I need to know that you’re not messing with her and that you’re committed to taking care of her.”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, but under protest. I need you to let go of why you don’t want to be there and put that energy into finding out who is doing this to her.”

The thing is, I knew he was right. I knew I needed to quit feeling so defensive and do what I was being paid to do, but everything about this case just bugged me. This person...this...
Evangeline
...grew up with every creature comfort and privilege that a kid could want. She was rich and famous by the time she was twelve. She had no idea what it was like to struggle for anything.

Even now with this stalker situation, she was still very protected, and there was still the possibility of this being more a nuisance than a genuine danger. And she didn’t even have to deal with it herself—she was paying other people to take care of it for her.

Spoiled brat.

“Cole?”

“Yeah, what? I’m here.”

“You got quiet,” Sebastian said, the weariness back in his voice. “Look, I really want to be able to trust you on this. We’ve got Ali’s graduation this weekend, and I’m trying to keep her calm and focused. This trip we’re going on is a surprise, and that’s where I need my attention to be, so please, man. Do this for me. Tone down the attitude and just...find out who’s scaring Evangeline.”

Every time Sebastian said her name, I wanted to snort with disgust. Such a stupid name. I pushed the thought aside and focused on Seb. He was a good guy, and he’d had my back more times than I probably deserved. “Okay. Fine. I’ll lighten up a bit. But know this, I’m taking this job seriously, and that means I need to focus and not be bothered stroking this chick’s ego. Tell her to do her job, and I’ll do mine, and hopefully we won’t need to be in each other’s faces hardly at all.”

“I suppose that’s all I can ask for.”

“Yeah, it is.”

“Keep me posted, Cole. I’m going to be around until Saturday night. Our flight leaves at eight, and then I’d like to be able to put the phone away for a couple of days, if you know what I mean.”

“Uh, sure. Luckily, I was able to crack that code,” I said sarcastically. “Don’t worry about things here. Go and be the doting fiancé, and I’ve got things covered on my end. If anything comes up, I’ll reach out to Levi or Declan.”

“But if it’s really serious...”

“Seb, I get it. She’s your friend and you’re concerned. I’m on it. Go and enjoy yourself, and tell Ali congratulations.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it. And Cole?”

“Yeah?”

“I owe you.”

I chuckled as I hung up and mumbled, “You have no idea.”

***

T
he problem I was seeing with the entire situation so far was that there were way too many people around. This set claimed to be “closed,” but it was in the middle of freaking downtown Baltimore. The first days just on the primary set were bad enough—especially the alley scenes—but then they would start filming elsewhere in Baltimore, where it would get a hundred times worse. There was no way to keep things completely under control in the middle of this circus.

Last count there were about a hundred people on the film crew milling around, and that didn’t include the actors and their entourages, the extras, and the food people, and whoever else got a day-pass to be here. It was a nightmare.

I walked the perimeter of the set. They weren’t even filming today. They were just getting ready and setting up for tomorrow. The cast was off in a locked room reading lines. I hadn’t seen...Evangeline...since this morning. Sebastian’s words came back to haunt me, and I knew he was right. I had to address her by name and be a professional, but that name just didn’t roll off the tongue, you know?

The production company had their own security people, and I managed to get some time with them to discuss what could be done to secure the area a little more. Their head guy was a little annoyed with my presence, but I really didn’t care. By the time I walked away from him, he knew better than to second guess me.