Saving Alexander (10 page)

Sage flushed, wishing this propensity for blushing would disappear.
It’s a real bloody nuisance
, he thought, conscious of Alex’s eyes on him.

“You say the nicest things, Luke. Yes, I’m doing a charity function next week, wearing some designer’s new suits or something. As for Maddox, I’d have thought she would have been the one most people were focusing on. She has the longest legs I’ve ever seen on a woman. She’s a stunner.”

Luke chuckled. “As the saying goes, a man would like those legs wrapped right around him. She’s bloody gorgeous. Pity I’m already in a relationship.”

Sage grinned. “Lizzy would have your balls if you even so much as mentioned that, Luke. Your wife is one woman I wouldn’t want to mess with.” He walked over to the dressing room. The tuxedo for the casino shoot was already hung up, ready to wear. He dressed quickly, trying to get the bow tie on, swearing softly to himself with his lack of success. Something made him look up to the mirror and he started, seeing Alex standing behind him. Sage ignored him and continued trying to get the dickey bow straight.

Alex chuckled softly as he moved in front of him. “Here. Let me help you with that. You’re all thumbs, it seems.”

Sage watched as Alex reached up, taking the bow tie in his fingers. He had long, shapely fingers with square nails. Sage’s imagination worked overtime imagining where else those hands might be right now. He was very conscious of Alex’s scent and the nearness of Alex’s forehead to his chin. He was confused. One minute Alex didn’t want to know him, the next he was so close Sage could have kissed him. His groin tingled and he muffled a groan.

Simmer down, Sage. You’re filming in a few minutes. You don’t need another bloody hard-on now.

Alex finished with the bow tie and stepped back to see the effect. “You look very dashing in a tux. I can see why the ladies like it.” He flashed a smile. “I daresay all the men too.”

Sage stood back. “Thanks. And thanks for fixing the bow tie. I’ve never been able to get them right.” He was determined to keep this professional and not revert into man-slut mode even though he felt the character coming on. He turned to walk out of the room.

“Sage?” He turned back at Alex’s quiet voice. Alex was looking at him with an expression on his face he couldn’t quite fathom. Sage raised his eyebrows.

“I’m sorry about earlier.” Alex said softly. “I shouldn’t have been so rude. You were just—caring. I’m not used to anyone doing that. It’s been a bit of a difficult week.”

Sage regarded the other man. “Perhaps you need to start getting used to it. A film set is like a family. We all look out for each other. It’s best to fit in or you get left out.”

He turned, walking out of the office. Sage needed to focus now, not have some emotional conversation with a man who was like Jekyll and Hyde. The next scene would be fun to shoot but it was intensive and Sage needed all his wits about him.

* * *

It was close to six p.m. when Alex saw one of the receptionists call Thomas over to answer a call on the studio phone. He then saw Thomas almost fall down as he nearly dropped the phone and grabbed the nearest table for support. His face was dazed and uncomprehending.

Alex gasped, hurrying over to him. Thomas’ face was grey as he listened to the news on the other end of the phone. Finally he ended the call.

“That was the police. Dianne is in the hospital. She was injured earlier in an explosion, apparently after she left the beauty salon. They’ve only just been able to track me down. She’s at North Middlesex Hospital. I have to get there.”

Alex took him by the arm. “Thomas, you’re in no shape to drive. Let me find someone to take you. If someone has a car, I’ll drive you there.” He caught Janine’s eye and waved her over.

Janine bustled over, her round face full of concern. “Alex? What’s up?”

Alex explained the situation and Janine’s face paled.

“Jesus. Come on, Thomas, I’ve got my car here, I’ll take you to the hospital. Alex, tell Luke and Sage what’s happening when they finish this scene. I’ll call from the hospital and let you all know what’s going on.” Janine took Thomas by the arm and the two of them left. Alex made his way over to the film set, standing on the perimeter whilst he watched them wrap up the last few minutes. The casino scene had been a favourite of his when he’d written it. It involved Carter West charming a bevy of lovely ladies and insulting a rather large man playing a bodyguard to a very rich and powerful gambler with whom Carter had a past.

Alex watched Sage with a smile as he played his part, his portrayal of sardonic Carter West in this scene particularly powerful. Alex felt guilty about being a bastard to him earlier. He knew Sage had only been trying to help. But the rough time with Eric recently was unsettling him and Alex was starting to doubt that any expectations he’d had about healing his tortured psyche with Sage were just pipe dreams.

Could Sage really expect anyone to understand what Alex did and why? Wasn’t that being selfish, to expect that kind of commitment?

Finally the scene was complete and Sage conversed animatedly with Luke before walking off into the dressing room. Alex hurried over to Luke, who smiled at him.

“Alex. What did you think of that take? Sage was pretty incredible in this scene I can tell you.”

“He’s always incredible. Listen, I have some bad news.” Alex succinctly explained the situation.

Luke gasped in horror. “Did they say how she was? Is she all right? How badly was she hurt?” He pulled out his phone and tried to call Thomas with no success and then got the number for the hospital. On calling them, the hospital refused to give out any information.

Sage came in at the last leg of the conversation, towel drying his shower-wet hair, more casually dressed in his usual jeans and tee shirt. He frowned when he saw them together. “What’s going on?”

Once again Alex explained.

Sage looked at him in disbelief. “Dianne was injured in an explosion? How’s that bloody possible?” He paced around frantically, his hands waving animatedly. “Why did it take them so long to get hold of Thomas?”

Alex shook his head. “We don’t know. I imagine we’ll find out when we get to North Middlesex.”

Sage ran a hand through his hair. “I need to get down to the hospital. I can’t sit here. I need to see how she is.” He pulled out his mobile, making a quick call to order a taxi. He finished the call and looked at Alex and Luke. “We can leave Aaron here to lock up and all go down to the hospital. The taxi will be here in five.”

He darted off in the direction of the studio entrance, Alex and Luke following him. Forty-five minutes later they’d arrived in the hospital and waited for someone to tell them where to find Thomas and Dianne. Sage paced impatiently.

Alex sighed, laying a hand on his arm. “For God’s sake, Sage. You’re wearing out the pattern on the floor. Calm down. I’m sure someone will be here soon to take us there.”

“All I want to know is where to find them in this bloody place.” Sage continued walking back and forth impatiently. “How long does that bloody take?”

Five minutes later a nurse appeared with a smile. “Mr. Sage? Your friend is on the second floor, Room 203. You can take the stairs or the lift over there.” She pointed toward the far corner.

“Thanks.” Sage hot-footed it up the stairs, Luke and Alex behind him. A few minutes later they were in the corridor outside Room 203, which was crawling with police and hospital staff.

Sage looked at the mass of people outside the room. “This is a helluva lot of attention. It must have been a really serious incident.” His face was perplexed. “What the hell is going on?”

Alex frowned as he moved forward to the entrance of the hospital room, spotting Thomas inside sitting on a chair by the bed. He caught his eyes and Thomas waved him in but not before a rather large and burly policeman held out a hand to stop Alex.

“I’m sorry, sir. You can’t go in there.”

“I’m a friend,” Alex said quietly. “We work together.” He saw Thomas stand up as Sage and Luke joined him either side.

“It’s all right, officer,” Thomas said tiredly. “They’re friends. You can let them in.”

The policeman nodded, moving his bulk to admit them entrance. Sage barrelled past Alex to hug Thomas.

“Jesus. How’s Dianne doing?” His voice was soft as he gazed over at the supine form of Dianne Cunningham in the hospital bed. Her face was pale and marked with blemishes and cuts.

Thomas sighed tiredly. “Dianne will be fine. She’s got grazes and cuts to her face and body but the doctor says she’ll be fine once she wakes up. They’ve given her something to make her sleep. She was a bit hysterical earlier.”

“What happened?” Sage moved over to the bed, his face grim, taking Dianne’s hand in his. Alex stood beside him as they all gazed down at the unconscious woman.

“They don’t really know. They found Dianne slumped in the entrance to some old derelict restaurant, with a blanket over her. There were shreds of an envelope next to her. The police think it was a letter bomb.”

Thomas’s voice was sombre. There was silence as everyone digested this information.

“Who in hell’s name would send Dianne a letter bomb and then wrap her in a blanket in front of an old building?” exclaimed Sage. “Why would she even be opening a letter there in the first place?”

Thomas nodded wearily. “I have no idea. It’s why the police are here. Something funny’s going on and they want to get to the bottom of it. They said it looked staged.” He looked bewildered. “Staged? Who the hell would stage something like this? Why? I don’t understand. Who’d want to harm Dianne?”

A trickle of fear caressed Alex’s spine at Thomas’s narrative and he swallowed. “It sounds a bit like the start to my book. First the bomb in the restaurant and then Gillian being injured and being given a blanket when she went into shock,” he said.

Sage looked at him with narrowed eyes. “Why would anyone do that?” he muttered. “It sounds like a horrible publicity stunt.” His voice trailed off and he looked horrified. “Hell, that’s what everyone’s going to think.”

Alex stared at him. “They couldn’t possibly think that, surely.”

Sage laughed cynically. “Of course that’s what everyone will think. The press have never been particularly good at playing these sorts of things down. They’re going to milk this for everything they can and we’ll come off worse. Trust me.” He looked at Luke, his face hard. “Luke, you need to call Jennifer. She needs to manage this situation or it’s going to turn into a bloody circus.” He looked over at Dianne, his face softening as he reached out, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “Thomas, she’s going to need protection. I assume you’ve asked the police to keep an eye on her?”

Thomas nodded. “I’ve organised my own bodyguards for her. They should be arriving soon. A couple of mates of mine I can trust.”

A policeman walked in, looking at Thomas enquiringly. “Could I have a word with you outside, please, sir?” Thomas nodded, following the man into the hospital corridor.

Luke sighed. “Well, if Dianne’s all right and surrounded at the moment by the men in blue, then I guess I’d better call Jenny and see if we can contain this situation.” He too went into the corridor to find somewhere to use his mobile.

Sage and Alex stood together, looking down at Dianne. “Who the fuck would do something like this?” Sage muttered.

Sage’s words startled Alex. He’d never heard him really swear before.

Alex shook his head. “I really don’t know. The mind boggles. I just hope the police get to the bottom of it.”

“Someone’s playing games and I’d like to get my hands on them. I’ll bloody throttle them.” Sage’s anger was plain to see and Alex thought he was seeing a side to him that probably didn’t go on show often.

Alex reached out, rubbing his arm gently. “Dianne will be fine. Thomas will make sure of that.”

Janine appeared with a large cup of tea. “I heard Thomas talking to the doctor outside earlier. He says she was very lucky that the cuts were mostly superficial and the letter bomb was fairly mild, designed to scare more than maim.”

Alex nodded, pleased at that news. “Are you going back now?”

She shook her head. “I’ll stay and give Thomas a lift home later.”

Sage nodded curtly, passing a hand over his eyes in exhaustion. “That’s a saving grace, then. Fuck me, what a bloody mess. I suppose I should be getting home. Dan will be wondering where I’ve got to.” He looked at Alex. “Do you want to share a taxi? It’s a bit too far for either of us to walk home.” His face darkened, his tone growing harsher. “Unless you want to be by yourself? I know you have a need to be on your own and I wouldn’t want to intrude.” His tone was sarcastic.

Alex nodded. “No, we can share a ride home, that’s fine.”

Sage nodded curtly. “Fine, I’ll call a taxi.”

He disappeared into the corridor. Alex said goodbye to Janine and stepped out of Dianne’s room to follow him, staring bemusedly at his retreating back. The man was more than a little prickly all of a sudden. Alex knew he deserved it and he supposed miserably that Sage was getting tired of trying to make the effort with him, something he certainly couldn’t blame him for.

The journey home in the taxi was quiet. Sage gazed out of the window into the darkness beyond, hardly speaking a word, answering Alex’s attempted efforts at conversation with staccato sentences and an air of complete disinterest.

It was most unnerving given this man was usually one of the most gregarious people he knew. This dark mood of his was unfamiliar to Alex.

They were stopped in front of the door to Alex’s apartment building. It was dark, quiet and the street was deserted. “Do you want to come in for coffee?” he asked quietly.

Sage shook his head. “No thanks. I’m knackered and need to jump into bed. The taxi will drop me home.”

Alex nodded, feeling a little awkward. “Well, thanks for the company.”

Sage nodded, turning away. Alex hesitated, reaching out to touch his arm. Sage turned back and Alex reached over, kissing his cheek softly, hearing Sage’s slight hiss of breath at the unexpected gesture.

“Please don’t give up on me,” Alex murmured, then left the cab and walked to his apartment as he heard the cab pull away.