“Jesus, they’ll let anybody into these things, won’t they?”
Hunter turned to find his older brother, Carter, standing there in his penguin suit, some brunette he’d never seen before on his brother’s arm.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Hunter asked. “Shouldn’t you be in Ohio or something?”
“Financing, little bro,” Carter said by way of answer, sending the brunette over to the bar to get them drinks. Even though he stood six inches shorter than Hunter, Carter thought calling him “little” was the funniest thing ever. “One of my clients is looking to invest in the movie business and asked me to come out here and personally take a look at the records of several companies for him.”
“Hey,” Alex said from Hunter’s other side, tugging on his arm. “I see some friends over there. I’m going to pop by and say hi. Be right back.”
He watched her walk away, doing his best not to stare at the seductive sway of her hips. She was far more than her bombshell persona, as their conversation earlier had proven. She deserved to be treated as more than a sex object and Hunter intended to do just that. Now, if he could get his traitorous libido on board with the plan, he’d be all set.
“You tapping that?” Carter asked, sipping the bourbon his date had brought him.
Hunter gave him a side glare. “No. She’s my client. I’m doing an investigation for her.”
“Right.” Carter snorted. “Because all those adoring fans can be such a pain in the ass, huh?”
“For your information there are all sorts of threats in this town that would make your stomach turn.” He swallowed half his whiskey in one shot. “Besides, extra security is never a bad thing.”
“Security? Hell, all it took for me to walk in was a ticket and a pass through a metal detector. Not exactly high-level stuff.” Carter gave Hunter a dubious once-over. “On second thought, maybe you should stick around, little bro. You might come in handy after all.”
Growing up, Carter had always considered himself the most successful of the Odenson brothers, being a hoity-toity lawyer and all. And maybe if you went strictly by bank accounts, yeah, he was. But Hunter had done okay for himself in the Navy and their younger brother, Ben, was currently backpacking his way through Europe to find himself while he was still unattached. There were more important things in life than money, at least in Hunter’s opinion.
Alex was now circulating around the room, every once in a while glancing over to catch Hunter’s eye, and each time a tiny wave of warmth washed through him. Weird, that. Wasn’t like things were that way between them. They barely knew each other. Theirs was a totally professional relationship, but still. She struck him as a goodhearted person, if a bit lost. Hunter couldn’t pinpoint exactly why he thought that, except maybe for the fact she hid her true self behind a façade most of the time, as far as he’d been able to tell so far. That he had experience with. He was perfectly happy to let most of the world think of him as nothing more than muscle for hire, all the brawn and none of the brains. That was how most people treated him too.
“So, an investigation, huh?” Carter said, breaking into Hunter’s thoughts. “You working alone on this one?”
“Yeah. I’m trying to earn a promotion at the agency.”
“Promotion?” Carter sent the brunette back to the bar for a refill. “You should have that in the bag.”
Hunter didn’t respond, just downed the rest of his whiskey, savoring the burn on the back of his throat from the alcohol. Carter never missed an opportunity to get in a jab and he figured tonight would be no exception. He waited for the punchline to come, but it never did. Finally, he looked over at his older brother and saw him staring back with a thoughtful expression.
“What?” Carter said at last. “Can’t a guy compliment his sibling?”
“He can, but that’s not your usual MO. What gives?”
“Nothing gives.” Carter shrugged. “I just think that you’ve always been much smarter than you give yourself credit for. Add in all the strategy skills you learned in the SEALs and that’s an unbeatable combination in the business world.” He hiked his chin toward where Alexandra stood with her back to them across the room, her form-fitting dress showing off acres of creamy soft skin, and Hunter looked away fast, that tingle in his blood threatening to flash over into a wi
ldfire. “Listen, we Odenson men are the total package. You keep doing what you’re doing, little bro, and you’ll get that promotion before you know it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go schmooze with the producer to see if he’ll let me take a peek at his expense sheets. See you around.”
He strolled away with the still unnamed brunette on his arm and Hunter stood where he was, shifting his attention from his brother to Alexandra. Standing head and shoulders above everyone else in the room did have its advantages sometimes. Now was one of those times. From his vantage point, Hunter could clearly see Alex standing beside a well-known computer guru and philanthropist, laughing and chatting. She really did have a lovely smile. And a kind heart. Not once, he realized, had she mentioned his size in a derogatory way since they’d met. For a guy who was used to taking regular slams about his bulk, that meant a lot. And it was another thing that pointed to the fact Alexandra Valentine was a whole lot smarter and deeper than her ditzy persona would suggest.
Then he spied Alexandra slipping her hand into the pocket of the computer guru’s tux jacket and pull out his cell phone. Hunter’s eyes widened in shock. Oh. Hell. No. America’s comedy sweetheart did not just pickpocket one of Forbes’ top billionaires. As he watched, she carefully slid the phone into her tiny beaded evening bag then excused herself from the group and headed back toward Hunter.
He was still gaping at her as she reached his side and took his arm, guiding him back toward the entrance.
“Let’s get out of here,” she said as they waved through the crowds, stopping occasionally to pose for selfies with her fans.
“Uh, what the hell did you do back there?” he asked, checking over his shoulder, expecting to see the billionaire’s bodyguards barreling down on them at any second. “Why did you steal that guy’s phone? Do you know who he is?”
“Of course I know who he is,” she whispered as they finally reached the doors and pushed out into the cool night air. The perspiration on Hunter’s skin chilled and made him shiver slightly. Alex kept a firm grip on his arm as she signaled the valet to have their limo pulled around. At least the maddening crowds had dissipated now, and things were calm and quiet once more. Well, as calm and quiet as you could get for downtown L.A. Car horns bellowed, tourists gawked and took pictures, and not one star was visible in the black velvet sky. Alex sighed. “I also know that Beatrix texted him shortly before she disappeared. I want to see if I can find the location that message came from.”
“So you stole his phone.”
“Borrowed it. I’ll have it sent back to him when I’m done. I’ll tell him I found it on the floor or something.” She gave him a side glance, her lips tight. “Since when did you become such a stick in the mud?”
“Since forever.” He scowled. “Rules are there for a reason. Instead of committing a crime, why didn’t you ask him if you could see the phone, huh? Oh, wait. Maybe this is another part of your method acting. Trying out for a part as a petty thief next week?”