“Right.” Hunter got up too, his expression unreadable, but a hint of disappointment in his tone. “You take the master bath. I’ll use the guest one down the hall. What time do you have to be on set?”
“Producer wants me there at eight.” She waved a hand over her outfit. “I’ll need to go back to my house to change first though.”
“Sure. Fine.” Hunter grabbed their clothes from the night before then followed her out of the safe room and back into the rest of the house. The metal door hissed shut behind them and he punched in the lock code on the keypad. “Meet you in the living room in forty-five minutes then.”
“Sounds good.” Alex took her cat suit and boots from him then watched him walk away, feeling oddly bereft. Silly, since they weren’t involved in any way other than professionally. Forget about the fact she’d snoozed last night away in his arms or that he’d made the warmest, cuddliest pillow she’d ever had. They were partners in finding Bea. That had to be her top priority now. Her only priority.
After a quick shower, she pulled last night’s outfit back on, feeling more like a hooker and less like a strong, confident dominatrix in the harsh light of day. She twisted her damp blond hair up into a messy top knot, neatly folded the sweats and T-shirt she’d worn to sleep in, then zipped up her boots and headed for the living room where Hunter was already waiting. He looked as handsome and hard-edged as usual in his wrinkled T-shirt and jeans.
“I just got off the phone with Cam and Loki at my agency,” he said when she walked in, his gaze darting to her before quickly looking away again. Perhaps she wasn’t the only one affected by this sizzling connection between them. “Loki wants you wearing a tracking device whenever you’re out in public now. In case they decide to snatch you too. I’ve got one in my stuff at the hotel. I’ll have the driver stop there first so I can pack and check out, then we’ll head to your place so you can change and I can get you wired up.”
“Is that really necessary?” Alex sat down at the opposite end of the beige sofa from Hunter. “Seems kind of invasive. I doubt the boss is going to come after me, at least not until they deliver the sex slaves.”
“I’m sure Bea didn’t think they’d take her either,” Hunter said, his gaze lowered. “I’m here to find her, but I’m also here to keep you safe. I can’t do that if I don’t know where you are.”
“How big is this tracking device?” she asked. She’d have wardrobe changes on the set today and didn’t want to have to deal with nosy questions from the dressers.
“Not big. The one Cam gave me is about the size of a chocolate chip. They’re made to slip into someone’s pocket or purse without them knowing.” He pulled it out and held it up. Yep. Looked like a tiny black square. “I’m guessing it won’t be long before the sex boss makes the connection between his cat suit-wearing Dom and America’s comedy sweetheart. Your disguise was good, but it wasn’t that good. This will allow me and the team to keep track of you no matter what.”
“Huh, okay. Very James Bond of you.” Alex laughed. “Time to get our spy on, huh?”
“To act the spy, you must be the spy.” Hunter winked. “Did I get that right?”
“Close enough.” She peeked out the curtains behind them and spotted the limo pulling up to the curb. Alex also noticed several neighbors taking note of the new arrival. Guess she’d have to ditch her private driver for the time being. “We’ll be staying here until we get Bea back then?”
“Yeah.” Hunter stood and shoved his phone into his back pocket. “Cam’s going to walk me through some adjustments to the security system here so that the guys back at the Norse Security offices back in Virginia can monitor what happens here as well. We don’t want anything slipping through the cracks.”
“Okay then.” Alex crossed her arms, feeling unsettled. Being an actress meant she was used to the spotlight during her working hours, but not so much in the privacy of her home. Still, she’d put up with just about anything to save her friend. “We should get going. Don’t want to be late for my job.”
By the time Hunter got checked out of his hotel and Alex got changed and a bag packed to take to the safe house, it was nearly time for her to be on set. Miraculously, the driver maneuvered through the mid-morning traffic and got her there only a few minutes late. She apologized profusely to the director who graciously didn’t dwell on it.
Hunter stayed close as Alex made her way through hair and makeup and wardrobe, not getting in the way, but hovering on the perimeter of things. Always watching. She could feel the weight of his stare on her even though she wasn’t looking at him, and she found it oddly comforting.
Her part today was a kindergarten teacher who comforted a child in her class after he’d been bullied. The kid playing the part of the bullied student was the child star of the TV show and single-handedly brought in the second-quarter revenue for the network. Impressive stuff for a boy of nine. Hunter remained just off set as the director blocked out their scene and ran through their lines with them before shooting the first of many dallies for the editing department to use. Between takes, Alex found herself toying with the tracking device in her pocket, glad for its presence, and feeling somehow more closely connected to Hunter because of it.
Finally, the emotional comforting scene was ready to shoot and they closed the set to all non-essential personnel. Alex somehow convinced the director that Hunter was essential, so he stood off to the side, watching everything.
When it was over, both Alex and the kid were crying and she knew deep inside that she’d given a good performance. Funny thing though, when she searched for Hunter, he was nowhere to be found. Strange, after he’d hovered so close all day. After watching the digital takes with the crew and getting the all-clear from the director, Alex asked some of the stagehands if they’d seen Hunter. They pointed her toward a side door where he’d stepped outside for some air, he’d said.
Sure enough, she found him leaning against the side of the white-washed metal building, staring off into the distance, his usual icy façade brooding. She walked over to him and leaned back against the warm metal beside him. “I wondered where you got to.”
He shrugged, but remained silent.
“Everything okay?” she continued to prod, sensing everything was most certainly not okay.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Hunter shoved away from the wall and she reached out to take his wrist, stopping him when he turned his back on her. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?” Alex asked. After waking up in his arms this morning, and knowing that he was tracking her every move, she felt like she knew him, felt like they shared something that she wasn’t quite ready to walk away from yet. “What’s wrong? Please tell me. Is it Bea? Did you find out where she is? Did you find—”
She stopped abruptly, fearing the worst. Oh God. Had they found Bea’s body? Was she gone, dead, never to return? Bile rose in Alex’s throat before she swallowed it down hard. If anything happened to Bea, she’d never forgive herself.
“No.” Hunter swore under his breath, facing her once more. “Nothing like that.” He raked a hand through his short dark hair, still in that military buzz cut ex-soldiers the world over seemed to love. “It’s that scene…the one you were shooting in there. I just…” His gruff voice trailed off and he turned away. “Forget it. It’s stupid. Never mind.”
Intrigued now, Alex let her hand slide down until she laced her fingers with his. “Tell me. Did you not like the scene?”
Dots of crimson colored his high, tanned cheekbones and he kept his eyes lowered. “It was fine. You’re a really good actress. So is the kid. Maybe too g
ood.”