Chaser nods, almost apologetically. “Does he have anyone with him? Security? Anything like that?”
“Not when he goes there,” Audrey answers. “We met in the bar to ‘talk,’ and he lured me back to the bungalow to give me a ‘present.’ I never saw anyone else with him.”
“Does he know where you live?”
Audrey’s eyes widen, and she slowly shakes her head. “No…the agency is very careful about not giving out information like that. I don’t even use my real name.”
“That’s a detail I needed,” Chaser growls. “What name?”
“Belle.”
“Anything else?” Chaser asks.
She shakes her head.
“Let’s go.” Andrew waves his hand at the door.
Chaser settles his hands on my shoulders and pulls me closer. “Stay here with Audrey.”
“Chaser, you don’t have to do this.”
“Someone has to.” He presses his palms to my cheeks. “I’ll be fine. I’ve dealt with scum like this before.”
“What if you get arrested? Or he recognizes you guys.” I throw my hand in Andrew’s direction. “You two don’t exactly blend into the general population.”
Andrew grins at me. “I can be quite stealthy when I need to be.”
“You wouldn’t know stealthy if it bit you on your right ass cheek,” I shoot back. I’m ready to strangle him for feeding into Chaser’s madness.
“You’re so cute when you’re mad.” Andrew bops me on the nose, and I lunge at him.
Chaser hooks an arm around my waist, holding me in place. “We’ll be fine.” He kisses my cheek. “Stay here and take care of Audrey. We won’t be gone long.”
Audrey watches the guys go and shakes her head. “Who’s your crazy friend?”
“Andrew. He’s a drummer.”
Her eyes widen as recognition settles in. “Andrew Lane. From Vicious Vandals? Why does he care so much?”
I honestly can’t explain why Andrew seemed so invested, so I shrug. “He and Chaser have a love/hate friendship thing.”
“Must be a lot of love to have his back like that.”
She tosses the blanket on the couch and shuffles closer to me. “Will you help me? I need a shower in the worst way.”
“Of course.”
A few minutes later, the coward in me wishes I’d said no. The welts and bruises from her shoulder blades to the back of her knees are enough to make me bite my lip to keep from crying.
“There’s Epsom salt under the sink. Can you grab it?” she asks.
“Sure.”
When the water’s warm enough, I hold her steady, while she climbs the three steps leading up to the large circular tub.
“I’m so sorry, Mallory,” Audrey whispers.
“Why?”
“I didn’t know who else to call.”
“It’s okay.”
It seems to take hours to get her bundled up and settled into bed.
And Chaser still hasn’t returned.
Exhausted and scared, I grab a poker from the fireplace and prop it up against the nightstand before crawling into bed with Audrey.
“Do you need anything?” I ask.
“To forget this whole night.” She turns, so she’s facing me. “Tell me about your big T.V. show. Are you loving it?”
“You don’t want to talk about that now.”
“Yes, I do. Please?”
I blow out a breath. “Love’s probably not the right word. It’s intimidating.” I regale her with some other stories but leave out the part about how the wardrobe girls hate my guts. It seems like a ridiculous thing to whine about after what happened to Audrey tonight. Besides, I haven’t even confided in Chaser about it yet.
“Thank you,” she finally whispers, her eyelids drooping. “For helping me forget.”
I roll over and turn off the beside lamp.
“Thank you for staying.”
I laugh softly in the darkness. “They didn’t leave me much choice.”
“I mean staying in here. Thanks for not leaving me alone.”
I reach out and brush my fingers over her hand. “I’m right here, Audrey.”
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chaser
“You don’t have to do this, Andrew.”
Torrin, the president of the Devil Demons MC’s SoCal charter, did a quick check for me and determined that the multi-Oscar winning actor Audrey named was, to his knowledge, not connected to anyone who would be seeking payback or protected by anyone. He also offered to send help. An offer I accepted because I’m not sure how far into this I want to drag Andrew.
“I’m in, bro.”
“You can drop me off at my place. I’m meeting a few people to go with me.”
The Palm was actually halfway between Audrey’s place and the closest Devil Demons MC charter. It had taken so long to pry the info out of Audrey, I’m worried the brothers sent to assist are waiting on me.
“Chaser, dude. You can’t go buzzing on into the Palm on your Harley. Not gonna happen. They’ll call the cops before you make it anywhere near the bungalows. And you ain’t parking outside and hiking in. You need me. I know the security guys at the gate, and my truck’s big enough to haul us in and out.”
He’s got a point.
“You can wait in the truck.”
“Fuck that. I’m gonna crack that motherfucker’s ribs then jam that tire iron up his ass.”