Chapter 17 #2
“Oh yeah. I hope the pilots Grubbner got are as good as he says. That they can actually fly.”
“I’m sure they’re the best…though not as good as you, of course.”
He chuckled. “Yeah.” Sage sat back, but not before his fingers caressed the back of her neck gently before releasing her. “Can I stay with you again tonight?”
Zita smiled. “Of course.”
“Awesome. I should probably tell Edna that I don’t need my room anymore, but she seems like the kind of lady who wouldn’t take kindly to a boy and girl shacking up together if they’re not married.”
Zita giggled. “Right? I totally got those vibes too.”
Sage stared at her for a beat, and she wondered what he was thinking. But before she could ask, he turned and reached for the door handle, and the spell between them was broken.
Zita got out and grabbed her bag, and together they headed toward the group of people milling about, getting ready for the day to start.
Sage was in his element. And it made Zita smile watching him with the helicopter pilots. He’d spoken with them at length that morning, and from what she could tell from her vantage point, they were getting along and everyone seemed pleased.
And when the scenes with the choppers were filmed, Zita saw Sage’s hands moving as if he was in the pilot seat of one of the multimillion-dollar aircrafts. The director had given him a headset, and Zita assumed he was talking with the pilots directly.
She was no expert, but it seemed as if the scenes were going extremely well. That the pilots were doing exactly what both Grubbner and Sage expected them to.
Zita was watching Sage so intently that she wasn’t paying attention to anything or anyone around her…so when someone bumped her shoulder, she let out a little screech of alarm and quickly sidestepped to the left.
Looking over, she saw to her surprise that Silas Graves was standing next to her. Right next to her. In her personal space. She hadn’t thought much about him for the last few days, as she’d been too busy, and she had no idea why he’d sought her out today.
She was quick to realize it wasn’t for a social chat.
“You need to stay away from the Night Stalker,” he said in a low tone.
“What?” Zita was still trying to get her heart to calm down after he’d scared her so badly.
“Obi-Wan. You throwing yourself at him is embarrassing. For everyone on set. You need to stay away from him.”
Zita was so confused. Why in the hell did Silas care if she and Sage were together? “Not that it’s any business of yours, but why are you so interested in what I do with my time away from the set? I don’t get in your face about what you’re doing, so why are you on my case?”
She was done being nice. Sage was right, the man had been giving her creepy stares for too long now. He’d also been a total jerk while guarding Carmen, but she had no idea what his agenda was now.
“I’m just warning you. Stay away from the guy…or else.”
Zita would’ve rolled her eyes at the overly dramatic warning, but now that she looked at him—really looked—he seemed deadly serious, and the last thing she wanted was to antagonize him. Even though she was surrounded by people, she wasn’t sure what he was capable of.
And the man was armed. Did she think he was going to shoot her right here in front of everyone on set? No. But he was bigger and stronger and could certainly hurt her before anyone could stop him. She wasn’t going to risk it.
She opened her mouth to attempt to understand where this was coming from, to once again ask why he cared about who she hung out with or dated, but he turned abruptly and walked away.
Zita was kind of freaked out by the out-of-the-blue threat. She hadn’t done anything to Silas. Had barely even talked to the man. Carmen? Yeah, they’d had words, but she’d been back in LA for days now. Was thousands of miles away.
Still…could she have anything to do with Silas’s sudden interest in her love life?
Possibly.
It was impossible to wrap her head around the fact that a beautiful, successful actress like Carmen St. James would care about someone like her. A nobody contract employee who happened to be working on the same set.
But then again, she’d had her eye on Sage, and he’d rejected her—for Zita.
Could that be it? Was her former bodyguard sending a message from Carmen?
Set gossip had the two sleeping together when she was in town, but if that was the case, if Silas had the hots for Carmen, why would he want to break up Zita and Sage?
If he was dating someone else, then Carmen wouldn’t have a chance of winning him.
Which would leave the way clear for Silas.
So why would he warn her away from Sage?
Unless he was that desperate to prove his loyalty to Carmen. Prove that he’d do literally anything she asked. Maybe he wanted to move to Los Angeles, and he thought if he did Carmen’s bidding, she’d find him a job.
Hell, maybe he was simply an asshole who wanted to harass her.
Zita’s head hurt. Nothing made sense. She suddenly felt as if she was in the middle of one of those love triangles on a crime show. One that ended badly for one or more of the players in the scenario.
That, or she was being punked. Was there a camera on her? Would Henry come over in a minute, smiling and telling her that she was being played for the gag reel?
No. He was way too engrossed in the scene he was filming.
The helicopters. Hell, everyone’s heads were turned upward, watching what was going on in the skies.
It was the perfect time for Silas to threaten her—if that’s really what he was doing; she still wasn’t exactly sure—because no one was paying attention.
A shiver went through Zita. She’d never liked the man, and she had no idea what he’d do if she didn’t keep her distance from Sage. Silas didn’t say. Had simply said “or else” like a movie villain…which could literally mean anything.
Taking a deep breath, Zita pressed her lips together. She and Sage were starting something amazing. She’d just made the decision to move to Virginia. She wasn’t going to be cowed by threats from some asshole she’d just met.
Whatever Silas’s reasons, he could shove them up his ass.
The filming in Virginia would be over in a few days, and everyone would go back to California and finish the movie there, after Logan spent some time training and regaining the weight he’d lost. Zita wouldn’t see Silas or Carmen ever again. She hoped.
If she found out the actress would be on any set Zita was slated to work on in the future, she’d turn down the gig.
Feeling better that it wouldn’t be long before she’d see the last of Silas, Zita did her best to silence the voice in her head that said she shouldn’t dismiss his threat so quickly.
She resented the fact anyone was trying to take away the euphoric feeling she had after her night with Sage.
They’d had the perfect evening, this morning’s conversation was everything she’d wanted to hear…
and now someone was already trying to break them up.
Screw that. Screw Silas.
Obi-Wan felt great. The day was fantastic, his favorite spent on set thus far, which wasn’t a surprise since it included the helicopters he loved so much. The pilots were good—not as good as the Night Stalkers, of course, but no layperson watching the movie would know the difference.
He missed flying, and it hadn’t even been that long. Being here, watching others fly, reminded him of just how much he loved his job. Enjoyed working with his teammates, how proud he was to be able to deliver and pick up the men and women who put their lives on the line for their country.
What he did wasn’t always appreciated, most of the time wasn’t even known, but he didn’t need public recognition, he simply wanted to fly.
He felt bad that he’d been preoccupied most of the day, but every time he’d looked around to find Zita—which admittingly wasn’t as often as he would’ve liked—she was busy talking to someone, or taking a blood pressure, or dealing with other minor injuries that always seemed to crop up on the set.
When he approached her at the end of the day—dusty, sweaty, and tired—he was surprised to see her looking…anxious. He’d seen her exhausted, irritated, happy, worried, and even proud. But not jumpy, like she seemed at the moment.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, as soon as he was within earshot.
Her expression immediately blanked and she gave him an insincere smile. “Nothing. It looks like you had a great day.”
Obi-Wan wasn’t willing to let it go, though she obviously wanted him to.
He needed to know what was bothering her.
He didn’t like that he was in the dark when something was clearly on her mind.
Of course, she was entitled to keep her feelings to herself, but he still felt a little raw after last night and this morning, about how much she meant to him.
For a moment, when he’d commented on the lady who owned the motel possibly disapproving of them sharing the same room without being married, all he could think of was Zita standing in front of him wearing a white dress, while they shared vows to love and cherish each other for the rest of their lives.
He’d never, ever thought about his own wedding before. It was something he’d always figured would happen or not, and yet this morning, he couldn’t get the image of the two of them all dressed up for their wedding out of his head.
Thankfully, she hadn’t asked him what he was thinking, because he wasn’t sure he would’ve been able to keep his thoughts to himself. And it was definitely too soon to even think about marriage.
“Talk to me. Please,” he said softly, running his hand up and down her upper arm gently.
She sighed. “It’s not a big deal. At least, I don’t think it is. I handled it.”
“What did you ‘handle’?” he asked, feeling himself tense and trying his hardest to keep his voice level.
“Silas.”
Obi-Wan waited for her to say more, and when she didn’t, he frowned. “What about him? What’d he do?”
“It was weird, Sage. He warned me to stay away from you, but he wouldn’t say why.”
“What the fuck?” Obi-Wan asked, his brows furrowing.
“Right? But it’s fine. Because I’m not going to keep my distance from you. So whatever.”
Obi-Wan wasn’t nearly as willing to let this go as she was. He turned around, looking for Silas, but Logan and his bodyguard were long gone from the set.
He was already making plans to stop at the B&B and have words with the man who’d dared try to interfere with his relationship with Zita when he felt a hand on his arm.
“Sage, it’s fine. I don’t know why he cares if we’re together or not, but I’m not going to let him occupy my thoughts for another second. I’d rather concentrate on us.”
She was right…and yet, Obi-Wan couldn’t shake the sudden bad feeling in his gut.
He’d seen the way the man had stared at Zita most of the week.
Not as someone who was interested in her, but in a more calculating way.
It was weird, as Zita had said. And weird wasn’t good, especially when it came to the woman who meant the world to him.
“Come on, let’s go home. Well, back to the motel,” Zita urged.
He let her pull him toward his Jeep, but he made a mental note to not underestimate Silas. He’d keep his eye on him, and the second anything seemed hinky, he’d make sure the man understood that Zita was off-limits.
Obi-Wan wasn’t afraid of any of the man’s supposed bodyguard skills. Or the firearm he carried. Night Stalker training was intense, and he had the confidence that he could hold his own against anyone, no matter what their skill set.
But Zita couldn’t. And that was what worried him. He couldn’t always be around to watch over her. Not that she’d want that, but he still wanted to protect her as much as he could.
By the time they arrived back in Fallport, they were both tired after a long day, so Obi-Wan parked on the square and ran into the diner to order them something to go.
The Jeep smelled amazing on the short ride to the motel, and they both eagerly dug into the takeout boxes the second they got inside her room.
What followed was another night of the most amazing sex Obi-Wan had ever had.
It wasn’t that they did anything wild and crazy, but they didn’t need to.
Making love in the missionary position while staring into Zita’s eyes was more than enough to make Obi-Wan feel as if he was the luckiest man in the world.
Feeling her come around him, her pussy squeeze him as she flew over the edge, had him hurtling along behind her.
This woman had changed his life, and he felt like a brand-new man.
They had some challenges ahead of them, she’d have to return to California and deal with her life out there, then pack, get to Virginia, find an apartment and a job…
it was a lot. Obi-Wan was well aware of the sacrifices she was making to be with him, and he vowed never to take her for granted.
Or to dismiss everything that she was changing and giving up to move to Virginia.
Before he fell asleep that night, once more holding Zita tightly in his arms, his thoughts strayed again to Silas Graves.
What the hell had the man meant by telling Zita to stay away from him?
What was his motive? He had no idea but wasn’t going to take any chances.
As soon as he got back to Norfolk, he’d talk to Casper and the others.
See if they thought the weirdness of the situation warranted a call to Tex.
Obi-Wan didn’t want to bother the man with something trivial if he could help it.
Because he was most certainly busy with more life-or-death situations.
But if there was the slightest chance Zita was in danger, he’d call whoever he needed to in order to make sure she was safe.