Chapter 24
“Ishouldn’t have left you there.”
“It’s fine, Talia. We were filming. You couldn’t have expected anything to happen.”
“No, I should have, especially after you told me about that nasty photo incident and the flowers.”
Valentina turned sharply from the passenger seat. “What photo incident? What flowers?”
Emily’s lips pressed thin in hesitation, but she remembered the way Valentina had wiped her clean. “Someone sent me flowers the other day, but I got spooked and dumped them because of said photo.”
Valentina’s brows pulled together, her head tilting as she watched her, rightfully confused.
“A slashed photo of my face was delivered to my condo, smeared with what looked like blood.”
“Don’t leave out the fact that it was accompanied by a dead rat, Emily,” Talia cut in.
Valentina’s face twisted in horror at the insert. “What the fuck?” She glanced between both women. “What sick bastard would do something like that?”
“Someone who needs more jail time, that’s who,” Talia snapped.
“We don’t know if it’s him for certain.”
“Give it a break, Emily. Who else would it be? He’s out to get you for sending him away all those years.”
“Chelsea said—”
“I don’t care what Chelsea said. My gut says this has him written all over it.”
Emily didn’t argue. If Talia was right, she was in more danger than she’d thought. Each incident felt like a warning, teasers to something worse. She turned to the window, letting them continue.
“Did the police on set question Adrianna?”
“Yeah, but someone said she was with them the whole time. The security footage doesn’t cover that section.
Cameras aren’t allowed near wardrobe bays or quick-change alcoves.
Whoever did this knew exactly where the blind spot was.
” Valentina clicked her tongue. “I still think it was her. She has a track record—maybe not this dramatic, but crazy enough. I even saw her pour something into Emily’s drink when you stepped away for a call before. ”
“I’m saying this for your own good.” Talia looked behind her during a red light, meeting Emily’s eyes. “I don’t think you should be on set without security anymore. Matter of fact, I don’t think you should be without security period.”
Emily went to answer, but something caught her eye in the side-view mirror, angled enough for her to see from the back seat.
A black SUV. She’d noticed it a couple blocks back, chalking up the two turns it took with them to coincidence, but not anymore.
Her stomach tightened.
Heading straight for the mansion hadn’t seemed like a big deal.
Valentina had asked Emily if she’d moved and she’d simply said yes.
She’d explained the one-hour drive and Valentina had accepted it, saying she needed to see Emily make it home safely with her own two eyes.
Now Emily was wondering if she’d put both women in harm’s way.
“Talia…”
Her manager’s eyes flicked to the rearview at the tremor in Emily’s voice.
“Go,” she said the second the traffic light turned green.
“What?” Talia asked, confused.
“I said, go,” Emily repeated louder. “We’re being followed. You have to lose them.”
Both Talia and Valentina’s gazes darted to the mirrors. Sure enough, the vehicle clung to their tail.
“Fucking hell. What is up with today?” Talia spat, slamming her foot down. The car jolted forward, pinning Emily and Valentina against the seat backs.
“Is this really happening?” Valentina’s voice shook.
Talia whipped the wheel into a sharp turn.
The black car mirrored them.
Emily’s fingers twitched for her phone, torn between calling Nicolas or Chelsea. Before she could decide headlights glared at them.
“Hold on!” Talia barked.
Her manager swerved hard into a lane, tires screeching. The pursuer followed, but she didn’t let up. She cut across two other lanes, narrowly missing a delivery truck, then shot down an alley barely wide enough for their car.
The black SUV ground to a halt.
Emily’s breath came in ragged bursts.
Valentina clutched the car handle above.
Only their loud breathing filled the car until Talia spoke, “Well,” she said, a shaky grin tugging at her lips, “guess me watching all those action movies finally paid off.”
Emily’s pulse didn’t ease until they pulled into the mansion’s driveway. Her panic spiked again when she spotted a black vehicle parked at the front. The SUV from earlier.
“H-How?” she whispered, stumbling as she got out of their car.
“Let’s get you inside,” Talia said.
Valentina shook her head, taking out her phone. “No! That’s a terrible idea. What if the culprit is inside? We should call the police.”
Before anything else could be said, David came out the front door. His eyes melted in relief at the sight of them. “Thank God you’re here. Mr. Re was about to blow the roof off the place.”
“What? Why?”
“Go inside and you’ll see.”
Valentina grasped her hand when Emily went to make a move. “Are you sure about this? Do you honestly trust this guy?” She spoke as if David wasn’t hearing every word coming out of her mouth.
Talia turned to Emily. “I’ll go first, then you come once I shout whether or not it’s safe.”
When David turned to go back with them, Valentina blocked him.
“Oh, hell no,” she said with a wave of her finger, then glanced down at her phone, where 911 was already pulled up on the screen. “You’re going to stay right where you are, mister. No funny business.”
His lips twitched. “If you insist. I was only heading back to see his reaction, but I guess yours is more entertaining.”
“Excuse me?” Emily heard Valentina squeak as Talia flanked her, escorting her toward the door.
Inside, Nicolas’s voice thundered through the foyer. She froze, wondering if she was in the right house. He’d never raised his voice like that before.
“You lost her? You had one job—one! To keep her in sight and make sure nothing happened!”
Emily forgot all about Talia’s plan of going first as she rounded the corner in a hurry.
In the living room, a man’s head was hung low while on his knees in front of Nicolas. His words tumbled out in panic. “I’m sorry, s-sir. I swear, I had her. I was caught off guard. The driver was skilled—”
“Excuses.” Nicolas’s tone was razor-sharp. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? She’s my wife. If anything happens to her, you better be prepared.”
The man stammered out, “I—I understand. It won’t happen again. But I can assure you she wasn’t harmed when she got away.”
“Oh, I know.” Nicolas chuckled coldly. “If she were, you wouldn’t be kneeling here right now. You’d be somewhere far more unpleasant.”
Nicolas turned to another male guard lingering nearby. “Get Cameron. I don’t care what time it is, get him on a plane. I want him here immediately.”
The guard nodded briskly and hurried off, leaving the chastised guy shaking under Nicolas’s glare.
Emily’s breath caught in her throat. It hadn’t been a stranger at all. The SUV tailing them had belonged to Nicolas’s people.
When he finally turned and saw her, the anger in his face dissolved. Nicolas crossed the space in a rush, his eyes softening as they scanned Emily, as though confirming she was whole.
“Are you alr—”
“What was that about? Did you have me followed?”
“I heard about the paint incident,” he started. “I couldn’t risk you being without protection again, so I sent him to make sure you got home safely. I had two guards dispatched on set but they couldn’t check the area where your bag was. I’m sorry this happened, Em.”
Emily’s chest rose and fell. He had people on set watching her?
Her eyes found Valentina and Talia who stood frozen, confusion etched across their faces.
“This is Nicolas,” Emily finally relented, her voice tired. “My husband.”
Valentina’s mouth fell open, Talia’s eyes shone knowingly but her lips still parted in surprise that Emily had said it out loud. Even Nicolas blinked at her admission.
“He’ll explain why he thought it was a good idea to tail us and have us believing our lives were in danger.”
Emily didn’t wait for their reactions. She walked away. She was drained, by the threats and by the chase.
Above all, she was desperately in need of a shower.