Chapter 7 Vaughn
VAUGHN
“Thanks for doing that for me,” I concluded. “I owe you one.”
Jackson Bennett’s voice filtered through my sound system’s speakers as I pulled up to my front gate.
“Don’t worry about it. Consider this one a freebie.
We were in the middle of a painful rehearsal.
If anything, the siren gave the dancers a reason to stop dragging ass.
It was the first time I saw them move with purpose all fucking day. ”
“You are the only man in the world who would complain about having to watch a bunch of girls wiggle their asses and shake their tits on stage all day.” As the entertainment coordinator for some of the town’s hottest productions, Jackson’s job was a hell of a lot more attractive than he made it out to be at times.
He was currently overseeing a new production at Planet Hollywood.
Hence, my thoughts immediately turned to him when I realized Nova would need a distraction to help her escape from the mall inside the building.
I’d exchanged a handful of messages with him before now, where he’d described the headache of getting the production off the ground.
I’d figured he’d be around, more than likely looking for a distraction from his otherwise enviable job.
Then again, if work were always fun, they wouldn’t call it work—yet another one of my father’s lessons back in the day. There were times I was sure the man was allergic to enjoying himself.
“Smoke and mirrors, my friend,” Jackson sighed. “All an illusion.” Like so much about our town.
We said our goodbyes, and I made a mental note to send him a bottle of scotch to thank him for setting off the fire alarm in the building, causing an evacuation.
It was the only thing I could think of to get Nova out of there.
Oliver had confirmed picking her up safely behind the building, though he hadn’t yet arrived by the time I pulled up in the front courtyard of my home in The Ridges. I had gotten a head start.
Was this the craziest thing I had ever done?
No. Come to think of it, the craziest thing I’d ever done involved a trip to the wedding chapel.
This came in second, for sure. A sane man would have backed away from the prospect of making life more complicated by sheltering a woman on the run from a threat she had yet to name or describe.
I didn’t have the first idea what I was getting into as I jogged up the short flight of stairs leading to my front door.
I normally valued my peace more than just about anything else, yet I had invited trouble.
What was I supposed to do? Nobody could fake what I heard over the phone.
She was flat-out terrified, tearful, and breathless.
Something about the sound of it did something to me.
It was enough to make me pack up common sense and throw it out the window.
This was a girl who valued her pride above just about anything else, and she was falling apart. That meant a lot.
I had barely stepped inside the house when gravel crunching under tires made me turn in place to watch as the town car I’d sent for Nova, rolled up the curved driveway.
Waiting in the doorway, I observed her climbing out from the back seat once Oliver parked and opened the door for her.
I raised my hand to thank him, waiting for her to join me.
Where was the girl I’d faced off with barely more than an hour ago?
The confident, almost brittle young woman, insisting she had everything together and refusing to hint at needing help?
She had stopped crying, at least, though the evidence of her emotions still existed in the dried tears staining her cheeks.
The eyes she eventually lifted to meet mine were red-rimmed and a little swollen.
“I’m sorry for this,” she mumbled, stopping in front of me before looking over her shoulder.
“Nobody followed you,” I assured her, ushering her inside. She was damn spooked, but not enough to make me regret bringing her here. I would make that judgment once I gained more information.
“I didn’t want to believe I was right, but then he was behind me in my reflection, standing so close.
” She seemed satisfied to follow me through the house, past the living room and the library, waiting until we reached the kitchen before acknowledging anything around her.
“This is a nice house. Do you live here by yourself?”
Of all things to ask me at a time like this. “I do. I like having space.”
“Do you have people here helping you with the housework and whatnot?”
Now I understood what she was getting at, though I was in the dark as to why. “The housekeeper comes first thing in the morning. Her car is gone, so she’s finished by now. My cook comes in on Sundays and does a lot of meal prep for the week. He’s not here every day. You’re safe.”
“It’s not me I’m worried about,” she assured me with a faint, dry laugh that never reached her troubled eyes or the downward curve of her mouth. “I don’t want anybody else suffering because of me.”
Suffering. What a word to use. I pulled a bottle of water from the refrigerator, opened it, and placed it on the counter before pulling out a stool. “Sit down. Remember, we had a deal. Why the hell would anybody suffer on account of you being here?”
She sat without arguing, then waited until almost half the bottle was drained before releasing a deep breath. “You were right. There’s trouble. I’m so sorry to have brought you into it. I didn’t mean to.”
Impatience left me grinding my molars. This was nothing I didn’t already know. “Out with it. What happened?”
Her teeth sank into her lip, her gaze never leaving the bottle she held in both hands, turning it in place on the granite counter.
Condensation ran down the sides, puddling on the countertop.
“I saw something I shouldn’t have Saturday night.
I crashed the wedding like you said. I needed somewhere to hide. ”
And I had given her the perfect opportunity, hadn’t I? This wasn’t the time for pride to rear its ugly head and make an asshole out of me, but the idea was tempting.
“I’m sorry, really,” she babbled. “And in case you’re wondering, no, that’s not what the wedding was about.
I’m still not quite sure what the wedding was about, to be honest with you.
I remember how easy you were to talk to and how you made me laugh.
I needed to laugh. You looked at me like you really wanted to be with me, too, though that probably had to do with the alcohol.
” She dismissed it with a soft laugh like she couldn’t believe I’d be interested in her for any other reason.
Could she think that? Was she secretly that insecure?
The flash of vulnerability ended when she cleared her throat, sitting up straighter.
Lifting the bottle, she touched it to her forehead.
“Anyway, like I said, I saw something I shouldn’t have, and somebody caught me, and I was running away from them.
And now… I’m afraid they sent someone after me.
I’m still not completely sure, but that man was definitely following me around today.
I noticed him lurking before I went to see you, and I recognized him on the casino floor before I left.
That was why I… what did you call it? Tried to make a smacked ass out of you?
I had to get out of there before he saw me. ”
I brushed that aside in favor of asking, “What did you see?” This would have been much easier if she would stop dancing around the subject.
A long, deep breath escaped her lungs before she shook her head, leaving the bottle on the counter in favor of picking at the hem of her yellow sundress. “I can’t. I’m sorry. I know it sounds shitty, but I cannot tell you.”
If I gripped the counter any tighter, I was sure it would crack. It was either that or wrapping my hands around her neck. The counter seemed safer. “Was someone killed?” I demanded. “Is that it?”
Her mouth pulled up at the corner while her brow furrowed in an expression of disbelief. “Wow. Came right out with it, didn’t you? Is that something that happens a lot in your experience?”
It was a wonder I wasn’t breathing fire. “For fuck’s sake, Oxford! I’m trying to piece things together, and you’re not giving me much to work with.”
She flinched but quickly pulled herself together, lifting her chin in defiance.
What was it about that practiced motion that made hunger uncoil in my gut?
“You don’t need to piece things together.
That is not why I’m here. I had to get away.
I needed to be safe. And you were the only person I could turn to. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry, because I’m the last person you want to trust?” I scoffed.
“Sorry because you’re the last person I want to end up getting hurt, but you’re the only one I have no real history with.”
Dammit. I was expecting an acidic retort, not an almost whispered admission.
Her sharp change in attitude took some of the wind out of my sails and left me gazing out the kitchen windows overlooking the back patio and Red Rock Canyon beyond.
It was an exquisite view, one of the house’s major selling points, but at the moment, I found it impossible to appreciate a beautiful day when things had taken such a dark turn.
“All right,” I ventured after taking a minute to process things.
My tie was too damn tight, and loosening it didn’t help it feel any less like a noose.
“You saw something you weren’t supposed to see.
Someone is after you now. This is not the kind of problem that goes away after you hide out here for the day. What are you going to do about it?”
“I don’t know.” She shook her head, staring down at her lap. “I really don’t.”
“I have to ask this, so try to acknowledge the question before giving me your attitude.” Bracing myself for the worst, I asked, “Why can’t you go to your father for help?”