Up Close and Personal

by Kathryn Freeman

  Now, as he sat at the table he’d occupied in between the dancing, he was finally starting to relax.

  Kat, sitting to the left of him, was talking through some fancy wireless comms device. She caught his eye and nodded. ‘Ready to leave? I’m going to take you out by the rear exit.’

  He thought there was possibly a joke in there somewhere, but he was too exhausted to make it. Apparently dancing while wondering if there was a sniper targeting your back, was tiring work. ‘You can take me wherever you want.’ Perhaps he wasn’t too tired, after all.

  She held out her hand. ‘Come on then Ginger Rogers. Let’s get you out of here and into bed.’ She gave him a wicked smile. ‘See, you’re not the only one who can do innuendo.’

  ‘I’d rather you did me,’ he countered, earning him a slightly disbelieving, but gratifyingly spontaneous, laugh.

  Kat was all business again as they made their way through the still busy ballroom and stepped into the foyer.

  And that’s when it happened.

  His world seemed to go into slow motion as Kat grabbed his arm and pushed him back into the ballroom. ‘Stay behind me and walk quickly to the room on the left.’

  He knew better than to ask questions when she was in full-on protector mode. Trying not to draw attention to them, he walked smartly towards the door used by the staff, acutely aware of Kat behind him, walking backwards as she monitored the main door and talked on the comms.

  ‘He’s been seen in the hotel,’ she whispered as they hot-footed it through the staff area and into a small office used by the catering manager.

  ‘Who has?’ he asked, perhaps stupidly, as she did a quick search under the desk and behind the door, which she then kicked closed.

  ‘The guy I spotted in the crowd when we first arrived. Police have been monitoring the hotel CCTV. They saw him walk into the foyer a few minutes ago.’

  ‘Okay.’ He tried to inhale properly rather than give in to the short, panicked breaths his racing heart was trying to dictate. ‘What do we do now?’

  ‘We keep you safe while we search the building.’

  His mind was taking longer to process information than usual. ‘The we in that statement. That’s you and me in a locked room, yes?’

  ‘No. I’m the only one who’s had eyes on the guy, so I need to get out there. Mark’s coming to replace me.’

  There were so many things he didn’t like in that statement. Kat tracking down a potential killer was the most glaring, though feeling like a fraud while others, including the woman he loved, risked themselves to save his backside was also up there. ‘I don’t like it.’

  ‘You don’t like the idea of being locked up in a small room with Mark? He’ll be gutted.’

  He fought to keep his calm, when what he wanted to do was shake some sense into her. ‘I don’t want you out there while there’s a killer on the loose.’

  ‘Are you seriously forcing me to remind you once again that it’s my job? Besides, if there is a killer out there hired by your father, he sure as hell isn’t interested in me.’

  Their staring match – who could glare the hardest – was interrupted by a knock on the door. Mark’s voice came through the woodwork. ‘It’s me.’

  Some of the anger left her face. ‘You’ll be safe here, and that’s important to me.’

  Important because she had deep feelings for him?, he wondered as she walked out. Or important because she needed to expel the ghost of Wes, the man she’d really loved?

  Mark stepped inside and as he locked the door behind him, the room descended into silence. ‘You and me, locked in a small room together. How delightful.’

  ‘Don’t get your hopes up, it won’t be for long,’ Mark responded in his usual gruff tone.

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘I told Kat the guy’s vanished, but she won’t have it. Wants to check for herself.’ He gave Zac a cutting glance. ‘Make doubly certain to protect your pretty arse.’

  Zac gave him a tight smile. ‘My arse thanks you for the compliment.’

  After that, and Mark’s answering grunt, they waited in silence, only interrupted by Mark’s occasional mutterings into his comms.

  It was twenty minutes before Kat returned, frustration etched across her face. ‘I can’t believe we didn’t find him.’

  Unbelievably relieved to see her back, Zac ached to kiss the annoyance right out of her, yet he wasn’t sure how well that display of affection would go down while she was on duty. Even though he was the duty.

  ‘My guess, for what it’s worth, is he took a look into the ballroom, saw you were still with Zac, and decided it was too risky,’ Mark stated matter of factly.

  ‘What about the theory that he was a fan, looking for an autograph?’ Zac pointed out. ‘Or hey, maybe he worked here?’

  Mark’s lip actually curled. ‘You don’t believe the first, and if you really think we haven’t shown his photo to the hotel staff, what are you doing continuing to trust your safety to the care of such numpties?’

  While Zac wracked his frazzled brain for a suitably cutting response, Kat cut in. ‘Gee, enough testosterone, the pair of you. At least now we have a photo of a suspect. It’s one step closer than we were four hours ago.’ She gave them both a sharp teacher-to-unruly-pupil look and nodded to the door. ‘Now let’s get out of here.’

  As Mark marched out ahead, Zac took a moment to capture Kat’s hand, and pull her towards him. ‘I believe we were discussing you getting me into bed.’ He touched his lips to hers for one too-short kiss. ‘Are we still on?’

  He’d hoped for a smile, but instead he got a weary sigh, her intense disappointment at not catching the guy still blindingly clear. ‘If we can keep you alive long enough to get you into bed then yes, sure.’

  He didn’t care that Mark was no doubt pacing outside. He didn’t care that Kat was itching to get her ‘job’ finished tonight. He took his time giving her another kiss, hoping she would feel his love for her in the tender press of his mouth on hers. ‘Have faith,’ he whispered as he drew back. ‘My bodyguard is Kat Parker. No way am I getting shot.’

  She raised her eyes to the ceiling, but when she looked back at him there was a slight flush to her cheeks, and when he smiled at her, she smiled back.

  Chapter 32

  Kat would never forget where she was when she received that phone call. The day was Monday, the clock on the bedside table read 12.24 p.m.

  And she was rolling around in tangled, sweaty sheets with Zac Edwards, making the most of his rare morning off filming.

  Self-disgust would come later, because it was the blood-curdling fear that blotted out every other feeling as she breathlessly answered the call from her niece.

  ‘Hey, Debs, is everything okay?’

  The lengthy silence kicked Kat’s pulse into overdrive.

  The reply, when it came in a cold male voice, sent her heart into freefall.

  ‘I’ve got your niece.’

  Terror hurtled through her as Kat instinctively gripped at the sheets, as if the man could see her naked body. ‘Who is this?’

  She was dimly aware of Zac, who’d been lying down beside her, jolting upright but she couldn’t look at him. All she could do was focus on trying to remain calm when her stomach was pitching violently and her heart was pounding so hard she could hear it vibrating through her body.

  ‘The name doesn’t matter. Bring Zac Edwards to the location I’m sending through to you, and you’ll get her back.’

  Breathe. Breathe. ‘I need to know she’s okay.’

  There was the sound of shuffling, then a muffled ‘Kat.’

  ‘Oh my God, Debs—’

  ‘That’s all your getting.’ The male voice was back.

  ‘She’s done nothing,’ Kat pleaded, knowing it was a waste of time but needing to try anyway because she’d never felt so desperate, so utterly frantic.

  ‘True, but she’s your niece and you’re the one who’s stopping me from doing what my client is prepared to pay a considerab
le sum for.’

  Involuntarily her eyes found Zac’s, and he must have guessed what was happening because he looked as unhinged as she felt.

  ‘Midnight, at the park. No cops, or your pretty young niece takes the bullet instead.’

  Abruptly the line went dead and as Kat clutched the phone to her chest, her only connection to Debs, a sob wrenched from her.

  ‘He’s got her, hasn’t he?’

  Zac’s words didn’t penetrate. She felt numb, paralysed with fear like she’d never known. Entering a terrorist stronghold in Afghan had nothing on this, nothing. At least then she’d felt in control.

  Here, sitting on this bed, she felt utterly helpless.

  ‘Kat.’ Zac gripped her arms, forcing her to look at him. ‘Has he got Debs?’

  ‘Yes.’ Who was this woman with the weak, trembling voice? She pushed herself out of his grip and off the bed, wrapping the sheet tightly around her. ‘While we were having sex, my niece was being kidnapped.’

  He blanched, whether at her crude description, or the disgust in her voice, she didn’t know, though she knew one thing. She’d never forgive herself for this, ever.

  ‘How do we get her back? What does he want?’

  ‘You.’

  He nodded, as if she’d just asked him if he wanted a cup of tea. ‘No problem, he can have me.’

  ‘Just like that?’

  His face contorted with anguish. ‘Of course just like that. She should never have got involved in my shit.’ His eyes, when they met hers, looked tortured. ‘And that’s on me, but I’ll make this right, Kat. You have my promise. Whatever he wants, he gets.’

  His agony was too much for her to watch, especially when she had her own guilt, her own self-loathing going on. ‘I need to see Mark.’

  ‘Of course.’

  Clearly suddenly aware he was inappropriately naked, Zac reached for a pillow and held it over his crotch. The action made her laugh bitterly. ‘Bit late for that, isn’t it? I’ve spent all morning with it, when I should have been taking care of Debs.’

  She knew she was being irrational – it wasn’t his fault, it was hers – but the words wouldn’t stop. At least when she was yelling at him, at herself, she wasn’t thinking of Debs, and how terrified she must be.

  Bile rose in her stomach and Kat rushed to the toilet, where she emptied the tea and toast Zac had made her earlier.

  After that she turned the shower up to maximum heat and stood under it, hoping it would take some of the chill out this crippling cold dread. Yet when she stepped out of it, everything was the same. She was still the woman who’d irresponsibly brought Zac into her home. Who’d put his safety before that of her niece.

  The woman whose stupidity, blindness, naivety, ignorance … she deserved every word that would be hurled at her. She was the one who’d put her niece’s life in danger.

  When she walked back into the room, Zac was dressed and sitting on the bed, staring at the floor, as if he hoped it would provide him some answers.

  His head snapped up when he heard her. ‘What can I do?’ His eyes, heavy with pain, appeared sunken. ‘Tell me how I can help.’

  Hold me. For a brief moment she thought it, but how dare she ask for comfort when Debs was God knows where, at the mercy of an assassin?

  ‘Stay put.’ Her voice caught and she knew she was on the verge of tears. Something she couldn’t give in to because they, like comfort, were a waste of her focus. She needed to expend every molecule of effort, of energy, on getting Debs safely back. ‘Don’t give me anything else to worry about.’

  He gave her a tight smile. ‘Seems to be my speciality, doesn’t it? Hiding out of the way.’

  His bitter tone said everything she needed to know. He accepted she had to go, that she needed to discuss it with Mark, but he hated it too.

  And he was blaming himself for what had happened every bit as much as she was.

  ***

  He’d paced around the tiny flat for over an hour now. Zac felt not only helpless, but useless. Kat was at least out there doing something productive, finding a way to rescue Debs.

  In a fit of pent-up frustration, he hurled the mug he was holding against the wall, watching as it shattered, leaving splashes of tea up the wall and broken fragments all over the floor.

  Guilt. A deep, shameful, gut-wrenching guilt. That’s what he couldn’t, and maybe would never, escape from. He knew Kat was suffering her own version of it, aware that if she hadn’t brought him into her home, Debs would never have become involved. Yet she’d done it with the best of intentions, to help protect him.

  What had he done in return?

  He’d brought his murdering, mobster father down on them. He couldn’t get past the fact that when she’d invited him into her home, Kat hadn’t known who he really was.

  The sound of a knock on the door shook him out of himself and he strode towards it.

  ‘It’s me.’

  He almost wrenched the door off its hinges as he flung it open to let Kat in.

  ‘Any update?’

  She shook her head, and he could see from the swollen eyelids that she’d spent at least some of the last hour crying. The thought that Mark had been the one consoling her and not him caused a vicious twist in his gut.

  ‘I’m so sorry. Here, let me hold you, just for a moment. Please.’ He reached for her, needing to feel her in his arms, but she sidestepped away from him. If she’d slapped him round the face, it wouldn’t have stung any more.

  ‘We’ve been working on a plan.’ She brushed by him and went into the kitchen, opening the door to take out a bottle of milk. ‘Mark’s coming here when he’s made some phone calls.’

  The twist in his gut tightened. ‘Do I get to hear the plan? Or will I be required to sit quietly and stick my fingers in my ears when he gets here?’

  Anger flashed across her face but then she closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath. ‘Okay, that’s fair. This involves you and yet you’re feeling left out of the loop.’

  ‘Left out?’ He wanted to take her by the shoulders and shake off this cool, don’t-come-near-me guard she’d put up. ‘I feel horrified, devastated, strung out. Guilty like you wouldn’t believe.’ He raked a hand through his hair, fighting to control his temper. Shouting would only drive them further apart, though at this point he wondered if that was actually possible. ‘My hurt feelings aren’t important,’ he added more calmly. ‘I only want to help undo the nightmare I’ve created.’

  ‘You didn’t cause this,’ she told him flatly. ‘I did.’

  ‘It’s you this man wants to kill then, is it? You whose father is pulling the strings?’

  She slammed the milk down on the worktop. ‘No, but it’s me who brought you into my home. Me who connected you to Debs.’

  He hadn’t thought this could hurt any more, yet the knife she plunged kept slicing deeper. ‘How can you possibly think you’re to blame? You thought I was an actor from a respectable background, being stalked by a fan. You didn’t know who I really was.’

  He could feel his voice shaking and he hated the sign of weakness. Especially in front of this woman who was always so strong. Afraid he might embarrass himself further and actually cry, he turned sharply, intending to head to the bathroom.

  A hand on his wrist stopped him.

  ‘I know exactly who you are.’ She swallowed, and her guard lowered enough for him to see how hard she was fighting not to buckle under the weight of the anguish she was feeling. ‘You asked me what you can do. You can stay positive. Believe that we’re going to get Debs back in one piece.’

  He risked holding a hand to her face, and nearly collapsed with relief when she didn’t smack him away. ‘I do believe that. I believe in you.’

  Tears welled and she blinked and looked away. ‘I keep seeing her face, and she’s terrified, Zac. What must she be thinking right now? Is he hurting her?’

  Her anguish tore at him. He hated seeing her in this unbearable pain. Hated knowing he was responsible for
it. Risking rejection, he slid his arms around her. ‘Let me,’ he whispered desperately as he drew her against him. ‘Please.’

  Her body stiffened and for a horrible moment he thought she was going to push him away. But then she shuddered and seemed to give in, her arms wrapping around his waist. He didn’t know how long it lasted, only that for the first time since the phone call, he felt anchored.

  All too soon she straightened and took a step back. ‘I can’t do this. Not now. I have to stay strong for Debs.’

  He wanted to argue that it wasn’t weakness to take comfort, but maybe he’d been the only one it had helped. Hell, maybe Kat couldn’t find comfort from him, because he was the one who’d brought this on her.

  ‘Zac?’

  He blinked over at her. ‘Yes, sorry.’

  ‘I asked if you’ve eaten? Mark’s just messaged to say he’s on his way and suggested he pick up a pizza. He says we need the energy to think clearly.’

  ‘Yes, sure.’ Though the thought of eating anything, never mind the very thing he’d enjoyed sharing with Debs, churned his stomach.

  Chapter 33

  The plan would work.

  Kat repeated that to herself over and over as she parked up at the specified location, ten minutes before midnight.

  Next to her, his body taut, his expression masked, Zac stared straight ahead. She knew he still believed he was the one responsible for putting her and Debs through this. Later, she’d make sure he understood she didn’t blame him. She hated herself for dragging Debs into this, hated herself for being in bed with Zac while her niece was being kidnapped, but she didn’t hate Zac.

  Now though, she had to be single-minded. It was the only way she could get Debs back.

  It meant that if the worst came to the worst … her stomach lurched at the thought of making that split-second decision.

  Put Zac in danger, versus get her niece back.

  ‘Don’t think about it.’

  She glanced sharply at him. ‘What?’