Hot Pursuit

by Rhonda Laurel

  They stopped near the dance floor. Wes turned to her.

  “Parker, I didn’t know you were a private investigator. You said you were a consultant on your bio tape.”

  “I am a consultant. I never said what I consulted on,” Parker replied. “And that tidbit stays between us, right?” Parker looked from Jen to Wes.

  “Of course.”

  “Good. I’ll stick around until the police arrive to give a statement. In the meantime, maybe you could control the crowd.” Parker looked around. Everyone was just hanging out as if nothing serious had happened.

  “It’s safe to say the rest of the night is a bust.” Jen groaned. “I can’t believe this.”

  Parker and Riley went back to their table. Melissa and Todd were sitting there sipping on their drinks.

  “What an exciting night,” Melissa said. “Did they find out what happened?”

  “Not sure. The facilities manager is in ‘cover your ass’ mode.”

  “Parker, you were awesome. That was some quick thinking to get Wes out of the way,” Todd said.

  Suddenly Jen’s voice boomed around the room. “Everyone, would you kindly take your seats.”

  Parker opted not to tell Melissa and Todd her theory about what had happened. There was no point in sounding alarm bells when she didn’t have any solid proof. But her gut was telling her that someone in the room had sabotaged that light. She just didn’t know why.

  * * *

  Riley stood still as the shower jets caressed his body. After waiting for the police to take Parker’s statement, they’d called it a night and bade Melissa and Todd a good night. He was happy to see Parker had made a friend in Melissa. She seemed especially relaxed now that she’d gotten to the bottom of why Melissa hadn’t called. That kind of thing had happened plenty of times with him. People assuming something about him because he was in the spotlight all the time. Melissa and Todd seemed like nice people. He wouldn’t mind seeing them socially.

  It was abundantly clear the showrunners loved Parker. The room was abuzz with great things to say about their new standout star. She was beautiful, charming, and had just enough of a Texas drawl that she was a marketing department’s dream come true. If she wanted, she could snag all kinds of promotional opportunities as she built her fan base. But Parker wasn’t into being the new face of Ultimate Champion. She wanted a fair chance at winning without the hype.

  He’d forgotten to tell her he’d gotten into a conversation with another producer of the show who asked if he’d be interested in a spin-off, obstacle type show where pro athletes competed during their offseasons. He politely declined, but that didn’t stop the guy from slipping him his business card and asking if they could do lunch so he could give him the full pitch. But that was the nature of show business no matter the venue. Someone always had an angle. She’d stood her ground with Jen and made it clear she wouldn’t exploit their relationship for ratings.

  He had to admit, he loved it when she went into protection mode over him. She may not have been forthcoming with her feelings in a conventional way, but she was ferocious when she thought someone was out to hurt him. Just like he was just as protective of her. The rigging of that light tonight was proof that there may have been something to those accidents plaguing the show. He’d seen the look in her eyes when she was inspecting that light. She was on the case, whether he liked it or not.

  Oh well. It had been a fun night until the incident. His heart stopped when he saw that light fall and Parker ran over to push Wes out of harm’s way. It was just like her to put her life on the line. J.J. had warned him that Parker and Sam were cut from the same cloth and that meant it would take a lot of patience and understanding to see them do the things they did. She was genetically encoded to save the day, and it might have been endearing if he didn’t age a little every time she did something heroic. In a perfect world, she’d retire and do something sensible and safe behind a desk. He knew that sounded terribly sexist and chauvinistic, but he couldn’t help it. He loved her and wanted her to come home to him every night.

  But the reality was she had a dangerous job, and she embraced those nail-biting moments. So he’d reconcile himself every now and again the fact that it was OK that she loved to help people. Her instincts were sharp. She’d been viewing the footage of the accidents and had suspected something wasn’t right. Someone associated with the show was trying to make sure people would be hurt or worse. The light was rigged, and it had been a fifty-fifty chance the person would be injured or dead. Which meant whoever rigged it was willing to kill to get their point across. And now Parker was smack dab in the middle of it.

  He stepped out of the shower and dried himself off. He could hear the television in the bedroom, but Parker was silent.

  He slathered on some lotion and put on a pair of pajama bottoms. He stealthily slid into bed next to her and pulled her close to him. She was wearing one of his T-shirts and a pair of shorts.

  She’d hypothesized all the way home about that stage light sabotage. She wanted to find out who was doing it and why the accidents seemed to be ramping up. The winning stakes were the same as the previous seasons, but tonight they’d announced a few more incentives. In addition to winning the prize and bragging rights of Ultimate Champion, the winner would be the face of Power Punch, a popular sports water drink. That lucrative modeling gig would be worth a million dollars on its own.

  He closed his eyes. A good night’s sleep would help clear his head.

  “You were really quiet on the way home,” Parker said sleepily.

  “I know not to interrupt you when you’re in Sherlock mode.” He ran his hand along her hip. “I’m just glad you didn’t get hurt.”

  “I know what you’re going to say.”

  “You do?”

  “You’re going to say I should quit the show.”

  “No. I’m not going to say that. You’re a great athlete, and I’m proud of you for putting in the training and effort to continue. I hate that this mystery has cropped up. It’s taking away what should be a fun moment for you. But I want you to promise me you’ll be careful when you go snooping around. Whoever this person is, they’re getting more dangerous with every stunt. I—” He hesitated for a moment. “I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you. The world would be a dreadful place without you in it.”

  The sound of her steady breathing was all the answer he needed. She’d fallen asleep before hearing his declaration. Not long ago he would have thought it was foolish to talk about his feelings this way. Now he couldn’t help but express himself. The words just fell out of his mouth. So much for his ego.

  “You have my word. I’ll be careful.” Parker snuggled closer against him. “I’m not going anywhere. You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried. Now get some sleep. We have to run in the morning.”

  Riley smiled and drifted off the sleep.

  Chapter Six

  “You have reached your destination,” the GPS voice announced as Parker pulled into the parking spot on the street in front of the gym.

  She’d been driving around in her new car for over a week and had a wicked case of guilt. Blue Steel hadn’t even been gone very long, and she was tootling around in its replacement, a much more expensive, luxurious vehicle that turned heads everywhere she went. But guilt or no, when Jen called and told her that Abel Malloy, a personal trainer and former contestant, had opened a gym with obstacles featured in the show, she thought it was worth checking out. The next taping would be coming up in a week, and they both could use some help shaving off performance times.

  She looked in her side view mirror. A car coming down the street had slowed down. She tensed when the car came to a complete stop next to her. The driver said something, but she couldn’t hear because the window was up and her radio was on. She cut off the radio and reached into her glove compartment for her Taser.

  She rolled down the window as he continued to yell. “Excuse me?”

  “I said ‘beautiful, and
the car isn’t half bad either.’” The guy winked and pulled off.

  Yeah, she’d been getting cheesy comments like that.

  She put her sunglasses on top of her head and looked at the building. It wasn’t what she was expecting at all. Abel Bodied Gym was a restored warehouse space dedicated to extreme sports people who wanted to test themselves to the limit. Abel was friendly enough over the phone and invited her and Mel to come in to train. She glanced at her watch and noticed she was right on time. She decided to go in and have a look around while she waited for Melissa. She put the Taser back in the glove compartment, grabbed her gym bag, locked up the car, and went inside.

  “Parker!” Melissa waved from the waiting area. She was standing with a big, hulking man who had a shaved head, goatee, and wore a tank top and shorts with the gym’s logo on it. It was the owner, Abel, a legend from the show.

  “Melissa. Good to see you.” Parker gave her a hug.

  “You too.” Melissa hugged her back. “This is Abel.”

  “Nice to meet you, Abel. You’re quite the UC legend.” She held out her hand for a shake, bracing herself, Abel’s hand looked more like a paw. He was a fierce competitor and responsible for the show being thrust into the world of television.

  “Parker, it’s nice to meet you. I hear you’re making some waves yourself.” He whistled as he looked past her out the window. “Nice ride.”

  “Thanks. It’s new.” She looked back at the Corvette. “I smashed up my old car in a car chase. My boyfriend thought this would cheer me up.”

  Melissa raised an eyebrow. “She’s a totallynormal person.”

  “I swear. I am. Exotic car notwithstanding.” Parker laughed. “It’s actually a very bad example. I blame Riley.”

  “He’s such a sweetheart. Todd is still swooning over meeting him.” Melissa smiled.

  Parker turned to Abel. “You probably already know, but Riley Sloane is my boyfriend.”

  Abel’s eyes lit up. “He’s my favorite quarterback. You’re in Tomcats country around here.” He pointed to the wall behind the person standing at the check-in desk. There was an autographed jersey from Riley hanging there. “He signed that at a fundraiser last year. I was devastated when the team didn’t get to advance in the playoffs. Is he OK?”

  “He’s tough and determined. He’ll be back in fighting shape come the fall,” Parker replied. The statement usually satisfied his fans, and by the looks of the paraphernalia on the wall, Riley had cult-like status with Abel.

  “What kind of workout regimen does he have? I’ve never been able to find out. It’s like top secret or something. Does he work with a personal trainer?” Abel asked, his voice dripping with diehard fandom.

  Parker looked at Melissa. They’d never get to train if Abel kept asking questions about Riley. “He has his own trainer and occasionally works out with Seth Blake.”

  Abel was totally destroying his own tough-guy image. He looked like he wanted to hurry into his office and write Riley a fan letter. The kind of letter she’d probably flag as a potential obsessive threat had it been mailed to the stadium.

  “Where can we get started?” she asked, trying to steer him back on track.

  “Right. I have a course a lot of the UC people train on.” He shook his head. “Aren’t you going to wait for Sunny?”

  “Why would we wait for Sunny?”

  “She was in yesterday. I told her I would be training you two, and she wanted to join in. She said it would be good for the show. I think she’s having one of the cameramen come down and film you too.”

  “We didn’t approve that.”

  “Sorry, I just assumed. She said you were doing this girl-power thing and you were going to be squad buddies or something like that.”

  “Melissa and I are the squad. Sunny must have misunderstood.” Parker’s jaw ticked. “We want to train so we can win, not pose for a photo op.”

  “I knew you played to win. Sunny will do anything to capitalize on an opportunity. She’s a real piece of work. She jerked Jax around until he lost.” Abel smiled. “You ladies can change in the locker room. Here are the keys. When you’re ready, I’ll show you around from there.”

  “Great,” she and Melissa said at the same time as they followed behind him.

  Parker and Melissa went into the ladies locker room to change.

  “Can you believe the nerve of Sunny?” Melissa laughed as she removed her shoes.

  “Sometimes I think the greatest obstacles to maneuver are the fame-whores plotting to make a buck.” She opened a locker. “How’s the job hunt going?”

  “It’s still going. I got another freelance gig. It will keep me busy. I created a blog to chronicle my experience with the show. If you ever have some free time, check it out.”

  “I will. Just text me the web address.”

  “I have to say this experience has been fun. My family is over the moon to see me on television. Todd’s even bragging about it to his coworkers.”

  Parker heard the glee in Melissa’s voice. She could see the loneliness in Melissa the first day they met. She’d found something that was filling the void from the recent life changes she’d had to make.

  “If you want, we could film our session. You could post it directly on your blog.”

  “I get the sense you don’t like cameras.”

  “Actually, I don’t like being exploited on camera. But if it would help you get more views on your blog. I can live with that.” Parker put her hair into a loose braid.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Abel can video it on your phone.”

  “That would be neat.”

  The ladies finished changing and met up with Abel. He started them off with training on bars and gave them pointers for conserving upper body strength when making the transitions to new obstacles.

  It was Melissa’s turn to run the course.

  “Let me know when you’re ready.” Parker held up the stopwatch.

  “I’m ready.”

  “OK. Go.” Abel hit the video app on her cell phone.

  “Come on, Mel, you can do it,” Parker said as Melissa bounced off the small trampoline and grabbed onto the bars.

  “Do what Parker and I told you earlier,” Abel barked. “When you’re feeling the strain, take a moment to focus your energy to help you get over those rough hurdles.”

  “Way to go!” Parker said.

  Melissa garnered the rest of her stamina and swung successfully over to the bar where she then did a dismount.

  “How do you feel?”

  “You were right. I was burning out too fast in some spots. Thanks.”

  Abel handed Melissa her phone. “I got some great stuff on there for your blog. You make quite a team. I think you ladies earned a treat. How about a smoothie from the snack bar?”

  “Sure.”

  Parker and Melissa took seats on the bar stools and watched as Abel threw veggies and fruits into the blender.

  “Abel, you’ve been off the UC circuit for a while,” Parker said. “Why did you stop competing?”

  “Honestly, I stopped when I got what I wanted.” He looked around. “A kick-ass gym for people from all walks of life to come and get fit.”

  “You’ve done well for yourself,” Melissa said.

  He poured them each a glass of the concoction. “Drink up,” Abel said.

  Parker took a sip and tried to control her gag reflexes. It tasted terrible. “Wow.”

  “Words can’t describe it,” Melissa added.

  Abel nodded like a proud papa. “I like using a lot of kale. You can hardly taste the beets.”

  It was disgusting, but she didn’t want to admit it aloud, especially when Abel was opening up. She took a deep breath and took another sip. “You were saying why you quit the show. Was getting the funding for your gym the only reason you stopped?”

  “Oh. You two have been around the showrunners. The show politics are worse than the actual events. The bickering and power moves to get more airtime
was sickening. I know it’s a legitimate competition that they’re trying to turn into full-fledged reality TV. I can tell by watching that they love you, Parker.”

  “Yeah, but it’s an unrequited love,” she replied. Abel had been around since the inception of the show. He had to be a wealth of information, rumors, gossip, and behind-the-scenes stuff. She wanted the insider view of the show. “And let’s not forget the accidents.”

  “Yeah. I can’t believe all of the mishaps they’ve had. I heard you saved Wes at the banquet from a falling light.”

  She shrugged. “I was just paying attention to my surroundings.”

  “Is it true it wasn’t an accident?”

  “Where did you hear that?” she countered. No one was supposed to know that tidbit. She knew the detective in charge from her police-force days. He’d just told her that morning it was being looked as deliberate sabotage.

  “The show’s gossip mill. Some of the crew works out here.”

  “It’s a possibility. I know the police are taking it seriously, so who knows what the final determination will be. Were there many mishaps when you were on the show?”

  “No, and it’s a damn shame things keep happening. They won’t be able to hide their problems much longer. After season two, it seems like the show had a curse on it.”

  “What was so important about season two?”

  Abel cracked his knuckles. “The stakes were getting higher. Money started flowing into the show. Heavy-hitting advertisers were investing in the show. The producers were courting semi-pro and retired athletes to give the show an edge. I remember when this was an event held over a long weekend at a hotel.”

  “Why weren’t you at the banquet? You were listed on the brochure, right under ‘big announcements.’”

  “I had some family stuff to deal with, so I opted not to attend. Besides, I gave my life to that show for three years.”

  “What was the big announcement?”

  Abel opened his mouth to speak, but the commotion at the door interrupted him. They all turned around to see Sunny coming in with a camera crew.