Redemption (Fateful Justice Book 2)

by Sara Vinduska

  Lash shrugged. “I do kind of like the look.”

  Andy gazed intently at his friend. Lash had been through a lot in the last few years and he wanted assurance that he was handling the current situation okay. He wondered if Lash was having doubts about taking the part, and as his manager, it was Andy’s responsibility to reassure him.

  “How’s life in the trailer park?”

  Lash laughed and glanced around at the trailers that surrounded them. “Funny. You’d think my manager would arrange better accommodations.”

  Andy smirked, then changed the subject. “Have you talked much to Ward?”

  “Some. I know he’s just here to do his job so I can do mine. But it was a shock seeing him here. He’s a good man, though, and I trust him. I just have to stay focused on the present, concentrate on what I’m here to do.”

  Andy sighed. “I never liked the guy, but he knows his shit. But I swear to God if he makes one crack about my name I’ll pound his ass into the ground.”

  That got a smile from Lash. “I’d like to see you try.”

  At a slender five foot six, Andy knew he was no match for the FBI agent, even though he was a good ten years younger. “Well, I guess I can relax now that I know you’re in good hands.”

  “I’m fine, really, so you can stop worrying.”

  “It’s my job, as your manger and as your friend.”

  Lash gave him a crooked grin. “I know. Now let’s go grab some dinner.”

  Lash and Andy ate dinner that night at a small local bistro. The owners were from France and if they knew who Lash was, they didn’t give a shit, but the food was good and the restaurant was quiet and out of the way. Lash knew that Andy’s brief visit hadn’t been necessary, but he was used to his friend checking up on him when times got tough. He truly appreciated how Andy had always been there for him, even though their friendship had nearly cost Andy his life.

  Even in the dim light of the restaurant, the burn scars on the right side of Andy’s face were just barely visible. They were the result of a car bomb that had been intended for Lash. Though it would anger Andy to know it, Lash still carried around a measure of guilt from the incident.

  And their friendship had suffered for it. Lash knew Andy had never blamed him for what happened, but Lash had blamed himself enough for the both of them, and every time he’d tried to talk about it, Andy had gotten mad. So they didn’t talk about it, and as time went on, things started to get back to normal between them.

  “What’s going on?” Andy asked, putting a stop to Lash’s negative thoughts.

  “Nothing.”

  “You’re awfully quiet.”

  Lash sure as hell wasn’t going to get Andy worked up about his concerns over what was going on during filming, so he decided to tell him the other part of it. “Taking this role was a big step forward for me. It’s my first leading role in a long time, and I was ready for it. What I wasn’t ready for, was having to deal with facing my past again.”

  “You mean Ward and all the associated memories.”

  Lash didn’t answer.

  Andy sat silent for a minute. “Lash, I know this is hard for you, but you are the strongest person I know. You’ve overcome more than any one man should have to, and I’m sure you’ll rise to this challenge as well.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  “That’s all anyone could ask.”

  Lauren Calhoun put down the newspaper and rubbed her eyes. Ward’s case was not going well. He needed help.

  She had a very successful psychiatry practice in Denver. Occasionally, she lent her services to the police or the bureau. She had a knack for getting people to open up to her and an ability to sort through mind numbing pages of observations to find the few facts that mattered. The few that were life changing.

  Ward needed her.

  He should have called, but he was too goddamn stubborn. She sighed, paced the floor of her office.

  She picked up the phone, and made the necessary arrangements.

  14

  “Lash, man, take a look at this.” Mark gestured towards the main gate. There was a confrontation going on between a woman he didn’t recognize and two of the security guards. The woman stood, arms crossed over her chest, head cocked to one side, eyes blazing. There was something vaguely familiar about her stance. Their raised voices carried across the desert.

  “I’m not leaving until you get Agent Calhoun here right now.” The woman impatiently tapped her foot.

  “Ma’am, this is a closed set. Now I suggest you leave before we have to escort you off the property.”

  “It’s your career, asshole.”

  The security guard was clearly annoyed now. He put his hand on her arm. “I think it’s time you left.”

  “Let her go,” a commanding voice demanded and the guard immediately stepped back.

  This time it was Agent Calhoun that took the woman’s arm and led her behind one of the buildings.

  Hmm. Calhoun with woman troubles. Now that was unexpected, Lash thought. His second thought was, how the hell had Calhoun landed a woman like that?

  As soon as they were out of sight, Calhoun let go of the woman’s arm.

  “What are you doing here, Lauren?”

  “Well, you wouldn’t return any of my calls.”

  “I told you not to come. It’s too dangerous. Besides, I don’t think you can do any good.”

  “Why don’t you let me be the judge of that? I might be able to pick up on something you missed. You know how well we work together, big brother.”

  Ward took a few steps back and Lauren saw that he was moving slowly, saw the lines of fatigue around his eyes as he turned back to face her.

  She stepped closer to examine him further, concern now etched on her face.

  “Are you okay?”

  “It’s nothing, just a lot of late nights.”

  “Jesus, Ward. You should take better care of yourself, especially after getting shot.”

  Ward studied Lauren’s face. “I don’t like you being here.”

  “I read what the papers are saying about the movie.”

  Ward didn’t respond.

  “Just let me take a look at what you’ve got. Maybe I can offer some fresh insight.”

  Ward sighed, cursing the vultures that had started lurking around the set.

  “I knew you’d see it my way,” Lauren said triumphantly.

  “I never could say no to you,” Ward said with a hint of a smile, as she linked an arm through his.

  After getting Lauren checked into the hotel and making arrangements to have dinner that night, Ward got in his car and headed back to the set.

  He worried about Lauren. He should have known she wouldn’t stay away from a case like this. But then she wouldn’t be the sister he knew and loved. She was a strong willed woman, too opinionated and headstrong for most men to handle, she was a real firecracker and he pitied the man who fell for her.

  She was extremely independent and career oriented, almost a workaholic – something she unfortunately shared with her older brother. Calhoun worried about that trait since it was ultimately what had doomed his own marriage.

  They were both also fiercely loyal to the few people they allowed into their inner circle. They’d both always been outspoken, extremely intelligent, and devoted to each other. They’d had to be.

  Their parents had Lauren late in life and Ward, at age ten, had instantly taken over the role of her protector. They’d grown up privileged, raised by two brilliant and independent people. Their parents had spent the past three months traveling the world.

  Lauren had a gift for getting people to open up to her, tell her things they couldn’t say to anyone else and she could read people, know what they were really thinking despite their actions to the contrary. He was afraid those traits would put her in danger. But damn, it was good to have her there.

  Ward had called a meeting for late that evening for the lead actors, production team, and heads of security. Lash wa
s the last to arrive and was surprised to see Calhoun’s woman standing next to him.

  “Now that we’re all here,” he shot a pointed glance in Lash’s direction, “there’s someone I’d like to introduce to all of you.”

  He nodded towards the woman. “This is Lauren Calhoun, she’s a psychiatrist from Denver who’s assisted the police and FBI on several high profile cases. She’s here to help. She’ll probably want to talk to most of you, so I ask that you please cooperate with her.”

  Lash figured he’d have no problem giving her his full cooperation.

  Lauren smiled. “I assure all of you, I’m not here to interfere or get in the way. I’ll stay in the background and offer any insights I can. For now, I just want to get to know everyone and give you a chance to get to know me.”

  The people in the room began to visibly relax and mingle around the room.

  Ward and Lauren made their way over to where Lash stood. Lauren took one look at the famous actor and the first thing she noticed was the cut and bruise high on his forehead.

  “Let me guess, another accident?” she asked.

  Lash looked at Calhoun, not sure how much he had told her about what was going on. “Something like that,” he muttered.

  Lauren looked at his face again. This time not at the new wounds, but at the old scar that ran down his cheek, adding a slightly dangerous character to his otherwise ruggedly handsome face, and she wondered what had caused that one.

  Ward was caught up in conversation with Guy and Kay across the room.

  “So, what’s it like being married to that asshole?” Lash asked.

  Lauren grinned, then burst into laughter. “I wouldn’t know. I’m his sister.”

  Lash’s mouth dropped open. His sister. He should have seen it. Of course the family resemblance was obvious now. Her stance, her dark brooding good looks. How could he have missed that? He quickly disguised his emotions, afraid Calhoun would slug him for the indecent thoughts he was having.

  He gave her his charming smile. “Nice to meet you.”

  She cocked her head, her eyes searching his in a way that made him slightly uncomfortable. “You, too,” she said.

  And then she was gone, leaving him feeling off balance and hoping to see her again soon.

  Early the next morning, Lash closed his eyes and relaxed into the comfortable chair in the makeup trailer as he let Sinnamon do her magic. Her gentle touch as she swiped and powdered almost lulled him to sleep.

  Though it wasn’t something he would admit to anyone, Lash actually enjoyed going to the makeup trailer. As one of the lead actors, one of the perks was that he was usually the only one in there when it was his turn, and it had become a bit of a refuge for him. It was a break from his responsibilities.

  Sinnamon was truly amazing at what she did and he never failed to be amazed at the transformation when she was done. It was also nice to be around a beautiful woman that had no interest in him. He could relax and be himself without having to worry about all of that shit. In the past, he would have slept with every willing female on the set, but now most of them held no interest for him and he certainly didn’t want the complication. These days he preferred to keep his picture out of the tabloids. They’d already sold enough copies off of him for a lifetime.

  “Almost done,” she said, bringing him back to the present. “Here,” she handed him a cup of coffee. “Looks like you need to wake up.”

  Lash inhaled the fragrant steam. Damned if she didn’t make the best coffee.

  “That FBI agent, the older distinguished one?” she asked.

  “Calhoun,” Lash answered.

  “His sister’s hot,” Sinnamon said.

  Lash nearly spat out his drink.

  “I see you think so, too.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “You didn’t have to. Maybe we can have a three-way.”

  This time Lash did inhale his coffee and started coughing and gasping. “Jesus Christ, Sin,” he finally managed to say.

  “I’m just playing with you. Seriously though, if I was going to be with any man, I’d want to be with you.” She leaned close, grinned at him in the mirror.

  “Thank you, I think.”

  Sinnamon took a step back, admired her work. “You should go for it, she’s totally into you.”

  “Somehow, I don’t think her brother would agree. I’m not exactly his favorite person.”

  Sin just shook her head. “I doubt that a little thing like an overprotective brother would prevent you from going after something you want.”

  Lauren studied Guy, sitting across from her in the coffee shop. He had barely spoken a word to her since they’d arrived. She’d been wanting to talk to him since her arrival on set, but his schedule had made that difficult. And now, he was mister non-communicative.

  She waited while he shifted in his chair, adjusted his ball cap, stirred four packets of sugar into his coffee.

  He finally looked up, gave her a small grin. “Sorry,” he said. “Sometimes my mind isn’t quiet long enough for me to be very good in social situations.”

  Lauren pulled out her notebook. “I had some thoughts I wanted to run by you.”

  He gestured for her to continue. After she’d finished, he sat with his chin propped up on his steepled fingers, gazing up at the ceiling.

  “I wonder if someone associated with the movie is trying to generate more publicity for it.”

  “Some interesting observations,” he said after a few minutes. “I don’t think there are many people on set that are smart enough to be involved. This had to have started long before filming started. The question is, who is the real target?”

  “What do you think? You know this industry and the people in it better than I ever will,” she said.

  “I wish I did.” He glanced at his watch. “I need to get back to the set.” He gazed intently at her. “I will think about what you’ve said and observed.”

  She ordered another mocha and considered the afternoon mostly a loss. She was as good at reading people as he was, they just couldn’t read each other. She didn’t know what to think about him. No question, the man was brilliant, but she couldn’t seem to get anywhere with him.

  15

  Later the next afternoon, Lauren and Ward stood in the middle of the small group gathered on the sidewalk in Pueblo which was the closest city to where they were filming.

  “Are you nervous?” Ward asked Guy, looking up at the building across the street.

  “I’m always nervous when the stars insist on doing their own stunts. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great for the film, makes it more credible, gives it better scenes, as well as bragging rights. I try not to think how disastrous it’d be if one of them got seriously hurt.” He paused and watched the crew finish getting set up. “I think Lash can probably handle anything we can throw at him.”

  Ward nodded in agreement. His eyes scanned the street, glad to see the presence of a pair of city cops. Though they had no jurisdiction over what was going on out of city limits, their presence now was certainly welcome.

  Though Guy was still a bit nervous, he was thankful he had a star that could do many of his own stunts. It saved them money and time since they didn’t have to duplicate shots with stunt doubles, as well as allowing them to get close-up shots. Then there was the fact that he truly enjoyed watching Lash perform. He was as gifted as any actor he’d ever worked with, physically and emotionally.

  Lauren watched the struggle overhead. If she hadn’t known how perfectly choreographed each move was, how strong the almost invisible wires keeping them anchored to the building were, how much rehearsal time each of them had put in, she’d have been scared for their lives. As it was, she still felt an anxious twinge in her stomach.

  And she still gasped when Lash pushed the stuntman off the ledge and his body plummeted down ten stories. As he fell, he grabbed for Lash, catching his ankle and knocking him off balance. The stuntman landed safely on his back on the air bag. Lash los
t his footing, slipped, and grabbed the ledge, his body swaying, clinging to the narrow ledge by his fingertips. He hung there, suspended for an instant, before swinging his legs out and crashing through the window below him.

  The stunt coordinator just shrugged. “It’s really no big deal. Lash’s an avid rock climber, so he can support his body weight on his fingertips alone, and it’s all safety glass.”

  She was still amazed when he walked out of the building minutes later without a scratch on him. “It looked so real,” she said.

  Lash gave her a lopsided grin. “You should see how it looked from up there.”

  Lauren felt an unfamiliar self-consciousness in front of him. It wasn’t like her to feel so tongue tied around a man, even if he was a drop dead gorgeous movie star. All he’d done was smile at her, for God’s sake, and here she was with her tongue practically hanging out. She cleared her throat and returned the smile. “All in a days work for you, I guess.”

  “Sometimes.” He looked back up at the building. “Damn, that was fun.”

  After shooting wrapped for the day, Ward found his sister. “I have the night off. Let’s go to dinner.”

  “And by dinner, you mean nothing’s going on on set tonight and you want the chance to put me in my place, which in your opinion is far away from the action,” Lauren shot back.

  “Big brother’s prerogative. You hungry?”

  She shrugged. “Let’s go.”

  Seated at the restaurant a half hour later, a waiter was filling their glasses with water. Ward didn’t open his menu. “Kansas City Strip, medium rare, house salad with ranch, baked potato with butter only, and a glass of the house red,” he rattled off before the waiter could disappear.

  “I’ll have the same,” Lauren said, handing the waiter their menus.

  “Good to see your tastes haven’t changed,” she said once the waiter was out of earshot.

  “Yours either.”

  She shrugged. “Can’t argue with what’s good.”