“Selena is in danger. They aren’t sure who they can trust. Leslie thinks there’s a guy on the inside...”
“Or woman?” Chad gave him a pointed look, releasing the blinds.
Levi sighed. There was no way in hell Leslie was the bad guy in this situation. She’d been living by the law her entire life. Her family were all law enforcement in some way and she was the most honest person Levi knew. He could rest assured that he wasn’t helping a criminal. “She’s not guilty of anything but rash thinking and impulsiveness.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I’ve known her my entire life and I have no reason to believe she’s lying to me. Besides, if she was helping Selena’s stalker, wouldn’t she have handed the woman over by now instead of hiding her in Alaska?”
Chad seemed to think on it. “Okay...but you know the risk you’re taking having them here right? If anyone finds out, your job could be on the line.”
He was aware of the consequences. He couldn’t turn his back on Leslie when she needed his help and until they found the stalker, he had to help protect Selena too. The footage of the letters and the image of her vandalized room they’d shown on the news report didn’t look like someone just out to scare her. Leslie had been right to flee LA. It may have been her only choice. “I’ll take full responsibility for this if it goes sideways...”
“When this goes sideways.”
Levi nodded. “If, when...it’s all on me. Just please keep this to yourself, okay?” Chad was the only other full-time member at the station. No one else was scheduled to be there for another few weeks when preseason training would start. Levi hoped all of this would be over by then. At least, most of him hoped... A small, very stupid part of him hoped to have Leslie around for a little while.
Something was definitely wrong with him. He must be a sucker for punishment.
“Can I count on you?” he asked Chad. If the guy didn’t agree, Levi wasn’t sure what else he could do. His own apartment was being sublet and like Leslie, he wasn’t sure who they could trust. Hell, even her family would be inclined to tell her to contact authorities and let the law figure it all out, but his gut told him that wouldn’t be in Selena’s best interest.
Someone wanted the star dead and there were too many people she couldn’t trust.
Chad looked conflicted, but then he said, “You’ll remember my discretion at review time?”
Levi sighed and pointed to the office door.
Chad grinned as he left.
Levi slumped in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. Through the one cracked blind in his office window, he saw Leslie and Selena setting up their bunks in the room across the hall. His gaze narrowed in on Leslie and his stomach twisted in knots. He better be right about his former best friend.
CHAPTER TWELVE
SHE HAD TO be doing the right thing. That was the only way she was getting out of this whole mess, saving Selena’s life and having any hope of a future in law enforcement. And now she’d dragged Levi—and possibly Chad—into it as well. Levi had looked confident in his decision to help and had reassured her that it was no problem on the drive from Wild River and she almost believed him, but he had to be worried. He was putting his own neck on the line for her. Chad hadn’t been as welcoming and she just hoped Levi could convince him to stay quiet about their whereabouts for a little while. A few days at most. That’s all she was willing to put them at risk for.
She groaned as she splashed water on her face in the station cabin bathroom.
There had to be something she was missing, overlooking. Some clue. Shutting her eyes tight, she tried to push aside the stress clouding her usual clearheadedness and replayed everything over in her mind...
When the call came into the Executive Protection Agency three months ago, everyone thought Selena’s management was just interested in upping her security with the upcoming release of her new movie. They hadn’t been forthcoming about the amount or frequency of the threatening letters Selena had been receiving through her fan club, claiming it was just a random occurrence. They’d wanted to have extra protection just in case, but they hadn’t considered the letters legit or anything to be truly concerned about.
Federico had called her into his office and explained the nature of the job. He’d told her what he claimed to know. Extra security for a couple of months. No imminent threat. It had sounded like a boring, mundane assignment. Federico had given no indication otherwise.
Think, Leslie, think! Had he displayed any cues that he’d known otherwise? Leslie had been working for him for two years, so she knew some of his tells, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t come up with a reason or anything to indicate that Federico had been lying or trying to set her up in any way.
Had he assigned her the security detail thinking she’d be easier to manipulate or overpower?
No, she wouldn’t let any lack of confidence seep in while she was already vulnerable right now.
A week on the job, she’d found out about the stalker when she was scrolling through Selena’s fan page and social media sites and noticed the same “fan” had commented over two hundred times a day. When she questioned the star’s management team about it, they’d fessed up, admitting that they too had been a little worried about this particular admirer.
They blocked the fan from the sites and deleted the inappropriate comments, but a week later, more letters started arriving at the management office and Leslie discovered they hadn’t been the first ones from the same person. Carefully constructed like ransom notes with cutout letters and no fingerprints on the paper or envelope, it was obvious the person knew what they were doing. All hope that it might be some kid messing around disappeared.
The letters were calm at first, claiming to be Selena’s number one fan, apologizing for the frequent posts and the crude nature of them and asking why they’d been blocked from posting. When no one reinstated the fan’s privileges, the wording became slightly more aggressive, demanding access to the star through her social media channels.
With each ignored letter, the language grew more threatening and abusive and Leslie informed the agency that the situation was more concerning than they’d originally understood. Federico had advised her to keep track of everything and keep him posted.
But almost immediately, the letters stopped.
The timing of that was suspicious, but she hadn’t thought anything of it at the time and for three weeks, there was nothing. Everyone assumed the fan had given up, lost interest...
Until a letter showed up in Selena’s own mailbox at home.
Up until that point, Selena’s management team had kept the stalker situation to themselves, not wanting her to worry or be afraid when she was out promoting the new movie. Leslie had disagreed with the withholding and voiced her opinion to Federico, but he’d said that her management team knew best and they had to be careful not to damage her career in any way.
So, along with Selena’s regular security team, Leslie worked at making sure event security was tighter than before and new security systems were installed at Selena’s home. More cameras and alarms at the front gates, on all exits and windows, throughout the home.
Things were quiet for a few weeks. No sign of the fan. No more letters.
Everyone else started to relax, but Leslie knew that was the time to be even more diligent. Selena refused to cancel any appearances and fought Leslie’s suggestion of bringing in media for interviews instead of constantly meeting in public spaces, where the surroundings were unpredictable and difficult to monitor.
The star said everyone was paranoid until she arrived home one day to find blood splattered over the security fence. The words Why did you abandon me? were written in the thick dark red liquid.
Everything got more controlled, tighter. Leslie was grateful that the scare was enough for Selena to finally start letting her do he
r job more effectively. Fewer interviews, fewer media appearances... Her management team was pissed, but they handled it by saying Selena was sick. Things were quiet for a few days and everyone started to think that they’d done enough to deter the stalker.
Then the person got into her home. Into her bedroom. So close.
Selena had been in her downstairs gym with her trainer. Leslie was sitting on a bench in the hallway, bored stupid, scrolling through her phone’s image directory, evaluating the photos she’d taken of the valley on her last hiking trip, when she’d heard a noise upstairs. Calling in backup to the security guard monitoring the gate, she’d made her way slowly, quietly throughout the house. Nothing in the kitchen or living room was out of place—then she’d entered Selena’s bedroom.
The sight inside had made her blood run cold. The bedroom window was shattered, glass on the floor, yet the alarm hadn’t gone off. Stuffed multicolored Chihuahua toys that looked like Selena’s dog, Unicorn, were torn apart, their stuffing strewn all over the room. Blood was smeared on the walls and there was human feces on the floor. She’d nearly gagged at the gruesome display, but it was the words I’m getting closer everyday written in Selena’s signature red lipstick across her vanity mirror that had Leslie reacting on impulse.
Fifteen minutes later, they were in her vehicle on their way out of the city.
And now she had no idea what to do next, except try to figure out who could have gained access to the house that day. The guard at the gate had claimed he saw no one drive up, so the person had to have been on foot. Security cameras hadn’t caught him from her quick review of the footage, so it had to have been someone who knew about the new systems they’d installed.
Federico at the agency had known—she’d run everything by him. And of course everyone close to Selena, who also had more access to the house.
Leaving the bathroom, she went back into the bunk room.
“You okay? You were in there for a while.”
Damn, Selena had seen her almost break down. She couldn’t let that happen again. Her client needed to trust her...and Leslie needed to start trusting herself again. “I’m fine. It was just a bit of a shock seeing the news report, but I’m good.” She reached for her cell phone and opened a notes app. “We need to go over the list of people in your life who could be involved in this,” she said, choosing her words carefully. Selena respected and adored her team. Leslie needed her cooperation with full disclosure, not her on the defensive.
“I thought it was some rando,” she said, sitting cross-legged on the bottom bunk bed.
“It could be...” Leslie hesitated. “But the messages seem really personal. They knew where you lived and despite the upgrades in security, they knew how to access your home.” Plus, she needed to start somewhere and eighty percent of the time, people were abused by loved ones. She was no longer certain who was on her side. She couldn’t just sit there and not try to be proactive in solving this.
“Okay, well, I know it’s not my family,” Selena said, confidently.
That they could agree on. Her mother and stepfather were amazing, supportive parents. They had a bajillion dollars of their own so they had no desire to defraud their daughter or want her cash in the untimely incident of her death. Leslie had met them both multiple times and they were actually fairly down-to-earth, but then both hadn’t been born Hollywood royalty. They’d had to work hard to pursue their goals and dreams to make it in the industry. “What about your father?” Leslie asked carefully.
Selena shook her head. “He’d never hurt me.”
Leslie would have to take the woman’s word for it, having never met him. She wasn’t entirely convinced they should rule him out, but she’d circle back. “Okay, what about friends?”
“I don’t think so... I mean I used to have a lot of friends when I was younger but now I’m too busy to keep in touch with most of them.”
Why did you abandon me? The words on the gate. “So, maybe someone feels abandoned? Left behind? Jealous?”
Selena bit her lower lip. “I really don’t think so. A lot of the friendships I had were superficial. Based on the love of acting and having to hang out together on set for hours on end, but everyone from those days has gone on to do amazing stuff. I can’t think of anyone that would be jealous...”
“What about nonactor friends? Wannabes that might resent your success?” There had to be someone out there who wasn’t genuinely happy for Selena. Professional jealousy was rampant in Hollywood.
“There were a couple of extras from the set of my last movie, mean-girl types who would snicker and talk shit off camera... Nothing worth getting them kicked off set for, just petty insults about my acting or wardrobe, that kind of thing.”
That was a start, even if not a great one. “Have you seen them since filming ended?”
Selena shook her head. “I know one of them moved to Atlanta to see if she’d have better luck in the industry there. Less competition and less expensive to survive while trying to break in.”
Leslie made a note to confirm that. “Her name?”
“Alison Gray.”
“What about the other one?”
“I heard her tell her agent that she’d decided to go into nursing.” Selena shrugged. “I’m sorry, Leslie, but I don’t know of any enemies.”
Huh. So Hollywood wasn’t as cutthroat as she’d assumed. At least not for Selena Hudson.
“Okay, let’s move on to ex-boyfriends.” Seemed more likely than a jealous female costar anyway. Women were more likely to slander one another on social media than exhibit the violence displayed by the stalker.
Selena rattled off the names of A-list stars that Leslie barely recognized, but she made a list of all of them. Twelve in total. Not great. But not a horrible place to start. “Okay, we need to do some stalking of our own. Come with me.”
They left the room and a second later, knocked on Levi’s office door. He opened it, holding a parachute in one hand and a sewing needle in the other. “Everything okay?” His dark eyes full of concern had Leslie’s heart racing. He’d never know how grateful she was that he’d been at the resort and had stepped in to help them—probably because she wasn’t going to tell him. She’d made the mistake of letting her guard slip momentarily the night before, that wouldn’t be happening again.
She just needed to survive this nightmare, keeping things cool and casual between them and pushing the memory of his kiss out of her mind. Easier said than done as she stared at his lips right now, irrationally tempted by them.
He caught her stare and cleared his throat.
“Everything’s fine,” she said quickly.
“Are you sewing?” Selena asked.
Levi’s cheeks flushed a little. “Yeah...well, not really. Repairing the parachutes... It’s part of the job.”
“That’s actually really hot,” Selena said.
Oh Jesus. “Can we use your computer?” Leslie asked briskly.
“Oh, sure...” He moved away from the door and Leslie headed straight to the laptop on the desk. “Password?”
His cheeks got even redder. He set the parachute down on the sofa and approached the laptop. “I’ll do it.”
Couldn’t fault him for that. “We also need access to your social media accounts.”
“For?”
“To cyber-stalk my exes,” Selena said, sitting on the edge of the desk.
Levi turned to look at Leslie for clarification.
“What she said.”
“Okay... Which site do you want? Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter?”
Selena looked at him as though he were still in the dark ages. “Insta and TikTok.”
“What the hell is TikTok?” he asked.
Leslie didn’t know either, but she waited for Selena to tell Levi he was out of touch.
“We will create a profile for you,” Selena s
aid, obviously eager to get her hands on the computer and get online again. She forced Leslie out of the way and sat at the desk, then opened the page to create an account.
“Username... HotSmokejumper27...”
“Seriously?”
“What? He is hot,” Selena said. She smiled up at Levi before adding, “I’ll use my name as the password.”
Leslie’s back teeth clenched. So what if Selena was flirting with him? What did she care? Her impulsive actions the night before had nothing to do with actually being attracted to Levi. That would be insanely ridiculous. They’d been the result of stress and high emotions, and foolishly letting him get to her with memories of the past. She was not attracted to him. Not at all.
Then why couldn’t she stop staring at the muscular forearms folded across his chest?
He glanced at her and she looked away quickly. She had to quit getting caught checking him out.
“All set,” Selena said. “Now we can search...”
Leslie sat next to her and Levi hovered behind them. “Can we even see their profiles if we don’t ‘friend’ them?”
“Yes. TikTok is more of a performance app. People doing karaoke routines and dance numbers, the flip the switch challenge...” Selena waited for either of them to clue in. When they didn’t, she continued. “Anyway, believe me, these social media whore types never lock down their profiles. The more eyes on them, the better.”
“That’s so dangerous,” Leslie muttered. Her own social media was limited to Facebook and she had every security measure in place and still rarely posted anything. She used it to see pics of Katherine and Eddie and friends from Wild River... Levi... There may have been more than one wine-induced night looking at old photos of him...
Selena searched the first name on the list of ex-boyfriends.
A video loaded of a guy standing on an outdoor patio with a breathtaking view behind him. “He’s in Milan,” Selena said.
“These could be old,” Leslie said.
Stars Over Alaska Page 13
