Rescuing Samantha

by Nicole Flockton

  For goodness sake, she needed to get her head out of the clouds and keep her feet firmly planted on the ground. A future with Beck wasn’t going to happen and she needed to remember that, right now.

  Beck sat in a director’s style chair and watched the action being played out in front of him. It gave him something to focus on instead of the dull ache in his ankle. He’d tweaked it when he rushed to open Sam’s door. A little pain was worth following through on the values his father had instilled in him.

  Watching Samantha was spellbinding, she transformed in front of the camera. The emotion she brought to her character was amazing. What he didn’t like was the way Miles looked at Sam when no one was watching. Or he thought no one was watching. Beck hadn’t taken his eyes off him since the second the actor walked on the set. He got too close to Samantha on too many occasions.

  The first time it happened he wondered if Sam and Miles were an item, and if that was the case then why had Sam instigated the kiss in her dressing room. Well maybe they both instigated it. He didn’t want to think of her being like half the actors and actresses in Hollywood, cheating on their significant other. She’d given him no indication that was how she operated. Then again he’d known her for less than twenty four hours. But he was usually a pretty good judge of character.

  “Cane, is the placement of the members of the SEAL team correct?” Pascal interrupted his thoughts and he turned his attention to the director. The man had been delighted when Sam had introduced him.

  Amberley had smoothed the way the previous evening with the director, but he’d still been worried that Pascal wouldn’t be pleased to have him consulting. That had been blown out the window the second the man had asked him a question about being a SEAL.

  Directing his attention back to the task at hand, Beck examined the formation the team had taken up. They were up to the part in the movie where they were about to breach the building where Sam’s character was being held. It had been very confronting to see her walking on set, bruises covering her body. Intellectually, he was aware they were fake, yet he’d gripped the arms of the chair he was sitting in to stop from leaping up and checking her over. The desire to protect Samantha Jackson was stronger than anything he’d experienced since his discharge from the Navy. It called to the primal part of his soul he thought he’d lost in the RPG attack.

  Geez, he needed to get himself under control. She was a client, nothing more. Which he hadn’t been thinking about when he kissed her. The memory of her lips on his wasn’t one he was going to forget anytime soon. But Sam was right, it wouldn’t be wise to get involved with her.

  He narrowed his eyes, something was off with the way the guys were standing. It looked too relaxed, there wasn’t enough tension in their bodies. “Yes and no. Their formation is correct, but their body language is all wrong. In a real breach situation, my team and I would be more tense. Our hands would be gripping the weapons tighter. We would be fully focused on the task at hand, ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice. They need to think they’re about to enter a lion’s den and the shit is about to hit the fan because, in all likelihood, that’s what’s about to happen.”

  Pascal nodded and Beck relaxed his shoulders a fraction. Even though the director asked for his opinion, he was still wary of pointing out any flaws. But this is why he was there, well part of the reason why he was there.

  “How about you go and show them what they need to do?” The director nodded to where the actors where.

  “Sure, I can do that.” Beck hopped down off the chair and winced when a short, jab of pain radiated from his ankle. This was the reason why he wasn’t rescuing someone right now. Instead he was playing at being a SEAL.

  Fuck, his life sucked right now.

  The day progressed with much of the same. Most of the time the actors got it right so he didn’t have to make too many corrections. Watching Samantha as she played her role was an eye opener. He couldn’t understand why she hadn’t been cast in the lead role in more movies. She was better than half the actresses in the movies he’d watched during his recovery. The emotion she elicited from every word and action almost had him convinced that it was real life and not a movie. He had no idea what research she’d done or if she’d spoken to victims, but she was nailing it.

  The set was being cleared and Beck observed the activity around him, trying to see if there was someone lurking about that shouldn’t be. While he might be there in the capacity of a consultant to everyone else, his main job was to protect Sam. To find out who was threatening her.

  “Cane, thanks for all your input today. It was great to have you on set.” Beck turned and faced the man who’d spoken to him.

  “Not a problem, Pascal. Hope I didn’t step on anyone’s toes, but if you want authenticity then I’m your man.”

  The director chuckled and Beck knew he was thinking about the time he had to correct the way Miles was acting. As one of the bad guys, his response when the ‘SEAL’ team stormed their hideout wasn’t the way a normal kidnapper would respond. Sure, kidnappers had an air of arrogance about them, as if they were untouchable, but he had taken it too far. Beck also hadn’t appreciated the way he kept touching Sam in between takes.

  Sam gave the impression she was okay with Miles being in her personal space, but he’d seen the way her smile had been strained after the fifth time the other man had come close to her.

  Perhaps it was nothing, but maybe he should keep a close eye on Miles. It was clear the actor had a more than professional interest in Sam, and it definitely wasn’t reciprocated. He didn’t want to examine too closely how happy he was that Sam didn’t appear to be into her co-star.

  “Every film I make I want to be as authentic as possible. Amberley achieved that with her words. Now having you here, I’ll achieve it in direction.”

  “This is my first day ever on a movie set and I have to say it’s been interesting seeing how everything unfolds.” Beck thought about the missions he’d been on. How unlike a Hollywood production they’d been. The script had called for a smooth rescue of Sam’s character, unfortunately not all of his missions had ended up that way. The last one in particular hadn’t gone the way he or his team had hoped.

  “I’m going to be putting in a few hours tonight making sure that we got everything right today. But it’s fine. I love what I do and I’m good at it.”

  Pascal had every right to sound arrogant and full of himself. The previous evening Amberley had explained just who Pascal Hernandez was and what he’d achieved over the years. The obstacles he’d overcome to rise to the top in an industry that had a history of not being all that welcoming to certain parts of the community. Amberley informed him, Pascal was the most sought after director in the industry and he’d married former top model Leigh Rodriguez. Together they were a Hollywood super couple. Not that he cared too much about their status, but he was sure it meant something to Amberley and Sam.

  Being polite he smiled. “I haven’t had a chance to see a lot of movies over the years, but I have a new appreciation for them and the hard work involved in going from what I saw today to the finished product on the big screen.”

  The director’s phone rang and he nodded a goodbye to Beck and headed off to a quiet corner to deal with the call.

  With one last look around, Beck strode off the lot and headed toward Sam’s dressing room. He should’ve followed her after she’d finished filming, but she’d been insistent that he didn’t act the role of bodyguard around others. Initially, he’d balked at her attitude but as the day progressed he could understand her motivation for keeping the real reason for him to be by her side quiet. She was effectively the new kid on the block. This was her first big movie. Her chance to prove herself to her peers and no way did she want to garner a diva reputation. From what he’d seen of Sam that day, she had no diva qualities about her. He’d do everything he could to ensure his job didn’t interfere with hers.

  Of course, him going into her dressing room could raise a
few eyebrows, but they’d arrived together so maybe it wouldn’t be too strange.

  He was two strides away from her room when a hand closed around his bicep. Instinctively he grabbed the offending limb and twisted, hard. He went to flip the person over when the sound of his name being spoken penetrated his solider mode.

  Keeping a grip on whoever had come up to him as he swiveled around, and it registered who’d called his name.

  Miles.

  “Are you trying to break a bone?”

  Beck released his hold and the other man shook his arm. Slashes of red highlighting his cheeks. He didn’t care if Miles was embarrassed or angry. “Sorry, but don’t ever come up on a SEAL like that. It never ends pretty.”

  “Whatever.” Miles rolled his eyes and Beck’s impression of the man didn’t change. The actor thought he was better than Beck. Fine, let Miles think he had one over him, because if it wasn’t for Beck and his team, Miles couldn’t work or walk around freely like he currently did.

  “What can I do for you, Miles?” The last thing Beck wanted was to be having polite conversation with the jerk, but no way would he do anything to jeopardize Samantha’s job.

  “Where are you going?”

  Beck crossed his arms and widened his stance. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m going to see Samantha.”

  “I’m sure she’s busy and doesn’t have time to see you. Why don’t you just go home?”

  Mentally counting to five before answering, Beck plastered a relaxed smile on his face. “Samantha and I carpooled together. I can’t get home without her.” Not a total lie, he was the one who drove, if he did what Miles wanted that would leave Sam alone. He had no plans on doing that, unless that was exactly what Miles wanted him to do.

  Yeah, he definitely needed to keep a close eye on the guy.

  “Hey, are you ready to go, Cane?”

  Since he’d been dubbed Beck at bootcamp, using the name bestowed upon him at birth had become a thing of the past.

  Today he’d heard his Christian name more than he’d ever heard it before, because that was how he introduced himself to Miles and it had stuck. For some reason he didn’t want Sam to call him by his given name. He wanted her to use Beck, because that was who he was. The Cane he’d been while growing up was long gone.

  “Yep, let’s go.” He held his arm out, hooking it and smiled when Sam slipped hers through his and sent a raised eyebrow Miles way. The faint scent of flowers wafted over him. He hadn’t smelled that particular fragrance on her before, and figured it must have been something she used after her makeup had been removed.

  The other man muttered a goodbye and stalked off. What was it about the guy? The way Miles was acting it was like he believed he and Sam had some sort of relationship. Sam, on the other hand, didn’t give the impression that she wanted more with her co-star. But it would be worth making sure that his assumptions were correct.

  They walked to the car and once they were both in and heading down the freeway he asked the question that had been turning over in his mind. “So what’s the deal with you and Miles. Are you an item?”

  Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the way Sam whipped her head around to look at him. “What? Why would you think that? Where is this coming from?”

  “The guy was acting very possessive of you all day. Then he stormed off when we left. All actions of a man who’s jealous.”

  Samantha laughed, the sound sweet, reminding him of days when he didn’t know the horrors the world held. “That’s absurd. I’ve only just met Miles. Since the first day I walked on set he’s been nice and helpful. He’s a friend. I think you’re reading too much into things.”

  “Maybe,” he muttered, her words contradicted the look of apprehension shining in her eyes. He wasn’t about to give up on his theory the man wanted more. It could be a case of unrequited lust or it could be something more sinister. Whatever it was, no way was Beck going to sit by and let anything happen to Sam.

  “I mean I like the guy,” Sam continued. “But I don’t find him attractive. He’s not my type. Not my type at all.”

  The words were on the tip of the tongue to ask who her type was. But he managed to swallow them down. He didn’t want to contemplate why the thought of him not being her type would feel like a punch to his gut.

  Now wasn’t the time to embark on a relationship. Not while his presence in LA was only temporary. And he was still mourning the loss of the career he’d loved.

  This was a job. Just a job.

  5

  Exhaustion bit at Sam’s heels and all she wanted was to collapse on her bed and sleep for fourteen hours straight. Unfortunately, a sleep like that wasn’t on her schedule for tonight and for at least another three months.

  They were into their fifth week of filming and third week of having Beck drive her to and from the studio. Most nights she was too tired to do more than eat, review lines, then have conversations with Beck, but during those three weeks, she’d grown more comfortable and more attracted to the guy than was probably advisable. She still hadn’t asked him about his limp. Every time she’d remember it, she was drifting off to sleep and when she woke her focus was on the day ahead. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out he was probably injured on a mission and didn’t want to talk about it. When she summoned the courage and asked him, she hoped he would tell her his story.

  There had been no more threats against her or her family, no more incidents at the studio and no more text messages since the day of the incident on the set. She tried not to let the hope build inside that whoever had been harassing her had decided to finally leave her alone. In the past, every time she’d allowed herself to believe the harassment was all over, she’d receive another message and the nightmare continued.

  A few times over the past week, Sam had tried to convince Beck she didn’t need him as a bodyguard anymore, but he ignored her. It wasn’t like he could just up and leave, he was still the consultant on the film so there was no way Pascal would want to lose him.

  Having Beck so close was like tempting someone on a diet with a huge chocolate cake. As each day passed she had to stop herself from grabbing him around the neck and bringing his lips down for a kiss.

  How many times had she relived their one kiss? Too many times to count. The way Beck kept her at arm’s length, it was as clear as the nose on her face that he wasn’t into her. His brusque manner shouldn’t bother her, but it did. They were both living in Amberley’s parents guest house. In all the romantic comedies she watched where people shared a house, there was always that one scene where one was going into the bathroom and the other was coming out leading to that chance meeting. Yeah, no such luck in this house, not with six bathrooms. The only thing she’d be running into outside of her bathroom would be a dust bunny. Maybe there were other places she could accidentally run into him.

  Geez, woman, get a grip. You need to be concentrating on your career, not your libido.

  Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out—Rayne’s name popped up on the screen. How she wanted to answer the call and talk to her sister. Tell her all about Beck, like they used to talk about all of their crushes when they were younger. But until she was sure that the threat against her was really gone, she had to ignore her sister.

  Sending the call to voicemail, she slipped the phone in her pocket. Her stomach grumbled and she turned to head toward the kitchen and ran smack into a hard chest. Strong hands steadied her and she held herself stiffly, when everything in her wanted to curl up against Beck’s strong chest.

  “Whoa, are you okay? Who was calling you?” He fired the questions at her so fast, irritating her to no end.

  Well, here’s the accidental run-in she was hoping for. Pity Beck was all business.

  “Are you always on duty? Don’t you ever relax?” She tried to pull out of his hold but he wouldn’t let her. If he didn’t let her go then she’d give into her rom-com fantasy by wrapping her arms around him and hope he coul
d make everything better for her. Which was stupid. She’d survived months and months without him by her side. She’d kept everything to herself and no one had known about what was happening.

  “Yes and no.”

  Sam rolled her eyes. “Well maybe sometimes I don’t want you to be always on.”

  Beck shrugged and let her go. “I’m doing my job. For your safety, I’ve always got to be on and aware.” He took few steps back, grimacing a little, maybe now was the perfect time to ask. “So you wanna tell me who was on the phone?”

  Nope, he wasn’t letting it go. Well two could play this game.

  “What’s wrong with your leg? I’ve noticed you limp occasionally.” She fired back.

  Beck quirked his eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest. “If you want to know you have to tell me who was on the phone.”

  He really didn’t play fair. “Fine. It was my sister, okay? It wasn’t whoever has been harassing me. In fact, I think I no longer need your services.”

  “My ankle got blown out in a mortar attack on a building.”

  “Oh,” she said and glanced down. What did he mean by blown out. Everything in her wanted to ask him to elaborate but the tension in his shoulders indicated the subject was now closed. She recalled Rayne mentioning how Ghost never talked about his injuries. Part of her understood the reasoning, the other part wanted to make him see sense that talking may help.

  “Yeah, oh.” So why didn’t you take your sister’s call? Also, I’m glad it wasn’t whoever was harassing you. But think again, until we know for sure the threat has been neutralized, I’m sticking close to your side.” He finished by closing the distance between them again so that he was right in her personal space, taking the sticking close quite literally.

  Any thoughts of pressing him for more information flew out of her mind. The combined smell of his citrus cologne and the unique woodsy scent that made him Beck flooded her system. Images of Beck lying over her, one hand anchored on her hip the other brushing gently over her nipple. His lips hovering above hers and the look of lust and desire in his eyes took her breath away.