A Wolf's Heart (Harlequin Nocturne) (4 page)

Gabriel found a secluded place behind some trees, shed his clothes, folded them neatly on the ground and dropped to all fours. He took in a deep breath and started to shift.

It was a painful process, but he needed it, welcomed it. Maybe if he could concentrate on the agony of growing and transforming his bones and muscles, he’d forget about having to spend the next however many days with Elise. To him the pain of the shift was the lesser of the two evils. This pain, this ripping, tearing agony, he could handle. The other, he wasn’t sure he would survive.

Chapter 4

“M
aybe you should pull out of the movie.”

Elise shot her agent an aggravated look over the top of her wineglass. “I’ll do no such thing, Rory. Not over one little letter. Besides, weren’t you the one begging me to do this film, saying it would be the best thing for my career?”

“First off—” he pointed out on his fingers “—I didn’t beg you. I don’t beg. I don’t need to. You eventually saw that I was right about working with Reginald. And secondly, this letter— It had bloodstains on it, Elise.”

“I’m not going to be scared out of doing a film. I have never in my whole career pulled out of a movie. I don’t make promises that I don’t plan on keeping.” She took another sip of wine and turned her head to gaze out over the expanse of her backyard. That was the reason she had bought the house…for its two acres of land. She inhaled the scent of azalea and tried to remain calm. Sometimes her agent aggravated her, especially now that he’d gone behind her back and tried to strong-arm the police on her behalf. “Besides, we don’t know for sure that it’s human blood. It could be animal.”

Rory snorted. “Do you think that really matters? Blood is blood, and the last place it should be is on a supposed fan letter.”

Rory was right, of course, but Elise didn’t want to admit it. Ultimately, she didn’t want to face the fact that the delivery of the letter had freaked her out. Her hands hadn’t stopped shaking for hours after receiving it. Lily had had to shake her to stop her teeth from chattering. And the wine she was holding was her fifth drink of the day and she still didn’t feel completely calm.

But she wouldn’t tell this to Rory. He was a great agent and had been with her for almost ten years, pretty much since the beginning of her rise to fame. But she didn’t share things with him. She didn’t share much with anyone, for that matter. Lily was the closest she had to a confidante, and even then she kept most of her feelings to herself. She’d firmly shut and locked the door to her inner self, tossing the key into the darkest, deepest part of her.

Unfortunately, seeing Gabriel again brought that key up just a little bit closer. Almost too near to the surface. It was too tempting to grasp it and unlock her heart, again.

“Elise, are you listening to me?”

She swung her gaze back to Rory. “Probably not. What were you saying?”

“That I’m going to talk to the studio about extra security on the set.”

She frowned. “Please, Rory, that is completely unnecessary. I don’t want anyone making a big fuss about this. It’s in the hands of the police now. I’m sure they will take care of it.”

“We’re handling it as best as we can.”

Elise nearly jumped out of her chair at the sound of the voice. Startled, she set her hand to her chest. Her heart thumped underneath her palm, mostly from fear, but also with pleasure she couldn’t deny.

“Inspector Bellmonte. I wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon.”

Carrying a metal case, Gabriel crossed the patio toward where she was sitting, Lily behind him wringing her hands. “I’m so sorry, Elise, but he insisted that he be let in unannounced.”

“It’s fine, Lily.” She set down her glass on the table, aware that her hand trembled a little as he neared. She was surprised at the reaction. She thought she’d gotten past it, past him. “Rory, this is Inspector Gabriel Bellmonte of the NMPD.” She gestured to her agent. “Inspector, this is my agent, Rory Langford.”

Rory stood and approached him. The two men shook hands, although from the look on Gabriel’s face, he would’ve sooner torn Rory’s throat out than take his hand.

“It’s good to know that the police are taking the matter seriously,” Rory said after their brief handshake.

“We always take these types of matters seriously, Mr. Langford. Ms. Leroy’s case is no different.”

He looked right at her when he spoke, as if the last few words were just for her benefit.

Rory smiled, as if oblivious to the angry emotional waves coming from Gabriel. “Well, after this, maybe we can hook you up with a few autographed pictures for your wall. I bet the boys at the station would love that.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

He’d moved closer to where she still sat, at the edge of the patio near the flower garden that she loved so much, but not any closer. She didn’t think Gabriel was one for nervousness, but she sensed that was how he was feeling. “Would you care to sit, Inspector?”

He shook his head. “I need to ask you a few more questions, and I need those other letters.”

“Of course.” She stood, setting the blanket she’d had on her lap onto the chair.

“What other letters?” Rory looked from Gabriel to her. “I wasn’t aware of any other letters.”

“I didn’t want to worry you, Rory.” She walked past him and Gabriel to go back into the house. Rory followed close behind her, Gabriel trailing them both. Lily marched beside her, ever the protector.

“Well, I’m worried, Elise.”

When she reached the closed door to her office, she turned to face Rory. “Don’t be. I have it all under control.”

He eyed her, something different in his gaze. “Somehow I don’t believe that.”

“When have I ever not been able to handle something? In all the years you’ve known me, when have I ever asked for help or whined about some problem?”

“Never.”

“Then why would this situation be any different?”

“Because it is, Elise. This isn’t some hard-to-handle actor trying to cause problems on the set, or bad press, or the paparazzi chasing you down the street when you’re having a bad hair day. This is…”

She put her hand on his shoulder to soothe him. “It’s nothing, Rory. Nothing but an annoyance that I have every confidence the police will solve.” He reached up and laid his hand on top of hers. It surprised her a little and she pulled her hand loose, patted him twice and then dropped her hand. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

Rory glanced to the side at Gabriel, who was leaning against the wall, then back to her. “I think I should stay.”

“That won’t be necessary. Really. Go home. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

With a final glance at Gabriel, Rory said his goodbyes and left.

Elise opened the office door, gesturing for Gabriel to enter. He did, albeit reluctantly. Lily fluttered in, as well.

“Lily, could you get us some coffee? Both black.” She glanced at Gabriel. “You take it black still, right?”

He nodded.

“Sure.” The witch left the office in a cloud of her usual swirling energy.

Then it was just Elise and Gabriel in the office. Although she wanted to see him alone, she wasn’t sure if it was the most prudent of actions. By his edgy expression, Elise didn’t think he desired the same. His look of contempt was enough to put her back up.

“I don’t remember you this cold before. You were always standoffish but never unfeeling.”

“Things change.”

“Yes, they certainly do.” She sat on the chair behind her desk and, taking the key from her slacks pocket, unlocked one of the drawers of her desk. She slid it open and grabbed the tied bundle of letters that she’d received over the years, all seemingly from the same person. She held them up for Gabriel to see.

“Give me a second,” he said before opening up the metal case he’d been carrying. He took out a pair of latex gloves, snapped them on and then, leaning forward, took the letters from her.

He sat back in the chair and slid one of the envelopes out, then the letter. He unfolded it to read it. When he was done, he looked up at her. She had to admit she was happy to see concern in his eyes.

“Are they all like this?”

She nodded. “I started getting them a couple of years ago.”

“How often do you get them?”

“One a month, I suppose. But only when I’m in town. If I’m out on location, I don’t receive them.”

He nodded as if that made total sense to him. “And you never thought to mention these to anyone? Not your assistant? Not your agent?”

“I handled it.”

He slid the bundle into a big plastic bag and sealed it. “Well, I see that hasn’t changed.”

“What do you mean?”

He wrote the date, time and place on the bag, and put it into his case. “The fact that you always think you can handle everything, however big or small. That you don’t need anyone’s help or advice or anything.”

And just like that, they were catapulted back fifteen years. Back to the same conversation that had ultimately ended any chance of them having a relationship.

“This is old news, isn’t it?” She didn’t mean to sound angry but she couldn’t keep the bitterness out of her voice.

He stared at her for a few moments, as if trying to decide something. Then he looked away, dismissing the thought just as quickly as he had considered it.

“You’re right.” He snapped his case closed, peeled off his gloves and tossed them into his pants pocket. He stood and picked up the case. “I’ll take these and get the technicians to start checking for fingerprints. If I have any more questions, I’ll call.”

He was in the doorway when Elise said, “I know my agent called your boss. I know he told you to shadow me.”

Gabriel stopped and turned, his face pinched in annoyance. “And you’re telling me you didn’t tell him to do that?”

She stood. “No, I didn’t. You should know that already. You said five minutes ago that I hadn’t changed. Do you really think I would ask for a bodyguard? And that I would ask for you to do it?”

His silence was his answer. He nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She took a step toward him. “I just told you I didn’t need a bodyguard.”

“I heard you the first time.” He turned to leave. But before he did, Elise saw his lips twitch up into an amused smirk.

“You’re doing this to aggravate me, aren’t you?” she called after him.

She didn’t get a response, but she wasn’t really expecting one. Gabriel was like that. He always wanted to have the last word.

Chapter 5

T
he next day Gabriel arrived on the movie set around five-thirty in the morning. Elise was already there, sitting in one of the trailers getting her hair and makeup done. She looked surprised to see him. This seemed to irritate the makeup artist.

“Please don’t move, Elise.”

“Sorry, Paul,” she muttered, then pierced Gabriel with one of her steely gazes. “I told you I didn’t need protection.”

He shrugged. “Uh-uh. So, where should I stand?”

Lily fluttered up to him. “I’ll show you where you can sit and watch the filming, Inspector Bellmonte.”

“Thank you.” He spared Elise a glance before following Lily out back onto the set and toward a bank of chairs situated far behind the camera setup.

She gestured toward one of the chairs. “You can sit here.” She picked up the set of big earphones hanging around one of the arms. “You can listen to what’s happening on the set with these if you like.”

“I’ll pass, thanks.” Gabriel didn’t sit. Not yet anyway. He wanted to look around the set first and maybe talk to a few people as he did.

“Did you want me to get you a coffee or tea, perhaps?”

“Not right now, thank you, Lily. If I need coffee I’m sure I can get it myself.”

“All right.” She looked a little put off by his refusal. She probably wasn’t used to people in this industry wanting to do things for themselves.

“How long have you worked for Ms. Leroy?”

“About five years now.”

“Did you know that she was receiving these letters?”

Lily shook her head, looking sad. “Elise is a very private person. I know only what she tells me.”

“Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary in the past year or so? Someone hanging around her house, or the set? Unwanted attention or phone calls from anyone?”

“No, nothing like that.”

“Any change in Ms. Leroy’s mood or behavior in the past year?”

Her eyebrows came up at that. “The only change I see is in the last two days, but I don’t think that has anything to do with the letter.”

Gabriel wondered if Lily knew about his and Elise’s past relationship. He didn’t think so. If Elise was as private as Lily said she was—and Gabriel believed she was—she wouldn’t share that information, even if the man from her past showed up unexpectedly.

The area around the camera started to fill up with various people. Someone dressed in clothes from the eighteenth century marched by, his nose in a twist.

“Would someone get me a bottle of O negative?” he bellowed, evidently hoping somebody complied with his demand.

Lily sniffed but made no move to fulfill the request.

Gabriel eyed the man. It was Diego Martinez—actor, philanthropist and all-around jerk about town. Or at least from what Gabriel read in the newspapers. He knew that Diego and Elise had had a tumultuous relationship years ago. Their public breakup had been well publicized. Not that he’d been keeping tabs on Elise’s relationships or anything. It was just hard to ignore something like that when it was broadcast on every television station and dredged over in every newspaper and magazine.

“Are Ms. Leroy and Mr. Martinez…?”

“Oh, heavens, no.” Lily laughed. “That was over years ago. They can’t stand each other.”

“And yet, here they are doing this movie together.”

“Elise is only doing this film because of the director, Reginald Alcott. She’s wanted to work with him for years and years. She wasn’t about to let Diego get in the way of that. Besides, Rory thought it was the best thing for her career, and I tend to agree.”

Gabriel nodded. “Thank you, Lily. I’ve taken up enough of your time.”

She gave him a small smile then scampered away, back to the makeup-and-hair trailer, he assumed. Once she was gone, he wandered away from the bank of visitor chairs and toward the set. He was hoping for a few minutes with Diego Martinez.

As he approached the vampire, Gabriel noticed that someone had gotten him his bottle of blood, and he was lustily drinking it down. “Mr. Martinez, may I have a few minutes?”

Diego eyed him warily. “Who are you and what do you want? If you want an interview you’ll have to speak to my publicist.”

Gabriel dug out his wallet and flipped open his badge. “Inspector Bellmonte, with the NMPD.”

“You must be here because of the ‘letter’ Elise received.” He air quoted the word
letter.

“You don’t sound too concerned about it.”

He shrugged. “It wouldn’t surprise me if she sent that letter to herself.”

“Really? Why would you say that?”

“Elise is a huge drama queen. She can’t survive when the spotlight isn’t on her, all the time.” Diego didn’t meet Gabriel’s gaze when he made that statement; instead, he was looking off toward the set. “Now if you’ll excuse me. I have work to do.”

Gabriel watched Diego stomp away in search of someone to fawn over him, he supposed, and thought the vampire was a self-engrossed idiot. He knew for a fact that Elise was far from a drama queen. She was the opposite. She didn’t crave the limelight at all. That was not the reason she pursued an acting career. He still knew that much about her, at least.

Before Gabriel could find someone else to question, Elise came onto the set and it was as if the entire studio fell into a reverent silence. All the cast and crew watched as she moved, floating, it appeared, with the long skirt swishing around her ankles. He had to admit he was just as mesmerized by her. Still mesmerized, he guessed. Because he’d been awestruck by her since they were kids.

So instead of doing his job, he backed up, found a chair and sat down to watch her make movie magic.

* * *

Two hours later, Gabriel’s butt was numb and his throat was dry. He desperately needed something to drink. But it had been worth it to watch Elise work. She was stunning. When she was before the camera, she transformed into that character. It was amazing to watch even for a layman who knew nothing about the business and couldn’t care less about it.

He slid off the chair and was going to sneak away to grab a drink before anyone could see him, but as if on cue, Elise was beside him.

“Did you enjoy the scene?”

He wanted to say something coy, but instead he spoke the truth. “Yes. You’re very talented. I’ve always enjoyed your films.”

She smiled then, and it lit up her beautiful face, as if a lightbulb had been clicked on inside. He had to look away before being sucked into that light, like a moth to a flame.

“I didn’t know you’d seen my movies.”

He shrugged. “I like to go to the theater once in a while. You know, on a day off.”

“I didn’t know you took days off, either.”

He glanced up at her. She was still smiling at him, and this time there was humor in her gaze. He returned the smile. “It’s been known to happen every so often. Yeah, who knew I had a life?”

Elise licked her lips and opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something then, but changing her mind she lowered her gaze and played with the rings on her fingers. “Have you found anything out?”

He shook his head. “Not much. What’s it like working with Diego again?”

“Like hell.” She shook her head. “But I think it will be worth it. I think this is going to be a fantastic film. The script was amazing and I just couldn’t say no.”

“So, you two aren’t on good terms at all?”

“You could say that.”

“Could I say that there is animosity and possibly hatred?”

Elise frowned. “I wouldn’t say hatred. At least not on my part. I don’t hate Diego. I just don’t like him very much. But he’s one hell of an actor. I have to admit that.”

He nodded.

She leaned closer to him. He could smell her perfume and the scent of her skin. “You don’t think he had anything to do with these letters, do you?”

“Can’t say. Anything’s possible at this point.”

She just nodded, but Gabriel could see the worry on her face. He didn’t think she’d ever considered Diego to be the one sending the hate mail. He didn’t know if that was the case, but Gabriel had heard the derision in Diego’s voice. There was a high level of animosity directed toward Elise. Jealousy certainly, too. Maybe there was still a sense of entitlement there as well, sick and twisted by her leaving him. He wouldn’t count Diego out as a suspect.

“Elise, we’re ready for you,” Reginald called to her.

She waved her hand at him then turned back to Gabriel. “I didn’t say thank-you. I know you really don’t want to be here and I imagine you probably fought tooth and nail against coming.”

Gabriel couldn’t help the smile that curved his lips. She knew him too well.

“So.” She sighed. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

She gave him a final nod, and turned to walk back to the main set. Then she stopped and glanced over her shoulder toward him. “So, I’ll see you later tonight then?”

“What’s tonight? I thought you were done filming around six?”

She lifted one elegant eyebrow. “You’ll see.”