Danger Zone (10 page)

Ellie opened her trailer door and a wave of heat hit her hard. She slipped her sunglasses on, looked out at the track and down the row of trucks and trailers that lined this side of the infield. It seemed fairly empty as most of the departments were working on set. She had, easily, a seven-minute walk to her car, parked in the farthest lot from the entrance. Wasn’t that always just the case? She dreaded every inch. Loaded with two different bags, a big one with her equipment and weights and smaller one with her normal garbage of what Mark called her “girl things,” she set out for her car. Added to her booty were two bags of ice—enough to get her home. She’d already returned Rachel’s hairpins. Having her hair down had actually relieved a little of the pain…the headache that had been threatening. And she wouldn’t have to deal with bad afternoon traffic. A smooth freeway should have her home in half the amount of time it took to get here this morning.

Gordon had assured her that someone would call that night and let her know how the dailies looked. He didn’t seem worried about the fall or the mistake. He’d actually liked how realistic it looked.
Well, duh. It had been real!

She’d gone over it in her head a hundred times and still couldn’t believe she’d gotten tied up in the seat belt. She’d done a practice jump with the guys pulling the car and it hadn’t been a problem, but the seat belt hadn’t gotten tangled the way it did during the actual shot. Live and learn. It was stunts like these that taught her and her coworkers what to take into consideration for the future. Next time, if they decided they had to redo the shot, she’d give herself an extra two seconds to check that the belt was clear.

Time to suck it up and make the trek to her car. Her foot was nearly numb from the last twenty minutes of ice. But with this heat, that feeling would wear off in a matter of minutes.

Not to mention the fact she was being watched. It was the same sensation she had before doing a stunt. Knowing all eyes focused on her before she tuned everything out and concentrated on the job.

All she had to do was walk to her car. And not limp. She didn’t want to give any impression that she was anything but healthy and ready for tomorrow. Maybe once she got home, she’d even have a good cry. She felt one brewing in her chest and in the tightening of her throat. Moving slowly, she took two big steps down and turned to close her door. The last thing she needed was to lose her balance and fall on her ass a second time.

“Can I help you with that?” Quinn’s low voice sent her heart thudding quicker. God, where had he come from? Maybe it had been
his
eyes she’d felt watching her.

She faced him, took the last step to the ground and adjusted the heavy bag on her shoulder. She needed to prove everything was fine. She was not the invalid everyone thought her to be. “I’m okay. Thanks.”

His reckless smile made silly putty of her insides. “C’mon, let me carry that for you.”

“I’ve really go—”

“Nope. Now I’ve got it.” He took her equipment bag and heaved it over his muscular shoulder. His brows quirked over his sunglasses and a grimace lined his forehead. “Jesus, what do you have in here…bricks?”

She laughed. “Not bricks. Just my equipment. I brought in some weights so I could do some reps between scenes. I guess it was the wrong day for that.”

They walked in silence for a minute. Quinn kept her slow pace. She didn’t mind his company or his help. But their friendship seemed odd, borne out of something she couldn’t define. Maybe it had to do with this morning and Leo… Maybe Quinn had misinterpreted her gesture because she’d wanted to keep Leo at a distance. Last night really had been a first and a last. She needed to clear—

“Damn,” Quinn muttered.

Ellie followed his line of sight and spotted three men standing near the craft service tent. She only recognized Mac. They had to have some significance because Quinn had stopped in his tracks. “What’s wrong? Who’re they?”

“One of them is my worst nightmare.” He glanced at her and started toward the three men. “Just give me a minute, okay?” He didn’t wait for her reply and since they had to pass them anyway, Ellie followed Quinn. Every step closer had more tension streaming off him until Ellie thought he might burst with it. His fists clenched and his biceps bulged. That could’ve been from her bag, but she doubted it. Mac took a step back and opened a space for Quinn.

The tall blond in the group smiled and stuck out his hand. “Hello, Reynolds,” he said. The slight German accent fit him. He was broad and handsome, but not in a way that appealed to her. He had a big face, almost pudgy.

Not bothering to take his hand, Quinn sent the man a lethal gaze. “You came a long way, Gerhardt. I told you what I thought of your offer back in London.”

Gerhardt smiled back at Quinn, but it wasn’t nice or pleasant or even remotely consider-ate. “It seemed necessary to speak to your brother.”

“The telephone isn’t good enough for you?” Quinn shot back.

Gerhardt shook his head. “Not when so much is at stake.”

What was at stake? That was only one of the questions burning a hole in Ellie’s head. Who was the other guy who hadn’t yet said anything? Why was one of them—and she had to guess it was Gerhardt by Quinn’s tone of voice—his worst nightmare? What could have Quinn so ready to pop a—

“And who is this?” Gerhardt asked, stepping back and including Ellie in the circle.

Quinn’s gaze narrowed and she suddenly felt like some kind of bait. He barely glanced at her when he spoke. “Ellie Morgan, meet Aaron Gerhardt. Aaron is in the market for a race company and he’s interested in Formula Racing Design.”

Wasn’t that a good thing? Didn’t Quinn want to sell the company?

“And this is Hank Gallus. Hank is one of our best mechanical engineers. He helped create our latest design.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Gerhardt said, extending his hand. She felt an immediate sense of power with his handshake…and something else. Something she didn’t like. She shook Hank’s hand next, glad to be free from the first man’s grip. “What do you do?” Gerhardt asked.

“I’m a stuntwoman. I work as Julie Fraser’s stunt double.”

His brows lifted and a predatory smile crossed Gerhardt’s face. “Ah…how interesting. I’ve always been fascinated by Hollywood.” He gave her a deliberate once-over that sent cold chills down her back.

“Is there a reason I wasn’t called in on this little meeting?” Quinn asked, distracting Gerhardt from her. She owed him one for that.

“I wanted to make sure your brother understood what I’m offering,” Gerhardt said, returning his gaze to Quinn. “I think you’ve been less than forthcoming about my proposition.”

Quinn shook his head. “I’ve told him exactly what you intend to do. Let’s see if I’ve got the main points right.” He ticked off one finger. “First, you want to fire all the employees.” A second finger flipped up. “Then you want to screw them on a severance package. Does any of that sound familiar?”

“I think the severance package I’m offering is most generous.”

“For who? You?” Quinn nodded. “Yeah, I’d say it’s damn easy on your bank account.”

“We’re talking about hundreds of employees.” Gerhardt gestured with his hands wide, and Ellie’s ears perked up. “Surely you can’t expect me to give them all million-dollar severance packages. I’m already paying nearly two billion dollars as it is.”

What? Was he kidding? Two billion—with a
b
—billion dollars? Hundreds of employees? Just how big was Formula Racing Design? And what the hell was Quinn Reynolds doing holding her heavy bag if he owned a company worth billions of dollars? No wonder he had a limousine. He probably had someone brush his teeth at night.

Ellie felt her head spin.

“You aren’t paying anything if I—we—don’t sell the company to you and trust me, I don’t plan to.”

Gerhardt sent a glare in Mac’s direction. “I thought we were making a deal here. I thought you were happy with my offer.”

“I’m not happy with it,” Quinn said—and not so quietly this time. He glanced at her. “Let me ask you something, Elle. You’re a working woman. How would you feel about losing your job and getting a crappy severance package in the deal?”

“Uh…” Nothing like being put on the spot. She scratched off the one she owed him and switched the scoreboard. He owed her. “Well, speaking as someone who works in spurts of days, weeks and months at a time and is constantly searching for a job, I can tell you that constant work is my dream. I’ve faced unemployment and I hate it. It’s amazing how fast you can run out of money, run through savings. Not knowing when or where the next job is coming from can be a stressful, scary situation.” She shrugged. “A severance package doesn’t mean much if I run out of money and don’t have a steady gig to keep the bank account full.”

There. The truth. Spoken like a gal with several hundred thousand dollars in the bank. A nice little nest egg, but one that had to last her a long time if something happened to her and she lost her job. After all, how many job opportunities did an illiterate, dyslexic woman have?

All four men stayed obscenely quiet and Ellie swallowed back her embarrassment. She’d just lectured several multimillionaires on money.

Suddenly the throbbing in her foot got a lot worse.

Mac glanced at Gerhardt before looking at her. “Thanks, Elle. We appreciate your opinion. I can see your perspective.”

“Sure.” She nodded and forced a weak smile. “I really do need to go, but it was nice meeting you both.” She glanced from Gerhardt to Quinn’s employee, Hank, before reaching for her bag from Quinn. She didn’t see him carrying her pack anymore today.

Instead of handing it over, he made a face and shook his head. “Damn. I forgot about your foot. Sorry.” He looked at Mac. “I’ll be right back. I told Elle I’d help her to her car.” Quinn gave him a hard stare. “Try not to sell the company while I’m gone.”

Ellie’s stomach flipped a few times as they headed for her car. Had she really opened her mouth and spewed her opinions to a group of highly paid—obscenely paid—men? Imagine what they’d think of her if they knew her secret. She would’ve laughed if Quinn hadn’t been walking next to her. Slowly, she realized. She was moving very slowly. Standing for the last few minutes in the blazing sun had definitely worn off the numbness in her foot.

“I’ve got an idea,” Quinn said, frowning. “Here, take this.” Before she had a chance to say anything, he tossed the bag at her. Just as she caught it, he swung her up until she was securely wrapped in his strong arms, against his massive chest. Muscles bulged out big and wide and left her mouth watering. He never missed a beat and kept on walking.

A flush warmed her cheeks. The Billion Dollar Man was carrying her to her car. “I think this is a little unnecessary. Uh…a lot unnecessary.”

“Not if you’re me.” He looked down at her, his face so close that she could’ve moved a few inches and kissed him. She was glad he had on sunglasses because she didn’t want to see the heat that might be in his eyes.

She forced her gaze to his collar. “Look, back there,” she said, gesturing to the men, “I think I may have pissed them off and I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t…you know…screw anything up somehow. I just didn’t know…” Oh, God, she was making this worse.

Quinn stopped walking and stared at her. She couldn’t see his gaze, but felt it roaming her face anyway. Her heart pounded in a wild frenzy. “You said the exact right thing. You said exactly what I’d hoped you’d say. Thank you.” For a moment, it seemed as if he might kiss her. For a very long minute they just stared at each other.

“Where’s your car?” His voice was husky. Almost a whisper.

She thumbed in the general direction, their gazes locked on each other. “I’m too heavy,” she murmured, trying to break the awkward silence.

Quinn didn’t say anything, but she caught the tiniest curve of his lips and then she was slipping. An extremely girly squeal erupted from her lips as he let her slip farther before hefting her high against his chest. She clapped her arms around his neck to secure her place.

“That’s better,” he said, setting his sights on the parking lot. He started walking again.

A reluctant laugh sputtered out of her mouth. “Jerk! God, you scared me. I thought you were going to drop me.”

He looked at her again, his face serious. “I would never drop you.”

It was just a line. She knew that. But the smile left her lips anyway. He had no idea how those particular words cut so deep. She’d learned the hard way that people, men—not all, but some—didn’t mean what they said. Instead of replying with a comeback, she closed her eyes, rested her head against his shoulder and held back the ridiculous and unwanted sting of tears. In the arms of a billionaire. It seemed unreal. But he was, after all, just a man, right? Ha. Fat chance. This put the differences between them more on a Grand Canyon scale than just that of a big ditch.

She’d blame the tightness in her chest and throat on residual emotion from the stunt. All the embarrassment, humiliation and pain catching up to her while Quinn held her close. It wasn’t the feeling of safety or the electricity that sparked between them. Or the fact that nothing would ever come of that spark…

Is that why she felt so desolate?

No. It was the day, the roller coaster of a highly emotional, stressful day. She’d been through her share. Just not in a long time.

Sun glinted off the many rows of parked cars, nearly blinding Ellie despite the shades. Quinn wasn’t even breathing hard as he lugged her and her bags across the lot. Maybe if he got lost, he’d keep her against him like this a little longer. It didn’t matter that sweat dampened his shirt where she snuggled next to him. Being in his arms gave her a sense of security she hadn’t felt in years.

“Here ya go.” Quinn’s soft voice in her ear sent a shiver of tingles down her spine. Standing at her car, he didn’t immediately release her. If anything he seemed to bring her more tightly against his hard body. Ellie took a deep breath and inhaled his scent. She’d never associate sandalwood with anyone but him in the future.

Apparently she wasn’t too ready to be set down, either, because she looked from her car back to Quinn. “How’d you know this was my car?”