Danger Zone (25 page)

He liked the sound of that. “I don’t know what’s going to happen when we leave here, Elle.” He faced her and brushed his thumb across her cheek. “I don’t know what’s going to happen with the company or Mac. I just know the accident changed me. Today changed me. I haven’t lived in six months because that lady didn’t survive and I did. This afternoon snapped me out of it. I want to live. I want to be with you for as long as I can.

“You want a scary truth? Before the accident, I was a different person. Every thought you had about me in the beginning…everything was true. But it hasn’t been true for the last six months. I don’t know how else to make you believe me, but—”

“Shut up already,” she said. Her lips covered his in a crushing kiss as she straddled him. His body had cooled in the last few minutes but having her in his lap, wrapped around him like she wouldn’t ever let go, got him primed and ready to tumble.

“Tell me you believe me,” he said as she lifted his T-shirt over his head. “Tell me.”

“I believe you.” She flicked her tongue into his mouth and the tease sent his blood rushing hotter.

“In the last six months I haven’t been with any women, Elle. Just you.”

She whimpered as she struggled out of her T-shirt, pulling away to strip it off. “Doesn’t matter,” she panted, taking his mouth again.

He held her face, kept her steady in front of him. “It does matter. It matters to me that you know I care about you. I’m not just doing this because I’ve wanted you from the first minute you came out of that makeup trailer. This isn’t a hit-and-run.”

“Quinn, shut up and kiss me,” she breathed.

His own voice sounded rough in his ears. “I can do that.”

And he did. Then he did much more.

Ellie and Quinn got back to his hotel in Beverly Hills late Sunday afternoon after a visit to the hospital. Quinn’s revelation had hit home. His life had gone through a complete change six months ago; something she could relate to now. Ashley’s accident was a wake-up call to her own life, a sharp reminder of a problem she’d been avoiding for years.

She could handle the coming days if she concentrated on one thing at a time. One: work tomorrow would require her complete focus. Two: she had to find a way to get by without Ashley. Not just for now, but for the rest of her life. And three—the thing she wanted to forget—Quinn was leaving in less than a week.

They’d decided to have dinner in the hotel restaurant because they hadn’t eaten since brunch. Pretending to read another menu shouldn’t have bothered her, but her stomach ached nonetheless. Every lie made her feel inadequate and unworthy. Deep down she knew she wasn’t any of those things. These feelings hadn’t upset her in years. She’d worked on building her self-esteem, was proud of the fact that she was respected by her coworkers and loved by her friends. But the man next to her had tied her in knots. She cared about Quinn and lying to him took its toll.

Ellie’s cell phone rang in the lobby. After recognizing the number, she flipped it open in a quiet alcove, and Detective O’Kelly told her the throttle spring had snapped on Ashley’s Honda when the car hit sixty-five and the airbag sensors were cut so they wouldn’t deploy on impact. The seat belt had been stuffed with paper so the buckle wouldn’t latch to the snap. They also found four sets of fingerprints. Two would belong to Ashley and her, and at least one other belonged to the transportation guy who moved the car on the set. But what were the chances that their man had left a set of prints?

Quinn edged closer and listened in as the detective continued, “We’ll need to get your fingerprints, find out which men handled the car on the set and order a search warrant to get Ms. Bristol’s prints since we can’t get her consent,” O’Kelly said.

“Then what happens?” she asked. If the fingerprints didn’t turn up anything, they had nothing to go on. “Someone’s trying to kill me and I have no idea why or who.”

“Assuming that’s true, is there someone you’ve worked with recently who you’ve had words with or some type of exchange?”

Exchange?
As in fight? Ellie lifted a hand in the air, at a loss. “I can’t think of anyone. I mean, I haven’t argued with anybody. I don’t have enemies.”

“None that you know about,” the detective said. “Do me a favor. Think of anyone who might hold a grudge and write their name down.”

Write their name down
. Those four words sent her into a cold sweat. So did his suggestion. A grudge. Who hated her enough to try to kill her?

Detective O’Kelly continued, “See if you can come up with that list and we’ll check it. And needless to say…keep a sharp eye out.”

“Right. Thanks.” Ellie flipped her phone closed.

“I fucking hate this,” Quinn said, running a hand through his hair. “Who the hell would be after you?” He took her hand and headed toward the elevators. “C’mon, let’s talk in the room.”

That suited her fine. Another freaky sensation of being watched had her scanning the lobby, but she didn’t notice anything or anyone out of the ordinary. Two minutes later, she paced the empty elevator, completely baffled. “I can’t imagine who would do this. I mean…the only person who I remotely offended isn’t capable of something like this, I’m sure of it.”

“Who? Why didn’t you tell the police?”

“I didn’t think of it. Besides, I’m not going to mention his name, because it’s so ludicrous. He’s not the one.”

“Who, Elle? This is your life we’re talking about. Ashley’s life. If there’s anyone remotely suspicious, then they should be checked out.” The elevator stopped and they walked to Quinn’s room.

Leo’s name rang in her head like a gong. Leo Frost made eighteen million dollars a movie. Why would he consider doing something as drastic as trying to hurt or kill her?

“Elle. Who?” Quinn asked impatiently. He slid his card key in the slot and opened the door.

She shook her head. “It’s ridiculous.” Quinn’s eyes narrowed and he looked ready to pop. She waited until the door closed behind her. “Leo Frost, okay?” she blurted. “Leo Frost. And Leo isn’t about to do something this…this…stupid. He’s got too much to lose if he gets caught.” She paced to the window and glanced out over the city of Beverly Hills with its designer shops and palm tree-lined streets.

Quinn’s brows pulled together and his light eyes took on a stormy haze. “Why would Leo Frost have anything against you?”

Ellie leaned her head back and sighed. This was a topic she
so
didn’t want to discuss.

Quinn took her shoulders and turned her to face him. “Answer the question. Why would Leo Frost want to hurt you?”

Oh, he wasn’t going to like this. “Five years ago, we worked on a movie together for the first time. He’d just achieved superstar status and everything he touched was gold.”

“And?” Quinn wasn’t much into patience.

“And he made a move on me and I told him no.”

Quinn shook his head. “There’s got to be more to it than that.” Frustration burned in her stomach just as it had on the day she’d had “the encounter” with Leo.

“I can see it on your face, Elle. In your eyes. He did something to you, didn’t he?” Quinn strode away from her, his fists clenched at his sides. “That son of a bitch. I’m going to rip his arms off the next time I see him.”

“Cut it out, Quinn.” Frustration turned to anger. “You can’t retaliate for an incident that happened to me five years ago when you didn’t even know me.”

“The hell I can’t!” Quinn turned on her. “What did he do? Tell me.”

“It’s not that big a deal, okay?” But she was lying, because it had thrown her off her game, made her cynical and leery for the next five months while she worked on the film, constantly watching her back and worrying,
what if it happened today
? “He’d been hitting on me,” she said. “A lot of innuendo. Regularly. Blatantly. At first I played along. He was cute and I thought we were kidding. A little harmless flirting is common on the set. But when I realized he meant what he said, I told him it wasn’t going to happen. Very clearly. The fact that I wasn’t interested only spurred him on more. I guess he thought I was playing hard to get. Leo’s so full of himself, it’s not in his brain capacity to think a woman doesn’t want him. He’d give me little touches…a hand on my arm, on my waist, over my shoulder, little things that could be construed as very innocent, so I really couldn’t do anything. But his fingers always lingered a little too long, or brushed a part of me that wasn’t his business to touch.”

Quinn’s jaw flexed as he listened. “Go on,” he said.

Ellie ran a hand through her hair then twisted her ring. “After about a month he cornered me behind one of the trailers.” She remembered it clearly. Always would. The feeling of Leo brushing up against her. His erection pressing hard over her mound as he pinned her shoulders against the trailer. There was nothing soft about the attempted invasion of his tongue into her mouth. She wouldn’t let him past her teeth.

“And?” Quinn prompted.

“And when I wasn’t as friendly as he hoped, he thought it necessary to ‘show me the way.’”

“Jesus, Elle! You’re killing me here. Tell me what the fuck he did to you! Did he rape you?”

“No! God, no,” she said, eyes flashing wide. “I don’t think he intended to go that far. He didn’t have any access to the front because of my costume so he spun me around, pinned me to the trailer and tried to go…you know…” She gestured in the air, searching for the right phrase. “Through the back door.”

“What!” Quinn looked as if he might blow a gasket.

“Not ‘the back door’ per se,” Ellie clarified. “Just…you know, from the back. He unzipped his jeans and my outfit and gave me a real good feel for what I could have anytime I asked for it.”

Quinn’s fists clenched tight as he paced in front of her. “That slimy piece of no-good garbage. I swear the next time I see him, I’m going to—”

“The next time you see him you’re going to do absolutely nothing, because this happened over five years ago and it’s old news. Water under the bridge.”

He stopped in front of her, hands on his hips. Every vein stood out on his arms. Tension radiated from him like heat off the blazing sun. “What happened? How’d you get out of it?”

Ellie shut her eyes and sighed. “Leo had my wrists in one hand and he lost his grip. Once I got an arm free, I elbowed his rib cage. He wasn’t too happy about it.”

“Prick. I’ll give him something not to be happy about.” As much as Quinn’s protectiveness made her heart melt, it also worried her. She didn’t want him doing anything that might cause problems.

She forced a smile. “I’m fine, you know.” She moved in front of him and set her hands on his chest. “He didn’t scar me for life. It was a crappy incident and I’d rather not have gone through it, but worse things can happen.”

Quinn rubbed his hands along her arms. “I hate what he did to you. It’s not acceptable.” He exhaled a hard breath. “So what did you do after he let go?”

“Went back to work.”

“No, I mean who did you tell?” His hands stopped at her shoulders.

Tell?
“I didn’t tell anyone. The last thing I wa—”

“You let him get away with that?” Quinn roared, eyes blazing as he stepped back. Wow, he got loud when he was angry.

“It was only the second movie I’d done since coming back from my accident. I couldn’t take the chance they’d let me go.”

“Why the hell would they let you go if fucking Leo is the pervert?”

“Because Leo is the one who brings in the audience and the money, that’s why.” She took a step toward him, but stopped. “C’mon Quinn, think about it. If there’s a problem on the set, they’re
not
going to get rid of the star. They’re going to get rid of the
‘problem.’
I’d been out of work for months and needed the job. I wasn’t going to make waves.”

Quinn shook his head. “Unbelievable,” he muttered, facing her again. “And it doesn’t strike you as weird that five years later you’re on the same set with him and someone’s trying to hurt you?”

“It’s not Leo. He’s too self-centered and he’s been on the set. He has an alibi.”

“Doesn’t mean he didn’t pay someone,” Quinn shot back. “The man’s got millions.”

“Quinn, I’m telling you, it’s not Leo. He thought the whole thing was a joke. I swear he laughed it off. Said he liked the challenge. But he never tried it again.”

“Fucking asshole,” Quinn muttered. He pointed to a pad and pen on the night table. “Write his name down.” The unequivocal order spawned unequivocal defiance.

No. She crossed her arms over her chest. “This whole mess is way beyond Leo’s capability. I’m not going to write his name down.”

“Write his fucking name on a list, Elle, or I will. I’m serious.”

“I can see that. Go ahead and do it, because I won’t.” More like couldn’t. Despair and self-loathing washed through her. Hadn’t she conquered those particular emotions years ago? Apparently not. Right now, they stuck in her gut and made her want to puke. Her life seemed to be unraveling before her eyes and she had no safe haven. No one who really knew her and no one to confide in. She couldn’t argue with Quinn. What if she slipped somehow and he figured her out? She didn’t want to disappoint him. Didn’t want to face his rejection. “You know what?” she said. “I can’t do this tonight.” She snatched her pack off the bed and headed for the door. “I have to go. I have to think. I can’t stay here.”

“Wait.” Quinn stopped her. The warmth of his hands along her arms and the heat of his body crumbled her willpower. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get upset.” He took a deep breath and pulled her flush against him, her back to his front. “Please, don’t go,” he whispered. “Hearing about that…just…really pisses me off, that’s all,” He kissed her head. “I can’t stand the idea of someone hurting you.” Gently, he squeezed her against his chest. Swallowing back the knot in her throat, she turned in his arms and he held her close. He was saying all the right things, the things that were bound to break her heart when he walked out of her life. Looking at her with those soft, sexy eyes, Quinn had her so deeply caught in his web, she didn’t know how to get out.

“You’re sweet,” she admitted. “But this thing…us…it’s not…” God, how did she say this? The moment stretched on as Ellie battled her resolve. The longer she stayed with him, the more she’d hurt in the long run. “We’re not permanent. You’re leaving and I know that. I went into this with my eyes open. I’m not a dummy. You don’t have to say anything that…”
you don’t mean
. She didn’t want bullshit. More than anything, she wanted honesty.

How could she ask that of him, when she couldn’t deliver it herself?

“Forget it. I don’t know what I was going to say. I appreciate your support and the fact that you care, but you’ll be gone soon and you won’t have to worry about it.”

He looked stunned. As if she’d clocked him in the gut. “You’re kidding, right? You think when I fly out of Los Angeles I’m going to forget all of this? You?” He shook his head. “There’s not a chance in hell of that happening.”

She fought back tears. “I appreciate that. But the fact is you’ll be leaving and I’ll still be dealing with this, so I need to keep my head straight and my eyes open.” She backed toward the door. “I should get home. I still have laundry to do and…” Something. There had to be another reason to go.

“Stay.” He caught her wrist and pulled her back, dipped his head and touched his lips to hers. “Stay with me tonight,” he whispered. His low voice sent a sweet chill down her spine. His hands roamed her sides as his tongue flicked into her mouth for a quick taste.

Resting her head against his chest, Ellie soaked up his strength, his smell. She wanted to remember him like this. Sighing, she gathered the courage to walk away. “I can’t.”

He watched her, the moment long and scary as hell. The concern in his eyes said it all and she didn’t think she was ready for it. She hadn’t been ready for anything the past few days. But his grin faded. “Seriously, Elle, you shouldn’t be alone.”