Chapter Five

 

Alex stood in an empty waiting room in California Pacific Medical Center with Edward North and his stuck-up lawyer.

After Edward’s call, he made the trek to the ballet company. Halfway there, Edward called back asking him to meet at the hospital instead. The change in location wasn’t a big deal, but Alex was irritated, anyway. He’d had a long day.

He didn’t like the tone of Edward’s voice. It was somewhere between pleading father and patronizing general. He also didn’t like having to be awake past midnight, but Edward was persistent.

Now, he wasn’t sure if he should laugh or punch a wall. Looking at the lawyer’s nicely pressed navy pantsuit with gold buttons, Alex was certain he was underdressed in the white, button-down shirt and jeans he changed into.

“I know this seems silly,” Edward said. “But I want my dancers protected, and you and your firm are the best men for the job. I need Strong Protection on this—pun intended.”

Alex straightened himself up, then lifted and rolled his shoulders back. “You sound like an old recruitment poster.” He rolled his eyes.

Edward looked over at his lawyer, a tall, slender woman with a slight Jersey accent, botoxed skin, and curly red hair. Alex already didn’t like her. She was arrogant, and spoke using unnecessarily large words. Alex had heard her name in conversations with Edward in the past, but hadn’t met her until now.

She was the kind of lady who wore five-inch stilettos to make sure she towered over everyone.

“Evelyn St. Claire is handling the specifics,” Edward said, pointing at the woman. “There are a few complications that come with this attack.”

Alex didn’t like the word “complications,” either. It tended to skew the line of who exactly he was working for.

“Call me Lyn.” The woman held out her hand in greeting.

Lyn the Lawyer. Alex chuckled to himself as he shook her hand. “Good to meet you,” he said.

“Edward speaks very highly of you,” Lyn went on. “I hear you’re an exceptional bodyguard. Thanks for understanding that this is a … delicate situation.”

Alex tilted his head. “‘Delicate’ isn’t a word I use in my line of work.”

Lyn frowned. “One of the ballet’s corps dancers was named the new prima earlier today—a decision that came as quite a shock to some people.”

“And prima is like … winning an Academy Award?” Alex asked.

Lyn paused for a moment to look over at Edward.

“A prima is the star,” Edward explained. “It’s an honor reserved only for the most gifted of dancers.”

“In fact,” Lyn added, “most companies don’t distinguish a prima anymore. It’s a preference to call attention and investment to one dancer.”

“Far out.” Alex didn’t try to sound interested.

Lyn’s frown deepened before putting her briefcase on a nearby table to open it. “Earlier tonight, the new prima was kidnapped walking home. Two male assailants. They attacked her, subdued her—”

“Tried to kidnap her, but she escaped,” Alex interrupted. “I’ve been briefed. The important thing to know is that she’s okay.”

“Scarlet’s a tough one.” Edward smiled.

“Tough or not, she could have been seriously hurt,” Lyn said. “She’s also in shock.”

“That might not be true,” Edward interrupted.

Lyn handed Alex a file from the briefcase. “Whatever the case may be, she’s not making a lot of sense right now.”

Edward’s solemn eyes flashed as he crossed his arms in front of him. “You’re upset she brought up your daughter’s name as a possible suspect.”

Alex’s senses stirred a bit. The story spiked his curiosity.

Lyn shook her head. “I know Victoria has been eyeing the prima spot for years. She’s ambitious, and … a little stubborn, but she’s not capable of—”

“Of hiring hitmen to off the competition?” Alex smirked at the woman.

Alex could tell by the way Lyn stiffened up and clenched her fists that she didn’t like hearing that. There was a part of Alex that enjoyed angering disillusioned parents who were in denial about their own flesh and blood. It came with the territory. He had to establish who was in charge and keep clients grounded, or else no one was getting decent protection.

Or, I’m just an asshole.

“No,” Lyn said. “She’s not.”

Alex eyed Lyn a moment before opening the file to a black and white headshot of Scarlet. Alex’s lips parted and he drew in a sharp breath. He wasn’t expecting those large doe eyes or the shy smile. Most ballerinas he knew through Edward were curt and snotty. The kind of girl he figured Lyn’s daughter was.

“I know Victoria isn’t behind this, so I want to bring in security measures that show my good faith. I want your company to provide security for North Pointe. Edward said you were the best.”

“He is,” Edward said. “But … it’s not that simple.”

An uneasy feeling rose in Alex’s gut as he scanned her information. He blinked in confusion, looking up at Edward. “Scarlet Rush?”

“I know.” Edward held up a hand. “Believe me, it’s not intentional.”

“Her father…” Alex’s voice wandered off.

“Retired two and a half years ago.” Edward dropped his arms back to his sides. “So I doubt it has anything to do with him, although nothing is being overlooked.”

“Overlooked?” Alex’s voice rose. He clenched his jaw to relieve the building pressure in his head.

“What are you two talking about?” It was Lyn’s turn to be annoyed.

“Alex knows Scarlet’s father,” Edward said quickly.

“I wouldn’t say knows.” Alex made a face. “We aren’t friends. I’ve dealt with him on a diplomatic security level. And this here is a shining motive for kidnapping.”

“I doubt this has anything to do with him,” Edward insisted.

“You have a woman stepping into the spotlight with an Israeli American diplomat for a father.” Alex scoffed. “In a time of high tension, sleeper cells, and who knows what else. Sorry, not interested.” He threw the file back into Lyn’s briefcase, turned, and made his way to the door.

“Alex.” Edward’s tone was firm. “Would you please just hear me out?”

The room suddenly seemed a lot smaller to Alex. He reached for the doorknob, but didn’t go any farther. He glanced up at the glass plate in the door, spying his reflection. Alex knew he looked tired. What he didn’t expect to see in his reflection was fear. He still feared the unknown, and the photo of the woman rattled him good.

He slowly turned around to look at his stepfather. “You want me to guard the daughter of Mikael Rush.” Alex closed his eyes for a moment, willing the pressure to subside.

“Yes.” Edward nodded. “Like I said, the man is retired. This isn’t anything like…”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Alex interrupted, keeping his voice low and steady, “or I’ll walk out this door and erase your number from my phone.”

Lyn shifted her weight on her stilettos, taking a step back from Alex.

Edward nodded slowly. “Fine.”

Alex returned the nod. “Fine.” He turned his attention back to Lyn. “So. We won’t rule your daughter out then,” he said. “She may have the resources to go under your nose—hire some random saps to do her dirty work for her.”

Lyn cast a scathing glance at Edward, who sighed. “Until we can prove it’s her, I can’t do or say anything that discredits her,” Edward explained. “She has a career to think about, just like the rest of my dancers.”

“We also didn’t ask you to solve the mystery.” Lyn narrowed her eyes. “We have a detective assigned to our case.”

Alex let out a short laugh and handed the file back. “Ooh, a detective. That’s fancy.” He glanced between Lyn and Edward. They seemed to be communicating via eye contact. “Okay, what else aren’t you both telling me?”

Edward took a tentative step toward Alex.

“Our last prima, Isobelle,” he began slowly. “We’re telling everyone she retired, but I had to let her go over a conflict of interest.”

Alex waited for Edward to continue, but he fell silent, like he wanted to end it there. “What conflict?”

Edward crossed his arms in front of him, seemingly uncomfortable with the conversation.

“She started screwing the owner of our rival company last year. Seems like they’re now engaged,” Lyn said curtly.

“And?” Alex pressed.

“It’s Frisco Met.” She frowned, looking Alex up and down. There was more silence as Lyn waited for Alex to acknowledge the name.

Alex blinked, waving a hand in front of him. “Listen, I barely know how to spell ‘ballet,’ let alone understand anything about it. You can’t talk to me like I’m an expert.” He officially had a headache he was positive had nothing to do with his exhaustion.

“They’re our main competition.” Lyn threw him a look. “Owned by Balthazar Maxim. Last year, he almost put his company under for tax evasion and money laundering, but he had a good lawyer and an established name. That’s enough for them to go on for now.”

“And this Maxim guy is banging the dancer you let go?” Alex asked.

Edward nodded. “She’d been acting strange for a few months. I found out about their relationship, so yesterday, I asked her to step down if she insisted on staying with him. She was pretty angry. Told me she planned to leave and take a creative director job with Frisco. We argued a little about Maxim’s instability and them not being able to hold another season. She got flustered and stormed out. I haven’t seen or heard from her since.”

Alex furrowed his brow. “So, you think your old prima orchestrated an attack on your new prima to get revenge on you?”

Lyn fidgeted at his words. She crossed her arms and looked away.

“I think this is too much a coincidence for it to be Victoria,” Edward admitted. “She respects her career too much. She respects her mother’s job. I also don’t want to go as far to presume it’s some sort of attack against a retired diplomat. Isobelle and Balthazar are the middle ground that makes the most sense.”

Alex let out a tired sigh. “Agreed. So, what do you need from me?”

Edward dropped his arms as he stepped over to Alex. “I want you and your men for full-time security. However many you can spare for the job.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Oh, is that all?”

“The theater and practice buildings are a significant area to cover. The main theater has a pretty large underground area beneath the stage where we store props and old costuming. I’d want twenty-four-hour surveillance detail. One to three months, depending on how the case progresses.”

“Sounds doable.” Alex tilted his head. “I’m getting a new guy sometime this week. I’ll make do with who isn’t assigned to a current client. Maybe five or six men, including myself.”

Edward walked over and put his hand on Alex’s shoulder. “I’d like you to personally watch over Scarlet.”

“Me? Why?” Alex asked.

“I trust you,” Edward said. “Not only will Scarlet have rehearsals, but she has parties to attend—namely our big gala next Saturday to kick off the season. I need her at her best to gain favor with financial backers. I need her to perform flawlessly for this ballet season. If she’s scared, her head won’t be in the game. Her work will suffer.”

“Sounds…” Alex glanced up to the ceiling. “A little selfish.” He locked eyes with Edward. “I mean, I get it. You have a business to run, but this woman was attacked. She’s vulnerable, scared, who knows what else, and all you want to do is shove her into some pretty clothes and parade her around to high bidders.”

Edward inhaled sharply. “I realize you don’t know much about—”

“I don’t need to know about ballet to know you’re being selfish,” Alex interjected. “I know you tend to focus on your own feelings at the expense of others.”

“Jesus Christ,” Edward swore. “I didn’t bring you here to fight. I need you to do a job. Are you in or out?”

Alex clenched his fists to keep his anger at bay. He shrugged. “That’s a lengthy babysitting contract.” He could think of a lot more he could be doing with his time. He preferred not to jump from one impossible diva client to another.

“I’ll make it worth your time,” Edward insisted.

Alex’s lip twitched as he fought to say no, but Edward’s face made him hesitate. It’s money. Easy money. “One month. One month of personal protection for your prima. Then we reassess.”

Edward looked relieved at the words. “Thank you.”

Alex nodded, still unsure of the situation. 

“We want this kept as low key as possible,” Lyn spoke up. “We’d like to keep any bad publicity out of the news. We need more investors, and would like to keep the ones we have. Anyone on this job will sign a confidentiality contract. You understand.”

Alex cast a glance over at Edward, who nodded. “Yeah,” he said sarcastically. “I understand.”

Lyn nodded before excusing herself. “I’ll see you gentlemen tomorrow. Try to get some rest, Ed.”

Alex watched the tall woman leave. Once the door closed behind her, a wave of exhaustion hit him hard. He widened his eyes to wake up.

“I’m sorry I snapped at you.” Edward placed a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “I have a lot riding on this upcoming season. It’s hard not to act selfish.”

Alex shrugged. “It’s okay. I’m sorry you’re so stressed.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to do this if it weren’t important,” Edward said. “I can’t shake that something is horribly wrong. Scarlet doesn’t deserve to be the target of my mistakes.”

“You must care about her,” Alex commented.

Edward nodded. “I care about all my dancers, but my prima will always deserve my full attention. I gave her this promotion, so it’s my job to keep her safe. Since I can’t do that myself, I called you.”

“I’ll look forward to meeting her,” Alex said.

“Good,” Edward replied, motioning to the door. “Because you’re about to.”

“Now?” Alex blinked.

“Well,” Edward said. “Doctor said she’d be ready for release soon pending her x-rays. You’ll be a big part of her life, so I want to make sure she’s comfortable with everything.”

Edward led Alex down the hall, stopping at a door marked “Room 110.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Alex fought back the urge to yawn. “I guess I should start to acquaint myself with all this ballet stuff.”

Edward chuckled. “I think it’s better than you imagine it to be. Maybe by the end of this I’ll give you opening night tickets to the ballet.”

“Don’t count on it.” Alex made a face. “Give me tickets to a Giants game, and maybe we’ll talk.”

Edward returned his comment with an eye roll and yawned before gesturing to the door in front of him. “Here we go.”

Alex uncrossed his arms and glanced into the room.

The woman was sitting in the hospital bed, hugging her arms to her chest. A doctor spoke to her, and she hazily nodded her head.

Alex’s body tensed as she looked up at him. Her eyes were a striking blue that stood out against her sun-bronzed skin. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it wasn’t the perplexing beauty that stared back at him. Her photo didn’t do her justice. Scarlet didn’t look defeated or weak—nothing that signified she just escaped from an assault. Her faintly chiseled arms indicated a good amount of upper body strength. There was dried blood on her neck, and one of her wrists was bruised. She was a fighter, all right.

Still, there was a familiar sadness in her expression. It reminded Alex of the pain he hid from the world.

Scarlet’s lips tightened a little as she turned her gaze away.

Alex let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding in. Maybe a month, he thought. Maybe a few months.

It didn’t matter. Alex knew he needed to protect this woman… even if she could take care of herself.

The feeling was so sudden he trusted it.