Page 10 of Not the Bodyguard's Princess
Princess strained at her leash, and Andrew scooped her up. “Here you go—a princess for a princess.”
Jordan ignored his lame joke and motioned him in, shutting the door on Stu’s and Paul’s frowning faces. “Let me sit down before you let Princess go. She’ll greet me like I’ve been lost at sea for months.”
Andrew did as asked. Jordan gave him a nod, and Princess bounded across the room and alternated between wanting to greet Jordan with a well-fended-off kiss and receiving a belly rub. Andrew opened his backpack, took out a small device, and slipped it on the back of his phone. He then made a slow circle of the main room. Typical for a hotel suite—a couch, most likely a fold out, a couple of chairs, and a coffee table built to outlive groups of frat boys. The television was bolted to a wall with something that would withstand a tornado. A desk with several generations of computer ports stood off to the side. Andrew stepped through the sliding glass doors to the balcony, slowly looking around and inspecting the locks.
Jordan had seen Blake do the same hundreds of times looking for cameras and bugs. Princess licked the back of Jordan’s hand, demanding attention.
“Oh, sweet dog. Were you hurt yesterday or just scared?”
“The vet I spoke to said they didn’t find any injuries. I’m not sure how Blake kept her from running when the shooting started.” Andrew circled the round table and chairs. He checked the hideous faux-silk flower centerpiece twice before rounding the corner into the galley kitchen.
“Carabiner. He always clips Princess to his belt with a retractable strap, then he doesn’t have to worry about losing her. She jogs with him in the mornings, so she is used to keeping up with him if he has to run.”
Andrew felt behind the TV and showed her a small device about the size of a pea before going over the room a second time. “September says you know ASL.”
“A little.” Jordan scratched under Princess’s chin.
Andrew held up another pea-sized device. “How did you learn?”
“I was in a Helen Keller contemporary remix. It didn’t do well.”
“I saw you signing to a teen girl in the video footage from yesterday. You’ve kept up your skills.” He checked the desk drawers.
“I guess it was something fun to do. Every once in a while it comes in handy. I don’t practice enough.” Princess poked her nose under Jordan’s arm to inform her she had stopped scratching the dog’s ears.
“What other skills have you learned for your movies?” Andrew pulled out a black bag and dropped the two devices in it. He signed, “Searching other rooms. Keep talking.” He disappeared into the smaller of the bedrooms.
“I learned all the normal acting stuff—cry on cue, fall down, jump into a pit of foam. Some French, German, medical terms, that sort of thing.” Jordan set the dog on the floor and followed Andrew. The room held twin beds. Not the one she would be using.
Andrew held up another device before dropping it into the bag. “Favorite role?”
“That is hard. I’ve loved some of my parts at the time and hated them later. I enjoyed acting so much as a little girl that for a long time it was like this game. Then I had a director who was harsh and yelled all the time, and the magic was gone. Grandma pulled me from that show. I’ve been very lucky that she oversaw my career. She started acting at twelve and has seen it all. Dad never enjoyed acting, so he didn’t get it. I think he just did a few spots as a teen. He never wanted to be a TV doctor, just a real one.”
Andrew paused in his search and looked at her. “Head hurt?” he signed as he crossed to the larger bedroom.
Jordan shook her head and sat down on the king-sized bed. Decent mattress. Good thing since she would be sleeping on it for the next six weeks. “Anyway, my favorite role at age five was one where I had a bunch of puppies on the set. I was so disappointed when they weren’t going to be mine. Grandma bought me one from the trainer at the end of shooting.
When I was around twelve, I played a witch—a good witch, of course. That was the first time I worked with green screens and wires and flying stunts. That was just fun. Ever since I turned sixteen, I’ve always been cast as the girl who gets the boy. Those aren’t so much fun. I prefer musicals and supporting roles.”
“Last one, I hope,” signed Andrew coming out of the large bathroom. Then he signed something she didn’t understand.
“Again?” she signed.
This time Andrew signed slower. “I found four b-u-g-s. Are there usually that many?”
“Not until the last three months,” she signed back.
Andrew put the black bag in his backpack and spoke aloud. “I think Princess could use a walk. I found a dog park. Would you like to come?”
Princess’s ears pricked at the words “dog park.” She ran around Andrew’s feet.
Did he know the Hearthfire guards would be following them if they made it out of the building? Or maybe that was his plan. “Sure. Let me grab my jacket.”
* * *
They made it two blocks before Andrew picked out the rented SUV following them. Not a good response time on Hearthfire’s part. Andrew expected to see the Hearthfire guards before he and Jordan had exited the elevator. The fact that they’d made it two blocks in a car unnoticed was worrisome.
Miss Lee’s phone rang.
