Page 12 of Not the Bodyguard's Princess
She nodded. According to the woman he’d spoken with, the threats were mostly notes left in places people shouldn’t have been able to access, like her dressing room and trailer, but Stu didn’t think the threats were a security issue. Last month, part of her wardrobe had disappeared.
“Good, I didn’t want to have to explain what I know. Which, knowing Blake, isn’t everything.”
“Why did Hearthfire start the no-personal-security policy?”
“Paul is insisting on it. Maybe it has to do with Storm’s contract.”
Andrew took another turn into a cul-de-sac, his exit taking him past Stu’s SUV. “What do you know about the threats?”
“You should ask Blake’s wife. She’s the team’s secretary and keeps the files. Is she flying out? I didn’t think to ask
Blake.”
“I didn’t ask him either. What’s Blake’s routine? How often is he with you?” Andrew needed more information about this job.
“Hearthfire lets him on the set and things but not all the time. If Princess can be there, Blake can be in the room. We went to the trouble of registering her as an emotional-support animal so I can claim I need her. Don’t lecture me about abusing the system. I don’t take her shopping or out to restaurants or things like that. She isn’t a service animal.”
Andrew hadn’t been on a movie-production set, just on talk shows and stage productions. Tonight, he would ask Adam for pointers. “What about this week’s schedule?”
“We are doing a read-through Tuesday in the hotel conference room. I know Paul won’t allow you in there. Only principal actors and the director—no dog unless I beg. For the biweekly show, Blake got Paul to let him stay when they closed the set. I’m worried you won’t get the same exemption.”
“I’ve thought about that. I’ll go visit Blake tomorrow. There is a second read-through later this week, isn’t there?”
“Yes. Paul only wants the principals there for Tuesday’s. He is worried about how Storm and I will work together since I refused to meet with Storm in LA. Apparently I’m the only woman between sixteen and forty-five who doesn’t swoon when the man walks in. Maybe I’m immune to the effects of Thunder.”
Andrew turned another corner and checked his rearview mirror. Stu sat on his tail, not even hiding the fact that he was following them. “How much do you know about the bodyguard who took down the shooter?”
“Rod? Not much. He’s quiet and spends more time than he should staring at me. Slightly creepy. To be honest, I’m surprised he tackled the shooter. Not to be rude... Rod follows orders well, but he is a can or two short of a six-pack. Why?”
“Mostly curious.” Andrew held an internal debate before continuing. In the videos, Rod had stood too close to the shooter to have allowed three shots. One clip thirty seconds before the shooting showed the two men only five feet apart. Sadly, no one seemed to have caught the actual shooting on camera. Alan insisted all of the bullets were meant for Blake but without more footage, he couldn’t prove his theory. Footage the police didn’t seem to have either. “What about the other guards? Do any of them act strange?”
Jordan looked over her shoulder at the car tailing them. “Stu looks angry. According to Blake, other than Stu, they’re all incompetent. They blame me for things all the time. Stu’s a better bodyguard than team leader.”
“Do you have any questions for me?” Andrew tried a different tack. He needed more information, and he needed her trust.
Jordan stared out the window for a moment. “Where did you learn to sign?”
“I took ASL in high school, then continued in college. I have an interpreter’s license, but I don’t use it much. ASL comes in handy when Hastings is hired to protect out-of-town actors forChildren of a Lesser Godor other productions.”
“Blake and I use some of our own signs to communicate when we need to around Paul and Stu. If I think I’m in trouble, I sign ‘shoes.’ It goes with the aglet thing. Anyone who knows sign will dismiss the word, and anyone who doesn’t would dismiss the hitting of my fists together as nerves. If you think I’m in trouble, sign ‘scared’ with either one or two hands—with no expressions, of course.”
“Any others?”
“Those are the main two. You sign better than I do. It isn’t a very private language, so we’ve kept it to a minimum. You never know who can sign.”
Andrew turned into the parking lot. “We can use it while I’m sweeping your room for bugs. I didn’t find any cameras.”Yet.
Miss Lee turned and smiled before unbuckling her seat belt. “You baited Stu and his people, didn’t you?”
Andrew nodded. “I needed to know their response time. I’ll also learn more about them when they are under stress.”
Her smile grew. “I think I’m going to like working with you.”
Andrew couldn’t help but smile back even as his conscience yelled warnings about befriending clients.
6
Princess pawedat the window as Jordan waited for Andrew to get her door. He barely beat Stu to the handle. Jordan took a deep breath before facing them.
