Page 69 of Threat of Danger
Not that Derek was scared of them. He was more afraid that they’d push him and he’d push back too hard. He was in no mood to be messed with. The damn book wasn’t worth losing Jess over. Nothing was.
“You made your bed, you lie in it.” Jess folded her arms and turned her back to him, marching away, calling one last word over her shoulder. “Leave.”
He rubbed a hand over his face and swore under his breath. Then he strode to the door. “Lock up behind me.”
As soon as he stepped outside, two microphones were shoved into his face, the camera rolling.
“Are you and Miss Taylor back together? Are you seeing each other? Did she cowrite the book? Will there be a movie? Will she do the stunts?”
Derek wanted to shout at them to get the hell out of there. Instead, he moved forward, hoping to draw the jackals with him. The least he could do was draw them away from Jess.
He pushed back his grumpy SEAL persona and pulled out the bestselling-author mask. He might even have smiled. “Why don’t you come on over to my place, have a cup of coffee with me, and we can talk about the book if you’d like.”
His editor would be happy with the extra publicity, good or bad. As long as he was in the news and on TV, and his book was being mentioned, the publisher would be pleased.
And who knew who else might catch the story.
Jess was mad as hell at him. He couldn’t do anything about that at the moment. The book was out; he couldn’t call it back. ButDark Woodswasn’t just a book. The story had purpose beyond entertaining his readers. And Derek needed to promote that purpose.
Chapter Sixteen
AS JESS WALKEDto her car to pick up Kaylee from school, Mark Maxwell ambushed her, jumping out from behind a pickup that belonged to one of the workers.
“What do you say to people who think that this is another bid for attention on your part?” the reporter demanded, filming Jess with his cell phone.
She faced him, because she didn’t want to get into the habit of running from him. She didn’t want to give him that kind of power. “I didn’t write the book.”
“Do you expect people to believe that you and Derek didn’t collaborate?”
“Yes.”
“This is not the first time you dragged your kidnapping back into the limelight. Is this going to be a regular thing?”
“Print that and I’ll sue you.”
“Can’t be a coincidence that you returned home at the same time as the book release, can it? Are you hoping that the publicity will snag you a movie deal? Your Hollywood connections will come in handy, right? Is that your deal with Derek Daley?”
Jess looked straight into the phone’s camera. “To hell with Derek Daley. To hell withDark Woods. The stupid book is nothing but a publicity stunt by the author.”
Maxwell held his breath, as if praying for more.
Jess gave it to him. “Dark Woodsis a pitiful attempt at book sales. It’s on the author. The retelling is as weak as the original event, in the hands of an author as incompetent as the kidnapper.”
“So you’re saying the kidnapper botched the job?”
“I got away, didn’t I? That must burn. In the end, the coward is still hiding, but I am thriving. In the end, his fifteen minutes of fame fizzled out in a lame little story.”
She lifted her chin and sneered straight into the camera. Then she shoved into her car and drove away. Maxwell was smart enough to jump out of her path.
Jess’s hands trembled on the steering wheel all the way to the high school, but she didn’t care. She’d had her say.
She settled herself down by the time she reached the school. She didn’t want to dump any negative emotions on Kaylee. Jess and Derek’s mess was the last thing the girl needed.
“Any news from Abuelito?” Kaylee asked as soon as she slipped into the passenger seat.
“Last time Zelda texted, he was awake and in good spirits.”
“She texted that to me too. Nothing since?”
