Page 15 of Crossing the Line
“What time do we leave?” Xavier asked. He wasn’t even giving her a choice to go without him.
She took a breath, let it out. “Five for the gym. Dinner’s at seven-thirty. Kate’ll send you the details.” She dumped the dishes in the dishwasher.
“Sorry, Wave,” Kate grimaced. “Here’s the happies to read while you raid your own wardrobe.” She handed over a sheet of paper.
“Thanks,” Waverly said, and wandered into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her.
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Xavier watched her go and moments later heard the muffled chorus of “Uptown Funk” from behind the closed bedroom door.
Kate looked guilty. “I hate doing that to her. No human being should feel like a target like that and definitely not on a daily basis.”
“She needs to be aware of potential threats,” Xavier argued.
“I know, and so does she. There’ve been a couple incidents in the past, nothing serious, but enough to make her cautious. The whole car accident thing was a fluke. Something must have really pissed her off to make her take off like that.”
She shook her head and flopped back down at the table. “It’s these assholes who are allowed to spew poison all over her. It’s like a whole different kind of abuse. Just because she stands in front of cameras for a living, people think they have a right to pick her apart like vultures and road kill.”
Xavier didn’t much care for it either. Even if Waverly was a pain in his ass, she didn’t deserve to have that kind of hate directed at her. If someone were to say those things to one of his sisters, he’d be digging a shallow grave in the woods. But getting pissed off didn’t help him do his job any better.
“What are the happies?” he asked Kate, changing the subject.
“Every time we have to talk about the psychotic dipshits of the world, I print out fifty happy posts or reviews. It takes the sting out of idiots who don’t think before they post.”
Xavier’s lips quirked. “That’s very nice of you,” he commended.
Kate glanced toward Waverly’s closed bedroom door. “I’ve got one more baddie in here, and it’s the one I’d really like you to look into.”
She shuffled papers to the top of the stack. “This Unabomber lookalike is Les Ganim. He sends Wave shit online all the time. Disjointed love letters about how they’re destined to be together, and why won’t she just acknowledge that they’re in love?
She tapped the picture of a gaunt man with hollow eyes. “She gets marriage proposals and stranger booty calls all the time, but I started paying attention to this dude when he mailed his mother’s wedding dress to the house.”
“To this house?” Xavier asked, studying the man’s face. He had a wiry build and hair that stuck out in tufts of curls. His broad, flat nose didn’t fit the rest of his thin face.
“Yep,” Kate nodded. “That was a few months back. I alerted Sylvia and Rob, but neither of them was too concerned. Honestly, stuff like this happens to every star. But it made me nervous, so I looked into him and found a couple of stalking and trespassing charges, whichreallymade me nervous. So I’m pretty happy to dump the worrying onto you.”
Xavier got a buzz off of the picture. His gut told him there was trouble here. “I’ll look into him and see what I can find,” he told her. “I don’t like the feel of this guy either.”
Kate looked relieved. “Good, because the last message he sent said he’s moving to L.A. so they can start their lives together.” She looked toward the bedroom door again and lowered her voice. “Listen, not to be disloyal or anything because I love Wave like a sister, but she’s planning on shaking you loose. While I can understand why she wouldn’t want to be smothered—even by someone as gorgeous as you—I don’t like the idea of her running around unprotected with our pal Les lurking in the shadows.”
Xavier packed the papers back into the folder. “You’re a good friend, Kate. And I don’t shake loose.”
“Well, as a good friend, I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you that Wave isn’t your typical Hollywood heiress. She’s human. I like her. Don’t be a dick to her.”
Xavier made a noncommittal hum. “I’ll do my best. And maybe you could convince her to go a little easier on me?”
Kate smirked. “I’ll do my best.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Kate clearly hadn’t had time to have her go-easy talk with Waverly. The girl had done nothing but argue with him since they left the house. First, she didn’t like the route he took to lose the three photographers on the way to the gym. Then she wasn’t happy when he announced he was staying for her private barre class. Next time, she informed him, he would be required to participate if he tagged along.
Xavier sat by the door and watched her stretch and contort her body for forty-five minutes until it was slick with sweat. The way she moved, flowing like water over rocks, gave him a healthy kick of appreciation for her very female form. Waverly Sinner earned her stunning body the hard way. After barre came thirty minutes of power flow yoga that had sweat dripping off her chin every time she swooped into up dog.
Loose and sweaty, she met a trainer in the weight room for another thirty minutes of lifting. As a man, watching her thruster form was as impressive as it was entertaining. As security, there was nothing entertaining about his client working out in a room occupied by half a dozen guys who looked like they could be drafted onto any defensive line in the NFL. None of them minded checking out the scenery.
One particular meathead had to be stared down before he went back to his bicep curls. Then, there was the trainer. A shorter, broader version of a Ken doll, who was a little too attentive in his spotting. He was going to have to talk to Waverly about reassessing where she did her weight training, Xavier decided.
