Page 27 of Crossing the Line
“He was here, but ran before I could talk to him,” Xavier told her.
“So Wave’s safe?”
“She’s hanging out with the equivalent of a big, black brick wall that isn’t going to let anyone near her.”
Kate blew out a breath in his ear. “That makes me feel better. What should I do with the message?”
“Don’t respond. Just send me a screenshot of it. I’ll add it to the file. I can take it to the cops, make sure they’re aware of the situation. But—”
“But they still won’t be able to make a move until he does something creeper-ier.”
“Exactly. Send me the screenshot. I’m going to go find Angel.”
“Thanks for sticking, Saint.”
“Yeah.” He hung up and shoved the phone back in his pocket.
He gave the carpet and crowd the once over again. Both sides of the red carpet were lined with TV cameras and production crews. On the far side, there was one camera facing the right direction, he noted. It would have been directly across from Ganim. He crossed the carpet and stopped near a production assistant who was kneeling down packing up equipment.
“Excuse me,” he said.
“What?” She slammed the top on a stainless steel case and looked up at him. Irritation shifted to surprise. “I mean, uh, how can I help you?” She shoved a hand through her frizzy dishwater hair, yanking out the tie that held her ponytail in place. She lost her balance and fell backward, rapping her elbow sharply on the case.
Xavier held out a hand and hauled her to her feet while she cursed.
“Shit. Ouch. Damn it,” she muttered, scrubbing her hands over her plaid shirt and jeans.
She wore tortoise shell glasses and had a slight gap between her two front teeth. The blush that was working its way over her face could have ignited a forest fire.
Xavier boosted the charm. “Sorry for startling you, but I need your help.”
She was nodding, her mouth slightly open.
“I’m sorry,” Xavier said, flashing her a smile. “I’m getting ahead of myself. I’m Xavier. Xavier Saint.” He offered her his hand.
When she just continued to nod at him he took her hand and shook it.
The contact seemed to bring her back from her reverie. “Saint. Uh-huh. Right.”
“I’m here on a security job, and we just had a little incident over there a few minutes ago,” he gestured at the crowd behind them. “I was hoping you could get me a copy of the footage you shot today.”
Her eyes blinked behind her glasses. “Footage. Uh-huh.”
“What’s your name?” Xavier asked.
She visibly shook herself. “Amy. I’m Amy,” she told him.
“Amy,” Xavier smiled down at her. “Would you be willing to do that? I don’t want you to get in any trouble.”
“Trouble? No,” she shook her head violently from side to side. “No trouble. Do you need all the footage? We shot a lot and it’s mostly skinny women talking about dress designers.”
“I’m looking for any crowd shots you’d have. And it’s gotta be kept pretty quiet. Client privacy, you know?”
She stopped shaking and started nodding. “Sure. I can do that. Yeah.”
Xavier reached into his jacket and pulled out a business card. “You can reach me at any of these numbers. Let me know if you have any trouble with your bosses. I really appreciate it, Amy. Really.”
When he walked into the building a few minutes later, he was already formulating a game plan. Ganim had made a move, and it was enough to convince Xavier the man was a credible threat. He’d get the footage, compile the report, and pay a visit to Micah’s detective friend. Getting the ball rolling on that end now would make it easier to press charges if Ganim tried anything serious.
