Page 61 of Behind the Scenes

“But what if someone asks where I’m going?”

“Tell them I’m waiting downstairs in the lobby.”

She bit her lip like this worried her, so Hunter gently cradled her face in his hands and looked into her eyes. “I promise I won’t let anything hurt you. You can trust me. Just make sure to follow those instructions to a T and don’t tell a soul we’re going anywhere.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

He bent down and kissed her softly on the lips. “Remember, no one. I’ll see you in a little while.”

Even though he saw worry in her eyes, she smiled and nodded. “Okay. I’ll be waiting for your text.”

Hurrying out of her room, he headed toward his room to make arrangements to take her to the estate. Nothing like this had ever happened to him on a case, but then again, Alexis Marchand wasn’t like any other client.

Or any other woman, for that matter.

Chapter Twenty

The thought ofgoing off with Hunter frightened Alexis as much as it thrilled her. Had she made a mistake telling him she would leave and not mention it to a single person? What did she actually know about him other than Paul had hired him and he came from some group called Project Artemis that helped women?

Maybe she should at least tell Lauren. Just in case.

Just then she realized she couldn’t even tell her best friend exactly where they were going to. Swinging her legs off the loveseat, she began looking for a bag to pack a few things in. Wherever this place was he was taking her, she’d need her things.

As she stuffed a brush and some makeup into her bag, she mumbled, “This is crazy. I’m running off with a man I barely know.”

Then again, she knew him a little more than barely, didn’t she?

Her cheeks grew hot as the memory of their time together in his room the night before rushed through her mind. Smiling, she admitted to herself she definitely wouldn’t use the word barely to describe how she knew him sexually.

But did that mean she should leave the security of her home and drive somewhere all alone with him? At least when she went off with Lauren she was with someone she knew and trusted.

Tossing more makeup into her bag, she said, “I must be out of my mind. I’m crazy. This is crazy.”

A gentle knock at her bedroom door tore her out of her thoughts, and she yelled, “Come in!”

Lauren’s face appeared, and she asked, “Are you okay? Can I come in?”

Alexis waved her in. “Come in! I want to talk to you.” She sat down on the bed and patted it next to her. “I need your help with something.”

Her assistant eagerly nodded, happy to help, of course. “Whatever you want. What’s up?”

“Hunter is getting me out of the city for a little bit. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I need you to make it look like I’m staying in my room the whole time. I don’t want anyone to know I’m gone.”

He’d told her to not tell a soul, not even Lauren, but she had to let her know. She couldn’t worry her best friend needlessly like that. Not after everything she’d done for her.

Lauren’s mouth dropped open in shock at her announcement. “You barely know him. Do you think you should go off alone with him? I mean, I know he’s here to help catch the stalker, but he hasn’t been around that long.”

“I know, but I trust him. It might sound crazy, but I need to get away from here. I feel like I’m just waiting for the next letter to show up and terrorize me.”

As always, Lauren worried about the rest of her life like any great assistant would. “But what about that part Melanie was talking about last week? What if they want you to go read for it? You want this part, don’t you?”

Alexis thought about the part, a character who struck out on her own after being abused as a child and worked her way up the corporate ladder. She loved the idea of finally playing a strong woman who controlled her own destiny, but as much as she wanted to play that character, she needed to get away more.

“It will probably only be for a few days. I don’t think it will be a problem, and if it is, then that part wasn’t meant to be.”

Frowning, Lauren said, “Okay. I mean, if this is what you want to do, then I guess you’re going to do it.”

She looked into her friend’s dark eyes and hoped she saw the truth in hers. “I do need this. I can’t explain it, but I trust him.”

---