Page 24 of Behind the Scenes

“And then when she began getting the letters, my aunt told me that I should be careful too. She said one night she woke up in a cold sweat because she had seen me instead of Alexis as the victim in the dream. I swear, she sounded like she’d seen a ghost when she called me that morning,” Carla said, flailing her hands as she spoke.

“I don’t think you have to worry, Carla. I’m not going to let anyone get hurt. I promise you that.”

“But you’re only here to protect Alexis. I know that. She’s the star. I’m just some girl who works for her. What if someone came after me or Lauren? I worry that we’d be vulnerable and no one would want to help us.”

What had gotten her so excited about this? Had another letter come?

The thought of that made him pay attention suddenly. “Carla, did Alexis get another letter or package from the stalker?”

She shook her head quickly so her long black hair swung around her head. “No, no. She’s fine. She didn’t get anything since that snow globe. No, I’m just worried that my aunt is right.”

“Well, I swear to you there’s nothing to worry about. I promise that I plan to find this stalker and stop him. You don’t have to worry, and if anything happens to you or Lauren, I won’t stand idly by. I’m not going to let any of you get hurt.”

He turned to leave, but Carla’s hand clamped down on his forearm. Looking back at her, he saw real fear in her eyes.

“Wait! I want to show you something.”

Hunter’s suspicious mind began to wonder if Carla had something to do with the stalker. She seemed far too nervous and frightened, but about what?

“What’s wrong?”

Tugging on his arm to pull him toward her bedroom, she said, “In my room. The windows.”

He let her take him into the room as she explained, “I want you to look at them. To make sure no one can break in.”

“Break in? Into a penthouse? We’re nineteen floors up. Who’s breaking in? Spiderman? Some other superhero?” he asked, only slightly kidding with the superhero crack.

She ignored his joke and walked him over to the window on the far wall. Opening it toward her, she shook it frantically. “I don’t think there’s even a lock on it. Is that safe?”

As much as he didn’t think a window this high up would be an issue, he humored her and pretended to examine it. After a few seconds, he smiled. “I think it’s safe. No need to worry.”

Carla looked at her cell phone and then back at him. “Okay. I just wanted to be sure. I better go check to see if Alexis has anything she wants me to do this morning. She’s been very busy so far, so I’m sure she does.”

Just as she wanted him so badly to check out the window in her room, now she practically pushed him out into the hallway. Then without saying another word, she ran away down the hall, leaving him confused about the whole thing.

Had all that really been necessary?

Hunter thought about it and wondered if she’d been trying to flirt with him. At least that made some sense. Worrying about someone scaling a New York City high rise apartment building to break in through a bedroom window hundreds of feet up didn’t.

As all of that rambled around his brain, he headed to the kitchen to get another cup of coffee. Maybe more caffeine would help him understand these people. He stood at the counter and listened to Carla talking to Alexis through her bedroom door and decided he was surrounded by crazy people. One minute Alexis was buying an entire bedroom set and moving all her office furniture out so he could have a room to stay in, and the next minute she was hiding out in her room and forcing her assistant to talk to her through a door.

“Must be a Hollywood thing,” he said, knowing all too well how bizarre movie stars could be.

He did have to admit that what she did for him with the bedroom after seeing him sleeping on the couch last night had been a really nice gesture.

“Alexis, talk to me. What’s wrong?” Carla asked.

Hunter listened but heard no response.

Was she having a temper tantrum?

“Honey, is Lauren in there with you?”

At that moment, Hunter wished Gideon or Xavier had been the one chosen for this assignment. He didn’t work well in a nuthouse. If only he was back at the estate and one of them had to deal with this nonsense.

“Just tell me what you need. Tell me and I’ll do whatever you want,” Carla said, pleading with her employer.

Hunter had listened to enough of this. He needed to find some peace and quiet. Thankfully, he had a room now he could escape to.

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