Wicked Shadows (Steele Security Book 5) Read online

  “Elle, sweetheart, you’re being such a trooper today,” Vince praised her as she walked to her mark.

  “My job isn’t as physically demanding as our crew’s jobs. As long as they’re working, the least I can do is keep going, too.”

  Several nearby crew members looked up and gave her small, appreciative smiles as she sat in the side-stage makeup chair. When their smiles faded, Elle knew exactly who had entered the sound stage from the door behind her without even turning around. Beth approached her to freshen her makeup before the cameras started rolling again.

  “How are you holding up?” Beth murmured while she worked.

  “Okay, other than wanting to shave Jax’s head and tattoo a pile of shit on it so everyone knows what a shithead he is.”

  Beth barked out a laugh and quickly covered it with a mock coughing fit.

  “If you’re sick, you need to leave. We can’t have Elle catching a cold right now,” Vince snapped.

  “I’m not sick, sir,” Beth replied without elaborating, knowing Vince wouldn’t want to hear it from her anyway. Lowering her voice, she glared at Elle. “You can take the girl out of the South, but you can’t take the South out of the girl.”

  “You would know as well as I do,” Elle whispered back with a smirk.

  Beth stepped back and admired her work. “There. You’re perfect. Go break a leg.”

  “That’s for theater work,” Elle disputed.

  “Then go break Jax’s leg.”

  “Now you’re talking,” Elle replied with a chuckle.

  “What’d the jackass do this time?”

  “He barged into my trailer, without knocking, while I was changing clothes. I know he does that shit on purpose. Anyway, he offered his services to make me the best-paid female actress, if I’d service him on my knees right then and there. My hands were shaking from being so mad.

  “Beth, I didn’t even think about what would happen before I picked up the vase of flowers from the table and threw it at his head. He ducked, and it hit the wall behind him. Shattered glass flew everywhere. He spewed some vague threats at me and stormed off, back to his trailer.

  “Of course, the noise was loud, and a few of the crew members came running. It was so sweet how concerned they were for me. The cleaning team rushed in and cleaned up the mess before anyone else realized what had happened. I’m surprised he didn’t go running to Vince about me.”

  “It’s too late in the process to replace you now. Production will wrap in a couple of days if we keep going at the filming pace we have today. Besides, the scuttlebutt around the crew is Vince is covering up something major, something that could be a career-ender. Most bets are it has to do with Jax harassing actresses and other women on the set, that he’s crossed the line with the wrong woman.”

  “If that were true, Jax wouldn’t have propositioned me. Vince would’ve made sure he had Jax under control, especially if it’s something serious enough to affect their careers. It has to be something else.”

  “Hide that worried look on your face, Elle. Here come Vince and Jax. Time to put your acting skills to the test,” Beth whispered while pretending to style a strand of Elle’s hair.

  “Elle, we’re shooting the last scene you and Jax have together next. It’s the breakup scene, so I need to see some real tears, real emotions, real heartache. Take a few moments to be alone and do whatever it takes to get into your character’s frame of mind. We need you in top form so we can get this in as few takes as possible,” Vince explained.

  “You got it.” Elle gave the reply he expected to hear, but inwardly, all she could think about was how thrilled she’d be to break up with Jax at the end of filming. Then she’d just have to make it through the months of press junkets with him, with all the fake articles about how their love was what made the scenes so authentic rather than their acting expertise. “I’m going to wardrobe to change into my costume now. Then we can wrap up this scene as soon as I’m all sad and depressed.”

  “I should hit wardrobe, too,” Jax replied.

  Elle narrowed her eyes at him and gritted her teeth. She opened her mouth to reply, but Vince beat her to it.

  “You can wait on changing clothes. You have other things to do first. Besides, with all the set changes the grips are working on for the next scene, the wardrobe room is the only quiet place left for Elle to get into character. You stay away from that room as long as she’s in it, or you’ll deal with me, Jax Hart.”

  After she changed, Elle made herself comfortable on the small sofa in the back of the room, closed her eyes, and transported herself to another place and time. She drew on the memories she kept locked inside her, the ones she both wanted to forget and wanted to relive every day. Emotions welled up inside her chest when she released the first scene and allowed every second, every feeling, and every sensation to flood her mind. Once she started reminiscing, she couldn’t stop the onslaught of sorrow that followed.

  When she reached the point of no return, she rose from the couch and walked directly to the stage. For Elle, the emotional scenes were the rare times she wouldn’t speak to anyone who wasn’t written into the script. To remain in character and give the best performance she could muster, she immersed herself in the role and became the character. The character’s pain and hers became a singular state of mind, and she poured her broken heart and soul into her performance.

  When the final take was finished, and she’d recited her lines a dozen times with more heartrending emotion each time, Vince yelled “Cut.” Elle blinked repeatedly, seemingly waking from a trance, and her gaze swung around the room. The familiar sound of sniffles floated on the air as others rubbed their eyes while discreetly whisking away the moisture gathered in them.

  “You’re done for the day, Elle,” Vince said softly. “You can go ahead and change.”

  Elle nodded and briskly walked back to the wardrobe room. Getting into character was fairly easy, but leaving it behind was another matter in itself. She was unable to speak to anyone with her pent-up feelings still entirely too raw and barely under control. She was thankful that scene was the last shot of the day. She’d need the rest of the night to put the beast back in its cage so she’d be ready to work again the following day.

  On the way back to their apartment, she stared silently out the window while Beth drove. Her thoughts took her thousands of miles away, a year into the past, and reminded her of how carefree she’d once felt.

  “You’ve had a pretty rough day. Are you all right?” Beth asked, her voice soft but full of concern.

  “I miss him, Beth. I can’t keep living like this. It’s been a year. Either I have to contact him, or I have to let him go.” Saying those words out loud marked the first time she’d admitted to her best friend what had been weighing heavily on her heart.

  “Have you tried calling and talking to him about it, Elle? I really think you should before you make any decisions. You’ve held on to him for a long time.”

  “I’ve thought about calling him more times than I can count, Beth. But I come to the same conclusion every time. If I meant as much to him as he does to me, I’d already know it. I wouldn’t have to ask or wonder. So, I’m sure as hell not calling him to hear him confirm it.”

  Beth stretched her arm out and squeezed Elle’s hand, offering what little support and solace she could. Elle’s gaze stayed trained on the window, not seeing anything in the blur rushing by outside. The tears she shed on the set were real, but they were for her character’s situation. The tears sliding down her cheeks in the darkness of the car were all for herself. For what she wanted more than anything. For what she’d never have.

  Beth’s ringing cell phone pulled her attention away from Elle. After a quick glance at the screen, Beth’s eyebrows drew downward and an ominous feeling settled in her chest. “It’s Analise, one of the makeup artists on the lot,” she told Elle before accepting the call through the car’s Bluetooth.

  “Hey, Analise, you’re on speaker.”


  “Beth?” came the tearful reply.

  “What’s wrong?” Beth asked, gripping the steering wheel.

  “Katrina is missing. They think they can explain this away and make me shut up, but I know better than the lies they’re spreading about her.”

  “Analise, I have no idea what you’re talking about. What do you mean she’s missing? What lies? Who’s trying to shut you up?” Beth asked.

  “She didn’t make it home last night, and she didn’t show up for work today. The studio executive assigned to our movie released a statement to our crew. It was more like a gag order, really. His statement said Katrina was going through a rough patch with her husband and had to leave town so she can pull herself together. The movie has been put on hold until she regains her composure because it would cost too much to redo all her scenes. He also said if we told anyone about this, we’d never work on a movie lot again,” Analise explained.

  Beth and Elle exchanged concerned glances.

  “From a financial standpoint, that would make sense, Analise. From what I’ve heard, Katrina was in more scenes than not. If the movie’s almost wrapped, that would be a lot of wasted money.” Beth tried to calm Analise’s fears with rational reasons why a production hiatus would make sense.

  “That’s true, Beth,” Analise agreed. “Except, Kat wasn’t having marital problems. They’re crazy in love with each other. They’re even actively trying to get pregnant. I talked to her husband Jay late last night and several times today. We’ve been looking for Kat everywhere. Now I can’t reach Jay.”

  “Analise,” Beth faltered. “I don’t even know what to say. I didn’t know you were so close to her.”

  “We’ve been close for many years. I don’t advertise it because it just invites more trouble than it’s worth. But Kat is one of my best friends, and our husbands even hang out together a lot. Beth, I know we’re being fed lies. I know something bad has happened to her and now maybe to Jay. She would’ve called me by now. I’m scared, Beth, for her, for Jay, and now for my husband and myself.”

  “Are you working tomorrow, Analise?” Beth asked.

  “No, the first assistant director told the entire crew to stay home for the time being. The executive and the director have a meeting with the investors to explain what’s happening. I’m going out to look for Kat and Jay everywhere I can think to look.”

  “Don’t do that,” Beth warned. “I don’t know what’s going on with Kat and Jay, but I can tell you’re honestly terrified. If you believe something bad happened to them, you have to stay as far away from it as possible. Go to your mother’s house and stay in Oregon until they call you back to work or you hear from Katrina.”

  “But, Kat—”

  “There’s nothing more you can do now, Analise. Protect yourself and your family.” Beth disconnected the call after Analise promised to leave the state and remain at her mother’s indefinitely.

  “Katrina was fighting with Jax when I left the stage last night. She said he’d put his hands on her, and she threatened to have her husband kick his ass,” Elle said quietly.

  “You saw it yourself? You didn’t tell me about this.”

  “I saw them fighting. Katrina was about to punch him, and I stopped her because I knew he’d have her blackballed, or at least make her life hell for as long as possible. I told her to handle him the right way instead, so he couldn’t fight back. What if my advice backfired on her somehow and they fired her?”

  “What’s the right way?”

  “Release proof to the press if the studio execs won’t put a stop to his harassment, then start legal proceedings against all of them. The bad publicity from the scores of women who would come forward would be too much for even their public relations team to bury.”

  “Just promise me you’ll be careful. I don’t know what’s going on or where Katrina and Jay are. But you’re a witness, and I don’t want them coming after you. Just finish your scenes and get away from the lot. It has bad juju all around it,” Beth replied, uneasiness filling her tone.

  “No argument here. My scenes will be wrapped up in a couple of days, and I’ll be free of Jax Hart until the promotional tour begins.”

  The rest of the drive back to their shared apartment was made in silence. Concern for their friend on top of an overly long and draining day left them both too exhausted to carry on a conversation. An hour later, thanks to interstate construction slowing traffic, they arrived at their apartment and retreated to their separate bedrooms. After Elle finished washing before going to bed, the events of the day caught up with her, took over her mind, and kept her awake past the point of fatigue.

  She rolled over and grabbed her cell phone from the nightstand. She stared at the list of her favorite contacts for a few seconds before selecting her brother, Jeff. She let it ring a couple of times before realizing how late it was on the East Coast. He answered just before she ended the call.

  “Elle? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Jeff answered, his voice thick with both sleep and concern.

  “I’m okay, Jeff. I’m sorry—I forgot how late it was there, or I guess, how early. Go back to sleep.”

  “I don’t think so, little sis. You don’t call me for no reason, especially not this late even on Pacific Time. So go ahead and tell your big brother what’s bothering you.”

  “Something strange is happening on the lot, Jeff. This will sound crazy, and I know it’s big and there are multiple movies filming at once, and—”

  “Spit it out already. You can explain it away after you tell me.”

  “Over the past few months, more than a couple of women have disappeared from the lot. The last one has me rattled, though. I just talked to Kat yesterday. Kat’s best friend, Analise, called Beth tonight on the way home. She said the studio execs are lying about Kat’s whereabouts. Analise was terrified something bad has happened to her friend. And…” She paused, afraid to speak the words. “I’ve had the eerie feeling someone was watching me a few times after I left the sound stage.”

  “Elle, if there’s even the slightest chance something is off, you need to have a bodyguard with you at all times. Don’t take any chances.”

  “I’m sure I’m overreacting.”

  “And don’t dismiss your gut feelings. I’d rather you have a huge entourage of security guards and be safe than put it off and be sorry later.”

  “Okay, Jeff, you’re right. I’ll have Ray contact a couple of bodyguards first thing in the morning.”

  “I’m coming out there. I don’t trust your agent to do what he’s supposed to do. Do whatever you have to do to get me full access to the studio lot. You’re not leaving my sight.” Jeff was suddenly wide awake, his unease over the situation at maximum capacity.

  “Jeff, you can’t just leave your job to come babysit me because I have the heebie-jeebies. I’m not even sure I can get a full-access pass for you. I’ll make sure Ray does his job, and there are always security guards on the lot,” Elle argued.

  “Elle, there may be guards, but that place is huge. There’s no way they can be everywhere at once.”

  “I’m sure it’s nothing but my overactive imagination.”

  “Your imagination has never been overactive like this before, so stop trying to get rid of me. Do I need to call Mark and have him come down from Paso Robles? He can leave right now and be there in a few hours to keep an eye on you until I get there.”

  “No, don’t bother him, or Mom and Dad. I shouldn’t have called you with this. With all the sound stages, there are hundreds of crew members on the lot at any given time. I’ll get a personal bodyguard, and it’ll be fine. I’m sorry I worried you. Go back to sleep, and I’ll call you at a decent hour tomorrow.”

  “Okay,” Jeff replied reluctantly. “If I don’t hear from you early in the morning, I’m calling Mark, and I’m booking my flight to LAX.”

  Elle laughed softly, glad she had two brothers who would do anything for her. “Fine. I’ll call you twice tomorrow.” Lowering her voice, s
he added, “Thank you. Good night, Jeff.”

  “Good night, Elle.”

  3

  CHAPTER THREE

  “It’s your favorite sister, calling to report in as ordered by her older and demanding brother,” Elle announced when Jeff answered his phone.

  “Smartass little sister,” he laughed. “Have you called Ray Burke, the worst agent in Hollywood yet?”

  “I call him that every day,” she joked.

  “Very funny. You know what I mean. My mouse is hovered over the ‘purchase’ button for my plane ticket so I can kick your ass before I protect it myself.”

  “I’ve talked to Ray, and two bodyguards will be waiting outside my apartment first thing tomorrow morning.”

  “Why do you still live in an apartment, Elle? You’ve made more than enough money to buy an outrageously big house in Bel Air or Malibu with a security system to rival Tony Stark’s.”

  “I have commitment issues. This way, I only have to agree to a year-long lease, and I can pay my way out of it if I need to break it. Plus, the threat of finding a new roommate is the only way I can guilt Beth into never leaving me.”

  “Have you told Mom, Dad, or Mark about this yet?” Jeff asked, suddenly serious again.

  “No, there’s no need to alarm them. I don’t even know for sure anything’s wrong. I could be overreacting to nothing at all.”

  “So, you only wanted to alarm me because I’m the one who’s clear across the country from you? The one who’d get to you last if anything did happen?”

  “Exactly!” She burst out laughing. “No, Jeff, because you’re the level-headed one. You were supposed to tell me I was imagining things and I needed to get over myself. You broke the rules when you agreed with me.”

  “I could tell you were scared, and you don’t get scared for no reason. Elle, I did some research this morning on what you told me about that missing girl. Do me a favor, and don’t walk anywhere without an armed escort, even around the lot. Those bodyguards need to be there with you today. Since you haven’t called Mark to get him to come down and stay with you, I’ll call and talk to Ray myself if I have to. But those guards need to be there today.”