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Ah, yes. My Bound Fate spy. “Why are you calling me so early?”
“It’s four o’clock in the afternoon.”
I rub at the new headache forming between my eyes. “Your point?”
“I would’ve called you earlier, but I had to wait for Noah to leave. He has enough problems with Rosten, and if he overheard, he’d do something drastic and ruin his career.”
On hearing that fucker’s name I sit up, the rocks rattling around in my skull calming to a dull roar. “What about Rosten?” Shit in my head starts untangling. “You said this is about Alexandra.”
“It is.” The line goes silent for a moment. “Look, I want you to promise you’ll think of Alexandra’s future before you go flying off the handle.”
“Just say it,” I bite out between clenched teeth.
He lets out a labored breath. “I got to the studio early on Friday because Noah likes to run lines on set before the crew shows up. I arrived before him and found a Bound Fate script just lying around. You know how Rosten is about stuff getting leaked.”
“Get to the point.”
“Right. So, I swung by reception, grabbed a keycard, and went up to his office. Susan wasn’t in yet because like I said, it was early. But I heard voices.”
I close my eyes and grip the sheet. Not because of the bright light, or the headaches, or the rocks in my head. But because of the impending storm I know is coming.
“I heard Isabella and Sebastian’s lines, and not the tame ones. The ones that make me walk off set. I was about to go in when the door opened. The last thing I wanted to do was get caught eavesdropping, so I hid around the corner, but…” He pauses, almost as if he’s battling with himself to say the words I know are coming. “It was Alexandra.”
“She works for him.” The words are hollow, even to my own ears.
“She was crying, Dominic. And before she left, Rosten…” He hedges, a tense silence passing between us. Then he says the three words that knock the air out of my chest. “He touched her.”
“He did what?” My voice is dead calm, but the grip on the sheet is merciless.
“She looked catatonic, man. Like no one was home. Then she just walked away. Noah never made it to the set because he got food—”
I disconnect the call. Although my chest feels like a dull knife is digging into it, I don’t yell. I don’t smash empty whiskey bottles against the wall. I’m calm as I take a shower. I’m calm as I get dressed. I’m calm as I drive to Burbank. I’m calm as I go through the checkpoint and metal detector at Silverline. And I’m calm as I make my way toward the main executive building.
But the minute I notice a shadow trailing behind me and catch a glimpse of a familiar face in the glass door, all hell breaks loose.
I spin around, catching her by the arm before she can run away. Although she struggles, I knock her off balance, and she tumbles against the side of the building. Before she can get her bearings, I pin my forearm against her throat. “What the hell is wrong with you, DeLuca?”
Excessive? Don’t care.
My “give a fuck” well has run dry.
“Why are you at Silverline Studios?” she croaks, her black nails clawing at my arm.
“Does it matter?”
Her face is turning a little red, so I lighten up the pressure. Seizing the opportunity, she digs her nails into my arm so hard she draws blood.
“Fuck!” I yell, dropping my hold. “You crazy bitch! How did you even get in here?”
“My best friend gave me an access pass so I could be on set Monday,” she hisses, staring me dead in the face like she didn’t just turn rabid. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
“That doesn’t explain what you’re doing here today.”
“She’s in love with you, you know,” she says, ignoring me. “She’s never let anyone this close to her, and you’re going to break her, aren’t you?” She pokes her bony finger into my chest. “Well, I’m not going to let you. I’ll ruin you first, McCallum.”
I don’t need this shit right now.
“Is that right?” A quiet storm builds in my voice as it drops low. Every step I take forces her back against the wall again. I can feel everything I’ve worked for slipping away as the kid with blood on his hands who defied Luciano Ricci gains strength. “Try it and see what happens. You have no idea what I’m capable of or the reach I have, lady. One word from me, and you’ll take a swan dive off the Colorado Street Bridge.”
