AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter
One
Eva Chevron perched on tiptoes, arms up to the sky as she attempted to meditate on the back patio of her Balboa Peninsula home, watching the sun set over the Pacific Ocean and counting her blessings. A loving family, good health, faith in heaven above, success in her dream job, a beautiful August evening, and another day that Jorge Augilar was in prison.
The renowned drug dealer had been captured by the famed Aiden Porter six months ago. Aiden had kept his involvement under the radar from the media, but Eva’s assigned FBI agent, Ryken Anderson, had name-dropped. People in Hollywood loved to do that, but Aiden Porter was a big name to drop. He was the second top security specialist in the world next to the legendary Sutton Smith.
The problem was, Jorge had recently become obsessed with Eva. At least that was how Agent Henderson, ‘Ryken to only you Eva’ with a subtle wink, described the ‘issue.’ Obsessed wasn’t strong enough in Eva’s mind. Not for the nonstop messages Jorge sent through multiple channels—emails, typed notes, social media messages. Obsessed? How about fanatical? Zealous? Maniacal? One of those might fit better.
Ryken assured her the prison guards had taken away Jorge’s privileges to communicate with the outside world, but the notes hadn’t stopped. He had too many connections and, honestly, what were some love notes to a famous actress compared to his long list of horrific crimes?
Eva pushed out a heavy breath and glanced at her Fitbit to see how long she’d been meditating, or rather ‘gnawing like a dog on his bone’ as her dad would say while she stressed about Jorge.
Fifty seconds? Ah, heck no. The wellness coach her agent ‘recommended’ said if she could meditate for five minutes, it would help reduce the stress of a murderous drug lord sending messages that he was ‘coming for his favorite actress.’
She knew the coach meant well, but he didn’t have the foul, murderous, despicable Jorge Augilar after him, now did he?
Eva had dealt with stalkers before. Why did this one bother her so much?
Meditation. Clear thoughts. Focus. She’d found if she meditated outside, focused on the view instead of closing her eyes, held difficult poses instead of lying down, and fixated on her gratitude list to the good Lord above, she could sometimes make it to the elusive five minutes.
Who was she lying to? She’d never made it past eighty seconds. Patience and standing still had never been her strong suits, though she could pretend both when acting. Her mom had constantly begged her to stop dancing around the house and breaking things. Her dad had teased her whenever she claimed she was ‘being calm’ through gritted teeth. He’d chuckle and say, ‘You know, darlin’, you can lie to some of the people some of the time …’
Eva smiled. She missed her parents, sisters, friends, and extended family near Cody, Wyoming. Hollywood interactions were a far stretch from the ‘good-old boys’ and ‘down-home gals’ she’d grown up with. She loved her career and thrived on playing a variety of roles to exactness, but she didn’t appreciate the shallow relationships, underhanded deals, and backstabbing.
She’d learned the hard way over the past ten years not to trust easily, and to steer clear of romantic relationships. Every celebrity she’d dated when she first arrived was looking for the next big thing and dumped her as soon as a better option came along. She thought she’d learned her lesson and went years maintaining an emotional distance. Then she fell for Lake Eastwood a year ago. He’d made Eva feel like she was his entire world, then cheated on her with both Bermuda Venus and Jezebel Noir. That one had hurt. Though she should’ve expected it, he was a fantastic actor. Why had she been so surprised he’d only been acting with her?
Please help me not to fall for a famous, unfaithful man again. Please show me the light. Shine a beam on the man I can trust. A man who can be loyal and not dump me for the next hot option.
Looking out over the peaceful beach, the sun lighting the clouds red, orange, and pink as it touched the ocean, she noticed a lone man approaching at a quick jog. The setting sun highlighted his strong form like a halo. She sucked in a breath. Was it just a random coincidence or was heaven above giving her a sign?
She leaned into the balcony wall, anxious to see the man clearly. She knew she should be wary. Her house alarms and cameras were on, but maybe she should hire a security team. She rolled her eyes. Jorge wasn’t going to send some jogger to attack her. All California beaches were public and a man running wasn’t an anomaly. The stretch of beach behind her house was quiet without a public access close. She saw joggers in the morning and sometimes walkers in the evening, but most people didn’t want to haul their beach gear too far from a public parking area.
The man got closer, and her heart beat quicker. She wasn’t certain if it was anticipation or anxiety. This could be her dream man or a hit man.
She could now distinguish dark hair and a tall, well-built body. He was still too far away to distinguish facial features, but he was moving fast. If he angled away from the water and toward the houses, he’d reach her within seconds. Then he would be one Superman leap from the sand to her patio. She could be dead or kidnapped before she could squeak for help.
Thank you for that image, she snapped at her morbid mind. She needed to be cautious but not a Nervous Nellie. She knew it was in her best interest that she’d morphed from an ‘innocent Wyoming cowgirl’ to ‘famous but still humble’ to petrified and disturbed in the course of ten short years. No news media had pinned the last two terms on her. She’d hid the pain over Lake’s betrayal and the fear of Jorge’s relentless pursuit from them pretty well, if she did say so herself.
She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and clicked on the phone app, just in case the man was coming for her. Sun halo aside, she doubted heaven was sending her dream man running down the beach.
Ryken had asked her to call him instead of 911. He promised he would get the right people moving faster if she was in danger. Despite his obnoxious flirtations, she appreciated his diligence in protecting her.
Lake had begged her to call him first when he’d somehow found out she was in dire straits and dropped by to visit last week. Yeah, right; she’d call him as fast as she’d pick up a rattlesnake. She’d told him to drop dead in a ditch. He’d appreciated that. She could still see his fake green eyes snapping at her from his too-tight, too-tanned face as he told her, ‘Don’t think your Idaho redneck lingo is going to win you any roles without me. You’ll be crawling back in no time.’
Idaho? Come on. He didn’t know the first thing about the real Eva Chevron. Not that it mattered to Lake and not that there was anything wrong with Idaho, but she was proud to be from Wyoming.
She hadn’t even considered crawling back to him. He’d cheated on her, twice, and then spent the past six months alternating between trying to woo her back or threatening her with losing roles or popularity when she didn’t take his bait. She’d done brilliantly with her career, rising higher without him. Scum ball anyway.
The fit runner man kept racing along the beach, but he wasn’t angling in her direction. She should go back inside, but she found herself fascinated that the dying sun was still highlighting him. The halo she’d prayed for, maybe? No, that was far-reaching, and despite her love for acting and drama, Eva was as practical as they came. She had to be to survive emotionally in the Hollywood rat race.
Maybe she was simply fascinated that such a large man could run at his speed. The smooth lines of muscle working in synchrony in his arms and legs were enthralling. How did the song go? Six foot four and full of muscle? She’d guess those stats were correct.
His profile was clear to her now as he was almost parallel to her patio and the sun had descended, leaving it light enough to see him without the ‘halo’ interference.
There was no denying he was a strikingly handsome man. The sculpted lines of a ‘manly macho male man’ as her sister Tasha would say.
She barked out a laugh, thinking of Tasha saying that redundant phrase in a goofy voice and how silly Eva was being ogling some guy she didn’t know and would never know.
