Читать книгу Familiar Double - Caroline Burnes - Страница 13

Jax leaned against the side of Kyle Lancer’s trailer and waited. He’d been there twenty minutes and Angela was still inside. He could only wonder what she was up to. Sleeping with Kyle was a possibility, but it certainly didn’t seem to be her style.

Kyle was rich and handsome, but he was dumb as a post. Hollywood lore portrayed Angela as something of a black widow. She liked her men smarter—more fun to toy with before she ate them. Then again, he’d only heard rumors. He really knew nothing at all about Angela except that she was a total witch. She seemed to take pleasure in belittling people, and for the past five weeks, Nicole had been on the receiving end of her abuse. It had become a real point of curiosity to him why Angela hated Nicole so much. He suspected jealousy, but he had nothing to base that on except that he felt Nicole was a far better actress than Angela. And Nicole didn’t even consider herself to be an actress. She viewed herself only as a stuntwoman. Well, Nicole could give Angela a serious run for her money in a contest for movie roles.

The door cracked and he heard Angela’s voice.

“Don’t ever stand me up like that again, Kyle.”

If she’d gone to see Kyle for some romance, it had ended on a sour note. Jax pressed himself deeper into the shadows. The last thing he wanted was for Angela to see him. He wasn’t concerned about catching the rough side of her tongue, but he didn’t want her to know he was following her.

“Or what?” Kyle asked, his voice slightly slurred.

“Or you’ll pay a heavy price.”

Kyle laughed. “What are you gonna do, get me fired?” He laughed louder. “I’m carrying this movie. John won’t fire me, but he could damn sure send you down the road if I made a big enough stink about it. In fact, that pretty stuntwoman—”

“You shut your mouth,” Angela snapped. “You’re a fool, Kyle. Nicole Paul’s only talent is with sticky fingers. She’s an exceptional thief, just like her father. I don’t think that’s what John Hudson is looking for. And I wouldn’t count on John as an ally on this. We have a special relationship.”

“John Hudson’s far too smart to sleep with you, Angela. And from what I’ve seen on the set, that may be the only acting talent you have.”

“You’re disgusting,” Angela said with more scorn than she’d ever put into delivering lines.

“Just because you think you’ve landed a big fish from the studio doesn’t mean your career is going to take off. Take my advice, Angela. Gig that fish, get him in the boat and get a ring on your finger.”

“I don’t need a ring. I’m going to be a star.”

Kyle laughed. “You’re just another pretty face, darling. A pretty face and a bad disposition. Your days are numbered.”

“You’re a pathetic drunk.”

“I must have been drunk to sign on to this picture with you. I guess I thought you might still have a soft spot for me.” His laughter was ugly. “What do you think your powerful lover would think if he knew the truth about you?”

“You don’t have the guts to tell him.”

“Oh, don’t I?”

“No, you don’t. If you open your mouth, you’ll never work in this town again and you know it.”

“You’re just full of empty threats, Angela. Maybe I’ve had enough. Maybe I’m ready to call your bluff.”

“You’re going to be sorry!” Angela stormed out of the trailer, slamming the door shut so hard it bounced open again. In a moment she was down the stairs and striding across the parking lot in her spiked heels.

To Jax’s intense amusement, her heel collapsed and she almost fell down.

“Damn him to hell,” she raged. She slipped off the shoe and hobbled back to her trailer.

Jax followed at a discreet distance. He checked his watch. With a twisted ankle, he didn’t think Angela would be running out any more that night. He could finally go home and go to bed.

He lingered outside for another fifteen minutes, just to make sure that no one went to see Angela. He couldn’t have said why he’d chosen to shadow the star instead of Nicole. But after the arduous stunts he and Nicole had completed for shooting that night, he had no doubt that Nicole was in her trailer sound asleep. As he should be.

Sauntering across the parking lot, he took note that everyone had settled in for the night. A movie set was a lot like a neighborhood. There were good neighbors and bad. Some of the younger cast members had a tendency to stay up too late and be too noisy, but it was all part of moviemaking.

On his way to his trailer, he passed Nicole’s. He was surprised to see a light burning. When he’d gone by earlier, it had been dark. An unpleasant sensation curled through him. Had he been following the wrong blonde? No, he couldn’t believe that. And Nicole wasn’t stupid enough to advertise her movements by turning lights on and off. No, if she was up to anything, she’d be more discreet about it.

He was about to walk on when he saw her silhouette pass by the window. Her long hair was tumbled down her back and she stopped for a moment and drank a glass of something. Even in shadow form she was a beautiful woman. Beautiful and challenging. Just the way he liked them. She turned abruptly away and he was left with only an empty window.

NICOLE PUT DOWN the water glass she’d been drinking from and picked up the telephone receiver that had suddenly started to ring. No one ever called her. And certainly no one called her so late at night.

She answered and then felt her heart jolt. It was her father. She held the phone in her hand so tightly that her knuckles were white.

“Daddy, are you okay?”

“I’m not feeling well, Nicole. I hate to call you in the middle of the night, but I’m afraid I need you.”

“I’m on my way,” Nicole said, pulling on jeans and shoes as she talked.

“Drive safely,” Vincent Paul said in a weak voice. “I couldn’t take it if something happened to you.”

“I’m fine, Dad. I’ll be careful. Just try to relax. Shall I call an ambulance?”

“No, no ambulance. Not yet.”

“Can you tell me what happened?”

“I think I just got upset and my blood pressure got too high. I’m okay, Nicole, but it would be good to see you.”

She snatched up a blouse and searched through a pile of things for a bra. She was a terrible housekeeper. She could never seem to find time to put things where they belonged. It was a habit that would drive her father nuts. He was such a neat-nick.

“Dad, can you call your doctor?”

“I don’t think it’s necessary, Nicole. In fact, just talking to you has made me feel better. It really isn’t necessary that you come over here.”

“Too late to avoid me now,” she said, putting a light note on it. “I’m on my way. Besides, I want to talk to you about what happened today. I don’t want you to worry about it.” This was, she felt certain, at the root of her father’s heart flare-up. He’d been worried about her and it had affected his health.

“Okay, but just drive carefully.”

“I’m headed out the door, Daddy. I’ll be there in half an hour.”

JAX HAD WATCHED the production of her dressing, and he’d felt only a brief moment of guilt. He hadn’t meant to be a voyeur, but once he started watching, he couldn’t force himself to leave. He was still standing in the shadows when the trailer door opened and Nicole came flying out and jumped into her car.

She’d barely gotten the door closed before she was turning the key. The engine turned over but didn’t catch. She tried to start it again with the same result.

Jax hesitated. Wherever Nicole was going, she seemed in a major hurry. And she seemed upset. But he wasn’t certain she would appreciate his help. Then again, he’d never know unless he asked her.

He let her try the car several times before he walked over to the old coupe and tapped on the window.

Again he saw a wash of emotions on her face as she recognized him. At first there was what appeared to be happy surprise, then amazement and finally wariness.

“Sounds like your electrical system is out of whack. Maybe something as simple as a spark plug. Want me to check it?”

He saw the internal struggle. Nicole had a really hard time accepting help from anyone.

“My father’s ill,” she finally said. “I have to get there fast.”

He opened the door. “Forget this. I’ll drive you, or you can take my motorcycle. Come on.”

Nicole didn’t argue. She got out of the car and followed him.

“You could use the truck, but Jason borrowed it and I know he isn’t back yet. He never gets in until the wee hours.” He led the way through a maze of trailers until he stopped at a huge black motorcycle. From his jeans he pulled out the key and extended it to Nicole. “Helmet’s on the back.”

She shook her head. “I’ve never driven one of these.”

Jax nodded. He handed her the helmet that hung from the backrest and reached for another in a storage box beside the bike. “Come on, then. I’ll drive you wherever you need to go.”

He had already swung his leg over the bike and straddled it when he felt her hand on his arm. “Why are you doing this?” she asked.

“Doing what?”

“Being nice to me. Helping me. Why?”

Jax found that he really didn’t have an answer to her question. He hadn’t analyzed his reasons. At least not in any sensible way. All he knew was that Nicole had gotten more than one rough break in life. Maybe it was just a Texas thing to stand up for the underdog. It could even be that he enjoyed the courage and spirit she showed on the job. She tackled things that frightened her, and she did it without complaint. Or maybe it was simply because she was one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. Angela Myers and Nicole could have passed for sisters.

Angela was a beautiful woman, but she lacked something that Nicole possessed. He couldn’t pin it down—yet—but he knew one thing for certain. He wanted a chance to spend time with Nicole so that he could figure it out.

He felt Nicole swing a leg over the seat and press against him. He turned the ignition switch and felt the engine purr to life. As he pushed off, he felt Nicole’s arms go around his chest. Involuntarily she clung to him as the powerful bike surged forward.

Jax grinned to himself. Sometimes real life was even better than fantasy.

NICOLE CLOSED her eyes and pressed hard against Jax as he took one of the hairpin curves at sixty miles an hour. The bike leaned down, hugging the curve, and she did her best to shift her body weight with Jax.

Beneath the fear of the ride was a deep excitement. She’d never ridden a motorcycle like this one. In a few movie scenes she’d had to ride a smaller dirt bike for several hundred yards and then lay it down in a patch of sand. That experience hadn’t been nearly this exhilarating.

And part of the excitement was Jax. Where had he suddenly come from? And why was he being so kind to her? In her life there had been one or two men who’d made overtures of friendship and kindness, but in the end there was always a price tag attached. A big one. Nicole had made a vow a long time ago that she wasn’t about to pay that price for anyone’s help. She could do perfectly well on her own.

Jax took a left turn down a darkened canyon road, and Nicole had to admit that he knew his way around town. Vincent Paul lived in a small house tucked away on one of the cliffs overhanging the Malibu colony. When he’d first moved there, decades before, the property had been cheap. Now it was the only thing he owned that was worth anything. Several times Nicole had urged him to sell it and move closer into Los Angeles proper.

His reply had been that his canyon home was the one thing that kept him going in prison. All he could think about was getting out and returning to the place where he’d been happily married and the father of a young girl. Now he was determined to live out the rest of his life in that place.

Nicole had given up fighting the strength of his memories, but as she sped through the night on the back of Jax’s motorcycle, she wished she’d been more insistent. If Vincent was having a heart attack, the ambulance would never get there in time.

She leaned into another curve with Jax and felt the bike slow as they approached the narrow gravel driveway that wound up to the house.

Jax eased the bike up the gravel as Nicole held her breath and prayed they didn’t slide backward. But in a few seconds they were pulling up beside the house and parking.

As she got off, her legs visibly trembled. She felt Jax’s hand on her arm as he steadied her. “You’re a helluva passenger,” he said as he removed his helmet. “You balanced perfectly on the curves. You’re a natural on a bike.”

“Thanks,” she said. She watched as he rubbed one hand over his unruly blond hair. She handed him the helmet. “Let me see how bad my father is.”

She didn’t wait for an answer. She hurried into the house, using her key. “Daddy?” she called, walking through the kitchen and then the den. “Daddy?” It was a small two-bedroom house. Her former room had been on this floor and her parents had shared the bedroom beneath. It had been built so that it hung off the face of the cliff.

“Daddy?” She ran through the house, taking the stairs so fast she almost tripped.

“I’m in here.”

She hurried into the bedroom to find her father stretched out on the bed. He wore jeans and a turtleneck and looked every inch the European artist that he was, even though his face was pale.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, rushing forward to put a hand on his forehead and then to grab his wrist to check his pulse.

“I just had a little scare,” he said.

“What kind of scare?”

“I was afraid I was having a heart attack, but I feel a little better now. I’m sorry that I frightened you, Nicole. You must have flown here.”

“Almost,” she admitted with a slow grin. Her father’s pulse was elevated, but with each passing second she could see that he was recovering. “What got you upset, Dad?”

Vincent shook his head. “I can’t really say. You know how these medical things are. No rhyme or reason to them.”

Nicole noticed that her father wasn’t looking at her when he talked. Even after twenty years in prison, Vincent shared an extraordinary ability to communicate with his daughter. They’d always been able to simply sit across from each other and tell the truth about whatever was happening in their lives. She remembered clearly when Vincent had called her into the kitchen to tell her that he’d been accused of stealing the Dream of Isis. He’d told her flat out, and then he’d also told her that he didn’t do it, but that he was going to be tried as a thief. He’d never sugar-coated a single bit of it, and she’d never doubted that he was innocent.

“Dad, you aren’t telling me the truth,” she said softly. “What really happened?”

Vincent looked up at her. “Nicole, I spoke to Carlos Sanchez for you. He’s willing to take the case.”

“Daddy! We can’t afford Carlos. He’s one of the biggest names in Los Angeles. I’ll get a public defender. I’m not guilty and we don’t have the money to spend on someone like Carlos.” She didn’t bother to point out that paying Carlos Sanchez for defending her father had wiped out every bit of their savings. They’d sold cars, jewelry, tools, furnishings—everything except the house.

And Carlos had lost the case.

“I’ve already talked to him. He’s going to handle everything. He’s always felt guilty about not winning my case, though we all know that I convicted myself by talking to the police so freely,” Vincent said. “You need a big name, Nicole. Carlos Sanchez has become a man of great power. I want you to let him help you.” He sat up on the bed. “Why don’t we have a glass of wine and you can tell me everything that happened?”

“Dad, someone brought me here. My car wouldn’t start. He’s waiting out in the yard. Let me go and tell him that it’s okay to leave me here.”

“Who is this?” Vincent asked. “A boyfriend?”

Nicole shook her head, knowing that her father wanted nothing more than for her to find true love and happiness. “No, he isn’t a boyfriend. He’s a…co-worker. Actually, when you get right down to it, he’s my boss.”

She followed behind her father. As he slowly climbed the stairs, she was reminded again that she should continue to press Vincent to sell the house. He’d be safer in a one-level closer to the medical center.

Before she could stop him, Vincent went to the door and called out into the night. “Young man! Come inside for a glass of wine. My daughter, as usual, has made my ailments more serious than they are.”

“Father!” Nicole was outraged. “You called me and scared me half to death and now I’m the one who’s exaggerating things?”

Vincent grinned at her, signaling Jax into the house. “Leave an old man his pride,” he said loudly enough for Jax to hear. “I scared myself and then I scared you. I’m sorry. I’m feeling much better now. You’re like medicine, Nicole. I look at you and I see your mother and I remember my youth when I was strong and virile and had the whole future ahead of me.” As he talked he opened wine and poured three glasses.

“Let’s sit in the den. I want to know about your movie and the work, and then I want you to tell me all about this earring they say you stole.”

Nicole handed Jax a glass of wine but couldn’t meet his gaze. She wasn’t used to talking about her personal business in front of anyone. Vincent didn’t have that problem. He had always been open about his business, his ideas, his plans for the future. And now he was just as open about hers.

She watched as Jax took a seat directly across from her father. She took a chair between them at the small table.

“So, you’re Nicole’s boss? Tell me a little about yourself,” Vincent said to Jax.

Nicole felt a warm flush begin to creep up her neck. She’d never had the experience of having her father grill one of her prospective dates. Vincent had been in prison throughout her entire teenage years. Now he was acting like Jax was her high school prom date.

Jax flashed Nicole a grin. “I’m from Texas,” he said in his slow drawl, “and I coordinate the stunts on Midnight Magic.”

“My daughter is beautiful, is she not?”

“Daddy!”

Jax only laughed. He seemed to be enjoying her father’s company, though Nicole felt extremely uncomfortable.

“I have to admit, sir, that Nicole may be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” Jax carefully avoided making eye contact with her.

“I can’t believe this,” she said. “I rush over here because I think my father’s sick, and now the two of you gang up on me and try to embarrass me to death.” She was outdone with both the men. And they were just sitting there, smiling at each other.

“I’m an old man,” Vincent started out.

“Daddy, don’t you dare start that old-man stuff. Whenever you do that, you’re going to say something outrageous and then think you can get away with it because you pretend to be old. You’re only sixty-two. That’s not even old.”

“I’m an old man,” Vincent said again, ignoring everything Nicole had just said. “And my daughter’s happiness is the most important thing to me.”

“Daddy!”

“So I want to know what your relationship is to my daughter?”

“Good lord,” Nicole said, putting her head down on her arms. “I think I just might die of shame.”

“At the moment,” Jax said, ignoring Nicole and staring Vincent right in the eyes, “I’m not sure what kind of relationship Nicole would be interested in.”

“That’s a dodge, young man,” Vincent said with a sparkle in his eyes. “A clever one, but a dodge nonetheless.”

“Daddy!” Nicole wanted to sink through the floor.

“Your daughter is one of the loveliest women I’ve ever met,” Jax said, and this time his gaze lingered on Nicole. She felt as if her lungs had shrunk. “But I think she isn’t a woman who would appreciate being pushed. So I’m going to have to decline to answer your question, Mr. Paul, because I think the only person who should answer it for you is Nicole. But I can tell you that I’d be very, very interested in hearing her answer.”

Nicole found it nearly impossible to look away from Jax’s intense gaze, but she dropped her gaze to the floor and took a deep breath. “Then both of you will just have to wait. I’m not prepared to give an answer. And that’s the end of the discussion.”