Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 40546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
The stuffie looked back at her with sympathetic eyes. PupPup always knew what she was thinking and feeling. Of course, he had to ask about the voice he’d heard.
“That was Mr. Kole Jeffers with Guards, Inc. He’s one massive dude but seems to know his stuff. He had already researched and knew the alarm had triggered two police visits. PupPup, he found bugs on my cars.”
She paused for PupPup to react. “I know. It’s frightening. That’s probably how that guy found me last night.”
After gathering the fancy lingerie sets she chose to feel special in character, Gabriela threw in a few pairs of cotton panties and stretchy sports bras to relax in after a long day of filming. She added several pairs of yoga pants and T-shirts and a few casual dresses to wear for early morning makeup calls. She’d lived on a movie set for the last few years, so this was all normal procedure for her.
Last, she grabbed her electronic tablet and opened the drawer of her nightstand to throw in her vibrator. Sometimes easing the tension in her body was the only way to get to sleep when she was wound up after a long day of filming. Gabriela stared at the empty spot in her drawer.
Where was it? She combed through the back of the drawer, knowing it couldn’t be back there, but maybe? It was not. Gabriela yanked open the bottom drawer. No! Racing around the bed, she checked in the other nightstand before sitting down on the mattress in horror.
That’s what the intruder had taken. Gabriela couldn’t image anything more intimate for someone to steal. Sick to her stomach, she tried to figure out what to do. She’d promised Kole she would tell him if she discovered anything had been taken. “I can’t tell him that.”
“What can’t you tell me?” a deep masculine voice asked from the doorway.
“Aaaa!” A quick shriek burst from her lips as she bolted to her feet. Her heart pounding, Gabriela grabbed a lamp as she pivoted to face the threat at the door.
“Whoa, Gabby. It’s me.” Kole held his hands up to prove he was harmless, and she scoffed inside at that joke as she relaxed. The powerful man would never be helpless, even if unarmed.
“You scared the crap out of me. How did you get back here, anyway?” she asked.
“The gardener let me in. You’ll want to alert him he shouldn’t do that anymore. I called your name, but you didn’t hear me. Figuring you were getting ready to head to the movie set, I came on back.”
“Next time, knock on the front door or ring the bell,” she said grumpily as she took deep breaths to calm down.
“It was a good test of the security around here, but I apologize. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Gabriela waved off his concern. “Let’s go out into the living room and you can tell me what you discovered.”
“If you’re finished packing, I’ll carry your suitcase to the door,” he offered.
Her gaze immediately flew to the stuffie still resting on her pillows. “No. That’s okay. I’m not quite finished yet. I’ll follow you,” she instructed, walking toward his bulk in the doorway and hoping he’d get the hint to back up.
Thankfully, he did. Gabriela suspected Kole anticipated people’s moves and motivation often. He seemed to know what she was going to do several seconds before she moved. Once in the living room, she breathed a silent sigh of relief before turning to face him.
“What did you discover was missing? Or did he leave you anything?” Kole asked in a tone that didn’t allow her to just brush it off.
“Nothing. Don’t worry about it. Did you find a camera that showed the guy?”
“I did. Do you want to see the footage?” he asked.
“Is it going to freak me out? I don’t need anything else to panic about today.”
“I’ll give you the highlights. He appeared in several cameras as he walked directly toward your car. He looked at his phone frequently to stay on a designated path. Then, he stopped at your car and looked in the windows before melting into the shadows. Many people walked by him and he didn’t move: older people, women alone, couples. When you appeared, he moved toward you.”
“What do you think he was going to do?”
“I don’t know. Whatever it was, it wouldn’t have been good,” Kole said bluntly.
“You’re not helping. You’re supposed to tell me it’s all going to be all right,” Gabriela said, bristling.
“Do you want me to lie to you?” Kole asked in a gentler tone as he stepped closer.
Gabriela whirled around to look out the windows into the backyard, giving herself a bit of space as tried to control the panic growing inside her. She felt so vulnerable. Someone could be out there. “What am I going to do?”