Red Carpet Arrangement. Vicki Essex

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СКАЧАТЬ home to change for an interview.” Jamie pushed her short blond hair out of her eyes and looked Kat over. “Are you all right? Your message last night was so cryptic. I thought you might’ve been arrested or something. I had to trace the number to find out where you were calling from.”

      “I’m sorry. I was kind of distracted. Things got...intense.” She couldn’t explain further without breaking her promise to Riley.

      “See, this is why you should’ve let me get you a phone. I was so worried.” Jamie’s dark eyes zoomed in on Kat’s large travel backpack, stuffed with her life’s possessions. “You’re leaving?”

      “I was about to call. I can’t keep imposing on you. I have another friend who’s taking me in...” Jamie’s face sagged. Danishes, she’d upset her. Jamie wasn’t exactly needy, but she had a frail ego. Kat had to give her at least a tiny bit of the truth. “The baby’s father is taking me to Modesto.”

      “Modesto?” Something flitted across Jamie’s face, and her eyes sharpened. “So...you found him? Who is he?”

      Kat winced. Her friend suspected something. If Jamie had seen any of the photos from the Infinite Destinies premiere last night, she might be able to Nancy Drew the rest of the story by matching Riley’s filming schedule to Kat’s time in Hawaii...

      “Kat?” Jamie prompted.

      Don’t trust anyone.

      “All that’s important is that he’s promised to help.”

      “Oh, c’mon.” Jamie folded her arms over her chest. “It’s not as if it’s a state secret or something.”

      “Jamie, please, this is hard enough for me. I appreciate you letting me stay here, and I swear I’ll pay you back when I can, but...” Kat waved a hand around the tiny, messy apartment. She’d been grateful for the roof over her head and had lived in worse. But she had to depart with as few questions asked as possible.

      Jamie frowned. “I knew the couch would be hard on your back. You should’ve taken my bed. I told you to take my bed.” She jammed her fingers through her short blond bob and huffed. “I’m not offended. I’m just sad to see you go. And I’m worried. I mean, is this guy okay?”

      Kat understood her fears. A few years ago, Jamie had been at a bar in Key West where Kat had worked, and the man she’d been traveling with had had a few too many drinks. When Jamie had tried to make him leave, he’d hit her. Kat had seen it all, got the bouncers to kick the guy out, called the cops and stayed with Jamie. She’d helped her pick up her things from the hotel and invited Jamie to stay with her for the rest of her vacation—they’d become fast friends. When they’d parted ways, Jamie had left her an open invitation to stay with her in LA.

      “I think he’s still in shock. But he wants to help. That’s all that matters.”

      Jamie gave her a long, assessing look, her thoughts shrouded behind suddenly shrewd green eyes. “C’mon, you can tell me the truth. You didn’t even see the movie last night, did you? So who is this guy?”

      Now Kat was entirely uncomfortable. Instead of responding, she hugged Jamie. “I’ve got to go. I’ll keep in touch, I promise. Thank you so much for everything.”

      Reluctantly, stiffly, Jamie hugged her back. “Call me. For anything. I don’t want to lose track of you.” Something hung in her voice—something that wasn’t quite a threat, but somehow darker than a warning.

      Kat hurried from the apartment and cabbed it back to the hotel, relieved to be out from under Jamie’s scrutiny and a little troubled by her friend’s behavior. Maybe her departure had offended Jamie. In the three months Kat had lived with her, she’d learned that toxic family dynamics had skewed some of Jamie’s perceptions about healthy relationships. As a result, her friend sometimes hung out with the wrong people, and she could hold a grudge like no one else.

      Kat hoped she hadn’t made an enemy.

      * * *

      “SO WHO WAS the mystery girl you whisked away in your limo the night of the Infinite Destinies premiere?”

      Riley bared his clenched teeth in a wolfish smile. Every single reporter on the press junket had asked this question. The only reason he answered was because Sam had insisted not answering would be worse. As if lying through his teeth was any better.

      “A fan who needed to get to the hospital,” he replied, same as he had the past twenty-two times. He shifted in the tall director’s chair set on the carefully lit soundstage. There were no cameras on him at the moment, but he was utterly aware of his body language, every telling gesture, every nervous tick. “I saw she was in distress, so I offered to help.”

      This was the part where the reporter was supposed to laugh and make a joke about how he was a superhero in real life. That was the line Sam had been feeding the voracious public.

      But this guy... This reporter was something else. Older than most of the other entertainment reporters, and greasier, too. His thin frame, baggy jeans, polyester shirt and white running shoes suggested that he was a strictly off-camera guy. He thumbed through a well-used notepad and glanced up at Riley. “I interviewed the security men working that area of the red carpet. They said you knew the woman. That she was pregnant.”

      Take control of the interview. Don’t let this guy rile you. “That reminds me of a funny story. On my first day on the set—”

      “Eyewitnesses said she was at least five months pregnant. Is the baby yours, Riley?”

      He gave a harsh, humorless laugh. “Who did you say you write for again?”

      “I’m freelancing this piece to Hollywood Weekly. Who was she, Riley? Where did you really take her? I checked all the local hospitals but none of them have any record of a young pregnant woman checking in.”

      Either this guy was lying, or he was the real deal and had actually done some hard-core investigative journalism. “Do you like kids? Let me tell you about the screening of Infinite Destinies I’ll be doing with the Starlight Foundation.”

      The reporter let him ramble on about the charity for inner-city youth his friend and stunt-fight trainer, Brett Hawkspear, had turned him on to. The studio had given him special permission to do a screening for a bunch of kids, and Riley and a few other cast members would be there to hang out with them. He was particularly proud of the charity events he’d insisted on as part of the promotional tour. Giving less-fortunate kids a chance to be happy was important to him.

      He expected the reporter to ask him about his other charity work.

      “I have one witness saying you called this woman Kat.” The reporter’s eyes stayed on his face.

      Riley knew he hadn’t hidden his reaction well enough when the muckraker smiled broadly. “So her name is Kat?”

      “I’m sorry, we have to move on.” Bobbi, a junior publicist the studio had sent, rushed in and motioned for the man to leave. A security guy stood behind her, bolstering her carefully cheerful request. “You can leave any further questions with me.”

      “What the hell?” Riley whispered when the reporter was gone. “Who was that guy?”

      “I СКАЧАТЬ