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Raw desire mingled with apprehension in her beautiful eyes at the thought of being spanked. Little did she know, he'd be lighting up her ass just for fun, regardless of whether she earned it or not. The only thing she could control was whether it would be a good girl spanking or a naughty girl spanking. For her sake, he hoped it was theformer.
The next thirty minutes flew by. Ryder found another out-of-the-way place to observe, thoroughly enjoying watching her working her magic with her co-stars. Before he'd met her, he'd assumed, probably like the rest of the world, that Khloe Monroe was another pretty face in Hollywood, working her way to the top on her knees. Not that he was an expert in these matters, but she was the utmost professional. He watched the rest of the cast and crew defer to her, showing her respect he guessed was hard-earned in an industry like showbusiness.
The vibration of his phone distracted him again. This time he wasn't surprised when it was Webster calling. If he was calling twice in less than an hour, something was up. He looked around, spotting McLean nearby. He was tempted to take the call, to see what they had to say to him, but he couldn't do that unless he trusted McLean to handle solo protectionduty.
Ryder approached him, finally leaning in close to speak softly. "I need to take an important call. You think youcan..."
The bastard cut him off. "I've been protecting her for almost two years on my own. I think I can handleit."
Ryder raised his hands in the universal surrender motion, before weaving away from the set, down the hall they'd entered through and back out into the mid-day heat. A feeling of dread settled in his gut as he found the number to Langley and hitSEND.
Brandon answered on the first ring. "Glad youcalled."
"Yeah, well you're not an alarmist so two calls in less than an hour while I'm supposed to be on vacation got my attention. What'sup?"
"We got confirmation. Viktor Volkov isdead."
Ryder didn't need this call to confirm that. He'd seen many men die over the years. The old man may not have breathed his last breath when Ryder left, but he'd known Viktor wasn't long for this world when he'd left him bleeding out on the floor of the Bratvamansion.
"Not surprised. What's the fallout been like?" That was lesspredicable.
"That's why I'm calling. Artel is calling in favors from everyone he knows. He's not even trying to hide that he's looking for you." His boss paused before adding, "There's a hit out on you. A bigone."
"I'd be disappointed if there wasn't," he quipped. "Who'd he farm it outto?"
"Everyone. He's made it an open field on yourhead."
Okay, that was asurprise.
"Do I want to know howmuch?"
"Probably not. You should be honored though. I think it breaks the agency record." The seasoned agent on the other end chuckled as if they were talking about winning a bowlingtrophy.
"Great. Not exactly the kind of award I was goingfor."
"So far there's no indication he's uncovered your real identity, but if he's willing to pay enough, it's only a matter of time before he gets it. I don't need to tell you to stay lost until we work thisout."
"I should have fucking offed him when I had the chance," Rydergroused.
"I'll deny I ever said it, but I wish you had, too. He had a hard-on for you even before you burned yourself. Artel has serious money and absolutely no conscience. I'd sure as hell hate to have him out forme."
Ryder's feeling of dread was growing. He'd never even considered it before, but his presence could actually be putting Khloe into more danger than she'd been in before he'd arrived. A vision of Artel Volkov hurting Khloe the way he'd seen the monster hurt dozens of other women had Ryder's breakfast ready to make an appearance on thepavement.
"Did you hear what I said?" His boss regained hisattention.
"Sorry. Can you repeatthat?"
"Chip Marshall wants to meet you. Something about thanking you in person for saving hisfamily."
"That'll have to wait. I've got too much shit going on to deal with that right now. Anyway, I was just doing myjob."
"Maybe, but not many agents would have gotten them all out alive. Listen, I gotta run to a damn budget meeting. Watch your six, will ya? And check in in a few days so I know you aren't roadkill."
"Nice. Thanks for the headsup."
He stayed outside long enough to regain his cool composure despite the growing heat. It would do no good to panic. He needed some time alone to think through his options and make some decisions on next steps, but that would have to wait until they got back to thecabin.
Anxious to get back to the set to catch Khloe in action, Ryder opened the door, noting that it wasn't secured in any way. The head of security was not going to like the shit about to fly his direction when Ryder finished his analysis of the studio's security, or lackthereof.
