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One
KAIDEN
Three Weeks Ago
"Hello? Is anyone here?"
Shit.I throw myself against the wall, keeping my body carefully obscured in the darkened recesses of the old gym as a beautiful blonde peeps around the corner, her expression screwed up as if she expects to be kidnapped at any moment.
Laura Groves.The curvy little bombshell currently taking Hollywood—and the world—by storm. The girl is a fucking knockout. My heart slams against my ribcage, my cock swelling against the confine of my jeans. It's early December, cool even by California standards, yet sweat trickles between my shoulder blades as I stare at her.
I have her generous curves to thank for that.
She isn't reed thin like most starlets in this town, starving herself to fit some ridiculous standard of beauty that no one could measure up to without a whole lot of movie magic and thousands of dollars to throw into the endeavor. She has meat on her bones. And eyes green enough to shame the brightest emerald.
"Oh," she whispers, coming to a dead stop when she sees me skulking in the shadows.
"What are you doing here?" I growl, not stepping forward to meet her. I don't hide to frighten her. Thanks to the nasty scar across the right side of my face, most women in this town look at me in revulsion or pity. They shrink away as if they expect me to try to snatch them off the streets…or whisper behind their hands as if my scar somehow prevents me from hearing what they say about me. As far as I'm concerned, one reaction is just as bad as the other.
I may look like a nightmare now, but I was one of them. Funny how quickly people in this forget when you're no longer useful to them. As soon as my star faded, I became persona non grata to all but a few.
"Um, hi." Laura lifts one hand in a self-conscious wave. Not that she has anything to be self-conscious about. Jesus, she's the brightest little star in this town.
"I'm looking for Kaiden Huxley. Jackson Reed said I could find him here."
"You found him."
She blinks long, sooty lashes, briefly hiding her eyes. I want to gnash my teeth as soon as her gaze leaves me for that split second. The feeling isn't rational, but it's there all the same. There's something pure in her eyes, something untouched. That's rare in this town.
It's a tale as old as time. Bring an innocent girl to this town, and it'll chew them up and spit them out in short order. Not this one. Even after a decade, she's still fresh-faced and innocent, still filled with a sense of wonder. She's an anomaly, the rare woman who never hardens or grows jaded or bitter no matter what this town throws at her. And it's thrown a lot of shit her way thanks to those generous curves.
"I'm Laura Groves," she says.
"I know who you are." How could I not? She's been a fixture in the film industry since she was sixteen. Her beautiful face has graced the cover of every magazine and gossip rag from here to India. She's been one of Hollywood'sItgirls since right after my accident…and yet she clings to innocence and grace as if it's an ingrained part of her. No matter what they throw at her, she meets it on her feet with her head held high and a smile on her face.
"Oh." A question bobbles on her lips before she fights it back.
I desperately want to demand she ask it. I want to know what she's thinking. But I resist the urge. The less I know about this girl, the better. Pretty little stars like her aren't for washed-up has-beens like me. Maybe in another life, I would have asked that question. I would have listened to the voice screaming for me not to let this one out of my sight.
In another life, I might have been someone worthy of listening to that voice.
That was a long time ago.
Once upon a time, I was the most sought-after stuntman in Hollywood. I was fearless, capable of pulling off stunt sequences others wouldn't even dream of attempting. An on-set accident several years ago changed all of that. Save for the people who were there that day, no one knows what happened. In a town where gossip reigns supreme, rumors fly hot and fast, but not even a whisper of the truth has slipped past loose lips. All anyone knows for sure is that I was gravely injured.
No one knows that the lead actor lost his mind when he discovered the director was trying to fuck his seventeen-year-old baby sister. He drove his truck through the director's trailer. And I was the unlucky bastard in said trailer at the time.
I spent months in the hospital being carefully stitched back together. The first two years were an endless parade of surgeries, skin grafts, and rehab. It felt like living my childhood all overagain…sidelined by something I didn't choose. Back then, it was a heart condition.
This time was worse.
By the time they finally cleared me to resume my everyday life, my career was long over. The things I once did with ease were no longer possible. The life I'd built for myself was just fucking gone. People who once worked side by side with me couldn't stomach looking at me. The whispers and jokes were endless.
Jackson Reed, my business partner, took on the brunt of the work. I faded into the background, training stunt doubles to do what I used to do. Every once in a while, an actor will seek me out, wanting to learn what I know, but those instances are few and far between. Most don't want to risk their pretty faces when those pretty faces make them millions.
I can count on one hand the number of times a woman like Laura Groves came looking for me. Those who did took one look at me and never returned. In a city where physical beauty is the golden standard, I'm a walking, talking reminder that the clock runs out on everyone eventually.
"Why are you here, Laura?"
