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Friends, work associates, acquaintances, and sometimes complete strangers called to her. She returned each greeting with a beaming smile but she couldn’t afford to be waylaid. Hayden “The Beast” Warren was here tonight and she was determined to finally meet him, speak to him, thank him, and hopefully flirt with him and secure a date in the very near future. All these objectives needed to be met before she disappeared into the mansion for her nine p.m. meeting. She had half an hour.
She noticed a security guard trailing her. Interesting. She hadn’t hired Sutton Smith’s men … yet, and shouldn’t she be safe from the vile David Zeus III in Sutton’s stronghold? Thankfully the scum had not been on the guest list tonight. She doubted Sutton would ever allow the criminal into his home, unless it was to bait and trap him.
The security meeting was the real reason she’d made an effort to be in town and accepted the invite to this exclusive party. She wasn’t a fan of parties. Though she recognized rubbing shoulders with the wealthy elite was part of her life as a model and business owner, she’d rather be with her nephew, sister, and brother-in-law, working, or walking on the beach of her Balboa Island home.
She was here because Sutton Smith and Gunner Steele were prepared to discuss some ‘drastic protection measures’. The no-longer veiled and increasingly foul threats from Zeus, the untouchable L.A. crime boss, had been escalating. Her friend Britney Pearl insisted the enigmatic Sutton Smith was ‘the best’. Britney had set up the meeting for Eva and she’d been grateful for her friend. If anybody on this earth could protect her from Zeus, Eva would do anything and pay anything.
The police and FBI agents assigned to her case were doing all they could to help, but the FBI agent she was working with was the one who suggested it was time she hire private protection. They couldn’t arrest Zeus for the inciting incident—a lewd conversation and threats when he and several of his goons cornered her coming out of the ladies’ room of an upscale restaurant. She had no record of the conversation to prove he’d made the threats. Since that day, unsigned notes had arrived daily.
Even though law enforcement believed Zeus had threatened her and was sending the notes, they didn’t have the manpower to follow her night and day waiting for him to act on one of his ‘suggestions’. The fact that three other women associated or rather threatened by Zeus had disappeared in the past year had them all wanting desperately to pin something on him and find those women. So far nothing was sticking.
Eva shoved all of that to the back of her mind. The police and FBI were doing all they could and soon Sutton Smith’s highly-respected operatives would be officially on the job. Right now she was taking a break from the stress and fear of Zeus kidnapping her and allowing herself the happy anticipation of her upcoming encounter with ‘the Beast’. She was finally going to be close and personal with the man of her dreams. Her heart picked up its beat and she grinned.
It was mid-June and she prayed her antiperspirant was working. San Diego was warm even with the sun going down. She was sweating in the capped-sleeve, knee-length red dress. It wasn’t the temperature, or her dress designer’s fault, she was sweating. The dress was flattering, modest, and made of high-quality and breathable linen. It was simply her nerves at finally being able to speak to a man who she’d started admiring several years ago as he rose to fame in the NBA. She watched his games and any interviews he gave and followed him on social media. When he visited her equally-enamored nephew in the hospital a couple of months ago, he rose to superhero status in her mind.
She spotted Hayden speaking with a petite brunette. He was six-eight and as beautifully built as any man had a right to be. He dwarfed the lady.
Eva slowed her steps and kept her gaze focused on Hayden. At almost six feet and wearing heels, she could see over most people’s heads.
As if he sensed her staring, Hayden glanced up. His gaze instantly zeroed in on her. Eva had to stop moving. Those deep-brown eyes captured her like no man’s ever had before. She put a hand to her heart to try to slow its now-frantic pattern. Warmth filled her body and she wondered if her infatuation with the famous basketball player was written all over her face. She’d told no one but her sister how impressed and drawn to him she was. The past few seasons she’d watched every game she could make it to in person from her front row seats, bringing Parley along when he felt good enough. She caught the games online when she was traveling for work. After every home game she tried to catch Hayden and introduce herself, but he somehow disappeared.
Not tonight.
Resolve filled her and she gifted him with her most alluring smile. The smile that many men claimed made them want to fall to their knees and swear their undying devotion to her. Those men were being ridiculous. She was only interested in one man and finally, finally he was within reach.
She tilted her head to the side, an obvious invitation to slip away from the party and speak privately in the flower garden or on the bluff overlooking the ocean.
He raised his eyebrows but didn’t return her smile. Eva didn’t like it but she wasn’t concerned. He’d be smiling at her soon enough. She turned and strode off the patio and toward the ocean, her heels sinking into the grass with each step. She kept plucking her way forward and didn’t look to see if he was coming. Of course he was coming.
Besides the insane money it had brought to her and the opportunities those funds had given her to help children throughout the world, Eva considered her acclaimed face and body shape an annoyance. She hated that men stared unabashedly at her. She hated turning men down for date requests and felt like a bully doing so. She didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but she’d love to find a guy who could talk to her without his jaw going slack.
Reaching the edge of the bluff, she looked around at the moon glinting off the waves crashing far below. The sea breeze finally cooled her off. She pulled one of her signature mint lip glosses out of her clutch and applied it. She studied the ocean and she waited and waited and … any minute now the most impressive man of their day would walk up.
Would the Beast say something clever? Flirt with her? Touch her arm or shoulder to get her attention? What would his touch feel like? She shivered, just imagining his hand on her arm and those deep-brown eyes boring into hers as he bent closer because he didn’t want to miss one word she had to say.
Footsteps approached and she smiled to herself. He was here. Should she whirl to face him or stay facing away and let him make the first move? Her heart thumped with eager anticipation. She liked the mystery and allure of this meeting. Every part of her was on high alert.
A hand brushed along her backside, dipping and skimming much lower than she appreciated. Shock filled her. No man was allowed to take liberties like that with her and that was no way for her dream man to behave. She yanked away from him and whirled to face him.
“How dare you …” Her brow wrinkled with confusion. “Trevor?”
Ah, no. Not now. Running into this scum was almost as bad as the man she’d built up in her mind as the best man ever stealing a cheap feel. She was grateful Hayden hadn’t been the one trailing his hand where he shouldn’t. The disappointment of Trevor coming after her when she’d been hoping for Hayden made her chest tight and her stomach squirm.
Trevor Allred was a wealthy jerk who owned half of California and thought he appealed to every woman in it. He had to be at least fifteen years older than her. She tried not to keep up with his sordid love life, but he’d married A-list actress, Samantha Mediera, less than two months ago. This wasn’t the first time he’d hit on Eva without any encouragement and it wouldn’t be the last.
“Oh, I dare,” Trevor said, leering at her and moving in closer. “You look gorgeous tonight, Eva, as always. Absolutely gorgeous.”
“Excuse me,” she said haughtily, refusing to acknowledge his empty compliments. “I’m meeting someone.” She noticed the security guard from earlier was closing in. She wouldn’t mind him tossing Trevor off the bluff but she could handle this scum on her own. Trevor wasn’t a criminal or dangerous like Zeus and it was important the cheater knew where she stood. She gave the guard a discreet shake of her head and he stopped and tilted his chin to her in acknowledgement. He wouldn’t interfere … unless she needed him to.
Trevor pumped his eyebrows. “That’s right. You’re meeting me.” He ran his tongue over his lips. “Now I’ve only got a few moments until Samantha finishes in the restroom so let’s not waste time. What are we hoping to accomplish in this meeting, gorgeous?”
“The meeting is over.” She reached in her clutch, wrapped her hands around her pepper spray and pulled it out. “I’ll give you to the count of one to head back to the party or I shoot.”
His eyes widened. “You wouldn’t dare. We both know you’ve been giving me the eye all night.”
“Oh, I dare,” she threw his earlier line back at him. Had he been standing close to Hayden all night? She would never intentionally focus on or encourage Trevor. “I’d be happy to give you a mouthful of pepper spray and to let Samantha know you propositioned me. I’m recording already, as I was prepared for my meeting with someone else.” She was impressed how smoothly she’d made up that lie. “What’ll it be, Trevor Allred? Coughing, crying, burning throat and eyes, and divorce number six, or is it seven, on the books, or you head quietly back to the party?”
He held up his hands and backed away. “Just some innocent flirting. No harm done.”
