‘Sorry, baby. I’m not promising anything.’ He slid into his car, started it and rolled down the window. ‘If things go my way, I’ll be back before you can miss me.’
‘I miss you already,’ she said, and even though she needed him to leave, there was a conflicting anxiety thrashing around in her stomach at the sight of him preparing to actually go.
Markus reached one arm out his window, cried, ‘Wanda, save yourself!’
It was their ritual instead of saying goodbye, something that had started when they’d met on the set ofZombie Bride, fifteen years prior. They had been extras, actors paid a menial amount to die horrendous deaths on screen. Markus and Nina had been paired together, and when the camera had swooped down on them, Markus had ad-libbed. As he’d been taken down, he’d flung out an arm, pushing her away while screaming, ‘Wanda, save yourself!’
And having not expected the words, and in a completely impulsive moment, she’d replied, ‘All right!’ And she’d run away, leaving him to die.
The crew had laughed, and the director had included the scene, thus giving Nina her first two seconds of face time.
She put the fear and grief in her voice and cried, ‘All right!’
But as she watched Markus zip away, down the shaded drive, very real panic stuck in her throat.
Maverick watched Nina Keller from the hitching rail outside the resort lobby as she said goodbye to Markus, her arms wrapped around her midriff, her shoulders rounded. She looked so small and alone, so terrified.
She stood there, watching the road for minutes after the car disappeared from view, and when she finally turned around to head back to her cabin, he noticed the tears streaming down her face.
When she saw him, she hurriedly swiped her flushed cheeks, and sent him a shaky smile as she passed.
Mav returned the smile, and though he wanted to, he didn’t speak. He didn’t ask if she was all right when she so clearly wasn’t.
He let her go.
She was a celebrity, as used to being in the public eye as he was being alone and working with the horses, and – unlike everyone else – he would give her the privacy she had come to Hunt Ranch to find.
The other truth was that Maverick hadn’t realized just how big a deal she was until he’d resumed his tour with the Morgans, only to have them completely ignore the remainder of it to gossip over Nina Keller and the bruises under her makeup. He hadn’t minded, had found himself listening as he’d shown them to their cabin.
Given all the tidbits the Morgans had known about her, Maverick figured Deb had nailed it when she’d announced in the staff meeting that Nina Keller was Hollywood’s current golden girl.
He couldn’t imagine what that must be like, never being able to go out in public – to the store or a restaurant or the beach – without everyone recognizing you, stopping to talk to you as if they knew you. And after seeing the Morgans’ reaction to her, Mav was concerned.
Not about the Morgans, though Mrs Morgan was going to cave and ask for an autograph and a photo by tomorrow. But about everyone else. The NDAs took care of the staff, but he and Sierra could do nothing about the other guests, who could total nearly thirty at any time.
He sighed and angled his head to watch Nina Keller as she walked back to her cabin, her arms still hugging her stomach, her head lowered, and he wondered how the hell they were going to give her the peace and quiet she needed for her entire month-long stay.
Hunt Ranch had gates, but they stayed open all day so that people could mosey in and eat at Stagecoach or grab a coffee from the little café, the Hitching Post, and explore the gift shop and the petting zoo. And while the buildings were quite a ways from her cabin, once a person was on property, Nina wouldn’t be hard to find – especially if someone was looking.
And he wondered: why wouldn’t a woman, a wealthy celebrity who had been assaulted in her own home, bring private security with her on vacation? It might not have been any of his business, but that didn’t mean he didn’t think about it. It confused him. Worse, it worried him.
Chapter 5
The first thing Nina did when she got back to her cabin was check the locks on her door and windows, something she hadn’t wanted to do in front of Markus.
The door also included an interior security chain. Though neither was failproof, she knew somebody would have to be exceptionally committed, enraged, and powerful to actually kick the door in.
But the windows … The cabin windows, four at the front of the house and two in the bedroom, were big casement windows that opened outwards. They were beautiful, made from the same dark wood as the rest of the cabin, and they opened to views of the horse pasture. But Nina’s heart sank when she saw the flimsy brass sliding locks, made more for aesthetic purposes than anything else. They looked lovely but she had no need for pretty window treatments.
She needed to feel secure.
She slid the lock into place and walked outside, following the porch until she came to the same window. Raising both her hands, she pushed where the wooden frames met in the middle. The lock slipped out of place immediately, the window popped open, giving her a full view of her small lounge area and, further towards the back, her bedroom. Worse, the sill was only waist-high, so that all she had to do was sling one leg over to hop inside.
She momentarily considered asking if they could move her inside the resort building where every room undoubtedly had standard keycard security, but then immediately decided against it because she didn’t want to be so close to all the other guests at Hunt Ranch.
It wasn’t that Nina didn’t typically like people or enjoy the attention that came with her fame. But at the moment, she was tired. Too tired to fake a smile and pretend she was having a grand time talking to a bunch of strangers about acting. Too tired to lie about the bruises on her face. Only the mere thought of all that speculation, rumours, and questions was enough to exhaust her.
Instead, she went back inside, walked through the bedroom to the bathroom.
