My eyes closed. Shiiiii….iiiit. I had not considered this complication. "What do you mean 'well connected'? How well connected?"
"I only know her because she came up to me with her two sisters. All of them wanted a picture and then they left. It was a private party for my movie Rough Blue. Her dad's a Hollywood man. He's got his hands in a lot of projects. The brand sponsors a lot of our media events. Her brother, William, was as an extra in a few of my movies. It might've been because of his dad, I'm not sure."
"Do you know her family well?"
He shrugged. "Their mom died when they were little. Her dad never remarried. I think her two older sisters work in the business. That's it. I don't know her personally if that's what you're asking. Why are you interested in her?"
I grimaced. "She's become a thorn in my side. I underestimated her."
"What are you talking about?"
"Nothing. It's my problem, but there's something off with her."
"Is your psycho radar going off?"
"Maybe." I hid a smile.
"Come on, Sheldon. I don't know what's going on, but I can figure out that it's something not good. You're in a hotel, and who do you call? Not your normal two toys. You called me. You're alone and backed into a corner."
"I wanted information. That's all."
"Bullshit. You called me because I'm not Bryce or Corrigan. You wanted a break from them, and I'm guessing you wanted a break from that world, which is funny because this is you. If you could become a hermit, you'd be happy. You'd miss your friends, but you'd be content. You might not want to hear it, but I know you pretty well. I know when you're asking for help without asking for help." He moved closer and lowered his voice. "Why were you in the hospital? Is someone coming after you again? Is it this girl?"
I winced as pain flooded me. "It's not. I don't know."
"I can help you. I can ask around, see if my agent knows anything. I'm sure he can find out some dirt on her."
"Your agent isn't named Mathias, is it?"
Denton laughed. "No. Tim is generally just a sports agent. He must have his hooks in Bryce, huh? He's a little much, but he's a good guy."
"He's a slimeball."
"He tends to give that impression with girls, which is probably why he specializes in male athletes. He's never had good success with females, personally or professionally." Denton laughed again and turned to stand in front of the patio doors.
I studied his back for a moment. Denton was…okay. He was a friend, of sorts, and he was mostly trustworthy, but I wasn't stupid. If Denton could sleep with me, he would. He wouldn't care if it hurt my relationship with Bryce. However, if he said he'd help, I knew he would. And he wouldn't say a word.
"Are you trying to burn a hole in my back?" Denton turned and flashed those dimples again.
I sighed as I dropped down on my bed. "I'd appreciate anything you can find on her."
"Sure thing."
"And if you have the idea about strings being attached, you better stop right now. I'm not going to owe you a thing. I don't work that way."
He held up his hand and made a scissor motion with them. "Consider them gone, if they were there. I'm not doing this because I want something from you, Sheldon. Sure, if you get the urge to jump my bones, I'm more than happy to make that happen. But I'm not doing it because of that reason. You were my neighbor for a long time. You and I have gone a couple rounds together. Plus, the whole thing with Mena…I know that you really did care about her. I want to help because I care about you, and I don't care about anyone except my sister so consider yourself lucky. And I can't lie to you. You always see through my bullshit."
"I don't know, Denton. You could make things worse for me."
He laughed. "All I'm offering is that I'll ask around. I'll have my agent do the same and we'll see if we can find anything on this girl and her family. How about that?"
I studied him intently. Was that really all he was offering?
Then he looked around. "Why are you in a hotel again?"
"My place was ransacked."
"Perfect!" He beamed. "You can stay at my place. It's isolated and extremely safe. It's big. You won't even know I'm there when I am. You can have your own side of the house. There's a security system and cameras. I'll show you how to operate it all."
"I don't know…"
"You can hide. I know that's what you want to do. Who would figure out that you're at my place? No one. Not even your two besties would guess. I know you're hurting if you called me instead of them. I can also figure that they're part of the reason you're hurting. That and a certain Spanish model that's been all over the gossip shows?"
Guadalupe. I fought against showing my teeth at the mere thought of her.
"Sheldon." Denton stepped closer as his voice softened. He took my arms in his hands. "You helped me with Mena. Let me do this for you. Please."
I knew he was working me. He played the sympathetic good guy perfectly, but I rolled my eyes. I didn't even care because while Denton knew me, I knew him too. And I knew he actually did want to help. I sighed and then removed his hands. "I will come, but if I get drunk and you take advantage of me, I will rip off your dick. You know that, right?"
"I'd expect nothing less." His smile never dimmed.
"Good. Where do you live now?"
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Denton sent a car a few hours later. I told him I needed time to pack, but in all honesty, I just needed some time to make sure this was the right thing to do. It only took thirty minutes to get everything together. With a text sent to Corrigan and Bryce, I was free to go. I told them that I was going to New York since my mother had flown to Europe for six months and the apartment was abandoned. I didn't care that I was lying to them. Denton was right. I needed to get away. I needed to regroup.
A couple hours later, as the black sedan weaved through trees and more trees, I was anywhere but New York. As we slowed, a gate opened; I was somewhere deep in a forest, but I was okay with that. Denton hadn't lied when he said his house was huge and isolated. It looked like a log home palace, secluded and tucked into some back pocket of the forest. I had a sudden vision of winter with snow all around and a fire burning. Something told me that Denton could live in that house for an entire year without setting foot in the world and survive just fine. No one would find it either.
"I only know her because she came up to me with her two sisters. All of them wanted a picture and then they left. It was a private party for my movie Rough Blue. Her dad's a Hollywood man. He's got his hands in a lot of projects. The brand sponsors a lot of our media events. Her brother, William, was as an extra in a few of my movies. It might've been because of his dad, I'm not sure."
"Do you know her family well?"
He shrugged. "Their mom died when they were little. Her dad never remarried. I think her two older sisters work in the business. That's it. I don't know her personally if that's what you're asking. Why are you interested in her?"
I grimaced. "She's become a thorn in my side. I underestimated her."
"What are you talking about?"
"Nothing. It's my problem, but there's something off with her."
"Is your psycho radar going off?"
"Maybe." I hid a smile.
"Come on, Sheldon. I don't know what's going on, but I can figure out that it's something not good. You're in a hotel, and who do you call? Not your normal two toys. You called me. You're alone and backed into a corner."
"I wanted information. That's all."
"Bullshit. You called me because I'm not Bryce or Corrigan. You wanted a break from them, and I'm guessing you wanted a break from that world, which is funny because this is you. If you could become a hermit, you'd be happy. You'd miss your friends, but you'd be content. You might not want to hear it, but I know you pretty well. I know when you're asking for help without asking for help." He moved closer and lowered his voice. "Why were you in the hospital? Is someone coming after you again? Is it this girl?"
I winced as pain flooded me. "It's not. I don't know."
"I can help you. I can ask around, see if my agent knows anything. I'm sure he can find out some dirt on her."
"Your agent isn't named Mathias, is it?"
Denton laughed. "No. Tim is generally just a sports agent. He must have his hooks in Bryce, huh? He's a little much, but he's a good guy."
"He's a slimeball."
"He tends to give that impression with girls, which is probably why he specializes in male athletes. He's never had good success with females, personally or professionally." Denton laughed again and turned to stand in front of the patio doors.
I studied his back for a moment. Denton was…okay. He was a friend, of sorts, and he was mostly trustworthy, but I wasn't stupid. If Denton could sleep with me, he would. He wouldn't care if it hurt my relationship with Bryce. However, if he said he'd help, I knew he would. And he wouldn't say a word.
"Are you trying to burn a hole in my back?" Denton turned and flashed those dimples again.
I sighed as I dropped down on my bed. "I'd appreciate anything you can find on her."
"Sure thing."
"And if you have the idea about strings being attached, you better stop right now. I'm not going to owe you a thing. I don't work that way."
He held up his hand and made a scissor motion with them. "Consider them gone, if they were there. I'm not doing this because I want something from you, Sheldon. Sure, if you get the urge to jump my bones, I'm more than happy to make that happen. But I'm not doing it because of that reason. You were my neighbor for a long time. You and I have gone a couple rounds together. Plus, the whole thing with Mena…I know that you really did care about her. I want to help because I care about you, and I don't care about anyone except my sister so consider yourself lucky. And I can't lie to you. You always see through my bullshit."
"I don't know, Denton. You could make things worse for me."
He laughed. "All I'm offering is that I'll ask around. I'll have my agent do the same and we'll see if we can find anything on this girl and her family. How about that?"
I studied him intently. Was that really all he was offering?
Then he looked around. "Why are you in a hotel again?"
"My place was ransacked."
"Perfect!" He beamed. "You can stay at my place. It's isolated and extremely safe. It's big. You won't even know I'm there when I am. You can have your own side of the house. There's a security system and cameras. I'll show you how to operate it all."
"I don't know…"
"You can hide. I know that's what you want to do. Who would figure out that you're at my place? No one. Not even your two besties would guess. I know you're hurting if you called me instead of them. I can also figure that they're part of the reason you're hurting. That and a certain Spanish model that's been all over the gossip shows?"
Guadalupe. I fought against showing my teeth at the mere thought of her.
"Sheldon." Denton stepped closer as his voice softened. He took my arms in his hands. "You helped me with Mena. Let me do this for you. Please."
I knew he was working me. He played the sympathetic good guy perfectly, but I rolled my eyes. I didn't even care because while Denton knew me, I knew him too. And I knew he actually did want to help. I sighed and then removed his hands. "I will come, but if I get drunk and you take advantage of me, I will rip off your dick. You know that, right?"
"I'd expect nothing less." His smile never dimmed.
"Good. Where do you live now?"
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Denton sent a car a few hours later. I told him I needed time to pack, but in all honesty, I just needed some time to make sure this was the right thing to do. It only took thirty minutes to get everything together. With a text sent to Corrigan and Bryce, I was free to go. I told them that I was going to New York since my mother had flown to Europe for six months and the apartment was abandoned. I didn't care that I was lying to them. Denton was right. I needed to get away. I needed to regroup.
A couple hours later, as the black sedan weaved through trees and more trees, I was anywhere but New York. As we slowed, a gate opened; I was somewhere deep in a forest, but I was okay with that. Denton hadn't lied when he said his house was huge and isolated. It looked like a log home palace, secluded and tucked into some back pocket of the forest. I had a sudden vision of winter with snow all around and a fire burning. Something told me that Denton could live in that house for an entire year without setting foot in the world and survive just fine. No one would find it either.
