Deadly Obsession (37 page)

Lauren began to hyperventilate and forced herself to take several deep breaths. When her throat relaxed enough for speech, she said in her most professional voice, “That sounds very interesting, Ms. Combs. Where is the job location?”

“Our headquarters and studios are in New York.”

“Do I have to relocate?”

“No. You’ll need to travel to our headquarters occasionally, and of course, we’ll fly you to different locations for photo shoots.” Lauren breathed a sigh of relief. So far so good. Travelling might be an issue, but her parents and her friends probably wouldn’t mind helping her out from time to time.

“We would like to offer you a starting salary of fifty thousand dollars. We have a medical plan and a 401K program. Our HR department will provide you the details.”

Holy crap!
They wanted to pay her
fifty thousand dollars
to take pictures? That was twice what she made at the department store. Lauren inched her way back to the bed to sit down. “When…” She cleared her throat. “When would I start?”

“This is the part that might be difficult. We would need you in New York by Friday afternoon. We’re having a four-day workshop with all the editorial staff and photographers to plan the next twelve issues. Because we’re changing our format, we’ve had to throw out all our previous plans. We’re starting with a clean slate, so this is the perfect time for you to be joining the team.”

Lauren pressed a palm against her racing heart. Opportunity was knocking. Was she brave enough to open the door? It was a five-and-a-half-hour flight from LAX to JFK, plus the three-hour time difference. To be there by Friday afternoon, she’d have to either leave tomorrow morning or take a red-eye tomorrow night. Everything was happening so fast. Lauren rubbed her temples. A position at
Vanity Fair
would change her life and Jason’s for the better. She swallowed hard and said, “I’d be delighted.”

“Excellent. You can sign the contract and benefits documentation when you get here. Of course, we’ll reimburse all your travel costs, so please keep your receipts.”

Lauren thanked the woman again and ended the call. She fell back onto the bed and smothered her face in Nic’s pillow, inhaling the faint scent of his Armani cologne deep into her lungs. It wouldn’t take much to make her stay. Around Nic, everything was
more
. More exciting, more intense. He’d flash his brilliant movie star smile, peer into her soul with his baby blues and say, “Everything’ll be all right,
chérie
,” and she’d believe him.

No matter how much they might love each other, she had to be strong, had to resist him. Life with Nic was just too dangerous for her and Jason. The stalker’s threat against her was clear. And terrifying.

Last night, when Nic had admitted that he loved her, she’d been bursting with joy. But even so, it would be irresponsible of her to put her son at risk for a man who wasn’t honest about his past. If he loved her enough, he’d trust her with the truth.

She fought back a sob and hugged Nic’s pillow more tightly against her chest. Maybe once things quieted down after the stalker was caught, they could see each other again and talk. They could find a way to make it work, if they loved each other enough, couldn’t they? Maybe then he could trust her enough to be honest about Rachel. And if he couldn’t? Her father had said it: he wasn’t the one for her.

New York City and Vanity Fair’s offer waited for her. A new chapter in her life was starting. This opportunity would better her life and Jason’s. It would make her into the strong, independent woman she’d always wanted to be. And it was all thanks to Nic. Meeting him was the best thing to ever happen to her.

Leaving him would be the worst.

Nic paused in front of his office window and stared outside, unable to believe what he was hearing on the phone. Was Rémi yanking his chain? The man had pulled some pretty elaborate pranks in the past. As much as he’d be pissed at his friend for being such an asshole, he’d also be relieved. What Rémi had just said was his worst nightmare.

“Come on man. Stop fucking with me.”

“I wish I were. When Rachel called me, I assumed she was misunderstanding something, overreacting, you know? But then she showed me the letter. There’s no mistake.”

His head was starting to spin, eerily reminiscent of his Rohypnol misadventure. On shaky legs, he stumbled to his chair and collapsed into it, putting his head between his knees before he passed out. “Tell me again what the letter said.”

“It says:

Ms. Lamoureux, wire ten million to the following bank account within five days. If you do not produce the money, I’ll hurt you, destroy the ranch, and kill your brother. I know what he did, and I’ll tell the world the truth about the accident. Do not involve the police. I’m watching you
.”

Nic’s stomach churned. Taking several deep breaths, he tried not to puke. “I can’t fucking believe this. On top of the stalker, I’m being blackmailed. And the bastard is using Rachel to get to me.” If anything happened to her, he’d never forgive himself.

“How does the blackmailer even know about Rachel?”

Good question
. Only Vivian and Rémi knew the truth, only they knew he was responsible for what had happened to Rachel. He’d told Kaden he had a sister, although he suspected the bodyguard knew much more than he let on. But it couldn’t be one of them. Someone else had dug into his life. “Except for my will, the only place our names are linked is in our medical files.”

“So much for confidentiality.”

He had two choices—pay the blackmailer the ten million dollars or come clean about his past, to everyone. Both options sucked, but the second was unthinkable. Lauren would hate him. His career would be destroyed. And without a movie star’s income, he’d have no way to support Rachel and the ranch.

Nic’s voice hoarsened. “I need to call Vivian to see if I even have that kind of money. One way or another, I’ll take care of this, Rémi. Just please make sure Rachel is protected.”

“Give me some credit, man. I haven’t been off the force
that
long.”

The corner of Nic’s mouth kicked up. “Still, you can’t watch her 24/7. Want Kaden to hire someone to help you out?”

“I was thinking of asking my cousin Tommy. You remember him, right?”

“He went to the police academy with you?”

“Yep. I’d trust him with my life.”

“It’s settled then. I’ll call you back as soon as I know something more.”

He ended the call and almost instantly his phone beeped, signaling an incoming message.
What now?
He opened the message and swore. He couldn’t take much more of this shit.

You aren't taking me seriously, so I'm upping the ante. Talk to Rachel about the note she got. Get rid of the WHORE and pay the $10 million or she's DEAD and so are you.

Whoa
. The stalker and the blackmailer were the same person. Below the text was a shot of him, lying on the ice covered in blood. The stalker must have taken it at the arena when he’d passed out. The caption read:

Bang! Bang! You’re dead.

A hard ball formed in the pit of his stomach. The stalker could have fucking shot him that day instead of taking a photo.
Christ
. The ball grew larger. She could have shot Lauren or Jason.

He continued to scroll the message. As a photo of Lauren going down on him appeared on the screen, his heart faltered. He recognized his room in the background.
How the fuck?
Had the picture been taken through the window? No, the angle was all wrong and he had privacy film on all the windows. He tried to scroll again, but the message ended with the photo. Dropping the phone, he smashed his fist on the desk.

The stalker had put a camera in his room.

Christ
. This changed everything. Kaden was right, he had to get Lauren to leave. As another wave of nausea threatened him, Nic hung his head between his knees. Hearing a gasp, he looked up and saw Lauren at his office door. She ran to his side and rubbed his back. “Are you feeling sick again? Should I call the hospital?”

“I’ll be okay. Give me a minute.” After taking a few more deep breaths, he sat up.

“You’re white as a ghost. Did you get another message?”

Nic looked away. What had he done to this woman that her first thought was about what new disaster was falling down on them?

“Tell me what happened.”

He couldn’t let this go on. He had to make a decision, before one was forced on him. He could protect Rachel, or he could protect Lauren. But not both. Nic rubbed the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. What the fuck had he done to get them all in this situation? He’d never meant to hurt anyone, yet he was going to end up hurting everyone. This whole thing was going to blow up in his face.

Given that he probably didn’t have the money to pay the blackmail, Lauren had to go. But first, he had to tell her the truth about Rachel. And if she ended up hating him? Maybe that was for the best. Pain stabbed deep in his chest. Before the day was out, maybe he would lose the woman he’d been waiting for his entire life.

Standing up, he took her hand. “I’ll tell you, but this might take a while, so let’s go downstairs where we’ll be more comfortable.” Kaden was working out in the exercise room, and since his workouts always lasted a couple hours, Nic would have plenty of time to talk with Lauren in private.

In the living room, he took a seat on the couch and patted the spot beside him. Once she settled down, he stared straight ahead at the fireplace, unable to meet her gaze. This was it. A shudder of apprehension slithered up his spine like a snake. Yeah, that’s exactly how he felt—like a snake.

“You can tell me anything. It’ll be okay.”

He closed his eyes. Nothing would ever be okay again. Once Lauren learned the truth, she’d be out of his life faster than Gaborik on a breakaway in a tied Stanley Cup game. He opened his eyes but continued to stare at the fireplace.

“This is very hard for me to say, to admit. So I’m just going to start at the beginning.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “My sister Rachel lives in Montréal where she runs a ranch for disabled children. They come and ride the horses and it helps them physically as well as emotionally. All the services are free.”

“Where does the money to run the ranch come from?”

He raised his eyebrow. “Oh, I see,” she finished quickly, her checks blooming prettily. His heart ached. How would he get through another day without her smiles, her laughter, the soft music of her voice?

Steeling his heart, he pressed on. “Today Rachel received a blackmail letter from the stalker. Either we pay her ten million dollars within the next five days or she will hurt Rachel and ruin me.” Not the whole truth but close enough.

“Ten million dollars! Not exactly chump change, is it?”

“The thing is, I don’t even know if I have that kind of money available. I’ll need to check with Vivian. After expenses, everything I make goes to Rachel to fund the ranch and programs for the children.”

Lauren sat up. “Vivian manages your money?”

He’d better explain. “Remember when I told you about meeting Vivian when I first came to L.A.?”

“You became a client of the agency she ran with her husband, David.”

Nic felt his lips kick up at the corner. Lauren had definitely been paying attention. “They took me in hand, even going so far as to front me the money to buy this building. Anyways, as people began to take notice of me, it became clear Hollywood had certain expectations I needed to meet if I wanted to make it big. After much discussion between the three of us, Nic The Lover was hatched.” He chuckled ruefully. How could you love and hate something so much at the same time?

“Hollywood wanted a charmer, a true ladies’ man who’d be talked about in all the tabloids and on talk shows across America. I needed to be seen at all the right publicity events and in all the right clubs. The image needed to be fed.” Sarcasm had started to lace his tone so he took a deep breath.

When Lauren stroked his back, he kissed her softly on the cheek. “Don’t feel sorry for me,
chérie
. I chose this life, and it hasn’t been bad. I’ve gotten more than I ever expected from it.”