Not Talented in Hollywood: Not in Hollywood Book 3 (11 page)

Waking up the next morning I panicked at first as I forgot
where I was. Turning my head I found Griffin watching me.

“You know you’re beautiful” he said softly and I remembered
why this man took up so much of my emotional energy.

At that moment a nurse bustled in.

“It’s about time you two woke up, doctor’s going to be here
in a second and this isn’t a honeymoon suite. You’re lucky I was on duty. Most
of the other nurses would have kicked your behind out of that bed and out of
this hospital.

“Yes ma’am” said Griffin stretching his long frame as he got
up out of the bed.

“What is it about men that think they will get out of
trouble if they just say, yes ma’am” the nurse grumbled.

Griffin’s cell phone rang and he indicated he’d be stepping
out of the room. The nurse closed the door firmly after him.

“Now young lady, if you want to get out of here I would
suggest a quick shower and getting dressed. Nothing tells a doctor that you’re
good enough to get out of hospital if you look like you are more prepared to
face the day than he is.”

Wholeheartedly agreeing to the sentiment I had a quick
shower and threw on some clothes that Crystal had brought me the night before.
Walking out of the bathroom I found Griffin standing in the room, his smile approving
as it looked me up and down, although it darkened at the bruising on my neck
from the rough entry of the needle and the obvious bruising on my wrist.

“Bradford just called. They’ve managed to pick up D’Angelo”
he said.

“Great” I smiled.

“I’m just going to go change my clothes, I’ll only be a half
an hour and I’ll be right back” he said.

I walked up to him and wound my arms around his waist and
laid my head on his chest.

“I’m fine” I said. “Go do whatever it is that you need to
do. The doctor will take a while to get here and then the paperwork to get me
out will take a while. Go have a shower, get changed and I’ll see you when you
get back here and then we can go home to LA.”

“Is that what you want to do?” asked Griffin.

“Like you would not believe” I said.

“I’ll be right back” he said, kissing me on the forehead.

After the doctor had arrived and pronounced me fit to leave,
I sat on the bed and waited for the discharge paperwork to be completed.
Hearing a noise at the door I looked up to see Dominic Caldwell in my doorway
with a large bunch of flowers and that unnerving smile of his.

I scrambled off the bed and reached for the nurse’s buzzer.

“Please don’t Trudie, I’m not here to hurt you” he said. “I
just wanted to make sure you were recovering from yesterday’s unpleasantness.”

“Which part?” I asked. “The part where I was kidnapped, or
when I spent nine hours on your floor and could have died. Or maybe the part
where you wouldn’t let me go when I woke up until you got the answers you
wanted.”

Dominic smiled. “I know that in the cold light of day you
may be feeling some anger towards the situation, but I had hoped that some time
and space would give you a bit of clarity.”

“Your colleague is with the police” I said.

“Yes, it was suggested to him that his actions were a little
badly thought out and that it would be in everyone’s best interests that he
take responsibility for them. A plea deal will be worked out and he will be
punished according to the laws of the state” Dominic said.

As if he suddenly remembered, he put the flowers on the end
of the bed, being careful not to approach me as if I was a highly strung
thoroughbred who would bolt if he got too close.

“These are for you, I hope you like them.”

I barely looked at them. Something was happening here and
all I knew was I did not like it at all.

“All expenses you have incurred while in Las Vegas have been
taken care of” he said, that smooth voice scraping over my already jangled
nerves.

“Why?” I croaked wanting to shrink back as he walked slowly
towards me, but standing still and holding my ground.

Dominic reached forward and grabbed my hand gently, raising
it and pulling back on the sleeve to show the mark that he had put on my wrist
yesterday. His thumb gently stroked the bruise.

“I do not apologize often. In my world it is seen as a sign
of weakness.” He looked me in the eyes. “But for this I am sorry. My pride was
damaged and I allowed that to hurt you. For this and no other reason I am in
your debt for the hurt I have caused you.”

I pulled back my hand. I badly wanted to step back because
he was way too close but I didn’t want to appear weak and afraid, even though I
really was.

“I don’t want you to be in my debt, I don’t want you
anywhere near me. I want to leave this city and never think about what happened
here again.”

“The thing is” Dominic continued as if I hadn’t spoken,
“you’ve piqued my interest. You’re not like the women I usually meet.”

Oh this was bad, very, very bad. I can honestly say that I
did not want to pique this man’s interest at all. I was getting to the point
where I was going to say to hell with my pride and run out of the room when a
voice came from the doorway.

“Would you like to explain what you are doing here Mr
Caldwell?” Griffin was standing there and I almost sagged with relief. He had
cleaned up and he filled the doorway with his size and cop demeanor. The frown
on his face was directed solely at Dominic. Most people I knew at least felt a
little trepidation when having Griffin’s cop face focused at them. Dominic just
smiled.

“I was just making sure that Trudie was fully recovered
after her traumatic day yesterday.” He turned to me. “I look forward to the
next time we meet” he said smoothly and walked out, not even skirting around
Griffin.

Griffin’s forehead furrowed. “What’s going on here?” he
barked at me.

“You’re yelling at me” I said. “He came in here and freaked
me out and you’re yelling at me.”

Griffin ran his hand over his face. “I’m sorry.”

Look at me, getting apologies from two men in five minutes,
there has got to be a prize for that.

“What did he want?” asked Griffin.

“He wanted to give me flowers, pay my bills and tell me I’d
piqued his interest, all of which are guaranteed to freak me out, so can we go,
before I have a complete meltdown and they decide to keep me here indefinitely”
I said.

“Crystal and Edwin are waiting downstairs in the cab”
Griffin said. “Bradford called, D’Angelo is taking a plea deal so you don’t
need to do anything. I think we should get out of here before anything else
happens” he said grabbing my bag.

Following Griffin out I looked at the flowers which were
still lying on the bed and shivered. Dominic had arranged everything, just as
he said, and I had a very bad feeling that he wasn’t finished with me yet.

Walking into my home I wanted to drop to my knees and kiss
the floor. After a flight that had Griffin, Crystal and Edwin watching over me
as if I was going to fall apart on them, I was happy to be in my own space
again.

“Where did you want your bag?” asked Griffin.

Of course I wasn’t alone. Crystal and Edwin had managed to
realize that I might need some alone time right about now. Griffin hadn’t quite
worked it out yet and with the way he dropped himself into my couch it looked
like he was taking seriously his threat not to let me out of his sight.

“So” I said as I dropped on the couch opposite him. “Is
there a plan from here or are we just winging it?”

“Oh, there’s a plan” said Griffin and jumped up at a knock
on the door.

I did not like the sound of that and I realized how much
when Griffin came back into the living room followed by his father who was
carrying a small duffel bag.

“What are you doing here Lee?” I asked with trepidation.

“I have to go to work” said Griffin, “so Dad is going to
stay and keep an eye on you.”

I looked at the two men, the expressions on their faces so
similar. “Can I please speak with you a moment, in private” I said.

Griffin followed me to my bedroom and when I closed the door
he looked around the room.

“Took you long enough to get me in here” he grinned.

“I am not having your dad babysitting me” I hissed.

“And of course it has to be an argument” Griffin sighed.
“Yesterday you were kidnapped. Dominic Caldwell, who despite appearances is not
a very nice man, has taken a frightening interest in you. I need to go to work
today because I have a feeling once I can solve the Catarina Badal case, you
may be taken out of the firing line, and believe me sweetheart, at the moment
that is the thing I want more than anything in the world. I can’t do my job if
I am worrying the entire day about you. If I bring anything but my A game to
work Ramos is going to have my hide. I am asking you, for my peace of mind, let
my dad keep you company today.”

I hated when people argued logically. It totally took the
wind out of my sails.

“I don’t like feeling like I’m not in control of my life
Griffin. I really don’t react well when I feel someone is taking that away from
me.”

Griffin took me in his arms “I know and that independent
streak in you makes me hot.”

“I thought it annoyed you” I said looking up at him and
smiling.

“Oh it does that too” said Griffin with an answering smile.

He dipped his head and slanted his lips over mine. I didn’t
even bother fighting the feeling that ran all the way down to my toes. In no
time the kissing had turned passionate and I could feel him moving me over to
the bed as he started kissing me across my jaw and down my neck. Sanity
prevailed and I pulled away.

“Your dad is right outside this door” I gasped.

Griffin groaned. “I really want to pick this up soon” he
said.

“We will” I said, “but you have to go to work.

Griffin gave me another quick and hard kiss on the mouth.
“I’ll see you tonight” he said, “we’ll have dinner together, just the two of us
with no interruptions, and then we’re taking off right about here” he said
holding onto my hips and curling them into his body.

“Just the two of us” I repeated feeling a little light
headed.

“You might want to do those buttons up” he said, glancing at
my chest as he tucked in his shirt. Seems we’d both got a little busy during
the interlude.

Griffin left, leaving me facing his father who looked at me
with a bemused smile.

“So” I said, “how are you doing Lee?”

“Fine, heard you went and got yourself kidnapped” he
growled.

“I did not get myself kidnapped, I was kidnapped” I said
patiently.

“So we’ll be putting it in the, it could only happen to you,
pile” said Lee.

“Oh this is going to be fun today” I said. “Do you want a
coffee?”

“That would be lovely” said Lee.

Busying myself with the coffee machine Lee sat himself down
at my table and studied me intently.

I put his coffee in front of him. “What” I said tiredly.

“Just looks like you two are moving along with your
relationship” he said as he kept his eyes firmly fixed on the coffee cup.

Lee Griffin was an ex-cop. I had met him before and at first
had decided that he hardly spoke at all. There seemed to be one topic where
this did not hold true. Lee had an inordinate amount of interest in Griffin’s
and my relationship. I had told him before to butt out but he seemed to be
unable to help himself. I knew there was no way that he would ask his son these
questions but he seemed to have no problem with dragging me across the coals
every time I met him.

“We’re sorting things out” I conceded.

“You taking off the way you did was not good for his temper.
The boy was like a bear with a sore head. He doesn’t have the nicest of
dispositions to begin with. When he saw that photo of you with the little pop
star I thought he was going to throw a coronary,” Lee said conversationally.

“You’re aware that the photo was just a media beat up” I
said dryly settling in with my own coffee. I figured if I was going to get
grilled by my new boyfriend’s father I was going to need the strong stuff.

“Knew that from the second I saw it, Jake did too. Just
didn’t make him happy seeing as how you’d walked away from him, and you seemed
to be enjoying the high life.”

I snorted. “I was dragging a bratty, spoiled teenager out of
a strip club, trust me, I wasn’t living the high life” I said.

“Do you like your job?” Lee asked curiously.

I thought back to the night with Blythe Stanton and to some
of the people I had met while working for Monique.

“It does have its moments” I said smiling. “No job is
perfect and there are some days when it drives me crazy, but I would definitely
say it has been worth it. Besides, I met Griffin through my job, if I’d had an
office job somewhere we may never have met.”

Lee snorted. “The way you attract trouble sweetheart, it was
just a matter of time before you crossed Jake’s path.”

I wanted to argue but really there are some truths which you
can’t argue against.

Finishing off his coffee Lee announced, “I’ve got errands to
run and you’re coming with me.”

“What if I’ve got stuff to do?” I asked.

“Then we do that first” said Lee very calmly and I was
reminded of the way Griffin was, calm and competent. Well that’s how he was
when he wasn’t dealing with me.

I shrugged knowing when I’d been beaten. “Where do you need
to go?” I asked.

“Drugstore” Lee muttered. “It’s lousy getting old, spend
half your life in the drugstore.”

Wandering through the drugstore waiting for Lee to do his
shopping I ended up in an aisle of condoms. All of a sudden I started thinking.
Griffin had given a strong indication that he wanted to have sex and
considering the way I melted every time he touched me, I was obviously on board
with the idea. It had been a long time since I’d had sex. I started panicking.
As far as I knew we were going to be at my house. What if he didn’t have condoms?
Maybe I should have some on hand. I started looking at the different brands and
sizes. I grabbed a box and looked at it, then saw another one and pulled that
down from the shelf as well. Just to be on the safe side I should get some, I
decided. Now the question was which ones. All of the boxes seemed to promise
some out of this world experience. I had no idea of sizes or which brand was
best, what would Griffin prefer? Maybe I should just close my eyes and pick
one.

“I’m ready” said Lee as he walked up to me, “do you need to
get anything?”

You would think that the most embarrassing experience would
be the moment you are looking at condoms and the father of the man you are
planning on using those condoms with stands next to you and asks you what you
are doing. It isn’t. The truly mortifying moment is three seconds later when he
realizes what you’re looking at and why, clears his throat, mutters that he’ll
wait for you outside and bolts for the closest exit. I was not going to be able
to look Lee in the eyes for the rest of the day, maybe never. I grabbed the
nearest box and took it to the counter. Paying for it I didn’t notice a
gentleman in a suit standing by a side exit watching me intently until I nearly
ran into him.

“Sorry” I muttered as I tried to step around him still
caught up in my humiliation.

The man in the suit put a hand on my elbow and before I
could wrench it away he said “Miss Eyre, Mr Caldwell would like to speak to
you” in a low voice.

No way was that going to happen. I’d already spent far more
time with Mr Caldwell than I ever wanted to. I must have telegraphed my
intentions because my captor’s grip tightened on my arm.

“Miss Eyre, you will be coming with me. It is your choice
how it happens but I really don’t think you want a repeat of yesterday do you?”

I looked into his eyes. He was serious, this man was going
to take me to Dominic Caldwell no matter what. I really didn’t want that
meeting to begin with me being unconscious again. I looked around but he had
grabbed me in a part of the store which couldn’t be seen from the front. Nobody
was in this part of the store and I had been pulled in close as my captor
tucked me into his side. We looked for all the world like a couple, except for
the fact I could feel a gun in a shoulder holster against me. I went with him
out the side door hoping that Dominic Caldwell still did not intend to kill me.