ABOUT THE BOOK
A RISING STAR WITH EVERYTHING TO LOSE.
As Hollywood’s newest darling, Becca Sandoza is vigilant about guarding the image and reputation she’s so carefully created. Her career has allowed her to escape her past, but her newfound fame turns out to be a sharp double-edged sword. The nightmare she’s been trying to escape for twenty years has resurfaced. The man responsible knows all her secrets, and his silence comes at a heavy price. She’ll do whatever it takes to keep the past buried and protect the person she cares about most. But when it seems like she’s trapped with no way out, Becca finally turns to the one man she can trust—the one man capable of making her body burn and her heart ache with a yearning she’s never felt before.
THE ONLY MAN WHO CAN PROTECT HER.
Chase Davenport took everything he learned as a Marine Corps combat veteran and is now a sought-after stuntman. Hollywood is every bit as competitive and unpredictable as he expected, but the biggest surprise so far is Becca Sandoza. She’s got a reputation as an ice queen with the media, but it’s clear to him that’s only a mask she puts on to protect herself. Behind the scenes she’s down to earth, kind, and just being around her brings out all his protective instincts. So when she comes to him for help with a dangerous situation, he steps up. She might be totally out of his league, but the more time they spend together, it quickly becomes clear there’s more between them than scorching chemistry. And when the threat suddenly escalates with no warning, Chase will do anything to save her—no matter the cost.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Here we are at Chase and Becca’s story! I love these two together. They’ve both suffered so much loss, and finally get the chance for a happily ever after of their own.
After this we’ll be headed back to Crimson Point for Ryder’s story, where new characters await amidst more danger and action.
Happy reading,
Kaylea
Chapter One
Becca glanced at the clock on her dashboard and muttered under her breath as she slowed behind the car in front of her. She was already cutting it close by running this errand, and the horrendous LA traffic wasn’t helping matters.
She only had an hour until she was due back on set for the next scene. She should be resting there in her air-conditioned Airstream right now, but instead she was on her way to the bank to send a wire. Not her home branch. Another one across town she’d never been to before.
She made it a point never to use the same branch twice for these interactions, so the employees at her local branch didn’t know what was happening.
After fighting her way off the freeway, she finally made it to the bank and pulled into a spot as close to the entrance as she could get. Before exiting her car, she checked her reflection in the rearview mirror, adjusted her hat and sunglasses, and slicked on some tinted lip gloss. If anyone recognized her, she wanted to at least look presentable.
As soon as she opened the door, the mid-August heat slapped her in the face. It had been triple digits here for over a week now, a prolonged drought bringing scorching conditions over the spring and summer. In spite of living down here for the past eight years, the incessant heat was something she still hadn’t adjusted to. Having spent most of her life in Toronto and then Vancouver, SoCal’s weather was still a shock.
She hurried into the small branch office, relieved to find there were only two people in line ahead of her. No one glanced her way, and she relaxed a bit as she waited. She tried to avoid being out in public as much as possible these days. Partly because the new and seemingly constant attention from fans had started to wear on her.
And partly because of the man who had made this trip in the middle of her most important role to date necessary.
Pay up by Friday night or I’ll destroy you.
She released a slow breath and ordered herself to relax, putting last night’s message from her mind. The sooner this was done, the sooner she could get back to set and get back to work. Escape into her character’s skin and forget all about her own problems.
She never knew when he would contact her. This was the second time in the past few months. The first time four years ago had been a total shock. At first, he’d only demanded money once or twice a year. Lately it had become much more frequent than that.
She had no idea what he did with the money she sent, but she could guess. Living it large while he sucked her dry like the toxic parasite he was.
Because they both knew she couldn’t afford not to pay him.
It wasn’t about saving face. There was far more at stake here than merely protecting her image, and he used his power over her to maximum advantage. She was trapped, with no way to stop this toxic dance he’d forced her into.
The man in front of her finished his business and left. The teller looked up from her computer screen with a smile. “How can I help you today?”
You can’t. No one could. But that wasn’t the teller’s problem.
Putting on a polite smile, Becca took off her sunglasses as she stepped up to the desk.
The woman’s face froze, recognition flashing in her eyes. “Oh. Hi.” She flushed and stood there staring, seeming not to know what to do.
Becca smiled wider, wanting to put her at ease. It was still so weird to have people be starstruck around her. She didn’t like being recognized everywhere she went these days, and hated it even more when people fawned over her and made a fuss. She was just a regular person, who through a quirk of luck and fate had landed a role that had put her on the silver screen.
While her life had been anything but normal, she was determined to protect what normalcy she’d managed to build for herself. “I need to send a wire, please.”
“Of course.” Still flushed, the woman shot her a couple glances from under her lashes as she got the form ready on her computer. “To whom are you sending it?”
My blackmailer.
Becca named the “corporation” Rick had set up the account under, and gave all the other pertinent information by heart as she handed over her ID. The bank and her accountant had already been asking questions about the large amounts she’d wired previously. She’d lied and said they were to various charities she supported. Now he would want tax receipts and she would have to make up more lies to cover her ass.
She hated this entire situation, kept hoping each time that it would be the last. That Rick would die some horrible, violent death at the hands of someone he’d exploited. But like a bad smell, he wouldn’t go away.
The extortion was bad enough. Not knowing where he was or if he was stalking her, was worse. There was no way to hide from him. Her work and the media made it impossible to conceal her location for long. Yet she had no way of locating him.
At one point she’d even hired a private investigator to try and find him. So far, no luck. It seemed like every time her investigator came close to finding him, Rick slithered back under whatever rock he’d crawled out from, only to pop up somewhere completely different months later. Canada, the U.S., and Mexico so far.
All she knew was that he was still involved with a criminal network, and she couldn’t afford to let her guard down.
The teller finished entering everything into the computer and looked up with a bright smile. “All done. The transfer should go through within the next twenty-four hours.”