Page 81 of Breaking Free

She hesitated before she answered, “Hunter.”

“Hunter Ainsley? Your neighbor across the courtyard?” a shocked Axyl exclaimed. “Why do you think it’s him?”

“He sort of came on to me.”

Tristan stiffened at the news. “You didn’t tell me that.”

“I’m probably making too much of it.”

“Explain.”

“I ran into him after my audition. I didn’t even know he was the director. But he said he thought I was perfect for the part and had his people call mine. And he asked me to lunch todiscussit.”

He and Axyl shared a look.

“See! It’s nothing. But it felt creepy at the time.”

“Always trust your instincts,” Axyl reminded her.

“What happened at lunch?” Tristan demanded tersely.

“We didn’t go. He got called away. I’ve avoided him since.”

Tristan’s gaze collided with Axyl’s. “Could it be that simple?”

“He’s around her both here and on the set to know some of the shit that was in those notes, and Josie has probably filled him in on other things.”

“No,” Piper said, shaking her head vehemently. “Josie wouldn’t do that. She’s my friend.”

“I meant unintentionally. Not to do you harm,” Axyl quickly added.

Tristan’s arm tightened around her, hearing the anxiety in her voice. “What have you told her about us?”

“Except for the especially private parts, just about everything,” she reluctantly admitted.

Skeptical, Axyl made a good point. “I don’t know if I’m buying a well-connected, up-and-coming, sought-after Netflix director as the stalker, especially one who climbs trees to second-story windows.”

“I don’t want to believe it, but I keep thinking about the anonymous notes. He knew about my bikini, could have seen me jogging in the evenings, and, as the director, knew about the risqué scenes in the show.”

His interest piqued, Axyl asked, “How risqué?”

“It’s only partial nudity.” Defensive, Piper put an emphasis on partial. “It’s an R-rated series, not what you’re thinking.”

“Does the level of naked matter for this discussion?” Tristan asked, wanting to move on from thoughts of a naked Piper on the screen. It was jealousy, and utterly ridiculous because he’d had her naked in the playroom hours before. The difference, who was in control. When she was on set, he had none. A fact he liked less with each passing hour.

“It doesn’t matter,” she acknowledged. “Other than he knew I wasbaring it all, as he put it. One note referred to me as a farm girl. To audition, I had to submit my acting portfolio, which includes a resume. He knows where I’m from.”

Tristan rubbed his free hand down his face then over his head to the back of his neck, where he squeezed because it was tight with tension. It came from the fact that the stalker could be someone so close to them, someone who lived practically in their laps.

“I’ve known Hunter for five years. This is out of character for him.”

“That’s what Josie and Cindy said.”

Turning sharply, he demanded, “You told them you suspected he was your stalker?”

“No,” she said calmly then hit him with the unadulterated truth. “I asked if he was the kind of director who’d give me the role to get into my pants.”

His jaw tightened. “What did they say?”

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