Page 15 of See You There
“Chandler, just pay the guy and let’s go.”
Her costar looked down at her, and under the overhead lighting, she saw for the first time his pupils were blown wide. Was he on something? He shrugged off her hand.
“Stop worrying, Lia. Everything’s cool. I’m going to pay these guys. Let’s just play for a bit.”
Dahlia’s jaw dropped. “Are you out of your mind?” she hissed. She was conscious of the eyes that had turned in their direction, recognizing them from the movie posters and social media already plastered around the city. “Let’s go!”
Chandler bent and kissed her hard on the lips, surprising her. They had a deal—no kissing without discussing it first. It took everything in her not to wipe it away.
“You’re so uptight. Just a couple of rolls.” He turned his back on her to join the crowd by the craps tables, leaving her no choice but to follow. Petrov joined them and Dahlia’s blood pressure shot up.
“Before you get started, let’s clear up your balance. I’m sure you understand.” The man’s smile was oily, but his message was clear.
Chandler faltered and then called out to Matt. “Hey, man! Let’s take care of business first.”
Matt looked up from where he was watching the roulette wheel.
“Keep your voice down.” Petrov’s eyes narrowed but he sent a smile to the onlookers watching the interchange. The man leaned close, studying Chandler’s smiling face.
Dahlia’s heart rose to her throat, and she suddenly found it hard to breathe.
Chandler was lying. She’d been acting opposite him for months and in a fake relationship for even longer.
Oh my god! He doesn’t have the money.
A cold sweat broke out across her skin, and she edged away from the two men. Dahlia had been in this position before. Not at this level, but her experience was that to a certain type of people, it didn’t matter if you owed them a hundred dollars or a thousand dollars. They dealt with it the same way. Something about Petrov told her he liked to hurt people.
Dahlia had taken three steps backward and was about to turn and bolt out of the house when a hand touched her arm, and she squeaked in alarm. A man about her age smiled at her, his brown eyes shining.
“I’m sorry. I know this is cringy, but… You’re Lia Everton!”
Dahlia swallowed a sigh of relief. A fan. She turned on the persona she’d perfected over the years. “Yes! What’s your name?”
“Jace.” He looked back at his friends, who watched the two of them through wide eyes. “I’m abigfan. You were so funny in that astronaut movie last year!”
The words ‘you saw that’ hovered on the tip of her tongue. Instead, she gave him the perfect bashful smile. “Thank you so much. We had a blast making it.”
She could hear Chandler, Petrov, and Matt talking behind her. This could be her way out! “Do you want to take a selfie?” she asked, flattered, despite the situation, when his face lit up.
“That would be dope!” Jace pulled his phone from the pocket of his dress pants and lifted it above them.
“I think the lighting’s probably better over there.” Dahlia angled her head toward the front door. They would take a quick picture, then she could slip out and call a car.
“Wow! Thanks!”
Dahlia felt Petrov’s eyes following her as she made her way to the foyer. She didn’t object when Jace slid his arm around her waist and lifted his phone to take a picture.
“Oh shit!” He lowered the phone. “It’s dead.”
Dahlia hid her exasperation. Her nerves were skittering. She needed to get out of this house! “How about we use my phone, and I’ll text you the picture?”
Jace’s eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head. “You’d text me?”
“Of course,” Dahlia said smoothly.Shit!Now a fan would have her personal phone number! There was no way to take it back now. She’d change it tomorrow.
Dahlia took a phone from her purse and lifted it until both of their faces were in the frame, their backs to the front door. She held her finger on the button to take a photo burst. Jace would definitely put it on social media, and she wanted to have a selection to choose from.
Behind them, the front door slammed open, ricocheting off the wall. At first, the loud bang paralyzed the gamblers, but then it was chaos as people panicked. To his credit, Jace grabbed her, spinning her out of the way of the four masked gunmen charging through the opening, placing his body in front of her.
