Page 89 of Dream (Fighting Fate)

Gardner deadpanned me and crossed his arms. “Yes, it can be that bad, and it is. And no, you can’t just choose to not take the car. Daniel is head of security, and he made the call.”

I frowned at his bluntness. My independent spirit made me want to argue, but I also knew I had to trust Daniel’s experience.

Drawing in a deep breath, I looked to Sam and raised my eyebrows. “Seems like we’re getting a ride to work today.”

Sam patted my arm as she passed me. “Wise choice, young padawan.”

Gardner smirked at her retreating figure. “I like her.”

I rolled my eyes, but I had to admit, Sam was a keeper. “Yeah, she’s pretty good value.”

My nerves swelled as we rode the lift to the ground floor. Secretly, I was worried about doing this without Josh if there were two dozen paparazzi out there like Gardner said.

As the lift doors opened, Gardner pinned me with a sharp look. “Don’t stop, and don’t talk to them. Smile if you want to, but don’t stop walking. If you stop, it’ll be harder for me to get you out, okay?”

I nodded. Don’t stop. Keep walking. Smile.

Sam handed me a pair of sunglasses. “Here, put these on.”

I had no idea why, but I didn’t ask. I just did as I was told. Preparing myself to step out into the chaos, I had to ask myself if this was something I was willing to do every day of my life. As the memory of being wrapped in Josh’s arms filled me with warmth, I knew what the answer would be. Always a yes.

Chapter 54

Josh

“Cut!”

My body sagged as soon as the words were out. It was the eleventh take we’d done, and my endurance was waning—not only because it was a physically challenging scene, but because Hannah kept stuffing up her lines. If I was to be honest, it was really starting to piss me off.

“That’s a wrap for today!” Steven yelled, clapping his hands. “Hannah, a word, please.”

Grabbing a towel from the PA, I dabbed the back of my neck and made my way toward where Daniel was waiting at the back of the room. Breathing deep, I tried to repress my irritation. I was supposed to be done by now. I had plans to already be back at the hotel, showered and dressed.

“Where’s Liv?” I asked, walking through the door as Daniel fell into step beside me.

“She just got off the plane,” he said. “They should be here in about twenty minutes.”

It wasn’t going to give me much time, but there wasn’t much I could do about it now. An extra ten takes tended to eat into a bit of time. Sighing, I slipped into the backseat of the waiting car. I had no idea what was going on with Hannah today. She was usually so professional when it came to smashing out the takes. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was sabotaging, but that hardly made any sense.

“Are you still planning on lying low for the weekend?” Daniel asked as the car pulled out of the lot.

“Yeah, man. Other than the scene tomorrow, I’ll just be trying to spend some time with Liv. We probably won’t even leave the hotel.”

Daniel nodded. “Gardner says she seems to be handling it all okay.”

He’d told me the same, but it didn’t stop me from worrying about her. “Actually, I’m surprised she hasn’t been more resistant.”

Daniel surprised me by laughing. “Me too. Amy thinks it’s because she’s used to having security measures in place from when she was in Uganda.”

I’d considered the same, but at the end of the day, I didn’t care where it came from. I was just happy she could see sense in the need to be safe. It made things a hell of a lot easier for me. “I just need her to be safe, man. I don’t think I’d be able to live with myself if anything happened to her.”

He met my gaze as we pulled up to the hotel. “We’ll take care of her.”

His sincerity meant a lot to me. I trusted these guys with my life, and knowing they’d extend their loyalty to Liv without even being asked was testament to their ethics, not only as my security team, but as human beings. “Thanks, man. I appreciate that.”

As Lance and Cain appeared at the curb, Daniel released the lock and opened the door, stepping out to push the crowding fans back enough to let me get through. I’d been making sure I spent a bit of time around town, mingling with the locals, since I’d been here, so they were a lot tamer when I appeared now. Thank God.

Pulling out my fluffy pink sharpie, I scrawled my name over a few of the things pushed my way before slipping inside and straight into the elevator.

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