Sins of the Father (7 page)

“
I met Abe
Donovan earlier. He coordinates site security. He’ll be working
closely with Brad Morgan and his team.”

“
That’s
reassuring. He’s a good guy.”

“
Like you
said - only the best. Stop worrying about me. I’m going to be
okay.”

“
I’ll try.”
He pulled her hand so that she stepped into the circle of his arms.
“You know how much I love you, right?”

“
Yes, the
fact that you’re here proves it. I love you too.”

They both turned at the
knock. It was hard enough to rattle windows. They knew it was
Stuart before he stepped into the trailer. Stood just behind him
was a stranger. He was tall, easily 6ft 4, and all but filled the
doorway. It was a safe bet to assume Brad Morgan had arrived – his
whole body language screamed soldier.

“
What’re you
doing on my set?” Stuart asked Josh, managing to keep a deadpan
expression – but only just.

“
Don’t
pretend it’s not good for publicity, old man.”

“
Haven’t lost
your modesty I see. It must be hard being you.”

Joshua grinned boyishly.
“It’s a constant struggle.” He dropped a kiss on top of Alicia’s
head and released her. “I’ll let you catch up. Is it okay if I hang
for a while, Stu?”

“
Sure, as
long as you don’t get in the way.”

His laughter boomed
around them. “I’ll be on my best behaviour, I promise.”

The snort from Stuart
amused him all the more. “Why doesn’t that make me feel any
better?” he asked dryly.

“
Aw, don’t be
like that, Stu.” Josh slapped him on the shoulder. “It’s good to
see you.” He turned back to Alicia with a grin. “You owe me
coffee.”

She looked down at the
cups they hadn’t even touched. “Maybe you could drink it next
time.”

Josh’s attention was
already elsewhere. “Nice to almost meet you,” he said, nodding when
Brad stepped aside so he could pass. He left on a chuckle; the
sound floating behind him until the door swung closed.

Stuart cleared his
throat. “Okay, then. Al, as I’m sure you’ve guessed - this is Brad
Morgan.”

For some reason the odd
introduction and their clumsy first meeting amused her, she had to
bite down hard on her lip to stop the laughter. “It’s good to meet
you,” she said, offering her hand.

Brad stared at it for a
moment, shaken. The time he’d spent studying her had done nothing
to prepare him for seeing her in the flesh. He’d known she was
beautiful, but this close, she was breathtaking.

When he realised both
Stuart and Alicia were looking at him expectantly he took the hand
lightly in his; the jolt he felt from her touch cleared his head
again. “Likewise.”

“
There’s
something I need to take care of, so I’ll leave you to get
acquainted and see you in a few,” Stuart said, already tapping away
on his Smartphone.

Don’t
go.
Alicia shook off her
discomfort and smiled, despite the nerves fluttering in her
stomach. “Thanks, Stuart.”

He looked up long enough
to smile, pausing a moment longer to shake Brad’s hand, before he
left with the same harassed expression he’d arrived
with.

“
So, how does
this work?” Alicia asked, turning the smile in Brad’s
direction.

The smile lit up her
face; it made him forget that she’d asked a question. It wasn’t
until the silence grew uncomfortable that he remembered he was
supposed to say something. “It’s pretty simple really. My job is to
protect you. I’ll be as inconspicuous as possible - you shouldn’t
notice I’m here most of the time.”

Like
that’s even possible
. “Will I
meet the team?”

“
Yes, at some
point. When you’re on set I’ll be your protection, relieved when
necessary by a member of my team. There are also two close
protection officers on patrol as back-up, and they belong to AD
Securities.

“
Yes, Abe
told me about that. I met them this morning.”

Brad acknowledged the
comment with merely a tilt of his head. “Your assistant sent a
loose schedule for today. It would be useful to have something more
concrete.”

“
I’ll arrange
that this morning at some point during the shoot. Is there anything
else you’d like to know at this point?”

The forced politeness in
the room was almost painful. She could feel the tension building
between them and it threw her. She wasn’t prepared for
it.

“
I have a
number of questions for you, but they can wait. I understand that
you’re anxious to get to work.”

She realised something
else that was odd too - everything he said sounded like he was
reading from a script. “I think everyone is.”

“
Then I’m
ready when you are.”

She looked into his eyes,
wondering if he felt the same awkwardness. They were a dark,
intense grey – interesting, but unreadable. He shifted
uncomfortably under her scrutiny. When he did, she was fascinated
at the subtle shift in colour. It reminded her of storm clouds; she
almost felt a fizzle in the air.

“
Did you have
another question?” He was amused now, she could tell by the sudden
curve of his lips.

"No... I…just give me two
minutes, okay?" With a brief nod, Brad turned to the door and let
himself out.

That
was fun
. Alicia shook her
head, amused by the route her mind had taken. It was not how she’d
expected their first meeting to go. She’d been so bowled over by
his presence that her normal charm had vanished. It had been a long
time since she’d felt intimidated.

‘
Pull
yourself together, Al, it’s probably lack of sleep.’ But her voice
didn’t sound convincing. She made an irritated noise as she shook
her head again. ‘What the hell is wrong with me?’

Feeling foolish, she
walked to the door and tried to gather her crazy thoughts. It
wasn’t like she’d never been attracted to a man before; she just
usually had more finesse. When she stepped out and saw the activity
on set, her mind settled again. She had a job to do and she always
found focus in her work.

She couldn’t locate
Stuart, but she did see the group of people she was sharing the
first scene with. As she made her way towards them, her gaze
wandered the set. She hadn’t been looking for Brad exactly, but her
eyes sort of found him of their own accord.

He looked oddly like a
caged animal, ill at ease in his surroundings. He also looked like
the type of man you’d want fighting your corner. She took a moment
to run her eyes over him appraisingly; she was only human after
all. He was wide, not rugby player wide, but certainly broad enough
to shoulder the hundred and ten pound rucksack she imagined he
carried as a marine.

“
He’s
gorgeous, isn’t he?” The soft voice in her ear made her heart
stutter in surprise.

She turned to see
Jennifer Adams, one of her co-stars, and had the decency to blush.
“I don’t know what you mean.”

“
Honey,
please, you’re practically drooling.” Jennifer chuckled under her
breath. “There’s nothing wrong with looking. He’s a fine male
specimen.”

Alicia laughed, throwing
embarrassment to the wind. “You’re right. I feel bad ogling him
like a piece of candy. But damn it, he looks good.”

A strangled laugh escaped
before Jennifer could stop it. “Come on, before I get us into real
trouble.”

She linked her arm
through Jennifer’s and started out towards the refreshment table –
it was the place people gravitated to when they weren’t working. As
she listened to her talk about the upcoming scene, she couldn’t
help glancing across at Brad again. He had his head down so she
couldn’t see his eyes; a lock of hair cast his face in
shadow.

He was talking to Doug
Chambers, the assistant director. Since a general crew call had
been made, there was a crowd of people waiting for the day to
start.

“
Hi, Alicia,”
Tim Johnson called out as they approached.

She’d worked with him
once before. He was a pleasant man; professional to a fault. “Hey,
Tim. You ready to rock and roll?”

“
Not sure
there’s much rocking involved, but you could always change the
script!”

Alicia mimed a gale of
laughter and turned to Jennifer. “Do you know this
clown?”

“
Never seen
him before in my life.” Jennifer winked at him, her version of an
apology. “How’s it going, Timmy?”

“
Fine since
you asked me five minutes ago.”

Alicia walked over to
grab a bottle of water and chat with Mia Gregory. She was a little
surprised that Josh hadn’t resurfaced – Mia was his current leading
lady. She hadn’t worked with her before, but from what she’d seen
so far they would get on well.

“
Hi, Mia.”
She offered her a friendly smile.

Mia only had time to
return the smile before Carl Jones was tearing across the set and
demanding all the attention.

“
Is this the
real deal or another false alarm?” he asked, completely unaware of
the attention he drew. Alicia smiled at her old friend, charmed, as
always, by his obliviousness. He lived in a world of his own
creation and had no concept of time.

“
The real
deal. But you already knew that.”

His eyes twinkled. “Is it
my fault there’s been so much drama over the past couple of
days.”

“
You get
that, it being a movie set and all,” Mia said. She stood aside to
make room for Tim and Jennifer.

“
We’re making
a movie?”

Alicia batted his arm
playfully. “Behave yourself, CJ.”

He held up his hands in
defeat. “Okay, okay, so we’re ready.” The grin was practiced; it
was aimed at his co-workers as he moved to shake Tim’s hand and
flirt a little with Jennifer. As he was doing an over-zealous air
kiss, something caught his eye.

“
Hey, who’s
the stud?”

Alicia went through the
motions and peered over her shoulder; she knew exactly who he was
referring to. “That would be Brad Morgan.”

He let out a whoop that
diverted attention again. “Oh, honey, you’re going to suffer for
that. I can’t wait to see what the press make of him – he looks
like he belongs in front of the camera not behind it.”

“
What… the
diva surrounding herself with pretty people?”

His responding chuckle
was at least more subtle. “Can’t argue with that, can we,
guys?”

Alicia spotted Stuart and
Josh coming out of the production office. “It looks like it’s about
that time.”

She threw a wave in
Josh’s direction, watching as he gave Stuart a hearty pat on the
back. To his credit, Stuart took it in his stride. He hurried over,
looking more centred than he had earlier. “Thanks for your patience
this morning,” he said, addressing the whole group.

“
That’s okay.
We’re used to Ali’s tantrums.” Carl jumped to one side when she
moved towards him.

“
Cut it out,
you two, and let’s get down to business.”

Although Stuart aimed for
a stern expression, she caught the smile he tried to fight
back.

“
Okay, then,
why don’t you talk us through it.”

Stuart obliged, launching
into his ideas for the scene. Alicia loved to watch his creative
mind come to life. It really was something to see. Before long, she
heard the AD ask the crew to lock it up and got herself into
position. She was focused now, and ready to work.

Chapter
6

"CUT!"

Alicia let out a breath,
following it through with a deep-bellied chuckle. “You can get off
me now, CJ.”

They had been wrestling,
in character, for the better part of an hour. The choreographed
scene was harder than she thought. Suddenly, she was grateful for
the new equipment in the gym.

Carl’s facial expression,
what she liked to call his goofy look, got her every time. He tried
to catch her out between takes, mostly to relieve the boredom - to
liven things up a little. It wasn’t easy with cameras catching your
every move.

“
I nearly had
you there. Well done for holding it in.” He jumped up in one
graceful move, landing with his feet at either side of
her.

“
Take five,
everyone,” the AD said to a chorus of relieved sighs.

She took the hand CJ
offered and pulled herself up. “One of these days your face will
stay like that. Then what’re you going to do?”

“
What, like
this?” he stretched his features into a comedic grin. It was a good
thing he hadn’t tried it with cameras rolling.

“
Cut it out,
you clown. I’m going to grab a drink before the next roll.” She
smiled at him over her shoulder. “Don’t try to cover the fact you
fluffed a line or two with that funny face of yours.”

She didn’t have to
imagine the face he was now pulling – she’d seen them all. But it
made her laugh as she walked away to a chorus of… ‘It’s stuck,’
‘Somebody help me, I can’t move my face.’