Beck: Hollywood Hitman by Maggie Marr Read Free Book Online Page A

choice.” Ari set a hand on the marble kitchen island.
    “Bullshit. I always have a choice.” What was it about afternoon hangovers that made the pain particularly acute?
    “Not this time.” Ari’s usual “hey-I-got-this-covered” smile was replaced by a thin-lipped grimace. “The studio is requiring a bodyguard. With the threats and the break-ins, you need your own personal security. Otherwise they can’t get the Shemax sequel bonded, which means they can’t go into production. If you say no to that guy”—Ari nodded toward the action-hero blond who now stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows and surveyed the view and the hills beyond—“they recast Shemax .”
    Natalie’s heart stutter-stepped and heat rolled through her belly.
    “ Recast ?”
    Shemax was her breakout role and her biggest moneymaker. Action films were huge and leading roles for women didn’t come often. She wasn’t about to give up this earner.
    “I am Shemax.”
    “Yes you are, and if you want to remain the one and only woman to play that kick-ass character, then you’ll agree to that guy.”
    “Why is now the first I’m hearing about this?”
    “Because we just closed the deal and that guy, the cross between Gerard Butler and Chris Hemsworth, was the sticking point in the negotiation. I knew you wouldn’t go for a bodyguard, but when they threatened to pull you and recast because of the financial risk to the studio, what else could I do?” Ari lifted his palms toward the ceiling and shrugged.
    Ari was a solid agent. He schmoozed, he found good scripts, he managed her career, and if he said her accepting a bodyguard was a deal-breaker for Worldwide Studios , then it was. Damn. She slid her head down onto her arm. The cool marble surface pressed against her cheek. She closed her eyes.
    Make it all go away. The threatening letters, the late-night phone calls with hang-ups, the black sedan, the break-ins . . . Rico . . . her parents. If only she could cut the bad parts from her life like an editor cut a film.
    “If you want the part,” Ari said. “He comes with it.”
    “ He has a name.”
    Stealth. Damn, he’d been on the other side of the room and now Blondie and Remi both stood beside Ari.
    “Oh yeah?” Natalie rolled her head so that she peered up at his shocking blue eyes. They were brighter than the sky peeking in the window.
    Remi tapped Ari on the shoulder and pointed at the large sliders on the back side of the house. They wandered away with words such as “closed circuit,” “team,” and “motion detector” coming out of their mouths.
    “What is that name?” Hangovers didn’t prevent her from running her mouth. Nope. If she was stuck with this guy as her shadow, she wanted to know if he was a complete dick or someone who could hang. Fastest way to discover that answer was to find his buttons and push .
    “Beck. Beck Tatum.”
    “Any relation?”
    Uncertainty flickered in Beck’s eyes, and his head tilted.
    “To Channing?” Natalie asked, her voice conveying that she thought he was as bright as a burned-out bulb. Had he lived under a rock for the last decade? Guess brains didn’t go with brawn.
    “Not to my knowledge.”
    “Not to my knowledge,” Natalie mimicked, her voice deep and her eyes wide. How much could she poke at him before that tough-guy exterior broke? Hmm . . . could be interesting to find out.
    “Don’t be rude.”
    Across the room, Ari’s chattering stopped. Natalie’s head popped up from her arm. “Excuse me?”
    “I said”—the muscle in his jaw tightened—“Don’t. Be. Rude.”
    She squinted. Wait, had she heard him—
    “Natalie.” Ari was already crossing the room his arms outstretched in full-on agent mode. “I’m sure Beck—”
    Natalie held up her hand and stopped Ari in his tracks. “Did you just tell me not to be rude?”
    His face was stone but his eyes conveyed more than words. “I’m here to protect you. I saved your life and that was before you knew my