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

name. So yes, if we’re going to work together, then don’t be rude .” The tone was businesslike, with a slight emphasis on the final three words.
    Heat swirled through her belly. Her chest tightened. No one talked to her this way. No one.
    “Can you believe this guy?” She turned toward Ari. Remi still stood beside the sliders. A small smile decorated his face.
    She waited. What? No one? Not even Ari, her agent, was going to say anything to Beck? Tell him that he was rude and employed by her? That he needed to check his attitude at the door? Her gaze flicked from Beck to Ari. Ari stood very still in the middle of the room and dropped his gaze. She glanced back to Beck. There was nothing smug or satisfied in his expression. If anything . . . was that sympathy in his eyes? Shoot her now. Sympathy was waaaaay worse than a smirk.
    Remi broke the silence. “I need to know where all the outdoor cameras are located. I don’t think this system is comprehensive.”
    Ari turned away from Natalie and toward Remi. “But they were just here. Said this system was the best, state of the art.”
    “They lied.”
    The conversation went on as though she wasn’t in the room, as though she wasn’t completely pissed at how Beck spoke to her, as though she hadn’t said no to having a bodyguard.
    Fire flashed through her body. Just like when she was a kid. She was a nonentity, take that back, she was a commodity , without opinions and feelings.
    Her eyes heated. Scared. Hungover. Ignored. Fuck it. She was too tired for all this. She wasn’t winning this battle now.
    The conversation went on around her as though Natalie were an object to be secured and protected. Just like childhood and adolescence . . . just like her parents and then Rico. To all the people in her home right now, just like all the other people in her life before, she was simply dollar signs and digits. A product that provided what seemed like a never-ending stream of dollar bills to those who worked for her.
    Enough. A throbbing pain pounded in her head and the desire to argue fizzled as Remi and Ari turned away, but not Beck. His attention remained fixed on her. She rose from the chair and walked toward the stairs. A bone-deep fatigue spread through her limbs. Sleep. She wanted sleep. Could she sleep forever and never wake up? Maybe sleep until she was dead.
    “Ari?”
    He turned to her.
    “I don’t want this.” Her voice just above a whisper the fight drained from her as the adrenaline oozed away.
    “I know, doll, but you do want to work and we all want your safety.”
    She glanced at the cameras dotting the corners. “In every room?
    “Not your bathroom or your bedroom.”
    She took a long deep breath. The alternative was way worse. She couldn’t imagine her life without her work. Who was she without her films? Work provided structure, provided her with value, with self-worth. What else did she have? One friend, one agent, no family, but loads of work.
    “Can we . . . where did they find these guys?” Defeat laced her voice.
    “We work with Estrella Leone.” Remi’s voice was soft.
    Natalie’s jaw dropped. “ The Estrella Leone?”
    “The one and only.”
    “But I thought she was dea—”
    “She isn’t.” Remi’s gaze conveyed something deep, something important, something that Natalie didn’t want to question. “Her agency, Greystone, works with the studios or for individuals for whom Estrella has concern.”
    Natalie wasn’t sure which group she fell into, but she had a sense based on Remi’s gaze that maybe she fit both categories.
    A shiver chased up Natalie’s spine. The stories . . . what had happened to Estrella was a warning to anyone with a public career. If the stories about Estrella were true, then she would have concerns for Natalie, because Estella would have concerns for any young star where a stalker was concerned.
     
    ***
    Beck welcomed darkness. The night was a cloak of anonymity that provided him with a freedom the