HOT SET: Playing with Fidelity (A romantic suspense novel) (23 page)

Her body responded to the vivid images, as though
Rhys were actually performing the acts right there. She closed her eyes and let the arousal feed her body and she shivered, turned on by the thoughts alone.

Kate
rotated on her heel slowly and moved to stand at his legs, staring down into his uplifted eyes that glinted green even in the half-light. He was wearing his hair loose and it brushed his shoulders and against his jaw, catching slightly on his side burns she’d now become used to. His black t-shirt was stretched across his muscled chest and flat stomach, sitting above loose, canvas-coloured shorts that ended at his wide knees and strong calves bristling with dark leg hair. She could feel and smell his potent masculinity; his body heat radiating through her pants even though they weren’t touching.

Staring into his handsome face, h
er heart sped up, her legs turned to jelly and her lips opened in anticipation.

He reached out and took her hand
, holding her fingers for a moment, his skin rough against her own. He gently lifted her hand and was carrying it to his lips. Her mouth parted just as he was a fraction from her skin, his hot breath teasing the fine hairs on the back of her hand. His lips would be firm and hot, she predicted and Kate exhaled.

Then
, she straightened her posture and removed her hand.

“
Good night, Rhys.”

He watched her
walk calmly across the camp, baffled.

What just happened? And w
hy did he feel he just failed a test?

For four weeks, Megan and Amelia checked and rechecked their lists and followed-up leads
. They had to be careful as they didn’t want Bill to know they were searching, so it took much longer. Even with the offer of money, they found nothing in Bill’s business or personal life that was suspicious.

At the end of the fourth week, Amelia and Megan met
again at Treasure Diner.

Megan spoke around her crunchy herb bread,
“It’s almost too clean, if you get what I mean.”

“
Suspiciously so?”

“
Exactly.”

“
Surely there must be something?” Amelia said. “The guy’s the sleaziest pile of crap in L.A.” She paused to chew on her pen. “He preys on minors. Could a PI follow him and get photos of him?”

“
It’d work, but that poor girl.”

“
It might be the only way.”

Megan suddenly sat up
straight; her eyes flashed, looking like she’d just hit gold. For a second she looked nothing like the timid mouse from that first day.

“
I wonder… I wonder if…” Megan slapped her forehead, “oh God! Why didn’t I think of it sooner? I’m such an idiot!”

“
What?”

“
The guy goes after minors, right?”

“
Yeah.”

“
Maybe there’s something in that.”

“
Like?”

“
Am still thinking here…but I know someone who can help us. You see, I have this cousin…”

They left the restaurant an hour later after a meal of lasagne and Caesar salad that had Amelia wanting to curl up and sleep. They made their way across the road to where Megan had parked her car. There were a dozen parked along the curb, including several beat-up Pontiacs and a Beetle. Expecting Megan to head for one of those, Amelia was astonished when she sided up to a dark blue, low-riding Chevvy and pushed in a key. While not a car person, she nevertheless recognised quality machinery when she saw it.

She climbed into the passenger side.

“Great car.”

“
Yep, she’s my baby.”

“
What is it?”

Megan turned on the key and the big engine roared to life then
dropped to idle smoothly.

“
A 1967 Chev Camaro SS. One of the first released. She’s had a few mods, of course, but most of the body, interior and much of the machinery is in original condition. The first engine was only a 6-cylinder 350-cid and pretty gutless, so I put in a later model 400 cid V8, widened the exhaust and upgraded the carburettor, plus a few other mods and now she can do the quarter mile in 12 seconds.”

Amelia blinked
. “Right – straight over my head. I had you down as a VW girl.”

Megan smiled cheekily
. “Most people do. That’s why I like it.” Animation flashed across Megan’s face and she became almost… Amelia tried to put her finger on it… almost – pretty.

Megan accelerated expertly into the traffic.

Twenty minutes later, Megan pulled up outside a typical suburban, two storey home, the same as all the others on the typical suburban street, lit roughly by regularly-spaced street lights.

“
So this is your cousin’s house?”

They got out of the car and started walking up the footpath.

“Technically, but I think of it as my aunt’s. My cousin is that stereotypical geek that lives his life through the internet. He makes a fortune on some online virtual world by running some part of it, or something. He’s also hired by PIs occasionally to get data on their subjects. My Aunt reckons he’s got close to a quarter of a mil saved up but is happy living in the roof. She’s tried to get him to move out for years but he’s refused because she looks after him too well. Then one day after he’d had enough of her nagging him, he went to the bank and paid out her mortgage and now puts money in her bank account each week. Now she has no say.”

Megan pressed the door
bell. A moment later, a non-descript women in her 50s opened the door wearing a pair of light blue pedal pushers, small house slippers and a button-up shirt. She smiled when she saw Megan.

“
Hi Megs. Don’t you look lovely? Have you done something with your hair?”

“
Hey Aunt Beth. This is Amelia.”

Aunt Beth turned to Amelia and blinked for a couple of seconds before her eyes popped out.

“Amelia… Oh Amelia…”

“
Rhein?” Amelia finished for her and held out her hand which was grabbed tightly and squeezed.

“
Yes! Amelia Rhein! Oh my, oh my, I’m so pleased to meet you! Megs, Megs, you never told us you had a famous friend!”

Amelia was flattered
.

“
Come in, come in!”

Megan spoke up,
“we’re here to see Danny.”

“
Oh, him. Well you know where to find him.” Aunt Beth bustled around them. “I’ll take you up there. It’s not often I get to escort someone famous around my humble home.”

And humble it was
. They were standing at the side of a small lounge room that looked to be untouched since the 1950s, complete with three plastic covered couches, a TV tray-table, low coffee table containing a neat pile of magazines and walls smothered in old family photos in equally old frames. It was sparklingly tidy.

Aunt Beth kept up a steady stream of chatter as she led the two of them up the hall to a carpeted set of stairs
. At the top was a chintz wallpapered corridor with several doors leading off it. Aunt Beth opened a side door to even more stairs and clomped up them.

Amelia had all sorts of preconceptions about what she was about to see but it certainly wasn’t what greeted her at the top.

The stairs opened into a large open attic room with enormous windows at both ends, one which overlooked a small park, now dark and lit intermittently by lights. At the street end, in front of the other mirror, was an unmade queen sized bed with a rumpled Flash coverlet. In the middle was an enormous, yet ordered, three-sided desk containing three computer screens, several PCs, keyboards and cables. At the other end of the room were metal shelves of carefully presented action figurines and comics.

Da
nny Carlyle was staring into a screen at the big desk, oversized glasses on a skinny head and neck. Amelia has expected to see a stereotypical, pallid and overweight man and was amazed to see a small, thin character wearing pressed clothing. Amelia could see the resemblance with Megan and which side of the family the diminutive stature came from.

“
… and he sits in here all day chatting with who knows who. It’d be nice if he’d come down occasionally to see us.”

“
Ma, I’ve told you I can’t be interrupted during the work day. I have a shop to run.”

“
Danny, honey, it’s night time. Besides, Megan is here with a friend.”

“
That’s nice but I’ll need you to leave.”

Megan spoke
. “Hey Crankypants, I’d like to meet…”

“
Amelia Rhein!” Danny interrupted and jumped up from the desk, rushing over and taking Amelia’s hand in his small, moist one. “Born 1988 in Chicago to Sam and Karen Rhein. Has 12 movies under her belt, currently dating Rhys Bradford….” Amelia extracted her hand and stepped back.

“
Leave it, Danny. Stop scaring Amelia.”

Amelia spoke,
“How’d you know that?”

“
I know everything about celebrities.” Danny looked proud and practically strutted back to his desk. “Please, please take a seat.” He pointed to his bed.

“
I’ll leave you kids to it. Amelia, would you like a drink or something to eat? We’ve already had dinner but…”

“
No, thank you Aunt Beth, I’m fine.”

“
Okay, dear, but you know where to find me!” Aunt Beth clattered down the stairs with a click of slippers. Megan and Amelia sat on the untidy bed.

“
So, Megs. What can I do for you then?”

Megan spoke
. “We need your expertise.”

“
Well,” he started, leaning back in his big chair, “I am an expert in most things.” He gave a nerdish leer at Amelia who had to choke back a giggle.

“
Down boy. Bill Gaffod…”

“
Owns Luminous Pictures, worth around $5 mil, wife Mary, three children Jacinta, John and Maggie. Has…”

“
Okay. Please, no more,” begged Megan.

“
We want to bring him down,” Amelia broke in.

“
Him? Why?”

“
It’s personal,” she said darkly. Danny knew not to argue.

“
Okay then, what do you have and how much is it worth to me?”

Megan started,
“I’d hoped as your cousin...”

“
Doesn’t matter Megs, business is business.”

“
Ten thousand,” snapped off Amelia.

Danny’s eyes opened behind his glasses
. “I was going to suggest a lot less than that, but hey, it’s your money.”

“
I want ten thousand dollars’ worth. Internet history, credit card bills, financial history...”

“
That’s illegal.”

“
Twenty thousand.”

“
Not that illegal.”

Danny swivelled back to into position.

“I just need to close my online store,” and he typed in several commands, a few mouse clicks and turned to another monitor before bringing up a page of illegible code and typed away and clicking furiously. Megan leant across to Amelia and whispered, “you’ve put a lot of faith in him. That’s a lot of money.”

“
It’s worth every cent.” She paused, “…he can do it, right?”

“
I hope so!”

They sat and chatted for ten minutes while Danny thumped away, hunched over a keyboard and staring slightly slack-jawed at a screen that reflected in his glasses and
skinny face in a true zombie-style. Finally he sat back and steepled his fingers under his chin, trying to look all-knowing.

“
William John Gaffod, otherwise known as Bill, was born in 1965 in Smithfield, Illinois. To cut through years of boring life, he started his production company 13-years ago and is now one of the more successful executives. Have done a quick scan but it will take a bit longer to get the details. Give me 48-hours.”

“
Will do,” said Amelia, standing up.

“
Be back here Sunday night, same time.”

“
Yes, Crankypants.” Megan grinned at her cousin.

They went down the stairs and called out to Aunt Beth they were leaving
. They heard a giggle from the lounge room and found five women chatting like mad. They all gave a squeal and leapt to their feet when Amelia walked passed and rushed over to her. She took an involuntary step back and shielded herself before almost being knocked over by one over-friendly matron.

“
Oh, I’m so glad to meet you! I’ve always had a connection with you and your movies. It’s such an honour. You’re more beautiful in person, of course!”

Amelia tried her best to get away and just as she untangled her fingers from the first matron, another grabbed her hands
.

Aunt Beth yelled at Amelia over the furore
. “I just had to tell them! They’ve never met a celebrity before and they’re all such fans.”

It took half an hour to extricate herself from them and after signatures, photos and some made-up gossip about
Rhys, she backed scared down the front stairs with the six of them following and Megan trying to bodyguard her. Aunt Beth walked them to the car.

“
Megan, darling, you are looking quite well at the moment. Are you sure you haven’t changed your hair?”

“
No, Aunt Beth.”

“
Well, it must be Amelia’s good influence then,” and she grinned at Amelia who raised a quizzical eyebrow back.

“
You girls have fun and be sure to come back soon!”

Megan started,
“we’ll be back-”

“
When we can,” finished Amelia and climbed into the car. She wasn’t about to give advanced notice or Aunt Beth would have the entire street in her house on Sunday night.

As instructed, 48-hours later, Amelia and Megan met at the front of the house and went inside. Aunt Beth nearly expired at having Amelia in the house twice in one weekend and Megan made her promise to not invite people over this time. Aunt Beth was disappointed.