She gritted her teeth, still glaring at the smug dog she was positive was laughing at her.
“I’m fine. He didn’t break the skin.” Thank God. Her hands would be predominantly on display in the upcoming commercials, as would the rest of her body. She didn’t need any blemishes or cuts.
Still, one of the assistants rushed over with a first-aid kit and clucked and fussed over Eden until he was satisfied that the spot was only red and would likely fade within a few hours.
She listened as he rattled off a ton of instructions for how to treat it, moisturize it and care for it so her skin was perfect for the upcoming shoot. She tuned it all out and glanced to where David and Micah waited in the wings.
They recognized it for the SOS it was and pushed forward, flanking her and herding her toward the exit.
“Thank God that’s done,” Eden muttered.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Micah drawled. “You looked kind of cute with the little hairless rats.”
She shot him a dirty look that guaranteed payback.
The two men her father had insisted oversee her personal security and travel with her everywhere she went situated her between them as they left the studio. They were nearly to the waiting car, the driver having been alerted by David that they were coming out, when the world seemed to explode around them.
Screams sounded shrilly in Eden’s ears as she went down hard, a two-hundred-pound man on top of her. There were hoarse shouts, more screams and the sound of scrambling people on the sidewalk. More glass shattering, windows of the building being broken out.
A car roared up, a barrier between Eden and whatever the hell was doing the . . . shooting? She dimly registered that it sounded like bullets smacking into concrete and glass, and she was certainly acquainted with what bullets sounded like.
Then she found herself hauled up and thrown into the backseat of the car and then Micah’s hoarse shout of “Go, go, go!”
The car screeched, tires burning rubber on asphalt as they careened away from the scene.
“What the hell’s going on?” Eden gasped.
Her body felt bruised and she dimly wondered if she would be scraped and bloody for the Aria shoot. They wouldn’t be happy with any delays. They were on an extremely tight production schedule and were cramming two weeks’ worth of filming into just a few days.
“Shooter,” David said grimly.
“But why?” Eden asked in bafflement. “That’s crazy! You mean some random sniper just started shooting at people on the sidewalk?”
“If it was random,” Micah bit out.
She turned wide eyes on him. “This wasn’t personal.”
But it sounded more like a question than the statement she intended it to be.
“I’ll make some calls when we get to the hotel,” David said. “The cops are going to want to talk to you regardless. They’ll make noises about you leaving the scene, but they can hardly blame you for staying safe. But they’ll want to question you since we’re all eyewitnesses to a crime.”
“But I didn’t witness anything,” Eden said. “Oh God, I have to call my dad. If this hits the news he’ll freak!”
“It doesn’t matter what you saw. The police will still want to question you,” Micah said, his tone soothing.
They rolled up to the hotel and Micah all but dragged Eden out, placing her firmly between him and David. He wrapped his heavy coat around her despite the warmth of the day, shielding her from view, though the sight they likely presented would be a huge tip-off to any lurking paparazzi.
At the front desk, Micah spoke in hushed tones with the clerk and then was presented with several key cards. Eden stared at him in confusion as he herded her onto the elevator and hit the button for a floor that wasn’t the one she was currently staying on.
“We don’t know what the hell is going on, but I’m not taking you back to your hotel room until it’s cleared,” Micah said. “For now, you’ll stay in a different one on a different floor until this is all sorted out.”
She allowed herself to be led into the large suite, identical to the one she had occupied the last several nights, and then plopped into one of the armchairs, her hands shaking so badly she couldn’t control it.
Then, remembering she had to call her father, she picked up the phone. Across the room, David was already on the phone, explaining the situation to the police and that Eden was safely inside the hotel. She purposely waited for David to finish his call, wanting to be able to give her father as much reassurance as possible.
When he finally hung up, he turned, his expression tight. “They’re sending two detectives here now. They were very certain to say you weren’t to go anywhere in the meantime. And Eden, it’s likely they’ll detain you further while they sort out this whole thing. The press is going to be all over this.”
She made an ugh sound and then stared down at the phone. With a sigh, she punched in her dad’s number, knowing he was going to have a heart attack when she told him she’d been shot at, whether randomly or as the intended target. Either option wouldn’t be acceptable to Eddie Sinclair.
CHAPTER 3
EDDIE stared at his two sons, unease gripping him by the balls. He was sweating. Even his hands were damp. His legendary cool under pressure had flat deserted him.
Ryker and Raid were staring at him expectantly, their expressions grim and worried. Raid had come from work, his shoulder harness still on, gun holstered. Ryker’s hair was still damp from a shower and it was obvious he’d thrown on the first thing he’d come across in his haste to answer Eddie’s summons.
“What’s going on, Dad?” Raid asked in a low voice.
Eddie wiped his palm down over his face. “It’s a long story. One I need to tell you from beginning to end so you understand what we’re dealing with.”
Ryker frowned and glanced over at his brother. No doubt they weren’t used to seeing their father in such a state of agitation. Eddie had never been anything but assured and confident.
“Sit,” Eddie commanded, gesturing toward the couch.
His two sons did as he directed and then looked expectantly at him, but he didn’t take a seat. He was too jittery, too gutted by what he had to tell his boys. How could he ever look any of his children in the eyes again once they knew the truth?
“You’re worrying me, Dad,” Ryker said in a grim tone.
Eddie closed his eyes and then ran a hand raggedly through his hair.
“Your mother’s death wasn’t an accident,” he said.