Heartthrob by Suzanne Brockmann

chill in his eyes—“my only interesting experience with that scene also included a young woman named Carla. The combination of you and me and Carla was … memorable.”
    Her flush deepened, but she stood her ground. “How lovely for you. I’m so glad I was able to give you the help you needed.”
    Ouch. That comment had teeth. While it didn’t quite even things up, she had certainly scored a point.
    She turned toward the door, her demeanor much cooler than when she’d come in. “I’ve got a desk piled high with paperwork. I’ll just introduce you to your supervisor before I leave. I’m sure you’re looking forward to getting acquainted with Bob Hollander.”
    “Gee, I sure am,” Jed said. “As I was flying out here from L.A., I was just sitting on the plane, thinking, wow, Iam really looking forward to a total lack of privacy over the next two and a half months.”
    Kate pushed open the screen door, and a mountain came into the trailer.
    The man was seriously a giant. He had to twist his body sideways to fit his shoulders in through the door. He stood only about an inch or two above Jed’s own six feet four, but he was built like something that had escaped from Jurassic Park.
    He was not going to win any beauty contests, either, with a mouth that was set in a permanent scowl and small eyes that were surrounded by folds of flesh. His hair was military short and flecked with gray.
    But just because he looked like a humorless, completely non-compassionate, tough-as-nails son of a bitch didn’t mean he actually was one.
    “Hey,” Jed drawled, holding out his hand and giving the man Jericho’s best “let’s be buddies” smile. “Bob. How’s it hanging, man? Nice to meet ya.”
    Hollander crossed his arms, making sure Jed knew he had no intention of shaking hands. “Here’s how it works,” he said in a gravelly voice that spoke of too many packs of cigarettes. “We’re not gonna be friends, Mr. Beaumont. I’m not going to sit around and be a sounding board for your overinflated ego. What I
am
going to be is your shadow. What I
am
going to do is watch your every move, at all times. Everywhere you go, I go. Including into the bathroom.”
    Dear, sweet Lord, this was worse than his wildest imaginings.
    “You better call me Jericho,” he told Hollander, praying that he’d see a flicker of humor in the big man’s eyes. “Because have you seen that bathroom? If we’re going to be in there together, we might as well be on a first name basis. In fact, we might have to start calling each other ‘honey.’ ”
    Nothing. No humor, no amusement, nothing. This guy wasn’t just soulless, he was an automaton. There was, quite possibly, no humanity in him at all. Or at least none he cared to show.
    There was a rap on the door, and a friendly-faced man stuck his head in the trailer. “Miz O’Laughlin? Annie said you might be over here.”
    “Nate, come on in.”
    “Ethan’s here, too.” He pulled back the screen all the way and came into the trailer, followed by another man. They were both wearing security guard uniforms.
    “Nate and Ethan will be responsible for conducting the searches in your trailers,” Kate told Jericho.
    Nate leaned forward to shake his hand. “How d’ya do?”
    Ethan just waved. “Howdy.” The two men looked as if they might be brothers. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I loved you in
Die Hard.
”
    Nate elbowed Ethan. “That wasn’t Jericho Beaumont in
Die Hard.
Jericho did the
Kill Zone
movies.”
    “That’s right. I loved you in
Kill Zone.
”
    “Thanks,” Jericho said.
    “Well, we just stopped in to say howdy,” Nate told him. “We better get back to it.” They trooped back outside.
    To follow them out, Kate was going to have to squeeze past the mountain. “If you’ll excuse me. I know you and Bob have some business to take care of.”
    “Wait!” It came out sounding a little too panicked, and Jed took a deep breath and forced a smile. “Before you go,