He ignored the way Sam’s eyebrows flew up at that and watched as Loreli turned the shirt right side out.

  “She was wearing this when she came in this morning,” Loreli confirmed. “I’m sorry. I should have been looking closer. But after reading the note, I just thought she’d gone.”

  From where he was standing, Chris saw that one of the lockers was hanging halfway open. Swinging the door wide, he saw a pair of shoes. He didn’t recognize them, but he didn’t know of any other women who used this trailer regularly.

  “And these?” he asked, showing them to Loreli. She just nodded. Her expression tightened with worry.

  “So, wherever she is, she left her shirt and shoes behind. Does that sound like she went willingly to the rest of you? Sam, call the police. And let’s get everyone moving. We have to find her.

  To his surprise, Alan was the first to move. He took off with a determined stride that surprised Chris. In fact, as desperate as he felt to get moving, this made him pause. Without stopping to second-guess his instincts, he followed him. He barely caught sight of Alan as he rounded a corner. Slow down, Chris. Don’t let him guess you’re on his tail.

  The trailer lot became a hub of activity as the alarm went out. Everyone was looking for Veronica. Chris used the growing rush of crew members to stay behind Alan as he walked across to the trailer behind the one they’d come from. He opened the door and went inside.

  Chris’s heartbeat raced and every muscle in his body strained, on guard, ready to act.

  The trailer made perfect sense as a place to hide her. It was tucked away in the back, likely just used as storage, and he wouldn’t have had to move her far.

  As he wove his way around people to follow Alan, every word the man had said at the hotel ran through his head. The way he’d tried to convince Sam and Rob to recast her part. The way he’d argued for Kim, but naturally. It hadn’t even raised his suspicions, and he was more sensitive about Veronica than anyone else.

  He paused outside the door. What if Alan had a gun? He might shoot her if he felt threatened. As much as he wanted to rush inside, he forced himself to stop, to think. He couldn’t put Veronica at risk by acting rashly. Because she was okay. She had to be.

  Moving to the end of the trailer, he hid out of view from the doorway and listened. The time passed with terrible slowness, growing into minutes. And then, he heard the door open and shut again, followed by heavy footsteps pounding down the ladder.

  “Find anything, Alan?” someone asked from a distance.

  “No, this one’s clear. She’s not in here.”

  The smooth bastard, Chris thought, wanting to tear his head off right then. No, there would be time for that later.

  Alan walked off, and as soon as he disappeared between two trailers down the row, Chris was moving at full speed. He yanked open the door and ran up the steps two at a time.

  Inside, he was met by darkness. Very little of the early morning light made its way into the trailer, since every window was blocked by racks of clothes. He felt for a light switch, but when he tried to flip it on, nothing happened. Maybe it wasn’t hooked up, since this trailer was just for storage.

  “Veronica?” he called.

  No answer. He walked the length of the trailer, listening for any sound, searching for any sign of her. But there was nothing. “Veronica, are you here?”

  When he reached the end and hadn’t found her, he began to panic. Maybe he’d been wrong and had wasted valuable time when he might have been looking somewhere else. But then, with his ears straining in the silence, he heard something rustle. It was so faint that he thought his mind was playing tricks on him. Then it came again. If he hadn’t been holding still, he wouldn’t have been able to hear it.

  Crouching down, he pushed aside the row of shirts on the bottom rack and caught sight of white in the shadows behind. Desperate to get to her, he knocked the rack aside, overturning it. When he could finally see her, she looked impossibly small, curled up in a corner with her knees up to her chest. She had a gag in her mouth, tied so tightly that it pressed into her cheeks. Her cheeks were wet with tears and a trickle of dried blood streaked down her pale forehead. Ropes cut into her wrists, tying them together in front of her knees then ran down her legs to tie around her feet.

  She was hurt and frightened. Gently. He knelt beside her and held her face in his hands. “It’s me. Chris. Can you see my face?”

  There was a moment’s hesitation, but then she nodded. She seemed to relax a little then so he reached behind her and worked her gag free. As soon as it was clear of her mouth, she moved her lips back and forth to ease the pain. He couldn’t imagine the discomfort she must have been in.

  “Is he coming back?” she asked, her voice no more than a rough whisper.

  “No.” Though Chris wouldn’t mind at all if he did. Then he’d have some way to expend all the murderous rage that threatened to choke him. “Sweetheart, I don’t have anything to cut these ropes with and the knots are too tight. I have to look around.”

  She nodded, so he stood up and began digging around. He had to step over the rack he’d overturned and climb over the piles of clothing that had landed on the floor. Back towards the doorway, he found a table with a sewing machine on it. Along with pins and measuring tapes, he finally found a small pair of scissors. With those in hand, he moved back to Veronica. The blades were very sharp but so short that he could only cut a few strands at a time. First, he cut the rope between her hands and feet so that she could relax her posture. She groaned as she lowered her legs.

  “Oh, that’s better,” she whispered, leaning her head back against the wall. He got to work releasing her hands and then her feet. He could do nothing for the raw, red welts the rope had left on her skin. He winced as she rubbed the tender spots.

  “I need to get you out of here—get someone to look at your head. Do you think I can move you? I don’t want to hurt you more.”

  “Yes, please. Help me get up. And get me out of here before he comes back.”

  Chris clenched his teeth at the storm of anger that surged in him anew at the panic in her voice. He bent forward and lifted her, cradling her in his arms. “Can you put your arms around my neck? It will be more comfortable for you.”

  She didn’t answer, just put her arms around him and dropped her head on his shoulder. Her curls tickled his jaw, and her warm breath brushed against his neck. She was okay—hurt, but okay. And he had her in his arms. He’d never been more grateful for anything in his life.

  “Chris, I have to tell you something.”

  There were so many questions he wanted to ask her. He wanted to know every detail of what Alan had to pay for, so he was relieved she wanted to talk about it. “What is it?”

  “I love you.”

  His breath rushed out in one big, surprised breath. He gasped more oxygen in and just asked, “What?”

  “I was going to tell you this morning, but I didn’t have a chance. And then I was afraid I wouldn’t get the chance at all. So, I wanted you to know. I love you.”

  His throat tightened with emotion at her words—sweeter, more angelic words than had ever been spoken to him. All because they came from her.

  “You have no idea how glad I am to hear that, Curly Top. Now, let’s get you taken care of so I can show you how I feel about that without hurting you.”

  ***

  As quickly as he could manage, he moved across to the set, heading straight for the first-aid room inside the studio. “Call an ambulance,” he said to the first person he passed. “And get Sam here.”

  Sitting Veronica down on the examination table, he eased her back so that she was lying down. “Turn your head and let me see it.”

  She obliged. “I have a bad headache, and my scalp kind of stings.”

  He bit back the words that flew to his tongue when he saw the swollen gash just above her hairline. He didn’t want to frighten her. “Well, it’s not too bad. Do you remember being hit?”

  “No. I just remember something hurt. But I was so drowsy. I couldn’t keep my eyes open, and my head was swimming.”

  Alan must have drugged her somehow. Clenching his jaw, Chris bent and hugged her gently to him. At that moment, the door opened and Sam ran inside.

  “The police are on their way,” she said. “Who was it?”

  “Alan,” Chris said, his voice a million times more calm than he felt.

  Sam dropped into a chair. “No.”

  “I found her by following him to one of the wardrobe trailers.”

  “Yes,” Veronica said. She was laying with her hands over her eyes, as if the lights were too bright. “He came and talked nice to me and took me somewhere else.”

  “He drugged her,” Chris told Sam, trying to fill in what he knew.

  “Must have been the coffee,” Veronica added, her lips barely moving enough to be understood.”

  Sam shook her head. “He’s in the studio right now, directing the search efforts.”

  “The man has balls,” Chris says. “The police aren’t here yet, right?”

  “No.”

  “Okay. Take care of her for me for a minute.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  But Chris didn’t stop to answer. It was probably better that he didn’t anyway. It only took him a minute to find Alan, with tablet in hand, directing the crew. Directing them away from the wardrobe trailer, Chris thought. But even as his brain whirled, his feet were moving. Within seconds, he had Alan by the collar. Swinging him around, Chris wrapped his fingers around the man’s skinny throat.

  “Why did you do it.”

  “You’re crazy.”

  “Tell me. Now’s your chance to tell the truth before it gets a lot worse for you than it already did.”

  Alan stared back at him, his eyeballs shifting and his fingers clawing at Chris’s hand. Finally, he managed to squeak out. “Kim. It was her. She paid me to do it. The plans, the notes, all of it was her.”

  That was all Chris needed to know. “Thanks. You just saved your own miserable life.” Then, letting the man go, Chris swung his fist back and buried it in Alan’s stomach. Alan lurched forward, making an awful retching sound. Unsatisfied as yet, considering everything he’d put Veronica through, he pushed the man upright and slugged him in the jaw. Alan froze as if turned to stone, and when Chris let go of him, the guy fell to the floor. Training with MMA fighters had taught Chris exactly how to get a knockout.

  About that time, he heard a commotion and stepped back. The police had arrived. One of the officers came up to him and shook his hand. “Thanks for detaining him for us.”

  “My pleasure,” Chris said, watching with satisfaction as the officials took over. Now he just needed to make sure Kim never messed with Veronica again.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Veronica looked across the clearing at Chris, who was crouched down in the ferns in the middle of a dense forest. Then, marking the time in her head, she looked up to the sky, up through the green, sun-dappled leaves. She braced herself for impact and then, when it came, allowed herself to fall back easily onto the soft ground. Chris landed on top of her and hid her with his body, his broad shoulders blocking out the sun.

  “Cut,” Sam called. “And that’s a wrap, folks.”

  A cheer went up around them, a celebration so much more poignant and appreciated after their hard-fought effort to finish filming Portent. Jubilant with excitement and relief, she reached up and urged Chris’s face down for a kiss. She didn’t care who saw them. The whole crew and every camera in the area could catch them at it, but she didn’t care.

  She felt him smiling beneath her kiss and started laughing. “Hey, I’m trying to kiss you here.”

  “Oh, believe me, I didn’t miss the fact. But in case you didn’t notice, we’re not exactly alone right now.”

  “Hey, stop kissing my girlfriend,” Keith called from somewhere behind them.

  “See?” He raised his head. “Shut up, Keith.”

  There was laughter all around, since the crew now knew the whole story of her fake relationship with Keith, though she never did determine how that happened. But she was too happy to care about such things right then. “I don’t care who sees us. I’m just so excited that we actually pulled this off. We did it!”

  Chris let out a strange whoop and jumped to his feet. He pulled her along with him and then tugged her into his arms. He kissed her again, his lips moving over hers, tugging at them with little nips and then moving to the corner of her mouth and down to her neck.

  “Mmm, you smell like dirt and crushed leaves.”

  She chuckled. “And you smell like sweat.”

  He pulled back and grinned at her. “It’s blasted hot out here, and I’ve been running all over this forest while your stunt double has been doing all the hard work for you.”

  Veronica pressed her lips together. “It’s not my fault I’ve been recovering from a concussion.

  Chris’s arms tightened around her, and his voice grew serious. “No, it’s not.” His expression tightened with anger, and his brows lowered threateningly, just as it did every time the subject came up.

  The fact that he’d found Alan before the police had and given him a thorough thrashing for what he’d done to her hadn’t seemed to assuage his anger. Alan’s court case was coming up soon, and with her testimony, his conviction was a sure thing. Kim’s case was taking longer because she was going through court-ordered rehab.

  While Alan had proven to be devious and resourceful, he wasn’t a loyal ally. During the police’s interrogation, he had quickly shared how he’d come to be in Kim’s employment and given them every detail of her plan. Apparently, she’d just wanted to scare Veronica off at first, but after the night at the restaurant and the resulting bad press, Kim’s plans had taken an even darker route. Whether Kim’s schemes had been driven more by her determination to get Veronica’s part in the movie or because of her jealousy over Chris, Veronica would never know. But for now, she wouldn’t have to worry about it. The scandal might be rocking the entertainment world, but right here, in these serene woods with a crew that had come together like family to finish this film, all of that felt a million miles away.

  “I think Sam wants to talk to us,” she said at last, nodding her head toward the director.

  Chris took her hand in his, and together, they walked over behind the camera.

  “That was a great shot,” Sam said. “I just wanted to check that you didn’t get hurt, Veronica.”

  She shook her head. “Chris managed to knock me over and pin me perfectly. I barely even felt it.”

  “Good,” Sam said. “I can’t believe you two talked me into letting you shoot that.”

  Veronica shrugged. “It was the last shot of the film. We had to do it together.”

  Sam nodded. “Agreed. And hopefully, in editing I’ll be able to make it look like you guys don’t like each other much yet, because no matter what I say to Chris, he won’t stop looking at you like a moonstruck baby.”

  Chris laughed, completely unabashed. “Give me a break, Sam. It wasn’t that bad.”

  “It was. If I’d known you guys were going to fall so hard for each other, I would have filmed this thing from beginning to end so you didn’t look in love with her the whole movie. Luckily for all of us, I’m a genius in the editing room.”

  “And so modest too,” Chris teased her.

  “Who are you to talk, Captain Wonderful?” Veronica asked. “I’m surprised you didn’t try to take your shirt off in this scene.”

  Chris grinned and led her deeper into the trees to get away from the crew who were scrambling to coil up the miles of cords and stow away mics and cameras. “Hey, I have to show this body off before we go on our carb binge this weekend. I’ve got everything mapped out.”

  “Pancakes?” she asked.

  “Definitely. And pizza. And pasta. And cheesecake. And french fries.”

  “Chris,” Veronica said, coming to a dead halt. “Do you think there are any cookies left from lunch? We can have one now.”

  “I don’t know, but...”

  “I’m going to find out.”

  But Chris caught her hand and pulled her back. “Just a minute. I, uh, wanted to show you something first.”

  Veronica raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to explain. But he didn’t. Instead, he just led her further into the trees. The sun shone around them in scattered columns through the canopy of leaves overhead. Birds chirped, and every step sent up the sounds of snapping twigs and rustle of leaves.

  “I love filming on location instead of in the studio,” Veronica said, savoring the natural beauty all around them. “I wouldn’t mind if I never had to step foot in one again.”

  “Yeah. I wish you didn’t have to. But you’ve already got your next film lined up, don’t you?”

  She nodded and gripped his hand more tightly. “Yeah, Deb wants me to sign contracts Monday morning. And yes, it will be a lot of studio work.” She looked up at him then, smiling. “But we’ll have a few months before either of us is working again.”

  Chris nodded. “I was thinking about that.”

  The trees opened up then, and the view spread before them. They were on top of a rocky cliff at the top of a mountain with a green valley stretching out in front of them to the edge of the next mountain. For a moment, Veronica just stopped to appreciate the view. “Is this what you wanted to show me?”

  “No. This is.”

  She turned back to look at him and saw something small between his thumb and forefinger. It glinted in the sunlight, so bright that it was a moment before she could even make out what it was.

  “Will you marry me, Curly Top? I swear I’ll never let you down.”

  Shocked beyond words, she reached out and took the ring. As she did so, she felt a tremor in his hands and realized he was way more nervous than he let on. The depth of his feelings had never ceased to amaze her from the night she first learned of them till today. He knew all her fears and worries, but the sincerity in his eyes banished them all.

  “Nothing would make me happier.”

  His eyes widened, and then his smile that had won him a million fans stole her heart all over again. He took the ring from her and put it on her. His fingers were still dirty from his day shooting in the woods, but the diamond shone as brightly as their hope and their love.