The Last Time Read online

  Chapter Four

  Seth was required to go with them to their trailer. Once inside, his face lit up with amusement.

  “I’ll be able to see right in here from my trailer windows and you will get the same view of mine. Maybe there’ll be no need for any panic buttons.”

  Jake glanced at him but continued checking out the trailer. Having satisfied himself, he turned back to Bethany.

  “I’ll walk down to the car park and bring the car up. Seth, you can wait for me here.”

  Seth sat down on the long bench seat in the living area of the trailer. He looked across at Bethany who was checking out the contents of the kitchenette cupboards.

  She is rather slight to be my bodyguard. Seth watched her, deciding she was graceful and pretty. He liked the blue of her eyes and long chestnut colored hair. It looked as if it was supposed to be up in a twisted style, held in place by two large tortoiseshell hair combs, but it had escaped down her back. Seth wanted to help her.

  “I can make coffee or something if you’d like to lie down. These seats are much more comfortable than they look. In fact, the whole trailer is, once you get used to being in a smallish space. I can see you’re sick.”

  Bethany turned from inspecting the amount of supplies in the fridge and larder cupboard. She smiled at him. A smile much different from the one or two professional smiles she had given him in the canteen marquee. It lit her up and Seth was happy he somehow prompted this response.

  “That’s so kind of you. I am sick, but I expect to be better tomorrow. I won’t lie down, but I will sit. I’m surprised there is so much stuff in here.” She appeared touched by his offer and gave him a grateful look.

  Seth stood up and started on coffee right away.

  Bethany sat down and watched him—elegant, but masculine, strong looking and very attractive, but casual. She imagined what he might look like with no shirt on and what it might be like to run her hands over his body, his stomach, touch the velvet head of his erection, and kiss him. Bethany liked men—a lot. It was a source of complete despair for her that she had no one in her life. She hadn’t for so long that she watched romance movies just to see kisses she missed.

  When Seth turned around, her gaze went directly to his crotch. His jeans were low on his hips and quite loose. Even so, she could tell he was blessed in that department and raised her eyes to his.

  As their eyes met, Seth recognized she had assessed him favorably and, to his surprise, felt a stir in his crotch. A little jolt went through him and he blinked, turning from her. He was becoming hard enough to show if she stared again at him.

  He had the coffee cup in his hand and bent to put it on the built-in coffee table where Bethany sat.

  “Thanks.”

  As Bethany thanked him, to Seth’s relief, Jake arrived.

  Seth liked her attention, but it was obvious she and Jake were an item by the way Jake showed concern for her. Seth wondered about that. Considering the way she had looked at his body, she must not be the faithful type and so she wouldn’t be his type. He sighed and looked at Jake, greeting him as he came through the door.

  “Hi. Is everything okay?” he asked Jake.

  Jake nodded. He noticed Bethany, sipping her coffee as she sat on the soft bench seat with her legs curled up under her. She rested her head slightly on the high cushion back. He turned his attention back to Seth, smiling.

  “Let’s get you to the gym then.”

  Chapter Five

  Bethany watched her brother leave with Seth and put her cup down on the little table. She took off her boots and jacket before she wandered through the trailer to the bedrooms. There were two. Although they were compact, the beds looked comfortable. A wardrobe ran the length of each bedroom along the separating wall. They must serve to soundproof the rooms somewhat as they were back to back.

  Bethany was surprised to find that each had an en suite bathroom, complete with a cubicle shower. She smiled to herself when she opened a cupboard and found piles of clean linen, quilts, and pillows. It was easy to throw a clean sheet down on the mattress and follow it up with a crisp, cotton-covered pillow and quilt. She sighed as she pulled off her jeans and sweater and then crawled in, in her underwear.

  Bethany closed her eyes and thought of Seth. She was sure she saw a spark of interest in his gorgeous, green eyes as he looked at her. She decided it was okay that she had the guard dog role and her brother took the research and backup role this time. She fell asleep thinking about Seth.

  It was night when she woke up and saw a glimmer of light coming under the door of her bedroom. Jake must be back.

  She got up and pulled on her jeans and sweater, thinking how much better she felt. She was relieved that, after the night’s sleep she would get, she might actually feel better.

  Jake sat at the pop-up table, reading on his laptop. He looked around as he heard Bethany’s door slide open.

  “I’m starving. What time is it? Have you eaten?” Bethany asked in a rush.

  She padded over to where her boots were neatly stowed under the hanging rail space, situated in an alcove by the door of the trailer. She pulled them on.

  Jake grinned and answered, “It’s midnight. You look better. I’ll heat you a bowl of soup.”

  He stood and walked the short distance to the larder cupboard.

  “Chicken, tomato, or minestrone? There are rolls and a lemon glazed doughnut I got for you from the refreshment marquee, if you want those. Feed a cold and starve a fever. I reckon you need feeding now.”

  Bethany grinned. “Thanks. I don’t often get this kind of treatment. You must have been worried about me. I’ll take chicken soup, thanks. How did it go with Seth? Have you fitted his trailer with the cameras and sorted him out with panic buttons?”

  He took the can from the larder cupboard, opened it, and poured the soup into a little Teflon pan he found in another cupboard. Jake stirred the soup and turned from his stirring to give Bethany a grin.

  “You are better then. Yes, the webcams are installed at the back and front of his trailer. There’s one aimed at his trailer from ours. He has five panic buttons and I loaded all the cell phone numbers he might need onto his phone. You know what though, I have a funny feeling about this job. I read the files again, now Alice has them all on the office. She scanned the letters and emailed everything to us this afternoon. I’ve emailed the IP address of the webcams so you can watch his trailer from your laptop as you work.”

  Jake poured the soup into a large, white dish. Bethany took a roll from the packet on the small work surface next to the sink and sat down on a stool.

  “Thanks. What do you mean about having a funny feeling about the job?” She dunked a piece of bread roll into the chicken soup and popped it into her mouth.

  “It’s just a hunch. I don’t think the threat is real. There’s just no pattern to them. Random bullshit, really and nothing has ever happened—not the paint on the sports car threat, not the posting naked photos on the web threat. Nothing was carried out.

  “The letters sent to the others are even weirder. One female cast member was told her purse would be stolen and that was the only letter she ever received. It’s bizarre how only Seth and that makeup artist get the letters.

  “What do you make of Sara Smythe? She gets this really scathing tone when she talks about Seth. Yet when I was with him today, I swear he’s a nice guy—nothing like the description she gave of him when Brandt questioned her for background information.”

  Bethany spooned soup into her mouth and swallowed. She sighed and then answered.

  “I agree she’s very down on him. Maybe she has a thing for him and he’s ignored her. The letters have escalated in severity of intent now, haven’t they? The last two to Seth clearly said his life was under threat. Dianne had the same wording, which I think is odd. I wonder if there is any link with Seth and Dianne?”

  Bethany picked up the lemon-glazed doughnut and pulled it apart. She offered half to Jake. He took it and nodded.


  “All the same, the threats don’t feel real to me. Just to fill you in on the latest instructions—we aren’t listening in on his phone calls because of who he is. Brandt also doesn’t want us looking, even remotely like bodyguards. We will activate the computer night watch program and monitor his trailer so we don’t have to prowl about at night.

  “Speaking of trailers, they’re not bad are they? Very comfortable and I’d say better than the closest hotel, which is miles away. That’s too far for a commute to be on the set at five a.m.”

  He ate the doughnut and got up to make tea.

  Bethany considered what Jake said. She thought about Sara Smythe. Sara might be contemptuous of Seth but she was competent and thorough in her job. All the same, Jake did have very good instincts so maybe he was right about this.

  “I wonder if it’s an inside job and not a fan or a cast-off lover. Perhaps someone on site? A jealous colleague trying to put Seth Carbery off his game might be closer to the mark.”

  Jake nodded, handing Bethany a cup of tea.

  “Yeah, maybe.”

  They fell silent for a moment. Then Bethany got up and went to her luggage. She took her laptop from its case and booted it up. She checked her emails and downloaded the files Alice sent from the agency.

  Jake quietly drank his tea. When finished, he got up and put the dishes into the small dishwasher.

  “I’m going to bed,” he told Bethany. “The iPad video links are set up to watch Seth’s trailer. Take one to bed with you but I expect nothing will happen. He’s got a panic alarm in every part of his trailer. Go get a good night’s sleep.

  “Incidentally, no one outside of the producers and Sara Smythe, since she’s management, is supposed to know who we really are. If you think that has changed, let me know immediately.”

  Bethany looked up and nodded. She knew a change in that status would mean their theory that it could be an inside job was more likely. Her suspicion would fall on the rather bitter Sara.

  She rechecked all her email, took a shower, and then went to bed.

  As Bethany closed her eyes, she thought about Seth again. He would be just a few yards away, asleep in his bed. She pictured his green eyes.

  Chapter Six

  Seth was awake and reading his script. He didn’t sleep well at all and that had gotten worse recently. He read his lines repeatedly. It wasn’t that he didn’t know them. He wanted to test different ways of saying them. He still didn’t fully understand his character’s motivation for some scenes in the movie and was fast concluding that he didn’t like the character.

  So much for being more like him, Seth thought and grinned at himself.

  He put the document down on his bed and shuffled down on his pillow. His head was in line with his window and he could see the trailer where Jake and Bethany were. He wondered if they were curled up together. He sighed, thinking he would like to be with someone like that—just curled up. It might help him sleep.

  Closing his eyes, he tried to picture it, but instead he saw Bethany’s blue eyes as they rested on him earlier that day. Desire spiked inside him again. He got out of bed and padded to the kitchenette. He made a cup of coffee, and smiled to himself. It would likely keep him awake even longer than usual.

  Seth took his coffee to the door of his trailer and, after opening the door, stood there on the lowest step looking up at the starry night. It was cool and clear. He sipped his coffee calmly.

  In the trailer nearby, Bethany got a beep on her iPad. It woke her with a start. She opened her eyes to see a picture on the screen of Seth in the doorway of his trailer. She jumped out of bed and grabbed her leather jacket, pushing her arms into the sleeves as she dashed through the trailer and out the door. She had a Ruger semi-automatic pistol, which just fit in the palm of her hand, concealed in her leather jacket pocket. It was her point and shoot weapon for situations such as these when she didn’t know what she might be up against.

  She crossed the way to Seth’s trailer door in seconds and stood in front of the shocked man.

  “What’s wrong?” She looked around for assailants.

  Seth had a look of incredulity on his face and his coffee slightly spilled down his T-shirt.

  “Nothing’s wrong. I sometimes do this. I don’t sleep much and the night air soothes me.” He frowned then and shook his head, looking down at his gray T-shirt which sported a line of coffee drips.

  Bethany stood still and stared at him, her fast heartbeat slowing.

  “Thank heavens. I thought something was happening to you.”

  Seth was still amazed at what actually happened but he looked at her closely. She was dressed in her underwear with a leather jacket over the top. Her feet were bare and her hair was down her back and falling over her face too. She looked good enough to eat. He sighed.

  “Come in. You’re sick and there’s dew on the grass.”

  He turned and walked into his trailer. Bethany followed him. He closed the door behind her as she stood there inside the threshold.

  She was dressed in low-rise, cotton boy-shorts, a crop top, and a leather jacket that came down to her hips. She released her hold on the Ruger and casually took her hand from the pocket.

  Seth’s breath quickened when he saw her fully in the light of his trailer. The leather jacket falling unzipped gave him an enticing view. Her little shorts showed off her pretty thighs and stomach and her crop top gave him a full view of her shapely ribs and waist. He closed his eyes when he realized her nipples were erect from the cold night air.

  Bethany saw this and put a hand on his arm. She asked levelly, “Are you okay? Did this give you a scare? Maybe you thought I was an assailant.”

  A shock of desire at the touch of her hand on his arm went all the way to his stomach. He opened his eyes.

  “I’m fine. I saw you hurtle out of your trailer door so I knew it wasn’t someone attacking me. Do you want coffee?” He put his coffee cup down on the table. As she took her hand from his arm, he stripped off his T-shirt.

  “I spilled my coffee,” he explained for the sudden removal of his T-shirt. He had it bunched in his hand and turned. He tossed it through the gap between them, into a tall wicker basket standing in the space under his hanging rail by the door.

  Bethany watched it arc into the basket below a couple of Seth’s jackets hanging there. She turned back and answered, “I’d love tea if you have it.”

  Her eyes darkened with desire as she looked at him shirtless. Seth saw it as he turned to her.

  Seth felt another spike of sexual need in his lower stomach. He moved away from her as an erection began. He took a deep breath, trying to control it as he flipped the switch on the electric kettle for hot water.

  “I reckon I have tea bags somewhere,” he said softly. He moved packets around in the larder cupboard until he found the small box.

  Bethany got herself a cup out of his crockery cupboard. “What about you? What do you want?” she asked him.

  “What do you mean?” Seth asked, because right then he wanted her.

  His thoughts were about taking the leather jacket off her and stroking her nipples into peaks so that he could suck them. He thought about how low on her hips those little shorts were. He knew from the look in her eyes how easy it would be to reach in and push his fingers into her moist welcome.

  It might be a long time since I’ve seen that look from a girl but I know what it means…he was lonely too.

  “Do you want tea?” She faced him now with the cup in her hand.

  He took it from her, his fingers touching hers. They both fell into the spell of attraction and looked into each other’s eyes.

  Seth was desperate. He had a nearly full erection and turned abruptly from her.

  “No, no tea. Look Bethany, how is it that you run out here in the middle of the night and your, your…” he searched for words, “your partner is nowhere to be seen? Jake told me he was on duty tonight since you were sick.”

  “I’m much better. H
e must have slept through the alarm, which is unusual.” She raised her eyebrows slightly. “He didn’t expect trouble and said he gave you panic buttons in every part of your trailer. Why? Would you have liked my brother to come running rather than me?”

  Seth heard the word ‘brother’. It made such an impact on him that he sat down in relief. Jake was her brother. He was surprised and elated. It changed his expression of slight worry and his tone of voice.

  “Well, no. Actually, you’ll do fine. I was just worried that you were sick. What alarm? How did you know I opened my trailer door?” Seth questioned as he gave Bethany the cup of tea.

  She took the tea bag out of the water and placed it on the saucer. Then, she put the cup back down on the table and looked up into his eyes.

  “We have webcams up and the program we use can be set to watch nighttime activity,” she said softly.

  Seth’s eyes darkened at her and his gaze was dreamy.

  “You’re kidding. What if a cat walked by?” He moved slightly closer to her as they stood by the table.

  “Oh, the heat signature wouldn’t register enough to set the alarm off,” she answered, leaning slightly towards him.

  Seth looked a little amused. “So, I can’t go anywhere at night without you bursting out of your trailer? You do know I work far into the night sometimes?”

  He was very close to her now.

  “We wouldn’t have that part of the program set at those times. I can explain everything to you some other time. Right now, it’s very late and you have to be on set tomorrow. I’d better go.”

  Seth didn’t want her to go. He was desperate to kiss her. He looked into her blue eyes and then at her lovely mouth and creamy skin with its sprinkle of freckles. He reached out a hand and gently held her face. He watched her face for signs of rejection. There was only welcome.

  “It’s already tomorrow,” he said and kissed her.

  Chapter Seven

  Bethany put her arms up around his neck and pressed closely along his body. Seth kissed her softly, gently holding her face. His fingers reached her ear, sending little waves of sensation down her neck. Bethany opened her mouth a little, inviting his tongue with the tip of her own. She moved her arms to hold him around the hips and pull him to hers. He had an erection—hard and enticing—against her.