One Wild Night (Hollywood Chronicles #1)(21)

“Ten-four.” I end the call and smile to myself. That was one of Kendall's more epic meltdowns. I cannot wait to see what she says when she sees Kaylee's butt in the seat next to mine. I actually laugh out loud and brace myself all at the same time.





Chapter 11





Kaylee





“One…two…three…go!”

Paxton gripped my hand even tighter as he darted out my front door. I clamored down the steps behind him, praying the lock on my townhouse actually caught because we weren’t taking the time to make sure.

He made a beeline for a car parked across the lot. My huge suitcase he wheeled behind him with the opposite hand barely slowed us down.

I’m sure we made quite the sight.

What, with our heads down and our feet pounding across the pavement as if we were making a break for it.

We were.

And it was all caught on tape.

Of course, it was because the vultures had gone nowhere. They’d only gathered. As if they’d smelled blood and were circling overhead, just waiting for the right moment to dive in and take a good bite.

Oh wait, that was actually a helicopter.

Voices shouted, a slew of them vying to be the one to grab our attention. To get that one picture that would completely make their day.

As if this wasn’t enough.

Lights flashed.

Click. Click. Click.

Paxton Myles!

Paxton!

Mr. Myles, can you confirm your relationship with Kaylee Rose Burton?

Kaylee…over here…is it true you’re starring with Paxton in his next film that begins filming next month?

Were they serious right now? That alone was almost enough to make me stop and set things straight, but Paxton had given me strict instructions before we’d made our getaway.

Don’t look up.

Don’t answer.

RUN.

Paxton pressed a button on his key fob, and the trunk to a black car with even darker windows bounced open. He tossed in my suitcase and shut it just as fast. He moved even faster when he ran me around to the passenger side and hurried me in.

I’d barely blinked by the time he was sliding into the front seat and slamming shut his door. Frantic, he pressed a button to click the locks.

The sound of them engaging had us both breathing a sigh of relief, but adrenaline was still pounding through my veins.

Over the console, he looked across at me, his ridiculously handsome face cut in concern. Silence washed over us, his hands kneading on the leather of the steering wheel.

Our eyes met. Intense. Relieved. Searching for an answer for what in the hell we thought we were doing.

Then we both busted out laughing.

“Well, then,” he said as he started the car, threw it in reverse, and backed out. He barely slowed as the paparazzi scattered, cameras pressing close to the windows to try to capture a blurry image.

“So, I’m totally getting the smoked-out windows now.”

He chuckled, shifting into drive, the vantage definitely giving the scavengers the shot they were aiming for. “It’s kind of a requirement for my line of work.”

I seriously didn’t know how any person could tolerate this kind of life. It was bad enough when I attended parties with Elle, the intrusiveness of the lenses. But even Elle was able to go back to her daily life without worrying someone was capturing something private.

I couldn’t imagine dealing with this every single day.

Tires squealed when he hit the street, and he accelerated quickly, the whine of the engine loud as he gunned it, shifting gears faster than I could make sense of it Clearly, he’d mastered the whole escape artist thing because he was weaving in and out of traffic, leaving no chance we’d been followed.

I sat back in the seat, finally allowing myself to take in my surroundings. My fingertips traced over the red stitching on the red and black leather, all the luxury and flash. “This car is ridiculous.”

Those brown eyes brimmed with mischief when he glanced my way. “What…you don’t like my Maserati? We can stop back at the house and grab a different car if it’s not to your liking.”

“Of course, we can,” I mumbled under my breath.

He laughed. “You are a hard woman to please, Kaylee Rose. Here I was, being nothing but a considerate gentleman when I picked the one car in my garage I thought maybe was as pretty as you.”

I swatted at his shoulder. “Oh, the charmer as always, Mr. Myles, rushing over to the castle of the damsel in distress to rescue her from certain demise.”

A grin split his face. “At your service, ma’am.”

I swatted him again. “You’re not allowed to do that.”

“Do what,” he defended innocently, but there was absolutely nothing innocent about what was playing out in his eyes.

“Oh, don’t do what me, mister. You know exactly what I’m talking about.” I waved an overindulgent hand his way. “The accent…the face…the smile. Don’t act like you don’t use them to your benefit.”

He shrugged, grinned as he changed lanes again and accelerated as he took to the freeway. “What? A smart man uses any resources he has in his arsenal.”

A pout pulled at my mouth. “Which is completely unfair if your opponent has absolutely nothing to stand up against them.”