Hollywood Flirt - Alexa Aston Page 0,84
might ruin things between them.
“They did. I found Brenda trying to ditch them and forced her to tell me what was going on.”
Sydney’s temper flared at her friend’s betrayal. She had trusted Brenda to keep her secrets.
Dash wrapped her cold hands in his. “Brenda loves you like a sister, Sydney. She wants to protect you.”
“We all do,” Rhett added, giving her a sympathetic look. “Would you mind if we bring someone in to talk to you about the situation?”
She shrugged in defeat. “You all know so you might as well.”
Ken spoke up. “Melanie and I don’t know anything that’s gone on, Sydney. I do know this business attracts a lot of crazies. You do what you have to do to protect yourself.”
Her eyes welled with tears. “This was before I returned to Hollywood. It’s about my ex-husband. He’s one of the biggest reasons I came back to California. I wanted to escape.”
Melanie stroked Sydney’s arm. “Rhett’s right. We all want to support you. Tell Ken and me to stay or go. Your call.”
Sydney’s teeth sank into her bottom lip. “Stay.” Relief had begun to flood through her now that everything was coming out. She’d lived in fear the last several months, along with the stress of her dad’s heart attack and the pressure from trying to direct her first film. Looking at the concerned faces surrounding her, she knew she didn’t have to go it alone anymore.
Rhett took out his phone and sent a quick text. Two minutes later, a stranger in his late forties entered the room. He was six feet in height and looked to be chiseled from stone. His steel gray hair was cut short. Dark eyes took in everything in the room in an instant.
“This is Bruce Kimball. He’s the head of the security team that’s been shadowing you today.”
She hadn’t imagined the car following her earlier.
Bruce extended his hand. “Nice to meet you in person, Sydney. Could you tell me a little about Mr. Marshall? I only have a few sketchy details from Dash.”
Sydney briefly reviewed her relationship with Wake—how they met, their marriage, and his cheating that caused her to file for divorce. She explained her move to Boston and then the off-the-cuff decision to return to California several months ago.
“Did Mr. Marshall ever follow you, either in New York or Boston?” asked Bruce.
“Not that I know of. A few times I got a feeling that someone was watching me. It spooked me but I never saw anyone. I haven’t felt that way since I’ve returned to LA.”
She detailed how she’d gotten rid of her cell phone on the plane and gone to court to have her last name revert back to Revere.
“I never shared any of my past with Wake. He had no idea I’d been married before or that I’d changed my name. All he knew was law student Sydney Brown.” Then she explained about finding the small device in Brenda’s carry-on bag after the first floral bouquet arrived in the spring on her former wedding anniversary date.
“We’ll send someone from our team to Brenda’s apartment tomorrow to examine it. What I want to do now is go over some ground rules with you, okay?” Bruce gave her an encouraging nod.
“Okay.”
“We’re keeping tabs on you at a distance. If Mr. Marshall should approach you at any time, stop in your tracks and respond to him only once. In a loud, firm voice tell him to stop following you or contacting you. If he doesn’t, say you’ll call the police. Then turn and walk away. Do not engage him in further conversation. By then, we should be there to take care of things.”
“Got it.”
“Have you received a large number of calls or texts from him recently?”
“No. I did get some over the last year and a half, before I got rid of my cell.”
“Good,” Bruce said. “Did he use any off-color language or threaten you in any manner in them?”
“His language could be pretty bad but Wake never exactly threatened me. Why?”
“That’s a sign of escalation on the part of a stalker. If he does send you anything from this point on—I’m talking a text, email, letter, direct message on Twitter, or even if he leaves you a voice mail—don’t delete anything. Documentation is important.”
Sydney said, “I’m not on Twitter or Facebook. Wake shouldn’t have my number at all. Like I said, he doesn’t even know my real name. Brenda and I think he believes I must live where Dash does since no