Jasper nodded. “Max said you have some concerns, Ms. Moore. I wanted to personally assure you no one, not myself, not Cole, and certainly not Max, would ever violate the confidentiality of a client. It’s not who we are as a firm or as individuals.”
She hoped to God that was true.
“You’ll meet Cole when we get back to your apartment. Jasper won’t be at the apartment tonight. He was supposed to be off for the next two weeks, and he needs to go break the news to his girlfriend.”
Shay frowned. She didn’t want to ruin someone’s vacation. Time with the person you loved was precious. Her marriage might have failed, but she still believed in love and the fabled happily ever after.
“I’m sorry if this has caused you any trouble.”
Jasper shook his head. “No, ma’am. Sloane will understand. She’s a fan, and she’d have my head if something happens to you because I wasn’t there.”
“You should bring her by the set for…”
Max and Jasper were both shaking their heads.
“What?”
“It’s against our policy,” Jasper explained. “Sloane understands that.”
That seemed a little much, but she wasn’t going to argue the point. Maybe once they caught the stalker, she could offer again. She loved meeting fans as much as she did acting. If her performance could inspire emotions in people, then she became inspired herself.
“Did you drive this morning?” Max pushed off the trailer.
She shook her head. “A car service brought me.”
“You can ride with me, then. It’s not what you’re used to, but it’s less likely your stalker will be expecting you in a truck.”
“I grew up on a farm in Virginia. I’m used to beat-up old trucks.”
Jasper snickered at the look Max tossed her, but she ignored him and went into her trailer to gather her things. Max seemed to be making assumptions about her. Maybe he was used to dealing with assholes when it came to actors, but he’d learn real quick she wasn’t the typical stereotype he seemed determined to stick her into.
Well, she’d just have to change his mind. Not all actors were assholes. Despite her own bad experience, she firmly believed that. She just had to prove it to Max as well.
It only took her a minute to collect her things and rejoin the men outside. Max stood by himself, staring off into the distance.
“Where did Mr. Watkins go?”
“He’ll be following us back to your apartment before he heads home.” Max gestured for them to start walking. “I have to warn you, your apartment is a mess.”
“I know. I was the one who reported the break-in.”
A mess didn’t even begin to describe her place. Furniture had been turned over, papers everywhere, broken dishes, broken glass, even her fish tank had been turned over. She felt so bad for the fish that had died a horrible death.
“Our forensic team went over everything as well. We found several fingerprints the police missed. Viktor wants a list of everyone who has access to your apartment so he can start matching prints.”
“There’s only the building supervisor and whoever he lets in for maintenance purposes.”
“You don’t have a housekeeper?”
She shook her head. “I don’t need someone to clean my own house.”
His eyebrows shot up, but they were through the gate and heading toward a nearly empty parking lot. Most of the crew parked to the side, and only the corporate and visitor parking was in the front.
“Did you get a pass and parking permit from the security office?”
“Yes, Jasper and I both did earlier.” He pulled his keys out of his pocket and hit the key fob. His truck wasn’t old or even beat-up. It was a new model black Chevy Silverado. Dirty, but well taken care of.
“I thought you said it was an old beat-up truck?” She quirked a brow when he opened the door for her.
“No, I said it wasn’t what you were used to. You were the one who assumed it was old and beat-up.”
She climbed in and buckled her seatbelt. The inside was comfortable, or at least as comfy as a truck could be. They weren’t made for luxury, really. She learned that real quick driving around in old S10 pickup doing chores on her daddy’s farm.
Max glanced over at her as he slid into the driver’s seat. She studied the inside of his truck like it was a piece of jewelry she was considering buying. He’d cleaned it out yesterday when he got back from his last assignment. The floorboards had been littered with more than a few fast food bags. When you were on the road as much as he was, eating healthy wasn’t easy. Burgers and fries became a road staple.
She looked completely out of place in his big-ass truck. She was a limousine kind of woman, not a country girl who was more at home in a truck or on a tractor. Despite her saying she grew up on a farm, she didn’t belong on that farm anymore.
“Did you find anything aside from fingerprints the police missed?”
“I’m not sure. Kade was handling that. I’ll call him later. If he did find physical evidence they missed, he’s required to report it to the police.”
“Your forensic team couldn’t deal with it?”
“If it’s something that can be used to arrest him, the police need to know right away. Chain of evidence and all that. We do our best to make sure they can’t get off on a technicality.”
“Seems like it would be a chain of evidence technicality if they missed something you found. Any good attorney would have it thrown out.”
“Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”
“I play a police officer on TV. I talk to the people who consult to make sure we’re accurate.”
“Are they ex-police?”
“I’m not sure, but I don’t think so.”
“Then they’re not accurate. Talk to Cole of some of our other guys if you really want to know about police procedure.”
“I might take you up on that.”
He glanced over at her and found her staring out the window as he drove. She looked tired. He hated he was bringing her back to an apartment that was going to require hours of cleaning.
“Do you want to stay at a hotel until a service can come in and clean your place? We’d need to vet the service and whoever they sent, but it might be easier than sleeping in a mess.”
“I never use a cleaning service. My mama taught me to clean up after myself.”
A smile tilted his lips at her surly response.
“Normally, I’d shrug it off, but between the break-in and the police, your home is a real mess.”
“And your guys.”
“We don’t make messes. They even righted some of the furniture as they worked. It’s Kade’s first rule when it comes to the forensic team—you don’t leave an environment worse than when you came into it.”
“That’s probably not saying much for mine, then.”
“No, it’s pretty awful.”
“I don’t have scenes to film tomorrow, so I’ll get it straightened.”
“Do you have days off a lot?”
“No.” She shook her head. “It’s a rare week for me. They were concentrating on the wedding and a new storyline they’re setting up for another cast member. I’m only on screen three days this week. Usually I’m on set Monday through Friday every week. We work weekends when it gets close to the holidays so we can take a few days off. Soaps never get the same downtime normal TV shows do who only have to film a season, not new content for every single week of the year.”