Page 9 of Intoxicating Pursuit
An Unexpected Guest
THE STALKER
C laudia’s spine stiffened when the woman stepped out of the Liberty Grand’s front entrance.
Is that her? Finally? Claudia’s parking spot didn’t afford the best viewing angle, but the woman looked about right.
Cheap white blouse. Long red hair. Is that Charlie walking behind her?
The beefy man jogged toward a waiting SUV and opened the back door.
Yup, that had to be Charlie—which meant she was surely the tramp who’d been sitting with Gabe.
The redhead climbed into the SUV, toting a purse and some kind of glittering gift bag. Had Gabe given her a present? Seriously? Who the hell was she, and why would he be fooling around with someone so. . . ordinary?
Charlie’s car slowly pulled away from the curb, and Claudia eased hers onto the dark pavement of the city street behind him. She glanced in the rearview mirror to see if the paparazzi had seen her pull out, but no one followed her. The idiots were too distracted by their smoke break.
City lights colored the night, and aside from the noise of the other cars and the occasional outburst from someone wandering the streets, downtown Philadelphia was relatively quiet.
Claudia hung back a car or two as Charlie’s SUV made its way through the city blocks.
Where were they going? Was she staying at a different hotel?
Charlie didn’t stop in the city at all, though, and instead pulled onto the highway. Claudia kept following. What the hell?
After several miles, the car pulled off the freeway and began winding its way up a four-lane road crammed between a narrow creek and a steep wooded hill.
Claudia gripped the steering wheel tightly and trailed Charlie’s car on the curving road until the woods finally faded and a neighborhood emerged.
Seriously? The suburbs? Was she a local?
Ridiculous!
Claudia followed at a short distance all the way to a little side street, where Charlie pulled up to a two-story stone house.
The woman waved to him as she got out, then walked up the darkened driveway and ascended the steps to the front porch.
She searched through her purse by the glow of the porch lights, finally granting Claudia a clear view of her.
She wasn’t all that pretty—long legs, maybe, but small breasts. She looked fit, but not Hollywood fit. Not even close. Her fair-skinned face didn’t seem remarkable, either. Kind of plain, frankly.
Claudia glanced in the rearview mirror. Her glossy blond hair fell elegantly past the high planes of her cheekbones.
She admired her own full lips; dark, steeply arched eyebrows; and perfectly sun-kissed skin.
Her wide-set eyes sparkled like blue topaz.
Everything looked flawless. She knew she was flawless!
How could he even be interested in this other woman?
It was so obvious how this was supposed to go.
Why was he so dense? He was practically a dinosaur.
His fans were getting gray hair, their bodies growing soft with age.
She could help him be relevant again—could attract a whole new generation of listeners.
He could so easily return the favor. He had connections in the entertainment industry she couldn’t begin to imagine.
Plus, they could collaborate, feature each other in hit songs and promotions.
Her latest singles would drop in two months. Publicity started sooner. She couldn’t let this get away from her.
Annoyed and disgusted, Claudia texted herself the address. She had thought filming in Philadelphia would be a miserable drag, but it just might prove worthwhile if it let her sort this bitch out.