Page 12 of The Perfect Illusion (Jessie Hunt #39)
Rebecca Martinez could barely keep her eyes open.
If she was in her own house, she’d be in bed already.
But instead she was staring at herself in the bathroom mirror with a decidedly lost expression.
Because of the remodel on their Bel Air home twenty minutes north, they’d been living in this rental for a week and would be stuck here for another three.
That meant that she was constantly tracking down her stuff.
Her exfoliant wasn’t in the drawer she was used to. She had misplaced her hand cream. Even her water bottle had gone missing until she found it on her dresser instead of the bedside table.
Rebecca tried to let her frustration go. It wouldn’t help with sleep. Besides, other than the organizational hassles, this place was quite nice. Cheviot Hills wasn’t as fancy as Bel Air, but it was still a great neighborhood and for a month, this cookie cutter mansion would do just fine.
Admittedly, she didn't love that it lacked the security of Bel Air. This wasn't a gated community, and there was no guardhouse. There were no roving patrols. And this house didn't have the ten foot high security fencing that their regular place did.
She wasn’t as concerned about her own welfare as she was for her husband’s.
Kai Cody was an outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels.
And while, at 39, he was no longer the star player he had been a decade ago, his name still had status in this town, which sometimes meant they got unwanted visitors at the house.
Between the neighborhood’s security staff and the fence, no one had ever got inside, but it was still a concern.
At one point in her life, Rebecca also had to deal with a few alarmingly intense fans, but not in a number of years. She was 26 now, a full five years removed from when she’d won Miss San Diego and competed in the Miss California Pageant.
Since then, she’d met Kai and got married, which made working a luxury rather than a necessity. She still did some modeling, mostly for catalogues and the occasional local TV ad. But that was mostly just to keep busy.
Between her lower profile of late, Kai’s reduced role on the team, and the fact that almost no one even knew they were staying here right now, she felt pretty safe. Still, since Kai was out of town on a team road trip, she resolved not to take any chances.
Before she crashed for the night, she planned to go around to all the doors and windows to make sure they were closed and locked, assuming she could remember all of them. She would also turn on the alarm, that is if she could find the booklet with the security code.
Sometime soon after that, she expected a call from Kai. They always shared one last goodnight call when he was on the road, and tonight would be no exception. His last text indicated that he expected to call before 10. That was a half hour from now. She could make it that long.
But for now, she just needed to wash the day off her face. She ran her finger under the water and, determining that it was warm enough, grabbed her facial cleansing bar, ready to get it sudsy.
She stared at her reflection and wondered how much longer she had before the good looks that had helped win her the pageant title would fade.
She didn’t yet have any lines on her face.
Her long, lustrous black hair was years away from any hint of gray.
But despite her intense workout regimen, she was already seeing the tiniest sag in her backside. She wondered what was next.
She just happened to glance in the mirror behind her. At first, she thought that shadows from the bedroom were playing tricks on her eyes. She could have sworn that she saw a figure there. When the figure moved, she knew it wasn't her imagination.
She spun around as the figure, clad all in black, quickly approached her. She began to scream and threw the only thing in her hand—the bar of soap—at the figure. It hit the figure square in the head, but it didn't even seem to faze them.
As they got closer, Rebecca noticed something in their hand. It was only when they raised it above their head that she processed what it was: a fireplace poker.