“Is Sunny all right?”
His chest tightened.
“No. Sal has her. They’re on their way to you. Call security at the gate. Tell them not to let her or anyone with her inside. Tell them to let you know when Sunny and her friends get there and have them call backup security. Then call me immediately. I’m on my way. I’m not sure how much of a lead they have on me.”
“Joe—” Her voice was choked. He wished to hell he was with her more than he’d wished for anything in his life.
* * *
As soon asJoe ended the call, Mae called the gate from her office phone.
“Same, this is Mae Monday—look, remember how I asked you to let my friend Sunny Seaver in?”
“Yeah, Ms. Monday. I have her on the list. She hasn’t shown yet.”
“I need you to cancel her. I mean, don’t let her in.”
“You mean she’s not coming?”
“No, I mean don’t let her in if she shows up. Especially if she’s accompanied with anyone. And call me right away when you see her. You know what she looks like?”
“I have the system photo up here on my computer. What’s this all about? Is there some kind of trouble, Ms. Monday?”
“No. Maybe. Hopefully there won’t be. But you should call the police too. And backup security. And have them detain Sunny if she’s accompanied by any men.”
“Who are these men? Do you have their names?”
Mae bit her lip, wondering if she should spill the beans. Not having any idea, she went with her gut. To tell the truth.
“Tom, I’m not sure, but one of them may be Salvatore Vito.”
“The ex-mobster who just got out of jail?” Sam’s voice had risen several decibels. She hadn’t realized Sal was so famous—or rather infamous. He must have been in the news when she wasn’t watching. Which she never did.
“Yes, he’s the one. I hope I’m wrong, Tom, but they may be coercing Sunny to get them in to get at me. Keep them out and detain them. And get some back-up.” She didn’t like the idea of Tom alone in the guardhouse trying to fend off seriously bad men with guns.
“Will do, Ms. Monday. Should I call the police now?”
“Not yet. Let’s wait until they get here. If they do. Call me.”
“Will do.” The serious business changed Tom’s voice to a gruff bark as he ended the call.
A small part of her hoped that Joe was wrong in his assessment of the situation, but try as she might, Mae couldn’t think of another reason why Sunny would have duct tape on her chair in the middle of the kitchen. Scratch that—she could think of one ex-rated reason, but that wasn’t like Sunny. Her best friend didn’t play those kind of sex games, and Mae would know if she did because Sunny told her everything.
Now Mae had to wait and hope that Joe got to the studio before Sal did.
She also hoped that Sunny didn’t tell Sal about the other studio entrance. The one with no guard, only an electronic card reader at the gate. It was way around back of the lot in a more remote location so not too many employees used it except groundskeepers. But Sunny knew about it because they’d used it one day to avoid a mess of traffic when Mae had been working on her last studio movie as Assistant Costume Designer.
She picked up her cell phone and called Joe to let him know about the other entrance.
“Damn. Call security and have them cover it.”
“I was just about to.” She bit her lip, unsure whether she had the juice to order security to do anything. She’d have to put on a command performance.
Joe dialed off.
Mae fumbled on her computer keyboard to look up the number for studio security. She wondered if Sam could order security, but she had no idea about the hierarchy or who was in charge of what. When she found it, she tapped the number into her desk phone with shaky fingers.
“This is Mary Ann Monday at the Alpha Centurion offices. I have an emergency request.”