Killer Physique Read online

  “Heaven forbid,” Ryan said, with a smile and a wink for Savannah. “I think you two will enjoy it. The production values are top rate, the special effects are awesome, and the acting and the script are pretty good, considering that it’s a superhero action film.”

  “But above all else,” John added, “we’re looking forward to introducing you to Jason. He’s a fine lad. Hasn’t let all this fame and fortune go to his head.”

  “That’s true.” Ryan nodded. “We’ve known him since he was a kid, washing dishes in the bars and restaurants on Sunset Strip and working his way to the top in bodybuilding competitions.”

  “Didn’t he do some modeling, too?” Savannah asked. “I think I remember seeing him and all of his muscles on billboards.”

  “Yeah, wearing nothing but his skivvies.” Dirk gave a sniff. “You’d never catch me posing for something like that, showin’ the whole world what I got.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Savannah gave him a poke in the ribs. “I seem to remember a certain policeman hunks charity calendar, where you were Mr. December. And if it wasn’t for a well-placed Christmas package, you would’ve been showing off a certain package of your own.”

  Ryan whipped around in his seat. “What’s this? A hunk calendar? First we’ve heard of this.”

  “Indeed!” John added. “We require details, details.”

  Dirk growled and shot Savannah a You-Started-This-Crap look. “It was for a good cause, and the present I was holding was extralarge. That’s all the details you two need. What were we talking about before?”

  “Jason Tyrone and how hot he is right now,” Savannah said. “Even Granny Reid knows who he is. Every week, he’s on the cover of the tabloid she reads. To her that’s the epitome of success.”

  “A success, to be sure,” John replied, as he brought the Bentley to a halt on the congested street. “Look at this bloody mess, and we’re still blocks from the theater.”

  Ryan took out his phone, did some research, and said, “They have Hollywood Boulevard blocked off between Highland Avenue and Orange Drive. Parking may be a bit of a challenge. Are you two up to a hike?”

  Savannah thought of the movie trailer she had seen—multitudes of scantily clad, bronzed bodies with rippling muscles as far as you could see. She glanced over at Dirk and saw his grin and the lusty twinkle in his eye. Her womanly, wifely intuition told her he was thinking something similar about buxom Celtic goddesses overflowing their costumes.

  “Oh, yeah,” she said. “We’re up for a bit of a jaunt, ain’t we, darlin’?” She nudged Dirk.

  He chuckled. “Absolutely. Park anywhere you can. We’ll hoof it from here.”

  Jaunts in three-inch heels were highly overrated. And so was wearing a long-sleeved, wraparound, silk dress on a warm Southern California day. Or so Savannah decided after six blocks of jostling through the rambunctious crowds en route to their destination.

  Savannah and her three favorite fellows passed through numerous security checkpoints as they fought their way to the center of the festivities. But each time, Ryan presented the magic tickets—even before Dirk could take his badge out of his pocket—and they were graciously motioned past.

  “Kinda nice being treated like royalty, huh?” Savannah said, nudging Dirk with her elbow.

  “I get this every morning at my local 7-Eleven where I buy my lottery ticket. Or at least I used to, before I became a married man and had to give up all my vices.”

  “Oh, yes, all those decadent vices of yours: leaving the toilet seat up, dropping your dirty drawers on the bedroom floor, littering the place with empty beer bottles.”

  “Rituals that are near and dear to the male heart. Abandoned, all for the love of a woman.”

  “I never told you to stop playing lotto.”

  “But now that I don’t live by that store, I can’t buy my tickets there.”

  “Buy them somewhere else. There’s a convenience store two blocks from my house.”

  “Nope. It’s gotta be my lucky store or nothin’.”

  She looked up at him, gave him a flirtatious grin, and whispered, “I didn’t hear you complaining about all these changes in your life last night when I was abusing you something fierce between the sheets.”

  He chuckled. “This marriage stuff isn’t without its benefits. That brand of mistreatment I can handle.”

  “Manly man that you are.”

  “Exactly.”

  As they drew nearer to Grauman’s landmark theater with its Chinese pagoda façade and famous hand- and footprints captured for eternity in cement, the celebratory pandemonium around them increased exponentially.

  In front of the gigantic columns that flanked the ornate, gilded double doors stood twenty-feet-tall, cut-out figures of Jason and his co-star, Alanna Cleary. They wore the brief leather-and-bronze costumes of their supernatural, superhero characters, Dagda and Caolainn.

  Savannah wondered what it must feel like, to be a mere mortal and look up at those figures and see your face and body. In society’s eyes, they were the epitome of mankind and womanhood.

  Like most people who weighed more than the charts recommended, Savannah was quite aware that she didn’t live up to the culture’s ideal. But unlike most people, she had managed to stop giving a hoot.

  Her body was strong, healthy, and, most important, it provided a place for her to hang out here on earth and enjoy life’s most basic pleasures. So she was thankful for it and loved it. Every pound and inch of it.

  And she felt no envy at all, staring up at Alanna Cleary’s taut, tanned belly, with its exaggerated six-pack.

  Okay, maybe just a smidgen of envy, she admitted, before turning her attention away from the advertised and unattainable. But not nearly jealous enough to ruin such a good time.

  As she looked around at the rowdy crowd, she was glad she wasn’t in charge of security at this wild event. Temporary barricades barely restrained the hoard of fans hoping to catch a glimpse of their superheroes. Even within the areas restricted to the press alone, seasoned reporters jumped up and down like crazed teenagers at a rock concert and chanted the names “Jason” and “Alanna.”

  Each time a celebrity exited one of the gleaming black limousines and stepped onto the red carpet, hundreds of cameras flashed, twinkling like fairy starlight dusted over the crowd.

  Savannah decided that, in spite of all the derogatory remarks she had heard about Hollywood, she considered herself very fortunate indeed to be here, enjoying this bit of never-never land, this fairy-tale fantasy coming to life in the real world.

  “I gotta admit, this doesn’t suck as bad as I thought it would,” Dirk whispered as he squeezed her hand.

  She smiled. Fluent as she was in Dirk-language, she knew that translated into “I’m having the time of my life!”

  “Understate whenever possible” was Rule Number One in the Manly Man Handbook. And she knew, if there had been room, Dirk would have had that booklet tattooed on his left buttock, so strongly did he believe and uphold its precepts.

  At that moment, a particularly large and especially shiny black limo glided into view and stopped at the end of the red carpet. Security guards, disguised in chauffeur livery, stepped forward and opened the rear door.

  A dainty foot with a five-inch, high-heeled strappy sandal emerged, followed by an impossibly long and shapely leg—then its mate and yards and yards of shimmering, emerald green satin.

  Cries of “Alanna! Alanna! Hey, look this way! Alanna, come here! Come over here! Alanna, over here!” erupted from the crowd.

  Ryan turned to Dirk and with a quirked eyebrow said, “There you go, buddy. Alanna Cleary in the gorgeous flesh.”

  Dirk appraised her, head to lovely toes, for a moment, then he shot Savannah a quick, guilty glance. But as Savannah watched the magnificent goddess in green satin glide down the red carpet, her waist-long copper hair flowing, her toned arms and legs glowing—an exquisite, Celtic beauty beyond compare—Savannah couldn’t blame him for gawking. Every eye w
as on Alanna Cleary, as she moved along, the picture of composure and grace, offering a warm, open smile to everyone she passed.

  “Hey, where’s her date?” Savannah whispered to John.

  “Yeah,” said Dirk. “You wouldn’t expect a woman like that to come alone.”

  “Sh-h-h,” John replied. “Let’s just say there’ve been rumors.”

  “We’ll fill you in later,” Ryan added.

  No sooner had Alanna disappeared inside the theater than another limo arrived. The rear door was opened, as before. But this time, when the passenger emerged, the cheering from the crowd was peppered with the occasional hiss and jeer.

  Savannah was surprised at the fans’ reactions, until she saw the face of the newcomer. It was none other Vladik Zlotnik, the villain of the film. Standing at six-foot-four, his long, black hair slicked back and hanging limply to his collar, his skin pale to the point of having a faint bluish cast, the Russian movie star looked more like a vampire than the dark, Irish god of the underworld that he played in the film.

  “Creepy guy,” Dirk said. “No wonder he always plays an evil dude.”

  “Vladik’s not so bad,” Ryan answered. “In fact, he can be the life of the party if you get enough vodka in him.”

  John added, “If you’re an actor who looks like he does, you’re not going to get a lot of opportunities to play the hero.”

  Nodding, Savannah said, “I guess if little children cry when they see you, and dogs bark and run away, you might as well use it to your advantage.”

  “I’d rather play the villain any time,” Dirk said. “It’s gotta be more fun, snarling and doing dastardly deeds. At least until the end when you get your comeuppance.”

  A petite blonde who was more than a foot shorter than Vladik was helped from the limo, and the two of them walked hand in hand up the carpet.

  To Savannah, Vladik’s date looked more like a teenager arriving at her first prom than a seasoned society girl. She tugged at her all-too-revealing black gown and wobbled awkwardly on her high, high heels.

  As they made their way briskly along the crimson path, she glanced up at Vladik with an almost appealing look on her fresh, young face, as though seeking some approval or reassurance from him. But none was forthcoming. Vladik walked a step ahead, all but dragging her along. And Savannah didn’t need anyone to tell her this “date” was an arrangement of convenience.

  At least for Vladik.

  But before they entered the golden doors, another limousine arrived, and with its entrance, absolute chaos erupted. All the attention shifted from Vladik to the new arrival. The crowd went crazy, everyone pushing their neighbors aside, trying to get closer to the front, while screaming, “Jason! Jason! Jason!”

  Dirk leaned his head down to Savannah’s and shouted in her ear, “Gee, I wonder who it is.”

  “Some detective you are. I’d say it’s the star of this whole shebang, but that’s just a hunch.”

  Once again, the security guards snapped to attention. Even before the big Cadillac limo was completely stopped, one had reached for the handle, while his partner slid into position just behind him.

  A tall, burly chauffeur jumped out of the driver’s seat and quickly wedged himself between the guards and the automobile. He gave the surrounding area a long, scrutinizing look before opening the door.

  At that moment, the noise rose to a level that Savannah could hardly believe. She had never been in a crowd whose energy and enthusiasm even approached this frenzy.

  She had seen videos of the Beatles arriving in the United States during the sixties and clips of Elvis performances where women shrieked, wept, and fainted. But this was the first time she had witnessed such a brouhaha herself.

  “Mercy,” she said, though she knew no one would be able to hear her. “Just imagine . . . such a commotion over one measly feller.”

  In her opinion, any woman who passed out at the mere sight of some guy—who put his britches on, one leg at a time, like any other man—had to be a few pecans short of a Sunday dinner pie.

  Then she saw him. And she understood what the hoopla was all about.

  Jason Tyrone was absolutely, heart-stopping, take your breath away, cause you to drop dead in your tracks and go straight to heaven gorgeous.

  Standing at least six foot, six inches tall, shoulder and arm muscles bulging against the fabric of his tuxedo, and with thick, wavy blond hair that was fashionably shaggy, the bluest eyes she had ever seen, and a jawline that had sold copious amounts of Tyrone Nights cologne and aftershave—Jason lived up to all the hype and more.

  As he strolled along the red carpet, drawing nearer to where she and her three guys were standing, she could feel her own knees literally getting weak. She had to work at not wobbling on her high heels.

  Yes, maybe she’d judged those Elvis and Beatle fans too harshly, after all.

  Jason was the picture of elegance as he moved along, nodding to one, waving to another, pausing to shake hands briefly here and there.

  Though Savannah did notice that beneath it all—in spite of the graceful, masculine presence he projected—there was something else that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Something unsettling.

  Maybe it was the way his eyes occasionally darted around the crowd, as though he were on guard, searching for someone or something. Perhaps an unwelcome, unfriendly presence of some kind?

  Dirk poked Savannah in the ribs. “When do we get to meet him?” he said, his mouth against her ear. “Ryan and John are supposed to be his good buddies. Are we just gonna stand here with our thumbs up our—?”

  “Sh-h-h!” She gouged him back. “Just wait and see.”

  A moment later, Jason was even with them, only a few feet away. And that was when he spotted Ryan and John.

  Instantly, his face lit up, and his whole demeanor changed. “Hey!” he shouted, rushing over to them. He grabbed Ryan in a bear hug, then managed to fold John, as well, into the hearty embrace. “Man, I was hoping you guys would make it!” he said, as pleased as a kid whose out-of-town dad had arrived at his last baseball game of the season.

  “Are you kidding? We wouldn’t have missed this for the world,” Ryan replied, thumping him soundly on the back.

  “Wild horses couldn’t keep us away,” John added. “But these crowds nearly did. You’ve collected quite a bevy of fans for yourself here, lad.”

  Ryan turned to Savannah and Dirk. “And here’s a couple of them,” he said, pulling them closer. “Jason, we brought two of our favorite people in the world to meet you and see the show. This is Savannah and Dirk.”

  As though in slow motion, Savannah watched and recorded every micro-second of the experience she knew she would relive ten thousand times before she got to be Granny Reid’s age. At least.

  Jason Tyrone stepped toward her. His eyes met hers . . . his world-famous eyes that were the same sapphire blue as her silk dress. The world around them disappeared—the raging crowd, Ryan and John, and even poor Dirk.

  For just a moment she felt terribly guilty. Here she was only a few weeks married, and her knickers were a’jingle over a couple of blue eyes. And a mane of golden hair. And six and a half feet of solid muscle.

  Okay, she didn’t feel all that guilty. But she did make a mental note to cut Dirk some slack later if she caught him ogling Alanna.

  Jason Tyrone, his whole gorgeous self, reached for her hand, and enfolded it in his. His enormous, strong hands—that she couldn’t help noticing were just a little bit moist.

  In fact, if they had been anyone else’s hands, she might have called them clammy. But you didn’t use a word like “clammy” when describing a Celtic god/sex symbol. It just seemed inappropriate somehow.

  “I’m so happy to meet you, Savannah,” he said, as though they were the only two people in the world, hundreds of cameras weren’t snapping their pictures, and a thousand or more people weren’t waiting impatiently for Jason to make his way inside so the real festivities could begin.

  �
�And I’m just so proud to—”

  Bang!

  Just over her right shoulder, a loud popping sound. It went through her nervous system like an electric jolt.

  Someone in the crowd shouted, “Gun!”

  In an instant, Ryan, Savannah, and John had grabbed Jason. Dirk had Savannah. And they were rushing en masse toward the theater doors.

  Chapter 3

  Savannah, Dirk, John, Ryan, and Jason had just reached the giant cutout figures, when Savannah heard a sound behind them—a strange sound, considering the circumstances.

  Laughter.

  She took a second to glance over her shoulder and saw a young woman holding a giant bouquet of sparkling gold and silver, helium-filled balloons.

  Several people around her were laughing, poking at her, as she stood there red-faced and giggling nervously.

  One of the guys standing closest to her held up one hand and addressed the crowd. “Balloons, everybody! Balloons! It was just a couple of balloons popping! Everybody settle down!”

  Savannah looked at Dirk. They both turned to Ryan and John.

  All four processed this new information in half a second and realized the “threat” had passed.

  Savannah gave a nervous little chuckle and said, “Now, wasn’t that just a barrel of fun. Let’s do it again.”

  “That kind of fun I can do without,” Dirk growled.

  “Me too,” Ryan replied.

  “Ah, well,” John said, with a sigh of relief. “As long as it all works out in the end. No harm done.”

  In unison they turned to look at Jason, and Savannah nearly gasped when she saw the pallor of his previously bronzed complexion. He was sweating profusely and breathing much harder than she would’ve expected, considering that he had run only a few feet.

  John reached over and put a comforting hand on his friend’s broad shoulder. “Are you okay, old chap?”

  “Sure,” Jason replied.

  Savannah wondered if she had ever heard a less assuring “sure” in her life.