Daddy’s Wild Girl (Montana Daddies #16)

Chapter 4

4

C orbin stared around the foyer of the stately mansion. An understated but clearly expensive car had been waiting for them at the airport to bring them here.

Where they’d been left in the foyer for the last fifteen minutes.

“What the hell are we waiting around for?” Hayes grumbled as he paced up and down. He wasn’t a man who sat still. “Is this some sort of power play?”

“Maybe they got caught up by something.” Corbin wasn’t too worried.

Although he was weary after their trip. He preferred stillness and quiet. Being surrounded by people all the time was tiring.

The number of people who had bumped into him at the airport had been aggravating, to say the least. One asshole had banged into him so hard that he’d dropped his carry-on.

Ten minutes later, a woman wearing a navy blue skirt and blazer with a white shirt walked toward them. Her hair was perfect and her makeup seemed subtle, but he was certain it was applied expertly. If there was a wrinkle or mark on her face, then he couldn’t see it. She appeared almost prim and proper. But there was something in the way that she looked at him that made him pay attention.

She looked like a predator wanting to play with her prey.

Barb Benner.

He’d spent a few hours yesterday binge-watching The Benner Life, as well as watching episodes of the other shows that Barb had produced. In The Benner Life , Bluebelle came across as a spoilt and selfish brat who didn’t care about anyone else. But he was just hoping that she wasn’t like that in real life.

Although he’d felt sorry for her during the episode where she’d learned the truth about her boyfriend, Ericc, and how he’d been using her to get famous . . . ouch .

“Hello, gentlemen. I’m Barb Benner.” She held her hand up to Corbin as though she expected him to kiss it.

Yeah. That wasn’t happening.

While he knew better than to judge someone from what he’d seen of them on-screen, there was something about this woman that he didn’t trust.

So he grabbed her hand and turned it around to pump it. Her eyes narrowed in annoyance, her smile dropping slightly, but he didn’t care.

“I’m sure you’re very excited to meet me.”

Dear Lord. Seemed like she wasn’t putting on a show for the cameras. She just was like this. All the time.

This could get tiresome. Fast.

Corbin could already feel Hayes’ tension growing behind him.

“Mrs. Benner, I’m Corbin McIntyre. And this is my colleague, Graham Hayes.”

Hayes was now leaning against the wall, but he stepped forward and shook her hand. Her eyes lit up as she took in Hayes. He seemed to have that effect on some women. They either ran from him or wanted to help soothe the pain they could sense.

With this woman, he thought it was something else entirely.

“Please, call me Barb,” she said with a faint English accent. “Mrs. Benner sounds so old and stuffy, like my mother-in-law. She was a real piece of work. Oh, the two of you are going to look so good on camera,” she purred.

Corbin raised his eyebrows. What?

“We’re not here to be on camera,” Hayes told her. “We’re here to do a job. To protect your daughter.”

“Of course, yes, yes.” She waved her hand. “But I’m sure you wouldn’t object to a bit of publicity, would you? If you were on one of my shows, you could get any job you wanted afterward. You wouldn’t even need to work.”

“We have the job we want,” Corbin said as nicely as he could. “And we’re not looking for publicity. The Benner Life ended five years ago, right?”

“Yes, it did. But I have other shows. Everyone wants publicity. They want to be famous. It’s just part of the dream. Rich and famous equals power. And at the end of the day, that’s the ultimate goal. I am always on the lookout for . . . talent.”

“Sounds like my personal hell,” Hayes grumbled.

Barb gaped at him.

Oh hell. This was already turning to crap.

“Barb, perhaps it would be good to go somewhere quiet so we could talk about the job,” he said, trying to turn her attention to him.

“Yes, all right. Come through to my office.”

“Is your husband home?” Hayes asked.

Corbin shot him a look, trying to tell him to shut up.

“Is something wrong with dealing with me? Do you have an objection to a powerful woman, Mr. Hayes?” she asked coolly.

“No. I just thought it would be good to meet him. And your daughter. Is she here?”

“Oh, no, Bluebelle isn’t here. Lord forbid she should want to see her awful mother.” She laughed, but there was no amusement in her face.

Although her face didn’t really move even when she spoke. Botox? Facelift? He wasn’t sure.

Corbin shared a look with Hayes. He wouldn’t want to see his mother if she’d done what Bluebelle’s mother had done to her.

He’d already taken note of the security system at the house and it was a good one. They could have gotten the same company to put in a security system at their daughter’s place.

He’d seen the threats made against Bluebelle. While they warranted some caution, he was surprised that they wanted two bodyguards for their daughter.

Then again, you could never be too careful with the things that you love. Better to be over-cautious than not care at all.

He and Hayes followed Barb into an office, which was done all out in pastel pink.

It was . . . something else.

Corbin had no objections to the color pink. But there was a thing called overkill. Even the damn carpet was pink.

The only thing that wasn’t pink was the massive white desk.

“Please, have a seat.” She smiled as she gestured to the two velvet chairs across the desk from her. There was a darker look in her eyes.

Well, if she thought it was going to worry them to sit on a pink chair . . . she’d vastly underestimated them both.

They both sat and she lost the edge of her smile.

“Well, let’s talk about why you are here,” Barb tapped her clawlike fingernails on the desk.

“Good,” Hayes grunted. “I don’t like wasting time.”

Corbin sighed. This was going to be a long assignment.

“We have received several threats against Bluebelle. They have come through to my assistant, who handles my correspondence. Bluebelle has refused to move back in here or to the guest house, where it would be safer for her. As usual, she is creating more work for everyone by being stubborn and unwilling to listen or compromise.”

Ouch.

“She refuses to even believe there is a credible threat. Her father and I are just so worried about her safety. And now we have to go out on this month-long tour. I can’t bear to think about what she might get up to while we’re gone.”

“Get up to?” Corbin asked cautiously. What did she mean?

She waved her hand through the air. The gigantic rings on all of her fingers gleamed under the lights.

“Bluebelle is a very . . . how shall I put this? She’s reckless. She doesn’t always think things through. I blame myself. I should have been around more for her as a child. I’m afraid she’s turned out rather selfish.” She sighed sadly.

Yeah, Corbin wasn’t certain that he believed her. Also, she really wasn’t holding back about her daughter. Which seemed harsh.

“Ridiculously, she even refused to buy a suitable house. She lives in this horrid house across the city. Terrible area. Awful people. But what can I do? She refuses to see reason. I swear that she is doing this to spite me.”

Well, considering that Bluebelle was twenty-five, he could see why she didn’t want to live here.

Especially with this woman.

“Bebe refuses to stay in the house because her mother won’t stop trying to pressure her into taking part in one of her shows.”

Corbin glanced over his shoulder as Benton Benner walked into the room.

The rock star hadn’t lost his charisma. He had long dark hair to his shoulders liberally sprinkled with gray and a weathered face that spoke of a long, tough life. Corbin knew from his research that his wife was a lot younger than him.

Both Corbin and Hayes stood to shake his hand, introducing themselves. “Could we not meet in my office, Barb? This office gives me a headache.”

“Don’t be rude, Benton.” Barb was smiling, but she had grown visibly more tense. “And you know I only have Bluebelle’s best interests in mind. I could make her a fortune. She’d be famous if she was in one of my shows.”

“Strangely, she doesn’t want fame or fortune.”

Ouch.

You could cut the tension in here with a knife.

“I don’t know why,” Barb said, sounding almost sullen. “It’s probably because you set up that trust fund for her. She doesn’t know the feeling of going without. How it can make you hungry for more. Lord knows what she uses that trust fund for, I saw she just took another hunk of money out. She should get a job. That will teach her valuable lessons. I only want what’s best for her.”

She didn’t have a job?

Benton smiled. “Of course you do. And that’s admirable. I know you love Bebe. But she’s her own person and she has to make her own path.” He turned to Corbin and Hayes. “I convinced her to agree to the two of you guarding her for the next month while I’m gone. I’m not sure whether the person sending these threats is really an issue, but Barb and I couldn’t leave without making certain she had some protection. If there are no more issues from the person sending these messages, we can probably pull back on the need for bodyguards. Most of the time, people are all words and no action.”

Corbin nodded. “I understand. And you want a security system put in her house?”

“Yes, there’s no budget. I just want her safe. The house has been bought under a trust, so I doubt anyone could discover her address. She also doesn’t have social media anymore.”

“I still think she should move in here,” Barb stated.

“Bebe is a grown woman; she doesn’t want to live at home.” Benton frowned at his wife.

“I had to build everything I have from the ground up and she gets to live off what I’ve created without doing anything I ask of her.”

Um, from what he recalled, she’d married Benton at the height of his career. When he’d already made millions.

But none of this was his business. In fact, it was like the Benners had forgotten they were there.

“She doesn’t live off you, Barb,” Benner said.

“Maybe you could save the domestic arguments for when we’re not here,” Hayes told them.

Corbin closed his eyes. Shit.

“We’re not arguing,” Barb said to Hayes with another fake smile. “Just having a friendly discussion.”

“Why don’t the two of you come with me?” Benner waved his hand at them.

“I should be a part of this,” Barb protested as they stood to follow Benton out. “I need them to sign NDAs and release papers in case they ever appear on camera.”

“We won’t be appearing on camera,” Hayes said. “And I won’t sign any release papers. Besides, I thought you were away for a month and that your daughter wasn’t a part of any of your shows.”

“We are and she isn’t,” Benner said. “There won’t be any cameras.”

“We will sign the NDA though,” Corbin added, needing to give her something to take out the sting of Hayes’ words. “Nice to meet you, Barb.”

Barb’s phone started ringing and she let out a frustrated noise. “I need to get that. But before you go, I need you both to promise you will tell me if Bluebelle starts acting strangely or irrationally.”

Corbin shot Hayes a look. This was weird and not a standard request.

“What do you mean strange or irrational?” Corbin asked.

“We don’t know her. How would we know if her behavior is strange?” Hayes asked.

“Well, just strange in general. If she does something reckless. If she tries to take a bunch of pills or snort cocaine or dance naked in the rain.”

“Is that something that’s likely to happen?” Corbin asked, worried. Was Bluebelle suicidal? A drug user?

The dancing naked in the rain didn’t sound so bad.

“You’ll have to forgive Barb; she really is just worried about our daughter’s safety,” Benner said calmly. “There’s been no actual evidence of drugs or anything else. It’s just that she’s been acting . . .”

“Irrationally. Recklessly.” Barb looked bitter. “She quit the show because of Ericc and went off traveling for a year. Then she came back to go to college, and I thought she was finally going to make something of herself. But she quit college without completing her degree and came back to live in the slums.”

“It’s hardly the slums, dear,” Benner said as her phone started ringing again. “You best get that.”

Barb nodded. “Please leave all your contact details and I’ll have my assistant forward the NDAs to you.”

Corbin nodded as they left and followed Benner into a masculine-looking office. There were shelves with awards and a vast record collection. A wide, wooden desk down one end, but it was clear to see that he spent most of his time in this room sitting on the brown leather sofa by the record player.

That’s where he headed while Corbin and Hayes took seats in the tub chairs across from him.

Large glass doors across one wall stopped the room from being too dark.

“I feel like I should apologize for Barb. She comes across as driven and unfeeling, but she does love Bluebelle. She’s concerned that she’s headed down a bad path. She’s not wrong when she says that Bebe is acting strangely. I understood her refusal to do the show anymore. And her need to get away. Unfortunately, I had no idea about Ericc or that Barb would let Bebe find out in such a brutal, public way. I nearly didn’t forgive her for that. Bebe hasn’t.”

Corbin understood that.

“So we’re not here to guard her from other people but to guard her from herself?” Hayes asked. “Is that what you’re saying? Because that’s not exactly our job.”

Benton sat back with a sigh. “No. There have been death threats. But there are always threats, and most of them are just people talking out their asses. I hope these are the same, and if Bebe was willing to move in here or take the threats seriously, I wouldn’t be so worried. Eight months ago, she quit college and moved back here to stay for a while. And she was quiet, not at all like her normal self. I was really concerned about her. Then, one day, she just bought a house. Didn’t tell us she was planning to do that or anything. She moved out a few weeks later. She won’t tell her mother or me what’s going on with her. I just don’t want to leave her alone while I don’t know her state of mind.”

Corbin glanced at Hayes. This definitely sounded less and less like a typical job.

“I know you might feel that I’ve misled you. But the threats are real. And I wanted Kent on this job because I trust him. That’s something that’s hard to come by in this industry. So I hope you’re willing to stay.”

Again, Corbin looked to Hayes. They could pull the plug if they wanted. And he fully expected Hayes to do that.

“We’ll meet her,” Hayes said. “And we’ll keep a watch on her. But we’re not babysitters.”

Benton nodded, clear relief on his face. “Understood. And I am worried about these threats. So far, we’ve been unable to trace where they’ve come from.”

“I can also have a go at that,” Corbin offered.

“Thanks. That would be great. The more help, the better. I’ve arranged a vehicle for you while you’re here. And Barb has probably sent through the NDAs. You can sign them now if you like, then I’ll give you Bebe’s address.”

“Ahh, she’s okay with us coming around there now? And staying there?” Corbin asked.

“Yes. She agreed to the two of you guarding her for the month. Let’s just hope she’s got the house in a livable condition,” he muttered almost to himself.

Well.

That sounded . . . alarming.