Read Dark Angel 03: Broken Dream for Free Online Page B

again?’
    I felt the full force of his gaze – hazel eyes flecked with amber, long dark lashes, thick stubble on his chin. ‘Tania Ionescu,’ I reminded him.
    ‘What kind of frickin’ name is that?’
    ‘Romanian. My dad was born in Bucharest.’
    ‘Where the hell’s that? Russia, right? Don’t tell me – your dad’s an oil zillionaire. Yeah, they’re crawling all over the city in their Armani shades and Louboutin heels.’
    ‘Romania’s on the Baltic coast. My dad got American citizenship when he married my mom. He works in construction.’
    ‘Well, there ain’t a whole lot of that happening right now, not with the economy down the pan.’ As Jack went on staring at me, his voice grew less slurred and he eased off the cuss words. ‘Are all Romanian girls as beautiful as you?’
    I stared back, unable to find a response. Really, the guy took my breath away for bare-faced sleaze.
    He didn’t seem to notice my reluctance to engage. ‘Long black hair – that looks kind of Italian,’ he went on. ‘And you’ve got good skin, a great body. Hey, now I get it – you wormed your way in here because you’re a waitress/wannabe actress and you see this as the fast route to fame!’
    ‘Jack!’ Natalia interrupted as he slid closer towards me. His knee was touching mine and his arm crept along the back of the sofa.
    ‘Move right to the top of my list,’ he went on, breathing in my ear. ‘And I can see you’re a smart kid – you know there’s only one hoop you need to jump through to be an extra in my movie.’
    ‘Jack!’ This time Natalia stood up to make her point. ‘I invited Tania on to the set today. She’s not interested in anything you have to offer!’
    He flicked his beautiful wife away with the back of his hand, not for a second taking his eyes off me. ‘Hey, Tania, I’m serious – maybe you’ll even get to speak a line or two. And take no notice of Natalia. My wife has a dirty mind. I’m talking about your acting experience – I’m not asking you to screw me.’
    ‘Let’s go.’ This was too much for Orlando, who jumped up and headed for the door. Anyone would react like this if another guy made this sick-making move on his girl and it made no difference to Orlando that his ‘rival’ was a world-famous movie star.
    ‘We’re out of here.’ I stood up in disgust, leaving Jack to topple sideways into the vacant space.
    ‘Thanks for inviting us,’ Orlando told Natalia as I joined him by the door.
    Her eyelids flickered nervously. ‘You’re welcome,’ she said with a forced smile. Behind that façade it felt to me as if she was begging us not to leave her alone with her drunken husband.
    ‘Aw, come on!’ Unsteadily Jack pushed himself up from the soft cushions. ‘Why leave the party before it starts?’ he asked Orlando and me as the door opened and an icy blast entered the trailer. ‘Hey, look – here comes Charlie, right on cue!’
    Natalia shivered then quickly recovered. The build-up of tension collapsed. She smiled and said hi to the girl who followed Jack’s body double up the steps. ‘Tania, Orlando, this is Charlie’s sister, Gwen Speke. Gwen is a make-up artist.’
    Breathing more easily and feeling Orlando relax beside me, I smiled at the newcomer, who looked nothing like her brother. Small, with fair curls escaping from beneath her suede, fur-lined hat, she was dainty and delicate where Charlie was strong and muscular, shy where he was open and laid back.
    ‘Dude, that was good timing,’ Jack told Charlie. ‘Tania wants a part in my movie. You can fix that for her, can’t you?’
    ‘Actually, I don’t,’ I said before the situation ran away from me a second time. ‘Orlando and I have to leave.’
    ‘Oh my God, Tania the beautiful Romanian wannabe turned me down!’ Jack wailed.
    ‘So not funny,’ Charlie muttered. He saw Jack heading towards the shelf with the whisky bottle and stepped across his path. ‘Time to take a shower and straighten up,