When she laughed with the two guys and tossed her head around, Luis and Matthias exchanged glances. She seemed to be having fun with them, which Luis thought was a good sign that maybe the guys weren't as sinister as they looked. She even leaned into the driver's side window for a moment and pointed at something Luis couldn't make out. But when Beth Anne stood up straight again and lifted her T-shirt to expose her tits to them, Luis almost fell over sideways. She even moved around so her tits would jiggle.
“What the fuck is she doing?” Hood asked. He'd been leaning against the fender of the Tahoe.
Blaze stood next to Hood, watching Beth Anne talk to the guys. Blaze laughed and said, “If I know her, she's wrapping them around her little finger and getting exactly what she wants.”
“I just hope she doesn't get us all killed,” Luis said.
Matthias set his palm on the small of Luis's back and said, “I think she knows what she's doing. Beth Anne is no amateur. If she thought they were trouble, she'd back off.”
However, when Beth Anne returned, shrugged at Luis. “I don't know how you do it, sweetie, but you've got something going on that drives the guys crazy.”
Luis furrowed his eyebrows. “Huh?”
“What are you talking about, Beth Anne?” Matthias asked.
Beth Anne smiled and poked Luis in the chest in a playful way. “They said they'd lead us out to the compound and show us exactly where the compound is—under one condition.”
Luis tilted his head sideways. “What's that? What does it have to do with me?”
Beth Anne laughed louder and said, “As long as you get into the truck with them. All they wanted to talk about was Luis.”
Luis blinked. “They want me in the truck with them?”
“They told me that we could follow them out to the compound,” she said. “But only if you ride up in the truck with them.”
Matthias frowned. “I don't know about this. Maybe I should go have a talk with them and straighten this out. I don't like the idea of Luis going anywhere with them.” He sounded protective, almost possessive.
“They seem like nice guys,” Beth Anne said. “They promised me nothing would happen. They're just fascinated with Luis and they want to get to know him better. They said they've seen him in magazines and they want to get to know him better.”
Matthias put his arm around Luis and looked down at him. “I didn't know you were that famous.”
Luis shrugged. “I'm not. Sometimes people recognize me from different photo shoots.” He was actually more famous for marrying the Virgin Billionaire, but he'd learned how to deal with that a while ago.
Hood stood up and ran his palm through his hair. He glanced at the two guys in the truck and back at Luis and Jase. “This is up to you, Luis.”
“We will be right behind them,” Matthias said.
Luis knew Matthias really wanted to see the compound, even though it was dark out now. And Luis was flattered when people recognized him from magazines. It didn't happen often. More often than not, people recognized him but could never place where they'd seen him. Or they recognized him because he was with Jase. At least it had stopped raining and the sky looked like it was finally beginning to clear. He saw a few stars and the air felt less heavy than it had earlier that afternoon. “I want to go talk to them first,” Luis said. “If I feel safe, I don't mind riding with them.”
“I'll go with you,” Matthias said. “I want to make sure it's safe, too. I'm dying to see this place, but not at Luis's expense. And Jase would never forgive me if I let anything happen to Luis.” He put both arms around Luis and hugged him. “I'd never forgive myself.”
Beth Anne shook her head. “I wouldn't do that, Matthias.”
“Why?”
“They told me they only wanted Luis, not the big tall one,” Beth Anne said. She pointed at Matthias. “There were talking about you, dude.”
“Who the fuck do they think they are?” Matthias asked. He clenched his fists and braced for battle.
Luis rested his palm on Matthias's stomach again and rubbed it up and down slowly. “Calm down,” he said. Matthias could be so sweet, but he had such a hot temper. Luis had to admit he did feel very safe when Matthias was around. “I'll just go over and talk to them. If I get a bad feeling, I'll just come right back. Besides, I'd like to give Jase a little longer on his own. We've only been gone an hour and a half.”
“Don't worry, honey,” Beth Anne said. “They are harmless. I know men, especially stupid men. These guys wouldn't hurt a fly.”
Hood walked over to Luis and reached for his arms. “Are you sure about this, man?”
“I'm fine,” Luis said. He really was fine, too. Besides, he wanted to see the compound himself.
While Luis went to the driver's side to talk to the two guys, the other four remained outside, watching every move he made. Luis tapped the driver's door and looked inside. The guy with the black leather was sitting behind the wheel, drumming the dashboard with his fingers. The guy with the lighter hair and the goatee rested back in his seat. Their legs were spread so wide it didn't look as though there was much room in the middle of the seat for Luis to sit between them. “Beth Anne said you guys were willing to show us where the Glatenfrissle compound was.”
The guy with the black leather reached over with his right hand and said, “I'm Buck, and this here is my buddy, Dallas.”
Luis shook Buck's hand, then leaned forward to shake the other guy's hand. “I'm Luis,” he said. “It's nice to meet you.” Buck and Dallas. The names of these people made him want to roll his eyes.
Buck looked Luis up and down and said, “We're big fans of yours. We've seen all those underwear magazines you've been in. At first, we weren't so sure. I told Dallas it was you when you almost ran us down, but he didn't think so. Then I got out my magazines from under the mattress and showed him and he saw it really was you, in the freaking flesh.”
“Well,” Luis said. “Thank you very much. I'm glad you liked them.” He hadn't done an underwear shoot in a long time. But the underwear company he'd modeled for had been recycling his image for the past two years. It was one of those catalogues that just kept changing the format, not the actual content. Their product line rarely changed and it was cheaper for them to do this, and Luis was paid royalties each time his photo was released again...his agency had worked out a special deal just for him. They were the most provocative photo shoots Luis had ever done. He wasn't nude, but he'd modeled thongs and mesh bikinis. He didn't want to think about why the magazines were under this guy's mattress.