Callum set up his laptop and waited as McMillan finished his phone call. Once he'd hung up he turned and handed Callum a piece of paper.
"Security incognito log-ins for Twitter and Instagram, and the three biggest fan sites along with an Aussie fan site. I'd start with Twitter. Use the hashtag Stepping Out and Nate Blaine before you scroll through the tweets that are on the accounts page. We follow a lot of fans so if there's any chatter you might find something. Then I would move on to the forum of the Australian fan site. You can login with this name and password." McMillan pointed to the paper.
"What am I looking for exactly?"
"Any mention of anyone seeing Mr. Blaine since he disappeared yesterday. If you find anything make a note of it."
"What if it's not him?"
"At this stage we just want to gather intelligence and then we can sift through it and discard anything that is clearly not relevant."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to speak to the hotel staff who were on duty, and see if anyone noticed him slip out. Tate says he last saw Mr. Blaine at around three and assumed he'd gone back to his room."
"Great bodyguard he is."
"I'm guessing Mr. Blaine was fairly determined to give security the slip."
"You could be right." Guilt washed over Callum. Nate was his best friend and he'd ditched him to get laid more than once in the last few days. Who even knew when Nate had last had a good night's sleep? Callum sure as hell hadn't been in the room they shared long enough to notice. "He's been up in his head for the last week or so. I should have spent more time with him."
"Now is not the time to lay blame, Callum. Shall we get to work?"
Callum nodded and turned his attention to the laptop's screen as McMillan left the room, closing the door behind him. He checked the paper, logged into Twitter and searched the hashtag Stepping Out. The first few tweets were inane enough with fans sharing pictures from the bands last concert and declarations of love for the group and the individual members. Nate was by far and away the most popular. Nate's personal Twitter and Instagram accounts had twice as many followers as the next most popular member, Ethan. When he scrolled further he shuddered at a discussion about the dimensions of various band members' body parts. He needed a coffee, or better yet a beer. He might not get any clues about where Nate was but he had a feeling the whole online experience would be educational.
* * * * *
Katie grabbed a hold of the dashboard and squealed as Nate took the corner way too fast for her liking. "Do you have plans to be a formula one driver when the singing gig isn't working anymore?"
"What does that mean?"
"Well your boyish good looks and soprano voice won't last forever."
"Soprano? Unless you're talking about the TV show with the hit men I think I'm offended."
"Nope, not the TV show. Little boys with teeny tiny penises or is that peni?"
"You want to discuss the size of my willy?"
Her face flushed with heat and she shook her head. "No. I have no interest in your what did you call it? Willy."
His laughter gave her a warm glow. She loved to make him happy. They'd managed lunch without him being recognized but she'd insisted they needed to keep moving so he would have to get money out of an Autoteller at Lakes Entrance. She didn't want to tempt fate by staying in the one place too long. He might like the freedom but if those women in Melbourne were any indication a lust filled mob could gather at any minute and love him to death.
Despite her best efforts he'd been side tracked by a shop selling tourist tat and had insisted they have matching T-shirts and hats with the Aussie flag on them. She had managed to persuade him he didn't need a didgeridoo or a giant koala. Her car only had a small amount of storage space. The less crap he collected the better. Besides he'd need to get it all back to the UK once the band's tour was finished. She'd miss him. Having Nate literally leap into her life had turned her world upside down. She'd never act on her feelings toward him but she feared she might be just a little bit in love with the crazy pom already.
She glanced at him and then out the side window.
The car slowed. "Katie?"
"What?"
"Why did you sigh?"
"I didn't."
"Did too."
"Okay I did."
He pulled into a layby, put the car in park and switched off the engine. "Why?"
She shrugged. "What if I said I was madly in love with you and planned to keep you prisoner forever?"
His eyes opened wide and then he frowned. Was that fear she could see in his eyes. "Really?"
Katie couldn't imagine a life where that could be a real possibility, but perhaps Nate could. And it seemed to scare him. Or maybe she was seeing something that was never there. She smiled, cupped his face in her hands and made like she was going to kiss him. He closed his eyes and she leapt from the car. "Last one to the surf is a big girl's blouse."
He growled and she laughed as he climbed from the car, slammed the door and took off after her. She scrambled over the rocks and struggled to run as her feet sank into the soft dry sand. A glance confirmed Nate was still chasing her. She kicked off her shoes and grabbed them up before making a determined effort to get away. The wind wiped her hair around her face and seagulls called out as they wheeled overhead.
Her flight brought her to within a few feet of the pounding surf before a warm arm snaked around her middle and lifted her off the ground. She squealed and Nate's laughter filled the air.
She beat at what bits of him she could reach with her fists and wiggled but he was stronger than she had imagined.
"Keep still and promise not to run and I'll let you go."
Katie stopped wiggling. "I promise."
Nate dropped her feet to the sand but instead of releasing her he held her tight against him. Her back pressed into his front and he rested his chin on her shoulder as they stared out to sea.
She crossed her arms over his and relaxed back against him. "It's hard to believe you live way over the other side of the world, over all that ocean."
Nate sighed and held her a little tighter. "It's hard to believe anything about my life when I'm with you."
Katie frowned and turned to face him. He kept his arms around her waist and she found herself uncomfortably close to a man she was all about keeping her distance from. He was a child. He might be big handsome funny and foolish, but he was a man child, way too young and with far too much going on in his life for her to be a part of it.
His gaze met hers and she swallowed. Katie glanced at his lips and then back up at his eyes. "This would be a mistake."
"I've made plenty of mistakes. It's how you learn in life. Do you want to learn with me, Katie?"
She shook her head but leaned closer until her lips were almost brushing his. The warmth of his breath tickled her face and she could smell the scent of her coconut soap on his skin.
Katie gave up the fight and closed her eyes.
"Shit. Bollocks."
Nate pulled away and she stared at him as he wiped the top of his head and the back of his neck.
"Was it something I said?"
"No a bird just shat on me."
Katie giggled and then bent double clutching her stomach as he turned and revealed a white blob of bird poop sliding through his hair, giving his dark locks a definite hint of Pepe La Phew.
"It's not funny."
"No it's not." She stopped laughing and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Maybe the bird was trying to tell us something."
"What?"
She grabbed hold of his hand and dragged him back towards where he had parked the car. "It's time to get to our accommodation and for you to take a cold shower."
Chapter 8.1
Ava's fingers hovered over the keys of her laptop. One more site and she'd call it quits. Nothing had been updated on Nate's social media accounts and the band's official online accounts were ominously quiet. She had got confirmation of Ethan and Jackson landing in Sydney via a mass of fan photos on Facebook. Callum could still be in Melbourne.
If no one had seen Nate then he must be deep undercover. Australian fans were the most voracious women she'd ever seen. The hotel had posted extra security after one girl had disguised herself as a member of housekeeping and hidden naked in Ethan's shower.
She could retrace her steps to the mall and see if anyone knew who the car Nate jumped in belonged to. Not that anyone was going to speak to her. She let out a growl of frustration. The band was days away from flying home. She was running out of time.
She picked up Nate's phone and flicked through his contacts. Other than the band members, their manager, his hairdresser and singing coach the only other contacts were his family. Not one person on the phone would talk to her, especially not if they knew who she was. She couldn't even pretend to be with the media. His entourage had closed ranks. Nate's secrets were part of his mystic. Except he had no secrets from her. She clicked through his aps and then opened his photo album. Her breath hitched as she scrolled through his saved pictures.
