Free Perfect Picture [The ShadowDance Club 7] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Avery Gale

tension vibrating through him. “Noah, please let me make my own decisions, okay? I have three older brothers who smother me already.” She leaned closer and slid her hands up his arms and then used the lapels of his jacket to pull him down so that she spoke directly in his ear, “And I don’t really want to consider you as another brother, I have something else in mind for you.” Lainy felt his entire body stiffen and when he groaned and then cursed the entire room erupted into laughter.

Chapter 9
     
    Ilaina strode through the airport in Jos, Nigeria, as if she owned it. Noah had to hand it to her, she was a seasoned traveler and hadn’t complained about a single inconvenience—and there had been plenty. During their strategy sessions before leaving Colorado, they had all decided the story would be that the Nigerian government was trying to separate themselves from the struggles of their neighboring countries and those efforts included a new publicity blitz touting their efforts to safeguard and educate women as well as their programs working toward wildlife preservation and management.
    Alex and Zach’s father, Daniel Lamont was still extremely well connected in the many parts of the world because of his years building Lamont Oil, so he had been instrumental in securing their expedited travel visas. In exchange for their efforts, the Nigerians had demanded sole use of the photographs they would be taking. The fact Noah Drummond was the photographer had pleased the Nigerian officials, but when they’d learned Ilaina had agreed to do the shoot for free they had been positively beside themselves. Noah had shaken his head at the perks they’d offered Ilaina, including an upgrade to a suite which in this part of the world often meant a private bathroom.
    Noah found himself wondering how the hell she’d been able to withstand the constant scrutiny for as long as she had when he’d seen the public’s reaction to her at each stop. Sure, he’d photographed most of the world’s top models, but he’d sure as hell never traveled with them and now he was grateful for that. Christ every airport they’d been in had been a nightmare to navigate as her fans asked her to pose and sign their shirts, books, hats, hell you name it and she’d been asked to sign it. And through it all she had smiled and greeted people like they’d been her long lost best friends. It wasn’t hard to see how she’d gained a stalker. The more obvious concern had been, how had she only ended up with one? When he’d asked her about it, she simply shrugged and said, “You never want to burn a bridge because you never know when you might need to run back across it during the night.” Her words had sent a shiver up his spine and he hoped they weren’t going to prove prophetic.
    When they had finally checked in to their hotel, Noah had insisted that she take a nice soaking bath while he’d ordered room service for them. They planned to be at their first location bright and early the next morning so they’d have use of the best light. Zuma Rock would be a spectacular backdrop for Ilaina’s exotic beauty and Noah was actually looking forward to the chance to take her picture in a public setting. After a morning of outdoor shooting, they were scheduled to visit the Women of Hope Ministries. The Nigerian government wanted to highlight their efforts to make their country safe for women, both residents and travelers. Even though it was purely a public relations manipulation, Noah and the Lamonts had agreed because it was a nice lead-in to their plans for the next day.
    The day after tomorrow they were scheduled to visit the nearby Yankari Game Reserve. And that was where they were supposed to “accidently” cross paths with a group of Catholic Sisters visiting with children from their school. One of those children was going to get spirited away during that visit, and then their real challenges would begin.
    They had flown commercial all the way so