“Then, maybe we can make a deal. You were interested before.”

“I’ll consider it if you’ll tell me who gave away the fact that she was in Silver Springs to begin with,” he said.

“I’m afraid I can’t reveal that information.”

“Then, I can’t help you.”

“Wait! I know she’s on the property. All I need is one good picture. Just tell me what you want in order to make that happen.”

Seth felt his hand curl into a fist. “The only thing I want is for you to take a hike—and don’t come back.”

“Can’t you—”

“If you don’t leave right away, I’m afraid you and I are going to have a serious problem,” Seth broke in.

This time he got no response. Seth wanted to believe the dude was getting into his car and driving away, but he’d seen on TV how persistent the paparazzi could be. They didn’t take no for an answer. They couldn’t—not if they wanted to be successful at the job.

He paced back and forth in the giant marble entryway for several minutes, waiting to see if Kouretas would try to buzz him again.

The intercom remained silent, but that only made Seth more nervous. Was Kouretas climbing the fence right now, trying to get onto the property?

Surely, he wouldn’t go that far. Or...would he? How brazen would this guy be? Although trespassing was illegal, what recourse did they really have? Seth didn’t know the ins and outs of the law when it came to dealing with the paparazzi. But he understood enough about the legal system to know that it wasn’t easy for a wronged party to pursue the remedy he or she deserved. The most he could do to protect Tia would be to call the cops, and they would...what? Escort Kouretas off the property? Who was to say he wouldn’t just come back? And what if they didn’t arrive until after Kouretas had taken the photograph he wanted? Tia would have to sue him, and there was no way she had the mental fortitude to do that, even if she had the resources it would require.

With a curse, he hurried to his room, threw on a sweatshirt, stuffed his feet in some tennis shoes without bothering to put on socks and jogged outside.

It was a gray, overcast day. The Christmas lights Maxi had on the front of his house and along the fence twinkled through the fog. He started toward the gate. But Maxi owned something like seven acres. Even if Kouretas wasn’t near the driveway, it didn’t mean he was gone. He could be climbing the fence somewhere out of sight—behind the garage, for instance.

There was a small door beside the gate. Seth used it to walk out and look up and down the road.