Chapter 1

1

“Live from beautiful downtown Los Angeles, it’s Midnight Oil! With your host, Lester Craig!”

The sound of jazz music filled the air as a live studio audience cheered, a flashing “applause” sign flickering above them. The late night stage, complete with a mock backdrop of LA’s skyline, lit up dramatically. A desk sat beside a plush couch and coffee table. Matching mugs with the Midnight Oillogo were in plain view of the three monitoring cameras. A man stepped into the spotlight with his hands held high. He was handsome, with sculpted brown hair and a standard suit and tie. His perfect, Hollywood smile gleamed beneath the lighting.

“Thank you!” he called. His voice quickly quieted both the music and the audience. “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen! Wow, great crowd out here tonight, great crowd. You can always tell a Hollywood crowd from the rest of the country, you know that? All you have to do is throw them all in water. The silicone will usually float the Californians to the top.” Laughter accompanied the joke, and Lester continued. “And if you want to sort out them from the Beverly Hills people, just see who can actually smile.” A rimshot followed his second joke while Lester pretended to inject Botox into his forehead.

“Anyway, we got a great show for you folks tonight. Singer songwriter Georgie Stapleton will be joining us later—” His words were cut off by the cheers. He only smiled brighter. “But first,” Lester continued, “we’ve got a real treat for you tonight. Our first guest is making his debut here on the Midnight Oil. He’s been on the acting scene for less than a decade, but has recently skyrocketed in popularity thanks to the success of his hit show, Hot Blood.” The crowd erupted with screams, the intensity even taking Lester back a bit. “All right, calm down, you animals.” Again, Lester was met with laughter.

“He is a phenomenally talented actor and has seated himself as America’s hottest heart throb. Please welcome Mr. Ethan Teller!”

The audience went wild as Lester turned to applaud his first guest of the night. Lights and cameras pointed stage right just as another man stepped into view. Ethan smiled, one hand waving at the mindlessly screaming fans in the audience. His black hair was full and expertly styled, lying against his handsome brow effortlessly. His grey eyes glittered in the limelight, a loose, tailored blazer hanging from his well-rounded shoulders. His smile, complete with perfect, pearly white teeth, was fit for the cover of a magazine, no retouch needed. As he walked to the sofa, he paused, the crowd continuing to thunder with excitement. Lester had sat down by then, and watched with amusement as Ethan was kept on his feet a while longer. When he was finally able to sit down, the host chuckled to himself.

“You know, they never get excited for me like that,” he joked.

Ethan laughed easily. “That’s a shame, you’re so exciting.” Lester straightened his note cards.

“Thanks for coming on the show, Ethan.”

“Thanks for having me.”

“Now, this is your third season with Hot Blood, is that right?”

“Yes. The finale airs this weekend actually—”

On cue, the audience burst into glee, and the two men laughed. “They just loveyou,” Lester teased.

“Yeah,” Ethan replied. “I have no idea why…” After the laughs settled down, the interview continued.

“Lazarus Hamish, your character, is by far one of the most interesting men on television right now. Wouldn’t you say?”

Ethan’s brow drew together. “He certainly is a fascinating guy,” he agreed. “When I first started doing this show, there was so much talk about him and his character. They wanted someone who fit what we were familiar with in a sort of renegade cop, but I think his past, and his love affairs and ties with the darker side of his world, are what that makes him so much more three-dimensional.”

“He’s got sort of an anti-hero complex, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah, I’d say so. I mean at the beginning of the show, you saw him as someone trying to turn over a new leaf. As the show progresses, and with the death of his wife, you kind of see him reverting back into his old ways when he was on the other side of the law. And I think this finale and the season that comes after that is really going to play into that story.”

“And what about you?” Lester continued. “Do you have any similarities with Lazarus? Anything you like to draw on for him?”

“Well…I mean, I haven’t killed anyone, so that’s nice.” More laughter. “Um…No, not really. I mean I love playing him, and being that sort of bad-ass that everyone kind of fantasizes about but…I dunno…I wouldn’t say we’re very alike.”

“Well you look alike.”

“Yeah. I got that going for me, at least, heh. I think I’d be very scared if I bumped into him on the street, though. He knows how to fight very well and I…I do not.” He laughed at his own joke, dripping with charm.