Page 106 of Rest In Pieces

“I’ll have a black coffee, thanks for asking, kid,” Jack yells after Matt, who looks back with an embarrassed blush across his cheeks. He gives us a thumbs-up before hurrying away.

“Kid’s sweet on you,” Jack says, making me laugh. “He offered to take notes just to get close to you.”

“He likes me and every other woman on set. He has a type, and it’s called vagina.”

He snorts but doesn’t disagree. “Alright, we’ll be reshooting one of the chase scenes this morning. Stefan didn’t like how thelight was when he was watching the rushes. So, you’re fine there. But this afternoon, we’ll be shooting the cliff climb. You’ll have climbing equipment, but Stefan wants to keep it as authentic as possible.” I nod.

“The ropes are easy enough to edit out of the final cut; the problem will be the harness. The body moves differently in one, and he basically wants it to look like you’re free climbing.”

“If the ropes run alongside me, I can free climb. It won’t be the first time I’ve done it. But I’ll need to check it out first and see what the surface is like. If it’s too smooth, I’ll need to use some climbing cams, but they should be easy to edit out.”

“Are you sure? It’s pretty fucking risky, even for someone with balls as big as yours.”

I chuckle at that. “Like I said, I’ve done it before. If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t offer. Just to be clear, though, if I see any issues when I check it out, we’ll have to go with the original plan. But if everything looks good, it won’t be that hard. And if I lose my footing, I can just grab the ropes beside me.”

“We have a stunt mat airbag ready, too, just in case,” he tells me. But we both know that injuries can still happen. That’s why one of the first things I learned was how to fall. If anything goes wrong, at least I know how to minimize the damage.

“I’ll be fine. That’s the last stunt, right?”

“The last big one, yeah. There were a few we had to reschedule that Monica could have done herself, but we wouldn’t want her to mess up her hair.” He rolls his eyes, making me snort.

“Glad it’s not just my last nerve she’s getting on.”

“I think we’ve all reached the point where we’re hoping she’s replaced for the last two movies,” he grumbles.

I don’t say anything. I’d be a hypocrite if I tried to defend her. Besides, she’s got nobody to blame but herself. Her attitude has gotten worse with each new movie.

“You need to keep an eye on her.” He lowers his voice like he’s worried someone will hear us, but there’s nobody around.

He stares toward my RV. When I look over, I see her talking to G. She laughs at something he says, and though his body language screams “back off,” hers is flirty as she touches him and twirls her hair.

“I thought she had to get to makeup,” I grumble.

“She’s not gonna pass up a chance to flirt with your boy. Trust me, she’s not happy he picked you over her.”

“G’s not interested in Monica.”

He looks at me like I’m an idiot. “She’s Monica Miller, Amity. Every man’s interested. But if he’s spent any time with her, he’s probably figured out she’s a viper in sheep’s clothing. Still, men tend to overlook a lot when sex is involved.”

I keep my eyes on them, watching as G stands there with his arms crossed over his chest. He doesn’t look enamored with her; he looks pissed off, and I have to admit that it soothes my fears.

“Here’s your latte, Amity.” I jump at the sound of Matt’s voice and turn to take my coffee from him.

“Thank you so much, Matt. You’re a lifesaver.”

I take a sip and groan, my eyes slipping closed as I savor it. When I open them, Matt’s an alarming shade of red. He mutters an apology before scurrying away.

“And, of course, he took my coffee with him.” Jack sighs as he stands. “Finish your coffee and head over to wardrobe. Stefan wants to do the reshoot after Monica’s monologue. He wants to capture her first in the right light to give her a dewy glow, whatever the fuck that means.” He shakes his head and wanders off, leaving me to drink my coffee in peace. By the time I’m finished, I feel just as annoyed with Monica as I did before, but at least I can control my homicidal urges for now.

I make my way over to the RV to check my phone quickly, hoping Nevaeh has text or called to let me know she’s okay.Getting called in early means I didn’t get chance to check on her before I left.

Talk of the devil, as I reach the side door, Nevaeh pulls up beside me, so I wait for her to get out of her car. Thankfully Monica and G are both long gone, so at least I don’t have to bother with any awkward conversations.

I take in Nevaeh’s face and bite back the urge to tease her. “You okay?”

“Peachy, but I got woken up by a call from the book signing people; they want me to fly out today. A ticket will be waiting for me at the airport when I get there.”

“Oh wow, that’s fast. I thought you weren’t leaving until next week.”

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