Page 16 of Everybody Needs a Hero

“We did have Bryce’s truck, but, well, it got washed away,” Ashley replied, and Tess felt her heart stop for a second.

“Washed away?” she whispered, not wanting to think about the implications around that statement. She gathered herself. “Okay, so we will come to get you.” Tess knew she was asking yet another favor of Drew, but there was no way she would let her daughter walk to Beverly Hills. It was miles through some not-so-great parts of Los Angeles. After everything they’d been through, Tess wouldn’t rest until she could put her arms around Ashley and hold her safe. “Where exactly are you?”

13

As they reached the security guard shack at the main gate onto the Sony Pictures Studio lot, Bryce had never been more ready to sit down somewhere and have a long, cold drink of water. Walking the five and a half miles along Venice Boulevard with the stream of displaced people headed east away from the coast wouldn’t have been particularly bad normally. But she had ended up carrying Bev while Ashley held Floyd’s leash. When they finally saw the signature white walls of the movie lot, Bryce was ready to put Bev down. The woman rode piggyback, and it wasn’t so much that she was heavy, but she didn’t smell particularly good. A cross between vinegar, old sweat, and wet dog. Plus, she seemed to think giving a nonstop monologue about their harrowing escape from the tsunami was necessary. “I can’t believe I’m still alive,” Bev said as they reached their destination, and Bryce gently set her down. “When you sideswiped that car and we slowed way down, I thought I was about to punch my timecard.”

“That was a close call,” Bryce murmured in response. “We were definitely lucky.”

Bev patted Bryce’s arm. “Lucky? Like hell,” she said with a gap-toothed grin of stained teeth. “We made it because you are an A-number one badass. Saved by a Marine. Go figure.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Bryce noticed Ashley was covering a smile with her hand. “What?” Bryce asked, starting to grin.

Ashley shook her head. “Nothing,” she said. “Just glad Bev reassured me earlier she wasn’t trying to steal my girl.”

“She’s a keeper,” Bev chimed in as she took Floyd’s leash. “If I was a little younger…”

Bryce appreciated the recommendation, no matter what the circumstances. “Thank you, Bev,” she said. “But really, I was only doing what I was trained to do.”

Bev waved off the comment. “You’re more than only that, hon,” she said with a chuckle. “Thanks for the lift. You kids take care of yourself.” Bryce raised her eyebrows.

There hadn’t been any mention of splitting up. “Are you leaving?” Ashley asked, sounding as surprised as Bryce felt. “We just got here.”

“Oh, you know I can’t go in a place like that,” Bev said with a nod toward the studio lot. “But it’s okay. I know some folks who hang out around here.” She shrugged. “I’ll find something to eat and a place to spend the night.”

Ashley shook her head. “No, you wait,” she said. “They will let you in with us once I tell them who I am. Don’t go yet.”

Holding up Floyd’s leash, Bev hesitated. “With Floyd too?” she asked, and Bryce was relieved to see Ashley nod.

“Floyd too,” she said. “Let me talk to the guard. Maybe Mom is here already.” She walked toward the guard at the entrance. The plan Ashley and her mom had come to while Ashley was on the roof of the public storage building was for everyone to meet at the studio. Tess, in Drew’s car, would continue to drive west while Bryce, Ashley, Bev, and Floyd walked east. Sony Pictures was a logical point between them where Tess knew they would be welcome. Plus, Ashley knew precisely where it was after spending a fair part of her childhood visiting her mom working there. Tess assured Ashley they would treat them like royalty. It hadn’t mattered to Bryce either way. All she wanted was to get out of the immediate area of the Venice Beach boardwalk.

It wasn’t that she worried another tsunami might come, but because once the water receded completely, looters would start showing up. In her experience in the Marine Corps, she witnessed the speed at which thugs would descend after a disaster. The lack of law and order was too much for some people to resist. They would take advantage, and if anyone got in their way, things could get dangerous quickly. When Ashley insisted she meet her mom somewhere, Bryce only cared that they picked a place miles from any risk of trouble.

“Okay,” Ashley said, returning to them with three plastic badges on lanyards marked GUEST in big red letters. “The guard remembered me and buzzed the main office. A production assistant is coming to meet us at the gate to escort us to a place we can wait comfortably.”

Bev took the fancy badge, fingering it with a look of awe on her face. “Well, look at that,” she said before turning to Floyd. “We’re moving up in the world.” Bryce watched as Floyd responded with a yawn. The dog was calm and relaxed, exactly the way she wanted to see him.

For the lasthour as Drew drove them along clogged surface streets toward the famous Sony Pictures Studio lot, she watched Tess wringing her hands. The woman became more and more animated the closer they got. As they crossed into the Culver City area of Los Angeles, Tess was all but hopping in her seat from anticipation. With a clear lane ahead of them at last, they would be at the gate in less than five minutes. “Please let her be there,” Tess said repeatedly under her breath.

“She will be,” Drew assured her, willing her words to be true. “Keep thinking positive. It’s gotten us this far.”

Surprising Drew, Tess touched her arm, giving it a squeeze. “You’ve gotten us this far,” she said. “And I will always be grateful.”

Not expecting the praise, Drew shrugged. “Well, I’m not sure that is warranted,” she said, unsure why admiration from Tess made her uncomfortable. “Most people would have done the same.”

“Would they?” Tess asked, and when Drew glanced at her, the woman was studying her closely. “I am not so sure. You’re more special than you realize.” Drew felt herself starting to blush. Hearing words like that, especially from someone lovely like Tess Landish, wasn’t something she was used to in her life. Before she could deflect the compliment, Tess kept going. “I know you’re thinking of a way to change the subject, but I won’t let you yet. You need to hear what I have to say.”

Drew raised an eyebrow. “Hear what?” she asked, not sure she could handle more accolades.

“Hear that you’re amazing,” Tess said. “Not only have you helped me when you didn’t have to, but for God’s sake, you brought a healthy baby boy into the world today.”

Not sure what to say, Drew kept her mouth shut as she made the last turn that would lead them to the main gate. She hoped with a bit of luck Tess would run out of steam and let the conversation move on. Instead, the woman leaned across the center console and kissed Drew on the cheek before whispering in her ear. “I’ve never met anyone like you.”

Unable to help it, Drew felt her body react to the warmth of Tess’s breath on her cheek. As crazy as the day had been, it didn’t erase the fact she had spent the day with one of the most beautiful and charismatic women alive. The fact Tess thought she was not only amazing but also willingly told her so only made Drew more attracted to the actress.Work will be interesting tomorrow, she thought.Or whenever Tess is ready to return to the set.Even though there was a natural disaster in one part of Los Angeles, it didn’t mean the world stopped in all the rest. When it came to the entertainment industry, the show must go on.

“Oh my God, I see them!” Tess suddenly yelled, making Drew jump.

“Where?” she asked, and Tess pointed. Drew saw a trio of women who could not look more different from one another. One blonde, one dark-haired, and one wearing what looked like a filthy LA Dodgers baseball hat. And a black and white dog on a leash. They looked like they were waiting for someone or something coming from the direction of the gate and paid no attention to the street. To complicate things more, they would have no way of knowing what kind of car Tess would be riding in. When Tess realized Ashley hadn’t noticed them approaching, she turned to Drew.

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