Page 39 of The Singapore Stunt

I look up at the roof, knowing the editor will cut to an image of the defeated bad guys rubbing their busted noses and broken limbs, looking over the edge from the roof. I lift one hand, extend it, and flip my middle finger up at it.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Kimberly

I exit the helicopter from a makeshift helipad built on the garden property next to the hotel. The medical team rushes to me with a foil wrapper used for marathon runners. The second medic carries a large red medical backpack.

They wrap me in the protective wrapper and walk me toward the medical tent that was used to patch up the stunt team after this morning’s fight sequence.

Voices fill the air. Questions asked, and I can’t think straight. I must answer them properly because I pick up voices on the walkie-talkie.

“She’s in the medical tent. Safe and sound.”

I hear Marlon’s voice returning. “Thank god. Let her know we are on our way.”

A nurse removes the blanket, and her fingers probe the back of my left shoulder. I’m numb. I don’t know if it’s the adrenaline or the fact that I just saw my life flash before my eyes, but I don’t feel a thing.

Not on the shoulder, not on my knee that took the brunt of my fall, nor when they inspect my hands. A large part of me wants to laugh uncontrollably, while another part of me wants to cry. A doctor with sympathetic eyes steps in front of me and hands me something I don’t expect. A phone.

I don’t ask, already knowing.

“Kimberly.” Relief floods my body with the sound of his voice. When I thought I had lost it all, he was the final image I wanted to take with me to the afterlife. Mattias.

“Muscle memory.” I ease the concern I know he carries. We may not have remembered the shorts, but he did train my body. Even in the middle of the panic in midair, my body reached for the ladder. It knew what needed to be done, even when my head had checked out to the afterlife. “You told me to hold on no matter what, and I did.”

Sniffles fill my ears, and I give him all the time he needs. “I’m in the elevator, coming to you. I’ll be there in four minutes.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

I disconnect and dial my mother’s number. The conversation is short and to the point. “I’m alive. I love you.” I promise to call her tomorrow and then repeat nearly the same conversation with Trace. They both know me well enough to sense there is so much more behind my status update, but both know I need a moment.

The doctor stands a respectful distance away but is monitoring me closely. The adrenaline must be wearing off because I’m starting to feel things. The first thing that hits is fatigue, my body reminding me I’ve not gotten any sleep in two days.

Then the aches and pain hit. For some reason, the discomfort etched on my face causes the doctor to smile.

I hear the rapid footsteps approaching, and all the pain evaporates again. Mattias leaps into the tent like a spouse looking for their returning military partner. It’s a look I haven’t earned—yet.

I race toward him, and the doctor barely steps out of the way in time. I’m wild arms and uncontrollable legs as I practically climb this man. Every part of me needs to touch every part of him as quickly as possible.

“I nearly lost you.” His voice cracks, and the tears are back.

I kiss it away and snuggle my head into the crook of his neck. “Only for 3.7 seconds.”

“It felt like forever.”

“Something tells me whenever we are apart, it’s going to feel like forever.” I lay a not-so-veiled promise at his feet.

“Let’s not find out.” He runs with my promise and turns it into a beautiful mansion of tomorrows.

I rest my hand over his heart and capture his gaze. He’s offering all of his tomorrows, but I need him to know at what cost. “The internet trolls aren’t going anywhere. Are you sure?”

He presses a kiss on my forehead. “Let’s see if I got this right. A bunch of people that I don’t know posting things that things they know nothing about? Did I get that right?”

When he says it like that, I feel like an idiot for concocting a fake romance and wasting nearly two years of my life trying to control a narrative that I never could. “Yeah. That’s about right.” I giggle. Mattias’ perspective is exactly what I need in my life. I spent two years and tens of thousands of dollars only to come to the same conclusion that he’s reached in two days.

“I think I can live with it. You can’t scare me away, Kimberly.”

Mattias wraps me into a tight, protective hug, and I finally relax. I remain that way when Marlon enters the tent. Right behind him are the entire production crew and the stunt team. All I see are bodies crowded into the small medical tent. Voices fill the air, followed by laughs filled with relief.

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