I fought back a snarl. “Hello,” I said politely.
“You’ve met Elliott Bradley.”
I shook my head and forced myself to take his hand when it was offered. “I’ve seen you around.” I studied him, looking for features that matched mine. I did this for each of the men on my list, and I was still no closer to the truth. I was my mother’s daughter through and through.
“Yes, same here. It’s nice to finally meet Lita Reyes’s most important legacy. I’ve heard only great things.”
There was a beat of silence where both men stared at me, giant smiles on their faces. It gave uncanny valley vibes, as if he were trying to appear human but wasn’t quite selling it. The idea made me uneasy.
“I should get back to it.” I tried to brush past them, but Arthur put his hand on my shoulder, stopping me.
“Where did you get that?” Arthur asked, pointing to the can in my hand.
“Craft services. Are we done here?” I snapped.
“We just wanted to see how you were feeling about the plan I laid out yesterday. Is this still going to happen?”
“It does this whenever it’s told,” I said bitterly.
They exchanged confused glances.
“What?” Elliott asked.
“I don’t think I have a choice, do I?”
Elliott shook his head grimly. “You don’t. Just do the shoot, and we can all go home.”
“Groovy.” I looked at my shoes, and they left, satisfied in their silent threats.
Once they were far enough away, I looked up. Sebastian was coming my way. He’d seen me talking to them. He raised an eyebrow, but I shook my head. We couldn’t talk about this now.
“Dante is calling for the gun safety meeting. Let’s go over.”
I followed him and listened to a speech that didn’t really matter. My gun, maybe Sebastian’s as well, were likely loaded with real bullets. We could kill each other today. Or, God willing, we’d both miss.
I couldn’t focus with Arthur and Elliott standing off to the side, watching us carefully. They wanted to make sure the job got done.
After our talk with the professionals, we were allowed on set to work on blocking without props. Dante was not a fan of guns in his films or on set at all, so he wanted to get it in one shot.
Which, if we did as asked, was all it would take.
Arthur and Elliott made sure to stay in view of me at all times. No matter where I turned, I knew they were there. Sebastian and I shot the hand-to-hand combat scene and then broke for lunch, during which I was finally able to get away from their intense gazes. I grabbed my hoodie off my chair and ran to my trailer, and as soon as the door closed, I settled into a wonderful, much needed panic attack.
I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t even pretend. This was bad. My pulse was rushing in my ears. This was real fucking bad. If I didn’t shoot Sebastian, there was a chance he’d shoot me. Intentionally or not. What if his finger slipped? I paced until I dropped to the floor and started tugging at the roots of my hair.
I couldn’t do this. There had to be a better way.
There was a knock, and the door opened an inch.
“Cleaning!”
I wiped my face and stood, rubbing my head. “Right. Come in, Bambi.” I fell onto the couch as the woman who cleaned my trailer came in with her caddy and broom.
“How are you today, Evie?” she asked kindly, setting her equipment down on the table. “Sorry I’m here during your lunch hour. I got a little behind today.”
“You’re fine. I’m just stressed. I am so glad we’re wrapping today.”
She nodded, replying on auto. “I bet. It’s been a long shoot.” She usually had her headphones on as she cleaned, not one for pleasantries.
