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“No.” My voice is barely louder than a whisper, but it feels like I’m in a library—and never quiet enough—I’m petrified everyone will hear.
He leans closer, his lips dangerously close to mine again. “What do you want me to do then, princess?”
I step back. I can’t be locked in his gravitational pull. I’ll never get out if I do. Looking away, I can’t bring myself to remind him of what has to be done. That we need to keep our distance.
It feels like a ball of sand forms in my throat, itchy and uncomfortable.
Paxton nods slowly, not needing the words but understanding, regardless.
We stand in silence for a few moments but are pulled out of it by a sound coming from the set.
“Fuck.” Paxton groans. “Now what?”
“You go first.” I gesture for him to go back to where the commotion is happening.
Once he does, I count to ten and follow him. What I discover is utter chaos. Stefan is yelling at everyone on set, hands waving around, face redder than a ripe tomato. His eyes are bulging out of their sockets, too.
Jeez. What has him going off?
My gaze darts across the space, searching for the reason for his tirade. That’s when I find Teagan.
She glances at me, and then her head moves, and if I’m not mistaken, I think she’s now looking at Paxton.
It’s too hard to tell from where I am, but it’s concerning, nonetheless. What is she seeing? Does she suspect?
Picking up my pace, I head over to her.
“What’s going on?” I ask when I’m standing beside her.
“Stefan’s freaking out.” She turns toward me, eyes narrowed. “Where were you?”
I pause, trying to think of how to respond, but then Stefan shouts again.
“Where is the fucking tarp?” he yells.
Tarp? What tarp? Could he be any less specific?
“Where is it?” he bellows, his voice echoing through the entire set. “Can anyone do their job on this goddamn set?”
I have no clue why a tarp is needed or what’s so special about it, but it has him in a tizzy, unlike anything I’ve seen since arriving on the island.
The tension is high, and the clock is ticking, but nothing good will be accomplished if this is the atmosphere he’s creating.
Paxton moves toward Stefan. “Calm down,” he says in a soothing voice that stops Stefan mid-rant. “You need to take a step back. I promise once you do, you’ll find it.”
He looks over at Paxton and then nods before turning back and looking at the crew.
“Be ready to shoot in five. Tarp or not.” Then Stefan storms toward Michael.
I would have thought the set would be calmer without Theresa here today, but I’m wrong again.
Doesn’t matter who’s on set. This place is cursed.
I watch as Paxton heads over to Michael and Stefan.
Good.
Paxton can handle this.
Hell, he probably can build a tarp, too. There isn’t very much he can’t do.
“What has you smiling over there?” I look up to find Teagan assessing me.
Shit.
She’s definitely on to something, and that is not good.
“Umm . . . nothing.”
Good one, Mal, ’cause you’re not being totally obvious.
Her eyebrow lifts, and one side of her lip does, as well. “Really? Because it doesn’t look like nothing.”
“Is Theresa giving you crap for not having her on set?” I try to divert her attention.
She turns toward them, watching Michael and Stefan talk animatedly.
“Surprisingly, no,” she says nonchalantly. “Or at least, not yet. But today’s the first day back, so who knows with her.”
I sigh. “As your agent, I think, moving forward—”
“I know what you’re going to say, and good luck with that. The only reason she’s not on my case about kicking her off today is because she claims she has things to catch up on since we finally have power.”
It’s my turn to lift an eyebrow. What the hell could Theresa be up to?
“But that doesn’t mean I’m going to be able to convince her again tomorrow.”
“True.” I purse my lips. “But we can try to make a case for you if you—”
“If you think that’s going to happen, you really don’t know Theresa well.” She clenches her jaw, and I can tell it’s time for me to back off.
Teagan hasn’t been the same recently, and right now, like the past few times I’ve been around her, she is someone else entirely. The sweet, innocent girl I signed is nowhere to be found. In her place is an angry, jaded girl desperate for . . . what? Escape?
She’s been like this since the storm, making me wonder if something happened.
Not that she would tell me.
Been there, tried that, and was shot down immediately.
Teagan isn’t budging on the information department.
I’m about to change the topic, but Stefan is back and waving her over.
“Time to work,” she drawls before heading back to Stefan without another word to me.
I watch as she slinks along, looking forlorn and exhausted. Hopefully, I’m not too late to fix whatever her problem is. She looks on the brink of a meltdown. I’ve witnessed it before through my father’s clients.
