I made it back to find the set frozen. Laster was being a real pain in the ass and refusing to shoot his scene without me seeing it first. I was thirty minutes late getting back and Samford was screaming his face blue. I hobbled in and tried to make my injuries as unnoticeable as possible, to avoid holding up the set for longer.
Laster kept trying to run his lines for me, but every time Samford screamed, he’d cast him a dirty look and start over. It was going nowhere fast. My arms and legs were throbbing and I could feel the blood still oozing from my torn skin. With Samford terrorizing the set, there was nothing I could do to escape and get to the first aid tent, though.
“My fucking writer isn’t on set when I need her and I have a hotshot actor who wants to wave his dick around to get her fucking attention. This isn’t going to work! She’s not the damn expert, Laster! You got something to say about the script? You ask me! I’m the goddamn director!”
Laster spun around on Samford and threw his script on the floor. “I can’t work like this!”
Eli Dunn, the actor playing Thomas Gadberry, threw his hands up and turned on one of the assistants who just happened to be closest. “Get me a fucking coffee! If I’m going to have to stand around here all damn day, I’m going to need something to keep me going.”
Samford jabbed his finger at the air, in my direction. “This is all your fault! I told you to eat here! You think you’re too good and look what happens! You’ve turned this whole place into a fucking shit show!”
He threw his script at my feet and stormed off. I looked around and found a whole roomful of eyes on me. Some were sympathetic, while others were annoyed.
I just kicked Samford’s script under a prop table, in hopes that he’d never find it and suggest more stupid things to me. Then, I went to find some kind of relief for my body.
Jennifer was coming out of the tent as I neared. She had huge sunglasses covering her face and was stooped over just slightly. She still managed to spot me, though. “Darby? What the fuck happened to you?”
I laughed to avoid crying. “Some crazy driver almost ran me over. I had to jump out of the way and I managed to catch myself with all the good skin on my body.”
She pulled me into the tent and pushed me towards Allie, a nurse I’d come to know and like. “Where were you? On set? Did you see who was driving?”
Allie looked at me and winced. “Darby, you poor thing.”
I pulled myself onto the portable table she had set up and laid back on it. The adrenaline rush from earlier was so far gone and I was exhausted. “I was downtown. I ran down for an errand and you know those drivers. I didn’t see anything but the car.”
“What were you doing downtown?”
“I needed to run an errand. It wasn’t anything important. I just wanted to do it before the end of the day. Lot of good I did, though. I got back half an hour late and now the whole set is shut down. Laster ran off. Samford ran off. Eli is being a bitch to the assistants again. Pretty much managed to ruin the movie in a mere half hour, it seems.”
Jennifer muttered a series of curse words that I’d never heard put together in quite the same way. “I’m going to shove the end of my heel so far up Samford’s ass, he’ll never walk right again. I hate that miserable little man.”
Allie stood over me and frowned down at me. “Did you call the cops? I’m going to have to get you out of these clothes so I can clean you up and see the damage. That okay?”
Was it okay if the thin, perfect nurse saw me in just my granny panties and holey bra that I hadn’t washed in over a week? Not to mention the extra few pounds I’d managed to add on from eating at the craft services sweets table. I sighed. “Sure. Why not?”
“Hello? Darby? Cops? Did you call them?”
I cut my eyes over to Jennifer. “No. I didn’t. Because all I could’ve said is that a rusty old brown van nearly ran me over. I didn’t think that would be enough information for them to go on.”
“After all the threats, Darby, I don’t feel comfortable with this.”
I sat up and glared at her. “It had nothing to do with those stupid threats.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know that. This is too big of a coincidence for me. I’m calling in security.”
“Don’t you dare! Jen, I don’t need security! If anything, I just need LA drivers to figure out their shit.”
Allie motioned towards my sweatshirt. “Arms up, Darby. This is going to suck.”
Jennifer pulled out her phone while I wrestled with Allie to get the ruined sweatshirt off my body. “You’re just going to have to deal with it on this one. I’ve got a friend who used this security firm in Texas before. Apparently, the men were hot and knew what they were doing. Why wouldn’t you like that?”
I finally ripped the damn top off and threw it down. “Jennifer! I don’t want a security guard. If you want to do something nice for my health and sanity, fire Samford.”
“Can’t do it. He’s locked in with a contract. Just like you. And I’m getting a guard for you. I’ll start with just one and then see from there. I’m not taking any chances. I like you, Darby; I won’t be responsible for letting you get attacked. I’ll email you the details. You can take the rest of the afternoon off.”
I tried to argue, but she was gone that fast. I jerked my face in Allie’s direction and groaned. “This is bullshit.”
She laughed. “You’re going to work yourself into a frenzy. It’s just a security guard, Darby. Worst case scenario, you don’t need him and he just stands around all day long. What’s so bad about it?”
Everything. I wanted to keep working, but no one knew that I was working on another job, except for a detective in town. I was doing it under the radar, which meant I didn’t want a security guard following me around and reporting my comings and goings back to Jennifer. And how the hell would I explain a big guard following me around to the women I was trying to help?
“Shit. Everything. I just hate the idea of being followed around constantly.”
Allie gestured towards my pants and shrugged. “Maybe they’ll send you a really hot guy. That could be nice. Then you could just stare at him. Gain inspiration for your next book.”
I smiled and yanked my pants past my knees. The pain was horrible, but I just wanted them off. “I wish I was as positive as you.”
She patted the table again. “And I wish I had your guts. Look at these panties. You’re brave, girl.”
I shook my head and rested back on the table. “Don’t make my day worse. Please. Just let me keep my remaining dignity.”
She worked quickly and quietly to get me cleaned up. By the time she was finished, I’d had time to work through what I’d heard at Cerrito’s. Somehow, Ricky was a step ahead of me. It was alarming because he wasn’t supposed to know about me at all. I’d been quiet in my searching about him. I’d only talked to people who I knew wanted him gone; yet, somehow, he knew about the white bitch from the suburbs.
I especially resented that jab. I wasn’t from the suburbs, by any stretch of the imagination.
I’d have to be safer going forward. I couldn’t get caught. If Ricky got his hands on me, I was as good as dead. I could be safer all by myself, though. There was nothing I could gain from having some meathead bodyguard follow me around all damn day long. I was used to that from my own brothers. Growing up the youngest of seven kids, all the rest of them boys, hadn’t been a walk in the park.
Until I’d left home, and sometimes even after, I’d had six idiots following me around all the time. They still never managed to help out at all.
When Allie was finished, I had bandages wrapped around my knees and my arms, from palm to elbow. She helped me back into my clothes and suggested I buy a large bottle of Tylenol to help with the aches.
Being still for so long had left me stiff, so walking back to my car wasn’t fun. I didn’t bother going back to the set. I was done with Samford’s shit for the day and I was hoping that if Jennifer got busy and didn’t see me again, she’d forget all about the security.
I drove to my rental house, nearly an hour away with traffic, and limped inside. Jennifer had been extra kind when she picked the home for me. It was on the coast, on top of a hill that looked down at a beautiful, private beach. The interior was modern and all white, which wasn’t exactly my style, but I still loved it.
It was a welcome sight after the day I’d had so far. I stripped down to just my underwear and stretched out on the couch. That was definitely what the doctor had ordered. Just an afternoon without the stress of the movie and knowing I had a meeting that night that could blow the lid off of Ricky’s operation.
With thoughts of Ricky spending the rest of his life in jail, I fell into a restless sleep.
*
The sound of heels on my hardwood floors woke me from a dream about Aaron Gadberry. I reached out blindly for some sort of weapon and found one of my knitting needles. Wielding it for any sudden attacks, I sat up and found myself staring into a pair of amused brown eyes. I shrieked and Jennifer just laughed.
“This is the picture of sad, Darby. What’s happening here?”
I fell back on the couch and clasped my hands over my heart. “Jesus. You almost gave me a heart attack! I could’ve put your eye out!”
She rolled her eyes and came around to sit on the chair facing me. “I just wanted to come and check on you. I didn’t realize I’d be getting quite a show.”
I remembered I’d taken off most of my clothes and groaned. “Toss me that blanket behind you, peeping Tom.”
She tossed it to me, her eyes moving around the house as she did. “I like what you’ve done with the place. Brought some of the country with you, huh?”
I sat up and wrapped the blanket around myself. “I guess. How’d you get in, anyway?”
She stood up and walked over to one of the bookshelves. Picking up a framed photo of my family, her eyebrows nearly climbed to the back of her head. “Holy shit, Darby. Are these your brothers or the starting lineup for a football team? They’re huge!”
“I wonder myself some days if those idiots are actually family.” I looked around and noticed she’d brought a large bag inside with her. “What’s that?”
Jennifer turned to face me and grinned. “We’re having a sleepover!”
My meeting with Pamela flashed in my head and I frowned. “What?”
“Your security guard can’t make it until morning and I finally have a night free, so I decided that we’d have a sleepover.”
“You’re babysitting me.”
She fiddled with another throw I had on top of a trunk. It was one my Grandmother made before she passed. “Think of it less like babysitting and more like making sure you don’t get attacked again.”
I stood up and moved to the kitchen, needing some space from her so I could give myself time to cool down. I hated being watched over. When I felt like I would be able to talk without yelling, I came back. “I wasn’t attacked earlier. It was just some asshole who clearly needs to take Driver’s Ed again. This is getting crazy, Jen. You’re busy. You can’t afford a free night to sit here with me. Plus, what are you going to do if someone does try to attack me? Throw your precious red bottoms at them?”
She walked over to the bag and pulled out what looked like a remote control. That was, until she pushed a button and a loud cracking noise filled my living room. “This baby could knock out Samford’s ego, it’s so strong. Anyone tries to mess with us tonight, I’m lighting them up.”
I sighed and fell back on the couch. “Great.”