Bad Boy Brody(14)

“Yeah?”

“Are you fucking Kara?”

I gave her a sharp look. “No.”

She raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “Come on.”

“I’m not.”

“She’s damned near molesting you, has been this whole time.”

I grimaced. The feel of her hand brushing against me came back to me. “I’ll deal with it.”

“You shouldn’t have to. That’s what I’m saying. If you aren’t sleeping with her, I’m assuming it’s because you don’t want to. Am I wrong?”

I gave her a crooked grin, tapping the side of my head. “Shit’s kinda messed up here right now. Sleeping with my co-star isn’t something I can take on.”

“About your brother?”

I caught a twinge of pity in her eyes.

I nodded. “You could say that.” I was keeping company with all sorts of ghosts lately. Girls. Kyle. I didn’t need to add any more regrets to the list.

“Well.” She sighed, glancing over to where Kara was glaring our way. Her assistant was next to her, trying to talk to her. “If that’s an issue you want help resolving, let me know—”

A scream cut her off.

We both turned, but the sound of stampeding hooves drowned out any other screams. Everyone froze.

High up on the clearing on the other mountain, the horses were sprinting from one side to the other. Even with the river and tree line between us and them, we had a panoramic view of the creatures.

The stallion, which stood a few hands taller than the size of the rest of the herd, was pure white except for two black spots on his backend.

“Oh, whoa.” Shanna stepped closer to them, snapping her fingers. “Carl! Get that camera out. Get those horses on it.”

He nodded, swinging his lens around. “On it.”

Everyone was watching the horses, their mouths hanging open, but I was looking for her. She must be with them. Unless, I glanced to the trees above the horses. No. I looked at the tree line on the other side of the river. No. I didn’t see her.

I looked back to the herd. They were almost past us and would be out of eyesight soon. I was studying each one, but they were going so fast.

Then . . . there.

I saw the gray mare she’d been riding the first night, but she wasn’t on her.

No.

A foot.

I almost laughed aloud. Her foot was the only thing visible, resting on top of the mare’s back. She was riding on the side of her, hidden from sight.

It happened so fast that, by the time I turned, they were already gone. Everyone just seemed stunned. I didn’t hear any questions about the girl, or the foot.

“Goddamn.” Shanna swore under her breath. “There’s a herd of mustangs. Kellerman should’ve told me that.”

“He didn’t?”

She looked at me sharply. “You knew?”

“They almost took out our car on the first night. I thought he cleared them with you.”

Her jaw firmed, and she ground out, “No. He didn’t clear anything with me.” She pointed to where the horses had appeared. “There was no fence between us and them. If they had veered this way, someone could’ve been trampled.” She gripped her radio, lifting it to her mouth as she pressed the side button. “I want a twenty on Kellerman.”

She let go, the radio crackled.

Someone responded, “He went into town for a meeting.”

Shanna pressed down on her button. “Then I want to know the second he’s back, not a minute later.”

A crackle. “On it.”

She gazed up at the clearing again, studying it before she motioned for Carl. “Did you get the footage?”

He nodded, lowering the camera back to the ground. “A good six seconds, I think.”

“Fine.” She waved her radio in the air. “Pack up! Wait for instructions. We might be changing locations for the night.”

“Different from where we were supposed to be?” one of the crew asked.

“Yeah.” She swung those keen eyes my way. I could see the steam coming from her ears as she formulated a new plan. “Is there anything else I should be made aware of?”

“Hey.” I flashed her a grin, one that usually worked to loosen the panties. “I assumed you knew. I’m only an actor.”

She cursed, rolling her eyes. “Wipe that grin off your face. I already told you we aren’t going to fuck.”

“I know, boss.”

She laughed softly, shaking her head. “You’re a lot smarter and with-it than you let people see, Brody Asher. Don’t think I’m one of those girls who’ll fall for your tricks.” She pointed her radio at me as she began to walk backward. “You said it. I’m your boss. For a reason.”

“I salute my manager sometimes. I can add you to that list if you’d like.”

She barked out a laugh before turning and walking back toward the main lodge. “Didn’t realize you were funny, Brody.”

I was a whole lot more than that.

She could add crazy to the list too.





Brody



Shanna was upset about the whole mustang situation, so everything was put on hold. She claimed there needed to be litigation about safety zoning and a whole bunch of other legal and technical issues. All I knew was that we got a night free from shooting. Most of the crew went into town to drink at the bars, and while I’d normally be on board, I found myself heading down a walking path instead. I was alone. I could hear the soft sounds of a river just ahead, and I thought I really had lost my mind. I was pretty sure because while my boss was livid about the safety risks of a herd of mustangs in the area, I was hoping to run across them tonight.