Chapter 26

26

AMITY

H e runs his fingers through his hair. "I know, I'm sorry. She texted last night, freaked out that someone was watching her and knocking on her door, and I couldn't get a hold of the prospect we had on her."

I take a step back. "So you left me in your bed, dripping with your cum, while you went to play White Knight for Monica?" I don't care if I sound bitter—because I am. If the roles were reversed, I know he wouldn't be okay with it.

"It wasn't like that. I couldn't sleep, so I was up working on a project for a client. When I realized someone needed to check it out, only a few guys were still awake. I took Hannibal with me, and nothing happened. We slept sitting on the floor of the hotel room."

"Havoc has a lot to adjust to, you know—getting out of prison, being in a new club, taking over as president. It'll take time, and I'm sure it won't take much to overwhelm him and freak him out."

He frowns. "What are you talking about?"

"I was thinking that Nevaeh and I could spend the night with him. I mean, not in his bed or anything, like we'd sleep on the floor. So he feels better, and he's not alone."

"Like fuck."

I give him a look, waiting for him to realize the hypocrisy. It takes a moment, but then it hits him.

"Shit. I'm sorry. Trust me, I wasn't happy about it either. You can ask Hannibal."

"And you both had to stay?"

"She doesn't know Hannibal, and there was no way I was staying without him. I'm not interested in Monica, Amity. I'm not a cheat."

"If I thought you cheated, I would've punched you already. But that doesn't mean I'm okay with this."

"I didn't have a choice."

"There's always a choice, G. You promised you wouldn't have Monica on your bike again."

"She was on Hannibal's, but he got an emergency phone call and had to go. I couldn't leave Monica stranded at the side of the road."

"You could have called someone else. Hell, you could have called me. There's always a choice. Look, I'm going to get ready for my scene before I say something I'll regret."

"You're still staying at the clubhouse tonight, right?" he asks as I turn to leave.

I nod. "I'm going to leave the RV here. Can you ask Havoc to come pick me up?"

"I'll take you back."

"You'll be here later than me watching Monica. Don't worry, G, it doesn't mean anything," I tell him softly before walking away.

I'm probably overreacting, but I can't help how I feel. I mean, I wouldn't care if it were Nevaeh on the back of his bike. But the thought of Monica's grabby hands on him makes me want to rip her nails out. I hate that I'm acting like a psycho, but the woman brings out the worst in me.

"Hey, Amity. You okay? I've been calling your name." I look up and see Jack and Matt—one of the trainee runners—standing in front of me.

"Yeah, sorry, I was in my own little world. Looks like it's gonna be one of those multiple-cups-of-coffee kinda days."

"I hear that. You got a few minutes? I want to go over a few things before we reshoot the scene."

"Sure."

I walk with him to a picnic table, and Matt follows close behind with an iPad. I cock my eyebrow in question. Runners don't usually take notes, but it seems like Matt's trying to make a good impression. Jack's lips twitch as he shrugs.

"Sit. You want me to get Matt to run over and grab you a coffee?"

"I don't want to be a pain."

"I don't mind," Matt says.

"If you're sure, I'd love a skinny latte. Thank you."

"No problem." Matt hands the iPad to Jack and heads off to get my coffee.

"I'll have a black coffee, thanks for asking, kid," Jack yells after Matt, who looks back with an embarrassed blush across his cheeks. He gives us a thumbs-up before hurrying away.

"Kid's sweet on you," Jack says, making me laugh. "He offered to take notes just to get close to you."

"He likes me and every other woman on set. He has a type, and it's called vagina."

He snorts but doesn't disagree. "Alright, we'll be reshooting one of the chase scenes this morning. Stefan didn't like how the light was when he was watching the rushes. So, you're fine there. But this afternoon, we'll be shooting the cliff climb. You'll have climbing equipment, but Stefan wants to keep it as authentic as possible." I nod.

"The ropes are easy enough to edit out of the final cut; the problem will be the harness. The body moves differently in one, and he basically wants it to look like you're free climbing."

"If the ropes run alongside me, I can free climb. It won't be the first time I've done it. But I'll need to check it out first and see what the surface is like. If it's too smooth, I'll need to use some climbing cams, but they should be easy to edit out."

"Are you sure? It's pretty fucking risky, even for someone with balls as big as yours."

I chuckle at that. "Like I said, I've done it before. If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't offer. Just to be clear, though, if I see any issues when I check it out, we'll have to go with the original plan. But if everything looks good, it won't be that hard. And if I lose my footing, I can just grab the ropes beside me."

"We have a stunt mat airbag ready, too, just in case," he tells me. But we both know that injuries can still happen. That's why one of the first things I learned was how to fall. If anything goes wrong, at least I know how to minimize the damage.

"I'll be fine. That's the last stunt, right?"

"The last big one, yeah. There were a few we had to reschedule that Monica could have done herself, but we wouldn't want her to mess up her hair." He rolls his eyes, making me snort.

"Glad it's not just my last nerve she's getting on."

"I think we've all reached the point where we're hoping she's replaced for the last two movies," he grumbles.

I don't say anything. I'd be a hypocrite if I tried to defend her. Besides, she's got nobody to blame but herself. Her attitude has gotten worse with each new movie.

"You need to keep an eye on her." He lowers his voice like he's worried someone will hear us, but there's nobody around.

He stares toward my RV. When I look over, I see her talking to G. She laughs at something he says, and though his body language screams "back off," hers is flirty as she touches him and twirls her hair.

"I thought she had to get to makeup," I grumble.

"She's not gonna pass up a chance to flirt with your boy. Trust me, she's not happy he picked you over her."

"G's not interested in Monica."

He looks at me like I'm an idiot. "She's Monica Miller, Amity. Every man's interested. But if he's spent any time with her, he's probably figured out she's a viper in sheep's clothing. Still, men tend to overlook a lot when sex is involved."

I keep my eyes on them, watching as G stands there with his arms crossed over his chest. He doesn't look enamored with her; he looks pissed off, and I have to admit that it soothes my fears.

"Here's your latte, Amity." I jump at the sound of Matt's voice and turn to take my coffee from him.

"Thank you so much, Matt. You're a lifesaver."

I take a sip and groan, my eyes slipping closed as I savor it. When I open them, Matt's an alarming shade of red. He mutters an apology before scurrying away.

"And, of course, he took my coffee with him." Jack sighs as he stands. "Finish your coffee and head over to wardrobe. Stefan wants to do the reshoot after Monica's monologue. He wants to capture her first in the right light to give her a dewy glow, whatever the fuck that means." He shakes his head and wanders off, leaving me to drink my coffee in peace. By the time I'm finished, I feel just as annoyed with Monica as I did before, but at least I can control my homicidal urges for now.

I make my way over to the RV to check my phone quickly, hoping Nevaeh has text or called to let me know she's okay. Getting called in early means I didn't get chance to check on her before I left.

Talk of the devil, as I reach the side door, Nevaeh pulls up beside me, so I wait for her to get out of her car. Thankfully Monica and G are both long gone, so at least I don't have to bother with any awkward conversations.

I take in Nevaeh's face and bite back the urge to tease her. "You okay?"

"Peachy, but I got woken up by a call from the book signing people; they want me to fly out today. A ticket will be waiting for me at the airport when I get there."

"Oh wow, that's fast. I thought you weren't leaving until next week."

"That was the plan, but they decided to add a meet-and-greet, and they were worried about jet lag, so now that means I need to pack like a crazy person. What the heck do I wear? I mean, it's London; it rains a lot there, right?"

I shrug. "Who knows? The weather over there's bipolar."

"It doesn't matter; I'll figure it out. I can always pick up a few things while I'm there. Oh God, I'm nervous." She smooths her hands down her skirt.

I step forward and wrap my arms around her. "Breathe. You're going to have a blast. I'm going to miss you, though. Take a million pictures for me."

"I will, I promise. Wow, if my dad knew I was doing this, he'd have a heart attack."

"He'll get over it. Besides, what he doesn't know won't hurt him."

She blows out a shaky breath and nods, tucking her hair behind her ear—one of her nervous habits.

"I wish I could go with you. If it was just a few weeks later…"

"Nope. Don't you dare feel guilty. I'm the one who said yes to this after I'd already agreed to work for you. If anyone should feel guilty, it's me."

"How about we both agree to be guilt-free, then?"

"Deal. And hey, at least you get to rock the RV with Mr. MC for a couple weeks."

"Mm-hmm…" I mutter noncommittally, following Nevaeh inside.

"What's that supposed to mean? You guys are okay, right?"

"I'm mad at him right now." I sit down as she drags her suitcase out from under the bed and starts tossing things into it.

"What happened?"

I bite my lip, but I know she won't let go until I spill my guts. So I do. I tell her everything—from waking up and finding myself alone in G's bed to seeing my helmet in Monica's hand, and the words me and G had before.

She listens quietly as she continues to pack. Once I'm done talking, I get up and go grab her toiletries from the bathroom. When I come back with them, she's sitting on the side of the bed.

"You know I always have your back. Always. So if you need me to hate G, I will. I'll cut nipple holes in all of his T-shirts and spill a Coke on his keyboard."

I grin and sit next to her. "I feel like there's a ‘but' coming on."

" But I think you overreacted. Could he have made different choices? Sure. But at the end of the day, his job is to keep Monica safe. So if that means checking on her in the middle of the night or having her ride on the back of his bike, then so be it. It's not like he wants her. Anyone with eyes can see that. Now, with that being said, if her being on the back of a bike bothers you so much, then I think a little revenge is in order. Get bestie number two to give you a ride. Toot seems like he'd have no problem messing with G."

"Great minds think alike," I say. "I told him to ask Havoc to come pick me up. I could tell he wanted to argue when I told him it didn't mean anything, but he couldn't without proving my point."

"So devious. It's my second favorite thing about you."

"Really? What's the first?"

"Your excellent taste in best friends, obviously."

"Obviously," I deadpan, laughing when she pokes me in the ribs.

"Just give him a chance to make it up to you, okay?" She gives me a look, and I nod. "Besides, I've heard both angry sex and makeup sex are the best."

"You're not just short like Yoda; you're wise like him too."

"I'm tall enough to punch you in the boob." I jump away, laughing.

"I can't believe my little baby is all grown up and..."

"Saving China?" She finishes with a laugh.

"I was channeling my inner Mushu, yes, but I was going to say –– going to London without me ."

"As much as I love a Mulan quote; I'm a big girl, Amity. I can handle myself. I know it doesn't seem like it sometimes, but—" Her words are muffled as I cover her mouth with my hand.

"I know you can. If I didn't think you could, I wouldn't let you get on a plane and fly halfway across the world."

She thinks about it for a moment before relaxing. I pull my hand away from her mouth.

"Alright, I believe you." She pulls me toward her and hugs me tightly.

I breathe her in and hold her close, swallowing down a lump in my throat. Joking aside, I know this is a big deal for her.

"I've gotta go. I'm supposed to be in wardrobe right now. I just wanted you to know I'm so proud of you, Nevaeh, and I know Citlalli would be too."

"You think so?"

"Absolutely."