23. Quinn
QUINN
I slammed the door to the cab, slinging my pack over my shoulder. I was hot and sticky, but most of all, pissed off. My ride had never shown up, which I always assumed I could count on my husband to ensure he would be there waiting for me at the airport.
Apparently, that wasn’t really a thing. Not when there were other things that were more important, though I couldn’t think of a damn thing that was more important than his wife.
I entered the code to the building and strode inside, staring at the empty space. “Oh, thank you so much. It’s good to be home,” I said to no one. “Yes, the trip was good, but that’s not important right now. How are you?”
Scoffing, I made my way to the elevator, still grumbling to myself as I stepped on. “Sure. It was a great trip. We discovered absolutely nothing. Volcanoes still erupt and lava is still hot. But thank you for asking.”
“Are you talking to yourself?”
I looked up at the camera in the corner of the elevator and flipped off Rae. “You would be too if you came home to no one waiting for you.”
“Ah, he forgot to pick you up. Well, you can’t be too hard on him. We’re in crisis mode right now.”
“Oh, sure,” I nodded, disbelievingly. “But then again, you’re always in crisis mode. And I’m only his wife, after all.”
“See? I knew you would understand.”
I flipped her off again, sighing tiredly when the doors opened and I stepped off. Everyone was running around like crazy, arguing about shit I didn’t know or care about. All I wanted was a hot shower and some food.
I tossed my bag on the ground and headed for the kitchen, in desperate need of some caffeine. If I was going to make it through the day, I was going to need a pick-me-up.
Harper spun around from where her face was buried in the fridge.
Her large belly protruded with her impending child of doom.
If there was one thing I really didn’t like, it was other people’s kids, which wasn’t all that surprising since I didn’t like other people in general.
It was strange how I had gone from a people-pleasing idiot to avoiding all human interaction wherever I could.
“Hey!” Harper grinned, her face stuffed with cake. “This is so good. I think it was supposed to be for a surprise or something, but…” She swallowed the cake and groaned. “Never leave food out around a pregnant woman.”
I glanced around her at the cake, noting how she’d pried the lid off. “I’m pretty sure that wasn’t supposed to be opened yet.”
She shrugged, stuffing her face once again. “Probably not. How was the trip?”
“Ugh,” I grumbled, sinking down into a chair. “Same old, same old. It was good, up until Scottie called me home and then forgot to show up at the airport.”
“Mmm! Yeah, gee was off fwying duh plane.”
I smirked at her attempt to talk, then shoved out of my seat, remembering my mission for coffee. “So, why did I get called back here? Did someone die?”
“No, but Cash killed someone. Well, they said he did. Haven’t you been watching the news?” she asked, licking the frosting from her fingers.
“I’m afraid there’s no time for the news when you’re in the field.”
“Well, apparently, he killed some president.”
My head snapped up at that. “ Our president? As in the President of the United States?”
“No, some guy overseas.”
“Which country?”
She rolled her eyes as she slumped down in her seat as gracefully as she could. “Seriously? You expect me to remember that? Is it not enough that I remembered he shot someone?”
I rolled my eyes. “Daydreaming getting in the way again?”
“Ugh, stupid pregnancy hormones. My dreams are more like nightmares. I remember when all I used to dream about was a Highlander and James Earl Jones.”
“Yeah, that’s still weird.”
“I can’t help it. I think it’s the deep voice.”
“Shouldn’t you be dreaming about Edu?”
“You would think, but oddly, he only comes to me in my daydreams, which have been completely non-existent lately.”
“Well, I guess you can’t have it all.”
“Speaking of having it all…”
My heart started to pound in my chest at the way she was eyeing me. I knew what was coming. She was about to ask me something that would inevitably leave me fleeing for the hills. I wasn’t up for friendship, going out for drinks with friends, or watching kids. It just wasn’t going to happen.
“I was thinking about your job and wondering…what’s it like to get away?”
I waited for the other shoe to drop, for her to ask me to take her on one of my trips. “Um…”
“I mean, I’ve always thought about traveling, but other than escaping Edu for a few months when I first found out I was pregnant, I never considered leaving again. Is it nice to get away?”
“I suppose,” I said hesitantly, “but part of the fun is getting away on my own,” I stressed.
“Right. I totally get that. You know, I love Edu and the kids, but sometimes…like when I’m laying in bed and this one is pushing against my bladder, I think about how nice it would be to get away on a deserted island.”
“Alone,” I emphasized, just to be sure we were on the same page.
“Well, of course. There wouldn’t be much point in escaping if I had other people join me.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. That could have gone badly so fast. Thankfully, she didn’t even seem to have thought about a girls’ vacation, which was something I was always on edge about.
“Oh my God, oh my God!” Zoe screamed as he ran into the kitchen, flapping her hands in some weird way that made me think she was a chicken. “I’m totally freaking out. This is insane!”
“What’s insane?” Harper asked, always ready to jump in and join the conversation. Me? I kicked up my heels and ignored them.
“I was just asked to do something that’s never been done before!”
“What? What is it?” Harper squealed.
I plugged my ears to cut out the incessant noise, but it didn’t really work.
“That producer I told you about, the one who’s this genius to work with…well, he contacted me. ME! He’s on his way here now, and he wants to discuss doing a live-action film!”
I snorted in amusement, unable to help myself.
Zoe turned, scowling at me. “Is there a problem?”
“Nope,” I grinned, trying desperately not to say a word.
“Obviously, there’s something. Tell me what it is.”
She was only going to keep asking, so I decided to let her down gently. “Well, that’s basically what they do now. How is this any different than anything else that’s been done before?”
Giving me her best fuck off look, she smirked. “Because this will be filmed live and streamed to major theaters!”
Okay, that was different. “Wait, they’re coming now?”
“Yes!”
“But…none of the guys are here.”
Her smile dropped instantly. “Right. That’s…”
“A bit of a problem.”
“It’ll be fine,” Harper said, shooting me a look that told me to shut the hell up. “You know Tahlia loves to blow things up. She can fill in for IRIS. And I can take FNG’s spot. Nobody can kill me either.”
“And what about our director? Who will take that on?”
“I don’t know,” Zoe said in frustration. “I don’t even have a plot for any of this! There’s no script or anything, but that’s what the studio loves from us. We’ll just have to make it work!”
She was on the verge of a panic attack, and as much as I didn’t think this would work, I just couldn’t let her feel like this was going to fail. We’d make it work no matter what.
“Alright, when is he coming in?”
Zoe took a deep breath and calmed the fuck down. “He’s flying in now. I would say we have a few hours.”
“Alright. A few hours, we can work with that. We just need to think like the guys.”
Harper snorted. “So, basically, make a plan and then disregard it all and do whatever the hell we want.”
“Exactly,” I nodded. “I’ll gather everyone. You work out a quick script, just something for us to fly by the seat of our pants with. Harper, grab Tahlia and start working up some explosives. Nothing too dangerous. We need them controlled.”
She spun to leave, but I grabbed her by the arm, stopping her from running away. “And remember you’re pregnant.”
“Of course,” she grinned, but as she waddled away, I knew she wasn’t going to listen to a damn thing I said.
“Alright. We have several hours. Let’s get to work.”
I took the elevator to the first floor as the ringer buzzed incessantly.
They had arrived, and against my better judgment, I had agreed to be part of it.
Filming would take place outside like always, but that wasn’t what worried me.
It was the storm clouds rolling in that would inevitably delay filming.
And that meant I would have to be around people longer than I really wanted.
I shoved the door open, allowing our guests to come inside out of the wind. If the storm really kicked up, we might not even get to film today.
“This would be great for filming!” one of the men said, taking off his hat. “Harry.”
“Quinn,” I said, shaking his hand.
“Where’s Zoe?”
“Oh, she’s just getting ready.”
“In the back?” He strode through the building without asking for permission, stopping in front of the elevator. “What’s this? There’s only one level here.”
“Oh, that’s nothing. It’s really for decoration,” I lied.
He eyed me curiously, a hint of excitement on his face. “An elevator used for decoration? That doesn’t sound very likely.”
“Well—”
I was interrupted by the shattering of glass at the front of the building. That was most definitely not normal, and I wasn’t sticking around to find out why or who was out there breaking our glass.
I slammed my thumb on the button, immediately using the scanner to get me access inside. “Get in!” I shouted, shoving them in just as bullets flew across the room. I dove inside, slamming my finger on level three, getting us the hell out of there.
“Are you filming this?” Harry shouted, laughing hysterically. “This is perfect!”