9. Nico
NICO
I slathered an ungodly amount of butter and honey on the last of the biscuits I'd brought home from the pack barbecue as I checked my phone messages again.
According to Fiona, filming would be halted until they repaired the set pieces and equipment damaged in the storm. I smiled as I opened another chat and started typing.
When I heard the basement door open, I hurriedly finished the message and placed my phone facedown on the table. Tony emerged from the basement with his favourite mug in hand.
I could see multiple coffee rings staining the inside of it. He must have worked through most of the night. I wondered how much coffee he'd already gone through since yesterday.
"Are there more of those?"
I nudged my phone slightly to the side, hoping my plate would cover it. "I've got a couple left in the air fryer."
Tony nodded, grabbed a plate, and fished a couple of biscuits out of the fryer before dropping into the seat beside me. My phone vibrated.
Tony glanced at it, then back at me, one eyebrow raised. "Aren't you going to get that?"
I was dying to check the message, but instead I quickly slipped my phone into my pocket.
"Probably just Fiona. I asked her to send me Logan's new schedule, so that's probably it." I stood and reached for Tony's mug. "Coffee?"
I refilled his mug, hoping his need for caffeine and lack of sleep would keep him from asking any more questions. It didn't seem to work.
"The storm must've cut out the power over there, huh?"
I nodded.
"So the surveillance and cameras are out until they get that sorted?"
I nodded again. Tony took a drink, watching me over the rim.
"So you're free today, then?" Before I could answer, Tony continued. "I just need to check a couple of things and maybe get a few hours of sleep, but do you want to check out Mickey's later? I heard they got that new gaming console in. We could test it out. What do you say?"
Shit. Tony was suspicious.
After all his constant warnings about me getting too close to Isaac and Logan, there was no way I was going to tell him I might already have plans. Specifically, plans with a certain bodyguard.
"Sorry," I said quickly. "I'm hanging out with Michael today."
I stood before Tony could ask anything else and headed for the stairs. It wasn't until I reached the top of the stairs that I finally pulled my phone from my pocket.
There was one new message.
Isaac: Free today. Logan's in script reading the whole day.
"Hi."
"Hi."
I met Isaac outside the building where they were holding the script reading. He had just dropped Logan off.
When I'd asked him earlier if he had the day off too, I hadn't really had any plans in mind. I'd mostly been taking a chance that he'd say yes.
"Logan told me to take the day off," Isaac explained as we started walking. "Although I only agreed on one condition."
"What's that?"
"I stay on the film site."
There was something almost endearing about the fact that Isaac couldn't quite stay away from his brother, even when Logan himself was the one telling him to take a break.
Still, I wasn't complaining. I was just happy I got to spend more time with him. It was only when we started walking that I properly noticed what he was wearing.
I was so used to seeing Isaac in his bodyguard clothes that my brain had apparently filed away the image of him in a suit as simply what Isaac looked like. Seeing him dressed down like this was almost disorienting.
Instead of his usual fitted jacket and crisp shirt, he wore a T-shirt that stretched comfortably across his broad shoulders and chest, while his denim jeans did absolutely nothing to disguise the fact that the man spent a ridiculous amount of time at the gym.
I dragged my attention back to his face before he could catch me staring. I followed him toward a golf cart parked nearby and climbed into the passenger seat after he took the wheel.
"So, what are we doing today?" I asked.
Isaac smiled as he started the cart. I waited for him to answer, but instead, he reached under his seat and held out a muffin wrapped in baking paper.
"Didn't know if you'd had breakfast yet."
"I didn't," I lied.
"It was the only one they had left when I stopped by the cafeteria. You should eat up. We've got a lot of ground to cover today."
I unwrapped the muffin. It was the same kind I always picked up from the cafeteria. I looked up at Isaac. He was clearly focused on the road, but there was a faint flush creeping up the back of his ears.
"Thanks." I bit back a smile and took a bite instead.
I polished off the muffin as we reached the first location. The moment we stopped, I nearly forgot how to breathe. It was the tavern set.
I climbed out of the cart and stared. "Oh, my God."
Isaac glanced over at me, amused. "You sound excited."
"I am." I couldn't stop smiling. I was finally standing in front of one of the locations from the game I'd loved for years.
In Shadowfall, the tavern was one of the most important locations in the early game.
It was where Ailwyn made some of his shadier deals, where the player first started piecing together the political factions surrounding the kingdom, and, later, where the uprising chose to crown him.
Even knowing it was only a set, there was something almost magical about seeing a place I'd only ever known through a screen brought to life.
I took a few steps closer, already looking for all the little details I recognised from the game, but unfortunately, we didn't make it very far.
"Sorry," one of the set staff called as he stepped toward us. "You can't go in there right now."
He pointed toward the damaged section of the set, and I immediately saw what he meant. The storm had done more damage than I'd realised.
Part of the roof had shifted, and several sections of the surrounding structure were being temporarily supported. Debris was scattered across the ground, making it clear why they weren't letting anyone inside.
"It's not safe yet," he explained. "We're still assessing everything. Nobody's allowed inside until we clear it."
"Oh." I tried not to sound too disappointed. Safety obviously came first, but having to stay outside was still a little frustrating.
"Can we at least look around outside?" Isaac asked.
The staff member hesitated for a moment before nodding. "As long as you stay behind the marked area."
That was enough for me.
The tavern was surrounded by what was supposed to be an elven forest clearing. The real forest at the edge of Pecan Pines provided most of the backdrop, but the production had added plenty of its own touches to make the place look more magical.
Silk vines hung between the trees, while patches of glow-in-the-dark moss had been attached to roots and rocks. In the grey morning light after the storm, the whole thing honestly looked a little sad.
The vines were limp and wet, and without the lighting and effects, the magical forest looked ordinary. It looked almost like an abandoned amusement park after closing.
Still, I closed my eyes for a moment. I could see it.
Lanterns glowing beneath the tavern's eaves as mist curled between the trees. Magical moss casting an eerie green light over the ground.
Characters moving through the clearing with weapons at their sides. I could almost hear the tavern music from the game playing softly in the background.
When I opened my eyes, Isaac was watching me.
"What?"
"Nothing."
It was only then that I noticed the disappointment on his face, the same frustrated edge I'd seen whenever something interfered with his job.
His gaze moved from the damaged section of the set to the staff member, then back again, as though he were mentally calculating whether there was anything he could do about it.
I wondered if that was what he'd brought me here for. I didn't mind helping with the repairs.
"Come on." Isaac gestured toward the golf cart.
I hesitated, looking back at the tavern. "But..."
Isaac shook his head. "Let's go."
The next stop was the prop and armory department, housed in a temporary building farther down the lot. This time, the staff member at the entrance actually let us inside.
Rows of props filled the room, with swords resting in racks along one wall and intricately tooled leather armour hanging from mannequins.
There were fibreglass shields, helmets, daggers, and enough other weapons to make me wonder just how many people had been involved in creating everything.
I walked slowly between the racks, trying very hard not to touch anything. I stopped in front of a suit of elaborate elven armour.
It was beautiful, made from dark leather with silver detailing and intricate runes carved into the breastplate. The high collar gave it an elegant but intimidating appearance.
I looked at Isaac, then back at the armour. "You'd look good in this. You'd look like an elven knight."
He scoffed. "I don't think I've ever wanted to look like an elven knight."
"That's because you've never seen yourself wearing the right armour."
He folded his arms, unimpressed, but I could see the faintest hint of amusement in his expression.
"Only the bravest elven knights could don armour like this."
That got his attention. Isaac glanced back at the armour. "How many?"
I blinked. "What?"
"The bravest elven knights. How many are there?"
I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing. "Five."
"Five, huh?"
He studied the armour again. Somehow, he'd gone from insisting he'd never wanted to look like an elven knight to actually considering it.
I was enjoying this far too much. I turned away before he could see just how much his expression affected me.
We spent far longer in the armory than we probably should have. I looked at almost everything, stopping every few feet whenever something caught my eye.
Isaac followed me from rack to rack, occasionally asking a question whenever I started explaining some detail from the game, and I was more than happy to tell him everything I knew.
Every now and then, I'd catch him watching me, only for him to look away as though he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't.