Chapter 9
Perry and Florence left for the airport before Major had a chance to interrogate the male.
He had voiced Daniel who had no knowledge of the drugs or why Brad went after Craig.
If he didn’t order them, either Perry did using a fake name, or the drugs coming to their dock had been a coincidence.
Tabitha and Trista left after breakfast, leaving Major with the Kilbrook men.
The two were arguing when Major stepped into the kitchen.
Daniel strode down the hall toward his bedroom with Craig following.
Using his shifter hearing, Major listened in as he helped himself to a muffin and coffee.
“What’s so fucking important that you need to be away from the set? It’s not like you have other clients,” Craig asked.
“Fuck you, Creegon. Someone has to close up the rental, and since Perry couldn’t be arsed to stay, that leaves me. And don’t forget, I have to retrieve your clothes from the hotel like a fucking servant.”
Creegon? Arsed? Daniel’s accent slipped momentarily, and that reminded Major of whoever Craig had spoken to on the phone earlier.
“Don’t be so dramatic. Perry is driving Florence to the airport.”
“Whatever. I’ll see you soon enough.” Either Daniel slammed his bedroom door, or Craig had as he was leaving the room.
Major didn’t believe Daniel’s reason either, but with him not knowing about the cocaine, Major had no idea why the male was being secretive.
There was still the phone call he’d made when they first arrived at the rental, so he was up to something.
Major had spoken with Mason earlier, and one of the other employees from Steele Securities was stopping by the rental to retrieve the hidden cameras as well as the drugs since Major had needed to get Craig to the park.
Now they were at the set, and it seemed as though things were about to get chaotic.
Major followed Craig and the director to where a long table was set up, surrounded by chairs.
Major remained standing since he wasn’t part of the cast or crew.
Craven tapped his fingers on the table while waiting for Trista to join them.
Tabitha stood next to Major, and he whispered low enough that only she could hear.
“I didn’t get the opportunity to voice Perry, but I did speak with Daniel, and he had no knowledge of the drugs.
He and Craig argued this morning when Daniel said he had somewhere to be instead of coming here.
Also, Daniel’s accent slipped briefly, sounding like whoever Craig had been speaking to on the phone. ”
“Absolutely not!” Trista slammed her hands on the table as she stood, looming over the director. The usually quiet woman had some fire to her. “This movie is about Nora and how she’s the one kicking ass. I specifically trained all month for the fight scenes.”
“And now Craig’s character is the one kicking ass. The studio did some early research, and the heroine trope has played out.”
Trista scoffed. “That’s bullshit. I can name four blockbusters from last year that featured a female leading role. Besides, Craig couldn’t fight his way out of a paper bag.”
“Hey!” Craig stood so quickly, his chair toppled over. “I can fight just as well as you can.”
Tabitha was on the move, striding to the table and standing next to her client. “I put you on your ass. Twice.” To Craven, Tabitha said, “If you think he can do these scenes better than Trista, you’re wrong. Talk about losing more time. It would take at least a month to train him if not longer.”
Craven, red-faced, pointed at Tabitha. “You stay in your lane, Miss Stone. You have nothing to do with this film other than standing in the corner guarding Trista.”
Trista crossed her arms over her chest. “Let’s put this to a test, shall we? Craig and I spar. Right now.”
“I don’t have to prove anything to you,” Craig sneered.
“Scared?” she taunted.
“Stop. Both of you,” Craven demanded. “The studio has made the decision. It’s out of my hands.”
“Then the studio can find another Nora. I agreed to do this project because my character is the heroine, not some wimpy woman who needs a man fighting her battles.” To Marilyn, she said, “Let’s go.”
“Now wait a minute. You can’t quit,” Craven yelled. “The studio will sue you for breach of contract.”
“Let them. I can afford it.” With that, Trista stalked away from the group. Tabitha winked at Major as she followed her client.
Craig righted his chair and retook his seat.
“We don’t need her. Any number of other females can play Nora now that I’m doing the fight scenes.
Hell, Jennika can learn the lines while I’m working on choreography.
” The male looked awfully smug, and Major wondered if he somehow planned this.
He had been pissed that he wasn’t getting to do his own fight scenes.
Craven leaned forward. “I didn’t say you were doing the scenes. Miss Stone was correct that we don’t have time for you to train. Jack will do the fighting.”
“But—”
“Enough.” Craven stood. “I have to do damage control. If I can’t convince Trista to stay, I’ll need to call the studio. While I’m doing that, you should look over the new script. Fucking amateurs.” He strode off while Craig sat with his mouth gaping.
“Get me a copy of the new script. It appears I’ll be learning new lines,” Craig instructed Sarah.
The lanky woman huffed. “I already left a copy in your trailer, highlighting the pages where the dialogue has been updated.”
“You… you knew about this and didn’t warn me? I could have been learning the lines while holed up the last few days instead of wasting time coaching Trista.”
Sarah clutched her nonexistent pearls. “Coaching Trista? I hope you’re joking.”
Craig narrowed his eyes. “Why would I joke about that? I’m the veteran actor.”
Sarah stood with tablet in hand. “Then you know what to do.” As she strode past Major, she muttered, “Asshole.” Major couldn’t disagree with her.
“Fuck!” Craig slapped his hands against the table and rose, brushing his hands through his hair before sliding them down his face.
Major kept his gaze across the room and off the man so that when he turned, he couldn’t tell Major felt the same way Sarah did.
“Let’s go,” he demanded, and Major fell in step with Craig as they left the tent and headed toward the trailers.
Major’s phone vibrated, but he didn’t remove it from his pocket.
He figured it was Tabby, but they could wait and compare notes once Craig was in his home away from home.
Craig’s trailer was top-of-the-line, and it sat away from all the others except for the smaller version where Major would sleep.
When they arrived, Craig opened the door but stopped, turning to Major.
“I’m locking the door so I won’t be disturbed.
Feel free to hang out in your trailer or go get something to eat.
I’ll call you when I’m ready to leave again.
” With his dismissal, he went inside and slammed the door.
Major strode the few yards to his own space, looking around for anyone out of place before entering.
He did open the transom window above the seating area so he could better hear if someone approached Craig’s trailer, then he snagged his cell from his pocket, surprised to see a text from Mason instead of Tabby.
Mason: Cameras and package secure.
Major: Copy that. Still haven’t spoken to Perry about the package. Will do ASAP.
Mason gave him a thumbs up emoji. That was one thing Major appreciated about Mason.
The boss didn’t micromanage. Since he had a little time on his hands, Major called his twin to check in.
They chatted about their sisters, the bikes Marsh was working on, and when he asked about Tabitha, Major gushed that he was her fated mate.
“That’s the best news I’ve heard in forever, Maymay!”
Major chuckled at his goofy brother, but his heart warmed at his twin’s overzealous happiness on his behalf. “You and me both. We haven’t had any real alone time, so we haven’t sealed the bond.” Major explained what was going on, why he was guarding Craig, and the happenings after arriving on set.
“Damn, that’s something straight out of Mateo’s telenovelas.”
Major chuckled. Mateo, their best friend and cousin, was now a doctor, but he’d gotten hooked on the Spanish soap operas while visiting his grandmother as a teen.
He tried to get the twins interested, but since they didn’t speak the language, it didn’t work.
Opening the small refrigerator, Major was surprised to see it well-stocked.
He grabbed a beer, popping the top. “How’re the girls? ” he asked before taking a swig.
“Feisty as ever. And get this. Fallon complained to Anders about Nahla tackling her, but it didn’t go the way she thought it would.
” Marshall laughed softly, then continued.
“Nahla told him the whole story, so Anders explained to Fallon that if she continued harassing his customers, he’d ban her from Ripley’s. ”
“I bet she loved that,” Major deadpanned.
“Oh, she flipped her shit, but Kayden and I had stopped by to eat supper, and you know how he is, all broody and fierce. He stalked over to where Fallon was giving Anders what for, leaned down until he was eye level with her, and growled, flashing his dire wolf eyes. I thought Fallon was going to shit her pants. He whispered something to her, and she closed her mouth and slunk out of the place with her head down. Kayden slapped Anders on the shoulder, winked at Nahla, then sat back down and dug into his food. He’s now Nahla’s favorite cousin. ”
“Well damn. I’m sorry I missed that. I’ll have to buy him a beer when I get home.”
“Eh. I bought his dinner, so it’s all good. Have you and Tabitha talked about where you’re going to live?”