Chapter 21 #2
Ryan stepped into the firehouse, chest heaving, skin glistening with sweat. While the team had showered and gone straight to work after their morning training, it hadn’t been enough for Ryan. He’d wanted more. Tired limbs. A heavy body. A mind too exhausted to think.
The post-training run helped, but it had by no means taken the edge off.
Ethan turned from where he sat at the tech table. “You okay?”
“No. I’m frustrated.”
“At Roscoe?”
“At everything.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “We’ve questioned everyone. Roscoe. Preston. Faye. Every single person working on that movie. Most of them barely told us anything because we’re not law enforcement.”
“Yeah, and Ward hasn’t been able to find shit. Might be time to call the state police. Nothing will get him off his ass faster than them coming in and doing his job.”
“Might throw the threat around, see if that gets him working. I’m taking a shower.” He headed down the hall.
The shower was quick, mostly because he wanted to message Emily to check in. Maybe even see if she wanted to get lunch together.
He’d been trying to go slow, sticking to texts and phone calls. Making sure she was doing okay after what happened on set.
But he was getting restless. He wanted to see her and fix things. Nora was right. His upbringing had probably shaped him more than he’d let himself believe. But he couldn’t lose Emily over it. Because this time, she might not come back to him.
Once he was dressed in shorts and a shirt, he stepped into the hall to see Joel passing.
“Hey.” Ryan stopped in front of his friend. “Did you see Emily this morning?”
“Only briefly. She had some meeting.”
“What meeting?”
Joel bit into his banana. “Work one with Roscoe. Preston was picking her up.”
A meeting with Roscoe. At the inn? “Thanks.” He moved down the hall and pulled out his cell.
Ryan: Hey. Joel said you have a work meeting this morning. Everything okay?
Emily: He said it was a meeting. But then we arrived at this creepy old house. He basically admitted to breaking in. Now he’s telling us we’re going to film here.
He stopped in the main area of the firehouse.
Ryan: The old Connoway mansion?
Emily: Maybe?
What the fuck were they doing there?
Ryan: Be there in ten.
“Everything okay?” Ethan asked from the desk.
“The movie cast is at the old Connoway mansion.”
“Why?”
“The fuck if I know. But I’m going to find out.”
Was Roscoe attempting to resume filming? Were they going to film at the house?
Hell no. Everyone had agreed to pause production, including Roscoe.
Ryan climbed into his truck, but before he could pull out, the passenger door opened and Ethan climbed in.
“What are you doing?” Ryan asked.
Ethan fastened his seat belt. “What does it look like? I’m coming with you.”
“Fine. You can call Ferris and see if he knows what the hell is going on.”
He pulled onto the street as Ethan hit the mayor’s number, putting the call on speaker.
Ferris answered on the first ring. “Ethan. What can I do for you today, son?”
“Did you okay Roscoe to meet at the Connoway house this morning?” Ryan got in before Ethan could.
“No.”
“You sure?” Ethan asked.
“He asked, but I said no. That’s private property.”
“He’s there now,” Ryan said, taking a right.
Ferris cursed. “I’m coming.”
Five minutes later, they pulled up to the old house just as Roscoe and his crew were stepping outside.
“I can’t believe he broke in,” Ethan muttered. “He needs to be arrested.”
“What’s the bet he doesn’t even get a slap on the wrist, because our mayor likes the money and notoriety this movie is bringing to his town.”
They climbed out of the truck.
Roscoe scowled when he saw them. “What the hell are you guys doing here? How did you even—” He stopped and shook his head. “Don’t tell me. Prior.”
“What are you doing here, Roscoe?” Ryan growled, trying to keep his fucking frustration in check.
The director straightened. “My job.”
“No.” Ethan shook his head. “Your job is on pause.”
“And you sure as hell shouldn’t be calling the cast and crew out here to the middle of nowhere without security,” Ryan added.
Emily was the last person to step out of the house. Her eyes widened as she took in Ryan.
Roscoe inched forward, eyes breathing fire. “I don’t answer to you.”
“In this town, you do.”
The crunch of gravel beneath tires sounded behind him.
Ferris rushed from his car. “Roscoe, what the hell?”
“What do you mean, what the hell? I told you I wanted to use this house for a location.”
“And I told you no.” Ferris stopped opposite them, slightly out of breath from the short run from his car.
Roscoe lifted a shoulder. “I didn’t hear the word no.”
Like hell he didn’t.
Ryan’s gaze found Emily again. She stood with Preston, Faye, and a couple other cast members. Her eyes lifted and caught his.
Air knocked right out of his lungs.
Three days of not seeing her, three long fucking days, and he was already losing his goddamn mind.
Around him, the men continued to argue. Ryan’s attention wasn’t on them. It was on Emily as she left her group and walked toward a Cadillac Escalade.
His body closed the distance between them before his mind had a chance to catch up.
“Emi.” He gently gripped her arm.
She turned. Those beautiful hazel eyes widened as they took him in. “Ryan.” A flicker of something passed through her expression. Hesitation, maybe. Or something softer, more dangerous. “You didn’t need to come.”
He wanted to say something big, like he’d always come if she needed him. But after their last fight, she probably wouldn’t believe him. “Have dinner with me.”
“Dinner?”
“Yeah. The meal that comes after lunch.” He inched closer and touched her hip. “I want us to talk.”
“Is there much else to say?”
“Yes.” Fuck yes. There were a million things he had to say to her. A million words and promises and apologies he needed to give.
She looked past him, checking around the area before returning. “I don’t want to make the same mistake over and over again. Dating. Falling in love. Only to break up and get hurt again five years later.”
He tried not to flinch at how easily “mistake” and “falling in love” slipped into the same breath. “We won’t. Let me fix this. Please.”
Hope. It burned in her eyes. She wanted him to fix this.
“Okay.” One quiet word that made him want to throw his hands into the fucking air. “Dinner tonight.”
“Great, that sounds—”
Then he remembered.
Shit.
She tilted her head. “What’s wrong?”
“There’s a town meeting. I told Nora I’d take her. I’ll cancel.”
“No.” She shook her head.
“Emi—”
“Tomorrow night.” She offered a small smile as Preston and Faye passed them to climb into the Cadillac. “Good luck at the meeting.”
He gave a small nod, hating that he’d have to wait an entire day before he saw her again.
But they would have dinner. He would make things right.