Page 36

He Was Ready To Deliver The Goods

Kayla

“That’s a wrap on Kayla!” the director announced. She smiled at me warmly as the sound guy approached to unclip my mic. “Great work. See tomorrow, bright and early.”

I groaned playfully, but the truth was, I was so thankful for my seven seasons on The Wolf’s Moon . Like hashtag blessed to be an actress with such a rare, steady gig. The cast and crew had become my family, but it didn’t mean I wasn’t excited about an early escape. Just because I’d only had one scene scheduled on the call sheet didn’t guarantee a short day. Shooting schedules changed constantly, and sometimes the simplest scenes took forever to film. But this one had been quick, and I was free.

As I headed to the hair and makeup trailer for a warm towel to clean my face while they took my extensions out, I made a reservation for hot yoga. Once I was out of my costume and back in comfy clothes, I headed out to the van waiting for me outside my trailer.

“Hey, Jimmy. Boy, am I glad to see you,” I called out as I arranged my bags in the backseat and buckled my seatbelt. “These short days always make me feel like I’m getting away with something.”

Jimmy simply grunted, and didn’t wait for me to settle before he drove off.

Odd.

He was usually a chatterbox. We’d spent a lot of time together over the years as he drove me to and from set, and I loved listening to his stories about his recently retired wife, his son who was training to earn a spot on a Continental Football Association team, and his granddaughter who’d recently been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I’d only seen pictures of her on his phone, but he’d told me enough about her that I felt like her honorary auntie.

“Is everything okay?” My heartbeat sped up, worried something had happened to that sweet little girl. I lifted my sunglasses and took a good look at the driver. “I’m sorry, you’re not Jimmy.”

First rule of set: Make friends with all the teamsters. Some of the drivers were a little rough and tumble, but they could also be the world’s biggest teddy bears. If they liked you, they had your back through thick and thin.

I’d never seen this guy before.

“Nope.” It was more grunt than word. “Jimmy had something he had to take care of.”

That didn’t sound good. “Not Ella, I hope.”

“Who’s Ella?”

Okay, something was definitely wrong. Anyone driving Jimmy’s van would know the name of his granddaughter. He had a picture of her taped to the dashboard. Her little smiling face was still there. This was definitely his van.

“Who are you?” It came out more hostile than I intended, but my hackles were standing on end inside me. My wolf’s intuition was never wrong. Right now, she was telling me to hold off on my apology and get ready to fight, a sentiment that sent a shiver down my human spine.

“I’m Mike,” he said.

I gave him a moment to elaborate, but he seemed to think that was enough information to share.

“How long have you worked on The Wolf’s Moon ?” Even though something felt off, I’d give him the benefit of the doubt. We were a family on this show. Which meant we welcomed all kinds of personalities.

Something’s not right about this guy , my wolf cautioned. His energy is weird.

“Just started.” Those words were a little more eloquent.

He must have come highly recommended to already be trusted driving the cast to and from their homes. Not that I thought of myself as a big deal, but we had some huge names on this show—Logan Mathis and Amelia Barrett regularly drew fans from all over the country hoping to catch a glimpse of them in action.

The GPS urged Mike to get on the freeway.

“I hate to tell you how to do your job, but this isn’t the way to my house.” I chuckled nervously.

“It’s a shortcut,” he grunted.

“We’re headed north, but I live south of town.” Maybe he got the addresses mixed up. Some of the cast lived up here. He probably confused me with someone else.

I wanted to make this make sense.

His only response was to press down on the accelerator.

I told myself it was because he’d merged…oh what the hell was I doing? My wolf was practically screaming at me. Something was wrong, and I was worried about hurting the new guy’s feelings as he got into the fast lane and sped past the first exit.

“Where are going?” I asked. My voice was firm.

“You ask a lot of questions.” He picked up his phone. “Yeah. I’ve got her.”

My heart slammed against my ribcage, and my temperature spiked.

A few more grunts and he hung up.

Oh shit. I willed my wolf to stay inside me for a few more moments. Our surroundings were a blur as we sped past them. My wolf was eager to fight, but if she caused a crash, they’d be scraping her off the side of the highway.

I was not in the mood to get maimed or killed because of this asshole.

The windows fogged around me, and my skin stretched.

No. Focus .

With shaking hands, I pulled my phone out of my purse. Who should I contact—production? The police?

A message from Vera, one of the show’s producers, lit up my screen. Have you left yet?

I closed my eyes for an indulgently long blink as a wave of relief washed over me. But then my eyes snapped open as my wolf reminded me I was in fucking danger.

I have.

Okay, that’s a problem, she wrote. Are you okay? We found Jimmy unconscious behind the trailers.

It took everything I had not to growl. That explains things. I’m with some weird guy named Mike and he’s shady AF. We’re on the freeway headed north. Wrong direction.

We’ve called the police. Can you get any more info about him?

I couldn’t see much more than the back of his head. He wore the unofficial driver’s uniform of a hat, sunglasses, and a hoodie.

He’s Caucasian and has a dark, scruffy beard. Maybe around forty. Looks like a crew guy.

Great. Keep talking to me. We’re tracking your location.

It should’ve comforted me, but it sent a chill down my spine.

No, this jackass didn’t get to intimidate me. I threw my shoulders back and stared into the rearview mirror until he shifted his head, acknowledging my gaze.

“Who are you working for?”

“The show.” Another grunt.

“I’d love to believe you, but ‘I’ve got her’ isn’t normal crew communication. Not to mention, we’re going the wrong way.”

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. The way his knuckles whitened made me think he might have been a shifter too.

“What are you?” Maybe that would be a better question. “And who are you bringing me to?”

“Shut up.”

“Absolutely not,” I growled. “If you’d talked to Jimmy before you stole his van, you’d know I like to chat on the way home. But you probably didn’t say anything to him before you knocked him out.”

“I said shut up!” The last two words were more of roar, but he didn’t strike me as a cat shifter.

“The police are coming,” I said as calmly as I could manage. “So you might as well tell me everything.”

He took in a deep breath as he changed lanes, slowing down the van, slightly. Didn’t feel like he was giving in. More like putting plan B into action.

“If you tell me, maybe I can help you,” I offered, even though each word tasted disgusting as I said them.

“Mark Peters,” he finally said. “That’s the name I was given. Don’t know anything else. Unlike you, I know better than to ask too many questions.”

With those two words, he told me everything that I needed to know. I’d met Mark on an online dating site. He’d totally catfished me, and looked nothing like his picture. To be fair, it might have been him, about twenty years before our first date. I’d been ready to storm out of the restaurant but somehow he convinced me to stay for a drink. I made sure it was a mocktail and didn’t let it out of my site. Mark was a big fan of the show and seemed to have a hard time understanding that I wasn’t actually Regina, my character.

I’d met many superfans before, but this was beyond. Mark thought Regina owed him something. Like my first born.

With a quick enaction of the Friend Emergency Bailout Text system, I excused myself and got the fuck out of there. Deleted my dating profile on the ride home.

Didn’t stop him from texting me. Not that I ever gave him my phone number. Or sending gifts to set. A few days later he showed up at the pool of my apartment complex. Needless to say, I don’t live there anymore.

Mike slowed the van as we approached the offramp.

We’re getting off the freeway at exit 98, I texted Vera. And I’m gonna shift.

I barely had a chance to drop the phone before my skin split, and fur blossomed in its wake. Forget about getting out of these sweats. I’d forever be pissed because this set was so cute.

“What the fuck?” Mike swerved as my fully formed wolf leapt over the backseat.

He narrowly missed the cars stopped at the red light as the van veered into a ditch, rocking back and forth, threatening to roll over.

Mike came at me, still in his human form, not even waiting for the van to come to a full stop. He was determined to deliver the goods, dead or alive.

Like. Fucking. Hell I would let that happen.

I smashed through the passenger’s side window and made a run for it.