by K. B. Draper
“He’d probably find some time if you asked nicely.”
Archer nodded with a smile. “Alright, let’s run through it just one time.” He got a raised eyebrow. “For my peace of mind, please.”
“Fine.” Kanyon walked to the mark where the scene would begin. “Start here in the tree coverage. Wait until the two guys on sentry duty pass that mark.” She pointed. “I break cover.” She walked to her second mark. “Take both of them out. First one with a twist of the neck.” She mimicked the movement. “When the second one turns, I kick the back of his legs. He drops to his knees. I deliver a roundhouse to the back of his head. When he’s down, I pull my weapon. Two bullets, headshots, and re-holster.” She moved back five paces. “Move to this point. Take seven running steps. Hit the crate with my right foot, barrel with the left. Two hand grasp on rail. Pull myself up. Rail to roof. Over roof.” She led him to the other side of the building, designed as a backwoods cabin. “Down the roof at this angle.” She motioned with her hand. “Drop down on this mark. Land in a crouch. Release both guns, boot to the double glass door.” They walked around to the front of the house. “Take out guy on the right with right gun. Take out guy busting through interior door, left gun. Spin kick to guy behind me. Blindside guy gets a punch into my back. Stumble forward, rebalance. Heel kick, front kick, toss gun into the air, right cross, first guy down, catch gun. Spin kick to second guy, shoot right, shoot left, elbow to throat of guy coming up behind, unload three bullets into the couch, all guys down. Line. Reholster. Cut loose boyfriend with knife on belt, make-out session on chair, and cut.” Kanyon gave Archer a smug look. “Good?”
Archer shook his head as he gave a little chuckle. “You’re truly one of the best. So much better than working with … Well, you know.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s good to have you back, Kanyon.”
She forced herself to lie with a smile. “It’s good to be back. Thanks, Archer.”
“Alright, you get set. I’ll tell Steven we’re a go.”
Kanyon moved to her mark, letting one of Archer’s guys clip the “in case you fall off the roof” lines to the back of her belt, which she unclipped the second he turned his back on her. She knelt in the brush waiting for “go time” and noticed the tingle in her fingers again. “Damn it.” She clinched and released her fists, giving them a good hard shake as someone yelled, “Places!” and the first few raindrops began to fall.
Daylen made her way to the edge of the set. She scanned the area for Kanyon but didn’t see her. She could tell by the way the crew’s pace sped up and how they began to jockey around that the set was getting ready to go hot. She found a place out of the way as the camera and lighting techs were placing themselves at different angles and the director began pointing in four different directions. Several crewmembers hustled to move equipment under canopies, tarps, and covers as raindrops began to fall. Daylen relocated next to a tall crate off to the side, affording her a clear view of the makeshift cabin that seemed to be the focus of the next scene. The side she currently faced was cut away, exposing the interior of a living room and two crewmembers tying a guy to a chair. In and out shot, she thought. She got comfortable, as did the crew, knowing the action was only moments away. “Ready on the set,” someone yelled and everyone and everything stilled. Two beats of silence, then “Action!”
The actors within the house responded, transforming into bad guys with a hostage. The hostage rocked his chair in a fruitless effort to get loose. The rain picked up at that precise moment, as if God herself was running the special effects department.
Daylen heard muffled scuffling from the other side of the house and felt the heat rise in her core before she saw the cause. Her eyes instinctively flew to the roof just as Kanyon appeared at its peak. Kanyon paused there, letting the cameras capture her profile. Her hair and matching black coat billowed in a seductive dance on the wind. She looked like a dark goddess standing protectively over her world. Daylen’s breath caught and her soul ignited with need, desire, and a longing so fierce that it stole her breath.
In a blink, Kanyon was gone, sliding down the roof as graceful as a snowboarder on fresh snow. She dropped down to the railing, onto the deck, and with a single strike of her boot, she was through the double glass doors and into the fight.
Daylen was transfixed, though she knew the fight scene was choreographed, with each strike, punch, and kick planned to the minute second. And though it was all pretend, she saw Kanyon for who she truly was … a fighter, a warrior, her Guardian.
Without breaking a sweat and all the guys on the ground, Kanyon removed the knife from her belt, walked to the hostage strapped to the chair, and straddled him.
Daylen’s blood went molten. Though her brain knew it wasn’t real, her body pulsed lava through her veins as she watched Kanyon flip and twirl the knife playfully in front of her prisoner.
“Do the dishes for a month?” Kanyon said, delivering her line with a mischievous grin.
“Yeah, that seems like an even trade,” Ryan replied with a grateful smile.
Kanyon ran her free hand through Ryan’s hair, letting the camera capture the intimate moment between them.
Daylen realized she was still holding her breath. “This is ridiculous,” she murmured as she forced the air out of her lungs and back in again. “She’s just acting.”
Softer this time, Kanyon brought concern and emotion into her face, biting seductively at her lip before she delivered her next line. “You okay?” Kanyon asked gently as she ran her fingertips over his face.
“I am now,” Ryan replied with longing and love in his tone.
“Good,” Kanyon whispered, as she leaned into him, reaching behind him to cut his hands free.
Daylen’s heart thunderstormed in her chest as the actor’s freed hands pulled Kanyon’s lips to his. Transfixed on the scene playing out in front of her, she was oblivious to the blue light sparking at her fingertips. “It’s a movie. It’s only a movie,” she muttered to herself in an attempt to subdue the rush of emotions that threatened to overtake her. Shielding quickly, this time not to keep outside emotions from overwhelming her, but to not allow her emotions to affect the people around her.
Kanyon fought to keep the images of Daylen out of her mind. Fought to keep the fact that the last person’s lips that had been on hers had been Daylen’s. Her body functioned mechanically as the movie scene continued to play out, but her heart and mind were throwing a major hissy fit. She ordered herself to say in character, to stay in the moment. She moved against Ryan, throwing the knife hard at the floor, burying it two inches into the wood planks. She brought both hands up to his face, deepening the kiss to punctuate the intensity of the moment. Ryan responded, following her lead. They were the perfect depiction of two desperate lovers, reunited after they thought all had been lost.
Resisting the demands of forced passion, Kanyon’s body began to betray her. A sudden wave of heat struck, engulfing her in an invisible shroud of desire and need that gently pulled at her soul.
The spell she seemed to be under was broken when Ryan pulled back abruptly. “Holy shit, Kanyon.” He rubbed at the side of his neck and cheek where her hands had been. “Your hands are on fire.”
“Cut!” Steven yelled from the camera lift a few feet away. “Perfect! Excellent. I’m going to play it back but I think you guys nailed it. Smokin’ hot. Love the knife in the floor add in!” He proclaimed excitedly as he lowered the scissor lift that held him and the cameraman.
“He’s not kidding. Smoking hot. Damn,” Ryan said, still rubbing at the side of his face.
Kanyon stood abruptly, now all too aware of the heat in her hands. “I’m sorry. It must’ve been all the …” She waved at the destruction that lay at their feet. “And the guns and this …” She plucked at her leather suit. “I didn’t mean to …”
“It’s okay,” Ryan said, giving his hand another run over his face. “I get it. I’m good. You might need to get some water though. Take a break and coo
l down?”
“Yeah. I will, thanks,” Kanyon said softly as she shoved her fists into her coat pockets.
“I just hope it comes out that hot on film.” Ryan gave her a smile. “I’m going to go grab something myself. You want me to get you anything?”
“We’re clear, people! Excellent job!” Steven yelled.
“No. I’m good. I’ll follow ya down in a second.” When everyone had vacated the area, Kanyon dropped onto the couch, staring absently out into the rain. A long moment passed before she registered the heat swirling at her palms. She hadn’t tried to bring flames to them since she’d walked away from Daylen. It was, like a lot of other things, in the “why bother” file.
Kanyon assumed that today’s little Easy Bake Oven moment was simply due to the memories of Daylen that had flashed into her mind when she’d kissed Ryan, just some emotional residue. Lightening flashed and a rumble of thunder boomed overhead drawing her eyes back out into the rain.
“That’s it! We’re calling it a day, everyone. Nice job. Tomorrow, four a.m. Let’s wrap it up,” Steven yelled across the lot.
Kanyon stood, thinking she’d better get to her trailer and out of this getup or she’d need a vat of butter and two surgeons if she got any wetter. She’d taken one step when an old familiar tingle started at the back of her neck. Before she could think herself out of it, she moved to the opening in the house where she could look out over the lot.
Daylen stepped back into the shadows as Kanyon came into full view; her legs braced and hands clinched at her sides as her head slowly moved over the area. Lightening streaked the sky as the winds picked up Kanyon’s hair. Her coattail whipped on the gusts of air. Daylen couldn’t see her eyes, but imagined the steel blue of them, dark and intense. Her heart directed its own movie scene, Kanyon in a Selene, Underworld, drop down from a building move and walking over, taking her into her arms, kissing her in the rain, and–
“Ma’am?” Daylen jumped at the voice. “Can I help you with something?” a guy from the crew asked.
Daylen straightened. “No. I was just watching the shoot. I’m a … friend of Kanyon’s. I was just waiting on her.”
He lifted his ball cap. “You’re Daylen Elliott. Miss Elliott, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize–”
“Daylen, please.”
“Daylen, cool. She’s probably headed to her trailer. We’re done for the day, this crazy rain and all.” He grabbed for a rogue bundle of wire that was trying to escape from his arms. “Do you want me to go tell her you’re here?”
“No, no. You have your hands full,” Daylen answered, helping him adjust his load. “Can you just tell me which trailer is hers?”
“Sure.” He nodded in the direction of the row of trailers. Last one on the far end. You better hurry,” he looked up as thunder sounded overhead, “or you’re going to get soaked.”
“Thank you.” Daylen caught a cable sliding from the top of the pile and tucked it under his palm. “You better get inside too.” Daylen watched as the kid moved off quickly, veering left, then a little right to adjust his balance. Assured he was going to make it to the tent, she started in the direction of Kanyon’s trailer. She forced herself to calm as she took in slow measured breaths, stopping as Kanyon’s trailer came into sight.
As she stood, Kanyon’s silhouette passed in front of one of the small curtain covered windows. A particularly fun thought of Kanyon taking off her leather attire to change into … Well, she was going to say something more Kanyon-like, but as the picture of Kanyon on top of the roof replayed in her mind, the leather was very much “Kanyon-like”. The increasing intensity of the rain was the only thing that pulled her out of her daydream. “Okay, I can do this,” she told herself, forcing her foot to take a step forward only to have it pause again.
A figure rounded the end of Kanyon’s trailer, knocked on Kanyon’s door, then opened it as if they had an open invitation. Daylen’s heart seized when the figure dropped its hood. Lexi. Daylen watched as the two silhouettes became one. She spun, making her way back to her car, the rain mixing with her tears.
“Hello, sexy,” Lexi purred when Kanyon spun, the zipper to her leather suit down past her navel.
“What are you doing here?” Kanyon stepped back instinctively.
Lexi slithered toward Kanyon, openly admiring Kanyon’s exposed torso. “I heard you were back on set, so I thought I’d bring you a welcome home gift.”
Kanyon looked pointedly at both of Lexi’s hands. “I don’t see any gifts.”
“Give me a minute and you will,” Lexi said, letting her voice drop to a husky whisper.
“Yeah, I’m going to go with a big no thanks on that one, so,” Kanyon did a shooing motion with her hands as she stepped back out of Lexi’s reach, “you can go back to whatever ring of hell you came from now and–”
Lexi ignored her, taking one very slow, very appreciative visual stroll up Kanyon’s body, causing Kanyon to suddenly remember her state of undress. Lexi caught her wrist before Kanyon could re-zip. “Awe, come now. Don’t do that. I happen to find you in leather very,” she bit her lower lip, “arousing. Unless you were going to take it off, then I find you out of leather even more so.”
“Why in the world would you think that was an option?”
“Lover, don’t you think it’s time for us to let bygones be bygones? And now that the plain Jane Daylen is out of our hair … I decided to forgive you for that by the way.” Her words trailed off as she stepped closer letting a hand run down her neck to the pendent that rested between her nearly exposed breasts.
“What do you know about Day–” Kanyon’s words died off as her eyes followed Lexi’s hand to the opening of her shirt.
Lexi smirked. “You and I could rule this town.” She leaned in and nipped at Kanyon’s ear. “What do you say? All forgiven?” Lexi reached out and ran a hand through Kanyon’s hair to the back of her neck. “Together we can have anything we want.” Lexi moved within a breath of Kanyon’s lips. “Do anything we want.”
“I don’t–” Kanyon stopped as she focused on Lexi’s lips.
“You do,” Lexi encouraged as she pulled Kanyon closer. “You very much do,” Lexi purred then pressed her lips to Kanyon’s.
Kanyon’s heart triple-timed it as Lexi’s lips fell on hers. For a second she let it happen, while seductive thoughts snaked through her. Maybe this is all I deserve. Daylen hadn’t wanted me. Daylen had … Daylen,” her mind seemed to scream. Daylen. The heat returned in a rush, slamming through her veins and she felt the once familiar fire awaken at her core. Kanyon pushed Lexi back. “No.”
Lexi stumbled backward more out of surprise than Kanyon’s hands shoving her away. “You shouldn’t be able to–”
“What? Resist you?” Kanyon smiled. “Sorry, but I told you before, this,” she pointed between them, “ain’t happening.” It was Kanyon that stepped forward this time causing Lexi to retreat. “I do not want you. Now or ever. I’ve got to go. Let yourself out,” Kanyon ordered, grabbing her coat as she stepped past Lexi and out the door.
“This isn’t over,” Lexi yelled after her. “You’re not strong enough to defy me!”
“Want to bet?” Kanyon smiled, looking down at her fingertips, now aflame.
Chapter 5
Kanyon walked into her house, wanting a shower, her bed, and some time to think about how she was going to get her supernatural job back. And how she was going to convince Daylen to love her, she added, for good measure. She should eat, she knew, but going to the kitchen seemed like too much effort. She dropped her keys on the table near the door then peeled off her coat and dropped it on the staircase railing. She was two steps into the journey to her shower when she heard Blue giggling? What the–? A deep bark sounded followed by a chorus of high-pitched yipping. “Crap.” She had totally forgotten about the dog. She sighed heavily and tromped back down and around the corner to her living room.
The top of Blue’s head was just visible over the back of the couch. She couldn�
��t see Ralph but she heard another playful bark, so she assumed he was sprawled in the exact same spot where she’d left him this morning. A glance at the TV and the chorus of yippy barks that came from her surround sound system had her lifting a curious eyebrow. “Beverly Hills Chihuahua, seriously?” Kanyon asked, as she came around the end of the couch. “If only I tweeted ‘cause,” she went valley girl and pretended to type on her phone, “omg hashtag adorbs. Dog. Girl. Heart. Happy face emoji.”
“Ralph picked it, not me,” Blue protested, not taking her eyes from the screen.
“Speaking of Ralph, why is he still here? Did you post the fliers like we agreed?” Kanyon asked as she counted three pizza boxes sitting on the coffee table.
“Yep, fifty of them. Well, fifty-ish. Ralph ate a couple, so those two are now posted out in the backyard somewhere in your flower bed.”
“Super. Any pizza left?”
“Yep, we left you a piece.” Blue pointed to the middle box.
Kanyon flipped open the lid and grabbed the piece of pepperoni. “Thanks.” She took a bite, realizing just how hungry she’d been. “I take it there were no calls about him?”
“Not a single one,” Blue answered, reaching out to put a protective arm over Ralph.
Kanyon nodded, noticing that she wasn’t all that disappointed herself in the lack of response. “Well, maybe tomorrow. I’m going to head up, take a shower, and crash.”