Best of Luck

by Jill Sanders

  “Hungry?” Tom chuckled.

  She nodded. “Maybe we can take this into the kitchen?”

  They went into the kitchen and she watched him move around as he reheated some of the spaghetti left over from the other night.

  “Go on,” he said, looking sexy in nothing but his boxer briefs. She could watch him like this all night long.

  Sighing, she remembered where she’d left off. “Oh right, the Christmas party. So anyway, I’m hiding in the kitchen while the staff is buzzing around. Then suddenly, I hear Marcus coming and I panicked. So, I duck down a hallway to hide.”

  Tom shook his head and smiled at her. “Smooth.”

  “Yeah, I ducked into the same room that Marcus was in, just as he and Ramon jumped apart from one another.” She smiled. “You’d like Ramon. He’s so fun. He’s always the best dressed at parties, even though he’s in charge of all the events and kitchen staff. He’s tall, dark, and most importantly, loves to dish on all the latest gossip.” She chuckled remembering all the time she’d spent hidden away in the back at parties, listening to him and the others talk. She’d had more fun in the kitchen than out front with everyone else.

  “So he and Marcus?”

  She nodded. “Shortly before his marriage to Kim.” She leaned on the counter. “The thing of it is, Kim’s known about them all along. Their marriage was a farce. Actually, it was Kim’s idea to get married. Both of them got what they wanted out of it. Marcus got to hide for a while longer, and Kim”—she sighed and leaned back— “well, Kim was a businesswoman.”

  “Then all this media hype?”

  She shrugged. “She changed the rules. She kept demanding more from him.”

  “Like?”

  “Kids.”

  “Ouch,” he said, setting a plate of food in front of her.

  “Yeah, Marcus was okay with pretending, but to bring kids into the picture”—she shook her head— “it just wouldn’t be right.” He nodded in agreement.

  “So she forced him to spill it all anyway?”

  Amber sighed and leaned back, no longer hungry as she thought about it. “I guess so. I mean, she’ll probably get a bigger settlement because of his admission.”

  “You don’t think this will ruin him?”

  “No.” She shook her head. She thought about that for a while. “I mean, there are plenty of gay, lesbian, or even bisexual people in Hollywood who, once they came out, still managed to hold onto their careers. Some even thrived and became more popular because of it. Look at Ellen.”

  “So, what happens now?” he asked, moving their plates into the sink.

  “Now”—she smiled— “we go to bed and worry about the rest in the morning.”

  He moved towards her. “That sounds like a perfect plan.”

  The next morning when they left her building, there were no large groups of paparazzi hanging out front. There were a few, but for the most part, their part of the story was over. He was pretty sure Marcus’s hell had just begun. He couldn’t wait to see what the newspaper said about Amber and him, if anything.

  “Most likely they’ll be too busy covering Marcus and looking for his lover.” She sighed. “At least they won’t have to live in fear of being discovered by the press anymore.” She sighed again and sat back in his car. “Can you pick me up? Or should I take the bus?”

  He glanced at her as he pulled near the lot. “You’re back to riding the bus?”

  She shrugged. “Why not? I mean, the cat’s out of the bag now. It’s not like whoever was threatening me could still blame me. Right?”

  He thought about it. “I’ll pick you up.”

  She sighed and nodded. “If you park here and text me, I’ll come out.” She nodded to the back door of the building in which they were filming. He knew that there were two large sets built inside. An office building, and an apartment in which the roommates lived. He’d actually snuck in one day when he’d been waiting for her.

  Leaning over, he kissed her. “We never got to finish our conversation.”

  Her eyebrows rose slightly. “Tonight?”

  He nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

  “I have the next three days off, after this. They’ll be filming with Kara.”

  “Kara?” he asked.

  She smiled. “My stunt double.” She slid out of the car and he watched her hips sway as she walked away.

  Damn. Just the thought of two of her had him hard as a rock.

  Work was a flood of preparation for the holidays, keeping him so busy that he’d skipped lunch and was almost late leaving to pick up Amber.

  The snow was coming down in thick heavy sheets. At this point, the traffic downtown had come to an almost full stop. Pulling out his cell phone, he punched in a quick message telling her he’d be late and to wait inside since the snow was falling.

  “Will do” was the only reply he got.

  Deciding to try a side road, he weaved his way through Denver’s side streets and beat the traffic, and in the process, only slid his car a few times. The roads were getting slick and he knew that by morning, they’d be equivalent to an ice rink. He was thankful that Amber had the next few days off. He’d worked hard that day so he could rearrange a few things and take those days off with her as well.

  He’d even thought about driving his old Jeep and taking them up into the hills. That was, until the snow had started falling hard and fast. Now, he was dreaming of staying inside for the next few days, locked away in front of a fire with her.

  When he parked, he climbed out, and made his way to the door and banged on it. When no one answered, he pulled out his cell and texted her.

  “I’m outside.”

  He stood there, pulling his coat higher up around his neck as he waited.

  Reaching down and trying the door, he jiggled the handle just as he heard a gunshot, which caused him to jump. It was so close, he glanced around, but didn’t see anyone. Then he heard another and realized they were coming from inside.

  Were they still filming? He banged on the door harder. Last time he’d been here, there had been a security guard sitting just outside, letting people in and out. He glanced over at the vacant chair sitting under a small awning out of the snow.

  Trying the door again, he yanked hard and fell backwards as it flew open, and he caught Amber as she fell out.

  “She’s inside,” she cried out, and tried to push herself away from him.

  When his eyes met hers, he realized his mistake. This wasn’t Amber.

  “You must be Kara.” He started to smile, but the look in her eyes told him something was wrong.

  “She’s inside. You have to help her.” She shook her head, her blonde hair falling slightly and he realized she was wearing a wig.

  “Who?” His entire body froze over.

  “Amber. There’s ... someone. There were shots.” She glanced down at her side and he was shocked to see her hand come away covered in blood.

  “You’re hurt!” He pulled her under the awning, away from the falling snow so he could get a better look.

  “Go help her. She’s hiding.” She sat down in the chair where the security guard had been sitting.

  “Where?”

  “I ... I don’t know. We both ran at the first shot.”

  He handed her his cell phone. “9-1-1,” he said before disappearing into the building.

  Chapter 18

  Amber stood around watching as everyone headed out into the snow. She’d seen the snow falling after their last shot and she’d stepped outside for a few cleansing breaths. Instantly, she’d hugged her bare shoulders and returned inside to change into her own clothes and don her heavy coat. Usually the set was warm, but after the heaters had been shut off, the large place quickly cooled down.

  They were all set up for the next few days of shooting with Kara. The set had changed from the inside of an apartment to the outside, so that it looked like there was a fifty-foot building inside the warehouse. But really, there were only two floors of
the scaffolding with a large air mattress at the bottom to catch Kara when she fell from the floors above.

  Kara had shown Amber how to land on one of those when they’d filmed Anomalous in Canada. She’d had a lot of fun and almost wished she could do it again this time. But she wanted a few days off more than anything. Especially since Tom had texted her earlier that he was going to take time off as well. Now she was looking forward to spending three whole days, alone, with Tom.

  Tom had texted her that he was running late, to which she’d sent a quick reply since she’d been chatting still with Kara. They were sitting in a dim area in which the crew always hung out, where there was usually a large table of food and drinks set up for the staff. Kara had been telling her about the other gigs she had lined up, but when they noticed they were the last ones left, she stood up and told her that she was going to change into her own clothes and head out.

  “I’m just waiting for my ride.” She smiled and waved as Kara disappeared around the corner.

  Instantly she jumped when a loud bang filled the massive warehouse.

  “What was that?” She turned towards where Kara had disappeared, thinking she’d tripped or knocked something over, but instead she saw her gripping her side and looking shocked. Then she noticed the blood on Kara’s white shirt, the same one Amber had been wearing less than an hour ago. Then another shot rang out, and she watched as Kara took off at a dead run towards the back door.

  Amber stood in the dim light as Kara screamed back to her. “Run, Amber!”

  Kara’s words caused Amber to move. She ducked behind the largest object she could find, a crate full of props. She heard the back door open and shut and knew that Kara had made it out of the building, but now Amber was trapped in the building, alone, with a madman. Worse yet, she had no clue who or where the person shooting at them was.

  The crate she hid behind was big, but still not nearly the size to hide all of her. Her legs were sticking out, completely exposed. Tucking them closer to her chest, she listened to her own heartbeat loudly in her ears. Almost too loud to hear someone moving around. She tried to calm her breathing, in hopes that she could hear where the slight sounds were coming from, but the sound only seemed to echo in the empty building.

  Just then, light flooded the area and she knew that the back door had opened once more.

  Was it the gunmen? Had he gone after Kara? Or was it help?

  She tried not to hyperventilate and instead to focus, but her entire body was shaking so badly. Then she heard a soft whisper.

  “Amber?” Tom’s voice was low enough she could just make it out, but then another shot sounded, causing her to scream out.

  “Tom!” She chanced being shot and crawled out from behind her hiding spot to see if he was okay. But no reply came and her panic tripled at the thought of Tom lying just inside the door, bleeding, or worse, dead. Hysteria didn’t begin to describe how she felt. Her entire body shook and she could no longer catch her breath or convince her heart to settle in her chest.

  “You should have listened to me,” a scratchy voice sounded not far from her spot, causing her even more alarm. Still, the sound echoed, so she couldn’t determine from where it was coming.

  Then a thought jumped into her head. What she needed was a weapon. Moving around slowly, she picked up the nearest object, which happened to be a microphone boom. She tested its weight. The thing was heavy, but awkward.

  “Why are you doing this?” she called out, hoping that when the person responded she’d get a better idea of where they were and not the other way around.

  “You were supposed to follow my directions,” the voice called out from less than ten feet from her hiding spot.

  Right in front of her, there was a fake wall, looked to be the outside of the apartment building. She guessed that he or she was directly on the other side of it. She couldn’t tell by the tone of the voice if it was a woman or man, since it was so muffled.

  Moving to the other side of the crate, she closed her eyes and tried to come up with a plan as she hugged the boom to her chest.

  “What directions?” she said after a moment.

  “You’ve ruined him and yourself.” This time Amber realized it was a woman’s voice.

  “Tom?”

  “No! Marcus!” She could have sworn that time that it was a woman, but still was unsure.

  “How?” She crawled on her hands and knees, towards the back door. “How have I ruined Marcus and myself?”

  “By not focusing,” the voice said closer this time. She crawled faster, but it was hard going carrying the large boom mike, so she abandoned it for speed.

  She heard a noise behind her, but didn’t dare look back. Her hands and knees scraped against the cold cement floor as she went along. She was thankful she’d changed out of the skirt and white blouse costume that she’d worn all day.

  Just when the back door was finally in sight, she came across a pair of dark shoes, and heard a gun cock inches from her head. Glancing up slowly, she stared up into the barrel of a weapon she was pretty sure was going to fire at any moment. Then her eyes focused on the figure behind the gun and she gasped.

  “Laura!”

  Her agent and friend smiled back, down the barrel of the gun at her. “You just had to go and put your career in danger. So did Marcus. Neither of you could keep focus.”

  “You ... Why?”

  “I was Marcus’s agent,” she snarled out. “He had a bright career ahead of him—then I caught him with that ... black man.”

  Amber could tell she had wanted to say something else, but Laura was too professional and too into the business of being Hollywood polite to say it.

  “So naturally I had to dump him as a client. Then his directing career took off. I was so lucky to find you. I saw the same opportunity I once had with him and I wasn’t about to let it go this time. But then you had to go and screw things up by being with him.”

  Amber remembered vaguely that Marcus had started out as most did in Hollywood—acting. It was over ten years ago, but he’d been a pretty popular actor at one point.

  “But, I didn’t—” she started to say.

  Laura jerked the gun closer, causing Amber to stop talking, breathing, and might have even stopped her heart.

  “You wouldn’t stay away from men. They’re all bad for your career. I hired someone to watch you, to take photos, but all I saw was you flushing what could be a wonderful career down the toilet. We could make so much money. You would have been the biggest star.” Her voice had risen to an almost screech, which echoed in the massive room.

  Amber held her hands up and then slowly got up when Laura nudged the gun. Gone was her level-headed friend—one who’d been just a little too protective, but sane. Instead, what stood before her was a woman on the edge. Suddenly, Amber saw Laura for what she’d been all along. An overbearing, manipulative, control freak, who had watched Amber a little too closely.

  “I didn’t know. If you had just told me, I would have stayed away from Marcus,” she lied.

  Laura’s eyes narrowed and scanned her. Amber prayed she was that good of an actress to fool her.

  “What about Tom?” she asked, her eyes narrowing.

  Amber knew that she could never hide a lie that deep. No matter what, she could never be that great of an actress to hide how she felt about Tom anymore. “What about him?” She desperately wished she still had the boom, but wasn’t sure what she’d do with it at this point.

  “He’ll bring you down. Men lie and demand everything from you. They’re only good for one thing.” She spat it out.

  She started to back away slowly. Laura didn’t seem to notice because she was continuing, her voice rising higher.

  “He’ll ruin your chances, demand that you quit your career, give up on your dreams. Just watch, he’ll want you to leave Hollywood and raise a house full of brats and force you to stay at home.”

  Amber stopped moving and thought about it. Suddenly, that sounded like the m
ost wonderful thing of which she’d ever heard. Being alive, tucked in the cabin in the mountains, watching the snowfall as she cuddled with a small bundle, sitting next to Tom.

  “See!” Laura screamed. “You’re already thinking about it.” The gun rose slightly and Amber held her breath, waiting for the pain to hit her. But, instead of a bullet, her breath whooshed out as her body was tossed several feet into the air.

  She landed half on, half off, the massive airbag for stunts. Her chest hurt from being hit so hard and she was having a hard time catching her breath. Glancing up, she saw the large faux beam swinging above her head. It must have come lose and hit them both, because when she looked, Laura was crawling around in a pile of chairs looking for the gun.

  Amber sat up slightly, and watched as Tom rushed over and picked up the weapon.

  “Amber?” he called out, not taking his eyes from Laura, who had sat back down on the ground and was holding her chest.

  “Here,” it came out as a whisper, so she tried again. “Here!” she said much louder. “I’m okay.” She started to get up, but her ribs hurt too much and she had to take a few deep breaths to finally get up enough strength to move.

  Amber moved slowly until she stood next to Tom.

  “You were my friend.” She glared down at Laura.

  “I’m your agent,” she hissed out. “I was being courteous.”

  Amber leaned a little on Tom, who instantly wavered, then gripped her hand. “Take this. Don’t let her move,” he said in a low voice.

  “Tom?” She took the gun with shaky hands and then, instead of watching Laura, watched him limp over and sit on a chair. Then she noticed the blood oozing out of his thigh. The left leg of his jeans was soaked with blood.