Page 37 of Double Standard

He shudders and rears up, lifting his front legs from the ground.

I grasp on to his mane and try to tighten the grip of my legs around the barrel of his ribs, but in slow motion, I fly off the horse, legs cartwheeling overhead.

Dust obscures my sense of where I am in space.

Crash, crunch.

Black.

XXIV

Ana

“CUT!”

Production halts immediately, and I know this isbad. Every muscle in my body tenses, and my heart pounds against my ribs. Cast members guide their horses back to the holding pen, and a trainer runs over to handle Nesbitt. Flashes of red-wool costumes and chestnut-brown tails clutter the scene, and I can’t see Levi amid the chaos, even as my eyes strain and dart to where he should be. Medical rushes in, and for a moment—after the crew retreats and before our med team intervenes—I spot him. He’s alone. A tangled heap on the ground.

“Levi!” The shout escapes my throat as my legs pick up speed to make their way to him.

“No, let them work.” Colt wraps his arm around my middle. My body strains against his grip.

“I just”—I struggle against him—“need to see that he’s OK!” The effort is futile. “LET GO OF ME.”

He doesn’t know about my joints, about how easilyI bruise, about how careful I need to be with my body. About the risk I incur with him grabbing me like this. “Get off of me! I don’t need you to restrain me. I can control myself.”

“You’re clearlynotin control, and it’s not your job to make sure Levi’s OK. That’s medical’s job, and they’re the best in the business. Take a beat. We don’t need you to have a medical event too.”

I suck in a breath, the dusty air tickling my nose before lodging in my chest, tightly coiled. Shallow.

“Accidents like this are part of the job.” Colt is still caging me with his arm, though more loosely now. “Levi knows that. Shit like this happens sometimes.”

I spin in his grip and meet his gaze, fire building behind my tongue. “You, of all people, don’t get to tell me what Leviknows. He’s aware of the risks of this work. But this ‘shit happens’ nonchalance you’re pulling right now? Go to hell. Areyouaware of how hard he’s worked for this? What he’s given up for this opportunity? The... the choices he’s made to courtyourfavor?”

“He’s green, Ana. He’s going to get knocked around, and of course he’s trying to stay close to me. That’s how this works. Smart man.”

“They’re putting him on a stretcher, Colt. He’s seriously hurt. Have a little empathy.” I place both palms on his chest and push. Hard. With a slight stumble, he steps back and releases me from his grip. His eyes search mine, perceiving me, and the intensity of it makes my stomach turn.

“Ah, I get it now.” He smirks. “You and Levi—you care about him. I knew you weren’t that good of an actress.”

“What we are to each other is none of your fucking business.”

“Noted.” He holds his palms up in surrender. “But when you’re ready, you can send your thank-you gift to my trailer for planting the story that launched this whole charade. I know my role here.”

“Planting the story? Why the fuck wouldyoustart a rumor that you were cheating on your wife?”

“What did I have to lose? No one blames the men.”

Everything clicks into place: He was willing to risk whatever he had left with Francesca. That’s how badly he wanted me out. Blood flows hot to my extremities. “Colt—with all my heart—go to hell.”

I turn and watch the medical team load Levi into the back of the ambulance. They’re working quickly, and while it gives me peace knowing they’re doing what they need to do for him, I’d feel much less frantic if this seemed like less of an emergency.

The back door of the rig closes. I watch a paramedic bring down the latch and bang on the window to signal they’re ready to go. It’s a muffledthumpof a sound, like hitting a knee on a wooden table. Red and blue strobes whirl to life, and the set goes quiet when their sirens start to blare. The last thing I experience of Levi, in this moment, is the screeching of tires peeling away from me.

“Let’s keep filming,” Francesca shouts as the vehicleturns onto the main road. The cast and crew, who had been milling around, eating snacks, rubbernecking—the way people do when an incident doesn’t make their world stop turning—circle up around her. “I want to praise all of you for the quick work of getting out of the way so we could get Levi loaded up quickly. Medical says he’s breathing on his own, and we’ll update you as we know more.”

That coiled, shallow breath begins to seep lower in my lungs. My shoulders fall an inch from where I’ve been holding them.

He’s breathing.