Page 47 of Cast to be Mine

I dragged myself off the couch and headed for my bed. I couldn’t help wondering if Micah was having the same problem. Did he have dreams about me? Did he fantasize about his lips on mine? Maybe. Maybe not. He was a very, very attractive man. He probably had a stable full of women just waiting for him to send them a booty call text.

I wanted Micah Blackwell. Badly. But wanting him and having him were two very different things. One could get me the career I’d dreamed about. The other could destroy it.

16

MICAH

We had a night shoot and had taken over a block of downtown LA for the abduction scene. The production had spent weeks coordinating with the city, blocking off streets, hiring security to manage the gawkers who inevitably showed up whenever they spotted film equipment. We had one night to get what we needed.

The office building behind us was a sleek glass tower that screamed tech money, exactly the kind of place Elena would work.

I stood behind the monitors, watching the crew make final adjustments to the lighting. The scene was complex. Elena would exit her building after a late night at the office, her security detail flanking her. The cyberterrorists would strike fast, brutally taking out her guards, grabbing her, throwing her into a waiting van. It had to look real. Visceral. The kind of sequence that made audiences hold their breath.

Toby had got plenty of B-roll earlier in the day and some night shots. The kid had talent. One day, he would be my competition.

“Stunt team ready?” I asked into my headset.

“Ready and waiting,” came the reply.

I checked the time. We had maybe six hours of darkness left to get this right. Night shoots were always a race against the dawn.

Grace emerged from the hair and makeup trailer, and I felt that familiar kick in my chest. She was dressed in a tailored suit, her hair swept up in an elegant twist—every inch the powerful CEO who didn’t know her world was about to implode. The wardrobe department had done incredible work aging the suit slightly, adding subtle wrinkles that suggested she’d been working since dawn. She had on stilettos that would probably not be something an actual CEO would wear, but it was all about making her look sexy as hell.

And it worked.

“Grace,” I called out. “Let’s walk through it one more time.”

She crossed the street to where I stood, her heels clicking against the asphalt. The streetlights highlighted her blonde hair. I had to remind myself to focus on the job.

I ran through the sequence. “Don’t actually fight them. We don’t want anyone getting hurt.”

She nodded. “Got it.”

“Once they get you to the van, we’ll call cut and swap you out for Jessie.” I nodded toward her stunt double, who was watching from the sidelines. “She’ll do the throw into the van. It’s a hard landing, even with the mats we’ve got in there.”

Grace studied the path from the building to the van, her eyes tracking every mark on the ground. I could see her mentally rehearsing, visualizing each beat of the sequence.

“What’s my emotional state?” she asked.

“Shock first. You’re not expecting this. Elena’s got top-tier security, she thinks she’s untouchable. Then real fear when you realize your guards are down and you’re alone. And underneath all of it, that stubborn determination. She’s already thinking about how to get out of this.”

Grace nodded slowly. I watched her slip into character.

“Let’s do a rehearsal,” I said. “Half speed, no cameras. I want to make sure everyone’s comfortable with the choreography.”

We ran through it twice. The first time was rough. Timing issues that would ruin the scene. One of the stunt guys grabbed too high on Grace’s arm. By the second run, it was coming together. Grace sold every moment, her body language shifting from confident to terrified in the span of seconds.

“Good,” I called out. “Let’s get cameras rolling. Grace, you’re doing great. Just remember when Bruno grabs you, go limp for a second before you start fighting. It’ll look more realistic.”

“Got it.”

I returned to my position behind the monitors, adrenaline starting to pump through my veins. This was what I lived for. The controlled chaos of a film set, every department working in harmony to create something that didn’t exist until we made it exist.

“Quiet on set!” Toby shouted.

The street fell silent.

“Action!”