Lana Langston. I’ll never forget you either. I’ll think about you every day for the rest of my life.
Chapter One
Lana
I never forgot him, no matter how hard I tried. He’s that kind of unforgettable. -Lana
“I don’t like that part in the script, Dan. She’s never going to beg some narcissistic asshole to take her back, no matter how much she needs a place to stay. She’s stronger than that.” I tilt my chin up to give the annoyed director a hard glare.
He sighs heavily, as if my demands are those of a petty princess, instead of an actress who knows her character inside and out. “The writers are not going to be happy, Lan. They kind of, well…”
“They hate me and wish I would just shut up and do my job?” I ask knowing that the three writers of the show are not my biggest fans. They genuinely think I just have a bug up my ass about everything. I don’t. But I’m also not good at keeping mymouth shut when I know something is wrong.I learned a long time ago to stand up for what’s right.
His cheeks redden. “Yeah, pretty much.”
I thrust the script back into his hands. “Too damn bad. I know who Rena is. I know what she would and wouldn’t do. And she isn’t a damn wimp, so get it changed.”
Dan grimaces and then finally nods his head. “You got it.”
Damn right, I got it. I know who Rena is. Hell, for the last three years I’ve been trying to gain the kind of strength she has.
I’m still cursing under my breath when I open the door to my trailer.
“Thinking Rena would go begging at Joe’s door…she would rather go to a shelter than do that. And no way in hell is she still interested in that man. He called her pathetic. Fuck that…”
I slam through the cabinets in the small kitchenette, looking for my new box of creamer packets.Shit, I need coffee bad.I was up most of the night reading this week’s script. And freaking out over it…
“They’ve been writing her story for three years now. You’d think they would know exactly how…” I trail off as I look down at my fingers. There’s something red leaking from the cupboard I just opened.
“What the fuck?” I turn my hand over.
It’s blood. There’s blood all over my hand.
My pulse pounds.Where the hell could it be coming from?
I start pulling apart cabinets and then glance down at the counter. There’s not much space to hide stuff, but the blood must be coming from somewhere. Finally, the source of it becomes clear. The spots of blood lead to under the sink.
I open the cabinet under the sink with trembling hands.
I feel vomit rise in my throat, so I hold a shaky hand to my mouth. There’s a black cat there, its throat obviously slashed. Blood is everywhere. Blank eyes stare up at me.
Midnight. Shit.It’s the stray cat that everyone feeds on set. We’ve taken to calling him Midnight because of his silky dark coat. Honestly, I had been thinking more and more about making him mine. I’ve never had a pet before.
Oh, Midnight. What has someone done to you?
I stumble backwards, curling up into a ball on the small sofa. I’m shaking from head to toe. Someone obviously left it for me to find.What else could they have left?I was so angry when I stalked into the trailer that I didn’t bother to look around. Now, I finally do.
It’s obvious someone was there. Papers are strewn about that I had carefully piled beside my laptop. A muddy footprint. And finally, I turn my head and spy the message written on the mirror behind me.
The word Whore is written in red, obviously painted with the blood that’s now all over my hands.
A scream gets caught in my throat. Obviously, someone wanted to scare me. They wanted to overwhelm me with fear. They’ve accomplished their mission. I’m about to lose it.
A face flashes across my mind. There’s only one person who might make me feel safe again, only one person that I would trust to protect me from whomever this monster could be. A man who I haven’t spoken to in years. Someone who I’ve avoided leaning on because I wanted to make it on my own.
Grainger. Call Grainger. He’ll know what to do.
Chapter Two
