“Like I said, we only met yesterday.”
“Don’t even bother, Lana,” Griffin said coolly.
They pulled up beside Lana’s white hatchback, parked under a streetlamp outside the hostel. “Yeah, they won’t be looking for me in that,” Griffin said wryly, as he and Lana climbed out of Maggie’s car.
“It’s reliable and economical,” Lana said in mock defense. “Like me.”
“I can drive us!” Maggie jumped onto the pavement, shotgun in hand. Under the cone of light, Lana could make out an amateurish tattoo across her cleavage—Griffin’s name, in cursive writing. “Road trip! Four hours in a car together—now won’t that be nice!” Sweetie beamed.
A muscle twitched in Griffin’s jaw. “Put the damn shotgun away! And you need to call your son.”
“Youaremy son!”
“Jerry? Remember Jerry? Remember the restraining order?”
“But we’re having such a lovely time!”
“Maggie…”
“Well, I left my phone at home.” She defiantly crossed her arms. “Jerry’s got this tracker app on it, and?—”
“You didn’t want him to know you were coming out here.”
“He doesn’t trust me—his own mother! And you needed me! I guess I’ll just have to use your phone?” She smiled victoriously, holding out a hand.
“Take mine,” Lana said, reading Griffin’s reluctance. There were layers to even his neutral expression—you just had to sift through them.
“Well, I don’t know Jerry’s number,” Maggie said as if she were scoring a point.
“I have it.” Griffin took Lana’s phone with a grateful look. “It’s on the restraining order. I’ll call him.”
He wandered away, dialing.
“So, tell me,” Maggie said, taking Lana’s arm. “How did it happen? You two were working on set, and…?”
“Nothing’s going on, Momma. We both just got left behind.”
“I’m not your Momma!” Maggie’s body went rigid, then softened again. She bumped the side of her hip against Lana’s, hurting her bruise. “Oh, come on. It’s the least you can do after I saved your life! I do love a Cinderella story! Filthy little servant gets the prince.”
“I’m just a background actor, an extra.”
“There is nojustto background acting. It’s not as easy as you think. Having conversations without making noise, while not looking like a fish?” She demonstrated. “That was until they kicked me off, but it must have been hard for my baby to concentrate with his momma there.” She leaned in close. “I’m worried about him, with those people after him. Was it kidnap? A ransom?”
“Mistaken identity, nothing to worry about.”
“Jerry wants a word, Maggie,” Griffin said, returning. “And let me put that back in the trunk.” He closed his hand around the shotgun barrel.
Maggie gave a dark look but relented. “Jerry, baby?” she purred into Lana’s phone. “No, I just gave him a ride, I swear! Saved his hide, matter of fact.”
“We can certainly melt into the traffic in your car,” Griffin said to Lana, stowing the gun in Maggie’s trunk as she argued with Jerry. “But let’s change your look, in case they find a way to come after us.”
“My look?”
“Take your hair out. Mess it up.”
She undid her bun and shook it out. He stepped in and adjusted her hair to frame her face. “Sorry, I should have asked permission to touch.”
“It’s okay.” Shewasa little breathless, but that seemed to be her new normal. “I wouldn’t worry. People can meet me in the morning and fail to recognize me in the afternoon.”
