Page 84 of Last First Kiss
Annie sat back to watch the magic happen.
Looking around, just out of habit, something caught her eye. Something familiar. She did a double take before she realized what it was. One of the prop guys had a tattoo semi-hidden underneath his watch. A yellow, blue, and red circle.
“Action!” Spelling yelled.
Everything happened at once. “Ben! Don’t let him leave,” she yelled over her shoulder, pointing to the prop guy. Then she leaped into the middle of the set. Rocco was closer than the man playing Joaquin. She immediately ran and tackled him as the gun from Joaquin’s hand went off, the sound ricocheting off the wall in a loud bang.
Julia screamed as blood spurted around her.
There was complete mayhem and confusion.
“Annabelle!” she heard from somewhere behind her.
She knew she had been shot because of the warm painful burning sensation in her shoulder.
“Oh my God! Was that a real bullet?” the Joaquin actor yelled, his voice shaky as he dropped the weapon.
“Yes.” She carefully tried to stand and almost fell from the pain and wooziness.
“Fuck! Annie, you’re shot!” Rocco lifted her up onto his lap. “Someone call an ambulance now!”
“Ben,” she tried to say, but it hurt even to speak. “He’s Mendoza’s bastard son. He’s been the one planning all of this. Julio Mata. Tattoo on his wrist.” She tried to get it all out.
“No one will see this movie. It is all lies!” Julio yelled and then there was an umph sound as Ben held his arms up higher, kneeing his back.
“Shut the fuck up.” Ben grunted. “I got this, kid. Apply pressure to her shoulder, Monroe.”
Rocco pulled out some nearby cloth napkins and held them firmly against the wound, causing Annie to cry out in pain. “Don’t . . . call,” she moaned through the pain, “ . . . me . . . kid.” And that was the last thing she remembered before blackness overtook her.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The attempted murder of El Traficante star Rocco Monroe was thwarted by his girlfriend, Annabelle Clad, who jumped in front of a bullet for him. Now that’s true love, folks! Reports say she is in critical care at a hospital in Villavincencio, Colombia. Julio Mata, the bastard son of Mendoza, planted real bullets in a prop weapon in order to have Monroe killed. The threat to the actors’ safety seems to be contained now that Mata is in jail. It is uncertain when filming will resume since Rocco refuses to leave his girlfriend’s side.
Rocco sat next to the hospital bed, holding Annabelle’s hand. The bullet had hit a major artery and she had just undergone emergency surgery, but the doctors explained that she would be all right. He’d never been more scared in his life. All he’d seen was a blur of strawberry blond hair leap across the set and push him full force against a table, and then blood. So much fucking blood wetting her shirt, he thought it had been coming from her heart, not her shoulder. Then she’d passed out, and he’d almost lost it.
Commotion from outside the room made him look up as the door swung roughly open and Joey stalked inside.
“Shit,” Rocco mumbled under his breath.
“You were supposed to keep her safe in the room,” Joey growled. “I changed Ben to security and she should have been resting.”
Rocco stood up. “Have you met your sister? She doesn’t listen to anyone. I fucked up though, you’re right.” And then an oomph escaped him as Joey swung at his face, fist closed.
“Yeah, you fucked up!”
Rocco wouldn’t hit her brother, even if he deserved it. This was partially his fault too. “I fucked up by calling you, motherfucker. Not by letting her out of the suite.”
“Come again?” he growled.
“I should’ve never called you. I know her better than anyone. I should have known that you’d try to make her stay away. But even more than that, I should have known she wouldn’t. Nothing that you can do will make me feel worse!” he said, using the top of his shirt to wipe away the blood dripping from underneath his throbbing eye.
“What’s the prognosis?” Joey asked gruffly, ignoring the fact he’d just hit Rocco.
“She just got out of surgery. They repaired the hole which caused the bleeding, the bullet went straight through. She should wake up soon.”
“I want her back home,” Joey declared.
“I’ve already made all the arrangements. But we can’t move her yet. I have a private plane waiting for clearance from the doctors.”
