Heath throws a package of screws and drops onto his ass. He lights a cigarette, inhales deeply, and blows out smoke and resignation. “Love crushes the soul as much as it completes it.”

“A wise director once said, ‘You know true love when you’re desperate to live inside their skin while simultaneously wishing they’d forget you exist.’”

“Sounds like a brilliant man—an actual philosopher.” He does an on with it motion with the fingers holding his cigarette. “Report.”

He’s on the floor of his garage with his laptop since he’s not allowed to smoke in the house. They renovated to add an apartment above for him to work in before they moved in. He agreed to kids and suburbia. His line was having to stay outside to smoke or get high.

It also protects any neighbors with poor judgment who might see him and mistake Heath Erickson for a morning, how’s the weather type of dude.

I witnessed an unfortunate attempt at small talk with him once on set, and Heath threatened to blackball the guy from ever working in music again.

“Well, sir”—I throw him a wry smile when he flips me off—“we have about twenty hours of raw footage between all the cams. Plenty of concert takes, multiple angles and POVs from bass and drums. B-roll on the bus and backstage. The band has today and tomorrow off, so I’m hoping to get shots of them outside the tour space. Basically, we’re on track.”

“Then where the fuck is the Adams North interview?” Heath lifts an eyebrow, and I look away. “Right. So we’re going rogue and ignoring the label’s very clear instructions to focus on him.”

I glare at him for the reminder. The execs and their agent mentioned it plenty so long as the band was out of earshot. They want Adams North, but he’s part of a nonnegotiable package deal.

“I have footage of him. And they’re a band,” I add. “It’s a doc on Of Men and Wolves, and I refuse to make Dev or Felix feel like they’re any less a part of this.”

A corner of Heath’s mouth perks up. “I didn’t say I’m not onboard, Sinner. Only clarifying, so I can tell Mac to eat my dick if they push. But we do need interviews with Adams. You have a lot of one-on-ones with the others, but he only appears in groups or from afar. Is he intimidating you? Being an entitled fuck?”