“He just carries my kits.” I stretched my lower back, the fact that the guard’s eyes followed my breasts with his eyes when I did it not lost on me. I held the stretch a beat longer. “I’m recovering from a surgery. He stays in the car when he’s done hauling stuff. The agency doesn’t mind. It’s not a problem for him to be here, is it?”

The guard narrowed his eyes. “I probably should double-check,” he said. “I’ve got a number somewhere.” He started toward the hut.

“Miss Day is waiting, though,” I said. I tried to take the panic out of my voice and replace it with authority. “She can’t go on set until I apply the . . .” I mimed some more motions around my face.

“Oh, you’re the blood girl?” the guard asked. “They’ve been waiting.”

I nodded frantically. “Yes! Exactly. They’ve been waiting for the blood. I’m the best the agency has. Honestly? I’m better than Jayelle. I’ve won awards.”

“Okay. Yeah. You should get back there. The director doesn’t like it when he has to wait for people. He’s probably going to lay into you a little.”

I hung my head, contrite. “I deserve it.” I smacked Chris on the arm. “I told you we didn’t have time to stop for that Cronut.” Chris’s eyebrows went up. His lips were parted, as if he wanted to speak but didn’t have the first clue where to start. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.

The guard stepped off the curb and gestured toward a small building. “Miss Day’s in building three. You can park in the lot right next to it.”

“Thanks,” Chris finally said, and rolled up his window. It wasn’t until we had driven forward a few feet that I finally let my laughter loose.

“Oh my God, you should see your face,” I said. “You’re a detective. Shouldn’t you be better at playing along?”

“You’re the blood girl?”

“You had a better plan?”

“Yeah, actually. Show him my badge and tell him we needed to talk to her.”

I rolled my eyes.

“What? You’d be amazed what people will spill when they’re confronted with a badge.”

“Right,” I said. “And this girl is just going to hand Luna over on a silver platter. Because Luna’s friends are all so well-adjusted and cooperative. Give me a break.”

He rounded the corner and parked the car. “You do realize you’re going to be expected to actually”—he mimicked my hands flailing around my face—“do something with her makeup now, right?”

I shrugged. “It’s all in the authority. You pretend you know what you’re doing, and people believe it.”

“Do you know anything about theatrical makeup? Anything at all about blood?”