“That’s a nasty bruise you have there,” Chris Lander called out from across the trailer.
Jillian Finnegan studied the bluish patch of skin on her right shoulder, a memento from last night.Several more covered her hips and thighs, but the body suit hid them.Her gaze connected with her partner-in-crime—Chris Lander, the genius who hid her bruises so no one noticed them.
“They don’t hurt,” Jillian said a tad defensively as she adjusted her robe.
“Of course,” Chris mumbled through clenched teeth, reaching for his “special” bag.
“You’re not going to lecture me again?”
“What good would that do?”Jaw set, Chris joined her.“You’re stubborn and blindly loyal.If the studio finds out the cause of those bruises…” He pushed the robe aside and started applying base color on her shoulder.
She and Chris were Hollywood’s dynamic duo—the brilliant stunt coordinator and his most daring stuntwoman.In the past seven years, Jillian had doubled for many female action stars under Chris’ watchful eyes.If the studio learned about her nocturnal activities, she would be out of a job.She had a contract that forbade extracurricular stunts, which she’d breached this past week.
“I couldn’t say no,” Jillian said.“They’re family.”
“The stunts they pull are dangerous, Jill.They cut too many corners to thrill the crowd.Let them hire a substitute for emergencies.”
“You don’t understand,” Jillian whispered.
“Damn straight, I don’t.”Chris took a deep breath, his hazel eyes flashing.“You’re their sister, yet they have no problem putting your life in danger.It’s important to plan a move down to a fraction of a second.Practice it over and over again”—he slammed a fist against his palm for emphasis—“before doing it in front of an audience.They had you performing moves you haven’t done since you were a teenager.No wonder you fell.”
“Only during practice,” Jillian said defensively.
“Does it matter?”
Yes, damn it.Working with my family meant everything to me.“The ride went smoothly during my act.I had the people on their feet, holding their breath, silence so tense it pulsed.Then…” She closed her eyes, images from last night zipping through her head.The thrill.The crowd.The look of pride on her brothers’ faces.If only her father had been there.
Chris didn’t understand how stifled she felt doing stunts as a double.Hiding behind makeup and wigs, not getting her due despite all the work she put in.When performing with her family, she felt free.Complete.Right now, The Phantom Rider was the star of the Bay Area Circus.Soon, Jillian wouldn’t need the mask to hide her real identity.She would once again be part of The Fearless Finnegans Troupe, the main attraction of the show.
“Then what?”Chris asked.
Jillian opened her eyes and grinned.No matter how often Chris criticized her nocturnal activities, he missed that life.“I gave them what they wanted and left them begging for more.You should come on Friday.”
Chris shuddered.“No, thanks.I’m too young to have a heart attack.Did you wear the mask again?”
“Oh yeah.”Once her father recovered, he’d give his final approval, and she would say bye-bye to Hollywood.
“As long as the fans keep calling you The Phantom Rider, your secret is safe.”Chris stepped back and studied his handiwork.The discolorations were gone.She could always trust Chris to take care of her.
She reached up and kissed his cheek.“Thanks, Uncle Chris.”
He dismissed her with a flick of his hand, picked up a fire-red skydiver suit, and pushed it into her arms.“Now put that on and get out of here before I call your father and tell him everything.I’m sure he has no idea what you and your brothers have been up to.Damn fools,” Chris mumbled.“How could they not see your bruises?A near-sighted moron could spot them a mile away.”
She didn’t try to trivialize his worries.Reasoning with Chris when he switched to mother bear mode was out of the question.
“You can’t call Dad.”
“I know.How’s he doing?”
“Better.”Her father had had a heart attack and recovery was slow.Every time she stopped by his place, it broke her heart to see him.He’d become a shell of the once vibrant man who’d done some of the most daring stunts in the history of the Finnegans.Her throat tight, Jillian pulled on her jumpsuit and zipped up, but she watched Chris from the corner of her eye.
He tapped on his tablet and went over the sequence of action he had planned for the skydiving segment, but his mind wasn’t in it.He kept pausing and glaring into space.She faked interest in the zippers when he glanced her way.
Chris had always watched out for her from the moment her mother married into the Fearless Finnegans Troupe, a family of daredevils.Jillian had been only ten when Daniel Finnegan adopted her.Overnight, she’d acquired a doting father, an uncle and aunt, two older brothers, and cousins, who’d welcomed her into the family.Her mother had joined the act before the ink dried on the marriage certificate.Chris, who’d been the Finnegan’s stunt coordinator back then, had worked with Jillian slowly and diligently, and by the time she was twelve, she was ready to ride her bike on The Wall.A year later, she’d conquered the Globe of Death, a rite of passage for all Finnegans.Her brothers liked to brag they did both when they were ten.
Jillian had just turned sixteen when a freak accident killed her mother during a performance.It was Chris who’d helped her overcome her fears and got her back on the bike.But her performance had slowly changed, her behavior on stage becoming erratic.She’d taken chances, thrilling the audience, but scaring her father.
The nights they weren’t performing, she’d “hung out” with her cousins and brothers.Hanging out with the Finnegan boys often involved doing something illegal.Lucky for all of them, her father never found out or heads would have rolled.
