Chapter 18
CHAPTER 18
FORD
As the crowd applauds, one of The Yardley staff members nudges me from behind. “Excuse me, sir. I need this space for the next presenters.”
I shoot a look down the stairwell, noting two waiting celebrities at his back before I nod my apologies and quickly descend. It isn’t until the applause ceases that I realize Emmy’s not following me, and I grab a passing event worker.
“Do the presenters not return here once they’re finished?”
She shrugs, pointing across the stage. “They can exit either stage right or stage left. Ushers will see them back to their designated seats from whichever side the talent uses. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
As she walks away, I quickly confer with the men in my ear. “Zane, any sign of Miss Hart and Mr. Wilde?”
“No, not yet— Oh, no, wait, I see Mr. Wilde.” Silence follows for a beat as my man clearly searches for Emmy, but my stomach bottoms out when he speaks once more. “He’s alone. Says he got separated from Miss Hart backstage.”
A bone-deep sense of foreboding swarms my chest cavity, and sweat forming at my nape, inherently knowing that something is very, very wrong here.
As I bark down the line, my feet immediately take me up the stairwell. “This is an all-hands-on-deck situation. I repeat, all hands on deck . Secure Miss Hart. Now .”
I barely register the hand of an event security employee on my chest who tries to stop me from cresting the staircase before I grab the offending digits and twist sharply. The inimitable sound of bones crunching follows, and he falls away with a cry, holding his injured hand with a pained expression as I march past him to stride onto the stage. A commotion breaks out in the audience, but I ignore it all, intent on crossing over to stage left in search of Emmy.
As I descend the stairwell, Kyle greets me with a frown. “She’s nowhere between here and the event entry point, Boss Man.”
I glance around the area, quickly noting two things of value. “Get the security footage from that camera.” I point at a device directly facing the stairwell. “ Now .”
He rushes off to do as I bid while I speak to everyone on the earpiece. “There are only two other routes she could have taken from where I’m standing. All staff within the building will converge here and fan out. The staff surrounding the perimeter must block all exits and await further instruction.”
Then I’m rushing down the nearest route on my right, bringing me around the back of the stage. I check inside several doors, finding only storage closets, a rest room, and a small office space, but no sign of Emmy.
Anxiety roils in my gut as panic tightens my chest, my head thumping dangerously when I keep coming up empty.
“Where are you, Tink?” I murmur to no one in particular, but it’s like the universe herself answers me when I hear Emmy’s voice.
“And do you have a favorite, Dave?”
I edge closer on stealthy feet as a male voice responds. His tone is eager and engaging and, for a moment, my anxiety takes a breather, thinking that perhaps I’ve overreacted.
“Well, it started when I saw you as éponine. Your portrayal was so real . I saw you perform weekly, and every single time, you nailed it.”
There’s a smile in Emmy’s voice when she replies softly, “Thank you. That character is particularly special to me. She got me through a dark time.”
“Me too. My wife had left me for my best friend. She’d taken our kids. The house. Everything of value.” He sighs before his tone takes on a triumphant edge. “But then I found you . And you were alone, too. I could see it in your eyes. We’re the same, you and I.”
“How so, Dave?” There’s a hesitance in her voice that makes me frown, edging closer to hear her companion’s low response.
“The eyes are the windows to the soul, are they not? And a broken soul recognizes a broken soul.”
Silence ensues for a beat until she speaks again. “Can I ask you something important?”
“You can ask me anything, Miss Hart. I wouldn’t ever lie to you.”
“I appreciate that.” I nudge the door open a snippet, just enough to place Emmy in my line of sight. A man’s broad back blocks half of her face as she watches him. “Did you break into my house, Dave?”
The man, Dave, fidgets for a moment, running his fingers through his salt and pepper hair before declaring, “He gave me a key, Miss Hart. I don’t think it’s considered breaking in if you’ve used a key, right?”
“Well…if the homeowner didn’t invite you, then it’s a little more complex than that.” There’s a hint of reproach in her voice, and Dave looks at his feet, shuffling awkwardly as Emmy continues. “So since I didn’t invite you, then who?—”
“That’s not important.” His voice grows impatient as he shakes his head, pivoting just enough so I can see his face.
He’s wearing a shirt that signifies he’s an event coordinator, but I’ve pored over every employee's details, and his face wasn’t on the roster, meaning his reasons for being here can’t be good. And at that realization, my anxiety is back a thousandfold, and I’m on the brink of bursting into the Green Room, guns blazing, when Dave speaks again.
“You’ve distracted me, Miss Hart. Come on, we need to go before someone realizes you’re missing.”
Emmy shakes her head, pressing her hands together in a pleading motion as the man turns back to face her, and it’s only then I notice the small pistol in his beefy grip.
Shit!
Things have just gotten a whole lot worse.
EMERSON
“You don’t need to do this, Dave. We can resolve everything?—”
“No, Miss Hart.” His tone is firmer than before, and I realize the time for cajoling is past when he encircles my upper arm with his free hand to pull me closer. “You’ll like where we’re going. It even smells like your house, so it’ll feel like home right from the start.”
At my blank stare, he smiles proudly, that fanatical zeal from earlier rising to the forefront once again.
“I needed access to your house to get the details of all the products you use. I have the same air freshener and laundry detergent. Even the same disinfectant you have in your bathrooms. It’s taken me a long time and a lot of planning, but it’ll be worth it so we can be together. So that we can be whole again.”
Oh my God, where are you, Ford?
I slam my eyes closed and try to keep my breathing under control as I shake my head. “You don’t want to do this. There’s still time to stop it.”
As I open my eyes, my heart stalls in my chest, spotting movement through a small gap where the door is slightly ajar.
Ford!
His eyes are hard as flint, and despite the space between us, I can feel the rage bristling off his body as Dave abruptly shifts, losing patience with me.
“You’re coming with me. End of discussion.”
Ford disappears as Dave yanks open the door, pulling me outside after him into a seemingly empty corridor. He speed walks back the way I came, leaving me to stumble alongside him when, out of the blue, Ford appears from behind a door on our left. He tackles Dave to the ground, knocking my would-be kidnapper’s gun from his grasp to send it skating across the ground.
I quickly back away as the two men go at it. With his larger size and the element of surprise, Ford clearly has the upper hand from the off, but even so, I watch with bated breath, terrified that the slightest misstep could lead to disaster.
Dave’s stamina is lagging when he lands a solid punch to Ford’s stomach. The action winds him enough to give Dave time to step back and recoup, panting heavily as his eyes flick to mine.
He reaches into his pocket and extracts a second, smaller pistol, regarding me with accusing eyes as Ford pulls out his own gun, leveling it at Dave.
“It’s over, Dave. Lay down your weapon, or I’ll be forced to act.”
Ford’s extended arm is unwavering, aiming directly at Dave’s head, but my attacker doesn’t take his eyes off me, entirely unperturbed by Ford’s words or actions.
“I saw through your act, Miss Hart.” A shiver races up my spine as he watches me. The crazed gleam is still present in his eyes, but it’s joined by something else now—something like understanding. “I only wanted to save you from this life that makes you so unhappy. I could have made you happy.”
Several Sentinel staff, including Zane, appear at the farthest end of the corridor, guns drawn even as they slam to a standstill when they find the sight that greets them.
Dave’s unwavering light brown gaze pierces right through me, and I can feel the tension vibrating the very air around us until, without warning, he lifts the gun to his temple and pulls the trigger.
I hear a high-pitched scream somewhere in the distance, taking a beat to register that the sound is coming from my own mouth as Dave’s knees buckle and his body crumples to the ground. My eyes rake across the carnage before me, and I feel like I’m not getting enough air to my lungs before Ford encases me in his warm embrace. My ear rests over his heartbeat and the steady cadence grounds me enough to draw a deep breath.
Security personnel swarm the scene as Ford rubs soothing circles on my back, and I slam my eyes closed, needing to see anything but the horror before me.
“Take me home, Ford.”
He holds me tighter. “Soon, Tink.” Then I feel him press a rough kiss atop my head before Hayley’s cry hits my ears.
“Oh my God, Em !”
I open my eyes to see her barreling toward us, and then her hands are on me, checking my face, my arms, and my body as a whole for signs of harm. The concern in her eyes is enough to bring a fresh barrage of tears to mine, and I relinquish my hold on Ford to take my sister into my arms.
“I’m okay, Hayles. I’m okay.” My gaze lifts to Ford over Hayley’s shoulder, lips lifting in a tremulous half-smile as relief floods my chest. “My white knight saved me.”