Chapter 35
CHAPTER 35
EMERSON
My shoulders sag when my call won’t connect to Ford’s cell, and a million and one negative thoughts run through my mind.
I’ve only just gotten him back, universe. Please don’t take him from me.
“You…umm, you can’t go, Miss Hart.”
“What do you mean, I can’t go?” I stare askance at Thom, grateful when his cheeks color slightly, but he remains firm.
“Mr. Burton said you are to carry on as normal, and we will be updated in due course.”
Kyle speaks up, attempting to diffuse the situation when my frustration ripples off me in waves. “For what it’s worth, Mr. Burton has a security team procured by Boss Man already on the ground, and it’s second to none?—”
I move to push past both men with a snarl. “I won’t be kept from him?—”
Beck grips my shoulder lightly, but enough to stop me from going any farther, and I swing around to him. “ What ?”
“Let’s go to the first party venue. It’s Tryst, so it’s not even far, and by the time we get there, I’m sure we’ll have an update.”
My chest feels tight as my breathing becomes labored, and I feel a wave of dizziness wash over me that threatens to pull me under. I twist about to regard Thom and Kyle, watching as both men shuffle uncomfortably, clearly ill at ease with the direction this evening has taken.
“If there’s no update by the time I make it inside Tryst’s front doors, I’m going straight to Teterboro, and not one of you will be able to stop me, I swear it.”
Then I march past Ford’s Sentinel’s staff, not stopping until I get to the waiting limousine. Cameras continue to flash left and right as a cacophony of voices chime.
“What’s happened, Emerson?”
“Why are you crying?”
I ignore them all, slipping into the backseat beside Hayley before I dissolve into floods of tears. She gathers me into her embrace, holding me as I let my emotions get the better of me.
Please don’t leave me again.
It isn’t until we’re about to pull up outside Tryst that I pull myself together enough to speak.
“Ford’s been shot.”
Hayley’s eyes blow wide, and she yanks out her cell.
“I’ve tried calling. There’s something wrong with his cell.”
She shakes her head, typing frantically before holding up the screen to show me. “Nothing on the news yet. That’s something.”
The car stops, and I almost scream when I note the waiting patrons, undoubtedly angling for a selfie or two. My mouth is bone dry as I dig as deep as I ever have, knowing I’ll need every trick in the book to keep myself from falling apart on that red carpet.
“I’ll go on inside and prepare the VIP room, Emerson. I’m sure you’ll get word by then.” Beck reaches a hand across the car, placing his palm reassuringly on my knee. “It’ll all work out. Just you wait and see.”
His kindness is unusual, and I nod with a genuine smile as he slips out of the car. Hayley and I slide out after him, and she squeezes my hand as chants of my name fill the air.
I make my way through a handful of selfies, fighting the tears purely by drawing on my years of acting experience, and I’m moving on autopilot when a large hand thrusts a sheet of paper in front of me. Looking closer, I see haphazard scratchy handwriting that reads:
End game, Tink.
My heart seizes in my chest, and I look up to find navy-blue eyes filled with love looking down on me from the opposite side of the red velvet ropes that separate me from the crowd.
“Oh my God…” My heart stutters as I barely manage to draw a breath when without conscious thought, my body moves, and I throw myself head-first into his waiting arms. Cameras snap as he cradles the back of my head in his large palm, rubbing soothing circles as I inhale his grounding scent.
“I’m sorry I’m late, baby.” His words are a whisper by my ear, and I pull back to palm his cheeks, noticing a large bandage on the side of his neck as I do. “I once told you that wild horses couldn’t keep me away…”
He smirks as my concerned eyes flick between his. “Same can be said for dumbass would-be assassins.”
My hands roam across his features, checking for damage aside from the bandage on his neck as my mouth opens and closes, trying desperately to find the right words. To find any words.
“How—I mean, when—I need to know… Oh my God ?—”
He presses his index finger over my lips. The power in his gaze keeps me upright when my knees threaten to buckle from the relief of seeing him safe and in the flesh.
“Soon, baby. Soon .”
Before he can say anything else, Thom steps forward and opens the rope to allow his boss past the crowd, and chants from my gathered legion of fans greet our ears.
“ Kiss her. Kiss her. Kiss her. ”
He looks at me with mischief in his eyes. “They’re lookin’ for some real-life movie shit come to life?” Tugging me closer, he presses us firmly together with his arms locked around my waist before brushing his lips over mine and whispering, “Can’t disappoint your fans, Tink.”
Then his mouth covers mine as joyful tears spring behind my eyelids, and I hold him even tighter, grateful beyond words that he’s here.
That he’s whole.
And that we can finally be together for all to see.
When I break the kiss, a tall, dark-haired man in an immaculately tailored black suit stands at Ford’s side. He smiles with his eyes and jerks his head to one side, indicating that we should move things inside.
Ford wraps his arm around my waist, and I fit mine around him, enveloping myself in his soothing, familiar scent as we walk beneath the canopy and into Tryst. Hayley slips her hand into mine, squeezing lightly, and I return the gesture with a grateful heart.
The man in black has a quick word with some of the waiting Tryst staff members, who lead us to a small elevator to our left. Once everyone, including Thom and Kyle, has stepped on, the elevator begins to rise, and Ford nods at the man in black.
“Emmy, this is Vaughn Burton. He’s my…well…” He chuckles, and Vaughn joins him as he continues. “He’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to a brother.”
Vaughn’s midnight eyes flash with something akin to warmth, and I can tell this friendship is one that was forged in adversity. A friendship that’s more like family, like Ford’s relationship with Sutton North, and I extend my hand.
As Vaughn slides his large palm into mine, I smile brightly as I pump my arm up and down. “It’s truly a pleasure to meet you, Vaughn.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Emmy.”
The truth of his words shines from those jet-black eyes that hold mine with unflinching honesty, and my delight multiplies when I glance up at Ford as he watches us with a self-satisfied grin.
The elevator doors open, revealing an open-plan VIP area complete with scantily clad dancers and half-naked waitresses. Approximately two dozen VIP guests break out into applause once they catch sight of me, and even after all this time, I flush right to the tips of my toes.
“It’s just downright tacky if you ask me.”
We step off the elevator as a unit, nodding at several well-wishers as we pass them, and I glance up at Ford questioningly. He chuckles before shouldering Vaughn playfully.
“Tryst is Rogue’s latest competition, and Vaughn, as Rogue’s owner, naturally thinks it a steaming pile of horseshit.”
As both men laugh, I grin along with them, finally drawing the connections and endearing Vaughn to me even further, knowing he’d given Ford a job and a home when he’d been compelled to leave me. The knowledge that he wasn’t alone eases the sting in my heart as Hayley leans closer to whisper in my ear.
“The remaining guests are in the lobby. There’ll be a toast and a celebratory cake in about five minutes.” She pulls back enough to nod to a side door. “If you guys need a minute, I’ll keep Beck at bay.”
I cup my sister’s smiling cheek, so grateful for our friendship, and I nod enthusiastically. Her eyes gleam with devilish intent before she moves off through the crowd, and I tug Ford, and by proxy Vaughn, toward the door that leads out onto a large, canopied balcony.
Thom and Kyle stay inside, standing sentry by the doors as Vaughn whistles between his teeth. “ Shiiiiiit ! I need to invest in some balconies.”
Pivoting around, he checks every little detail with appreciation in his dark orbs before he looks back at me and Ford. “I can see the appeal in these. Kudos for that. But the rest…” He shudders exaggeratedly as he shakes his head. “No. Just no.”
I look up at Ford’s face, absorbing his much-loved features, as the need to know what unfolded today rises to the forefront. “Okay, I’ve waited long enough, and I’ll wait no more. What the hell happened with that would-be assassin you mentioned?”
Both men look at me and then glance back at one another before Vaughn answers. “Zane had him neutralized before anyone else even got there.”
Ford chuckles. “You sound sad that you missed out on the action.” Then he sobers as he regards his friend. “Seriously, though, you shouldn’t have come to Teterboro. Wren and Sia are your priority?—"
“You’ve always been the first person to step up and help others out in their time of need. You never question. You just act .” Vaughn’s smile is broad, encompassing us both. “I’m just glad I could repay one of…oh, only about a million favors.”
Ford’s chest rumbles a deep laugh at my back, and I glance up to see a delighted grin on his handsome face.
“He does do that, doesn’t he?” At Ford’s quizzical look, I shoot a glance at Vaughn, stage whispering, “He acts without question. Always stepping up to do the right thing.”
Vaughn chuckles as I raise my gaze to Ford’s once more. “And it’s time I finally realized what the right thing is for me .” His arms around me tighten as his forehead puckers in a frown. “I’m leaving the business. The industry, everything. I don’t want any of it. I only want you, Cowboy, and the life we can build together?—”
The balcony door swings open, and I look around to find Beck hurrying closer. His feet grind to a stop when his eyes shift upward to Ford standing at my back.
“You!” A deep frown lines his face as he blinks owlishly. “You shouldn’t be here.”
FORD
Beck’s eyes widen as he realizes the words that just slipped out of his mouth, and Vaughn side-eyes me as he steps closer. Emmy’s shoulders stiffen as her sharp intake of breath tells me she’s noticed, too, before she speaks.
“I knew your reaction was off.” Beck holds up a stalling palm, but Emmy keeps going, gaining momentum with each word. “When I said I wanted out of this business tonight, you were far too calm. Too unfazed by my revelation, almost as though you knew it would never come to fruition because without Ford in the picture, you have me right where you want me?—”
“I tried to warn him off, but he didn’t listen, Emerson.” Beck’s eyes take on a frenzied gleam, and I glance around the space to surreptitiously note the positioning of all the furniture should things suddenly go even further south. “He almost ruined you once before?—”
“ Oh my God .”
I grip Emmy’s shoulders as her whisper resounds through the space, and I glance toward Vaughn, noting that he’s surreptitiously placed his cell on one of the nearby tables, clearly recording the evidence of Beck’s crimes.
“I can’t believe you’d do something like this, Beckham. You tried to kill the man I love. Judging from the neck wound, I’d say you almost succeeded…an inch to the right and you would have?—”
Emmy sucks in a shaky breath as the force of everything overwhelms her, and I enfold her against my chest, regarding the man before me with cold eyes. His gaze hardens as he stares back, and I can see the moment he snaps as clear as day.
“You weren’t supposed to be on this fucking job. Alex DeMarco neglected to tell me it was your goddamn company he was engaging, and then when I’d intended for Emerson to be ill from the strychnine in the sandwich?—”
“You what ?” My words are a growl rumbling from my chest. “You could have killed her?—”
“The dosage was only enough to make her ill on set—enough to draw empathy from the media—free publicity, if you will.” His wild eyes spear Emerson as his voice takes on a dangerous edge. “You wouldn’t be where you are today without me—without the things I’ve done to ensure your success, to ensure your constant exposure to the media that has catapulted your career into the stratosphere.”
He puffs his chest out ridiculously, arching a single eyebrow as he haughtily states. “You should be thanking me!”
Emerson’s voice is firm and without inflection when she stands taller in my arms and stares him down. “And what else have you done in my name, Beck? What other madness?—”
She gasps suddenly, her voice dropping to a whisper. “You gave him the key. Dave, right? You fed his obsession. You drove him to do what he did. It was all you .”
Beck rakes his hand through his hair, glancing around the balcony with wild eyes, and I nod for Vaughn to edge his way toward the door to alert my men to the ongoings out here.
“I met him after one of your first shows. We stayed in touch through the years, and while, yes , I may have given him access to your house as a favor, I didn’t have a clue what he was planning?—”
“ Bullshit .” My accusation flies through the night, sounding like the crack of a whip, and Beckham straightens enough to hold my gaze. “I pored over every single Yardley employee details. The ones subcontracted for the event, too, and Dave Palmer was nowhere to be found. He needed someone on the inside to put him in the right place at the right time.”
Emmy’s body stiffens before she grinds through clenched teeth. “And that inside man was you , Beck.”
Her agent fidgets with his tie, loosening it as he takes a step backward with his eyes fixed firmly on me. “I—I wouldn’t have let him harm her. You need to believe me.”
When I narrow my eyes, he shifts his pleading gaze to Emerson, the pitch of his voice escalating desperately, knowing his misdeeds have found their way into the light. “He wouldn’t have harmed you. I had a plan in place to have him seized outside the Yardley in front of the paparazzi. It would have been money in the bank. It would have taken you to a whole new level, don’t you see?”
His eyes are glassy and unfocused as he whispers almost frantically, “I only ever did what she wanted me to. It was all for her.”
A shiver ripples up my spine, but before he can elaborate, Thom steps out onto the balcony, his training instantly kicking in.
Knowing where this is headed, Beck tries one last time to appeal to Emmy, turning to her with pleading eyes. “I made you what you are, Emerson Hart. All those awards and designer clothes, all those sponsorship deals and promotional opportunities, the roof over your head, and even the food in your belly… I did that?—”
“ I don’t want it! ”
Emmy cuts him off with a bellow so inherently unlike her that all present freeze on the spot. Then her voice drops to a whisper so threadbare that I strain to hear it. “I only wanted to be like my mother. I never wanted all…all of this .”
Kyle appears at Thom’s side, and each man grips one of Beckham’s elbows. Then they exit the balcony space with the rest of us hot on their heels. Emmy’s eyes stay fixed determinedly on her agent’s departing back, Hayley’s hand in hers, and her free one wrapped around my waist.
The crowd parts, several cameras flashing as we pass, and a low murmur begins, building to a cacophony until we reach the elevator, where Emmy pivots to face the gathering.
I note several news station cameras directed at us, microphones outstretched to ensure the capture of each precious word America’s Sweetheart is about to utter. Then, in a low, self-assured voice, she addresses all present, my surprise evident on my face as she pops an eyebrow and emphasizes her declaration succinctly.
“ I . Quit .”
The elevator doors open as though timed, and we depart as the din at our backs rises to new heights and Emmy looks up at me with a tired smile. “Take me home, Cowboy.”