Chapter 39
Chapter
Thirty-Nine
ANABELLE
Though I was really nervous about tonight, I’m having a great time.
I was worried that people would look at me and wonder why Asher is with me or think our age difference is inappropriate, but everyone has been really nice.
The fact that we’re all wearing masks helps, I think, because it’s difficult to tell my age, but nonetheless, I don’t feel completely out of place, which was my worry.
Kol even says a few words to me throughout the dinner. I have to count that as a win. Sid is his usual charming self, and Nero does his best to include me in the conversation.
Asher doesn’t say much unless he’s spoken to directly, but he’s constantly touching my leg under the table or putting his arm around my shoulders. I know his silence probably has more to do with him getting used to the idea that he has to let Nero live his life and less to do with me.
Near the end of the dinner, the event planner comes to the table and tells Asher that it’s time for him to deliver his speech.
Asher nods and turns to me. “I’ll be back in a bit. Stay with my brothers.”
I nod.
“Wish me luck?”
“He doesn’t need luck. He’s done about a thousand of these since the old man died,” Sid says.
It’s jarring to hear their father mentioned so casually. I try to keep my face blank, so as not to let on that I know anything about what went on when they were children.
Asher steps up on the stage and takes the mic, introducing himself. He starts in about why we’re all here tonight and the importance of the work that the charities who will benefit from the fundraising efforts tonight are doing.
It’s a side of him I rarely see. He’s charming yet powerful, persuasive yet not heavy-handed. Everyone in the large ballroom hangs on his every word, and when the speech concludes, everyone applauds loudly.
I realize that the feeling in my chest is pride at what this man overcame that hardly anyone in this room knows about. Sure, it informs who he is, but he wasn’t crippled by his past. He rose above. And pride at the fact that he’s mine.
As soon as he’s close to returning to our table, I pop up from my seat, embracing him once he makes it over to me. “That was a wonderful speech.”
He pulls back and kisses me. “Do you want to go share that dance now?”
I look behind us and see that indeed, people are making their way onto the dance floor. “Absolutely.”
Neither of us bids goodbye to anyone at the table as I let him lead me onto the dance floor. When Asher takes me in his arms, I realize there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. I have fallen for this man despite my best efforts, but I think that perhaps he’s fallen for me too.
He glides me around the dance floor, and even though we’re in a room filled with people, it feels intimate somehow.
The heat of his hand on my back through the fabric of my dress permeates my entire body.
We spin and rotate, maintaining eye contact, and it almost feels as though we’re having a conversation without speaking.
The music swells, and I feel it in my chest, as though my heart is near to bursting as I realize how much this man means to me. How the idea of the two of us not being together isn’t something I can comprehend any longer.
The song ends, and we stand in place, staring at each other.
Asher gently slides my mask up so that it sits on my hairline and cups my face with one hand. “Anabelle, I—”
“Asher!” Nero comes up behind him and stands at our side. “Shit, sorry for interrupting.”
Oh my god, I think he was about to tell me he loves me.
Asher’s jaw tightens, and he glares at Nero. “What is it?” he says, his voice as sharp as the lash of a whip.
“I need to know what you think of Maude. I’m nervous as hell about later, and I need to know you’re okay with it and have no real objections.”
Some of the tension eases out of Asher’s body. “I think you should do whatever you think is right. You’re a grown man and can make that decision for yourself.”
Nero’s smile is nearly blinding. This feels like a moment that should be between the two of them.
“I’m going to run to the ladies’ room and let you two talk. I’ll meet you back at the table?”
Asher places a chaste kiss on my lips, then leans in to whisper thank you in my ear.
I pull my mask back into place and give him a smile before making my way off the dance floor. I find the bathroom easily enough, and when I come back out, one of the event workers is lingering in the hallway and smiles when she sees me.
“Excuse me, miss? There’s a gentleman who asked to see you. He’s down the hall and take a left.”
“Oh, okay, thank you.” I smile at her, then glance to my left down the hall and my right toward the ballroom.
What is Asher getting at? Is this some surprise he has planned? Or maybe we can slip away already?
With anticipation making my tummy fizz, I head down the long hallway that runs the length of the ballroom and turn left like she said. I frown when I don’t see Asher. In fact, this end of the hall is much narrower, and there’s no one down here that I can see.
“Hello?” I walk down the hallway. Maybe he’s in one of the smaller rooms that runs off this hallway? “Asher?”
But all the doors are closed. Until I reach the last one, and I see light escaping out from under the bottom.
With a smile, I gently push open the door. “Asher, what’s going—”
A rush of air leaves my mouth as I’m yanked inside and pushed up against the wall.
“Shut up, bitch. It’s not your precious Asher.”
I have to blink several times to make sure I’m seeing what I think I’m seeing.
A man dressed in a tuxedo has one hand pressed across my sternum and in the other is a gun that he has pressed at my temple.
It takes me a moment to realize that he looks familiar, even with his black mask on, and ice travels through my veins, freezing me in place.
Preston Wallace.
A cold, calculated gleam fills his eyes. “I see you’ve realized who I am, Anabelle.” He says my name with a sneer.
“What are you doing?” I manage to say past my throat that feels as if it’s closing up.
“The mighty Asher Voss thought he could just fuck me over, and there would be no consequences?” His head arches back as he laughs.
I use the opportunity to glance behind him and see that we’re in a small meeting room. There’s a long conference table in the center of the room with chairs around it and another door at the far end of the room.
I don’t know how, but I have to get out of here.
“There will be consequences all right. He thinks he can take over and kick me out of my own company?” He’s shouting in my face now, clearly unhinged. “He’ll pay. He took what was mine, and now I’m taking what’s his.”
He presses harder against my sternum and up into the base of my neck, constricting my airway. Gasping, I pull at his forearm to no avail. He seems to enjoy the fact that I’m fighting him, based on the expression on his face.
He’s not budging so I do the only think I can think of—I bring my knee up and hit him in the groin. The impact is dulled because of the ball gown I’m wearing, but I manage to make contact enough that he folds over with a grunt.
When I push, he stumbles back enough that I’m able to run around him, bounding toward the door that leads out into the hallway since it’s the closest. I’m about to grasp for the handle when his hand is in my hair, yanking me back.
I cry out at the pain in my scalp and stumble backward into his chest.
He wraps an arm around my waist, holding me there. “You’re going to pay for that. Maybe I’ll keep you awake rather than knock you out when I have my way with you.”
I swallow back the bile traveling up my throat.
“Let’s go. You’re going to be a good girl and walk with me out to the limo. I’ll have this gun pointed at you under my jacket, so don’t even think about trying anything. You’ll bleed out before anyone can save you.”
Tears prick my eyes, but I nod frantically.
Preston forces me to walk with him, my arm wrapped around his, away from the direction we came in. He must be parked in the back.
When we get outside, it’s raining harder, and I’m soaked in seconds.
He rushes me toward a waiting limo, and when he uses one hand to open the door, I struggle a bit in his hold.
It’s not enough to really try to get away—I don’t stand a chance since he has a gun.
It’s just enough to be difficult and slip the mask off my face so it lands on the ground.
I have no doubt that Asher will be looking for me soon.
If I can leave him any small clue as to my whereabouts, I’m going to do it.
Preston pushes me inside the limo, and I slide as far over as I can toward the opposite door.
I just have to survive this. No matter what he does, I have to survive so I can make it back to Asher. I can deal with the fallout of whatever sick things Preston has planned after.
Survival. That’s all that matters.
Preston gets in and slams the door closed, then presses a button I assume must let him communicate with the driver since the partition is up between us. “Let’s head to the airport.”
The vehicle moves, and I look out through the back window, tears in my eyes as the distance between the danger I’m presently in and the safety Asher provides increases.
“Trying for one last look?” Preston’s caustic laugh grates at my nerves, and there’s nothing I’d rather do than launch myself at him and claw out his eyes.
“Maybe if I’m feeling generous, I’ll tape it when I fuck you before I kill you and send him a copy.
” A self-satisfied gleam fills his eyes, and he leans back in his seat with a grin.
“Yeah, I think that sounds like the perfect idea. Something to remember you by.”
“You’re never going to get away with this. Why would you throw your life away for revenge?”
His eyes narrow on me, and he shoves the gun up under my chin, gripping my one hand in his other hand so hard that I cry out. I suck in a breath and hold it, squeezing my eyes shut.
“You should have told me you were his! I would’ve just knocked you out and fucked you in the back of my car. You’re not worth the trouble you’ve caused me.”
It takes me a moment to register that the sudden sting of pain in my temple is because he’s pistol-whipped me. I feel something trickle down my face and assume it must be blood.
“But I’ll get my revenge. Oh yes, I’m sure he’ll love that tape I’ll send him, and when he’s never able to find you again, it’ll drive him mad. Meanwhile, I’ll just disappear, never to be seen or heard from again. That’s the benefit of having endless wealth.”
Tears track down my face, and my chest constricts. It’s hard to breathe as I think of what it would do to Asher to see a tape like that. I don’t know that he’d ever recover. Would he just become vengeful and eventually let his despair and hatred eat away at him from the inside?
I can’t let that happen. No matter what, I can’t let that happen.
Cowering in the corner, I try to get my bearings. That knock to the head still has me seeing stars.
The limo moves along for a while, then it comes to a stop. I can tell from the window that it looks like we’re on a highway and stuck in a traffic jam. Maybe this will buy me some time to figure something out or for Asher to find me.
I could try to jump out the door now that we’re not moving. But Preston is unhinged, and I have no doubt that he might jump out behind me and still try to shoot me. He seems like a man who has nothing left to lose.
I can tell that he’s getting aggravated by the delay. He keeps shifting in his seat until he finally punches the intercom button with his finger. “What’s going on?”
The driver’s voice comes over the speaker. “I think it’s some kind of accident, sir. I can see lights ahead, and no one is moving.”
It wouldn’t surprise me with how hard it’s raining now. Maybe this is the opening I need.