“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 andlaundry 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.Icould 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.
