“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 asa 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.”
CHAPTER 19
FORD
“I’ll dealwith it all tomorrow, Beck, okay? Please, I need to?—”
My grip on the steering wheel tightens as Beckham cuts Emmy off for the third time in as many minutes. Rage flows through me when she opens her mouth to speak again, only to close it once more when he speaks even louder.
Reaching the last red light before our destination, I turn to her and hold out my hand, arching an eyebrow expectantly when confusion crosses her face.
“Give me the cell, Emmy.”
She passes it over with wide eyes that only grow rounder when I press the receiver to my ear, listening to a couple of seconds of Beckham’s rant to get a gauge on what’s got his panties in a twist now when his priority should be Emerson’s well-being.
“I need you to confirm the interview times for tomorrow, Em. We need to grab all the exposure we can and run with it?—”
Having heard enough, I cut him off with a snarl. “If you so much asbreatheabout anything aside from Miss Hart’s welfare for the foreseeable future, I’ll castrate you and ram your balls sofar down your throat you’ll be shittin’ them for a week. You got me?”
Then I hang up and hand the cell back to Emmy just in time for the lights to change as she thanks me softly.
I nod my acknowledgment, still seething inside at that man’s pure fucking nerve.
“I’ve just text Hayley and asked her to explain everything to our family. If news were to break?—”
“It won’t break. I’ve paid handsomely to ensure it, Emmy.”
Her smile is small but genuine when she catches my eyes in the rearview mirror as I pull into the parking space reserved for me outside my building.
Emerson sits up, looking around in confusion. “We’re not at Ataraxia.”
I shake my head, my eyes still on hers in the rearview. “After today, I need to guarantee your protection, and the only place I can do that is here, in my own home.”
She looks out at the fourteen-floor, darkened building on the edge of Tribeca that I purchased following the foundation of Sentinel. The property is used as the company’s headquarters, though that’s mostly just on paper. With the entire top floor as my living space, it’s impossible for anyone to access it except me.
It's the perfect bubble to keep Emmy safe while the authorities check into her attacker and whether he was acting alone.
I slide out of the car and open the rear driver’s side door so Emmy can slip out before I grasp her small hand in mine. Her eyes watch me with an almost hero worship, and I don’t even think before I lean closer, instinctively pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.
When I lean back, she’s smiling. “Thank you.”
I pinch her chin between my fingers and tilt my head to one side in question, my brow furrowing as I look down at the faceof the woman who owns my heart. The woman I could have very nearly lost tonight.
The thought sends a bolt of fear directly to my heart as I question, “For what?”
Her smile widens ever-so-slightly as the light in her eyes tells me all I need to know. “Foreverything.”
I dip my elbow into the water, nodding to myself when I note it’s the perfect temperature. Then I take one last look around the bathroom space, ensuring everything is just right.
This room is probably one of my favorites, and I know instinctively that Emmy’ll like it too.
The décor is a timeless black and gold, with an oversized tub directly in front of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. I’ve just filled the tub to the brim, adding the jasmine and rose-scented bubble bath I know Emmy is partial to. The scent fills the room, and I draw a deep inhalation, filling my lungs with her perfect scent as I once again thank my lucky stars that this evening didn’t end in complete disaster.
When I’ve ensured everything is in place, I pour a large glass of Sauvignon Blanc and leave it on an end table by the tub alongside a fluffy white towel before making my way back out into the living space.
