Chapter 5

• Emma
• “Woah, do I look that bad?” Sadie giggles, letting go of me. “Sorry, Ems. I will be better dressed next time. “
• I must have really looked surprised. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
• “Sorry, I just didn’t sleep, “ I lie.“Yeah, I can tell. “ Sadie is frowning at me and I change my tone.
• “And you look amazing, “ I smile, “Thank you for coming. “
• “Thank you for inviting me, “she exclaims, “It’s an amazing evening. “then she leans in, whispering.
• “Is this over there Jonathan Radcliffe?”
• “Uh… I guess…” I mutter without even looking in the direction she is focused on. But I assume the guy is exactly who she assumes he is. Andrew’s entire family loves inviting famous actors to these gatherings.
• “Let's go to the others, “ Saide and I head to the main hall. It’s full of people.
• I do my best to focus on her but inevitably glance sideways- there is no trace of the man I saw. I considered asking her if she saw him too but thought better. I spotted some of my friends, standing by the table with champagne and hors-d’oeuvres.
• “Come on,” I tell her, foreign myself to smile, “Let me introduce you to James. “
• Saide and I join the others. Andrew is most likely somewhere with his monkeys doing business so luckily he hasn't shown up yet.
• The atmosphere is always better without him.
• Everyone is having champagne, laughing.
• James is talking about a new movie his wife has been cast for and I am trying to listen. Needless to say, Sadie's entire attention is focused on what’s happening.
• Two glasses of wine later I feel my head is starting to get dizzy. My happiness that Andrew is not here is short-lived, though. Andrew comes in, accompanied by one of his pawns- Maverick.
• Maverick is a rich- *ss tycoon from Texas who’s been working with Andrew on something these days.
• “And this is my lovely wife, Emma, “ Andrew declares, approaching us.
• “Hello, my love, “ he kisses me on the cheeks and the need to crawl out of my skin comes back.
• I close my hand around my glass so hard my knuckles go white. But no one notices. They would never assume how much I resent being here. To the outsiders- I have the perfect life and the perfect husband.
• Andrew’s hand closes around my forearm possessively. I am sure to the outsiders it looks protective. It’s not. I clear my throat and try to sound casual.
• “This is Sadie, “ I say and introduce everyone. We talked about random things, and Andrew’s hand was tightly closed around mine the whole time.
• My eyes keep fluttering around the room, trying to see if the dark-haired stranger is somewhere around. Of course, I won’t see him. The man has no business here, and maybe I was wrong and it was never him in the first place. I have to stop thinking about this.
• So I have another glass of wine.
• “Aren’t you drinking a little too fast?” Andrew asks. He makes it sound like he is caring while I know this is one of his bile remarks to piss me off.
• I smile at him.
• “My husband is so concerned about my well-being, I am really lucky. “
• “You are my universe, “ he says. “Of course, I would be worried. “
• Then he smiles. “You need some rest, by the way. You work too hard. I was thinking we could go to Paris. “
• Oh, no… He is not seriously considering this, is he?
• I don't want to imagine an entire week trapped with him so far away. And there will be no hiding place, no excuses this time. Another golden cage. The beautiful place will only make the whole experience even worse.
• But I can’t say that, right? I can only smile.
• “Of course. “ I say, “it sounds great. “
• “Everything for my queen, “ he said and kissed my forehead.
• “You guys are just amazing. “ Sadie gasps, " I hope to meet a man like this one day. “
• No. No, you don't. I look at her above the rim of my glass, as I take a sip.
• “Yeah, “ I mutter eventually.
• Andrew and Maverik start talking about business until his phone rings.
• “ I have to take it, “ Andrew says, excusing himself and finally letting go of me. The place where his hand was closed around my skin was red.
• Andrew comes back shortly, and I can tell something’s changed.
• “What is it? “ I ask, as I notice him tipping his head at one of his bodyguards. There are always bodyguards at the galas, no matter how big they are.
• The man mutters something in his headphones then a few more men show up. Wyatt is here too. Most of the guests don’t notice it but I turn to Andrew.
• “What is going on?” I ask again, “Why is Wyatt here?”
• And Wyatt looks like he is about to shoot someone. I know Wyatt is one of his “dealing with mafia problems ” guys, a guy who doesn’t mingle with Andrew’s official business partners. By “official” I mean “legal. “
• No, something else is going on now.
• Andrew ignores me and starts calling numbers. At this point, Sadie and our companions have noticed something is happening.
• “I will be right back, “Andrew says, walking towards the exit. Wyatt comes to me and he is just about to say something when everything changes.
• I turn around and see Maverick. He looks sick. His hand closes around his chest.
• It looks like an approaching heart attack and yet… A small, red stain blossoms on his chest and I have already rushed towards him.
• But I am late because he drops heavily to the ground. Everyone gasps, gathering around us. His shirt is covered in blood.
• Oh, no…
• Then everything happens too fast.
• ***
• “OH, NO!”
• “He is dead!”
• “Help!”
• The shouts are coming from all directions. The sound of frantic voices is deafening. Then someone fires a gun - I have no idea from where - and everyone explodes screaming. It happens so fast and so unexpectedly. Everyone is screaming and running frantically around. The air smells like smoke- I don’t know where it came from but it's growing. My eyes start stinging.
• “EMMA!” Sadie is shouting from somewhere and I look at Wyatt who is running towards me.
• “Take her out of here, “, I instruct him
• “But, Miss Emma…”
• “Do it, “ I say, “I know the place better, go. I will get out by myself. You have to help Sadie.“
• He hesitates but eventually grabs my friend, taking her out.
• I glance frantically around. The smoke is growing, getting thicker and heavier. I don’t see the door anymore. Only the bodies of everyone, trying to get out. My heart is beating like mad.
• But instead of running, I freeze. I am like a rabbit in the lights. The world is moving but I don’t.
• Maybe this is where it will all end. Perhaps I will die here. Suddenly fear melts into something else.
• Acceptance. For some sick reason I am not scared to die- it will be a twisted way to get rid of Andrew.
• The weird things we think about when our life is threatened.
• My head gets lighter, it’s like I'm underwater. I feel hands wrapping around me. Or is it hands? I see him taking his jacket off and wrapping it around me.
• It’s him… my heart speeds up. The world moves again.
• “Lower your head, “ he says, pushing my head gently, this way hiding it in the jacket he wrapped around me. “And hold your breath. Take your shoes off. “
• His voice is even. Guiding and steady. Like he’s done this a million times before and what is happening now is just a walk in the park when it starts raining and he tells me we’d better go home.
• “Come on, close your eyes. “ he continued.
• “What? No, I…” I try to protest and he stops me.
• “I will guide you. Walk, let’s go. ”
• And I do.
• I feel a hand, closing around my waist. Then his other hand wraps around mine, the fingers entwined with mine. They are so warm. Strong.
• I let myself be guided by him. I don’t know where he came from. I only know I let myself follow him.
• ***