Page 163 of Lovestruck at Sundown
“Why is he texting you his address?” William asked, his brow creasing.
“I have a few photos of Vivienne, his girlfriend. I took them a few years ago at the ballet,” I explained. “And I offered to have Aaron drop them off at his place.”
“Such a small world.” He leaned closer and caught a strand of my hair, twirling it around his finger. “I’m sorry about those girls with the selfies.” He dropped a gentle kiss on my cheek and grabbed my hand. I let him. “I always try to be polite, but some people don’t know the meaning of personal space.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m getting used to sharing you with the world.” That came out sadder than intended, but I was tired of pretending. On a good day, I wouldn’t have minded seeing his fans getting excited about running into him. I never did. But he was leaving tomorrow, and for the first time, I didn’t feel like we were strong enough to endure the months of separation ahead of us. Or maybe he was, but I wasn’t. The feelings of doubt and insecurity were becoming too loud to ignore.
“I am yours, and you are mine.” He grabbed my chin and turned it toward him. “No one else’s. Never.”
“I don’t think I’ll survive losing you if I ever did.”
“Why are you talking like that? We’re fine. More than fine.”
His words made my heart ache. I wanted nothing more than to believe that with all my being. But I was so afraid. For the first time, I doubted our ability to overcome every obstacle life threw our way. The distance between us. The constant and ruthless temptations he would always have to face. The invisible threats in the form of people I didn’t even know existed, vying to come between us at any cost.
I absentmindedly twirled the stem of my champagne glass with two fingers. “I think I’m ready to go home.” We had things to discuss before he left, and the later it got, the less time we’d have to do so. The champagne making me sleepy and sad wasn’t helping either. We had to end this night on a good note.
“Thank fuck.” He stood and helped me up from my seat. “Let’s get you home.”
We told mydad we were leaving, and he offered to walk us to the motor lobby. He and Nathan were staying a bit longer since they were still looking for an opening to talk to the host, and they wouldn’t leave until they closed the deal and brought him in as a client.
“It was a lovely evening,” William said, shaking my dad’s hand. “Thank you for inviting us.”
“Thank you both for coming. I appreciate the support.”
“Bye, Dad.” I waved him goodbye with the biggest smile I could muster. All I had to do was smile for a minute longer and pretend I was fine so it wouldn’t raise any red flags.
Aaron opened the door for us, and before I could turn around to walk the ten steps separating us from the car, a tall, well-built man in all-black casual tactical attire zeroed in on my dad. “Fucking murderer!”
It all happened so fast. My dad was on his hands and knees, tiny drops of blood trickling down his nose and falling on the pavement after getting sucker punched in the face by this man. William took a protective stance in front of me, shielding me from the action. Aaron was fighting off the man in hand-to-hand combat, and Big Mike was rushing our way from wherehe had the car parked.
The man was good. Whatever Aaron threw his way, he expertly dodged it and retaliated with vengeful force. It seemed as if they were using the same fighting style and knew what to expect from each other’s moves. The man launched at Aaron, but he grabbed him by the neck and struck his face with a head butt. It stunned him for a heartbeat, giving Aaron enough time to make him submit with an elbow lock.
“You’re too old for this shit, Mark,” Aaron said to the man close to his ear, who was now kneeling in front of my father and hissing with pain. “It’s not worth it.”
“You always got me on the close-range attack, Hirsch,” the man said through gritted, bloody teeth.
“Agent Mark?” I stepped to the side and stared at him with confusion. He was my mother’s head of security in Bern before we moved to Mexico City. “What is happening?” My voice shook as I asked my father, who was now standing tall and looking down his nose at Agent Mark as he cleaned his bloody nose with a handkerchief.
“Get him out of my sight.” My dad ordered. Agent Mark replied by spitting at my dad’s feet, blood gushing out from his cheekbone and leaking into his mouth from where Aaron had struck him with his forehead.
Agent Mark struggled to free himself against Aaron’s ironclad grip, but it only made him cry with pain. “You killed her, you worthless, motherfucking coward.”
“D-dad?” My insides twisted with horror. “What is he talking about?” My knees almost buckled so I held on to William, but my dad wouldn’t acknowledge me. He could only stare at Agent Mark with a hatred so feral and unchecked I almost didn’t recognize him.
“You wish I had so you can keepjustifying your sick, compulsive need to blame her death on me,” my dad retorted, his voice calm as he continued to stare down at Agent Mark’s pain-contorted face. He was like a wounded wild beast that refused to give in to its captor.
“I would’ve kept her safe!” Mark yelled, the words pain-ridden as they shot out of his mouth accompanied by a fine spray of blood. “You kept her away from me when she needed me the most! Shehatedyou! She—” Mark’s voice splintered, and he almost choked on the sob that followed.
My dad launched at Agent Mark, but Big Mike ran an arm around his shoulders, his firm grip preventing my father from doing something he would regret later. We had an audience now. People were staring with mouths agape. Others murmured among themselves.
“I trusted you with my wife!” My dad tried wriggling out of Big Mike’s immobilizing embrace. “And not only did you violate that trust, but you took what wasmine!”
“And you were too busy taking your French assistant slut in your office every night.” Agent Mark chuckled with bloody teeth.My dad was having an affair with Annette?“Too busy to come home early for dinner and notice your wife hadn’t been yours for a long time.” He drawled out the word long, and my dad’s neck and face flushed with hysterical rage.
He let out a stream of curses directed at Agent Mark and tried to break free from Big Mike’s arm-shackle again but failed miserably.
“All I ever did,” Mark said in a taunting voice, finally submitting himself to Aaron’s restraint, “was piece her back together every time you tore her apart.”
