I knew him well enough to let him have space to work while he dealt with the shock.
I ran my fingers over his knuckles. He brought my fingertips to his lips.
“Are you ok?” he asked.
I nodded. “You’re here. That’s all I need.”
“We can still cancel. I’ll have the driver take us back to the house, or even better, back to Big Bear. I still advise lying low until we have Claire in custody.”
“I know, but this is the biggest moment of my career. I’m a nominee for best actress. I can’t ruin this time in my life with fear. You understand something in that, don’t you?”
He nodded. “I do.”
“I don’t know what I’m witnessing.” Dante rolled his eyes. “This is worse than watching a bad Lifetime movie.”
“I’m happy.” I tilted my head. “That’s all you have to worry about.”
He kicked back the rum.
I wasn’t going to let his nervous jitters or doubts about Asher ruin tonight. I wanted to focus on the dinner. I’d drink champagne and mingle with stars. I’d pose for selfies. I’d laugh and congratulate the other nominees. I was going to have a beautiful night. And Asher was going to be there for all of it.
The car lurched and Dante spilled his drink. “Shit. Who is this driver?” He glared at Asher. “This is designer. Designer,” he emphasized.
Asher’s eyes darted to the front, but the car had taken a sharp turn and we landed in a pile on the floor as the tires screeched.
“What the hell?” Dante tried to help me back to my seat.
“No. Stay down,” Asher ordered, pushing me back to the floor. He pulled a gun from his belt and the car careened in the opposite direction. We shifted left then right.
Whoever was driving didn’t care that they were tossing us around like pinballs.
“Ouch.” I hit my elbow on the armrest.
Asher punched the call button. “Rick, what’s going on up there?” he asked.
We waited for an answer, but there was silence.
“Rick? Answer me. What’s happening? Why are we off course?”
I watched the realization hit Asher that something was terribly wrong.
“Don’t get up. Whatever you do, keep your heads down,” Asher choose his words carefully. I noticed his eyes scanned the lights blurring past us.
“Who is up there?” I whispered. “Where’s Rick?”
“I don’t know.” He shook his head. “Just stay down. Ok?”
After bouncing around for another ten minutes, we finally stopped. Asher looked at Dante. “This is it,” he announced. “Stay with her no matter what. Understand?”
Dante nodded.
“Wait. What?” I shrieked. “You’re leaving us in here?”
I wanted to grab on to him and tell him there was no way he was leaving us in this car. There was nothing good on the other side of the door.
“I have to. I can’t protect you like this.”
“But—” I protested.