Here All Along

by Crista McHugh

  Sarah, angry at him after an argument, blindly running away.

  A crowd of reporters gathered around to record every detail, trying to corral her as she ran toward the street.

  And an oncoming car.

  His heart stopped, and the tightening noose of panic strangled his voice. He couldn’t watch her get hit again, not after last time. What if they weren’t as lucky as before?

  It was enough to propel him past his fear. He ran after her. “Sarah, stop!”

  A squeal of slammed brakes and skidding tires answered him, and the reporters filled in the gap between them, blocking his view.

  Please let her be safe, he prayed while pushing his way through the throng.

  When the crowd parted enough for him to get a glimpse of her, she thankfully wasn’t sprawled out on the pavement like before. But the sight of her climbing into a taxi and speeding away did little to cheer him up.

  “Tough break, Kid,” Gabe said behind him.

  He’d been close. So close.

  And now it was blowing up in front of him.

  “I told you she wanted the part,” Gabe continued. “Way to screw up my plan.”

  Gideon curled his hand into a fist and swung. His knuckles connected with his co-star’s jaw, and a jolt of pain shot up his hand into his wrist.

  Gabe’s head snapped back, and a second later, he was the one sprawled out on the ground.

  Gideon shook his hand out, wishing doing so would stop the throbbing under his little finger. Two crewmembers moved to either side of him to keep him from throwing a second punch and dragged him back while two more retrieved Gabe and slammed the set’s doors closed before the reporters could record any more of the fight. “You just couldn’t keep your mouth shut.”

  Gabe moved his jaw from side to side before spitting out blood. “That was a little uncalled for.”

  A string of four-letter words exploded from Gideon’s mouth as he wrestled the two men restraining him, but they kept hauling him toward the set. The cameras outside had probably captured the punch, but he was beyond caring. He wanted Gabe to hurt as much as he did. He wanted him to feel the same desperation, the same frustration, the same ache in the center of his chest. “Keep your goddamn nose out of my business.”

  Gabe followed him inside and waited for him to calm down before replying. “Fine, but if you had any common sense, you’d be chasing after her instead of yelling at me and giving the reporters enough drama to fill an entire issue of People magazine.”

  Gideon stopped struggling long enough for the words to sink in. Damn it! Gabe was right. The crewmembers released him, and he raked his fingers through his hair. “Any idea where she went?”

  Gabe pointed to the direction the taxi drove off in. “That way.”

  “Ha-ha.” The pain in his hand intensified, but it could wait.

  “What the hell is going on?” Karl shouted, his face turning an unhealthy shade of violet. “You have a lot of explaining to do, Kelly.”

  “Later,” he fired back. First, he needed to stop Red before she disappeared completely. He focused his attention on Gabe. “You can come along or you can stay behind, but you’re going to stay out of my way from now on. Got it?”

  He started for the door. A pair of footsteps trailed behind him, and he offered a silent thanks that Gabe wasn’t a complete asshole.

  When he stepped back outside, though, all he saw was a horde of reporters with a barrage of questions.

  “Gideon, what’s going on between you and Gabe Harrison?”

  “Gideon, why did you punch Gabe?”

  “Gideon, is it true Sage Holtz is replacing Mackinzie Donavan?”

  “Gideon, is that a wedding ring on your finger?”

  “Gabe, can you confirm the rumors?”

  Gabe grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back inside. “She’s long gone, Kid.”

  “No, she’s not. She’s just a few minutes ahead of us.” He pulled out his phone and started texting Jason. “Make yourself useful and get us a cab, Harrison.”

  Knowing Red, she was on her way back to the villa to get her things. If Jason and Raul could hold her there long enough for him to catch up, then maybe there was still a chance he could beg for forgiveness.

  “I have a car coming,” Gabe said a minute later.

  “When?”

  “Five minutes. It’ll be enough time to get out of these costumes.”

  Gideon cursed under his breath. It was five minutes he couldn’t spare when it came to the woman he loved.

  ***

  Sarah had no idea how far she’d sprinted to get away from the reporters. She just kept her eyes fixed straight ahead and her feet moving. As luck would have it, though, she stumbled right into an empty cab. She jumped in and ordered the driver to take her to Caesar’s as quickly as possible.

  Sweat dribbled down her cheeks, mingling with the few tears she let escape. She had no idea what she would decide to do in the end, but one thing was certain. She needed to get away from Gideon if she wanted to have any hope of thinking clearly.

  Anger throbbed through her veins, but she couldn’t tell if it was directed more at him or herself. How could I have been so stupid?

  A lump formed in her throat as she remembered how close she’d come to admitting that she loved him last night.

  Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  She didn’t know Gideon half as well as she thought she did.

  What was even worse was that she couldn’t understand his motives. If he wanted her to replace Mackinzie in the film, why didn’t he tell her about the screen test? None of it made any sense.

  The cab skidded to a stop at the VIP entrance to Caesar’s, and she tossed a wad of bills at the driver. “Give me ten minutes.”

  The security guards flanked her from the moment she got out of the cab and escorted her through the casino to the private elevators. Once she was upstairs, she slipped into the villa as quietly as possible and grabbed her half-packed suitcase from the other day. In less than three minutes, she’d managed to stuff all the essentials—including her designs—into it and bolted for the elevators.

  As the doors closed, she got a glimpse of Raul and Jason chasing after her.

  Shit! Gideon must’ve alerted them.

  She held her breath and jackhammered the close button until the elevator started its descent. One hurdle down. Plenty more to go.

  She managed to fix the emotionless mask in place before the doors opened again. This time, she gave the reporters nothing. Just a cool demeanor as she followed the security guards back to the VIP entrance.

  Thankfully, the cab was still waiting for her. The driver loaded her suitcase into the trunk while she climbed inside, ignoring the voices that were calling out her name.

  “Where to now?” the driver asked.

  “The airport.”

  She was done with Vegas. And if luck continued to be on her side, she’d be back in LA by sunset and clearing out the garage apartment that had been her home for the last three years. As much as her heart ached from the way things ended, she knew what needed to be done.

  She covered her eyes with the cheap sunglasses Gabe had given her and let the first tears fall.

  It was time to leave Gideon for good.

  Chapter Sixteen

  As much as Gideon appreciated the driver’s urgency, he could’ve done without the white-knuckled ride along the back roads of Vegas. His right hand had doubled in size, and every sharp turn caused him to inadvertently whack it against something. He gritted his teeth and reminded himself why he was enduring all this.

  The car slammed to a stop at the VIP entrance of Caesar’s, earning him another eye-stinging jolt to his hand.

  “You should have that looked at,” Gabe said way too casually before opening the door.

  The scene at the hotel was just as bad as the set. Maybe worse. The reporters hounded him from the second they spotted him. He kept his eyes down, his steps purposeful, while Gabe guided him inside. None of
them mattered. He only wanted to catch Red before she left.

  But it was the one voice he didn’t want to hear that halted him.

  “Gideon Michael Kelly.”

  He snapped his head up to find his mother standing a few feet away with her arms crossed and wearing a perturbed expression that only meant one thing.

  He was in deep shit.

  He forced a smile on his face. “Mom, what are you doing here?”

  She arched one brow in response.

  “Mrs. Kelly,” Gabe said, swooping in between them and shaking his mother’s hand, “so good to finally meet you. Why don’t we take this upstairs?”

  “Sounds like a great idea to me.” His mother cast one more glare at him before falling into step beside Gabe, her shoulders squared in a way that told him he’d better follow or else.

  Lovely. Can this day get worse?

  Maureen Kelly kept her back to him until they were safely behind the locked doors of his villa. When she turned around, she grabbed him by the ear in a way that would’ve made Catholic school nuns proud and dragged him to the nearest chair. “You have a lot of explaining to do, young man.”

  “Mom, I’m not six.”

  “Then stop acting like you are.” She dropped him in an armchair and stood in front of him. The sharp cut of her cream-colored suit mirrored the tone of her interrogation, and Gideon couldn’t help but feel he was on the witness stand getting cross-examined.

  Gabe grabbed a bottle of water from the bar fridge and took a long swig before flopping back on the sofa. “This is going to be good.”

  “Just shut the fuck up, Gabe.” It was bad enough his mom was tearing into him. He didn’t need the smartass commentary.

  “Watch your language, young man.” His mother swung her hand toward him like she was about to pop him on the cheek for cursing, but paused and flexed her fingers several times like she was trying to control her own temper. “What’s going on with you and Sarah?”

  He was spared the trouble of answering thanks to the banging on the front door. Gideon sat up and craned his neck to see past his mother, hoping it was Red storming into the room.

  But what he got were two burly bodyguards. “We tried to stop her, boss,” Jason said apologetically.

  Another four-letter word sat poised on the tip of his tongue, but one glance at his mother smothered it. “Any idea where she went?”

  “It doesn’t take a genius to answer that one, Kid.” Gabe took another drink before he continued. “A thousand bucks says she’s on her way to the airport.”

  “Then let’s go after her.” Gideon rose from his chair, only to be shoved back down by his mother.

  “You’re not going anywhere until you answer my questions.”

  Gideon curled his fingers into his palm, only to revive the throbbing pain in his hand. He sucked in a breath through his teeth until the hurt waned enough for him to speak. “Mom, if I don’t stop her now, I’ll lose her forever.”

  “Then use your head instead of chasing after her like an idiot.” Maureen turned to Jason. “You still playing with computers?”

  Even though he was a six-three, two hundred and sixty–pound wall of muscle, Jason took a step back and tripped over his words when Maureen zeroed in on him. “Um, yes, some.”

  “He’s still hacking, Mom, if that’s what you’re getting at,” Gideon added, coming to his bodyguard’s defense. “Jason, do you think you can keep Sarah from leaving Las Vegas?”

  Maureen closed the space between them until Jason was backed up against the wall and a shade paler than before.

  He looked to Gideon, beads of sweat forming along his forehead. “Um, I think I can.”

  “Then get to it.” Maureen made a sharp turn on her heel and returned to Gideon.

  He nodded to his bodyguards, who both hustled back to their command central.

  “You shouldn’t intimidate them like that, Mom.”

  “Then hire some bodyguards with balls.” She sat down next to Gabe on the sofa and crossed her legs like a proper country club wife having tea with a friend. “Now, back to Sarah.”

  “You know how Red is. She’ll be back once she’s had time to cool down and come to her senses.” At least, that was the way it had always been in the past. His gut told him this time was different.

  His feet twitched, and the little voice in the back of his mind nagged him for wasting valuable time, but the second he tried to stand, his mom made a sound of warning and pointed down.

  “You’re not leaving this room until you come clean, young man.”

  Gabe’s grin widened to a level of cockiness that made Gideon want to punch him all over again.

  Maureen pulled her phone out of her purse. “I got an odd Google alert on my way from the airport saying you two were married. Care to clarify that?”

  Shit!

  He dug his heels into the carpet and tried to find a comfortable position in the chair. “Can I first ask why you’re here?”

  “Adam and I were talking about you last night, and he was just as worried as I was about you. So this morning, I decided to fly down and check on you.”

  “A little warning would’ve been appreciated.”

  “I tried to call Sarah since I knew you were working, but her voice mail was full.” She tucked her phone back into her purse. “Back to this allegation that you two are married.”

  He buried his face in his hands, the throbbing in his temples beginning to match the one in his hand. “Yes, Mom, we got married.”

  “Would you like to see a video of the ceremony?” Gabe offered his phone to Maureen. “Nothing grand, but I’m sure these two lovebirds will always remember it fondly.”

  Except the bride had no memory of it at all.

  “You can show it to her later.” Gideon slid down the back of the chair and stared at the ceiling in frustration. “But yes, we got married, and now she’s so pissed off at me, I’ll probably be served with divorce papers by the end of the week.”

  “Not if you take a moment and think before you act,” his mother replied. “You always were too impulsive.”

  “I was thinking before I acted.”

  “And were you thinking for yourself or playing along with him?” She tilted her head gesturing to Gabe and waited for him to respond.

  He turned what he wanted to say into a bunch of grumbles and went back to slouching in the chair. He knew better than to argue with her. It would be easier just to let her tell him what he did wrong and how to fix it.

  It was Gabe who finally came to his defense. “Yes, I admit we deceived her and a few other people to get what we wanted, but up until Sarah ran off, it worked. Gideon got the girl, and I got the co-star I wanted.”

  “No, you didn’t.” Gideon lifted his head just enough to squint at Gabe. “You got her to do the screen test, but she won’t take the role.”

  “I beg to differ. She wanted the role. Why else would she have blown that screen test out of the water?”

  His stomach lurched, and he closed his eyes before he got sick. Gabe was right. If Red hadn’t wanted the role, she would’ve done something to sabotage the screen test. Or even refused to do it in the first place. “This isn’t helping me get her back.”

  “Why did she run off, Gideon?” his mom asked.

  The image of her face pale with betrayal, the hurt in her eyes, the tears she blinked back as she handed him her ring—they all haunted him as he replayed the seconds right before she ran away. “She accused us of manipulating her.”

  “Which you did.”

  “I know.” He sighed and rose from the chair, his body heavy with defeat. “And before that, she was upset that I never told her about the screen test.”

  “Because you were so certain she wouldn’t be interested in the role.”

  “Come on, Mom. How long have you known Sarah? How long has she sworn that she never wanted to go back to acting ever again?”

  She pursed her lips for a second before turning to Gabe. “And did you
get that same impression?”

  “Not at all.” Gabe stretched his arm out along the back of the sofa. “Sarah was saying one thing, but deep inside, she wanted the opposite, just like she did when I asked about Gideon.”

  He paused and waited for Gideon to explain. When he didn’t, he continued.

  “Sarah claimed they were just friends and nothing more, but when you saw the two of them together, you knew she was lying. All she needed was a push in the right direction.”

  Or a fifth of vodka.

  “So you provided that push?” Maureen asked Gabe.

  “Maybe just a little.” A flash of guilt washed over his face, and he tensed up, his elbows on his knees. “Listen, Kid, I know I’m partly responsible for things—”

  “Partly?” Gideon crossed the room to confront him. “If you had even an ounce of respect for Red, you’d never have posted that video.”

  Gabe jumped up and stood eye to eye with him, giving Gideon a good look at the bruising blossoming along his jaw. “You’re not completely innocent, so don’t try to dump this all on me.”

  “Boys!” Maureen pressed one hand on each of their chests and wedged herself between them. “That’s enough. Passing the blame never solves anything.”

  Raul jogged in and stopped as though he feared getting caught up in the tension in the room. “Is this a good moment to give you an update, boss?”

  Gideon welcomed the distraction. He turned and retreated to his chair. “Sure.”

  “Jason was able to block all her credit cards. She won’t be able to buy a plane ticket or rent a car or even get a hotel room without one.”

  “Perfect.” He sat down and tried to come up with the next step in the plan now that he knew she was trapped in Vegas.

  “Tell Jason thank you for me.” Maureen gave Raul a charming smile that held until the bodyguard left the room. “So now that we have some time, let’s come up with a plan to convince her to come back.”

  “I foresee lots of groveling in Gideon’s future,” Gabe teased.

  “Yours, too, young man,” Maureen reprimanded. “But one more thing before we move forward, Gideon.”

  “What?” he asked, his voice laced with annoyance.