Page 85 of I Would Die for You

Ben’s jaw spasms at Michael’s attempt to make Nicole feel worthless, but she pulls on his hand, holding him back from doing anything he might live to regret.

“So, you’re just going to let Miss Yoko Ono here destroy everything we’ve worked our arses off for?”

“You’ve done that all by yourself,” snaps Ben.

Michael turns to Nicole. “You must be really something if you’ve got the power to stop our boy in his tracks…”

“Nicole, go inside,” says Ben, his eyes never leaving Michael.

She’d love nothing more than to do what he’s telling her, but herfeet are cemented to the ground, seemingly immovable, though whether it’s from shock or fear she doesn’t know.

“I can’t see it myself,” Michael goes on. “But then I’ve never had a redhead—and by all accounts they go like the clappers, so maybe I should give you a go.” He pushes past Ben and thrusts himself at Nicole, making a grab for her breast.

Suddenly there’s a flash of movement as Ben’s fist hits Michael’s jaw square on. His head snaps back and he momentarily lurches sideways as he attempts to find his footing.

“I’m gonna fucking kill you!” Ben yells, as he hits him again, sending blood splatters onto his T-shirt.

“Ben, no!” screams Nicole, attempting to pull him off as Michael staggers, trying to right himself.

“Stay out of this,” yells Ben, wrenching himself free to lunge at Michael again. But he’s had a split-second reprieve—enough time to retaliate.

The punch sends Ben backward, his feet momentarily leaving the ground and his body buckling under the force of Michael’s knuckles. “You think you’re so high and mighty,” roars Michael, his eyes bulging out of their sockets. “But you’renothingwithout me.” His spittle sprays the air, his words landing even harder than the punch.

Ben sways on unsteady feet and Michael can’t disguise a smug grin as he wipes blood from his lip with the back of his hand.

As much as Nicole can’t bear to see Ben hurt, Cassie is far more important than the bruised egos of two men who should know better.

She races into the room that Ben came out of, hoping to find Cassie there, out of harm’s way. She no longer cares what may or may not have gone on between them—it’s all become irrelevant since the funeral. All she needs to know is that she’s safe. But the room is woefully empty, and Nicole races down the opposite end of the corridor from where Michael and Ben are still trying to defend their pride with warring words and physical exchanges.

“You need to get someone up to the second floor,” she says to the guard as she emerges from the lift into the lobby. “They’re about to kill each other.”

If she’d known how prophetic her words were, and that they’d later be relied upon in a court of law, she would have chosen them more carefully.

45

CALIFORNIA, 2011

Neither of us says a word for the first twenty minutes, but with another hundred miles to go, one of us has to break the deadlock.

“So, is yourmother…” The word gets stuck in my throat. “Is she still alive?”

There’s a deafening silence and I don’t know what I want the answer to be.

“No,” says Zoe, quietly. “She died about six months ago.”

“I’m sorry,” I offer.

“She was too young, but cancer doesn’t discriminate.” I can feel her turn to look at me. “But then, you’d know that.”

The image of my own mother, smiling in happier times, makes my throat tighten.

“So, that’s why you’re doing this now?”

“I guess,” she says. “The tape became sort of folklore in our house. She always imparted its importance to me, telling me that I should follow wherever it takes me, whenever I was ready.”

“And it brought you here?” I ask, the pair of us daring to look at each other for a fleeting second.

“It felt like the right time,” she says. “Everything seemed to conspire toward us coming together.”

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