Page 21 of Take Hold of Me

My already shallow breathing accelerates. My eyes don’t lose his red hair, which gets closer to Emilie. Purposeful movements, not by chance.

He’s after her.

Getting closer to her.

My eyes roam his frame for weapons. No bulge of a gun. His hands are empty. But some weapons can be hidden.

Grunting my apologies, I slip my way through the maze of cameras—the red-headed man my single focus. About ten feet separates him from Emilie. Another fifteen between him and me.

Emilie smiles at the photographers.Stay in the light, Ems.

Unintelligible shouts turn attention to the exit, where the next celeb is leaving. Flashbulbs abandon Emilie in favor of the next departure. Emilie and Neil head to a side street where the limo waits, in almost near-darkness.

Redhead closes the gap. I’m behind you, fucker. I inhale deeply to quiet my thundering heartbeat.

He steps right behind her, his arm outstretched.

History will not repeat itself on my watch. My vision narrows as I spring forward. Grabbing the perp’s arm, I twist it upward and behind his back. Fast. Hard.

He grunts in pain.

I corral him to the ground, ramming my knee into his back.

Under me, the red-headed guy half-moans, half-yells, “What are you doing, you lunatic?”

“Wills!”

I refuse to look up at the woman shouting my name. She’s safe. I swivel my knee to keep the red-headed guy immobile. The cops will take the writhing asshole away, and I can rest easy knowing that I got to him before he was able to get to my Ems.

Next to us, Emilie bends down and picks up a Sharpie. She places her hand on my shoulder. The only word I can make out is “Autograph.”

What the hell?

Oh. My. God.

I jump off the red-headed guy as if scalded.You dumbfuck.

---