Save the Date

56

Most of the guests had made their way to the club, it was just the couple's very immediate family that hadn't made it to the reception hall. The DJ was playing very mellow music and the guests were basically just getting something to eat and some were getting their photos taken. Luca's red-headed assistant was the one taking the pictures at the booth and Luca was taking candid pictures of the guests around the room. No one was dancing and as McKenzie and I walked into the room the sombre atmosphere was palpable. We had found our table and before we even sat down McKenzie said, "I need a drink, this is damn depressing." Sadly, I felt the same and Alexi and I followed her straight to the bar. To our bitter-sweet delight, it was an open bar. McKenzie ordered us a shot of tequila, which normally I wouldn't have drunk, but these were not normal circumstances. We each ordered our usual and the bartender gave us a kind, knowing smile. We made our way back to the table and picked up plates to take on the buffet.

"Shouldn't we wait for Andy?" I said to McKenzie as we eyed all the freshly prepared food. Shannon hadn't joked about the amount of shrimp available.

"I am starving and he could only get off work at five when the reception was supposed to start," she said looking at me with puppy dog eyes like I was going to stop the poor woman from eating? It was supposed to be a plated dinner but the Blacks had decided that the steak could be sent back and everything that had already been prepared beforehand would then be served up as a buffet. I didn't blame them and I piled my plate with my favourite sushi.

Back at the table, I noticed that there was no soy sauce for it, "I'm going to check the kitchen quick for some soy sauce," I told McKenzie, who could only nod in acknowledgement because she had a mouth full of the tempura prawn wraps. I sadly walked past the three-tiered cake which I had helped them pick out and made my way to the kitchen. I was in luck because there was a chef in his white coat and hat hovering in the hallway. "Excuse me, sir," I said tapping him on the shoulder to get his attention, "Where can I find soy-" he turned around and to my horror it was Robert. How had he managed to find a way in? How had he escaped the notice of the police? How did he get that jacket? I backed away from him immediately. He stared at me, looking almost as shocked as I felt. "Sugar," he breathed and my entire body cringed at the moniker, "Did you get my note? I didn't want you to think that I had abandoned you."

"Wh-what are you doing here?" I stammered knowing it was a stupid question, but from previous experience, I knew I had to stall. I knew that he had his hand on the hilt of a gun that was tucked into his chef's jacket. He circled around me and I moved around with him, not taking my eyes off of him. I tried taking a step back again but my back hit a wall. Without realising it he had backed me into a corner and I had nowhere else to go.

"It's me or no one sweetheart," he whispered coming closer, "If I can't have you, then nobody can."

"Please," I pleaded, feeling the same sick sense of déjà vu, "There is no one else and I don't want anyone else."

"Don't give me that," he said menacingly, taking a few more steps towards me, "You come with me or I'll kill you right here, right now." He drew the gun on me. I was surprisingly calm and knew the best thing to do was to play along, I didn't know if he had a plan on how to get us out of here but I did know that he had somehow snuck in.

"I'll go with you, but please just tell me," I said putting my hands up in surrender, "Why are you doing this? Why me?"

"I told you before, you're the only one that gets me," he said through clenched teeth, "You are the one."

"Okay, let's go then," I said as, someone stumbled into the corridor we were in making a terrible groaning sound. His head turned and I was able to see past him. It was Sarah, clutching her abdomen, there was liquid on the floor, she was in labour! "What the hell!" he yelled, only turning his head to see what was happening, not allowing a gap for me to move around him. My mind ran, I could not let him shoot this poor woman just because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Surely she had been through enough as Viola's surrogate. Luckily for both of us, her labour provided me with a distraction even for just a few seconds. I heard him make a disgusted sound and assumed he had seen her mucous plug or something. I took the opportunity to reach up under my skirt where I had strapped a can of pepper spray with Shannon's garter to my upper thigh. I had gotten the idea from one of the policemen and then figured that Shannon wouldn't mind. I held up the can to the back of his head and stepped out of the gun's focus. When he turned around I pushed my finger down hard on the nozzle and let the stream of gas shoot directly into his eyes. The smell caught me at the back of my throat and poor Sarah had started coughing too. On instinct, Robert dropped the gun and his hands flew to his eyes. Tears were streaming down his face and he let out the most horrible sound of pain. He bent over double and yelled, "You BITCH! I'm going to kill you!" but I had side-stepped him and made my way over to Sarah. I didn't know if anyone had heard him scream but I had to get poor, heaving Sarah out of the way. Robert was still stumbling around blindly. He grabbed for something to steady himself with but he was facing away from the direction of the railing that went up the stairs. Panicking, I thought, I can't let him get away, not this time. I tried to make my way towards him to trip him but before I could his one foot slid in the birth water and in one motion he fell backwards and knocked his head on the bottom step which knocked him out cold. As I moved passed him I saw his chest heave so I knew he wasn't dead. Finally, I was able to reach Sarah. "Are you okay?" I asked her, as she let out a breath, which I assumed was a Lamaze technique, and just nodded. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Luca bounding towards us from the ballroom's side. "What the hell is going on?" he looked from me to Sarah, who was in too much pain to say anything, to the mess on the floor and then he spotted Robert. His face turned livid, "What the fuck?" "I know," I said rubbing Sarah's back, "We need to get help. We need to get Viola and we need the police." "I'm not leaving you here alone with this guy," he said sternly, "You go get Viola and the police."

"But I-"

"No, she'll be ok, just go get help," he said giving me a light shove in the direction from where he came. I nodded and ran down the hallway to our table. I ran as fast as I could, nearly slipping on the polished floor, bumping into the table, "Oh my gosh Rachel, where have you been?" McKenzie said, startled, taking in my dishevelled state, "Are you okay?"

"Viola!" I panted, "Where is Viola?"

"She's over by the buffet table," Andy chipped in, he had finally made it. "Okay thanks," I said to him then to McKenzie, "Go get my police protection, Robert's knocked out in the corridor leading to the kitchen," I pointed then made a beeline for Viola.

"-Urgh I'm actually so annoyed I flew out all this-" Viola was chatting to someone I didn't recognise in the buffet line, the look on my face interrupted her chain of thought, "Rachel, you look ghastly! What's happened to your hair?" she started tugging at the strands that had come loose in the fray.

"No time for that!" I saidswatting her hands away, "Sarah's in labour!" "What?!" She screamed in alarm, "We're not due for another month!"