“Yeah, I had to push a few of them to get to her before they crushed her. I didn’t have a choice. It was a shit show… Okay, I’ll call him. But I need you to track down a video of what really happened. Someone there caught it all on a phone or something. I don’t care what you have to do, Asha, get your hands on the footage and get this shit under control. This is supposed to be on our terms.”

He hung up and said, “I’m sorry. I need to call Rami to get ahead of this.”

He held the phone to his ear. “Hey, man, sorry to call late. We just had a run-in with some paparazzi and I got physical with a few of them. Asha says they’re giving statements to press charges. I know this isn’t your thing, but can you find me the right lawyer to squash this? We were ambushed and I only did what was necessary to get Elena out of there safely.”

He paused, obviously listening to Rami.

“I know.”

This pause was shorter.

“Yeah, we’re fine. They’re spinning it that Elena was wasted and couldn’t walk so I had to carry her and I picked a fight. Asha’s working on setting the record straight.”

I’d had no idea how quickly something like that could get out of hand and how unfairly it could be interpreted. From what he was saying, I was being painted as a drunken whore and Alex was an aggressive bully. I pulled my phone out to see what had already been posted, but Alex closed his hand over it and pulled it away, shaking his head as he finished his conversation with Rami.

When he hung up, he said, “Don’t look. Not right now.”

I thought about yelling at him for being an overbearing ass, but couldn’t muster the energy. The rage drained away leaving behind a cold emptiness.

We drove the rest of the way in silence, and I paid absolutely no attention to where we were going as I tried to get myself back under control. I was shaking so badly, I was worried Alex could see it. I was grateful he wasn’t talking either because I didn’t trust my voice.

Each time we passed under a streetlight, I fought not to jump because it reminded me of the flashing cameras.

I flipped back to reality when the driver parked the car in front of my place.

“Thank you for getting us out of there.” I was relieved my voice sounded calm.

Alex opened my door and offered me a hand. “Do you want me to carry you?” he asked, nodding to my bare feet.

“I can walk,” I said, pulling away.

I didn’t know how to act around him after he’d seen me that vulnerable. Part of me wanted to never see him again so I didn’t have to acknowledge it. And the other part wanted to bury my face in his chest again so I didn’t have to face anyone else.