"Just trust me . . . and watch me close." Like he needs to tell me. As if he thinks I can look away as he walks to Allison step by heart-stopping step.
"Remember 48th Street?"
"Remember crazy Sammy Pearl?"
He has a trick to perform. I know he does, I just don't see it yet. But I will. If only I focus on him rather than on my fear for him. The magician's art of misdirection. He wants me to read his mind. I keep my eyes on him and remind myself to breathe.
"Remember what he said he was going to do?"
She nods.
He's mesmerizing her the way he mesmerizes me. It's how he gets me to do the things I think I can't.
"But he did it, right?"
"Trust me," he says.
Then they dive through the glass and I dive for our guns. A spray of bullets and we're still standing. He's done the impossible again.
This time I don't need to keep my eyes on him. I reach out to feel him instead. I touch him as I pass to assure myself he's real. He is warm beneath my hand.