The Guru: Shadow (Dark Triad #1)

22. Deis

22

DEIS

PLAYLIST: MINDRUNNER – TY brOCK it’s common for people with ADHD to work perfectly under pressure. Maybe.

She ripped him of all his control. Her nature, in its beauty, was unpredictable, uncontrollable. Which would be dangerous to a lethal point, and hell, was he in for the ride.

“We lost the signal, but she was spotted, still on 2nd line. A girl posted a photo of her online. It’s gonna be bad.”

“They will hunt her down, most definitely. Have the team close by, she’ll go for a public, crowded area, she’s not stupid.”

Following her, tracing her, came so naturally to him. Only with her, there was more. He wanted to see how she thought and how she reacted because he couldn’t predict it in its entirety. Normally he wouldn’t care about it as most people were fully predictable and there was only a single emotion he wanted to feel: triumph. With her, it was not about the triumph anymore, it was about unmasking and exploring her, all of her.

“She’s out on 42nd, like you said, aiming for Times Square.”

It made him chuckle. She had revealed so much about herself, and yet, he still couldn’t entirely grasp her, but she knew how to combine stuff. There was a depth in her that resembled the deepest of oceans, where no human was ever able to go. Question is, where did she get the knowledge?

“Paparazzi are back, they know it was bait, I suppose,” said Ed, handing him over the tablet to the rear seat of the G-Class.

Paparazzi were one of the nastiest specimens walking this earth in his opinion. It was a cold business, they were in only for the money, the more the better, with disrespect for anyone’s lives.

“She could be heading home, one block out.”

This is going to be very interesting. But why go to all the lengths and then go home just like that? What are you up to, ma belle?

“Shit,” he whispered as he witnessed the crowd of paparazzi sprinting after her .

“It’s untypical that they’re that fast and that aggressive. Have you seen what Jaz sent?”

“Social media is a nightmare, but this–” he said as he scrolled through the report on what Emma was facing on her profile and what people shared. “The aggression is much heavier than usual.”

“It is indeed,” answered Ed. “Her phone’s back on.”

It was time for his move.

Just ask

Seconds passed. A minute passed. And when he saw her typing, his heart began to race a bit in blissful anticipation.

“Deis, have a look at this.”

“What am I looking at?”

“It’s a photo of one of the paparazzi, only he isn’t one.”

Something was not right. He could sense it; his instincts knew something was different. The face. The way he looked. His memory for faces was exceptional, but he could not pinpoint it.

“Who is he, Ed?”

“I’m not getting anything in the databases, but he has a gun. Glock 19.”

Fuck.

“Federal. Or ex-Fed. It’s staged. Delilah. She’s having her removed. We need to get her out of there immediately, they will take her.”

Just that moment his phone vibrated.

Emma

They’re hunting me

I know

Because of you

No, because you ran

It’s a game to you

You started it

I have nowhere to go, they’re everywhere

I know, all you need to do is ask

Would she do it though?

All of him wanted her to. If, she would be his.

Emma

…typing

But then she stopped typing.

“Deis, we have a problem,” said Ed, but he had seen it himself, t he red dot marking her was on the move again.

Fuck. They must’ve found her.

And then, his phone rang.

His heart pounding fast.

His stomach flattering.

It was her.

“ Deis! Get me out of here,” her voice was full of desperation, fast and heavy pants rustled with her voice through the speaker. “They’re everywhere, they tried to grab me, they…one of them has a gun.”

She had said it. And it turned his world upside down from the thrill it gave him.

“We’re thirty seconds out, just run straight, we’ll be at the corner to 50th St.”

Ed raced the G-Class with a loud roar over 50th St., ignoring the red traffic lights as he crossed 9th Ave., which was a close call with the crossing cars, and came to a halt right in front of the sidewalk.

He saw her running towards them and behind her were at least ten nasty bastards and the man from the photo.

He bent over to the right side of the car to open the door for her.

When she reached them, she lunged herself in, slamming the door shut with her. And while Ed immediately went for it with squeaking tires, he took the feeling of triumph flooding his system.

He won.

And now she would be his.

Only winning wasn’t as sweet as it was supposed to be. He needed more. Craved more.

Her breathing was heavy, red in the face, and tears all over it. She wore an oversized hooded jacket she did not have before. Her eyes were big and filled with fear, except for this small, thrilled, little flicker of rush consuming her.

“Come here,” he said, reaching for her arm, but she pushed it away.

“Why are they like this?” she asked him, with a shaky voice, still breathing heavily and more tears flooding from her eyes. The smell of her was thrilling. Her lavender scent mixed with sweat, tears, and fear. She tamed her mane into a bun, giving him a beautiful view of her neck.

Sweet perfection.

“Because they weren’t all normal paparazzi.”

“What were they then?”

“Tell me what they did.”

She groaned, “After they passed, I crawled out from where I hid in that dung hole entrance to the basements or whatever it was, I thought they might be far enough, but two of them waited for me. And they started to ask questions and shouted shit after me”

“What did they shout exactly?”

And then he saw it in her glaring eyes.

“ You are married, aren’t you?”