Chapter 3: Pulled Back In
1613 Words
The SUV ran through the city fast, silent except from the hum of the engine and the sound of rain on the window.
Sofeey sat strong at the back seat, holding her bag tight cause she knew the city and world she once knew was now far behind her.
Vince hasn't said anything to her after that one scary phone call.
He sat beside her, staring at her, the light from passing streetlight were shining across his face, carving it into planes of shadow. She thought to herself that the man she met at the bar - charming, calm, warm almost gentle - was now gone. In his place now, sat someone colder. Harder. Meaner. She saw the version of him she'd see about on the news.
She wanted to ask desperately where they were going to, but looking at him and his silence - she'd rather say nothing.
Finally, she decided to speak anyway. "Where are you taking me?"
"We are going to a safe place" he said to her without looking at her. "Just until everything dies down".
"Dies down from what, exactly?" she pressed. "You said people saw us together - who? Why would anyone even care about -"
"Because they think you really matter to me". His voice cut through hers, he was quiet but sharp. "And when people think something actually matters to me, they try to use it".
She paused, then looked at him. "So what am I? Bait?"
He turned to her, his eyes sharp and dark. "You're a big problem I didn't actually expect".
There was absolutely no apology in his tone. But beneath it all, something flickered - maybe regret. Or something like that.
The car slowly pulled into an underground garage beneath a high-rise building uptown. Two huge men were waiting by the elevator - both on black suits, both armed. They nodded to Vince without a word. Their eyes on Sofeey curious, assessing.
She walked into the elevator with him, thoughts running through her mind. As the elevator door closed, she saw herself, her reflection on the glass - looking small, scared and feeling she's not part of his world, feeling out of place in his life.
When the elevator door opened, it revealed a penthouse that looked absolutely nothing to the one from their previous night together. The room felt a little bit darker and colder - it felt more of a fortress than home. The windows were designed as floor-to-ceiling windows that faced the skyline, but all the glass was tinted. All the furnitures in the house all had the same design but were few. The only warmth that came from the beautiful city below.
Vince told her to follow him down a hallway. "You will stay here", he said to her, opening the door to a guest room. The room was very large with beautiful paintings, and nice - white bedsheets, gray walls, wide wardrobe, all kept in it's place.
She placed her bag on the bed and crossed her arms staring at him. "So really that's just it? You lock me here alone until...... what exactly, till your enemies get bored?"
He looked at her, his expression changed. "Until I know it's now safe".
"I didn't ask for your protection", she said angrily.
"No", he said softly. "But you needed it".
Their eyes met, and for a moment there, the atmosphere filled with something different, it just wasn't filled with anger alone, but with the beautiful memories of that faithful night, of what they both shared.
Sofeey immediately looked away first. "This is just insane and annoying. I don't actually know who you are".
He hesitated for awhile, then said, "You know enough".
She almost laughed. "I know your name. That you are all over the news for murder and extortion. And that you disappear after sleeping with someone. Is that knowing you? No it's not knowing you".
There was something that showed in his eyes - pain, maybe - but it was gone immediately she could access it.
"Stay here", he said quietly, his tone strong and final. "Don't open the door for anybody but me".
And with that, he turned and left immediately.
----
The remaining hours that came felt tensed and slow. Sofeey walked around the room, she tried to read, tried to sleep. But the thoughts running through her mind wouldn't stay quiet. Every single sound she heard from the hallway made her flinch.
Sometime later, after midnight, she heard voices - angry, strong - coming directly from another room.
She stayed for a while, then crept towards the door, putting her ear against it.
"..... she's not part of this, she has nothing to do with anything", Vince was saying, his voice was really low but sounded tensed.
A second man - a little bit older, and rougher - replied. "She's a liability. You know the rules very well, Vince. No civilians".
"She's under my protection, nothing is happening".
"Then she's your weakness. And you don't have room for those weakness".
There was silence that followed immediately.
Sofeey stepped back away from the door, heart racing. Weakness. That was what she actually was to him. A very big mistake he avoids to ever make.
She rested at the edge of the bed, thinking, trying her best not to cry, trying not to admit truly that a part of her still cared for what he thought.
Everywhere was silent, not a sound was heard until she saw his shadow showed across the doorway.
He stood there, quiet, staring at her. Then he spoke. "You heard that, didn't you?".
She said nothing.
He sighed softly, stepping closer. "You shouldn't listen to people's conversation, neither should you listen to things that aren't meant for you".
"I shouldn't have to listen to people calling me your weakness", she shouted back.
His grip was firm. "They don't understand".
"Then explain it to me".
For a long moment there, he didn't say anything. Then he ran his hand through his hair - a sign of frustration she'd seen from him for the first time. "I didn't plan for this", he said finally. "You were supposed to be a night I could have forgotten".
Her heart pounding. "And you can't?".
They looked at each other, and the look they had made her breath seize. "No", he said softly. "I can't".
He took another step closer to her, she felt the air between them was warm. The atmosphere wasn't filled with fear anymore - it was filled with something deeper, heavier. She felt the same pull that made her drawn to him in the first place, it was dangerous and magnetic.
"I don't want this", she whispered.
He reached up to her, brushing away her hair with his fingers along her cheek - the lightest touch, like a question been asked. "Then tell me to stop".
She didn't.
Instead of stopping him, she found herself giving in to his touch.
His hand went behind her neck,his thumb tracing down her jaw and his breath on her lips. When he kissed her, it felt slower this time - less fire, more smoothness. Like something undescribable.
For a moment there, she made herself forget who he actually was. She forgot about the guns, the danger, the bloodshed, the secrets. It was just him - the man who looked at her like she was the only single piece of peace left in his world.
Then the window shattered immediately.
The sound was very sharp, violent - a gunshot followed quickly by a spray of glass. Vince moved instantly, taking her hand and pulling her to the ground as another bullet tore through the room immediately.
"Stay down!" he shouted.
Her ears rang very loud. She felt his body covering hers, the sound of his heartbeat against her back. The air was filled with gunpowder and smoke.
Somewhere outside there, engines sounded loud and men shouted. More gunfire. Then absolute silence.
Vince moved slowly, his gun held firmly on his hand. He moved towards the window, looking around the street below. Shattered glass everywhere in the room and under his boots.
"Are you hurt!" he asked without looking back at her.
She shaked her head, her voice trembling. "No".
His expression turned hard, controlled - but his hands were shaking fast. "They found us faster than I expected".
"Who?" she asked. "Who's trying to kill you?"
He lowered the gun. "People who don't take NO for an answer".
Her voice rose. " And you expect me to just be okay being caught up in the middle of all this?"
"You're actually alive because of me", he shouted, then his voice softened. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring this to you".
She looked at him, still trembling from what just happened. "Then why did you?"
He hesitated for a while, then said quietly, "because I couldn't just stay away".
----
Later that night, after the broken window was repaired and put back up and the city outside had become quiet again, Sofeey lay awake on the bed in the dark.
Vince sat quietly near the window, the gun still firmly held in his hand, watching the street below. The faint light on the street caught the edge of his face - a face of a strong man built out from shadows and silence.
All she wanted to do was hate him for dragging her into this mess. But when he turned to look at her, seeing her eyes with the same quiet aura, she just knew she couldn't.
Because for some reasons she just couldn't understand - she was already too far gone into everything.
- Writer
