Part 10
The sun was high in the sky when she woke from her sleep.
Slowly she stretched out and felt her muscles protest at the movement. Her
throat was parched and her head was pounding, but it was a good feeling as the
memories of the night before filtered into her consciousness. It had been a
great night. With her eyes still closed she reached out and realised that he
was gone. A wave of disappointment crossed her, but disappeared quickly as she
realised that it was probably for the better. Now was not a good time for her
to be getting involved in a relationship. He had been good in bed though. The
memory of it made her smile. How could she have denied herself of the pleasure
of a man for so long? Opening her eyes she took a deep breath and got out of
bed ready to face the day.
Washing away the night before, she felt revived. All the
stress had left her body and she was filled with positivity once more. No
matter what the day was going to bring, she looked forward to it. Not bothering
with makeup on the weekend she dressed and made herself a cup of coffee. She
turned on her computer and sat down in front of it to catch up on the week’s
news. She felt like she was being watched and when she turned she saw him,
standing in the doorway with a grim look on his face.
“Where did you disappear to yesterday?”
“I was around. Have a nice night?” His voice was tight.
“As a matter of fact I did.” She wanted to tell somebody and
she blurted the words out before she could stop herself. She knew that it was
none of his business and that she didn’t have to justify her actions to anyone,
least of all, but she did it anyway.
“My brother thought that you were nice too. He was sorry to
leave this morning, but muttered something about having fun.” He responded
bitterly.
It didn’t take long for his words to sink in and her heart
dropped at the implication. “Brother….?”
“Yes brother.” He stayed where he was for fear that if he got
to close she would lash out physically. He could only imagine what she was
feeling. She stared at him blankly as he words sunk in. He watched her. Her
face was scaringly calm and he had no idea how she was going to react next.
“Is he…..” Her voice tapered off. Her good mood was crashing
down around her.
“Like me? Yes, Mitchell is an agent of death like me.” Taking
his cues from her, he matched her tone and fought not to make it any worse for
her.
“So last night was what exactly?” He could see the pain on
her face even before he spoke.
“Mitchell was sent by our boss as a test.”
“A test! Is that all I am? A god damn puzzle for you all to
keep playing with?” Her voice was reverberated in anger.
“This is bigger than you realise. It needed to be done. We
needed to know for sure.” Knowing that each word he spoke and every action that
he tried to justify, he was only making it worse, he wished for nothing more
than to stop her pain.
“Needed to be done? I suppose that you were powerless to stop
it?” She didn’t know what to be more hurt by, the fact that she had been so
used, or the fact that he knew what was going to happen and didn’t warn her.
Sarcasm and hurt flowed through her voice now.
“I was given a direct order to stay out of it. We brothers
tend not to work together very often, but you…..”
“Brothers? You mean that there are more than just the two of
you?” It occurred to her then that she had never asked his name.
“Yes. There are five others plus me. Levi, Heath, Jordon,
Eric and you have met Mitchell last night.” There was no point lying to her
anymore. He cared more than he should about her and wished that the night with
Mitchell had not happened.
“Since you have told me there names, what is yours?”
“I am Alex.”
“Well then Alex, I want answers, and I want them now.”
“I can’t tell them to you. It is not my place to say. Last
night…..”
“Last night happened, I wish that it hadn’t and regret it in
the light off day, but at least now I can say that I have faced death twice and
lived.” She snapped out the words so fast that he stood in shock for a moment.
“If only you knew.” The words tumbled out of his mouth faster
than he could stop them.
Silence filled the room as Eve continued to take in everything.
Alex still stood on the other side of the room.
“I want to know the answers.” She pulled herself together and
continued “take me to him.” She was staring at him now. The pain was hidden
from her face and if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes he would have never
known that it had existed.
“Take you to who?”
“Your boss, whoever it is that calls the shots. I want
answers.” Eve’s tone was strong and demanding.
“Eve you can’t possibly go there.” Alex was worried and
scared for her. She had no idea what she was asking of him.
“Will you just take me? It is not like you have another
option.”
“I do have an option. I didn’t realise it before, but I have
a choice. I want to keep you safe.” She was left speechless by his comment.
This coming from death, the person who had been trying for days to kill her?
Moments passed as she tried to think of what to say.
“Safe? Why?”
Could he really say the words that she wanted to hear? He
thought about what such an admission could do to him. Was he willing to risk
everything that he knew for her?
“I think that I care about you.”
Her heart stopped as she stared as he stood before her, not
entirely comfortable with his admission. “It still doesn’t change my request. I
can’t live with death hanging over my head like this. Please can you just take
me?” She spoke like what he had said meant nothing to her.
“You really have no idea what you are asking of me. You are
talking about going to see the Godfather of death. What do you think that you
are going to say to him? Leave me alone? It won’t work.” He was becoming
agitated at the thought that she so willingly wanting to risk everything to end
this.
“I will work it out when I get there.” She was so headstrong.
Alex didn’t doubt for one minute that she would go behind his back if he didn’t
help her. No matter how much he wanted to keep her safe, it was just not going
to be an option. If he didn’t take her, she would only look for another way to
get there. At least if she was with him, he could try and keep her safe.
“Fine. I was going home today anyway. Get organised, I have
to be there in an hour.” He disappeared from her sight, leave her with her
thoughts. Alex cared about her and wanted to keep her safe? Getting up she
contemplated what she was going to say while getting ready. Maybe today was a
makeup worthy day after all. She needed to make some kind of impression.
What had he done? He left her there alone and sought out
Mitchell.
“I am in trouble Mitch, bigger trouble than I know what to do
with.” They were sitting on top of a high rise tower looking out at the city
around and below them.
“What kind of trouble?”
“I think that I am falling for her.” Mitchell showed no
surprise at his announcement.
“That doesn’t surprise me. I could feel your pain and tension
last night when I was with her. I knew then that there was more to the
situation than I had been briefed on. Does father know?”
“Not yet, but he will soon. She managed to convince me to
take her with me today to see him.”
“Have you lost your mind? He will kill her himself if he has
the chance.” Mitchell’s words were exactly the same as the ones that he had
left unspoken.
“There was nothing that I could do. I want to keep her safe,
but she is going to make it hard for me if I don’t take her there. I don’t want
to risk her getting hurt or worse dying by his hand.”
“What do you need?”
“I need my brothers there today, all of you. Can you get
everyone there for me? I am hoping that safety in numbers will help her.”
“Of course I can do that.”
“Thank you.” He went to walk away when Mitchell called to him
one last time.
“She is amazing, if you think that you love her, don’t let
her go. We all need some form of happiness in our lives.”
Alex wasn’t going to do that ever. He would end his life before
he ever tried to end Eve’s again.
Eve was waiting for him to return. Watching the clock there
were several times she got up and checked that it was still working. She didn’t
know where Alex had gone, but she was as ready as she was ever going to be. He
appeared in the room just before the hour was up and surprised her.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.” She replied nervously.
“This is how it works. You grip my hand and close your eyes.
I transport us to where we need to go. You change your mind once we get there
and all that you have to do is say the word and I will bring you straight back
here, no questions asked. Understand?” She nodded her head and held out her
hand shakily. He gripped it and instantly sparks flew as the connection was
made. Moments later they were standing outside what looked to be an abandoned
building. His eyes sought out her face and asked the unspoken question.
“Let’s go.” Were the only words that she spoke.
They walked inside and down the same dark stairs that he had
walked down many times before. He held her had tightly to steady her as she
struggled to remain upright on the wonky steps. At the bottom he let her hand
go and together they walked into an open room where his father sat. Mitchell
had kept his promise and his brothers were line up on either side of the room.
“Alex” His father acknowledged him as he walked into the
room. “Who is this that you have brought with you today?”
Before he could respond a voice rang out in the room. “My
name is Eve.”
She assessed her surroundings, looking from one person to
another. When her eyes met Mitchell he at least had the decency to look
embarrassed. At the end of the room an older man sat looking very commanding.
His gaze was intimidating and he gave off distinct waves of authority. He
nodded “that makes sense. You have caused a bit of a stir these last few days.
It isn’t every day that all of my sons come to see me at the same time. Well
that is when it is not task allocation day I mean.”
She didn’t react to hearing that this was Alex’s father. Part
of her had suspected it the moment that she walked into the room. There was a
similarity in looks between the older man and Alex. “I wasn’t aware of that. I
hope that my presence is not going to get Alex into any further trouble.” Alex
stood next to her silent. He wanted to open his mouth, but he still had no idea
what to say, so he opted to stay quiet in the hopes that when the words did
come to him, that they would be enough.
“Well that is still to be decided. It guess it depends on
what my sons are about to tell me.” He turned to Mitchell, “I see that Alex is
not the only failure amongst us. Care to tell me what happened?”
“Father, it wasn’t possible. I can’t explain it. I did
everything that I have always done, but still she breaths.” Eve’s thoughts
floated back to the night before and once more she was filled with regret.
“Why are the rest of you here then?” She watched the brothers
squirm when asked the question by the older man.
“I asked for them to be here father. It was my request.” Alex
finally broke his silence and left Eve with more questions than answers.
“You are aware that by bringing her here you are risking a
lot. Is she worth it?”
“I think that she is. So much so that I am willing to risk a
lot more than you realise.” Eve watched at Alex stared at the imposing man in
front of her. “Brothers, I have asked you here for many reasons, but the main
one is that I believe that Eve here is life and can resist death. Our father
thinks that it is a crazy suggestion.” He paused and looked at Mitchell. “I am
not the only one that has tried to kill her this week and every time that
someone has tried, they have failed.” Alex and Mitchell seemed to speak to one
another without words.
“What Alex says is true. I was with Eve last night, and other
than an enjoyable time, it is clear that nothing more happened.” Mitchell
turned his attention to his remaining brothers. Their faces were blank and
showed nothing as to what they may have been thinking.
“Enough of this nonsense. There is no such thing as life.”
The voice boomed so loudly that there was no doubt left in Eve’s mind that
coming here was a mistake. How could they be so sure of what she was when she
didn’t even know herself? More to the
point, what had she been thinking when she has said that she wanted to come
here? It was like feeding time at a loin’s cage and she was the food. She
suddenly didn’t feel safe here anymore.
