Margaret

Relax Margaret. Relax. He doesn't know. He cannot possibly know. I repeated it inside of me as a mantra.

My bowels felt like collapsing within themselves.

"Sorry?"

His eyes were cold now, a complete contrast to what they were a moment before. 

"You heard me."

"We already had a similar conversation Mr. Mountangue. I thought that we got past that." 

He was closing in dangerously close, and with each step he took, I took two more. 

"I know that tattoo." 

I snickered at that. 

"Not even I know what it means, or what it is. How could you possibly...."

"Let's just say that you lot are not as smart as you think you are." 

Before I knew it, I broke into a full-blown sprint,  racing down the fire exits. Running after me, yelling behind me. 

"Margaret! I just want to talk."

"Sure you do."

Stamina was something I neglected, but still, I held my pace well. Also did he. Storming down the stairs, I jumped several of them at once. The stomp of our heels echoed the halls of the hallway, and I only prayed for my feet not to give in.

I am not even sure why am I running away from him. He should be running away from me. 

Almost reaching the lobby of the hotel, a hand over my mouth quickly muffled my voice. I hit him with my elbow, but that didn't do much, it only made him grab it and push it back against my back. Moving my foot back, I pushed against his leg hard while leaning back, thinking it would falter his steps, but it didn't. He recognized the failed attempt by reinforcing his hold on your arms, squeezing my arm harder. I tried again, turning my torso to the right to get just enough leverage to lean against the wall with my right shoulder, hoping I could push him off somehow.

Again, I failed.

"Be quiet. We have company." 

Refocusing my eyes, I saw Alin with at least 5 bodyguards, making his way through the hallway. 

"Promise me that you will not scream and I will let you go."

I nodded, and that was all it took for him to do so. 

"Come with me."

I furrowed my brow. 

"Why?" 

"I know that I don't have to explain that to you."

"I know that I should be hiding from them, but I don't see why should I go with you." 

I explained, still trying to catch my breath. I never slowed down, so I am not sure how he caught up with me. Or did he pace himself like that on purpose? 

"You know what. Do what you want, but let me tell you once I disappear, you will never find me. Besides, most of the exits must have been blocked."

He threw the bait, waiting for me to out myself. Clever boy.

"How do I know that you will not kill me as soon as I approach you?"

"I said that I won't hurt you. I intend to keep that promise."

With that, he turned around and I followed. 

Hurriedly, we paced down to the garage and jumped inside of his back sports car. He opened the doors for me, a closed them. Once he was inside, he slammed on the gas pedal, tires screeching. 

"How did you know that there are in no one at the garage exit?"

He tightened his jaw, eyes shooting back and forth to the rearview mirror. 

"It was a gamble."

We drove in silence for at least half an hour. 

Music on the radio was on, a quiet saxophone was turning the mood melancholic.

https://youtu.be/u92kvmB_6SY

I saw the composition title:"Goodnight Julia".

As the melody was echoing the cabin, I kept staring at the city as we were driving through. The street lights were now warmer in tone, and the neons brought artificial light to various billboards. 

Snowflakes, tiny ballerinas, gently made their way down, showing off their dance to all existing things, meanwhile, they were more aggressive onto the windshield. As if they were trying to push the car back, hypnotizing me, almost punishing me for not standing there for a moment to admire their dance.

People were walking about, and I wondered about their lives, but my attention was caught by an elderly couple that was walking down the sidewalk, her arms holding his elbow. Both are somewhat hunched, the man even more so. The woman wore a beige winter coat, the splash of red coming only from her gloves and hat. 

I envied them.

I envied their love that seemed to stand the test of time, and the way that they were looking at each other. They probably have grandkids by now with whom they enjoy weekly lunches. 

They get to fall asleep together, warming themselves in each other's embrace. They would probably talk and laugh before they fell asleep, and in the morning the husband would make her a hot cup of coffee, waking her up with a soft kiss on the cheek. She would probably have knit thousands of sweaters for her grandkids, and he enjoyed daily crosswords in his newspapers. 

An ordinary life.

 I forced myself to be brought out of the daze, as I realized that I completely lost the sense of time. 

Glancing at Ace's face in the rearview mirror, I could notice his furrowed brow and tight grip on the wheel. He was pissed. 

"Where are we going?" I asked. 

"To a safe house."

I swallowed the bile that was rising in my throat. Maybe he is taking me there to dispose of my body?

"How did they find you?"

He looked at me through the mirror, but then refocused on the road. 

"It wasn't a matter of how, it was a matter of when. The moment I made that call the time was ticking, I just didn't know how much I had left. I wanted to disappear the moment I called, but your antics obviously made me improvise."

"My antics?"

"Yes, your antics, for fucks sake. The entire time...I..."

He swallowed, but then resumed. 

"I started caring about you. I truly did." 

My heart squeezed at his confession. As much as I wanted to dismay him, to lie to him, I had a feeling that it was going to be in vain. While it was true that he did have his moments of being an asshole, I had them too, and will probably continue to. 

"Then why are we here Mr. Mountangue? Why am I here?"

Unapologetic, I responded, even though I had a feeling I was just someone that was closer to being my friend than anyone else was in a long time. But then I shook the thought out of my head, knowing that I should look at him exactly as he was. My target.

"I cannot guarantee that Alin will not look through the hotel security cameras, and when they do, they will see you with me. I cannot have your death on my consciousness."

"My death on your consciousness? Are you saying that if I went ahead and tried to kill you right now, you would not defend yourself?"

"No. Because you will not kill me."

I widened my eyes at his taunting.

"How are you so sure?"

He smirked. 

"Wanna bet?"

All of a sudden he stopped the car in front of a small house. 

"What are you doing?"

He turned off the engine, locking the doors. My heart beating so loud that I could hear it in my ears. 

"I am giving you an opportunity. Go ahead, do your worst." 

Twisting his body in his seat to face me, his posture slouched. His long fingers steadily caressed the leather of the driving wheel.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. 

"Do you have a death wish Mr. Mountangue?"

Unnervingly quiet, he raised his hands as if to portray harmlessness. 

"What if someone sees?"

"The windows are tinted, now stop delaying and do it. "

Perfect chance, but god knows I had too many. 

Only if my hands weren't shaking, and my heart felt like it would jump out of its chest. Thought of what his death could mean to me; at least a good period of time not worrying about money, maybe even retiring after I finish my list. Maybe I would build an orphanage for kids such as Rosie so they could escape the harsh backstreets and could actually be worry-free, in a warm bread with regular three meals a day without having to work for it. Maybe I will freeze the list entirely to search for the leads about my daughter. 

My daughter.

At the thought of her, I pulled out my daggers from the halsters under my skirt and promptly pressed them onto his neck. 

"Do you have any last words Mr. Mountangue?"