Chapter 17
Disillusionment
This time waking up was much easier. Yet, trying to sit up, I felt a fleeting spell of dizziness. I looked around. Okay, I was in the back seat of a car. A big car. Probably the black jeep that I’d seen the Squad guys drive when they were after me two years ago. I heard music coming from the radio. Christopher was behind the wheel and next to him there was a young, black man I’d never seen before. I was relieved to see it wasn’t Tex. His head was shaved, reminding me of Denzel, but the smooth curves of his face and the well-shaped lips revealed a handsome face. Of course, he too was wearing black glasses.
‘Good! You’re up. It’s about time.’ The new guy said. ‘I’m Mateo and of course you know Christopher.’
My angel didn’t take his eyes off the wheel but, despite the fact that I could only see the right side of his face, I could tell by the pounding vein on his temple and his clenched jaw that he was really tense.
‘Where are we?’ I asked, trying to get rid of the familiar feeling of the lump in my throat.
‘Outside Pylos.’ Mateo answered. ‘We’re heading to our lodgings. We’re almost there. See that cluster of houses? That’s where we’re staying. It’s all ours.’ He laughed.
‘We’re the only residents.’
The car stopped and I followed my companions as they got off. The sky was dark and, suddenly, a bolt of lightning lit it, followed by a deafening clap of thunder that promised a storm. I was surprised to see that my luggage was in the trunk, even the huge, black suitcase I had left in the house in Corinth. That’s one of the benefits of working with them, I thought.
They carried my luggage into one of the low houses that I guessed would be mine. Mateo put the suitcases on the floor and went back to the car leaving Christopher and me in the living room. Christopher opened the windows and dim daylight flooded the room. Then he looked around the house, opened the wardrobe
and cupboards and examined them as if he was expecting to find something inside. A very familiar image, I thought, as my heart was about to explode.
I stared at him, thinking how much I had missed his kisses that used to take my breath away, hoping desperately for him to make the first move. He didn’t have to pretend anymore. Mateo could not hear us. Suddenly, I realized the silence had taken too long. Something felt wrong. Really wrong. Again.
It was then that he spoke to me for the first time. But what he said seemed so irrelevant to the situation and his voice so unbelievably detached, that I could not believe my ears.
‘We’ll be staying in the house right next to yours. You’d better take some rest. We’ll meet you in a couple of hours, to get organized.’ He looked at me in perplexity. ‘Do you need anything else?’ he asked, making me furious. I couldn’t take it any longer.
‘Do I need anything else? I don’t believe you! You must be joking!’
He didn’t say anything. He just watched me impassively, taking no pains to make it easier for me.
‘Come on Christopher! It’s me!’ I shouted, bewildered by his attitude. Had it been wishful thinking to assume that he’d take me in his arms at once and forget about everything that kept us apart? ‘What is wrong with you? Have you been lobotomized? Do you know what I have been through to get you back? Didn’t you want this?’
‘Get me back?’ His smile was very wrong. ‘There’s no such thing. You shouldn’t have done anything. I’ve warned you not to.’
‘Is this what you have to say to me after… after all this time?’
He shrugged, as if he was stating the most implicit fact in the most nonchalant manner. ‘I thought I’d made it clear. But I’ll go over this again. This is who I am. Who I really am. You’d better erase the past because the time for romance is over. I’ve turned over a new leaf and you should do the same. So, let go off your fantasies and concentrate on your mission. The sooner it’s over, the better for all of us. So many lives are at stake!’ A cruel smile
twisted his sweet lips. ‘I really hope I’m not the reason for such a folly! It’ll be the biggest mistake in your life.’ His words could as well have been bullets aiming at my heart. I was sure I could feel the pain in my chest.
‘You said you’d always be with me. That I was your top priority, that …’
‘Look, I’m really sorry it got so personal. It happens sometimes, when attractive women like you are involved in our missions. The mistake was all mine. I shouldn’t have let things get so far. But, have no doubt. It was all part of the game. Again, nothing personal.’
‘Is everything all right?’ Mateo asked behind him.
‘What about your message? Was that a fantasy? Have you forgotten about it too? You wrote that your heart will always belong to me.’
It was a bit below the belt to remind him of the letter in front of Mateo, but I could not control myself anymore. I was hoping that somehow I would be able to find that soft part in his heart, the part that he had decided to hide under the disguise of his cold face and his cruel words. The whole world had shrunk once again to my microcosm, which was now threatening to blow up.
‘I’ve tried to make it easier for you. If you still like to believe in fairy tales, it’s your problem. But I’ve got to say, this whole situation leaves me cold.’ he said in the same, unbearable tone, like he’d lost his patience with me.
He turned around and left. I stood aghast on the same spot, until I heard the car speed off.
So that was it. It was all done in vain. Christopher had taken me out of his life. Forever. The man I had brought back was someone else, a stranger with a cold, grim face and a cruel voice. I had tried to find on his face the slightest trace of the man I had bound my life to, but it had been useless. And I would have to live with this, to suffer this torment for the following days, weeks or months since we were supposed to be working together on this mission.
I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t even think about it anymore. My mind refused to accept it. Suddenly, I was panicked, certain that I was about to go insane. I had to go away from him. I wanted to run. I wanted to hide. I wanted to die.
And that’s exactly what I did, the only thing I knew well, without realizing the repercussions of my impulsive reaction until much later. The voice in my head, synchronized with the ear-splitting rumble of thunder, kept shouting one word, over and over again.
RUN, RUN, RUN!
Keep reading for the first chapters of
5-starred time-travel romance
Beguiled
The Gate Deadlock Series #2
(available in e-book and paperback)
Synopsis
The war between the present and the future has started. Compelled to cooperate with the forces of the future in order to gain Christopher back, Emma has taken on a new mission. The portal that connects the two worlds must be relocated otherwise there is no hope for humanity. But there are so many obstacles she has to overcome; Christopher has given up on their love, her best friend has been kidnapped and the life-changing truth about her family is revealed. Worst of all, a new, unexpected menace under the name Frederick, Christopher’s evil double, threatens their lives.
Will she be able to secure the future of mankind and claim the love she has fought so hard for? What if Christopher has decided to sacrifice himself again in order to save her?
In “Beguiled”, the second book of the “Gate Deadlock” series, love knows no deadlocks.