Second: I’ve seen him before.
Even if I hadn’t recognized the coat and hat he wore outside Sabine’s workplace, the level of preparation tells me everything I need to know.
It’s him.
The man I’ve been chasing.
He has a long face with small, slanted eyes. Loose skin, most of it hidden under heavy body and facial hair. Thick, black hair that looks like it lingers no matter how often he shaves. His eyebrows are bushy. His nose is long and slightly hooked. A few raised birthmarks stand out, one below his lip, another on his cheek.
He looks nothing like I expected.
There’s nothing forgettable about him. Nothing that wouldn’t make him stand out in a crowd. It’s the kind of face people remember without meaning to.
And when he speaks again, I realize even his voice is distinct.
Like it’s mocking me with the fact that it was always identifiable, and I still missed it.
“Winning with you was easier than I expected, Little Soldier,” he says, inching just a little closer.
I can’t even describe what his voice does to me. My arms are trembling from how tightly I’m tensing my muscles. My teeth feel ready to crack. My heart—
My heart is already broken.
The fact that I’m here, tied up in god knows where, means I’ve lost something far more important than any game with this man.
I lost my grip on Sabine.
And on my mother…
“What have you done to them?”
The words scrape out of my throat. My voice is raw, torn from the depths of me.
“Where are they?”
He clicks his tongue, straightens a little, and slaps his knees like he’s about to stand up, though he doesn’t. He glances around the room like he expects someone else to be here, then sighs.
“This is my first time doing this, you know,” he says. “I’ve never had a man be my playdate before. I was actually prettyexcited. When I first saw you, I thought you might be her lover. But no. You were something better. A brother, with brains. And the way you tried to catch me...”
“Where is she?” I cut him off. I can’t take another word.
I know I shouldn’t let my emotions get the better of me. I trained for situations like these.
Be steel when someone’s trying to break you.
Embrace the silence.
Endure the pain.
Hold your mind.
But it’s useless.
I can’t calm down.
The fear and the rage rise inside me like a flood, drowning everything else. Logic vanishes.
His smile widens.
