She left her mask, and I thought that that was the last time I would see her again, but she clarified her meaning by saying that she would never hide from me again. That next time it would be without any mask, inside and out.
I find it ironic that she has been gone all this time, and I just have to believe her when she said that it was for work and familybusiness. Besides, tonight I won’t have to wonder anymore because I feel that after we see each other with no sneaking around or wearing masks at clubs, we can finally move on to having a real relationship.
She’s told me different things about herself without fully divulging too much. It’s only a sliver of what I want, and I’m greedy enough to devour it all. Whatever she is, I want to know it.
She wants me to know her real self, no more pretenses or masks to hide behind.
Speaking of masks and covering up faces with costumes, there is a Ghost concert that Eduardo is taking Emma to tonight, and in case he needs me for anything, which I doubt, I plan to be somewhere nearby to get to them.
Emma is obsessed with this band, their lore, and the comradery of their fan base. Thankfully Emma wore and loved the jewelry with the GPS tracker, and SOS button I had made for Eduardo. She wears it religiously, making him and herself feel more secure, knowing he can get to her location should anything happen. Philip and Eli will also be there tonight, so I am confident they have everything planned to optimize Emma’s safety.
Eve and I plan to meet for dinner and drinks. As I arrive at the restaurant and take a seat at one of the high-top tables by the bar. I have a clear view of the entrance and can see anyone approaching from the giant glass windows that span the entirety of the front of the restaurant.
The server takes my drink order, and places a glass of water in Eve’s empty seat. After fifteen minutes, I notice a woman with blonde hair and wearing boots approaching through the doors. I sit up a little straighter in my chair, excited to finally get to see Eve up close after months of torture and only phone sex to occupy my nights. She follows behind a hostess, and when I seeher face, I immediately deflate, looking at her brown eyes and round face. Eve has more of a heart-shaped face, and her green eyes are unmistakable.
After another fifteen minutes pass by, I realize she isn’t coming. I flag down the server for the check because I know when I’ve been stood up and I don’t want to embarrass myself anymore by waiting another minute. I pay the bill and feel my phone ding with a text notification, but before I can look at it, my phone begins to ring.
I look at the name and answer the phone call from Eli. “Hey, what’s up?” He sounds anxious on the other end, and I hear footsteps like he is running, and a door slam.
“Jameson, they’ve taken Emma. Eduardo is following her on the GPS tracker.”
I start running to my car.
“Where is she? I’ll meet Eduardo. Wait, I’m calling him now.” I disconnect the call and ring Eduardo. “What’s going on?” I ask directly into the line, needing to know what is happening.
“Jameson,” Eduardo answers out of breath, “where are you? Someone has Emma, I just know it.”
I had pulled up the app Eduardo insisted I have on my phone in case something like this happened—a double safety feature should this actually happen and Emma was taken. I look at the address. “I am at the restaurant down the street. I’m leaving now. I’m on my way.” I thought he was being overprotective and utterly ridiculous when he insisted I have it just in case, and now I realize that he was so right about all of this.
He responds quickly. “I see her in this warehouse not far from here. Do you see her, too?”
The star-shaped icon on screen continues to move. Just when I think it couldn’t get worse, we all get the SOS alert from the location where Emma has now stopped moving on the map.
Eduardo verbalizes my concerns.“Oh, shit. Emma is in trouble.”
I just hope we are not too late. I speed to the location where the SOS came from.
Arriving at the warehouse where the tracking icon had stopped and hasn’t moved since, we scan the area. Nothing looks out of the ordinary and the warehouse is dark. As I run across the street to regroup with Eduardo and Eli, Eduardo has a few of his men around the perimeter that are ready to intervene if necessary.
As Eli, Eduardo, and I go to enter the building, trying to be as discreet as possible. Eduardo pulls his gun, as does Eli, they give me one should the situation arise and I need it. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
The door is open as we step into the almost pitch black room. However, I catch sight of golden hair and see the moment Eduardo recognizes his whole world is tied to a supporting column in the middle of the room.
A light shines, and I see Cherry; her face is messed up. Eduardo is standing here, assessing Emma for injuries, but there don’t appear to be any. However, Cherry’s eyes are bruised over, and it seems her nose may be broken. From the looks that Cherry is giving Emma, I believe that Emma acted in self-defense, and I have never been more glad to see her okay than at this moment.
Emma’s eyes look over to us and then lock on Eduardo’s.
Julian steps in from the corner with his gun pointed at us. “Drop your weapons and kick them forward.”
We all lower our guns and drop them, doing as he says. Just as Cherry puts a knife to Emma’s neck, and I place my arm out to stop Eduardo from charging over there to rip that bitch a new one, but now between that and Julian having our firearms, there is not much we can do.
Julian steps in front of Emma, blocking his view. “Don’t even look at her. She’s mine and for my eyes only. You remember that.”
Eduardo clenches his jaw, and I swear I hear his molars crack. The murderous look in his eyes would have lesser men recoiling.
I notice Cherry’s head snapping up and staring at Julian in disbelief. “What do you mean she's yours?” she spits spitefully. The feral, unhinged look in her eyes is scary even for us to witness, and I see Emma cringe inwardly. Cherry snaps her sights on Emma. She is defenseless as Cherry lunges for her.
She screams out, “I’ll fucking kill that bitch! She can’t have you, either! I did everything for you, Julian!” She goes to attack Emma, and I see Emma brace for it, but Julian intercepts her and pushes Cherry onto the floor.
