Seductive Truths (Seductive Trilogy) (20 page)

     Silence.

     Steady drumbeat of my heart echoes in my ears.

     His crystal blue eyes sparkle in the moonlight.

     In the distance I hear cars racing up and down the road, dogs calling out to the world around them and cackling women trying to pick up another client.  A fight breaks out by the entrance of a nightclub on the corner.  A bouncer tries splitting them up with little success and gets a punch in the face for his efforts.  However, all this means nothing to me as I wait for Gareth’s reply.

    
‘
Fine,
’
he sighs, body slumps and eyes drift to the floor. 
‘
I made it personal the day I decided to come looking for you.
’
 
What?
 
‘
I had to give you my name.  I needed to, wanted to.  Our paths have long been entwined; I just didn’t know it till now.  I know so much about you from where you work to where you live.  I know you like to let your hair down at the weekends and on the odd occasion during the week.  I know that you always have a coffee and croissant from Starbucks on your way to work.
’
 
Just a bit on the creepy side!
 
‘
But they are just the facts.  They are not
you
, but what you do.  I want to…
’

     Something over my shoulder captures his interest and he stops mid flow.

     I go to follow his gaze but instead find myself shoved backwards, feet scuttling underneath me in an attempt to keep upright, and then I crash into a brick wall at the entry of a pitch black alley.

     Gasping in shock I go to vent my fury when his lips plunder mine, kissing me with fierce passion.  His tongue dives straight in to do battle, not waiting for acceptance, but it’s not like he needed it.  As soon as those lips touch mine I’ve already submitted to anything else.  My hands unconsciously go around his neck; fingers start to snake into his hair, pulling him closer.  I give in to the bliss. 

     A moan vibrates up my throat as I feel his fingers stroke the underside of my left breast while his other cups a bum cheek.  He then starts to grind his hips against mine and I’m only all too aware of the prominent growth hardening under the fabric of his jeans.

     I want to touch more, bring him closer.  I need to
quench
this burning ache between my legs.  Got to have more.

     One hand roams his back, up and down, clutching at his jacket here and there to eventually work its way inside the top of his trousers to fondle his buttocks through the underwear.

     Gareth quivers.

     Breathlessly I pull away to look into Gareth’s passion drugged eyes, but that’s not what I see staring back at me.  In fact, he’s not staring at me at all.  Instead his eyes are glued to something over my shoulder.

     I snap my head round but only manage to get a glimpse of the object of interest before it disappears into the shadows.

     A grey suit topped with a familiar set of dark, wavy hair and athletic build.  There’s also something in the way he walks.  Assured and confident.  Powerful.

    
I know that walk.  I know it very well, but surely…it can’t be, could it?

    
‘
Come on Alex, it’s time to go.
’
  A nervous edge creeps into his voice and he starts dragging me in the opposite direction.

    
That couldn’t be who I thought it was could it?  No, no, it couldn’t.  Then again it did look remarkably like him from what I saw.  Oh I don’t know, maybe the shadows were playing tricks with me, but someone was definitely there.
 

     The continuity of my thoughts is cut short as a deathly clicking noise interrupts.  Turning my head to the left I look down to see Gareth preparing the glistening hand gun.  I almost forgot he owned such an object.  Gazing at it in his hands it seems almost foreign.  As if it doesn’t truly belong there.  I’m starting to see the gun representing everything Gareth has become, not the man he is.

     His eyes are alert, tuned to the slightest sound.  A snapping in the distance, his head jerks in that direction, gun poised ready for action.  A couple of men laugh on the corner and Gareth’s head follows.  My heart begins to pick up speed at his edginess.

    
‘
Gareth,
’
I whisper, my hand reaches out to clutch his arm.

    
BANG!
 

     Brick dust particles float in the air millimetres in front of our faces, the bullet embedded in the wall to our side.

    
FUCK!
     

     Can’t breathe.

     Suffocating.

     Heart pulsating.

     Lack of oxygen to the brain is making me feel light headed and I am about to collapse on the spot when a firm hand clamps mine then yanks me forward in a mad dash through the alleys.

     Another shot rings out, missing Gareth’s head by inches.  We dart into an empty alley, then into another and another, twisting this way and that. 

     Right.

     Left.

     Left.

     Right.

     Continuously entering dark maze after dark maze.  A mixture of pungent smells wafts in the air around us, causing me to heave at the strength of the stench.  But I have no time to relieve the contents of my stomach as I’m being pulled into yet another disgusting alley. 

     As we run, the odd bullet or two rush past, thankfully only finding target with the ground or some other non-living form.  But I hear no sound of footsteps giving chase, so where are the bullets coming from?  A thought strikes me and I peer up to the rooftops only to stumble. 

    
Better keep my eyes in front.  Not the best time to fall flat on my arse
. 

     My calves ache, feet hurt, and chest is constricting.  Just when I can’t take much more of this torture we come to a dead end, stopping us in our tracks.  I sharply turn around expecting our follower to be standing behind us, gun raise to kill, but there’s nothing.  No one.  Not a single sound except our heavy breathing.

     I close my eyes and tilt my head back, focusing on my rasping lungs.  I am barely able to stand.  My whole body is quaking in the aftermath of the adrenaline rush. 
And this is how Gareth lives his life!  How can he bear it?  I wouldn’t last five minutes!
    

    
‘
You okay?
’
he gasps in between breaths.

     I open my eyes to see his silvery blue irises staring down at me, concern shimmering on their perimeter.  A bead of sweat trickles down the side of his face, down his neck then soaks
into the collar of his shirt.  I unconsciously lick my lips, tasting the saltiness of tears and I realise I am silently crying.  Everything overwhelming me and it has finally got too much.

     Gareth takes a step towards me bringing his right arm up to wrap around my shoulder and drawing me in to his side.  The warmth I find comforts me.

    
‘
Come on,
’
he says. 
‘
I
think
we
’d
better get out of here.
’
  




     Back in his cold, messy apartment, I wade through the upturned furnishings and flop onto the dislodged sofa, the only thing that’s not upside-down.  Gazing ahead, I stare at the shredded wall where once hung a plasma screen television, not really taking anything in but my jumbled thoughts, my constant companion these days.

    
I’ve just met a real life snout, been dragged through the filthiest back alleys ever, and nearly had my head blown off by the invisible man!  Why have I been dumped in this shit?  You’ve had your fun God, just send me back please and draw a close to this nightmare.  I’m too tired to carry on. 

     S
ighing I let my head drop into my hands, too heavy for my neck to hold up any longer. 
I just want to go home
.  I shiver as the coldness of the room hits my bare skin.

    
I can’t believe this is happening to me.

     Something soft and musky is being draped over my shoulders and I embrace the warmth it provides.  Tugging it closer I discover it to be Gareth’s unmistakable black coat.  Leaning back into the sofa I breathe in his comforting scent.  My body relaxes and my mind eases.

    
‘
Want a drink?  Whiskey?
’
his voice rumbles from behind.

    
‘
Yes please,
’
I whisper.

     Seconds later a cool glass with golden liquid is placed into my hand.  Taking a sip, I feel the burning sensation flow down my canal and into my stomach, warming me up from the inside.  I turn to my left to see Gareth lower himself onto the floor, back against the sofa.  He takes a large sip of his own drink before dropping his head backwards and closing his eyes.

     He looks drained.  This life can’t be good for him, anyone really.  He must be in his what, late 30s to mid-40s?  All the darting around must take its toll.  He’s not in his prime and agility is no longer his strong suit.  It is only a matter of
time
before his reactions aren’t as quick.  He’s living on borrowed time.  Sooner or later he won’t be as lucky as tonight and, God forbid, I am terrified with the idea of never getting the chance, albeit fleeting, to see Gareth’s sparkling eyes again.

    
‘
Why do you do it?
’
I mumble through the fabric of his coat.

    
‘
Do what?
’

    
‘
Risk your life.  Knowing one day you may not be so lucky.  Why do you do it?
’

     Gareth’s head slowly lifts up and when his eyes open and latch onto mine, they are like lasers pinning me in place. 
‘
I have nothing else to live for, nothing to lose.  Why not?
’

     And there is the cold hearted truth.  He may not welcome death, but neither is he afraid of it.  Time ticks on by and he just waves it past.  Gareth is a man that will just carry on until his time is up.  He sounds like he no longer thinks he has a purpose in life and Gareth needs to be wanted.  How can anyone live like that?  Just throw caution to the wind because you have no reason to stay safe, no one who’ll miss him.  He’s forgotten how fantastic life can be if only given the chance. 

     My heart cries out to be the person that shows him, to provide him with a reason to fight for his life.  I want to be the reason he comes home each night after regular day’s shifts at work, a reason to love life.  But I can never be the reason, just as much as he can never live
that
life - an ordinary and
safe
life.  My insides clench at the reality of it all.  I feel helpless.

    
‘
Do you really have such a bleak outlook on your future?  Surely there must be something, anything that makes you want to survive.
’
  I edge closer to the arm of the sofa, closer to him.

    
‘
Alex.  I have no remaining family.  Father and brother are dead.  My mother is nothing to me anymore.  It’s as if I never had a mother.  She is as good as dead to me.  I have no girlfriend or wife to look after.  No children to take care of.  No friends or family of the kind.  I have nothing, zilch, nada.  If I were to die tomorrow, nobody would miss me.
’
 
I would miss you
my heart whispers. 
I would miss you
. 
‘
So why not Alex?  What better way to live your life than by cheating death?
’

     I try blinking back the tears threatening to fall but it’s a lost cause.  Slowly they trickle down my face, staining my cheeks as they go.  How can a man that exudes life be so lifeless?  Where has all the determination I saw in his eyes gone?  He is not the man I first met.  I
need
to see that fire ignite behind his eyes.  I want that force of nature back - the lion, not the cub. 

    
I’ve got to find a way to make him roar again.  I need something to fight against, not fall for.

    
‘
Why don’t you get off your arse and do something about it then?  Make something of your life!  Change it!  Stop being so pitiful!
’

    
‘
Pitiful,
’
he spits and looks at me with daggers. 
There’s the fire
and I smile inside. 
‘
Pitiful
.
’
  He places his glass at his feet then stands to take a step towards me.  Now towering above, making me feel small and insignificant, I’m smiling inside no more.