CHAPTER 5

I couldn’t tell whether it was because of the alcohol in the air or the one already in my system that made me light-headed. “Yes, I would. I would gladly come running to you if I had the chance”

Just before Damon could say a word, the music stopped and all the lights were turned on again. The romantic air was gone, leaving only embarrassment for me. “I think we have our winner.” Darcy shrieked and gestured towards the couple beside us as they walked towards the stage. As soon as everyone turned their attention to them, Damon took my hand and headed towards the exit. “It’s already too late. We have to get you home”

I stared at our joined hands. “What about you?” I asked.

“I have work to do. Jenkins has agreed to work with me so I’ll be busy for a while.”

The driver pulled up in front of us and we entered. Damon only let go of my hand when we were inside the car, making me feel like he had done it on purpose.

By the time we got home, I expected him to disappear into his office but he sat on the sofa and signaled for me to sit as well. Out of curiosity, I sat next to him so I could know what he wanted to say.

“I realize that you’ve been doing your best to adjust to this new environment. I wanted to thank you for your cooperation”

I was grateful for his acknowledgement when his words from the other night came to mind. “You didn’t think like that yesterday” I uttered coldly and watched his warm expression turn to a puzzled one. “I heard you talking to someone last night. You said I was just a pawn in your plan. Nothing more”.

He opened his mouth then shut it. He stared down for a moment. “You really have a knack for overhearing things you’re not supposed to” he finally said. Wrong answer. I stood up and began walking towards the stairs but Damon blocked me. He put his hands on my shoulders. I didn’t want to look at his face right now. Handsome and flushed from the alcohol.

“I had to say those things because I didn’t want my partners to take unnecessary interest in you. If not, then you would’ve been under constant observation”.

“Aren’t I already under constant surveillance?” I questioned.

“It's different over there. At least you can breathe here. It’s not the same in the camps. I didn’t want to scare you away from this deal”

“You only care about this mission, not for me or my life” Iscoffed at him, shoved his hands away, and ascended the stairs. “My brother was killed by the Black Falcon” I heard him say. I stopped dead in my tracks and turned to stare at him. I saw sadness in his eyes now. I felt this strong urge to rush to him and hug him. To console him.

I descended the stairs till I was in front of him. “My brother used to be the CEO of Reeves Syndicate. The perfect man. He was everything I ever wanted to be. Strong, independent, and clever. The Black Falcon was a criminal organization that wanted to take all our assets and secrets but he kept them in check until one day.” He hesitated. I put an arm on his shoulder, encouraging him to continue.

“He was ambushed. He was taking some important papers overseas but he didn’t even make it to the airport before his car was loaded with explosives, leaving nothing left of him.”

I waited a moment. I could sense his grief. I couldn’t even dream of understanding such pain. “I’m so sorry about that,” I said, barely a whisper. “I know how desperate you are to have your revenge but I’m still a person. You don’t need to pretend like you’re interested in me just to get what you want”

“You think I’m pretending to feel this way?” Damon suddenly grabbed my waist and pulled me closer to him. I could feel his hot breath on my neck. My body instantly tensed up and he caressed my back. “Damon” I gasped before his lips met mine.

Damon groaned as I responded to the kiss, letting go of all caution and relishing in the thrill. My head was reeling. I wasn’t thinking straight and I couldn't care less. I melted against him but just as I was about to deepen the kiss, Damon pulled away. I stood there dazed and confused. “This was a mistake.” Damon apologized. “It was the alcohol-“

I didn’t let him finish. I slapped him right across the face and ran upstairs, leaving him in the dark room, alone.

Two days had passed, and Damon and I hadn’t uttered a single word to each other. I made sure of that. I refused to let him play with my emotions. Alice called me later that day and asked me to escort her to a mall to buy a dress she’d been wanting for a while and I happily agreed. Anything was better than staying bored and alone.

I got to the location and met with Alice. We were already in the building with Rocky when Damon joined us. My expression immediately turned blank. “Alice, you didn’t tell me Damon was coming” I muttered.

“I wanted us to have some fun. Is there a problem?” Alice asked with a worried tone as she looked at us both. Not wanting to cause a scene, I disguised my earlier comment as a joke.

While Alice was trying on her target dress, Damon approached me. “Emma, I think we need to talk”

“If it’s about the night of the charity gala then don’t bother. I'm over it.” I shrugged

Damon squinted at me “What does that mean?”

“Lets just forget this ever happened, okay? For my dignity” I said calmly. “If I’m lucky, you’ll probably make another mistake with someone else and I won’t feel this embarrassed anymore.”

Damon couldn’t respond to my comment because Alice came out looking stunning and I had to let her know it. Damon also complimented Alice to avoid her suspicious gaze.

After Alice had tried on a dozen dresses, I got thirsty so I stepped out to get water to drink. Ricky followed me at a safe distance. I was gulping down my water when someone tapped my shoulder. “Excuse me, do you know where I can find the sports section. I’m new here” I gave him a polite smile as I provided him with the information he needed. “Thank you so much. I love your bracelet by the way. Is there a place I could get it around here?” The man sheepishly asked

I grinned “Actually this is a gift from a friend so I don’t know if I could help you with that”

“Maybe you could walk with me through the mall for a while and-“ his eyes diverted towards a figure behind me in surprise.

I suddenly felt an arm around my waist. “Do you need something?” Damon asked in a cold voice. The man immediately bid me farewell as he took off.

“What the hell is your problem?” I yelled, causing a few stares

“Your life is in danger. Now is not the time to be drawing attention to yourself.” Damon retorted.

I only shook my head and walked back to Alice who had finished paying for her new clothes and headed out.

Later that night, I was still fuming when I heard a knock at the door. I told the person to come in absent-mindedly only to see Damon standing by the door. I stood up from my bed and walked towards him angrily. “There’s nothing to talk about anymore, Damon.” I started but he stopped me from closing the door on him. “It's something very important,” he said.

I hesitated before allowing him to come into my room. Suddenly, my phone rang and I rushed to take the call. It was from the doctor. My stomach tightened. I answered it quickly and listened carefully. I suddenly burst into tears and hurried to the door but Damon caught me.

“What’s wrong?” he noticed my panicked face. “Did something happen to your mother?”

“S-she’s in- in” I stammered, unable to utter coherent words. He held my hand “We’re leaving, I’m taking you to her.”