Caged

I could practically hear my heart beating wildly in my chest. I was more scared than I had ever been. Anyone sitting in front of a killer holding a gun as he was smirking in satisfaction would be scared, too.

I kept counting down the seconds until he pulled the trigger and finally ended my life.

I wondered why a man who looked that good could be a killer. He could have been a movie star and model with sharp features and those beautiful, strange eyes. They were so pale, I could have sworn they were almost ethereal…almost white

If it wasn’t for the emptiness behind them, you could easily get hypnotized by just one look from him.

“What do you want from me?” I asked while he just stared at me. I could feel his eyes exploring every inch of me, and it drove me crazy. Every single part of me was going haywire, and I couldn’t tell whether I was turned on or scared.

But even if I was turned on, I would never admit it out loud.

“That ugly suit you wore when you came to see me earlier didn’t do your body any justice,” he said as his eyes lingered on my chest, where a few droplets of water from my hair had dripped.

I crossed my hands against my chest to hide myself from him. I had never felt more exposed in my life.

“Why are you here? The police are looking for you.”

On cue, we heard sirens from afar. He didn’t seem fazed by any of this. He just sat there like it was a normal day in his life, and everything was casual.

“You’re uptight. I noticed it when I first saw you. I’ll admit that when I heard Matteo Moretti’s daughter was coming to see me, I expected an ugly woman to come through the door. You…you’re something else.”

I didn’t know why I was offended that he had called me uptight. I shouldn’t care what a criminal thought of me. Especially when he had just escaped from prison. Who was he to judge me?

“I’m not uptight.”

“Yes, you are. I think that boyfriend of yours isn’t fucking you right.”

My cheeks turned pink at the sound of sex. How did he even know I had a boyfriend?

“Did you have someone look into me?” I asked. “What do you want from me? Why are you in my house? If you want to kill me, go ahead. What are you waiting for?”

As soon as those words came out of my mouth, I regretted them. The last thing I should have been doing was provoking a criminal who had a gun in his hands.

“I don’t want to kill you. I want you to clear my name and make me a free man.”

I laughed thinking he was joking, but I saw that he wasn’t and my smile dropped.

“Are you high? There is a mountain of evidence against you, Emilio. Even if that evidence were to disappear, you already escaped from jail. No judge in their right mind will ever free you.”

He lifted the gun and pointed it at me.

“When I first saw you, I thought you were meek and shy. Turns out you have a mouth on you.”

I raised my hands in surrender, the fear of death threatening to make me get on my knees to beg the man to spare my life.

“Please don’t kill me. There is no way I can get you out of prison, and I think you know that.”

He laughed and dropped the gun. I let out a sigh of relief, thinking he had heard me, and he wouldn’t try and pursue the matter further. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

“I know there is a mountain of evidence against me. But you are going to help me get rid of it, and together, we are going to make sure I walk free. As for my escape from prison, don’t worry about that.”

My mouth opened in shock. Stealing evidence was a criminal offence that could land me in prison. I wouldn’t survive a day in jail.

“You might as well kill me. A criminal offence like that could ruin my career, not to mention land me in prison.”

“I thought you might say that,” he said. “Your father framed me and put me in prison over evidence that he planted. If you don’t want me exposing that, you'd better help me.”

I shook my head and pointed an accusatory finger.

“He would never do that. He is the director of the DIA, and he puts criminals like you in prison. He would never do that. Besides, he is running to become the Minister of Justice, and he will definitely get the position.”

He laughed as he stood up and waved his gun around.

“Why do you think I escaped from prison when you came to see me? Isn’t this the week the Prime Minister submits names of the candidates?”

My face went pale. Suddenly, everything clicked. That was why Papá was so angry. Emilio’s escape being rumored to be aided by me, had just ruined his chances.

“You were the one who tipped reporters that I helped you get out of jail, weren’t you? Why did you do this? You can’t punish my father for doing his job.”

“He fabricated evidence to put me in jail so he could be the director of the DIA three years ago. That wasn’t him doing his job. That was him breaking the law he claims to uphold.”

“Papá would never do something like that. Go lie to someone who will believe you.”

He laughed at me, making me uncomfortable.

“That man you are protecting so much just blamed you for something he knows you didn’t do, and then called you useless and a disappointment. You can’t possibly be this naïve.”

He was in my apartment the entire time I was speaking to my father, and he heard everything. I decided then and there that I hated the man with all of my heart. He was a bad person, and he deserved to rot in jail forever.

“You don’t know how parents are because I’m assuming yours were too busy killing people and distributing drugs to pay attention to you.”

“I had bad parents, you’re right. That’s why I know yours is toxic.” He said. “I am a killer, birdie, but your father didn’t find evidence against me, and he made it up.”

“You’re also a liar, and don’t call me birdie.”

“I could be lying, but a rumor like that would destroy your father’s career permanently. I hear your brother is also climbing the ranks of the police, so his career would be over, too.”

He got up and tucked his gun in his pants.

“You’re going to help me, or I will destroy everything your father has worked hard for. I’ll send you more details at a later date.” He walked to my front door and opened it before turning around and saying, “I’ll call you Birdie because right now, you’re just another bird in my cage.”

And then he walked out the door, disappearing into the night like the police weren’t looking for him—like he wasn’t a fugitive who could be caught at any time.