All in his head

nine

Adrian

She actually got away. It's been a month since Tate was last spotted, and almost 3 since she stole my car and ran away. 

We last spotted her through facial recognition cameras in Barcelona, but by the time we got there she was long gone. 

I know she is mad at me, that much was clear. Worst part was about all of this was she left a trail, every single time we found her and actually got there she wasn't there but something to tell us she was. The first time it was a napkin that said 'fuck you' the next was a plate of chicken nuggets, and stupid shit like that. 

 Even in an unknown location she is fucking with my head. Hell, she even sent a letter that said I would never find her and stop looking, that she is right under my nose and I would never figure it out. 

I couldn't help but wonder what she meant by that. Has she been in California most of the time? It didn't feel possible, I have bases and men all over the State who know to keep an eye out for her. Then again seeing and being around her like I was for that week and her grand escape didn't feel possible. 

A knock sounded from the door breaking me from my thought, Atlas walked in quickly and placed his laptop on the desk. 

"She emailed me" I grab the laptop moving the screen to my view. 

Even the most powerful can't get to me, but I'll give you a shot. The capo and his right hand must go to the boardwalk where it all began tomorrow night at exactly 2am.
                     -T

"Sent it over to tech, but the ip is encrypted. We can't tell where she sent it from" He says as I read it over and over again. She is fucking taunting me. 

"Ok, we'll go but no one comes with us. Tate is fucking tiny, she can't do much harm even with a gun. Between the two of us, we could easily disarm her anyways" I say, he nods and walks out. 

After months of looking for her, stressing, not sleeping, skipping meals just to stay on top of it. And Tate is the one coming to us, that's all it took. A fucking email. 

***

"Boss, we should really be there for back up" Kai insists as Atlas and I walk out towards the entrance of the office. 

"She is harmless, and if we need anything you all are only like 5 minutes away" I say, "A lot can happen in 5 minutes, and we know nothing about her now. She has been off gird for 3 months, she could be a human weapon now for all we know"

"I have known her since I was 16, she is the farthest thing from a human weapon. The most she could possibly do is maybe break a nose" Kai scoffs and stops by the door. 

"You're the boss, but we have a team ready all you have to do is send the signal" I nod in response and look over to Atlas, nods and we walk out. 

The short drive to the boardwalk is quiet. We pull in a minute to 2 and sit there for a second. 

"Do you think Tate is actually here?" Atlas asks, I shrug and get out of the car walking to the spot I had come face to face with Tate for that first time all of those weeks ago now. 

We stand there quietly waiting for her to come out of the shadows or some shit. Light footsteps come from behind me and I instantly turn around. 

Her small arms crossed over her chest and an unreadable expression. She looks the exact same as that night I had carried her upstairs when she feel asleep, but something else lingered in her eyes that wasn't there before. 

Hate? 

Rage?

It was something along those lines, but her distaste for me is evident that's for sure. 

She slowly looks over at Atlas with a similar expression.

"Is Savannah ok?" She asks him in a quiet tone, her voice is more raspy than I remember. 

"She is doing ok, but is really freaked out by your disappearance" He answers, she nods and looks down. 

"Where the hell have you been, Tate?" I ask her bluntly, her eyes narrow in on me, this time the hate completely clear. "Staying far away from bastards like you, it's actually quite easy. I've only been out of state a couple of times just to get you off my ass" 

I scoff and shake my head, that's not possibly. I would've know if she was actually in state. 

"Bullshit" 

"Bullshit? Yeah no, I have been right under your nose this whole time just like I said. You were just looking in the wrong places." 

"Why did you want to meet?" Atlas asks, Tate keeps her eyes locked on me. "To formally tell you to stop fucking looking. I don't care what you know or how long you have known me, I need to disappear and start over and you assholes are making it real hard. So kindly leave me alone and let me live my life peaceful. I'm leaving the state for good and I expect absolutely no one to come after me." 

My jaw ticks as she keeps looking at me like I'm just going to listen to her. 

"I'm going to let you guys talk about this alone" Atlas says awkwardly and walks back to the car. 

But I stay focused on her and her honey brown eyes. Once I hear the car door close in the distance, I take a step closer to her and look down at her. 

"What happened" I ask softly, something flashes in her eyes but it's gone before I can figure it out. 

"Well this asshole barged into my life, basically kidnapped me, locked me in a room, and then he made a big mistake. He left me there alone with the door unlocked. So like a normal person I took my chance and left. Yet he didn't take the hint that I wanted to be left alone and he kept coming after like a lost fucking puppy" She spits at me not moving closer or away from me. She sighs and looks down shaking her head. 

"I thought I was doing the right thing, the bad men were trying to track you down and I thought if I kept you at the house a little longer I could keep you safe. The day you left I was planning on telling you that I wanted you stay. When I came in you were showering and then an emergency came up." I laugh humorlessly and look out to the dark beach. "Then I got to the notification that my silent alarm was going off and a car had been taken from the garage. By the time we got to the car, you were gone. I wanted- I needed to know you were ok and safe" I admit. 

"I don't care what your intentions were, Adrian. You just need to let me be" She says quietly and takes a step back, looking over her head I watch Kai quietly walk up behind her with a syringe in his hand. 

"I'm sorry, but I just can't do that" She looks at me confused before Kai closes in on her and quickly injects the liquid into her neck. Betrayal flashes through her face as her eyes flutter close and she stumbles at little. I catch her before she falls and she looks at me one last time before she fully passes out, falling limp against me. 

I fully pick her up and walk to the car, "I can't risk you getting hurt again, but I promise it won't be like last time" I whisper into her hair and place her in the backseat of the car before getting in myself and driving to my apartment.