Dancing with the Devil // Jim Moriarty

•Chapter 11: When in Switzerland, Part 2•

The consulting criminal clicked his tongue and chuckled, as if even the mere thought of jealousy was absolutely ridiculous. "Darling, there is nothing to be jealous off." He leaned closer, bowing his head down so that his mouth touched my ear. "We both know you are mine."

Shivers ran down my spine as the words resonated through me, his breath tickling my ear. I was left speechless, reduced to being a tomato. Quick, Lilliana, say something. Anything.

But Jim was faster. With a teasing smirk, he straightened his back. "Are you cold? You've got goosebumps everywhere." He knew exactly what he was doing when he rubbed my arms, trying to warm them up. Seeing as this did nothing, he shrugged off his suit jacket like the true gentleman he was, leaving him in his white shirt and lilac tie. "Can't have you catching a cold, can we?"

He patiently held it open for me to slip into and I didn't hesitate. The fabric was warm and smelled like him, the long sleeves perfect to hide my hands in. "Thanks," I mumbled, trying not to inhale his perfume too obviously.

Changing the topic, I kept to what was important at the moment. "I take it you heard everything?"

"Of course I did," He scoffed. "You didn't think Miss Adler could simply sweep you away from me without me noticing, did you? I am, however, still debating going after her to end her life."

So that was why he was still trying to contain his anger. "What's stopping you?"

Jim shrugged his shoulders. "I think she could still be useful to us. Plus, something tells me you would stop me because it would hurt your dear Sherlock." At the mention of the name, he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

I nodded. "I would."

"Smith." The consulting criminal pondered and changed the topic, one hand rubbing his chin. "That's a very common name. It will take a while to find the needle in the haystack."

"I figured as much. What Irene said...I think she's right. My father needs to go as soon as possible. He's a puppet, a distraction. And we need to focus on the one pulling the strings."

Jim hummed and intertwined our arms, pulling me along with him. "I was afraid you'd say that. Though I have to admit Lukas Jung has gotten boring quite quickly. It's a lot easier to play with him than I imagined."

Furrowing my eyebrows, I tilted my head and continued to follow him out of the maze. "Maybe a little too easy, don't you think? Almost like we played by someone else's rules."

Jim chuckled humorlessly. "Remember: No one ever gets to me, darling. We may have done exactly what Mr. Smith, whoever he is, wanted us to do, but we still got what we wanted. As long as we stick to our plan, it's still our game. But I agree, it's checkmate time."

Once we left the maze of hedges behind us, he led me past the tiny lake, into the opposite direction of the museum. "He won't follow us," I stated, feeling the air leave my lungs in small white clouds. Jim must have been freezing without his jacket. The temperatures had dropped significantly and snowflakes began to fly through the air.

"Obviously, he won't. He's too much of a coward to come after us himself." A black Audi stopped in front of us just as we reached the main street. With a blank face, Jim opened the door for me and waited until I was seated to get inside as well.

Curiously, I risked a glance at the driver but it wasn't Sebastian like I had hoped. Instead, a stranger nodded at me through the rearview mirror before he maneuvered the car back to our hotel.

Jim continued to speak and made himself comfortable next to me by angling his body towards my seat. "I reckon we have a day at most until he sends his lapdogs to lure you to some remote place where he plans to kill you." Almost a little too nonchalant, he waved me off. "Obviously, he won't succeed. What do you say, shall we make him fall? Have him drop to the same ground he expects everyone to kiss?"