A Thousand Year Obsession ✔

11. Don't Let Him Escape

11. Don't Let Him Escape

Derek remained knelt before me, but as I sat up I noticed the small movements of his hands beneath his upper body. But then they grew still and Derek stayed frozen on the ground.

"What happened here?" The red haired woman asked sharply. "What's going on?"

I glanced up at her slowly before my eyes flit back to Derek.

"Shaie, she's my aunt!" Juliette exclaimed suddenly from beside the woman. "You know, Aunt Trisha, the one I never see. She's a secret agent! Can you believe it?"

"Juliette now is not the time for idyll chatter." Her aunt reprimanded quietly. "You there, stand up slowly with your hands behind your head."

Derek looked up slowly, wincing slightly at the shards of glass protruding from his back, but kept his eyes steady on mine while he remained on the floor. Shudders swept through my body as his gaze sent warning after warning through my mind, the hard determination pushing the urge to flee straight to my bones until I had to fight against myself to stay still. But then, when I realized what that gaze meant, it was too late.

Derek lunged towards me just as I pitched myself to the side, catching hold of my arms as he yanked me upward so I stood before him, my body pressed tightly to his bloodied torso. My skin prickled as the cool edge of a blade pressed against my neck, sending tingles over the surface of my skin. I froze immediately, eyes wide as I stared at the agents cluttered in the narrow hallway.

"One move and she dies." Derek murmured darkly, his words slipping slowly past my ears towards the agents.

Juliette's face had already paled considerably as she stared at us, a faint tremor visible in her hands. I inhaled sharply, clenching my fists together at my sides.

"He won't hurt me." The words escaped quickly, leaving me with the wondering thought of where they came from. Why I spoke them, I hadn't known, but even still, I felt somewhere within me that they were true. Derek wouldn't hurt me.

Trisha glanced towards him cautiously, remaining still with her gun clutched in her hands.

"How do you know?" She asked softly, shifting her hold on the weapon.

My gaze flickered between Juliette and her aunt.

"I-" Derek's grasp tightened on my arm. "I just know."

Trisha's lips twitched downwards.

"Let her go. You don't know what you're doing. If you surrender now, you can have a good chance at trial and no one will get hurt." Trisha said to Derek, watching him carefully with her chocolate eyes.

But Derek only laughed coldly, pulling me closer to him.

"Oh, I know exactly what I'm doing." He said lowly. "And you can't stop me."

Trisha's gaze narrowed. "Drop the knife, kid, before this gets out of hand."

My eyes warily followed Juliette as she began to back up towards the stairs. Her chocolate eyes locked on mine for a brief moment, resolution clear in her body set. Her chin tipped forward just slightly before she slipped back down the stairwell. A tiny smile found its way to the corners of my lips.

"I'm no kid, sweetheart." Derek hissed mockingly.

Trisha's fingers tightened just a fraction around her gun. "This talk is getting us nowhere." She said shortly. "What do you want?"

I could nearly feel Derek's slow smirk from behind me.

"Her."

Trisha froze.