Page 77 of Black Wave

“Are you laughing at me, honey?” I poke him in the chest, and he just shakes his head, trying to control the onslaught of laughter that threatens to continue at my expense. He stops and kisses me.

“I love you Emma. Come on. Let’s get out of here. I have to pee so bad.”

We walk out slowly through the crowds of people, and I walk into the women’s bathroom as Eduardo does the same into the men’s bathroom next door. He said he will be right there when I get out. I agreed to wait for him. I see the line of people, but it goes by quickly, carefully managed by bathroom attendants.

I go to the sink to wash my hands, and a girl is putting on red lipstick in the mirror. I immediately recognize her from the other time I was shopping with Liv. I look away, and she continues to stare at me. I decide to confront her.

“What are you looking at?” I meet her eyes defiantly. She looks at me with disgust.

“Me? My name is Cherry, and I was Eduardo’s girlfriend before you came along and stole him from me, so you know what? I took your boyfriend to see how you like it.”

I look at her with confusion. “You were never Eduardo’s girlfriend.”

“Oh, honey, I know you can’t keep up with the sexual needs of a man like that. The way I sucked him off or the way he bent me over his desk at work, pounding into me as I screamed his name. Hm. He doesn’t love you.”

The anger inside me explodes at the thought of Eduardo doing anything with that girl. “Oh, he doesn’t love me, huh? Is that why he wants to marry me?” I know it is a poor excuse to flaunt my ring, but I shove it right in her face, and it contorts with anger.

“I don’t care anymore because now I have Julian, so you can have Eduardo.”

I look at her, and she must get the reaction she wants. “You're lying,” I tell her, stepping back looking around for the man who still hunts me.

“Oh no, I am perfectly serious right now.” She walks closer to me.

“Cherry, you need to get away from him. He will hurt you,” I plead with her, pointing at her to listen to reason. “That guy is sick.” I am no longer angry with Cherry but concerned for her life, but she doesn’t seem to care. She only sees me as a threat to her happiness. I grasp the top of my head, unsure of how to make her see it.

“You don’t understand, Emma. He is obsessed with you, and we can’t be fully together if you continue to be in the picture.”

I step back again, scared when I see that crazed look in her eye, and suddenly begin to feel faint. “Stop, please just stop.” I look around. I need to find Eduardo. I turn around to leave and find him when I hear a commotion outside. A fight has broken out, and that’s when I feel the sharp object behind my back.

“Follow me, Emma, if you know what’s good for you.”

The fight is a huge distraction, and I don't see Eduardo. Cherry walks me out the side doors and out of the pavilion. We walk across the street and down an alley with an empty building. Everything is so much more amplified at night. The shadows seem to come out of everywhere, posing a threat. My sense of dread increases as Cherry brings me into an old warehouse that is in various stages of remodeling. My boots echo in the open room.

Cherry lights a candle that sits there as if she prepared for this whole thing. My mind fills with every twisted scenario, and my need to escape takes over. I see that she has a knife. I step backward and trip over a cord lying on the floor. She takes this as an opportunity to come at me. She gets on top of me, lays the knife by my head, and starts to choke me. She pins me down, straddling me with her arm around my throat.

She may be bigger, but I am stronger. I often think back to Adrian and me in the gym, and survival instincts kick in. I grabahold of her hands, locking them against me. This causes her to become unsteady and unable to stabilize her arms upward. I twist my body, and we fall sideways. Now, I am on top of her and punch her in the face. Blood pours from her nose, and I hear her cry out. I jump off her and pick up the knife.

I see her trying to get up, holding her nose. I step back, holding onto the knife, and then I see her smile. Blood is staining her teeth, and she looks unhinged. She looks behind me, and that’s when I see him—Julian. He is here, and he has finally found me. I hit the emergency star on my bracelet. I just hope it’s not too late.

CHAPTER 43

Eduardo

Ileave the bathroom to wait for Emma, but she hasn’t come out of the bathroom yet. The lines were long to get in there, but they went by quickly, and I knew I’d beat her out before she finished. I see two guys throwing insults back and forth to one another right where I am standing, and I find it fucking annoying as hell. I just want to get Emma and get out of here. I am starting to feel uneasy, and I need to find her and attach her to me ASAP.

Expectantly, blows start flying between the two guys, and I let out a frustrated sigh. A large crowd forms and people start pushing each other. One guy is drunk and is extremely obnoxious. The other has a black eye that is starting to form.

I make my way out of the commotion and look toward the bathroom. I see another girl that was close to Emma in line walk by me, and I know Emma is finished but now is nowhere to be found. I whirl around, looking for her, and hit a call to Eli. He answers on the first ring.

“Hey, Boss, are you guys headed out soon?”

My stomach drops. “Emma isn’t with you? I’ve lost her.”

“Oh, fuck,” is all I get from Eli.

“Call Jameson and bring him down here. He said he would be close by in case we needed him.” I look to see where Emma is on the GPS tracker and notice that she is in the area. I see the star moving toward a few buildings down the street. I run out of the pavilion and jump into Eli’s car.

“Here. Look, Emma isn’t far from here. We have to get to her.” I see my phone ringing, and it says it’s Jameson calling on the illuminated screen.

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