Element

Ch 17 - Lane Mason

"How long am I supposed to stay here for?"

He shushed me, putting his hand on my mouth. "If we're lucky, he didn't see you."

I couldn't very well speak with his hand over my mouth, so I could only wait until he removed it. Even then, I knew not to say anything as we scoped the area. I could hear Blayze's voice approaching, and my heart rate took off.

"Gentlemen, as you can see, everything has gone well, and all we need is for you to sign on the dotted line," he said.

"What about Phoenix?" one of the people he was talking to asked.

"What about Phoenix?" he countered.

"Does this mean we will be privy to progress reports on it?" another voice asked.

"Now, now, you're getting ahead of yourselves. This game consists of levels, and you're only level one players. People who are privy to anything Phoenix related have much deeper pockets and way more influence. If you want in on Phoenix, then you're really going to have to sell yourselves big time," he told them.

"I'm sure that can be, negotiated," one of the gentlemen said.

"Just what I'd like to hear. I'll be in touch with you then. Contact me with a list of what you have to offer, and if we like what we see, then we'll be in touch with a new agreement," Blayze responded.

There was some shuffling and we could hear footsteps going away. When it was quiet, Silo nodded to me and we left the closet we were hiding in, only to come face to face with the person Silo was hiding me from to begin with.

"You know, I thought it was you who had walked in, but then again I haven't seen in you in so long I thought I was hallucinating. I decided to keep an eye out for you just to see if I was right, and what do you know? It turns out I'm not crazy after all."

He still looked as handsome as I could remember, and a part of me felt relieved to see him again, while the greater part was admonishing me. Silo looked at me with regret before excusing himself. He already knew that he couldn't save me from this.

We were a distance apart, but I could still feel the tension between us. We hadn't seen each other in three years, or at least that's what I remember. He stepped closer and I stepped back, noting the hurt in his eyes at my action.

"I will not hurt you Elle. I am not capable of doing so," he said softly.

"At least not physically," I said before I could stop the words.

He sighed. "I deserve that."

"Can I leave?" I asked.

"You're free to do anything you want. You've always been," he replied.

I walked until I reached the door, when I remembered something. "Storm told me you stopped talking to her."

"I did so to keep her safe. I hope she's safe wherever she is," he responded.

I frowned. "She's here."

"What?" he asked, eyes wide.

"She came here with me," I informed.

"No, no, no, NO! They've got her!" he panicked.

"What do you mean they've got her? Who's got her?" I questioned.

"When did you get here?" he asked.

"About an hour ago," I replied, only to have him race past me.

I followed after him. "Blayze, what's going on?"

"I've been trying to protect you both by ignoring her," he said, looking around the room.