The True One

Chapter 5 Part 2

I ran.

I'd danced and sung for two hours tonight and been awake for almost twenty. What did exhaustion matter when the urge to escape was in control of me?

I don't know how long I ran, or how far. I had to go. That's all that mattered.

Several blocks into my escapade, the smell of a campfire lit my senses.

Alek. He must have been tracking me.

I picked up my pace until the smell receded. Then I slowed, waiting for a whiff of it to come my way again. As soon as he neared, I sped down the road once more. Let him think he was making progress. Let him believe he was close to his catch. The thought of how maddening this chase must be for him spurred me on. He would never catch me unless I wanted to be caught.

City streets gave way to a sprawling park with groves of trees and beyond them, a moonlit pond. I circled it halfway and then forged a trail through the brush until I came to its edge. The urge to run granted me permission to pause for a while. I wasn't wasting my life if I sat on an old log and studied the reflection of the waning gibbous moon as it charted its trajectory over the water's still surface.

When the pungent earthiness of the pond gave way to a woodsy odor, I had to make a choice: continue the chase or let him find me.

All day, I'd wanted nothing more than to leave my life, but now this desire, so fervent only a few minutes ago, seemed like a passing whim. I slipped off my shoes and let my feet sink into the mucky ground, trying to feel the certainty of this place as my mind raced with uncertainty. I had been so sure, I had such clear direction, a solid goal. But now none of it made sense. Why would I want to walk away from everything I loved? What did I think I was going to do with myself—construct a house from sticks and live out the rest of my days next to this pond?

Such foolishness. I could easily hate myself for it. First those weird blackouts, then the heightened emotions, and now this.

Alek would be here soon. I didn't move. There was no point in escape now. All I could do was steady myself. The less inner turmoil revealed to him, the better. I wiped at my watery eyes and straightened my posture.

By the time the brush parted, and Alek approached from behind me, I had forced myself into the version of Verity in which I functioned daily.

"You!" He paused to catch his breath. "You're... you."

God, he was so strange. Beautiful. Sexy. But strange. "Who did you expect me to be?"

Pushing through tall grass, he came to stand beside my log. "I just thought... nothing. Never mind."

I motioned for him to sit. "Do you want to know why I left?"

Nodding, he took a seat as far from me as the log would afford.

I brought a foot out of the muck and wiggled my toes. "My feet needed a mud treatment."

His body tensed beside me. My attempt at humor had struck a chord. "Come on, Verity."

"Shouldn't you be calling me Miss Jayne?"

"Is that what you want me to call you?"

"No. It's too formal for my taste. I hate when people do that, but that's not the point. It just seems like a standard bodyguard thing. You call me Miss Jayne and then I say 'oh you don't have to call me that. Call me Verity.' And then you grin and say, all right, Verity. Anything you want."

Alek scratched at his head. "When have we ever had such a friendly conversation?"

"It's not friendly. It's cordial."

"Look, Verity, I'll call you whatever you want, but you're dodging my question."

I took in an exaggerated breath to buy myself time. "Fine, Alek, if you must know..."

He leaned in.

"I'm a spy. I was meeting my asset here at this pond. But now, you've scared them off and I won't get the intel I need to prevent a terrorist attack. America's going to fall, so thanks a lot."

He hopped up off the log. "Okay, I think we've done this song and dance long enough."

"Song and dance are literally what I do all the time. There can never be enough of either."

"Verity!" He grabbed my hand and pulled me to stand. "Put your shoes back on. Let's get out of here."

Shoes in one hand, this man's hand in the other. I squeezed it to see how it would feel. The urge to escape had been tossed into the pond, where it sunk into its murky depths. Only a treasure hunter like Alek would ever be able to find it. I caught his eye in the moonlight and there was no mistaking the confliction our palms in contact seemed to be pouring into us both. I pulled my hand away from him.

"What do we tell everyone?" I asked him. "About why I left."

"Flora thinks you were abducted by an obsessed fan."

"Should we tell her I was but that I broke free and then you found me and we narrowly escaped his clutches?"

"Maybe..." he turned to head back to the path. "You should tell her the truth."

"What if I had to go because I couldn't stay?" It was as close to a confession as he was going to get out of me tonight. "What if that's the truth."

"I'd say that makes no sense."

I started to follow him and then stopped. "What if it makes no sense to me either?"

I waited for him to stop, but he didn't. Finally, I jogged to catch up to him, my feet and calves finally feeling the exertion of tonight's jaunt.

He didn't say anything more until we'd followed a path past picnic areas and a playground and out to the street lining the park. "I texted our driver. He'll pick us up soon."

"Good. I don't think I could walk all the way back."

"You ran a long way. And you're fast. Not sure how you even did it."

"What can I say, I've got Cheetah DNA."

"Yeah, that's not it."

"You can't know for sure."

He stood there, silently checking his phone.

"How were you able to track me? Is it because of the skills you learned as a treasure hunter?"

He put his phone down, giving me a puzzled look. "How'd you know about that?"

"Why do people always ask that question in the age of the Internet?"

He tapped his phone and then pointed to me. "Why do people asked how they were tracked in the age of the Internet?"

I felt in my back pocket for me phone.

Shit. Rookie mistake.

Lights from my tour bus blinded us as it turned onto our street.

Alek put his phone away. "Next time you decide to take a leave of absence, maybe give me a head's up first."

"The whole point of disappearing is to not let anyone know you're going to."

He shook his head. "I just wish you could be more truthful with me. It puts you—and others—in extreme risk."

"Extreme risk? Come off it, Alek. I've known you for a couple of days, and suddenly you of all people want to be my moral compass?"

"No, I—wait, what do you mean me of all people?"

The bus pulled up and I headed towards it, leaving him with something to ponder. "I'm not sure what you think I'm hiding, Alek, but I have this sneaking suspicion it's nothing compared to what you are."

___

Author's Note: What is going on with Verity? And what was Alek thinking he would find when he finally caught up with her at the pond?

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