The Pursuit of Emma, Dave Moyer [best contemporary novels txt] 📗

later, we were alone. He rummaged through some disks and dug out the ones I needed. I took one out that was filming currently. A flashing warning screen appeared on the technician’s screen that read, ‘Warning! No footage being recorded. Please insert disk.’ I turned off the screen before James could notice. Perfect. This was the icing on the cake. Not only had I just stolen his watch, but he was handing me the only evidence they would have to catch me. I was going to get away with it. I thanked him for his help and asked him to stay where he was until Jones was finished in his office. He agreed and I even had the audacity to shake his hand. Before leaving I jotted down my fake name and a fake number, saying that if he had any questions to call me on that number. He seemed very grateful for my time and effort. I assured him it was my pleasure and left. I was running a bit late and would have to break into a sprint to make it back in time. I sprinted back to the lift, but took the stairs to save time, missing four at a time in my haste. I decided I couldn’t run through reception, so I walked briskly, smiling to Jenny on the way out.

The fact that the Mercedes had not been clamped or labelled with a fine was another bonus. I only had seven minutes to get back to Parlour Street and didn’t want to mess about with traffic wardens. I was going to make it. Everything had fallen into place. Even the traffic lights were turning green as I approached. I made great time and pulled up outside the house with two minutes to spare.

I couldn’t shake a feeling. It was something I had never experienced before. It was euphoria. Of course, I was delighted that I could prove myself and keep Emma safe, but it was more than that. I had enjoyed what I had just done. I had stolen and lied and loved it. What was going on? Did I not care how illegal it was to do what I just did? Clearly not. I was buzzing.

I straightened my hair and suit and patted my pocket to check the watch was still in there. It was. With as much confidence beaming on the outside as I felt inside, I trotted up the steps and hammered on the door. The Russian doorman answered it and stood aside to let me in. I walked straight into the room we had met in earlier.

‘Just in time,’ muttered Vitali, delighted. ‘Your girl was getting worried.’

‘I can’t imagine why,’ I said smoothly. I caught Emma’s eye and could see how stressed she must have been. I returned her stares with a collected smile, hoping to let her know it was all fine.

‘So did you get it?’ called out Igor.

I smiled at him this time and pulled the box out of my pocket. I threw it to Igor, who had set me the task and watched as he opened the box, wide-eyed and showed it to his brother. Vitali clapped his hands together in amazement and approached me. He shook my hand firmly.

‘You really are that good,’ he said, laughing. ‘Welcome to the team.’

I breathed a sigh of relief and looked at my love. She was looking at me, but it was different to any look she had ever given me before. If I wasn’t completely mistaken, it was admiration. She couldn’t believe I had done it.

‘So, what happens now?’ I asked tentatively.

‘Now, we celebrate and tomorrow you leave for Amsterdam.’

I thought long and hard.

‘If we leave tomorrow then I want to get some things before we leave. I want Emma to come with me.’

‘I don’t think so,’ said Vitali, automatically.

‘Listen, you know who I am and what I am capable of. But you should also know that I am a man of my word. If Emma and I wanted to run, we would have done that an hour ago. I'll get you those last two ewers because I want this over, but she comes with me tonight. We are going to risk going to jail for a long time for you guys in Amsterdam, so the least you can give us is one night alone.’

Maybe they were worried they had underestimated me, or perhaps they were grateful for me getting the watch, but they agreed. Emma still hadn’t said anything but she jumped to her feet, happy to get away. She looked like she was dying to talk to me.

‘You know there is nowhere on this earth you can run to, where we won’t find you? Don’t think about running.’

‘We are on the same team. Start remembering that,’ I replied and I led Emma by the hand, out into the warm London morning. We agreed to meet back at the house at seven tomorrow morning, and it was not yet midday so we had seventeen precious hours together, to talk. I hailed a taxi and wrapped my arm around her, happier than ever before. Chapter Twenty-Three

‘Tell me everything.’

‘Are you hungry?’ I asked. I thought it was a good place to start.

‘Starving,’ she replied, so I asked the taxi to pull over so we could eat. We found a quiet Italian restaurant and moved into a secluded table in the corner. For a moment we were silent. Eventually she spoke.

‘Tom, you must be so angry. And you must have so many questions.’

‘I do. I mean, I know bits and pieces but I have big gaps. I want to know it all.’

‘OK. Tell me what you know.’

‘Well, I know you started conning people young,’ I said, trying not to sound judgemental as I spoke. ‘I know you have committed crimes in most parts of the world and you were probably doing a job when we met. I know you have hundreds of different identities and you have never been convicted of anything. You're not a lawyer, you never worked at Raynmer and Stein, your family don’t live where I thought and our wedding was faked. I know you lied to me more times than you could count. You pissed off the Kozlov’s years ago and now they want revenge so you're stealing Yuan Dynasty ewers for them to make up for what you did. I know you didn’t want to leave me and deep down you love me, even if I don’t know who you are. That’s what I know.’

‘Wow, you do know a lot. How?’

‘It has been a hell of a journey. But the worst part is, I don’t even know your real name. I want to know you. Tell me everything.’

‘OK. My name is Emma. Truthfully. But I was born Emma Heath, not Emma Jordan. I was born out in the south of Spain, in Seville. Both my parents are English and both died before I was ten. I moved to Southampton when they died and lived with a foster family until I was fifteen. They weren’t very good people and I spent most of my childhood staying away from them. Falling in with the wrong crowd or whatever. I learnt some skills and realised I was good at something. Really good. So I travelled the world, stealing and conning people. It was the first time I felt alive. I didn’t know any other way of life.’

There were tears in her eyes as she spoke. I wanted to hold her and tell her it was all going to be fine, but I didn’t want to break her stride, so I said nothing.

‘I made lots of money and spent just as much. From the age of fifteen to nineteen is a bit of a blur. Believe me, there aren’t many things I haven’t stolen in my time. I'm not proud of this Tom, but it’s who I am. I can’t lie to you. I’m a thief and a cheat and you deserve better.’

‘I understand, and you know I love you right? This doesn’t change anything.’

She smiled but could barely look me in the eye. She was crying strongly now but she kept talking.

‘So then one day I’m doing a job in Mallorca right and I see you watching me. People following me isn’t a new thing so I lead you into the streets and lost you like I always did. I thought you wanted to kill me! When I completed the job, and it all went smoothly, I realised you were just a stranger. It occurred to me that maybe you were just a handsome stranger who wanted to talk to me. I'd spent all my life expecting people to have a hidden agenda. I made a decision there and then that if I ever saw you again I would talk to you like a normal human. And I fell in love. I really did.’

It felt so good to hear her say it. I knew how she felt, or at least I was pretty sure, but it was always good to hear it from her. I forced her eyes to meet mine and smiled honestly at her. I wanted to say, ‘I love you too,’ with my gaze.

‘I knew after three days that I was head over heels for you and I decided I would never steal again. I wanted it all. The normal life. I wanted the house, the babies and a wedding. But it wasn’t that easy... you must understand that.’

I thought about it properly. If she was a thief and she truly wanted to change, there would be hundreds of loose ends she would have to tie up.

‘I had police after me and I had criminals that wanted me dead. I had to change my identity. And then you wanted to meet my family and I wanted to appear normal so I lied. I made up parents and a job and... our wedding.’

That last one did really hurt. I could understand everything but not why she had made that one up.

‘Why couldn’t we just get married properly? I don’t understand that?’

‘I wanted to. It was the hardest day of my life. It was special and perfect but deep down I knew it wasn’t real. I wanted to tell you but there was so much I had to hide from you, this was just one more thing. A wedding is a legal thing and if we had a real wedding we would need to be real people and ‘Emma Jordan’ was not real. People would have found out. I couldn’t risk it.’

That made sense (sort of). There was one burning question I had.

‘Why didn’t you just tell me everything? You know, be honest?’

There was a long silence and neither of us dropped eye contact. I wanted the truth.

‘I don’t know,’ she said unhelpfully. At first I thought that was all she was going to give me. Eventually, she carried on. ‘You have to believe me. It was the biggest thing in my life to trust someone completely and I guess part of me didn’t think it would work. I thought it would protect me in case it didn’t work with you. And then I got in too deep. I didn’t know what to do. I’m so