Who are you? II

He took a sip of cognac. Carelessly the glass dangled in his palm. The rest of the golden liquid he left circling in the glass. The herb smell, almost earthy, irritated my nervousness even more. I leaned hastily against the edge of the table. "What do you want from me?", I asked once more. My voice sounded tough, but the high notes in it betrayed me, revealing the feeling of restlessness. The same question had been asked too often.

And he had never answered even once. Only sitting there surrounded in silence, as if he was enjoying the show. Enjoying the feeling of satisfaction to tease me with his little game. No wonder my nerves were as tense as an umbrella. "Let's talk about business."

"Business?", he asked, almost disappointed.

I nodded. "You said it yourself. You have an offer for me - What is it?"

"I have an offer in mind. That's for sure. But I'd hate to call it business."

"Then how would you like to call it?"

"I hope in the future we'll be closer," he replied with a smug smile on his lips.

"Closer!?"

"Yes, closer. No business partners. You definitely shouldn't refer to our relationship that way. It would otherwise create useless problems. By the way, for someone who's scared, you're pretty cocky."

"I guess it's because I'm scared. By the way, we definitely have no relationship!" I tried to resist to tremble and scraped all my remaining confidence together. I lifted my chin a little higher, straightened my shoulders and tried to control this restlessness inside my chest.

"This is no place for a girl like you." Bored, his gaze glided to the stage as he changed the topic again. "Very clever, it took my people almost twice as long to get here. I still wonder where you got the fake IDs." Self-satisfied, he tossed a passport, a driver's license and a birth certificate on the coffee table. I immediately recognised the name on it.

"It is really well done. Must have been expensive."

My voice was nothing more than a hiss. "Where did you get these?" I ignored his bad quips and concentrated on not freaking out. In such a situation a cool head was the key. That man... I just couldn't judge him. Threat or maybe not? I was definitely inclined to answer one.

"Your place is pretty messy for a young lady of your upbringing. So I thought this would be a better place for our first date."

"You were in my place!" I couldn't believe my ears. "You went through my stuff!" I felt sick just thinking that this stranger had invaded my privacy. In a flash, I leaned over the table and reached for my papers. "You're right! These have cost me half an arm... and a leg!"

"A diamond necklace and these earrings."

With a crash, my white-gold earrings set with palmeira citrines, sapphires and diamonds landed on the table. An icy cold shiver crawled over my shoulders and down my back. How deep had he dug? "Why ask when you already know the answer?" I crossed my arms, burying my trembling fists deep under the crook of my arms and leaned back into the soft cushion.

"Interested? Your reactions are very amusing." He took another sip of cognac. His calmness only made me more edgy. I looked at him. He was so terribly handsome. However, good looks were no guarantee of safety. Under the most beautiful masks the cruellest faces could hide. Hadn't I had enough experience with such people? Why was I always falling for a facade when I was aware that some psychopaths used their appearance and charm to wrap their victim around their finger. Was he? Was he maybe involved in the whole thing? "There is a reason you are here. And I'm here because I don't want you to hide any longer. I'm offering you protection."

"How noble!", I sneered. "You are certainly no Mother Teresa! So what's your reason? What do you want in return?"

"Marry me."