Page 35 of Pursuing the Egoist
“I’m free! Finally, Kuon, I’m fucking free!” She squealed, then laughed, and pushed the man onto the sofa. Knees at either side of Leiris’ thighs, she kissed him again. Her dress skidded up, revealing her thighs. “I can do whatever I want. Do you know what it means?”
Leiris smiled back with the same, kind attention. Yugo found himself craving to break down this calm demeanor, until only raw emotions were left exposed, just to see if he dreamed them right.
“Tell me, how did it go? Did he just surrender? Did he say anything?” She unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it down his shoulders as she bombarded Leiris with questions. “What kind of expression did he have?”
Hesitantly, Kuon replied, dragging the words, “I wasn’t there, but I heard that he didn’t resist the arrest.”
“What do you mean you weren’t there?” Fingers freezing, she fled from his knees, now staring at him from a distance.
“I had to be someplace else. We had a major seizure.”
“Someplace else?” Raising a brow, she approached the window and folded her arms over her chest. “I don’t understand what you are saying. You promised me.”
Yugo smirked, watching the tranquility evaporate from Leiris’ expression as confusion took over.
“Lena…” Kuon looked around, frowned, then wiped his hands against his jeans. “I was the lead officer in a huge investigation. I couldn’t abandon it. Another team executed Sergen’s arrest.”
“Couldn’t abandon?” She laughed; her head dropped back, mouth opened wide.
Yugo propped his cheek against his fist, seeing real emotion on Leiris’ face for the first time.
Kuon got up from the sofa and approached the woman. Hesitating for a moment, he reached his hands toward her waist, but she smacked them away as she spun around.
“So instead of taking care of Sergen, as you promised me, you were someplace else… You delegated my life, my safety, to another team, but you couldn’t delegate whatever you were doing to someone else? What was it? Was it more rewarding for your career or life?”
Kuon’s head jerked to the side; his eyes darkened. “It’s not about my career. And this thing is bigger than you and me. I promised you that I’d lock Sergen away, and I did. I made sure you are safe and your case is taken care of. But I had a lead. I seized a ton of pure shit. Do you know how many lives it saved?”
“None? A junkie is a junkie,” she snarled back. “So what you seized a ton of pure shit? They will buy it elsewhere. This lot will always get their fixes. At least they knew the dosages of the shit they were using; now they could all overdose and die. Anyway, using it is their choice!”
“You don’t mean that.” A cold warning made its way into Kuon’s voice; his shoulders strained.
“Oh, I do. And you know what? It speaks a lot about your priorities. You looked me in the eye and told me you would arrest him. But the second you got another lead, you dumped my case, my life, on someone else.”
The high-pitched notes in her voice made Yugo cringe. He considered turning down the volume but didn’t want to miss anything important.
“You are exaggerating.” Kuon raised his palms in submission. “You are safe. Sergen is arrested, and you are free to leave or divorce him. What else do you want? I was doing my job. Don’t be unreasonable.”
A thin hand flew in the air and landed across Leiris’ cheek. Kuon’s head whacked to the side, and a red handprint bled through his rapidly paling skin.
Yugo chuckled. Warm satisfaction mixed with curiosity effervesced in his blood, lightening his mood like an icy cold glass of champagne. Now, watching the dark eyes glow on the indignant pale face, Yugo was ninety-nine percent sure that stripped of the thick layer of trained expressions, Kuon would be mesmerizing. Especially covered in tears, sweat, and blood.
“I’m not unreasonable! And I don’t give a fuck about your job or drugs! It’s my life, Kuon. Why did you delegate my case but not the other one to that second team? Was it because you didn’t trust them?”
When Kuon said nothing, her face flushed with the fire of hatred. She stormed past Kuon, aiming for the door when Leiris grabbed her elbow.
“Wait.”
“What’s the point? Go, do your job. You are really good at it. Don’t call me anymore,” Lena hissed as she shook off his grip. She picked up her purse and hooked her coat with an index finger. “I’m leaving Austria. I always wanted to live close to the sea. Goodbye Kuon.”
She slammed the door, leaving Leiris staring at the white paint. Minutes after, he raised his hands to his face, hiding his eyes in his palms, then breathed, “Fuck…”
“What do you want to do with them? Kill them?” Greg asked. Yugo had forgotten he wasn’t alone.
Yugo got up and circled the desk, sparing Greg from a strained neck. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with Leiris yet. The boy was just a pawn in someone’s game, and he craved to know who was playing him. If Yugo killed him now, this secret would die with him. The woman’s fate was easier to decide. “Wait till she leaves the country then make her disappear. Sergen, learning she left him, can commit suicide. I don’t want him to testify.”
“And him?” Greg indicated the screen.
Yugo hesitated. Making an example out of Leiris would be good for business. It would also bring him pleasure. Yugo had enjoyed watching his distress and, he was sure, would savor every moment of breaking this body and mind. He nearly gave in to the temptation to say “bring him in” but shook his head instead. “Don’t touch him yet. Keep the surveillance on him for now. Let’s see if something pops up. I want to know who is playing against me more than I want to see him dead.”
