Love on Notes

32

The lift was going down far too slowly. I watched Daniel tapping away on his phone before he glanced up at me.

— Don't worry, nothing will happen to her.
— You don't know that! I said abruptly. Sorry, it's just that...
— You have nothing to apologise for.

We left the building and immediately got into his car. I put the call on loudspeaker so that Daniel could hear the whole conversation while driving.

— Are you safe?
— I've taken refuge in my neighbour's flat for the moment, she says slightly more calmly than before.

I let out a sigh of relief. Her neighbour was a very nice man in his forties, and I was reassured to know that she was in his company.

— Very good, continued Daniel. Lock the doors, close the windows, shut the curtains and avoid making any noise. But don't hesitate to turn on the TV and set it to a relatively high volume.
— All... All right, she declared before repeating everything he had said to her neighbour.
— Lizzy, please come quickly, she then whispered.
— I'll be there in ten minutes, don't worry. I'll stay on the line with you, OK?
— Yes.

Daniel then contacted someone using the dashboard.

— Dan? Is everything all right? asked a man called Raphael.
— Can you come as soon as possible to the address I'm going to send you, with your gun and your badge.
— I'll be there in a minute.

I didn't understand what he meant, but I trusted him to handle the situation.

— Can you unlock your phone, please? I asked him, trying to pass on Eve's address. But do you have a friend in the police?
— No, he's my partner. Can you open the glove compartment? The code is 7204366892615.

I typed the numbers on the keypad inside the box, telling myself that it was a very complicated number to remember. Next to it was a fingerprint reader. He leaned over and put his thumb on it to unlock a safe. It was too dark for me to see inside. I thought he was only behind computers, but his partner had a gun...

I could hear a slight noise coming from the call with Eve.

— Eve, are you all right?
— Yes, I'm fine, but I think I hear footsteps outside my flat,  she whispered.
— Stay well away from the front door, we can't risk him hearing you if it's him, ordered Daniel.
— Yes, yes, she said. Wait... He's breaking into my house! But Liz, who's this fucking psychopath breaking into my house?
— Eve, please calm down.

I never thought he'd go this far. But he'd still found my number, my address and Eve's address.

— Why the fuck is he coming into my house? Can you imagine if I hadn't seen the note and stayed there? she muttered angrily.
— Eve, intervened Daniel, I can understand your reaction but don't worry, we'll be there in three minutes, just hang on.
— Thank you, Daniel.

She seemed more reassured, despite the tremor I could still hear in her voice. Daniel called his partner back and asked him if he was near Eve's house.

— I'll be there in a minute, Daniel, but what's going on?

He explained the whole situation.

— All right, I'm here. I'm here, do you want me to go in?
— No, no, Raph, you stay in the car. I'm nearly there.

The next minute, Daniel pulled into the car park at Eve's residence. Before getting out, he opened the safe wide and took out a gun.

— Er... Daniel? I asked, staring at it.

It scared me that he had one. Things could get out of hand at any moment. He must have had a more important job than I thought to be allowed to carry weapons. He got out of the car, walked round to me and looked me straight in the eyes.