Ineffable ꕥ Joost Klein ꕥ

39.

Elke didn't know that her Swift could go so fast. She only ever drove through the city or to it's outskirts. There were never the long strips of road that would allow her to put her foot down. Even if there were, Elke had never pushed more then five kilometres over the speed limit.

'What about Donnie?!' she cried as Joost ripped the steering wheel around a corner.

'He'll be fine. I'm getting you out of here.'

'Joost, you've got four cars heading your way,' Alanis' said into both of their earpieces. 'Turn down the next street and you'll just miss them.'

At her instruction, Joost skidded down the next road. Elke's hand flew to the door to her right to prevent herself from flying into it. She dared to look in her mirror and true to Alanis' words, four police cars with flashing lights passed. She continued to stare at the street between the two corners, dreading to see the red and blue lights begin to reflect off the brick. But as Joost made another deadly turn, Elke's puffy eyes dragged to be staring out the windscreen once more.

As soon as they had made it through the mansion, Joost made Elke run in front down the driveway. The electric gate was now wide open. No one guarded the gap besides the cool-toned lights that illuminated the entrance and the outside street.

It was difficult for Elke to sprint with tears in her eyes, the night dark and Joost's thundering steps behind her. The adrenaline made it feel as if her feet were going to run off without her. The gate got closer and closer until the garden was gone and her Suzuki Swift was sat where they had left it.

Throwing open the door, Elke fell into the passenger's seat. Her hands shook as she grabbed her seatbelt and she felt the car rock as Joost threw himself into the driver's seat. Before Elke knew it, the wheels were squeaking against tar and they were shooting off down the street.

'Elke?'

She didn't answer. She swallowed but couldn't shift the ball in her throat. The fleshed lining of her throat felt raw, scratched and torn. Elke leaned forward in her seat and tugged at her seatbelt, hoping to free up some space to breathe easier. But what she didn't see was Joost looking away from the road in frantic bursts.

With his gloved hands on the wheel, Joost tried to peer around Elke to see her face. Her ignorance to the call of her name worried him. He knew he should be focusing on the road and his rearview mirror, but Joost hadn't had a moment to check if Elke was unharmed.

Elke went to sit back when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Pushing back the hair that hung in front of her face, Joost steered the wheel with one arm and looked away from the windshield. Elke was breathing in and out deeply as she turned to meet his gaze. She met the creased brows and concerned eyes that fell to her forming bruises.

Red stripes bruised Elke's neck and a purple shadow sat around her jaw. Her wet cheeks were enough for Joost's heart to ache, but at the marks that would only darken by the morning, Joost's concern turned to anger.

'Did he fucking-' Joost couldn't finish. He returned his hand back to the steering wheel and sucked in a breath.

Joost was furious. As soon as Apson made it known that Elke was talking to Ski Aggu, Joost had demanded Stuntje hack into the electric gate's circuits. No one at the workshop had relayed the events that were happening inside the house. If they did, when he made it to the sliding doors of the back garden, Joost would have made sure to aim for Aggu's heart.

'J-Joost...' Elke's voice came out in a croaky stutter. His eyes were burning holes through the windshield before he turned his head. Instead of being met with Elke's watery eyes and seeing the root of his fury, Joost's attention, much like Elke's, was drawn to the headlights in her wing mirror.