Capturing Them

Chapter Fifty

Capturing Them
Chapter Fifty
Sang

I go to my desk, leaving the warm and cocooned embrace of Silas and Nathan. Opening the drawer that's at the side, I pull out a small box that I keep all my USB's in and find the black one that has a spider sticker on it.

I hold it out and Victor takes it from me. "Every single photo I got of him that week is on that USB, along with all the news sites wherever his name is mentioned."

"You looked him up?" North asks.

"Well, I didn't mean to," I say with a nod. "I wanted to know what the tattoo meant and I came across this site where his name was mentioned. Well, not his real name—Michael Carter—but his gang name, 'Spider Man'." I had only ever come across the name Michael Carter a couple of times, it's not ingrained into me like Spider Man is.

Marc scoffs. "Original."

I continue, "I couldn't find anything with his real name, so my research only went so far." I focus my eyes on Victor and then on Corey. "You're better at computers then I am, you might be able to find something I couldn't."

"Do you have these photos anywhere else?" Axel asks.

"Just in the album and on the USB. I wiped all the others, afraid my laptop could be hacked or even stolen." Victor's face pales a few shades and Mr Blackbourne sends him a look, one I wish I could have missed. "What?" I ask.

Victor sighs, handing the USB to Corey. "Princess, there's something I need to tell you."

My heart constricts in my chest. "Okay," I say, uncertainty showing in my voice.

"Let's leave Mr Morgan and Miss Sorensen to talk. Mr Henshaw, I want us to take a look at what's on this USB," Mr Blackbourne says and I watch as they all leave one by one.

Kota and Luke squeeze Victor's shoulder in silent support as they leave, and I wonder what could possibly be wrong. What has Victor got to tell me? Was it something bad?

Victor closes the door once everyone has left and then turns to me. "Okay, so this is something I'm not proud of."

"I'm sure it will be fine," I tell him.

"I'm not," he says quietly, his fire eyes barely a simmer because of the guilt and regret I see within them. "When we first saw you, we didn't understand why you were taking pictures of us and because of the Academy, we have to keep as much of a low profile as possible. We also wanted to know more about you..." he trails off.

"Victor, what did you do?" I ask almost hesitantly.

His fingers start fiddling with the silver medallion around his neck. "I hacked into your laptop and we snooped. We quickly realized that you were a people watcher and not someone sent to spy on us."

My heart drops to my stomach. "You hacked into my computer?"

Victor nods his head. "God, Princess, I'm so sorry. Trust me when I say that I am so, so sorry."

I sit down in my chair, staring at Victor as the hurt and betrayal washes over me. I think of every single photo I keep on my laptop and wonder how far they got through them; how much snooping did they actually do?

Victor walks towards me and crouches down so we're at eye level. The fire in his eyes has completely gone. His hand finds mine and he curls his warm fingers over my cool ones. "I wish I could take it back," he says. "I'm not proud of what i did. I was impatient; I wanted to know you, and when you wouldn't talk to us I went looking for the answers. I went the wrong way about it."

The sadness I hear in his voice causes my heart to do a flip in my chest. The sincerity I see on his face, along with the regret and guilt would make my knees buckle if I wasn't already sitting down. "You're sorry?" I murmur, unable to be angry.

He places my palm on his chest, over his heart. His hand covers mine. His heart beat is nice and steady. "With my whole heart, I apologize for doing something I shouldn't have even thought to do."

I nod my head, agreeing with him. "You're right, you shouldn't have, I just ask you not to do it again, please."

"I won't, Princess, I promise."

"Thank you," I whisper. I haven't forgiven him, but his apology is sincere, so I know I will. They were curious about me, just like I was about them. Besides, what I have to remember is that I was taking their pictures without permission.

His fire eyes finally ignite again to a low, burning hum. "You're incredible, Sang."

My cheeks heat. "You're pretty incredible too, Victor."

His eyes drop to my lips and my tongue snakes out, wetting them. My eyes drop to his just as his tongue copies mine. "Rocky has stopped bothering you," he murmurs.

He's right. Rocky hasn't even looked in my direction since Monday when I kissed Silas in front of him, and the rest of the guys. "I know," I say.

"Because you kissed Silas." His eyes come back up to mine.

My lips purse, the guilt settling low in my stomach. "I wish I had more than one set of lips," I say, trying to make a joke.

He shakes his head. "One pair will do, Princess. I hope I get a turn soon." He pauses, taking a breath. "I want to kiss you now, but I don't know if that's what you want."

My heart slips and my lips curl up into a small smile. "Why don't you ask me and find out?"

His eyes light up like the night sky on the Fourth of July; blazing and humming—a bonfire, sizzling and crackling with heat. "Sang, Princess..." he murmurs. "Can I kiss you?"

"Yes," I answer without hesitation.

Victor lets out a breath, smiling as his hand cups the back of my neck, the tips of his fingers diving into my hair. His other hand comes up and he strokes his fingers down the side of my face, his face moving in closer to mine. "You're perfect," he whispers.

"I'm far from perfect," I whisper back.

"You're my kind of perfect—perfect to me."

Before I can get a word out in reply, he's placing his lips over mine. A small sigh leaves me as my hands slide up his chest and over his shoulders, clutching to the back of his neck so he can't pull away.

My mouth opens, as does his, and our kiss deepens. He tastes minty and fresh, the flavour bursting across my tongue as mine touches his.

I kiss him, and I kiss him, and I don't stop. I hold onto him so tight I'm surprised I'm not hurting him, yet he holds onto me just as tightly. Neither of us want to break this kiss, but unfortunately, I'm running out of air.

When his grip loosens on my neck, I pull away, resting my forehead against his as we both gasp for breath. "Victor," I murmur.

"I'm here, Princess, and I'm not going anywhere," he says. He presses a kiss to the corner of my mouth.

"Good, because I don't want you to leave."

A/N: Wow! We're fifty chapters into the story and I still can't see the ending. There is so much I want to get in this story and so much I want to get right and I can only thank you for your patience as I write this story, supporting me with every vote and giving me a boost of confidence with every comment. Thank you, thank you, thank you! This will be my last week of updates until after Christmas! I know, I've just started again but my daughter finishes school for the holidays next Tuesday and I still have so much more to sort ready for the big fat fella to come down my chimney. I'm sure I will have many updates for after the holidays! Thank you for reading and I do hope you all have a great day. Check back tomorrow for another two chapters! :)