Free Emily by Storm Jk Page B

realised the small silver framed picture of the three of them was missing. They looked everywhere for the picture and Vladimir muttered, more to himself, ‘Why would someone want our picture?’
    Vince overhearing him replied, ‘Maybe as a trophy. Any idea why Emily won’t tell you who did this?’
    ‘ I think she is trying to protect us, I think she knows who has done this,’ Vladimir offered.
    Vince thought for a moment, he had known Vladimir and Eric a long time and knew they were lovers. The first time he had met Vladimir was at a gym in the city. Vladimir had been the only man able to take him down in hand-to-hand combat; it wasn ’t even a close competition. He had also fought Eric but Eric had bested him as well. Vince knew he had met his masters and was totally committed to serving Vladimir and Eric. He had been surprised when Emily suddenly came on the scene but over the years he had mixed with them at various functions that Vladimir held and had found Emily to be kind and thoughtful.
    Vince realised the man who had attacked Emily was as good as dead, he knew there was a killer in Vladimir and that it would only be a matter of time till they found out who had done it.
    ‘ I found plenty of prints,’ one of Vince’s men interjected.
    ‘ Who’s been in this room?’ Vince asked.
    ‘ Only Eric, Emily, myself and our neighbour, David Swann. I’ll give you his address so as someone can stop by and get his prints; he lives on the next farm.’
    ‘ We’ll run the prints straight away and I’ll let you know what turns up.’ Vince began to pack up the equipment he had brought.
    Vladimir looked over to where the picture should have been. A chill had settled over him and he knew the danger that Eric and himself had tried to outrun was back. It was time to tell Emily everything. He asked Vince to leave four men to guard the property.
    ‘Vladimir, what sort of threat are we looking at?’ Vince asked. It took a moment for Vladimir to reply and he turned and looked Vince in the eye.
    ‘ Just make sure your men are ready to shoot to kill. I think an old wound has reopened and this time I don’t think we can hide from it.’
     
     

Chapter 10
    Eric drove Emily to one of the men’s favourite places. It was a small clearing that was on the edge of a precipice that was over two hundred metres high. An old tree grew right out from the side and the men would climb among the branches that hung out over the precipice. This terrified Emily, who would watch silently, only catching her breath when they climbed off, exhilarated by the danger. Today Eric spread a blanket on the ground and grabbed a couple of cushions from the car. Sitting down with Emily he pulled another blanket over her, carefully tucking it into her sides to keep her warm. His tenderness brought tears to Emily’s eyes and she realised for the first time that her love for Eric, while different from Vladimir’s, was just as deep.
    Lying down, Eric nestled his head in Emily ’s lap. They often sat like this at night, Emily sitting in Vladimir’s arms and Eric’s head on her lap. She played with his hair, which was untameable; she loved how it felt in her hands.
    ‘ Have I shown you a picture of my mother?’ Eric suddenly asked.
    ‘ No my love, you haven’t.’ Emily was surprised, neither of the men had ever spoken about their past.
    Eric pulled out an old pocket watch from his jeans. It was tarnished and quite ugly, yet she knew that Eric carried it on him at all times. Opening it up, he pulled out a lock of hair the same colour as his and passed the watch to Emily. Inside were two pictures. The first picture was of a young girl who looked no older than sixteen; Eric had her soft mouth and sensual lips. Her face was beautiful and had a youthful roundness, and even though she was smiling, her face held a sadness that touched Emily. The other picture was of a woman with dark hair pulled back into a tight bun, a stray curl had broken loose and it