Guarded: Worth the Risk

Chapter 17

                                                                                        Orlando

            The property is surrounded by trees before exposing the large clear view of Fox Lake. Of all the properties Natalia has owned throughout the years, I love this one the most. It’s been 5 years since I’ve seen her last, but I still remember the first day I ever saw her. Walking into a board room with her father at my Uncles offices. She doesn’t know the effect she had on me, even back then, but she never will. I made a deal with the devil along time ago and will follow through no matter how much I love someone.

            Seeing her with her bodyguard… how she reacts to his touch, how she looks at him, it’s how she used to be with me. I f*****g hate it.

            The cool breeze brushes against my skin, sending a chill down my spine as I watch her do her morning run through the brush. I watched how her grounds team and bodyguard completed a full sweep of the property, but none are ever smart enough to check the woods. I move my gaze from her running shoes smushing the soft grass beneath her feet, to her breast which bounce as she runs. The memory of how her breasts would bounce as she was on top riding and grinding against my d**k flashes through my mind.

            How I miss those days, even if they were all a lie.

            I try to push away the memories of the year I spent entwined with Natalia’s body as I sit here in the shadows of the vast forest. She probably thinks I’m a monster; maybe she doesn’t, but I don’t how she wouldn’t after I did what I did. I destroyed us, our plans, our love.

            I killed her brother, our unborn baby, but I don’t feel any remorse for that. It was all apart of the plan, even though at one point I thought that plan could have been changed completely. I showed her all the red flags, yet she never caught on and stayed, fought even to keep her life just as it was. I waited for the day she’d catch on, for the challenge of keep this act up for as long as it took. But the bull-headed workaholic never allowed herself the time to focus on other things. Maybe I shouldn’t have been as surprised as I was.

            Though it was all an act, she attracted me. Intrigued me even.

            She looks better than she did back then, her hairs longer and she’s slightly thinner. Her eyes still darkened with fire and drive though.

            After all these years, her morning routine hasn’t changed, the gaps in the curtains of her bedroom overlooking the lake and forest providing me an up-close view to the early mornings and late nights. The way she chews on her left index fingernail when she’s deep in thought. Makes me wonder if she’s thinking about me, our past, the what if’s.

             The sounds of her running shoes smushing the soft grass beneath her feet grow closer, I can almost smell her sweet shampoo thanks to a gust of wind. Goose bumps pricking at her skin as the cool fall air sets in. It is now that I must strike, make my presence known.

            She’s alone, but not for long, for I know her grounds team and bodyguard will be making another round any minute, especially if they don’t see her round the bend anytime soon.

            “It’s now or never.” Mia whispers, bringing her mouth close to my ear. “We had a deal Orlando, don’t forget that.”

            I give her a quick peck on the lips before acknowledging what she just said. Though Mia will be my forever, it doesn’t change how Natalia made me feel.

            Snap.

            The loud break of a stick beneath the utility boots I’m wearing, makes my presence known as I move quickly through the woods.  The loud sound stopping Natalia in her tracks. The cool breeze blows through the high ponytail she so neatly put on top her head before starting her run. A word of caution spreads across her beautifully tanned face.

            She turns, placing her air pods back within her ears, her back now to me. I grip the metal bat tightly in my fists, as it makes contact with the back of her head rendering her unconscious. It’s just enough force to keep her out for a little while. I can’t kill her. I won’t kill her, at least not as of yet. 

            “She should be down for a few hours.” I say glancing up at Mia who is standing over Natalia’s still body. The slow rise of her chest has me relieved ever so slightly. Reaching in her pocket I slide out her phone. “Here. You have less then fifteen minutes, so work quickly.”

            “Lucky for you I only need five.” Her devious smile says it all. “You know if you would have just killed her like you were supposed to the first time, we wouldn’t be going through this.” Her tone harsh, but she wouldn’t understand. I was promised to her and if I she ever caught wind that I was falling for Natalia, she would have murdered her, herself.

In the distance I can hear the footsteps of her ground crew making there second rounds just as scheduled. They’ll find Natalia here, unconscious and while they tend to her, Mia’s men will plant the bugs inside the house.

            My beautiful Natalia, she lays still at my feet. I had hoped she would one day forgive me for all the sins I have committed, but the reality is she never will. She was changing the deal her father had made so long ago. What happens next is her fault, her doing. Not mine.