Leashed

Chapter 15

Owel didn’t want to kill anymore, yet it didn’t mean that he won’t hurt anyone—badly. There was no excitement in his attacks. In the eyes of those who were watching him, he was wary, for he didn’t trust how he’ll be able to lessen his strength.

He twirled with vigor and clamped his hand on a security guard’s face, smashing it against a wall. Pwak! Came the sound of the skull’s impact.

A truncheon went for his head, but he ducked then elbowed the chin of its possessor, immediately robbing his consciousness. He spun next and crashed his shoe’s hard sole against the nose of the one who came from behind him.

The fourth guard who responded was reluctant. He, along with the crowd who gathered around the ballyhoo, figured that this whirlwind of a man was difficult to go up against—more like nobody there could possibly take him down. Unlike the throng who marvelled at the stupendous display of puissance by one single man—some even recorded the astonishing scene—he was heavily intimidated to the point that he took out his service firearm and pointed it at him.

“You there! You better stop!” he warned.

Aeon quickly doffed his cap and threw it towards him, hitting his grip on the gun. Taking this chance, he dashed towards the guard then grabbed and raised his hand. Utterly surprised, the latter accidentally pulled the trigger and a bullet went off the air.

Bang!

He didn’t give him the time to react as he slugged his throat; his sharp knuckles killed off the guard’s oomph as he dropped his knees to the ground.

“Ahck!” Cried the guard.

With a deadpan expression, Aeon watched him cough and wheeze for air. He nonchalantly then picked up his cap nearby, dusted it, wore it back, and walked away like nothing happened. A path was cleared for him, and he left the people there gaping collectively at his fresh feat.

This circumstance was then all over social media and a number of video footages that were uploaded which contained this went viral within a few hours and wowed several netizens. Almost all of them were intrigued by the masked man who single-handedly defeated the security guards of the Dipolog City Port; it’s as if they’re watching a superb action scene straight out of a movie.

On the contrary, not everyone was glad about this—not the port’s management nor the city’s police. From the explosion of this incident, they were then onto locating the whereabouts of the masked man. He is a dangerous assailant after all. And Wile Belmonte also couldn’t agree more.

With an iPad, Gello showed a footage to his employer inside his office at Petrobel. Wile watched it intently and smirked after.

“He is very impressive,” he said and looked at his right-hand man. “You say that he’s with Neoma right now?”

“Yes, boss. An onlooker from there informed us that he was with a woman who looked like the young miss along with another man whom we figured was Sol,” Gello replied.

The tycoon leaned back on his chair and chortled loudly.

“My daughter really has her way with interesting men!” Wile stated, amused. “Just like her mother.” His countenance was then replaced with a frown.

Gello sensed the apparent bitterness in his boss’ tone. His ex-wife’s infidelity took a toll on his psychological health and he was now channelling his madness to his daughter.

“Gello, expand our connections in that region where Neoma is currently in. I want to know why she went there with her boy toys.”

He nodded.

“Also, figure out the identity of her new dog.”

“Right away, boss.”

He was then at the office’s door when it opened and in came a tall woman. It was Donna Cuneta, the flight attendant. She glanced at him briefly—uninterested—before she found his boss behind his desk.

The brief startlement on Wile’s face told Gello that he wasn’t aware that his lover way younger than him would be here.

“Wile, babe!” She gaily announced.

The right-hand only watched her straddle on his boss’ lap. Through his perspective as a male, she certainly is beautiful and enterprising; however, he couldn’t help but compare her to his Madame Gumamela. She has a different brand of beauty and charm, yet she is the total opposite of his boss’ former spouse. His madame was refined but frequently fearful while Donna is assertive and bold. The first was who his boss loved and the second is someone he’s currently infatuated.

Donna caught him staring at them, and this was a cue for him to leave her with Wile alone.

Gello reached for the doorknob and thought that such a woman may never truly understand the quagmire she had led herself to—in the claws of someone named Wile Belmonte.

“We’re here,” Neoma said while her eyes darted in front.

Sol was behind the wheel the whole time they travelled, and Owel was alone at the backseat. It had been two hours of longing for him, since Neoma had promised to take him to where she was keeping his parents.

Sol got out of the car first then went over to open the door for his mistress and assisted her. Owel followed suit and was welcomed by the cool breeze coming from the sea at a short distance. It was close to dusk and a variety of birds chirped as if welcoming them. The palms of the coconut trees swayed gently; the sound of their brushing at each other colored the quietude of the empty cottages.

“Where exactly are we?” He couldn’t help but ask.

Neoma didn’t bother to look at him. “We’re in Sindangan, and this is a resort I secretly purchased a few months ago.”

“And my parents are here?”

“Don’t be too agitated. You’ll see them soon.”

She was still limping ahead of him, and Sol was aiding her every step. A moment later, he saw him carry her in his arms. Right at his first association with the both of them, there was a part of him that wondered what the real score between them was. It didn’t seem like they are lovers because Sol kept addressing himself as her dog and her as his mistress, and she—even though he pours out his full affection for her—appears indifferent to his advances. To Owel, it seemed that she was only using him—no, “Manipulating” would be the right term. In any case, he didn’t have to delve into it since after he secures his parents, he will leave the two of them once and for all. He has done his share of their deal, and that would be it.

They were walking for several minutes in a narrow trail sandwiched by carabao grass. There were also fruit trees along the way bathed in a tranquil atmosphere. In fact, the resort appeared secluded.

The three arrived in front of a wooden house with steel roof. It isn’t that big and not too small either, but it has a porch and overly large windows.

“It’s here,” Neoma said as Sol carefully put her down.

Owel’s eyes widened in anticipation and rushed inside. “Ma! Pa! I’m here!”

The two who lagged in the porch knowingly glanced at each other.

Owel still couldn’t locate either of his parents inside the abode. He barged in the rooms one by one, yet they weren’t there. He had a bad feeling about this, so he immediately went back outside and confronted the author behind all of this.

“Neoma, there’s no one here,” apoplectic, he told her.

“Of course,” she stoically replied, “We’re the only ones here. Oh! And the caretaker.”

Owel clenched his teeth, his jaws seething. “I am not playing with you! Where the hell are my parents?”

“Well, obviously, they aren’t here. Haven’t I told you that?”

Mad, he grabbed the neckline of her dress. “Manipulative witch—to hell with you!”

Krrk. Krrk. He heard a gun being c****d and being aimed at his temple.

“Let her go, asshole,” Sol threatened, “I really won’t regret killing you.”

“Oh, really? I’d like to see you try,” Owel taunted in return.

Neoma, then, appeased Sol by dragging his hand down. “Calm down, Sol. Let me talk to him.”

The other guy still hasn’t released her, yet she wasn’t the least bit frightened. She gazed at his eyes unenthusiastically and said “Owel Balasik, instead of getting angry at me, you should be grateful.”

He scowled. “Grateful? For what? For hiding my parents?”

“Exactly.”

“Is that supposed to make me happy?”

“Nope. I’m not the type of person who’d care about someone’s happiness. I’m giving you a taste of my generosity since you prove to be useful to me.”

Neoma swatted his hand. “Right from the start, you were never really serious about staying with me, and you were ready to leave once you meet your parents. But no, Owel. I’m not naïve.”

“So, you’re using my parents to blackmail me?”

She closed the little distance between them and grabbed his nape. He could now feel her breath on his cheek. “You see, Owel, whether you accept it or not, I’m the only way you can keep your parents safe from Senator Bueno’s wrath. And if you ever feel dumb to force your way out of this, I’d be glad to sell them off to the kind senator.”

He detached himself from her and knotted his eyebrows. “You wouldn’t do that.”

“Yes, I won’t. That is if you agree to be my dog until the end of my father’s marriage game.”

“Your dog?”

“To be loyal to me, to be there at my every beck and call, to protect me and to even die for me.” She emphasized the last phrase. “Don’t worry; you’ll be handsomely compensated. And my safeguarding of your parents is a bonus reward. Don’t those sound grand?”

Owel wanted to smack the smirk off her face. He couldn’t believe what she told him. He was right that he shouldn’t have involved himself with her, but here he is, getting trapped in her manipulative psyche. It was the first time in his life that he hated a woman so much that he wanted to strangle her.

Tok. Tok. There was a knock at the door, and their attention was diverted to a old man with white hair swept in a ponytail.

“Miss Neoma, Sir Sol, how nice that you’re finally here,” he said. He is the sole caretaker of the resort.

“We’ll be staying here for a while in order for me to recuperate,” she told him as she mounted onto Sol’s arms again, and looked back at Owel. “You should also enjoy your stay.”

Sol started to carry her towards a bedroom when Owel said something again.

“You still haven’t answered my question, Neoma. Where are my parents?”

She gave him a glance and replied, “Don’t fret. They’re at someplace safe, and someone is taking care of them.”

“Chelsea, hija, dinner’s ready” called a sweet voice from the dining room.

The now former office secretary gladly headed over there and saw Roldan and Rosa Balasik—the couple she had been tasked to look after since days ago. As she was told, the husband who constantly appeared stern but considerate is a retired teacher, and his wife once had the same profession but quit due to her compromised health. They were complete strangers to the timid Chelsea, and she wouldn’t have acquiesced to this if she didn’t need to earn a living after she was fired from Deliciae. It was Wile Belmonte himself who stripped off her job from her after Ohm discovered her at the airport and thought that she was conniving with her lady boss.

There was a part of her that wanted to lash out at Neoma for making her lose the job she worked very hard for, but she didn’t really have the backbone to do so and that she was the one who hired her again.

“Come; the food will get cold,” Rosa beckoned her to a seat adjacent her.

“Thank you,” she shyly responded.

She was supposed to be cooking for them, but Mrs. Balasik insisted to be in charge this time.

Roldan, on the other hand, was the usual quiet person among them. She could bet that he looked like someone from the news.

“Let’s say our grace first,” he led the prayer before their meal.

Chelsea never actually liked to be with people she didn’t know, yet living with this couple seemed alright; whereas, she didn’t really get why they had to be brought to a remote coastal town in a southern region of Mindanao. She hasn’t asked, but she deemed that they were both troubled by their son. She confirmed this when she was asked to film them and e-mail the video recording to Sol.

Neoma’s details weren’t of much help either. She simply told her to watch over them, not worry about their resources, and be done with this when she’ll finally tell her to. Everything about this job seemed vague, yet the assurance of a hefty sum enticed her along with the promise that her boss will gift Sol to her in the end.