Zurich
I slipped.
I fûcking slipped.
I let loose the words that had been living in my mind for so long, that I only accept to myself when I couldn’t run away from them anymore. The things I said to her, things that I had refused to even think about for more than a few seconds. Things that I had locked away for months, make that a year as it was since I saw her that those thoughts had plagued me and had started to reside in my head like a dark fog that refused to go away even when she wasn't in the same city as me.
I had met her at Gabriel’s house when I had only started my duty as his wife, Summer’s bodyguard. And then my eyes had fallen upon the woman who had looked like she could be the one to bring me down on my knees and for her I’d have happily complied. She was Summer's best friend and everything I wanted to conquer. Her eyes had been the first thing I had noticed, the fiery spark in them when she had looked at me as if she too had realized the same thing that we needed to be together. Like she was searching for me and finally found me.
Even though I had kept to myself and adhered to the rules of my duty, I had been unable to hide my interest in her and like a huntress she had picked on it. And why won’t she, she was interested too. She had been attracted to me. And I had been halfway obsessed with her dark beauty. As much as she had painted a picture of glass filled with bubbly champagne in front of the world and her friends, even then I couldn’t help but find her fiery like a firecracker waiting to explode as I had watched her from the shadows. And I'd wanted her to. I'd wanted her to explode. I'd wanted her fire. I'd wanted to be the one to burn in it with her.
She had looked like a sin and I had been reckless enough to want to be a sinner. I'd wanted to be hopelessly lost in her, especially after I had lost my interest in all the women I encountered after the two months that I had spent drinking and losing myself in every single woman who had walked my way as I had tried hard to rid of the faces of my dead comrades and how I had failed them by coming back alive.
And when I had seen her, she had looked like the escape I was seeking.
—
“Hey…” I heard her footsteps coming closer, she had obviously abandoned her friends to come after me. I swallowed the smile that creeped up to my lips, paused, and turned to face her.
She walked to me and circled around me like I was a painting in a museum. In black jeans with a black crop top under a denim jacket, she was simply too much not to notice. Too sexy to ignore and not desire. I let her perusal wash over me as I smiled at her audacity to the way she ogled me.
I knew I was a good looking man, I had gotten many compliments from women and could easily get one. But the way she appreciated me, it made me feel better than I had ever felt before. It made all the hours I spent in gym and sparring with my brother worth it. And even though the army had left its dark mark on my soul and gifted me with sleepless nights, I almost felt good to have endured all that if she was here at the end of it.
She stepped toward me, pushed my jacket aside and slipped a sleek card inside the chest pocket of my shirt as she whispered in my ear, “Call me.”
I didn't at first because I knew her father and Gabriel had a tight relationship and a fuckfest with the daughter of someone who Gabriel respected and protected wouldn’t probably go well. But when that hunger hadn’t subsided after days of trying to fight my attraction towards her, I had caved. I called her.
“I thought you forgot.”
Of course, she already had my number. “Not at all.”
She didn’t waste any time as she said, “I’ll send you time and location. Let’s meet.”
Only when when I went to meet her every fûcking thought I had of her was turned into a mangled mess of disgust. And I had left without showing my face to her.
—
“It’s not that bad. She hasn’t had a life since last year. Let her be.” Theo came to stand beside me where I stood leaning against the wall, my eyes scanning and taking notice of every one she was talking to. Unlike me he seemed to be too relaxed and Kat didn’t even look like there was a stalker out to get her which was only managing to piss me off more than usual.
“If you continue to stop her from doing what she wants, she will start doing things just to make your job difficult for you, things she wouldn’t do otherwise.”
“That’s why she needs someone to control her.”
Theo laughed. “Good luck with that. No one has ever managed that.”
I gritted my teeth and turned to look at him. “You are awfully aware of everything about her.”
His eyes shuttered and he glared at me. “I have known her since she was a kid. She is like a daughter to me. And you should remember that, because whatever you do will be reported back to Mr Barsetti. So tread carefully.”
“She is like a daughter to you and still she got attacked under your supervision, I wonder how.”
His nostrils flared and he squared his shoulders. “Are you questioning me?”
I shrugged. “Maybe I am. All those threatening letters, it makes one question the security. How the stalker managed to reach her if you were doing your job right?”
“I will see how much capable you are.”
I didn’t listen to him as my eyes were now focused on the man stepping closer to Katlyn, even when she was shaking her head he was advancing on her. Previously when I had been too close to her, I didn’t smell any alcohol on her breath and even as the hours passed I noticed that she was only holding on to a red cup but not drinking from it so I knew she wasn’t drunk.
I made my way toward her, pushing past the crowd and my eyes narrowed when I saw the guy emptying a clear sachet of white powder in her glass as she was focused on talking to him, her free hand on his chest.
“Hey.” I stopped short when a petite girl, one of Kat’s friend cut me off as she came to stand in front of me.
“Excuse me.” I tried to move around her but she grabbed my arm, her fingers digging into my muscles.
“Damn.” She murmured. My focus was on Katlyn who was now looking at me. Soft fingers travelled over my chest and the girl— Emma, it was her name— slipped a tissue in my chest pocket and stood up on tiptoes to kiss my cheek as she whispered, “Give me a call, I’ll let you guard my body.” With a giggle she finally stepped out of my way.
With her jaw clenched, Katlyn’s eyes were still on me so she didn’t pay attention to the man who was now putting his arm around her waist as he leaned down to kiss her. It was only six feet between us, I still ran toward her to introduce my fist to that man's nose for putting his hand on her and froze as I watched her, stunned, when she shifted on her feet and kicked the man between his legs.
But more than that, she placed her drink on the table behind her then turned around and grabbed him by the hair, pulling him back when he was groaning and going down on his knees. In a practiced move, she wrenched his arm around his throat and turned him down on the floor with her knee at the small of his back.
Girls shrieked and boys hollered around me, when I reached her I found her leaning down closer to the man. “Do that again and I’ll slit your throat open.” My eyes dropped to the black blade she was holding near his ear.
She lifted her head up and I blinked to see the darkness crowding her eyes, the unhinged look in her gaze. “Are you okay? Get up?” Theo rushed past me, helping her up and cupping her face.
The man on the floor moved taking my attention off her. I pulled him by the back of his collar and marched him toward the door. “Everyone get out. Move it!” This time no one questioned me as people started to leave. I threw the man out and because I couldn’t help it, I punched him in the face, hearing a satisfying c***k in response.
When I got back inside, I found Kat with Theo and her friend, Emma, by her side. “Make sure everyone leaves, no one wanders around the building.” I ordered Danish as I walked to Katlyn who looked a little pale with Theo hovering around her, holding her hand.
Her gaze came to me and she swallowed, wiping off that unsettling look from her face as she said, “Seems like you aren’t needed, after all.” She turned, her hand reaching for the red cup on the table with her shaky fingers that she hid by flexing them into a fist before lifting the cup to her mouth.
In two strides I was in front of her and slapped the cup out of her hand. “What the f**k is wrong with you?” She screamed at me, in an instant her hand went to my throat.
Yeah. That was the woman I had seen and walked away from. “Kat!” Theo and Emma yelled, but only Theo grabbed her from behind, his arms going around her in a hug as he whispered something in her ear.
Katlyn blinked, her fingers flexing around my throat. If I wanted I could’ve easily twisted her wrist around or broke it in a fraction of a second but I wanted to see how far she’d go. “Why did you fûcking do that?” She snapped at me, dropping her hand by her side, but this time there was no dark rage in her eyes.
“He drûgged it when you weren’t watching.”
She frowned, for the first time apprehension flashed in her eyes. “That’s impossible. I had it in my hand the whole time.”
I leaned down and she stiffened. “Guess, you need me after all.”
With that, I turned around and left her to her friend and that bodyguard who makes me want to cut his arms off.
.
A. Gupta