Page 9 of Bad Man

About an hour later, I reluctantly left my girl. As I got myself ready, I could tell that she wanted me to stay, and I would have if not for the fact that I can keep an eye on her through her cameras. Still, as I gave her goodbye kisses at the door, part of me wanted to say, “Fuck it,” and not go to work today. Maybe if I hadn’t taken out a hit last night, I’d have allowed myself the day off. Unfortunately, to keep my cover, I have to maintain business as usual.

As I take care of connecting clients to the internet and troubleshooting problems they likely could have taken care of without my help, I watch the video feed on my phone. I can’t sit and observe her every move like I desperately want to, but having confirmation that she’s safe has to be enough. I’ll get back to her soon. She practically begged me to come back after I finished work for today – I didn’t have to bring it up.

It seems like she’s just as gone on me as I am on her.

When midday finally rolls around, I decide to skip out on getting lunch in favor of keeping an eye on Ella. Being away from her has put an awful pit in my gut. There’s a nagging feeling that something could go wrong now that she’s all alone at her house. It might be daylight hours, but that’s never stopped a determined criminal.

Ella’s in the same place she’s been all day long. She sits in front of her laptop, a planner spread open before her, a pencil between her fingers tapping against the desk. Every few minutes, she reaches forward to type out a message on her keyboard.

Watching her work is hypnotizing. She’s so focused on everything she does, whether it’s jotting notes down in her planner or working on a new social media post or answering a question from someone on her team. Her workflow is meticulous.

Plus that that focused look on her face is so, so sexy.

I can’t help that I start to get hard as I watch her. Most of my arousal is just from seeing my gorgeous girl in her element. Another part of it, a part of it that I’m almost ashamed of, comes from the fact that she has no idea that I’m watching her.

Not for the first time, I wonder if I’m too much for her. One day, she might realize I’m watching her without her permission. I can only hope that she understands.

Who am I kidding? I’ll make her understand. This is for her own good, not for my own enjoyment – no matter how much pleasure I am deriving from this. Ella’s not getting rid of me.

I take a moment to click through the cameras that cover the outside of her home. The neighborhood looks normal, unassuming. I’m not surprised by that. I can’t remember the last time we had anything major happen in residential neighborhoods of Blackwood Falls. Sometimes the tourists will have a little too much to drink and stir up trouble, but Ella’s home is pretty far away from those areas. It’s not something she needs to worry about.

Looking around to make sure there isn’t anyone around, I reach down to palm myself through my pants. Ella rests theend of her pen against her lips. She bites down on it, pondering whatever’s on her screen. My cock twitches in interest as I imagine my cock entering her mouth.

As I’m considering pulling out my length and jerking off to her gorgeous image, she jumps, flinging herself as far away from the window as she can. I frown, immediately concerned by her behavior. Quickly, I flip through the rest of the video feeds, searching for the source of her fear. When I can’t find it, I fire off a quick text to ask her what happened before I can think about what I’m doing.

I’m just so goddamn worried about her.

I watch her read the message, and she smiles slightly as she begins to type out her reply. Then, her face goes blank before contorting into fear. I realize my mistake when she looks directly into the camera she has positioned in her office. She rises to her feet, running toward the camera. A second later, the video feed is disconnected.

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, FUCK.

I should have thought before I sent that message. I should have trusted what I saw on the cameras, that everything was okay, and it was probably just the sound of a car backfiring that scared her. Hell, I still could have sent the message, but I could have phrased it differently. Anything to keep her from realizing I’m watching her.

As my mind is spiraling, Ella’s response finally comes through. I can’t bring myself to read the entire thing, but her intent is clear. She’s furious with me for invading her privacy, and she doesn’t want to see me ever again.

I groan, throwing my head back against my seat. She’s not going to want me gone forever, she’s made that obvious. Thisincident just freaked her out, that’s all. I need to give her time to calm down before I explain myself.

That doesn’t mean I’m going to leave her alone, though.

A quick check of the other cameras around Ella’s house confirms that while she disconnected all of the feeds inside of her home, the ones that watch her perimeter are still online. She doesn’t want to be watched, which I can understand, no matter how much I want to keep my eyes on her.

“God dammit,” I curse, tossing my phone into my passenger seat and tightening my hands on the steering wheel.

Despite getting minimal sleep last night, it looks like I’ll have another long night ahead of me. To keep Ella safe and quell my own fears, I’m going to have to keep watching her. At least I’ll be able to stay out of her sight, since she’s still allowed me access to the cameras watching the perimeter of the house.

With two eyes on her perimeter, I know that she’ll be safe. Still, there’s a treacherous voice in the back of my head telling me that I’ve made a grave mistake. That feeling in my gut is still there, a feeling that something bad is going to happen if I’m not with her every second. I’ve never wanted to be wrong more in my life, and hopefully that’s what I’m going to prove to myself tonight. Otherwise… Well, I don’t want to think about that.

Chapter Eight

Ella

There isn’t a doubt in my mind that I should have known better. My entire life, I’ve always been too trusting, even when I’m trying to be cautious. It was naive of me to assume that just because I’ve gone through something traumatic that my judgment has gotten better.

Something about Michael just felt different, though. Actually, it still does. I can’t help but wonder if I’ve just made the biggest mistake of my life by telling him to leave me alone. It was by no means an overreaction – I think that just about anyone would say I was being too kind, that I should have ripped him a new one – but part of me wants to ask for an explanation.

Am I crazy for thinking he might have been watching me to keep me safe? Or have I officially lost my mind?

Regardless, it doesn’t matter. I’ve already told him to give me space, and he hasn’t replied to the message. I assume that means he’s going to respect my wishes. Just in case he doesn’t though, I make quick work of disconnecting every single camera inside of my house. I consider taking my outdoor cameras offline too, but that would leave me feeling too exposed. I need to be able to monitor my surroundings.

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